CH 3

Ch 3 “Your Highness wants me to serve you?”

At the end of Mao Shi (5-7am), Xie Chaoling got up, heard the birds chirping outside the window, and pushed open the window.

After a night of light rain, there were yellow leaves all over the courtyard and the air became a lot colder.

Wang Jin asked someone to bring hot water to wait on him to wash and change his clothes.

Xie Chaoling thought of something and asked, “What about the two people who came with me yesterday? Why haven’t I seen them again?”

Wang Jin whispered: “Yesterday, King Xun asked His Highness for some people, so His Highness asked the servants to send the two over.”

“King Xun?”

“King Xun is His Majesty’s second son, His Highness’s elder brother.”

Outside, breakfast had already been served. There were many dishes and they were all very light. Xie Chaoling sat down and looked at the bland dishes on the table, he didn’t have much appetite.

Wang Jin served him porridge, carefully observed his complexion, and asked tentatively, “Are these dishes not to your taste?”

Xie Chaoling ignored him, picked up the porridge, and slowly ate the side dishes brought in front of him.

Halfway through breakfast, Xie Chaoyuan came over, lifted the hem of his clothes, sat down beside Xie Chaoling, and motioned for someone to prepare some dishes for him. Thinking about his identity, Xie Chaoling should put down his bowl and chopsticks and stand up to greet this man, yet he didn’t want to move, so he gave up.

Xie Chaoyuan looked at the dishes on the table, nine out of ten not touched: “Don’t you like these?”

Xie Chaoling didn’t answer, the expression on his face had already told Xie Chaoyuan that he didn’t like them.

Xie Chaoyuan thought about it for a while, then instructed the people, “Remove all of them and bring another table.”

Xie Chaoling wanted to stop him, but the words were already said.

“There are countless beauties around Your Highness, why are you interested in me?”

Xie Chaoling asked bluntly, but Xie Chaoyuan disagreed: “Linlang doesn’t have to belittle yourself, how can they compare with you?”

Being stared at by Xie Chaoyuan, Xie Chaoling turned his eyes away. Remembering this man saying he would break his leg last night, maybe it really wasn’t a joke.

However, even if he wanted to run, he had nowhere to go. He could only stay here.

Xie Chaoyuan changed the subject: “Are you used to these people who serve you? Is there anything missing or makes you dissatisfied?”

Xie Chaoling’s eyes fell on the incense burner in the corner: “Change the incense.”

“You don’t like ambergris?”

“Ordinary sweet fragrance is fine, I like that smell.”

A new table of dishes was delivered very quickly. This time, there were sour, sweet, salty and spicy dishes from all over the world. Xie Chaoling picked up his chopsticks again, now he really had an appetite.

Xie Chaoyuan paid attention to the speed of his chopsticks and lightly curled the corners of his lips.

It turned out that his crown prince brother liking light dishes was false. What he really preferred were salty and spicy dishes and those extremely sweet and greasy desserts.

It was also false that he liked ambergris, ordinary sweet fragrance can satisfy him.

In order to cater to the emperor and hide his true preferences, the Crown Prince of the East Palace had deceived everyone.

Xie Chaoling was a little uncomfortable being stared at, and asked with a frown, “Your Highness doesn’t need to eat?”

Xie Chaoyuan suddenly raised his hand, wiped the corner of his lips with his thumb and laughed lightly at Xie Chaoling’s defensive eyes: “You have some dim sum crumbs.”

Xie Chaoling felt that His Royal Highness King Ke was too frivolous and he didn’t want to talk to him anymore, so he kept his head down and continued to eat in silence.

After breakfast, Xie Chaoyuan went to greet the emperor. Xie Chaoling had nothing to do, so Xie Chaoyuan ordered someone to bring him a pile of books and chess pieces to pass the time.

“You know I can read?” Xie Chaoling asked curiously.

Xie Chaoyuan looked at him with a smile and teased: “Are you illiterate?”

Xie Chaoling was embarrassed for a while, this person was really unpleasant.

Xie Chaoyuan brushed his cheek with his hand: “Be good, I will accompany you when I come back.”

Xie Chaoling ignored him and put his mind on those books.

Walking out the door, the smile on Xie Chaoyuan’s mouth disappeared. Wang Rang whispered to him, saying that the person they sent to King Xun last night was used by King Xun.

