Two days later, Yu She did not attend morning court. Instead, he went to see Princess Royal Anguo.
Zhong Wan had wanted to accompany him. Currently, he considered himself to be Yu She’s advisor. No matter how he thought of it, he found this to be his duty. Furthermore, he worried that Yu She would argue with Princess Royal Anguo after a sentence, and she would slap him again. He thought if that happened, he himself could act as the mediator. Thus, he woke up very early just like Yu She. He had even dressed fully, stubbornly insisting to follow.
Yu She ordered him to stay, but Zhong Wan didn’t listen. Yu She took one step outside, and Zhong Wan would as well. Just a bit more, and he would be glued to Yu She’s side. He clung to Yu She so much that Yu She felt helpless. But he also couldn’t chain Zhong Wan up.
WIth no other alternative, Yu She had his entourage leave for now. Then he closed the door to his room and pulled Zhong Wan to his inner chamber. And he had Zhong Wan pay back three qian of his debt.
Presently, Yu She knew how to handle Zhong Wan well. He didn’t have to use much effort to kiss him until he couldn’t stand straight. Yu She released him. Stared into those eyes that held amorous feelings as he said with indifference, “Look in the mirror. See how…”
How unrestrained you look.
Without a doubt, Zhong Wan could guess what he meant. Indeed, after Zhong Wan had heard those words, he grew somewhat bashful, a rare occurrence. Yu She wiped his bright red lips with a thumb. “Who are you trying to show such an appearance to outside?”
Then Yu She turned around and stepped through the door.
When the family soldiers saw Yu She come out, they rushed to follow him. He recalled how, just now, Zhong Wan had softly told him to kiss him a bit harder, the corners of his lips lifting a hint.
A family soldier turned his head to look at the tightly closed door. Absentmindedly, he asked, “Didn’t Young Master Zhong say he wanted to come along?”
“He still had a fever last night. What’s he coming along for?” As Yu She walked, he straightened up his lapel, which Zhong Wan had messed up by pulling. “He’s just finding an excuse to act coquettish. You don’t need to worry about him.”
The family guard swallowed. Thought, I was only asking in passing.
However, Yu She really had the urge to speak. He tried to understand the common people’s lives, and said, “When you people leave your houses, do your wives act like this? Clinging to you incessantly, not letting you leave?”
A family soldier was struck speechless. After a moment of thought, he said, “My wife… definitely doesn’t dare to do so.”
“But he really has the guts to do it.” Following that, Yu She asked another family soldier, “How about you?”
The other family soldier was caught in a daze for a moment. Then he hurried to shake his head, shouting, “Definitely not!”
“Another timid one.” Yu She nodded. Struck them where it hurt by saying, “Naturally, it could also be because they don’t care about you people.”
The family soldiers secretly swallowed tears of blood, angry but not daring to show it.
Yu She fixed his lapel. Entered the carriage. He said to himself in a worried manner, “He just absolutely had to cling to me, so now I’m so late. If I had to attend court today, then I’d have to forfeit my salary this month again.”
The driver of the horse-drawn carriage stayed silent. In the past years, every time Young Prince Yu attended morning court, he would be late. But now, he actually put on such a diligent appearance. So pretentious.
Ktf frajaf bo Uglcmfrr Ebsji Ccueb.
Uglcmfrr Ebsji Ccueb tjv qfbqif mjgfoeiis qgfqjgf atf gfogfrtwfcar. Vtf tjv kjlafv lc atf kjgw gbbw rlcmf fjgis bc.
Dfmjerf bo ktja tjv tjqqfcfv lc atf wbgclcu yfobgf tf ifoa tlr rlvf mbegasjgv, Te Vtf kjr lc tlut rqlglar. Ca ifjra, wbatfg jcv rbc mbeiv wjlcajlc qfjmfoei gfijalbcr bc atf regojmf.
