Remarrying Chun Yuan

Chapter 330: Heartbroken

As Yuan Cuo spoke, it seemed more like he was talking to himself.

Liu Yuechu had already fallen asleep, having a sweet dream, without even having a dream.

Prince Chun was even more sleepless at this time, because he had not received any news from Emperor Qi Xiao.

Where has Grandpa Fuyue gone?

There is no problem for the State of Chu to defeat the State of Qi. What price would it take for Chu to completely demarcate the western region and establish a new state?

And then there's Yuancuo.

Not only his appearance, but even his carefree, nonchalant demeanor was similar to hers. Did he truly not care about the princely title? Did he harbor no hatred?

Prince Chun's mind was racing with calculations.

I looked up and saw that the moonlight outside the window had faded, and the cool, misty white was now tinged with a faint orange glow. Another day had passed.

He summoned the eunuch serving outside the door, who was the grand-disciple of Eunuch Fuyue.

After washing up and changing his clothes, Prince Chun prepared to enter the palace.

But at this moment, someone from the palace came to deliver a message: "His Majesty dreamt last night that His Highness was seriously ill from overwork, and he was restless this morning. He specially sent servants to bring His Highness some calming tonic soup. His Majesty also said that His Highness has been working hard since returning to the capital, so he doesn't need to get up early to attend court."

"At noon today, Your Highness will enter the palace again to dine with His Majesty."

……

Prince Chun's shirt was still missing a button, and after a moment of hesitation, he ripped it off.

"Your Majesty truly cares about me. I will obey your decree." He smiled, but his tone was icy.

The eunuch who delivered the message didn't dare to say anything more, and after bowing, he hurriedly left.

Prince Chun looked at the calming soup they had brought and instructed his servants to open it and take a look.

The soup was extremely dark in color and even smelled somewhat bitter.

"The ginseng flavor in this soup is too strong." The little eunuch covered his nose and took two steps back.

Prince Chun naturally wouldn't drink it; he simply threw himself down under a peach tree by the door, saying, "Always so sarcastic and unpredictable, why bother?"

He took off his royal robes and changed into casual clothes. He didn't wait until noon to enter the palace to dine with Emperor Qi Xiao; he went straight to the palace.

After discussing court affairs with his ministers, Emperor Qi Xiao prepared to discuss the military mobilization in detail with several of them.

Cheng Hai hurriedly leaned close to his ear and said, "Prince Chun arrived early this morning and went to the Empress Dowager's Buddhist shrine. He has been copying scriptures ever since."

Emperor Qi Xiao frowned. Was this a show of force?

"Send someone to keep an eye on things and report back to me at any time."

"What about lunch?"

"Prepare as usual."

Cheng Hai agreed and sent someone to inform the imperial kitchen. He also summoned his young apprentice to keep an eye on the Empress Dowager's Buddhist hall.

Prince Chun copied a copy of the Heart Sutra, dried it, and then put it directly into the incense burner used for the Empress Dowager's sacrifices.

The Heart Sutra was burned, producing a faint wisp of smoke. In the adjacent side hall, Consort Yu was offering sacrifices to the Empress Dowager, her mind also unsettled, praying for Qin Muyan's well-being.

Unexpectedly, a puff of smoke came in, causing me to cough.

The attending matron rushed over aggressively to question him, but unexpectedly saw Prince Chun. She immediately kowtowed and said, "Greetings to Your Highness."

Prince Chun ignored her and, seeing Consort Yu standing at the door with a look of disgust on her face, he looked at her directly.

Consort Yu is no longer a Noble Consort, and is considered to be of equal rank to Prince Chun, but she is His Majesty's concubine, so Prince Chun should be the first to pay his respects.

Besides, this is the inner palace; how can an outsider like him just come in like that?

"Your Highness is indeed very attentive, praying for your son's well-being, but a prince is a prince. No matter how much your elder brother values ​​him, he cannot seize the position of Crown Prince." Prince Chun was stirring up trouble, and Consort Yu naturally understood.

But she had also heard Qin Muyan mention Prince Chun, and knew that he might be able to lend a hand. "Your Highness misunderstands. I only hope that Yan'er will be safe and well in the distance and make contributions to His Majesty. As for the things you mentioned, I have never thought about them."

“Hehe…” Prince Chun laughed out loud, spread out the paper and moistened his pen, “This is the Empress Dowager’s ancestral hall, where Buddha is worshipped. Aren’t you afraid of breaking the taboo and being punished by Buddha for speaking so insincerely, sister-in-law?”

"Heaven and earth can bear witness to my heart. What mother doesn't long for her children's health and well-being?" Consort Yu glanced at Prince Chun. "I almost forgot that His Highness Prince Chun has no children, so he can't understand this feeling. However, Yan'er is filial. If Your Highness takes good care of him, he will not forget Your Highness in the future." Her last sentence was pointed.

A drop of ink from Prince Chun's brush fell onto the paper.

The stain spread across the paper, forming a black dot the size of a fist.

"Your Majesty need not worry about the Third Prince. He is doing very well in Huai Prefecture. Perhaps now that he has left the capital, he no longer needs to hide his ambitions. However, he has forgotten that his mother is still a hostage in the palace. He truly does not care about you."

He put his pen to paper and, following the dark black dot, drew the character "卒" (pawn), hoping only that he wouldn't become a pawn.

He put down his pen, turned, and left.

Consort Yu was shocked, angry, and worried by his inexplicable words. "What does he mean? What does 'not hiding his ambition' mean? Yan'er is very filial, how could she forget me? She even said that I am a hostage..." She was indeed dumbfounded by this sentence.

"Your Highness need not worry about it. Prince Chun has always been hot-tempered and arrogant, and his words are often cryptic," the old nanny advised from the side.

Consort Yu felt something was amiss. "When Mother last entered the palace, didn't she mention that many members of the Jiang family had gone to Huaizhou with Yan'er?"

"I think I mentioned it briefly," the old woman said, trying to recall.

"He also wrote to me, hoping that I could raise money for him, and asked me not to tell His Majesty."

"They say the Liu family withdrew a large sum of money from Huaizhou, and His Majesty has to make up for it himself." The old woman spoke softer and softer.

Ambition? Money? Military?

Yu Fei was speechless. "He...he wouldn't..." She dared not continue, she only felt a chill on her neck.

The old woman quickly denied it, telling Consort Yu not to overthink things. "The Third Prince is indeed a bit arrogant, but he's not so unreasonable. Your Highness, please don't panic over just one sentence from the Prince!"

Consort Yu was instantly exhausted.

How could she not have wild thoughts?

Because her father had been secretly trying to make Yan'er seize power in the Eastern Palace.

However, Qin Muyan had been having a run of bad luck lately. She made several mistakes that angered His Majesty, and on top of that, that spoiled brat Fuyao was constantly picking fights with the Liu family, which even led to Qin Muyan being demoted to the rank of concubine...

"No, I absolutely cannot let His Majesty misunderstand. Go see His Majesty quickly and tell him that I have invited His Majesty to the palace for lunch and that I will cook for him myself."

The nanny sent someone to announce the news, and the young eunuch quickly ran back, "Your Majesty, His Majesty had lunch with Prince Chun at noon."

"?!?!?!?!" Consort Yu was in a terrible headache. What on earth was going on?

"Return to the palace! Return to the palace immediately! Go and invite Father here. I must explain everything to him carefully and thoroughly. He absolutely cannot act on his own!"