Xie Chaoyuan murmured softly: “He accepted both? Didn’t Xun Wangfei (title; wife of a prince) follow along, why was she so easy to talk to?”

“In the beginning, he was unwilling to accept it, but after seeing the girl’s appearance, His Royal Highness King Xun was moved. Wangfei went over to make trouble, then finally compromised, saying that he also needed to accept the boy. His Royal Highness Xun agreed.”

“These two are really interesting.” Xie Chaoyuan mocked.

Xie Chaorong’s Wangfei was born from the Lin family. This Wangfei was stubborn and shrewd. It was not odd for her to have a fight with Xie Chaorong practically every day. Who knows how many times He palace has seen this joke, and it has even occurred more than once or twice in front of Emperor Qianming. However, the Zhao and Lin family has always been grasshoppers on a vine. No matter how hard they torment each other, they will not be separated.

Behind Xie Chaorong, there is the Zhao family and the Lin family, and there is also Empress Dowager Zhao. After the first crown prince was gone, he was the emperor’s eldest son. If he was not so useless and inept, the crown prince position would have long been his. Yet, he is a  person lacking tools, just trash. Xie Chaoqi’s “idiot” really didn’t accuse him wrongly.

At the time of the crown prince’s accident, except for Xie Chaoyuan, a well-known spoiled playboy, which prince wasn’t a man with his tail between his legs so as not to give away any mistakes; yet Xie Chaorong dared to accept the prostitute sent by Xie Chaoyuan?

Xie Chaoyuan didn’t care about the words of those officials, whether or not Xie Chaorong can continue to last, it might turn out a little differently.

In the front hall, the early court had just ended.

This time, Emperor Qianming had brought the officials to the temporary imperial residence of Dongshan Palace for a hunting party. The crown prince fell off the cliff the next day. Now no one had the heart to hunt any more. Whether the crown prince can come back or not, this matter seemed more bad than good.

The commander of the Imperial Guard was reporting the clues he had just found. In addition to the several important officials in the court, there were also a group of princes who came to greet the emperor.

“Bring the person here, I will personally interrogate him.” The emperor’s face was ashen.

Xie Chaorong clenched his fists tightly and looked anxious. If it wasn’t for Zhao Guogong, Zhao Changming, who was beside him, grabbing his sleeves secretly, he would have rushed to Emperor Qianming to argue.

Xie Chaoyuan came in and listened. It was the commander of the Imperial Guard who reported that they had interrogated all the workers who were on duty during the hunt at that time. Someone saw that just before the prince was attacked, the personal soldiers of Zhao Guogong sneak into the back mountain forest alone.

The arrow that was shot at the crown prince indeed had the mark of Dongshan camp on it.

Emperor Qianming looked at Zhao Changming with resentment in his eyes. Zhao Changming lowered his eyes slightly, his expression calm as usual. No one spoke in the hall for a while, until the Imperial Army brought the worker to the hall.

“Little, this little person did see it. That person’s left, left face had a big mole, easy to recognize. He went in alone, followed, followed His Royal Highness, and then shot an arrow at His Royal Highness. His Highness’s horse was frightened, and suddenly went mad…”

The worker was shivering, lying on the ground, finishing his words intermittently, not daring to look up.

Zhao Guogong Shizi and the designated personal soldier were interrogated together. The personal soldier knelt on the ground, gasping for breath, arguing for himself: “I did enter the woods, but it was to pursue a blind bear, I did not see His Royal Highness, and even more I dare not shoot an arrow at His Royal Highness, this kind of thing would lead to punishment of the entire clan! Even if I had the courage of a hundred people, I would not dare! Your Majesty, I’ve been wronged!”

“This little person saw it, it’s him, it’s him! He was the one who assassinated his Royal Highness the crown prince!” The worker suddenly shouted, smashing his head hard, and knocking the ground with a bang.

Xie Chaorong couldn’t bear it anymore. He shook off Zhao Changming’s hand, stepped forward and kicked out: “Shut up for this king!”

The worker was kicked in the waist by him, spewing out a mouthful of blood. He fell to the ground, unable to get up on the spot.

Emperor Qianming was furious: “You are being presumptuous!”

Xie Chaorong’s eyes turned red: “Royal Father, this man is full of nonsense and is slandering people. He clearly wants to trap the Zhao family in injustice!”