In a perfunctory manner, Princess Royal Anguo asked Yu She about his diet and daily life pattern. After that, she dismissed everyone. Sighed. “What did I tell you last time? If Xuan Qiong ascends the throne, you’d definitely lose your life. Just recently, Emperor-Brother came to the intention to recognize you as his son. And the people of that side can’t sit still anymore.”
Yu She lowered his head for a sip of tea. “How did Prince Yu decide to handle me?”
Princess Royal Anguo fell silent for a while. She did not answer his question. Then she said, “Ziyou, explain things to me clearly first. If I assist you in ascending the throne in the future, you… Would you be able to protect me? Would you be able to protect Prince Yu’s estate?”
Yu She smiled. “Princess, if Xuan Qiong becomes the emperor in the future, would Prince Yu protect me?”
Princess Royal Anguo felt sorrowful.
Yu She looked at her. He didn’t know if it was because of Zhong Wan’s influence these past few days, but his heart had softened. And he would always recall the sweet and intimate times of his youth.
He and Princess Royal Anguo had once had a mother-and-son relationship.
Yu She paused, before saying, “If you want to stand by Xuan Qiong’s side now, I won’t blame you. In the future, no matter what happens, I won’t touch the princess estate. But Prince Yu… I am now someone with a wife. I cannot leave these seeds of trouble for myself.”
Princess Royal Anguo hatefully said, “What wife?”
She picked up her teacup. A good while later, she set it down, helpless. “Nevermind… Pretend I never asked.”
Princess Royal Anguo’s status was awkward. She was both Xuan Qiong’s aunt and Yu She’s foster mother. When the two competed against each other for the throne, she could not avoid them. She had to choose a side.
Princess Anguo had been proud and arrogant all her life. She did not want to be stepped on by Imperial Consort Yu in the future. Now, she could only give up something.
“Although Prince Yu and I had long since separated, in the past, I truly did let him down…” She shook her head. “It’s fine. Let’s not talk about this anymore.”
Then she said in a low voice, “Recently, Emperor-Brother truly has been impatient. First, he had you enter his cabinet. Then, he repeatedly spoke to his old relatives explicitly and implicitly. And a few days ago, he was trying to act as a matchmaker for you. Now, we’re just missing one step. How could Prince Yu just watch helplessly as Emperor-Brother recognizes you as his son? He—”
“He wants to bring up the matter of my mother, right?”
Princess Royal Anguo was shocked. “How did you know?”
“I guessed,” said Yu She in a tranquil manner. “What else could it be? Although I’ve been a scoundrel these many years, I’ve only been a scoundrel to myself. I’ve never harmed the people around me. If he wants everyone to know I’m not suitable to compete for the throne, then he could only find trouble from my background. Moreover…”
Yu She laughed mockingly to himself. “This matter is a secret of the emperor. Right now, he only needs to start a small rumor. Once others learn of this matter from the emperor’s youth that brings the emperor worry, it’s very likely that they’d bury me and that person who had been buried long ago. In this way, everyone would become clean.”
“Emperor-Brother wouldn’t be this heartless.” Princess Royal Anguo frowned. “What’s more… he hasn’t brought up the matter yet, right?”
Yu She glanced at her. Smiled faintly. “Weren’t you just hesitating? Everyone knows I’m the thing that keeps the balance between both sides. When an emergency comes, they only need to abandon me and their troubles would decrease by leaps and bounds.”
“It’s not the time to speak such demoralizing words,” said Princess Royal Anguo in a low voice. “I don’t know the fine details, but I heard that a few days ago, Prince Yu sent people to a distant place. Apparently, it’s to find some people.”
Yu She said, “Are those some of the people who waited on… who waited on that woman in the palace?”
Princess Royal Anguo nodded.
Yu She narrowed his eyes. “There’s only one thing I don’t understand. Is Prince Yu not afraid that the emperor would clench his teeth and acknowledge my mother’s matter. and recognize me even at the cost of all his reputation?”
“This…” She wanted to say her next words, but also didn’t. “If the matter of your birth mother was brought into public, then… Actually, it’s not good proof that you are Emperor-Brother’s son.”
Yu She did not understand.
