Chapter 239: Preparing for a Confrontation at the Morning Court
Chapter 239: Preparing for a Confrontation at the Morning Court
The Prince of Qi and his entourage had been busy for most of the day and were now returning from Tang Fu's residence.
The prince had only hastily eaten a mouthful of food for lunch before rushing off to attend to this matter.
Now that he was finally back, he could report on the outcome.
Seeing the smile on his face, the Prince of Qi knew that the result must be favorable.
As expected, Sui Si briefly recounted what had happened, including how he had delivered the mutton leg, and added, "Your Highness was also concerned about the Fifth Young Master and thought that the mutton leg would help replenish his body."
After hearing this, the gatekeeper of Tang Fu's face turned green!
Sui Si found the whole situation amusing, especially considering that he had pretended to be clueless and said those silly things while delivering the mutton leg.
Hehe!
The outcome was indeed favorable.
The Prince of Qi laughed heartily.
If it weren't for the concern of disturbing the young lady's rest, the prince would have laughed even louder.
Lately, the Prince of Qi's mood had been rather heavy.
Anyone would be disturbed if they couldn't have children and their lifespan was affected. It was only natural to feel anxious about such matters. However, he didn't want his children to worry, so he put on a strong front.
Now, hearing about the reaction of Tang Fu's gatekeeper, even though it wasn't from the Tang family themselves, the Prince of Qi was delighted.
Bullying his daughter?
Hmph!
Who did they think he was? He wouldn't just stand by and do nothing.
Thinking about the other members of the Tang family, the Prince of Qi coldly huffed, "It's only because I'm kind-hearted that I'm not persuading my royal brother to let the Tang family's young lady become a concubine to my dear nephew right now. Why create all this fuss? If I had an evil mind, I would have gone to the palace and suggested that. But since I can't bring harm to the young lady of Tang Fu, I can still target Tang Da Ren, can't I? I'll find an opportunity to attend the morning court and give him a piece of my mind!"
Sui Si: ...
Prince, don't some of your concubines in the back palace have very young ages? Aren't they also innocent women?
But of course, he couldn't say anything against his master's wishes. Sui Si knew that he had to share the same thoughts and be loyal to his master. Rebellious thoughts were unacceptable.
The Prince of Qi planned to find an excuse to attend the morning court and confront Tang Da Ren. Since his son was at fault, he couldn't very well take it out on a child, so he decided to seek revenge on the child's father instead.
As it turned out, the opportunity for this confrontation presented itself in the afternoon.
On this day, the young masters of the manor had stayed at the mansion to continue their cultural studies and had not come to the village.
However, a messenger from the palace arrived with a summons for the Prince of Qi to attend the early morning court the following day.
Of course, to ease the prince's worries, the messenger quietly revealed that the morning court was being held regarding the young lady and Tuan Tan.
It seemed that there would be a bestowal of rewards.
After hearing this, the Prince of Qi happily accepted and instructed Sui Si to give a reward to the messenger before seeing him out. Then, he turned back towards the house, deep in thought.
"I wonder what my royal brother will bestow? Silver? I don't lack that."
"Land? If it's fertile land in the Jiangnan region, that would be quite nice."
...
The Prince of Qi and Sui Si speculated for a while, coming up with various possibilities.
Moreover, he had already made up his mind. If, by any chance, his royal brother was stingy with the rewards, he would use these speculations to demand more from him.
After all, the importance of Tuan Tan had already been emphasized by the Marquis of Hu Guo.
So, royal brother, please don't be stingy!
We're all family here. It doesn't matter who keeps that thing in their pocket.
With the prospect of receiving rewards from the palace, the Prince of Qi was in high spirits.
In the afternoon, he took Sizhu on a wild run around the village.
Sizhu's hat had blown off several times, and Xiang Gu almost couldn't keep up with the father-daughter duo.
Even Shen Huatang, usually so dignified, let go of her composure and ran with them, filled with joy.
As for Liu Hemeng, she went completely wild with excitement.
Her hair came loose several times, and it was only thanks to Nuan Dong, who chased after her, that it was retied neatly.
