Hua Yingting had serious doubts. If he continued to evade responsibility for this matter, in the Emperor's eyes, he would become a bad father who mistreated his daughter.
He sighed helplessly and said, "Your Majesty, this matter... I alone cannot make the decision."
Emperor Changlong, who was speaking endlessly, abruptly stopped. He walked up to Hua Yingting and patted his shoulder, "Yingting, Zhen understands your difficulties. For the happiness of our children, try your best to persuade General Wei."
Hua Yingting: "..."
He hadn't said anything yet.
"Zhen knows you are concerned about your daughter's safety. You don't need to stay here anymore. Go and see your child," Emperor Changlong said, "There are many female physicians in the palace. After Fushou Junzhu returns to the city, she will be temporarily placed in the Empress Dowager's Shoukang Palace. It would be convenient for the female physicians to change look after her."
At this critical moment, Emperor Changlong exhibited infinite wisdom. In order to let his son enjoy the advantages of proximity, he was willing to put aside his dignity and keep the little Hua girl in the palace.
"This subject obeys Your Majesty's command," Hua Yingting had given up struggling. This was fate.
After all, you are the Emperor, and your word is final. I have done my best, but if you and your son insist on going against everyone, then no one can do anything about it.
Hua Yingting was genuinely worried about her daughter's health. After paying respects to Emperor Changlong, he hurriedly left the palace.
The city's roads were smooth; the eunuchs had placed the stretcher in a spacious carriage. Once they arrived at the city gates, they ordered the soldiers guarding the city to open the gates.
The city guards dared not delay and quickly opened the gates. Only after the procession had gone far away did they dare to quietly discuss.
"The one who just passed by... was it the Crown Prince?"
"I heard that the Crown Prince and General Hua's daughter were attacked."
"If anything happens to the Crown Prince, the one who benefits is..."
"Hush!" A companion covered the person's mouth, "Don't speak nonsense. Do you want to court death?"
The city guards fell silent again, and no one dared to discuss the matter further.
Hidden in the shadows, Wu San and Wu Si exchanged serious glances, both seeing the worry in each other's eyes. As former top-rated assassins, they easily evaded the patrolling guards and returned to the small noodle shop.
"Have you gathered any information?" The other assassins in the noodle shop quickly gathered around.
"It seems that the Crown Prince is fine, but Fushou Junzhu seems to have been seriously injured," Wu San said, "Do you all remember that someone asked us to assassinate Fushou Junzhu some time ago?"
The faces of the group turned gloomy. The old man they had contact with, their employer, died unexpectedly on the eve of leaving the capital. Although it seemed like an accidental death due to his old age and frailty, they knew deep down that his death was no accident. Someone had killed him to silence him.
"The situation has escalated so much. Fortunately, the Crown Prince is still alive. Could it be that the mastermind behind the scenes, in order to clear suspicions, would make us the scapegoat?" one of the assassin's comrades said, "Although we have lived through days of bloodshed, we shouldn't unjustly bear this burden."
"Perhaps these assassins have nothing to do with our previous employer?" Wu Si still held a glimmer of hope in her heart.
"Regardless of whether they are connected or not, we need to take precautions in advance," It's not surprising that Wu San and others were so nervous. Their assassin organization had borne too many unjust accusations that didn't belong to them.
Many things that they didn't do ended up being attributed to them, yet no assassin dared to step forward to refute. All the blame and dirty water were unjustly thrown at them.
"So, what should we do?" Everyone looked at Wu San, while Wu San turned to look at Wu Si.
"I heard that there is a large box at the gate of the Jingzhou Prefecture where people can stuff anonymous reports," Wu Si pondered for a while, "The old man already warned us, and our contact, the young master who knows our background, was captured in Yongzhou. It's no longer safe for us to stay in the capital."
"Are you suggesting that we write an anonymous report to the Prefect of Jingzhou?" Wu San frowned, "But we don't even know who the mastermind is."
"We may not know, but as long as the court wants to investigate, they will definitely uncover the mastermind behind it," Wu Si slammed the table, "Now, we gather our belongings and leave as soon as it's dawn."
After considering it, everyone realized that staying in the capital was not a long-term option, and they needed to leave quickly.