Princess Royal Anguo hardened her heart. Tried her best to put it mildly by saying, “Before the previous emperor had left the world, many of the palace residences were going through renovation. The previous emperor disliked the disorderliness, and so moved to the temporary imperial residence in the north. His stay spanned a few months. Your birth mother did not follow. And it was at that time that she conceived you. However, at that time it hadn’t only been Emperor-Brother moving in and out of the palace.
“SInce your birthmother was actually able to be with Emperor-Brother,” said Princess Royal Anguo near whisper, “then it’s possible that another person could have…”
She beat around the bush, saying, “If the former palace maid Prince Yu finds carelessly says your birth mother had relations with other people… then how could the emperor prove you are his son?”
Yu She looked at the ground. All of a sudden, he laughed.
Fearing Yu She was falling into another bout of madness, Princess Royal Anguo blurted, “Of course, I can stand as a witness that you are definitely Emperor-Brother’s child. However, it was difficult for him to see your birth mother back then. We could only have the laborers repair your birth mother’s palace more. Otherwise, how could he have sneaked in? I’m very clear on what happened before and after that. But… but that day, they had acted with a bit too much impropriety. The Imperial Censorate had brought it up a few times. The imperial clan members said your birth mother should move out of the palace. But the empress dowager blocked this from happening. I fear that this matter would be recorded in history. Recently, Prince Yu had been searching for those records of long ago. I’m afraid he will use them to weave a story.”
She rushed to explain, “Ziyou… Do you understand? Don’t let your mind wander in strange places. You are definitely the son of Emperor-Brother.”
Yu She looked directly at her and asked, “Since these matters are so important, why did you people let those people live? Why not just kill them?”
Princess Royal Anguo’s lips twitched. Realization struck her and she covered her mouth out of reflex.
She had misspoken.
But Yu She understood the implications.
“Back then, you and Prince Yu were worried the emperor wouldn’t smoothly ascend the throne. Feared that changes would occur. So you hid these people in secret. You thought that if it were Prince Ning who ascended, then you would use these human testimonies and material evidence to defect to Prince Ning’s side, right?” Yu She’s train of thought was smooth. “But if after the current emperor ascended the throne, he wanted to dispose of the people who had already served their purpose, then those people would become your protective talismans. And now… they have become the good pawns to control me with. Not bad.”
He looked at her. Pushed down the hatred in his heart. He expended a lot of effort to smile at her.
You’ve known it since long ago.
And Yu She smiled mockingly toward himself.
It turned out the harmonious relationship between mother and son in the past were merely his own delusions.
Just a while ago, Yu She had told Princess Royal Anguo that in the future, even if she turned around and defected to Xuan Qion’s side, Yu She would protect her if he ascended the throne.
Because of the times in his youth, Yu She had truly considered her as his mother.
Prince Yu had concubines who gave birth to illegitimate sons one after the other. He rarely came to the princess estate. Even though the young Yu She had abided by protocol and observed propriety to the max, he had talked back to Prince Yu a few times for her.
At that time, did those people who saw him treat it as watching a joke?
Gradually, Yu She’s eyes grew bloodshot. He closed his eyes and said to himself, “It’s fine… I’ve long since gotten used to it. This is nothing. It was like this from the start…”
Princess Royal Anguo was very regretful. In a moment of carelessness, she had failed to remove herself completely from the situation, and rushed to say, “I… I knew of this long ago, but I hid those people all along not because I’m guarding against you. Instead, I’m guarding against Prince Yu. Moreover, if I don’t leave behind this backup plan, and don’t have my own people in it, how could I have informed you of this important information?”
Yu She said in a soft voice, “Stop talking…
“I’ll try my best to find those people as soon as possible.” Yu She rose to his feet. “I will find a way… to borrow the mouths of others to bring this matter up to the emperor. And try to make the emperor and Prince Yu fight against each other…”
Princess Royal Anguo rushed to say, “Ziyou, do you blame me? You…”
“I’ll keep my promises to you.” Yu She had a splitting headache. “I will… return to my estate.”
