Hua Liuli couldn't really go to enjoy the plum blossoms. The Crown Prince didn't insist anymore, "These past few days have been unusually cold. It's better for Xianzhu to stay indoors."
In fact, on such freezing days, he had no desire to see those wretched plum blossoms.
With heavy snow and strong winds, every step into the snowy ground was like stepping into a pit. Yet, they still had to engage in elegant pursuits like reciting poetry and painting. It was truly an exercise in finding trouble when one had nothing better to do.
Thus, both of them felt relieved.
In an instant, Hua Liuli thought that the Crown Prince wasn't bad. She just hoped he wouldn't mention anything about needing to go out for a slow walk or something of the sort. She glanced at the sky, which was gloomy and seemed to indicate more snowfall, "Your Royal Highness, the Empress Dowager is still performing her Buddhist rituals. We should go inside the palace and sit for a while."
"Alright," The Crown Prince saw the anticipation in Hua Liuli's eyes. Being a young girl confined to Shoukang Palace, unable to run, jump, or play, her days were indeed quite boring.
Seeing the Crown Prince agree, Hua Liuli was also pleased. Even her frail steps became steadier, and she had a smile on her face as she said, "Yuan Yi, ask the palace maid to prepare some delicious fruits and pastries."
Seeing Hua Liuli's bright smile, the Crown Prince, who had initially planned to leave after a stick of incense, softened his heart slightly, "Xianzhu, there's no need to be so polite."
"I insist, I insist," Hua Liuli followed the Crown Prince into the palace and took a seat as a guest, "Your Royal Highness, a few days ago, you personally brought me from Consort Xian's place. I haven't properly thanked you yet."
"No need for excessive formalities. The Great General was a great hero whom Benwang admired since childhood. When Benwang was young, the Great General personally made a wooden sword for Benwang and taught Benwang swordsmanship and archery. We share a teacher-student bond," The Crown Prince lazily leaned back in his chair. He wasn't someone who would compromise himself for the sake of others' opinions, "Unfortunately, you weren't born at that time, otherwise, Benwang could have given you a hundred-day gift."
Sixteen years ago, just when he heard that the General's wife was several months pregnant, news of the Jinpo Kingdom's invasion of the border arrived. Three days later, the General and his wife led the army to the battlefield.
He held the General's wife's hand and asked if she was afraid for their child in her womb and if she could avoid going to the border.
The General's wife didn't dismiss him due to his young age but earnestly replied.
"Thank you for your concern, Third Prince, but the General and I have been studying military arts since childhood to protect and defend our homeland, so that the people won't suffer from the oppression of foreign enemies. That's why I must go."
The Hua family didn't have the custom of taking concubines for several generations, yet they were not lacking in offsprings. What was strange, however, was that there had been no daughters in the Hua family for nearly three generations. So, when Madam Hua accompanied her husband to the frontier while pregnant, everyone thought she was expecting another son.
Unexpectedly, she gave birth to a delicate and fragile daughter this time. Due to her daughter's weak health, General Hua shamelessly requested a title for his daughter from the Emperor after her first birthday.
If a child died at an early age, they couldn't have a tombstone or ancestral rites. But a child with a title was different. Even if they died early, they could still enjoy posthumous honors.
Hua Yingting rarely made improper requests to the Emperor. This was the only time.
The Crown Prince remembered that after the Emperor received General Hua's letter, he sat in the study all night. The next day, he granted a title to General Hua's daughter - she was made a Xianzhu.
Shortly after, he, the Third Prince, was proclaimed the Crown Prince.
Recalling the past, when the Crown Prince looked at Hua Liuli, his eyes carried a hint of pity.
Being so weak and timid, and spending fifteen years on the frontier, could she have been frightened in her mother's womb?
At this time, she was stretching out her hand as she secretly reached for the pastries on the table. Hua Liuli noticed the Crown Prince's gaze as her fair hand paused for a moment, but eventually, with strength and fearlessness, she reached for the pastries.
As long as her tea-drinking was graceful and her pace of eating the pastries was slow enough, others would surely not notice that she actually wanted to eat.
She held the pastry between her fingertips and smiled lightly, "Although I didn't receive the hundred-day gift, I received the little wooden horse that Your Highness sent."
The Crown Prince didn't expect her to still remember that incident. At that time, he was young, and upon hearing that the Great General's daughter was not in good health, he sent his favorite little wooden horse with a eunuch to deliver it.