Rocking back and forth in the carriage with the Crown Prince by her side, Hua Liuli finally felt drowsy. She forced herself to open her eyes and saw the Crown Prince gazing at her intently. She smiled and said, "Your Royal Highness, I'm a bit tired."
"If you're tired, rest," Although the Crown Prince wanted to continue discussing the topic of "making mistakes" with Hua Liuli, seeing her current weak state, he couldn't bring himself to say anything.
Hua Liuli slowly closed her eyes, and the carriage fell into silence.
Just when the Crown Prince thought Hua Liuli had fallen asleep, her voice sounded again in the carriage.
"We can talk about the topic of making mistakes after I've recovered from my injuries."
The Crown Prince joyfully looked down and saw Hua Liuli in a deep sleep. If he hadn't heard her words clearly just now, he might have doubted whether he had imagined it.
"Alright."
"Gu will wait for you."
Before the carriage reached the palace gate, the Crown Prince heard the sound of hurried horse hooves. He lifted the curtain and saw General Wei and General Hua riding their horses swiftly, followed by Hua Liuli's third brother, Hua Changkong.
"Greetings, Your Royal Highness," the three members of the Hua family dismounted and respectfully saluted the Crown Prince, but their gaze turned towards the carriage.
"Junzhu has already fallen asleep," the Crown Prince got off the carriage and whispered, "Her wounds are painful, but she finds some relief in sleeping."
Wei Mingyue approached quietly, lifted the curtain, and saw her daughter lying comfortably on a soft fox fur blanket. Although her face was pale, she showed no signs of lifelessness, which completely put her at ease.
"Thank you, Your Royal Highness, for taking care of this subject's daughter all the way," Wei Mingyue lowered the curtain and walked in front of the Crown Prince, bowing to him.
"General Wei, you're too polite. If it weren't to save Gu's life, how could Junzhu have been injured so severely?" The Crown Prince helped Wei Mingyue up, "If anyone should be grateful, it should be Gu. Generals, Junzhu needs rest due to her serious injuries. Gu plans to bring her to the palace for recuperation. You are welcome to visit her in the palace anytime. What do both of you think?"
Hua Yingting didn't speak and glanced discreetly at Wei Mingyue.
"Thank you, Your Royal Highness. We appreciate it," Wei Mingyue looked at the motionless carriage for a moment, then said after a moment of silence, "My daughter is young and ignorant. If she has offended you in any way, please forgive her, Your Royal Highness."
"It's what Gu should do," The Crown Prince breathed a sigh of relief. The Hua family's willingness to let him bring Liuli to the palace for recuperation was a tremendous blessing for him.
"Then we'll go ahead. A carriage is not as comfortable as a bed in the palace. Gu is worried that Junzhu won't sleep well."
"Alright..." Wei Mingyue's expression was somewhat complicated as she allowed the Crown Prince to bring her daughter into the palace.
"Mother, how can we let our sister, who is so severely injured, live alone in the palace?" Hua Changkong worriedly said, "I think we need to keep an eye on her to feel at ease."
"Who do you think is more skilled, the physicians outside or the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau?"
"Of course, the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau," Hua Changkong still didn't understand, "Even if comes back with us to the estate, those imperial physicians will still treat her. There's no need for her to live in the palace, right?"
"You're still young and don't understand many things," The family of three rode their horses home. Hua Yingting said with complicated emotions, "Today, His Majesty mentioned Liuli's marriage to me."
"The Emperor wants to arrange a marriage for my younger sister?" Hua Changkong furrowed his brow, "Who is the other party?"
His sister's current favorite person is the Crown Prince. Even if His Majesty acts as a matchmaker, his sister would never agree to marry anyone who is not the Crown Prince.
"The Crown Prince."
Wei Mingyue and Hua Changkong fell silent, and after a long time, both mother and son sighed in unison, "This is really hard to understand..."
"Cough, you can't say that. Our Liuli has a beautiful face, and she's smart too. She has many virtues," Hua Yingting, the doting father of this spoiled daughter, couldn't help but defend her at this moment.
"But my little daughter, although she's so beautiful..."
Hua Yingting stopped talking and turned to Wei Mingyue, "Dear wife, what should we do about this?"