Two days later, Yu She did not attend morning court. Instead, he went to see Princess Royal Anguo.
Zhong Wan had wanted to accompany him. Currently, he considered himself to be Yu She’s advisor. No matter how he thought of it, he found this to be his duty. Furthermore, he worried that Yu She would argue with Princess Royal Anguo after a sentence, and she would slap him again. He thought if that happened, he himself could act as the mediator. Thus, he woke up very early just like Yu She. He had even dressed fully, stubbornly insisting to follow.
Yu She ordered him to stay, but Zhong Wan didn’t listen. Yu She took one step outside, and Zhong Wan would as well. Just a bit more, and he would be glued to Yu She’s side. He clung to Yu She so much that Yu She felt helpless. But he also couldn’t chain Zhong Wan up.
WIth no other alternative, Yu She had his entourage leave for now. Then he closed the door to his room and pulled Zhong Wan to his inner chamber. And he had Zhong Wan pay back three qian of his debt.
Presently, Yu She knew how to handle Zhong Wan well. He didn’t have to use much effort to kiss him until he couldn’t stand straight. Yu She released him. Stared into those eyes that held amorous feelings as he said with indifference, “Look in the mirror. See how…”
How unrestrained you look.
Without a doubt, Zhong Wan could guess what he meant. Indeed, after Zhong Wan had heard those words, he grew somewhat bashful, a rare occurrence. Yu She wiped his bright red lips with a thumb. “Who are you trying to show such an appearance to outside?”
Then Yu She turned around and stepped through the door.
When the family soldiers saw Yu She come out, they rushed to follow him. He recalled how, just now, Zhong Wan had softly told him to kiss him a bit harder, the corners of his lips lifting a hint.
A family soldier turned his head to look at the tightly closed door. Absentmindedly, he asked, “Didn’t Young Master Zhong say he wanted to come along?”
“He still had a fever last night. What’s he coming along for?” As Yu She walked, he straightened up his lapel, which Zhong Wan had messed up by pulling. “He’s just finding an excuse to act coquettish. You don’t need to worry about him.”
The family guard swallowed. Thought, I was only asking in passing.
However, Yu She really had the urge to speak. He tried to understand the common people’s lives, and said, “When you people leave your houses, do your wives act like this? Clinging to you incessantly, not letting you leave?”
A family soldier was struck speechless. After a moment of thought, he said, “My wife… definitely doesn’t dare to do so.”
“But he really has the guts to do it.” Following that, Yu She asked another family soldier, “How about you?”
The other family soldier was caught in a daze for a moment. Then he hurried to shake his head, shouting, “Definitely not!”
“Another timid one.” Yu She nodded. Struck them where it hurt by saying, “Naturally, it could also be because they don’t care about you people.”
The family soldiers secretly swallowed tears of blood, angry but not daring to show it.
Yu She fixed his lapel. Entered the carriage. He said to himself in a worried manner, “He just absolutely had to cling to me, so now I’m so late. If I had to attend court today, then I’d have to forfeit my salary this month again.”
The driver of the horse-drawn carriage stayed silent. In the past years, every time Young Prince Yu attended morning court, he would be late. But now, he actually put on such a diligent appearance. So pretentious.
Ktf frajaf bo Uglcmfrr Ebsji Ccueb.
Uglcmfrr Ebsji Ccueb tjv qfbqif mjgfoeiis qgfqjgf atf gfogfrtwfcar. Vtf tjv kjlafv lc atf kjgw gbbw rlcmf fjgis bc.
Dfmjerf bo ktja tjv tjqqfcfv lc atf wbgclcu yfobgf tf ifoa tlr rlvf mbegasjgv, Te Vtf kjr lc tlut rqlglar. Ca ifjra, wbatfg jcv rbc mbeiv wjlcajlc qfjmfoei gfijalbcr bc atf regojmf.