Among the various rewards the Emperor gave to the Hua family, the little wooden horse wasn't anything special, but back then, he didn't comprehend. Later, when he could comprehend, he had already passed the age of holding onto such matters. What surprised him was that the young girl who received the gift still remembered that little wooden horse.
He was slightly stunned but soon smiled. He was about to speak when a palace maid walked in.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince," The palace maid kneeled and paid her respects to the Crown Prince, "Ying Wang has brought gifts to apologize to Xianzhu."
"Apologies?" The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, "The incident in the bustling street happened ten days ago, and the poisoning at the Lincui Palace happened three days ago. And today, he comes to apologize? His actions are indeed very swift. It seems he is quite sincere."
Hua Liuli lifted the cup and drank some rose dew, pretending not to notice the sarcasm in the Crown Prince's words.
"Do you want to see him?" the Crown Prince turned to ask Hua Liuli.
Hua Liuli replied, "This is the Empress Dowager's resting palace, and with Your Royal Highness present, Ying Wang's visit at this time might be to clarify the misunderstanding."
The Crown Prince raised his teacup and lightly touched his lips, "Then let him in."
Initially, Ying Wang didn't take the incident of Hua Liuli nearly being poisoned to heart. In his view, his mother was also an innocent victim, and moreover, the daughter of the Hua family didn't die.
Under the heavens, there is no land that is not ruled by the imperial family. Both he and his mother were members of the imperial family. Even if they didn't want to offend the Hua family, there was no need to bow down and apologize to a little girl.
However, he soon realized that something was amiss. During court, not only did the military officials look at him with strange eyes, but many civil officials also had grievances against him.
Even those civil officials who had a good relationship with Lin Huizhi started accusing him and his mother.
This puzzled him greatly. Weren't these civil officials against Hua Yingting? Now that something almost happened to the daughter of the Hua family, they were more agitated than the military officials. It made him suspect whether those who had criticized Hua Yingting for warmongering weren't actually them.
Did they forget that their friend Lin Huizhi had praised him, the Eldest Prince, in the court?
They say a woman's mind is hard to fathom, but the thoughts of these civil officials are even harder to understand than those of women.
For the past three days, he had been stared at by the military officials with strange eyes and provoked by the civil officials with indirect words. He was filled with anger, and after being pursuaded by his mother for half an hour in the morning, he reluctantly brought gifts and came to Shoukang Palace.
When he entered the room and saw the Crown Prince sitting at the head, his fake expression of guilt instantly twisted.
How could he be here?
"Eldest Brother, what a coincidence," The Crown Prince lazily raised his hand, "Take a seat."
Ying Wang gritted his teeth, "Greetings to Your Royal Highness, the Crown Prince."
"Between brothers, there's no need for such formalities," the Crown Prince glanced at the eunuchs who came in with Ying Wang, carrying gift boxes, "Just come as you are, why bring so many gifts?"
Ying Wang thought, this is Shoukang Palace, not your Eastern Palace. Why are you putting on airs?
"Benwang heard that Xianzhu had a close call at Mother Consort's palace three days ago. Mother Consort feels deeply guilty. Benwang also regrets not being present that day to discover the vicious methods of the culprit. Please forgive Benwang, Xianzhu," Ying Wang hadn't looked at Hua Liuli properly since he entered. After finishing his speech, he finally raised his gaze to her.
He had initially thought she was a sickly girl without much charm, but he didn't expect her to be such an endearing woman. For a moment, he was stunned, and most of his resentment from before dissipated.
Can a military general's family raise such a tender and lovely girl?
Upon hearing Ying Wang's words, the Crown Prince raised an eyebrow. He spoke as if the culprit wouldn't have poisoned her if he had been present. Where did this blind confidence come from?
Hua Liuli had already noticed Ying Wang's inner dissatisfaction when he entered. But so what? These Princes all had their eyes on the throne of the Emperor. Even if they held grudges against her, they couldn't openly show it.
Moreover, she was the victim, while Ying Wang and his mother were the suspected ones.
Upon hearing Ying Wang's words, Hua Liuli couldn't help but turn her head to look at the Crown Prince. Although she had only intended to touch the wine cup and then put it down, if the cup had been poisoned, she could have been poisoned even by just touching it. If it hadn't been for the sudden arrival of the Crown Prince's people with gifts, she would have been dead on the spot.