"What can we do?" Wei Mingyue looked up at the gradually brightening sky, "If both parties are willing, let them be."
"But what if..."
"People who are good-looking will still be better-looking when they turn old. You should have confidence in the Crown Prince's appearance," Wei Mingyue gave up and said, "Think positively, maybe the Crown Prince can make Liuli infatuated with him for a lifetime?"
Hua Yingting and Hua Changkong dared not speak.
"In the end, it is His Majesty who wants Liuli to marry the Crown Prince. It's not us using all means to send our daughter into the palace," Wei Mingyue sighed, "The Emperor has seen Liuli's weak condition, but still insists on the marriage between our families. Do you think it's easy to reject this marriage?"
Kind words are hard to persuade. With His Majesty and the Crown Prince insisting on this, what else can their family do?
When Hua Liuli woke up, she saw a familiar ceiling. This wasn't the room she lived in at home.
"Junzhu, you're awake?" The palace maids surrounded her, adjusting the curtains and offering water. Their enthusiastic attitude made her feel as if she had returned home.
Before she could speak, the Empress Dowager hurriedly came over and expressed her heartfelt concern. She watched as the palace maids fed Hua Liuli a bowl of medicinal porridge before leaving with relief.
"Yuan Yi," Hua Liuli called for Yuan Yi, "What's going on? Why am I in the palace?"
"Junzhu, His Royal Highness was worried about your health, so he brought you into the palace for care," Yuan Yi explained the situation, "Don't worry about the family. Master, Madam, and the Third Young Master visited you last night."
As Hua Liuli rinsed her mouth with Yuan Yi's help, even the slightest movement caused a sharp pain in her arm. She winced, "It hurts."
"Now Junzhu finally knows what pain feels like," Yuan Yi was both angry and concerned, "Junzhu, you knew you were injured but still reached out to grab the Crown Prince. The few of us were scared to death when we saw Junzhu fall."
"I'm sorry, Yuan Yi. I know I shouldn't have made you worry. But in that situation, how could I bear to let the Crown Prince fall? What if something happened to him?" Hua Liuli smiled bitterly, "Forget about the injured arm. Even if I had a hole stabbed in any other part of my body, I would have jumped down with him."
Yuan Yi fell silent.
The people of the Hua family were like this. For the sake of the people and the righteous ruler, they were willing to sacrifice their lives without regret.
Hua Liuli may seem different from other members of the Hua family, but the bloodline that flows within her veins carries the same inherent qualities.
Emperor Changlong stood outside the hall, his face filled with gratitude.
Fushou Junzhu had saved his son risking her life. As an emperor, to express his gratitude, he specifically came to Shoukang Palace to visit her. He hadn't expected to hear such a touching conversation.
Yes, these were the descendants of the Hua family, always so loyal to the Ji family. Even if it meant sacrificing their lives, they would never regret it.
Their family is so loyal, yet there were always people trying to scheme against them, hoping for their misfortune. These people claimed to care about the court's affairs, but in reality, they were just jealous of the Hua family and wanted to drive away the virtuous officials, allowing corrupt officials to dominate the court!
But was the Emperor an easily deceived ruler?
No!
The Hua family was formidable, but had they become arrogant?
No!
The Hua family held high prestige among the people, but had they ever shown off in front of them?
No!
He had long heard that the Hua family often proclaimed to the people that he, as the Emperor, was the Purple Star incarnate. With his blessing, the Hua family could achieve continuous victories and defeat Jinpo.
What excellent subjects, what an exceptional young lady.
What an outstanding girl, if she couldn't marry the Crown Prince and become the Crown Princess, it would be a great loss for the Ji family!
"Of course, the Crown Prince's face..." Hua Liuli paused suddenly, her tone weak, "The Crown Prince is the child His Majesty has painstakingly raised. If anything were to happen to him, how devastated His Majesty would be."
"Both Father and Mother hold His Majesty close to their hearts. If His Majesty is distressed, they would also be heartbroken," Hua Liuli smiled bravely, "Whether it's for His Majesty or for my parents, I cannot bear to see the Crown Prince getting hurt."
Krish728
Author's Note:
Emperor Changlong: Is there a better Crown Princess than Hua Liuli? No!