In a perfunctory manner, Princess Royal Anguo asked Yu She about his diet and daily life pattern. After that, she dismissed everyone. Sighed. “What did I tell you last time? If Xuan Qiong ascends the throne, you’d definitely lose your life. Just recently, Emperor-Brother came to the intention to recognize you as his son. And the people of that side can’t sit still anymore.”
Yu She lowered his head for a sip of tea. “How did Prince Yu decide to handle me?”
Princess Royal Anguo fell silent for a while. She did not answer his question. Then she said, “Ziyou, explain things to me clearly first. If I assist you in ascending the throne in the future, you… Would you be able to protect me? Would you be able to protect Prince Yu’s estate?”
Yu She smiled. “Princess, if Xuan Qiong becomes the emperor in the future, would Prince Yu protect me?”
Princess Royal Anguo felt sorrowful.
Yu She looked at her. He didn’t know if it was because of Zhong Wan’s influence these past few days, but his heart had softened. And he would always recall the sweet and intimate times of his youth.
He and Princess Royal Anguo had once had a mother-and-son relationship.
Yu She paused, before saying, “If you want to stand by Xuan Qiong’s side now, I won’t blame you. In the future, no matter what happens, I won’t touch the princess estate. But Prince Yu… I am now someone with a wife. I cannot leave these seeds of trouble for myself.”
Princess Royal Anguo hatefully said, “What wife?”
She picked up her teacup. A good while later, she set it down, helpless. “Nevermind… Pretend I never asked.”
Princess Royal Anguo’s status was awkward. She was both Xuan Qiong’s aunt and Yu She’s foster mother. When the two competed against each other for the throne, she could not avoid them. She had to choose a side.
Princess Anguo had been proud and arrogant all her life. She did not want to be stepped on by Imperial Consort Yu in the future. Now, she could only give up something.
“Although Prince Yu and I had long since separated, in the past, I truly did let him down…” She shook her head. “It’s fine. Let’s not talk about this anymore.”
Then she said in a low voice, “Recently, Emperor-Brother truly has been impatient. First, he had you enter his cabinet. Then, he repeatedly spoke to his old relatives explicitly and implicitly. And a few days ago, he was trying to act as a matchmaker for you. Now, we’re just missing one step. How could Prince Yu just watch helplessly as Emperor-Brother recognizes you as his son? He—”
“He wants to bring up the matter of my mother, right?”
Princess Royal Anguo was shocked. “How did you know?”
“I guessed,” said Yu She in a tranquil manner. “What else could it be? Although I’ve been a scoundrel these many years, I’ve only been a scoundrel to myself. I’ve never harmed the people around me. If he wants everyone to know I’m not suitable to compete for the throne, then he could only find trouble from my background. Moreover…”
Yu She laughed mockingly to himself. “This matter is a secret of the emperor. Right now, he only needs to start a small rumor. Once others learn of this matter from the emperor’s youth that brings the emperor worry, it’s very likely that they’d bury me and that person who had been buried long ago. In this way, everyone would become clean.”
“Emperor-Brother wouldn’t be this heartless.” Princess Royal Anguo frowned. “What’s more… he hasn’t brought up the matter yet, right?”
Yu She glanced at her. Smiled faintly. “Weren’t you just hesitating? Everyone knows I’m the thing that keeps the balance between both sides. When an emergency comes, they only need to abandon me and their troubles would decrease by leaps and bounds.”
“It’s not the time to speak such demoralizing words,” said Princess Royal Anguo in a low voice. “I don’t know the fine details, but I heard that a few days ago, Prince Yu sent people to a distant place. Apparently, it’s to find some people.”
Yu She said, “Are those some of the people who waited on… who waited on that woman in the palace?”
Princess Royal Anguo nodded.
Yu She narrowed his eyes. “There’s only one thing I don’t understand. Is Prince Yu not afraid that the emperor would clench his teeth and acknowledge my mother’s matter. and recognize me even at the cost of all his reputation?”
“This…” She wanted to say her next words, but also didn’t. “If the matter of your birth mother was brought into public, then… Actually, it’s not good proof that you are Emperor-Brother’s son.”
Yu She did not understand.