The corners of Zhao Changming’s mouth twitched and Zhao Guogong Shizi’s expression was extremely ugly, but he didn’t dare to speak.

Xie Chaoyuan was the only one who laughed abruptly.

The person who was identified was clearly the personal soldier of Zhao Guogong Shizi, but Xie Chaorong, the idiot, actually came up and bit the Zhao family first himself? No one would give him a thumbs up if they heard this.

Emperor Qianming swept his eyes over and glared at Xie Chaoyuan.

Xie Chaoyuan lowered his head and stopped making sounds.

Xie Chaorong’s face turned red and white. Finally, he also reacted that he said something wrong and wanted to make amends. He looked at Emperor Qianming as if he was going to eat him, swallowed his throat, and dared not speak again.

After that, no matter what Emperor Qianming asked, one of the two kneeling on the ground would say that they had seen it, and the other insisted that they had not done it. Emperor Qianming was so angry that he could only order them to be taken into custody first and then be interrogated severely.

The princes were left alone.

Emperor Qianming picked up the tea cup at hand and smashed it on Xie Chaorong. Xie Chaorong didn’t have time to dodge, and was doused with hot tea and knelt down in embarrassment.

“Royal Father…”

The old eunuch Wang Qing beside the emperor gave a look, and someone stepped forward immediately and quickly swept the mess on the ground.

Wang Qing brewed tea for Emperor Qianming again, and whispered to him: “Your Majesty, please calm your anger.”

Emperor Qianming took a sip of tea, his anger finally calming down. He ignored Xie Chaorong, glanced around at his sons, and said solemnly: “There is no news about the crown prince’s affairs, so I have no time to watch you, thus you all better behave appropriately. I don’t want to hear anyone coming to me to complain again, saying that any of you have misbehaved and you have done contemptible things that people can criticize!”

The crowd responded.

Who this was talking about, everyone knew.

No matter how absurd Xie Chaoyuan was in the past, their Royal father was too lazy to care, but this time everyone came to the palace, and now Xie Chaorong also had partook in it. It is estimated that some people were talking in front of him this morning, so he became very annoyed. When the emperor heard these things and was angered by Xie Chaorong again, he used this as a pretext to make a fuss.

Xie Chaoyuan didn’t take it seriously, while Xie Chaorong had a bad look on his face, and was really aggrieved.

After the lesson, Xie Chaoyuan went back to Ting Song Zhai and brought back an imperial physician.

Xie Chaoling stared at the imperial physician taking his pulse. The imperial physician lowered his eyes, never looking sideways. He put his fingers on Xie Chaoling’s wrist, and after listening carefully, he said, “He is fine. If it’s cold today, just be careful not to catch a cold. “

Xie Chaoyuan personally sent the person out and Imperial Physician Hu bent over and bidded farewell to him. Xie Chaoyuan suddenly asked, “What did you see just now?”

“This old minister didn’t see anything… Your Highness, don’t overdo it.” The imperial doctor said in a low voice.

Xie Chaoyuan said calmly, “Thank you for reminding me.”

When he went back again, Xie Chaoling was still leaning on the soft couch to read a book. Xie Chaoyuan glanced at it, it was a legend of the past dynasties.

He sat down beside the couch, Xie Chaoling looked over: “Why is Your Highness sitting here?”

“Do you like reading these kinds of books?”

“Why would I not?”

There was nothing wrong with it, but the former Crown Prince of the East Palace was serious and it was absolutely impossible for him to read these idle books. Xie Chaoyuan seemed to have discovered something very interesting, and the corner of his mouth twitched into a smile.

“What are you laughing at, Your Highness?”

Xie Chaoyuan asked him, “Aren’t you afraid of me?”

“Why would I be afraid?”

Xie Chaoling was really not afraid. Although he had no memory, was forcibly detained here by this person, and this person had a high status, he was not a timid person. He had precautions, but he was not timid.

Moreover, he felt that this person probably knew who he was, and would be able to tell him his story one day.

Xie Chaoyuan continued to laugh: “My Linlang is very special.”

Xie Chaoling finally realized the meaning of the sentence “My Linlang”, and his eyes paused: “Your Highness wants me to serve you with my body?”

Xie Chaoyuan looked at him with a smile sinking into his eyes: “What do you think?”