Seeing Hua Liuli looking at him with watery eyes, the Crown Prince thought she didn't know how to talk to Ying Wang. He was originally reluctant to speak, but he turned his gaze to Ying Wang and said, "Eldest Brother, has the Ministry of Justice discovered anything?"
Upon hearing the Crown Prince's annoying voice, Ying Wang immediately snapped out of his stupor, "The Ministry of Justice is still investigating. Please rest assured, Xianzhu. Benwang will definitely find the culprit and seek justice for you."
Hua Liuli: But the expression you had when you entered just now didn't mean that.
"If they're still investigating, it means there hasn't been much progress in the case," the Crown Prince lightly tapped the table with his index finger, irritatingly, one after another.
It was annoying to listen to. Ying Wang really wanted to retort, "What's it to you?" but he didn't dare.
As long as Ji Yuansu was still the Crown Prince, everything in the world could be related to him.
"Many thanks for the Crown Prince's concern," Ying Wang thanked stiffly.
I beg you, please shut up.
But when did the Crown Prince ever follow Ying Wang's intentions? The Crown Prince continued, "The harem is filled with all sorts of people. It's indeed not an easy task to thoroughly investigate the case."
Ying Wang looked at the Crown Prince suspiciously. These words sounded so nice and considerate, there must be a problem somewhere.
"Bengwang knows that there is someone else behind the culprit of this case, but until the case is solved, Eldest Brother, please try not to get too close to Xianzhu," the Crown Prince raised an eyebrow as he looked at Ying Wang, "The young girl doesn't have a strong heart and hasn't fully recovered since the fright she experienced. Bengwang is afraid she will be reminded of the incident when she sees you. Eldest Brother, you are older, so please be more understanding."
Understand your mother! He knew this bastard wouldn't say anything nice!
However, all the palace maids serving in the main hall felt that the Crown Prince's words made sense.
Xianzhu, who was weak and had a poor appetite, had been trembling and stuffing pastries into her mouth to conceal her fear ever since Ying Wang appeared. Her face even turned paler. What had she been frightened into?
Krish728
Author's Note:
Hua Liuli: What I'm eating is not food, it's fear. Please don't misunderstand, thank you.
Hua Liuli couldn't really go to enjoy the plum blossoms. The Crown Prince didn't insist anymore, "These past few days have been unusually cold. It's better for Xianzhu to stay indoors."
In fact, on such freezing days, he had no desire to see those wretched plum blossoms.
With heavy snow and strong winds, every step into the snowy ground was like stepping into a pit. Yet, they still had to engage in elegant pursuits like reciting poetry and painting. It was truly an exercise in finding trouble when one had nothing better to do.
Thus, both of them felt relieved.
In an instant, Hua Liuli thought that the Crown Prince wasn't bad. She just hoped he wouldn't mention anything about needing to go out for a slow walk or something of the sort. She glanced at the sky, which was gloomy and seemed to indicate more snowfall, "Your Royal Highness, the Empress Dowager is still performing her Buddhist rituals. We should go inside the palace and sit for a while."
"Alright," The Crown Prince saw the anticipation in Hua Liuli's eyes. Being a young girl confined to Shoukang Palace, unable to run, jump, or play, her days were indeed quite boring.
Seeing the Crown Prince agree, Hua Liuli was also pleased. Even her frail steps became steadier, and she had a smile on her face as she said, "Yuan Yi, ask the palace maid to prepare some delicious fruits and pastries."
Seeing Hua Liuli's bright smile, the Crown Prince, who had initially planned to leave after a stick of incense, softened his heart slightly, "Xianzhu, there's no need to be so polite."
"I insist, I insist," Hua Liuli followed the Crown Prince into the palace and took a seat as a guest, "Your Royal Highness, a few days ago, you personally brought me from Consort Xian's place. I haven't properly thanked you yet."
"No need for excessive formalities. The Great General was a great hero whom Benwang admired since childhood. When Benwang was young, the Great General personally made a wooden sword for Benwang and taught Benwang swordsmanship and archery. We share a teacher-student bond," The Crown Prince lazily leaned back in his chair. He wasn't someone who would compromise himself for the sake of others' opinions, "Unfortunately, you weren't born at that time, otherwise, Benwang could have given you a hundred-day gift."
Sixteen years ago, just when he heard that the General's wife was several months pregnant, news of the Jinpo Kingdom's invasion of the border arrived. Three days later, the General and his wife led the army to the battlefield.