Hua Yingting had serious doubts. If he continued to evade responsibility for this matter, in the Emperor's eyes, he would become a bad father who mistreated his daughter.
He sighed helplessly and said, "Your Majesty, this matter... I alone cannot make the decision."
Emperor Changlong, who was speaking endlessly, abruptly stopped. He walked up to Hua Yingting and patted his shoulder, "Yingting, Zhen understands your difficulties. For the happiness of our children, try your best to persuade General Wei."
Hua Yingting: "..."
He hadn't said anything yet.
"Zhen knows you are concerned about your daughter's safety. You don't need to stay here anymore. Go and see your child," Emperor Changlong said, "There are many female physicians in the palace. After Fushou Junzhu returns to the city, she will be temporarily placed in the Empress Dowager's Shoukang Palace. It would be convenient for the female physicians to change look after her."
At this critical moment, Emperor Changlong exhibited infinite wisdom. In order to let his son enjoy the advantages of proximity, he was willing to put aside his dignity and keep the little Hua girl in the palace.
"This subject obeys Your Majesty's command," Hua Yingting had given up struggling. This was fate.
After all, you are the Emperor, and your word is final. I have done my best, but if you and your son insist on going against everyone, then no one can do anything about it.
Hua Yingting was genuinely worried about her daughter's health. After paying respects to Emperor Changlong, he hurriedly left the palace.
The city's roads were smooth; the eunuchs had placed the stretcher in a spacious carriage. Once they arrived at the city gates, they ordered the soldiers guarding the city to open the gates.
The city guards dared not delay and quickly opened the gates. Only after the procession had gone far away did they dare to quietly discuss.
"The one who just passed by... was it the Crown Prince?"
"I heard that the Crown Prince and General Hua's daughter were attacked."
"If anything happens to the Crown Prince, the one who benefits is..."
"Hush!" A companion covered the person's mouth, "Don't speak nonsense. Do you want to court death?"
The city guards fell silent again, and no one dared to discuss the matter further.
Hidden in the shadows, Wu San and Wu Si exchanged serious glances, both seeing the worry in each other's eyes. As former top-rated assassins, they easily evaded the patrolling guards and returned to the small noodle shop.
"Have you gathered any information?" The other assassins in the noodle shop quickly gathered around.
"It seems that the Crown Prince is fine, but Fushou Junzhu seems to have been seriously injured," Wu San said, "Do you all remember that someone asked us to assassinate Fushou Junzhu some time ago?"
The faces of the group turned gloomy. The old man they had contact with, their employer, died unexpectedly on the eve of leaving the capital. Although it seemed like an accidental death due to his old age and frailty, they knew deep down that his death was no accident. Someone had killed him to silence him.
"The situation has escalated so much. Fortunately, the Crown Prince is still alive. Could it be that the mastermind behind the scenes, in order to clear suspicions, would make us the scapegoat?" one of the assassin's comrades said, "Although we have lived through days of bloodshed, we shouldn't unjustly bear this burden."
"Perhaps these assassins have nothing to do with our previous employer?" Wu Si still held a glimmer of hope in her heart.
"Regardless of whether they are connected or not, we need to take precautions in advance," It's not surprising that Wu San and others were so nervous. Their assassin organization had borne too many unjust accusations that didn't belong to them.
Many things that they didn't do ended up being attributed to them, yet no assassin dared to step forward to refute. All the blame and dirty water were unjustly thrown at them.
"So, what should we do?" Everyone looked at Wu San, while Wu San turned to look at Wu Si.
"I heard that there is a large box at the gate of the Jingzhou Prefecture where people can stuff anonymous reports," Wu Si pondered for a while, "The old man already warned us, and our contact, the young master who knows our background, was captured in Yongzhou. It's no longer safe for us to stay in the capital."
"Are you suggesting that we write an anonymous report to the Prefect of Jingzhou?" Wu San frowned, "But we don't even know who the mastermind is."
"We may not know, but as long as the court wants to investigate, they will definitely uncover the mastermind behind it," Wu Si slammed the table, "Now, we gather our belongings and leave as soon as it's dawn."
After considering it, everyone realized that staying in the capital was not a long-term option, and they needed to leave quickly.