As the sky gradually darkened, the Prince of Qi reluctantly led the three young ladies back to the city.
If it weren't for the morning court the next day, and if he wasn't accompanied by someone else's daughter, Prince Qi would rather not return to the manor.
It would be great if he could just live happily with his precious daughter outside the city.
Unfortunately, they had to go back.
As they passed through the city gates, Prince Qi's thoughts turned to Car Wang, that troublemaker, and his face darkened as he quietly asked Sui Si, "Is that damn Car Wang dead yet?"
The conditions in the Sky Prison weren't ideal, to say the least.
Who knew if she had kicked the bucket in there? Prince Qi mused, hoping that she hadn't died, as that would be too good for her! She deserved to be cut into eight pieces and torn apart by five horses!
Sui Si thought, how am I supposed to know that?
It wasn't like he could just casually inquire about the affairs of the Chief Justice.
But when the prince asked, he couldn't very well say that he didn't know, so he could only respond vaguely, "It's hard to say, she might be gone by now?"
Prince Qi knew that he was just placating him, but he didn't get angry. He just huffed a couple of times and then went back to playing cat's cradle with Sisi.
Originally, Sisi had been playing with Liu Hemeng, while Shen Huatang cheered them on from the sidelines, occasionally offering guidance to the two girls.
However, Prince Qi butted in, and Liu Hemeng's little face puffed up in anger, though she dared not voice her displeasure.
Seeing this, Prince Qi burst into laughter, "Don't puff up like that, don't puff up, you'll explode!"
Liu Hemeng: ...!!!
Ahhhhhh!
Sisi looked conflicted, wanting to stand up for her sister but also not wanting to upset her father. The little girl looked back and forth between the two, at a loss for what to do.
How could Prince Qi bear to see his precious daughter in such a dilemma?
So, he scooped Sisi into his lap and sat her comfortably, smiling as he said, "Sisi, don't be afraid. Father won't bully anyone anymore, I won't bully anyone."
Hearing this from her father, Sisi nodded obediently and then wrapped her arms around his neck, softening her voice as she said, "Thank you, Father. You're the best!"
With that, Prince Qi was completely smitten, lost in the sweet chorus of "Father, you're the best" coming from his daughter.
Even as they returned to the manor, the smile remained on his face.
Princess Qi had come to greet them at the entrance, and seeing the smile on the prince's face, she knew that he must have had a wonderful time.
With this, the princess felt somewhat relieved.
It was alright as long as the prince didn't remain brooding.
Feng Xuanrui and the others had not gone to the manor that afternoon, and they were filled with resentment.
As soon as the prince and Sisi returned, they swarmed him, chattering away like a flock of magpies.
Prince Qi tried to respond to them left and right, and before he knew it, Feng Xuanrui had teamed up with Feng Xuanbin, and they had taken Sisi away, holding her upright between them.
Prince Qi looked on in surprise, "What?!"
My precious daughter, how could you just leave me like that?
His heart shattered into a million pieces, and the moment the little rascals realized their goal had been achieved, they abandoned him without another word, leaving him and the princess standing at the entrance, a picture of desolation.
Liu Hemeng and Shen Huatang had also run off with the others.
However, they would soon be returning to their respective homes, and they couldn't keep playing with Sisi forever.
The two little girls bid each other farewell, holding back their tears as they parted ways with their respective grandfathers.
Shen Huatang was more reserved, her emotions hidden beneath a calm exterior.
But Liu Hemeng wore her heart on her sleeve, her face falling as she was lifted onto the carriage by Liu Dafu, her eyes brimming with tears.
It was only after Sisi coaxed her a few times and added, "See you tomorrow," that she finally calmed down.
With that, they bid each other farewell and boarded the carriage with their grandfathers.
Prince Qi thought that now that the two little girls were gone, he could finally hold his precious daughter again.
But when he turned around, he found the little brats had already formed a circle around Sisi, leaving him no opportunity to cut in.
Prince Qi: ?
I'm the father, I'm the biggest here, aren't I?
(End of Chapter)
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