He held the General's wife's hand and asked if she was afraid for their child in her womb and if she could avoid going to the border.
The General's wife didn't dismiss him due to his young age but earnestly replied.
"Thank you for your concern, Third Prince, but the General and I have been studying military arts since childhood to protect and defend our homeland, so that the people won't suffer from the oppression of foreign enemies. That's why I must go."
The Hua family didn't have the custom of taking concubines for several generations, yet they were not lacking in offsprings. What was strange, however, was that there had been no daughters in the Hua family for nearly three generations. So, when Madam Hua accompanied her husband to the frontier while pregnant, everyone thought she was expecting another son.
Unexpectedly, she gave birth to a delicate and fragile daughter this time. Due to her daughter's weak health, General Hua shamelessly requested a title for his daughter from the Emperor after her first birthday.
If a child died at an early age, they couldn't have a tombstone or ancestral rites. But a child with a title was different. Even if they died early, they could still enjoy posthumous honors.
Hua Yingting rarely made improper requests to the Emperor. This was the only time.
The Crown Prince remembered that after the Emperor received General Hua's letter, he sat in the study all night. The next day, he granted a title to General Hua's daughter - she was made a Xianzhu.
Shortly after, he, the Third Prince, was proclaimed the Crown Prince.
Recalling the past, when the Crown Prince looked at Hua Liuli, his eyes carried a hint of pity.
Being so weak and timid, and spending fifteen years on the frontier, could she have been frightened in her mother's womb?
At this time, she was stretching out her hand as she secretly reached for the pastries on the table. Hua Liuli noticed the Crown Prince's gaze as her fair hand paused for a moment, but eventually, with strength and fearlessness, she reached for the pastries.
As long as her tea-drinking was graceful and her pace of eating the pastries was slow enough, others would surely not notice that she actually wanted to eat.
She held the pastry between her fingertips and smiled lightly, "Although I didn't receive the hundred-day gift, I received the little wooden horse that Your Highness sent."
The Crown Prince didn't expect her to still remember that incident. At that time, he was young, and upon hearing that the Great General's daughter was not in good health, he sent his favorite little wooden horse with a eunuch to deliver it.
Among the various rewards the Emperor gave to the Hua family, the little wooden horse wasn't anything special, but back then, he didn't comprehend. Later, when he could comprehend, he had already passed the age of holding onto such matters. What surprised him was that the young girl who received the gift still remembered that little wooden horse.
He was slightly stunned but soon smiled. He was about to speak when a palace maid walked in.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince," The palace maid kneeled and paid her respects to the Crown Prince, "Ying Wang has brought gifts to apologize to Xianzhu."
"Apologies?" The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, "The incident in the bustling street happened ten days ago, and the poisoning at the Lincui Palace happened three days ago. And today, he comes to apologize? His actions are indeed very swift. It seems he is quite sincere."
Hua Liuli lifted the cup and drank some rose dew, pretending not to notice the sarcasm in the Crown Prince's words.
"Do you want to see him?" the Crown Prince turned to ask Hua Liuli.
Hua Liuli replied, "This is the Empress Dowager's resting palace, and with Your Royal Highness present, Ying Wang's visit at this time might be to clarify the misunderstanding."
The Crown Prince raised his teacup and lightly touched his lips, "Then let him in."
Initially, Ying Wang didn't take the incident of Hua Liuli nearly being poisoned to heart. In his view, his mother was also an innocent victim, and moreover, the daughter of the Hua family didn't die.
Under the heavens, there is no land that is not ruled by the imperial family. Both he and his mother were members of the imperial family. Even if they didn't want to offend the Hua family, there was no need to bow down and apologize to a little girl.
However, he soon realized that something was amiss. During court, not only did the military officials look at him with strange eyes, but many civil officials also had grievances against him.
Even those civil officials who had a good relationship with Lin Huizhi started accusing him and his mother.
This puzzled him greatly. Weren't these civil officials against Hua Yingting? Now that something almost happened to the daughter of the Hua family, they were more agitated than the military officials. It made him suspect whether those who had criticized Hua Yingting for warmongering weren't actually them.
Did they forget that their friend Lin Huizhi had praised him, the Eldest Prince, in the court?
They say a woman's mind is hard to fathom, but the thoughts of these civil officials are even harder to understand than those of women.