Rocking back and forth in the carriage with the Crown Prince by her side, Hua Liuli finally felt drowsy. She forced herself to open her eyes and saw the Crown Prince gazing at her intently. She smiled and said, "Your Royal Highness, I'm a bit tired."
"If you're tired, rest," Although the Crown Prince wanted to continue discussing the topic of "making mistakes" with Hua Liuli, seeing her current weak state, he couldn't bring himself to say anything.
Hua Liuli slowly closed her eyes, and the carriage fell into silence.
Just when the Crown Prince thought Hua Liuli had fallen asleep, her voice sounded again in the carriage.
"We can talk about the topic of making mistakes after I've recovered from my injuries."
The Crown Prince joyfully looked down and saw Hua Liuli in a deep sleep. If he hadn't heard her words clearly just now, he might have doubted whether he had imagined it.
"Alright."
"Gu will wait for you."
Before the carriage reached the palace gate, the Crown Prince heard the sound of hurried horse hooves. He lifted the curtain and saw General Wei and General Hua riding their horses swiftly, followed by Hua Liuli's third brother, Hua Changkong.
"Greetings, Your Royal Highness," the three members of the Hua family dismounted and respectfully saluted the Crown Prince, but their gaze turned towards the carriage.
"Junzhu has already fallen asleep," the Crown Prince got off the carriage and whispered, "Her wounds are painful, but she finds some relief in sleeping."
Wei Mingyue approached quietly, lifted the curtain, and saw her daughter lying comfortably on a soft fox fur blanket. Although her face was pale, she showed no signs of lifelessness, which completely put her at ease.
"Thank you, Your Royal Highness, for taking care of this subject's daughter all the way," Wei Mingyue lowered the curtain and walked in front of the Crown Prince, bowing to him.
"General Wei, you're too polite. If it weren't to save Gu's life, how could Junzhu have been injured so severely?" The Crown Prince helped Wei Mingyue up, "If anyone should be grateful, it should be Gu. Generals, Junzhu needs rest due to her serious injuries. Gu plans to bring her to the palace for recuperation. You are welcome to visit her in the palace anytime. What do both of you think?"
Hua Yingting didn't speak and glanced discreetly at Wei Mingyue.
"Thank you, Your Royal Highness. We appreciate it," Wei Mingyue looked at the motionless carriage for a moment, then said after a moment of silence, "My daughter is young and ignorant. If she has offended you in any way, please forgive her, Your Royal Highness."
"It's what Gu should do," The Crown Prince breathed a sigh of relief. The Hua family's willingness to let him bring Liuli to the palace for recuperation was a tremendous blessing for him.
"Then we'll go ahead. A carriage is not as comfortable as a bed in the palace. Gu is worried that Junzhu won't sleep well."
"Alright..." Wei Mingyue's expression was somewhat complicated as she allowed the Crown Prince to bring her daughter into the palace.
"Mother, how can we let our sister, who is so severely injured, live alone in the palace?" Hua Changkong worriedly said, "I think we need to keep an eye on her to feel at ease."
"Who do you think is more skilled, the physicians outside or the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau?"
"Of course, the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau," Hua Changkong still didn't understand, "Even if comes back with us to the estate, those imperial physicians will still treat her. There's no need for her to live in the palace, right?"
"You're still young and don't understand many things," The family of three rode their horses home. Hua Yingting said with complicated emotions, "Today, His Majesty mentioned Liuli's marriage to me."
"The Emperor wants to arrange a marriage for my younger sister?" Hua Changkong furrowed his brow, "Who is the other party?"
His sister's current favorite person is the Crown Prince. Even if His Majesty acts as a matchmaker, his sister would never agree to marry anyone who is not the Crown Prince.
"The Crown Prince."
Wei Mingyue and Hua Changkong fell silent, and after a long time, both mother and son sighed in unison, "This is really hard to understand..."
"Cough, you can't say that. Our Liuli has a beautiful face, and she's smart too. She has many virtues," Hua Yingting, the doting father of this spoiled daughter, couldn't help but defend her at this moment.
"But my little daughter, although she's so beautiful..."
Hua Yingting stopped talking and turned to Wei Mingyue, "Dear wife, what should we do about this?"