Princess Royal Anguo hardened her heart. Tried her best to put it mildly by saying, “Before the previous emperor had left the world, many of the palace residences were going through renovation. The previous emperor disliked the disorderliness, and so moved to the temporary imperial residence in the north. His stay spanned a few months. Your birth mother did not follow. And it was at that time that she conceived you. However, at that time it hadn’t only been Emperor-Brother moving in and out of the palace.
“SInce your birthmother was actually able to be with Emperor-Brother,” said Princess Royal Anguo near whisper, “then it’s possible that another person could have…”
She beat around the bush, saying, “If the former palace maid Prince Yu finds carelessly says your birth mother had relations with other people… then how could the emperor prove you are his son?”
Yu She looked at the ground. All of a sudden, he laughed.
Fearing Yu She was falling into another bout of madness, Princess Royal Anguo blurted, “Of course, I can stand as a witness that you are definitely Emperor-Brother’s child. However, it was difficult for him to see your birth mother back then. We could only have the laborers repair your birth mother’s palace more. Otherwise, how could he have sneaked in? I’m very clear on what happened before and after that. But… but that day, they had acted with a bit too much impropriety. The Imperial Censorate had brought it up a few times. The imperial clan members said your birth mother should move out of the palace. But the empress dowager blocked this from happening. I fear that this matter would be recorded in history. Recently, Prince Yu had been searching for those records of long ago. I’m afraid he will use them to weave a story.”
She rushed to explain, “Ziyou… Do you understand? Don’t let your mind wander in strange places. You are definitely the son of Emperor-Brother.”
Yu She looked directly at her and asked, “Since these matters are so important, why did you people let those people live? Why not just kill them?”
Princess Royal Anguo’s lips twitched. Realization struck her and she covered her mouth out of reflex.
She had misspoken.
But Yu She understood the implications.
“Back then, you and Prince Yu were worried the emperor wouldn’t smoothly ascend the throne. Feared that changes would occur. So you hid these people in secret. You thought that if it were Prince Ning who ascended, then you would use these human testimonies and material evidence to defect to Prince Ning’s side, right?” Yu She’s train of thought was smooth. “But if after the current emperor ascended the throne, he wanted to dispose of the people who had already served their purpose, then those people would become your protective talismans. And now… they have become the good pawns to control me with. Not bad.”
He looked at her. Pushed down the hatred in his heart. He expended a lot of effort to smile at her.
You’ve known it since long ago.
And Yu She smiled mockingly toward himself.
It turned out the harmonious relationship between mother and son in the past were merely his own delusions.
Just a while ago, Yu She had told Princess Royal Anguo that in the future, even if she turned around and defected to Xuan Qion’s side, Yu She would protect her if he ascended the throne.
Because of the times in his youth, Yu She had truly considered her as his mother.
Prince Yu had concubines who gave birth to illegitimate sons one after the other. He rarely came to the princess estate. Even though the young Yu She had abided by protocol and observed propriety to the max, he had talked back to Prince Yu a few times for her.
At that time, did those people who saw him treat it as watching a joke?
Gradually, Yu She’s eyes grew bloodshot. He closed his eyes and said to himself, “It’s fine… I’ve long since gotten used to it. This is nothing. It was like this from the start…”
Princess Royal Anguo was very regretful. In a moment of carelessness, she had failed to remove herself completely from the situation, and rushed to say, “I… I knew of this long ago, but I hid those people all along not because I’m guarding against you. Instead, I’m guarding against Prince Yu. Moreover, if I don’t leave behind this backup plan, and don’t have my own people in it, how could I have informed you of this important information?”
Yu She said in a soft voice, “Stop talking…
“I’ll try my best to find those people as soon as possible.” Yu She rose to his feet. “I will find a way… to borrow the mouths of others to bring this matter up to the emperor. And try to make the emperor and Prince Yu fight against each other…”
Princess Royal Anguo rushed to say, “Ziyou, do you blame me? You…”
“I’ll keep my promises to you.” Yu She had a splitting headache. “I will… return to my estate.”