For the past three days, he had been stared at by the military officials with strange eyes and provoked by the civil officials with indirect words. He was filled with anger, and after being pursuaded by his mother for half an hour in the morning, he reluctantly brought gifts and came to Shoukang Palace.
When he entered the room and saw the Crown Prince sitting at the head, his fake expression of guilt instantly twisted.
How could he be here?
"Eldest Brother, what a coincidence," The Crown Prince lazily raised his hand, "Take a seat."
Ying Wang gritted his teeth, "Greetings to Your Royal Highness, the Crown Prince."
"Between brothers, there's no need for such formalities," the Crown Prince glanced at the eunuchs who came in with Ying Wang, carrying gift boxes, "Just come as you are, why bring so many gifts?"
Ying Wang thought, this is Shoukang Palace, not your Eastern Palace. Why are you putting on airs?
"Benwang heard that Xianzhu had a close call at Mother Consort's palace three days ago. Mother Consort feels deeply guilty. Benwang also regrets not being present that day to discover the vicious methods of the culprit. Please forgive Benwang, Xianzhu," Ying Wang hadn't looked at Hua Liuli properly since he entered. After finishing his speech, he finally raised his gaze to her.
He had initially thought she was a sickly girl without much charm, but he didn't expect her to be such an endearing woman. For a moment, he was stunned, and most of his resentment from before dissipated.
Can a military general's family raise such a tender and lovely girl?
Upon hearing Ying Wang's words, the Crown Prince raised an eyebrow. He spoke as if the culprit wouldn't have poisoned her if he had been present. Where did this blind confidence come from?
Hua Liuli had already noticed Ying Wang's inner dissatisfaction when he entered. But so what? These Princes all had their eyes on the throne of the Emperor. Even if they held grudges against her, they couldn't openly show it.
Moreover, she was the victim, while Ying Wang and his mother were the suspected ones.
Upon hearing Ying Wang's words, Hua Liuli couldn't help but turn her head to look at the Crown Prince. Although she had only intended to touch the wine cup and then put it down, if the cup had been poisoned, she could have been poisoned even by just touching it. If it hadn't been for the sudden arrival of the Crown Prince's people with gifts, she would have been dead on the spot.
Seeing Hua Liuli looking at him with watery eyes, the Crown Prince thought she didn't know how to talk to Ying Wang. He was originally reluctant to speak, but he turned his gaze to Ying Wang and said, "Eldest Brother, has the Ministry of Justice discovered anything?"
Upon hearing the Crown Prince's annoying voice, Ying Wang immediately snapped out of his stupor, "The Ministry of Justice is still investigating. Please rest assured, Xianzhu. Benwang will definitely find the culprit and seek justice for you."
Hua Liuli: But the expression you had when you entered just now didn't mean that.
"If they're still investigating, it means there hasn't been much progress in the case," the Crown Prince lightly tapped the table with his index finger, irritatingly, one after another.
It was annoying to listen to. Ying Wang really wanted to retort, "What's it to you?" but he didn't dare.
As long as Ji Yuansu was still the Crown Prince, everything in the world could be related to him.
"Many thanks for the Crown Prince's concern," Ying Wang thanked stiffly.
I beg you, please shut up.
But when did the Crown Prince ever follow Ying Wang's intentions? The Crown Prince continued, "The harem is filled with all sorts of people. It's indeed not an easy task to thoroughly investigate the case."
Ying Wang looked at the Crown Prince suspiciously. These words sounded so nice and considerate, there must be a problem somewhere.
"Bengwang knows that there is someone else behind the culprit of this case, but until the case is solved, Eldest Brother, please try not to get too close to Xianzhu," the Crown Prince raised an eyebrow as he looked at Ying Wang, "The young girl doesn't have a strong heart and hasn't fully recovered since the fright she experienced. Bengwang is afraid she will be reminded of the incident when she sees you. Eldest Brother, you are older, so please be more understanding."
Understand your mother! He knew this bastard wouldn't say anything nice!
However, all the palace maids serving in the main hall felt that the Crown Prince's words made sense.
Xianzhu, who was weak and had a poor appetite, had been trembling and stuffing pastries into her mouth to conceal her fear ever since Ying Wang appeared. Her face even turned paler. What had she been frightened into?
Krish728
Author's Note:
Hua Liuli: What I'm eating is not food, it's fear. Please don't misunderstand, thank you.