"What can we do?" Wei Mingyue looked up at the gradually brightening sky, "If both parties are willing, let them be."
"But what if..."
"People who are good-looking will still be better-looking when they turn old. You should have confidence in the Crown Prince's appearance," Wei Mingyue gave up and said, "Think positively, maybe the Crown Prince can make Liuli infatuated with him for a lifetime?"
Hua Yingting and Hua Changkong dared not speak.
"In the end, it is His Majesty who wants Liuli to marry the Crown Prince. It's not us using all means to send our daughter into the palace," Wei Mingyue sighed, "The Emperor has seen Liuli's weak condition, but still insists on the marriage between our families. Do you think it's easy to reject this marriage?"
Kind words are hard to persuade. With His Majesty and the Crown Prince insisting on this, what else can their family do?
When Hua Liuli woke up, she saw a familiar ceiling. This wasn't the room she lived in at home.
"Junzhu, you're awake?" The palace maids surrounded her, adjusting the curtains and offering water. Their enthusiastic attitude made her feel as if she had returned home.
Before she could speak, the Empress Dowager hurriedly came over and expressed her heartfelt concern. She watched as the palace maids fed Hua Liuli a bowl of medicinal porridge before leaving with relief.
"Yuan Yi," Hua Liuli called for Yuan Yi, "What's going on? Why am I in the palace?"
"Junzhu, His Royal Highness was worried about your health, so he brought you into the palace for care," Yuan Yi explained the situation, "Don't worry about the family. Master, Madam, and the Third Young Master visited you last night."
As Hua Liuli rinsed her mouth with Yuan Yi's help, even the slightest movement caused a sharp pain in her arm. She winced, "It hurts."
"Now Junzhu finally knows what pain feels like," Yuan Yi was both angry and concerned, "Junzhu, you knew you were injured but still reached out to grab the Crown Prince. The few of us were scared to death when we saw Junzhu fall."
"I'm sorry, Yuan Yi. I know I shouldn't have made you worry. But in that situation, how could I bear to let the Crown Prince fall? What if something happened to him?" Hua Liuli smiled bitterly, "Forget about the injured arm. Even if I had a hole stabbed in any other part of my body, I would have jumped down with him."
Yuan Yi fell silent.
The people of the Hua family were like this. For the sake of the people and the righteous ruler, they were willing to sacrifice their lives without regret.
Hua Liuli may seem different from other members of the Hua family, but the bloodline that flows within her veins carries the same inherent qualities.
Emperor Changlong stood outside the hall, his face filled with gratitude.
Fushou Junzhu had saved his son risking her life. As an emperor, to express his gratitude, he specifically came to Shoukang Palace to visit her. He hadn't expected to hear such a touching conversation.
Yes, these were the descendants of the Hua family, always so loyal to the Ji family. Even if it meant sacrificing their lives, they would never regret it.
Their family is so loyal, yet there were always people trying to scheme against them, hoping for their misfortune. These people claimed to care about the court's affairs, but in reality, they were just jealous of the Hua family and wanted to drive away the virtuous officials, allowing corrupt officials to dominate the court!
But was the Emperor an easily deceived ruler?
No!
The Hua family was formidable, but had they become arrogant?
No!
The Hua family held high prestige among the people, but had they ever shown off in front of them?
No!
He had long heard that the Hua family often proclaimed to the people that he, as the Emperor, was the Purple Star incarnate. With his blessing, the Hua family could achieve continuous victories and defeat Jinpo.
What excellent subjects, what an exceptional young lady.
What an outstanding girl, if she couldn't marry the Crown Prince and become the Crown Princess, it would be a great loss for the Ji family!
"Of course, the Crown Prince's face..." Hua Liuli paused suddenly, her tone weak, "The Crown Prince is the child His Majesty has painstakingly raised. If anything were to happen to him, how devastated His Majesty would be."
"Both Father and Mother hold His Majesty close to their hearts. If His Majesty is distressed, they would also be heartbroken," Hua Liuli smiled bravely, "Whether it's for His Majesty or for my parents, I cannot bear to see the Crown Prince getting hurt."
Krish728
Author's Note:
Emperor Changlong: Is there a better Crown Princess than Hua Liuli? No!
