Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Prince Xin inquired, "What happened?"

Lu Ming looked towards the commotion, "Seems like the children are quarreling."

Prince Xin, unconcerned, said, "Children quarreling, huh? It's nothing, they’ll settle down soon. Come, try this flower cake."

Some people joined Prince Xin in eating, drinking, and chatting leisurely.

Pei Yanli glanced at Xiao Yu, "Should we go and check?"

Xiao Yu shook his head, his gaze remaining fixed.

Pei Yanli observed the children's table and said, "That child is Zhu Huan, the heir of the Dongbo Prince's household, six years old."

Xiao Yu inquired, "Is he highly favored?"

Pei Yanli nodded, "Yes, his grandfather Zhu Hong died saving the late Emperor."

Xiao Yu further asked, "Was he granted the title of prince for this?"

"Exactly. When the late Emperor had just ascended the throne and the political situation was unstable, he faced an assassination attempt. Old Prince Zhu saved the Emperor, taking dozens of arrows. He held on until reinforcements arrived, then died of his wounds. The Emperor, grateful for his loyalty, conferred upon him the title of Dongbo Prince. Thus, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager place great importance on the Dongbo family. Zhu Huan, although a prince's heir, is treated no less than a prince. His mischief is often overlooked, and no one dares to reprimand him."

Xiao Yu felt displeased, "So, he dares to shout at His Highness."

Lu Ming tried to diffuse the situation, "It's just children's quarrels, no need to overthink."

Yet, Xiao Yu frowned, "I'm not so sure."

Lu Ming hesitated, then asked, "Should we go and help?"

After a moment's silence, Xiao Yu decided, "Let the children handle it themselves first."

Zhu Huan continued at the children's table, yelling at Danzi, "You're the thief! Thief! Robber!"

"You’re the thief!" Minghe boldly retorted, "You’re the robber!"

Zhu Huan, ignoring Minghe, angrily pushed Danzi, "It was you!"

Danzi, small in stature, swayed to the side and pushed back Zhu Huan in return.

Zhu Huan, the little tyrant of the Dongbo Prince's household and a bully in the capital, had never been pushed before. Stunned, he then lunged at Danzi, shouting, "I'll make you cry!"

Danzi, appearing gentle and soft, was only so in appearance; he was brave and strong inside. He immediately stood up to fight back against Zhu Huan.

Being two years younger, Danzi soon found himself at a disadvantage, retreating step by step, but his spirit did not wane in the slightest.

"Brother! I'll help you!" Minghe stepped forward and pushed Zhu Huan.

Zhu Huan stumbled back, then used all his strength in his arms, legs, and body to desperately shove Minghe and Danzi, knocking over the snacks and floral tea on the table. Unaware of the chaos he caused, he gritted his teeth and shouted, "I'll make you two cry!"

The other children, all well-mannered, had never witnessed such a scene. They stood up in fright and kept retreating.

Minghe and Danzi, used to play fights with Jin Dabao, Tian Liu, and Yu Tongtong in Shuiqing Alley, and other neighborhood kids, were no strangers to scuffles. They quickly gained the upper hand, pushing Zhu Huan to the ground, falling themselves but clearly in a better position.

Zhu Huan opened his mouth to bite Minghe's hand.

Seeing this, Danzi acted first and bit Zhu Huan's wrist.

Finally feeling the pain, Zhu Huan screamed, "Help me!"

"Young Master!"

"Your Highness!"

"Young Master Ming!"

The palace staff, seemingly just realizing the situation, hurried to pull the three children apart.

The female guests noticed the commotion and all rushed over.

"Huan, my child!" The wife of the Dongbo Prince, seeing Zhu Huan's disheveled hair, dirty face, and disordered clothes, hugged him in distress and turned to Danzi and Minghe, "Your Highness, Young Master Ming, why would you do this to my son?"

"Mother, he stole my thing!" Zhu Huan cried, pointing at Danzi.

"I didn’t!" Danzi replied.

"What did you lose?" Minghe asked.

The Dongbo Prince's wife, not daring to openly blame Danzi, turned to Minghe, "Young Master Ming, if you don’t know what was lost, why fight the young prince?"

"He started it!" Minghe claimed.

"He pushed me first! I only pushed back after he pushed me," Danzi explained.

The wife of the Dongbo Prince, not willing to argue with the two children over this, comforted Zhu Huan by wiping away his tears, saying, "Don't cry, it's just a lost item. I'll buy you a new one when we get back," implying she didn't want to pursue the matter further.

"It wasn't lost, he stole it, a Luban lock! He said he had never seen such a beautiful Luban lock and liked it, so he stole it!" Zhu Huan accused Danzi, insisting, "Mother, search him, search him and you'll know!"

"How dare you!" The wife of the Dongbo Prince scolded Zhu Huan, "His Highness is the Emperor's eldest son, he would not concern himself with your little Luban lock."

"He does care, it was him, it was him." Zhu Huan, spoiled and undisciplined, continued to rant regardless of the setting.

"Be quiet!" The wife of the Dongbo Prince sharply pulled Zhu Huan's arm.

Sensing his mother's seriousness, Zhu Huan stopped his outburst and whined softly.

The wife of the Dongbo Prince, smiling apologetically to the Empress Dowager and the Empress, said, "Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, my son has acted inappropriately and offended His Highness, causing this embarrassment. Please punish him as you see fit." Though her words seemed conciliatory, her demeanor suggested she was seeking sympathy and perhaps even special compensation from the royal family.

The Empress Dowager, however, remained silent this time.

Given the old Prince's life-saving deed, the royal family usually showed some leniency to the Dongbo Prince's family. The Empress, knowing that neither the Empress Dowager nor the Emperor paid much attention to the Crown Prince and with the second prince having more supporters in court, followed the usual approach of downplaying the incident, saying, "Your words are too serious, Madam. It was merely children playing. No need to worry, please take Zhu Huan to clean up. We'll be dining soon."

"Yes," the wife of the Dongbo Prince said, preparing to leave with Zhu Huan.

At this moment, Danzi spoke up, "The Luban lock hasn't been found yet!"

"Yes, we still haven't found the Luban lock!" Minghe added.

The steps of the wife of the Dongbo Prince and Zhu Huan halted simultaneously.

Both the Empress Dowager and the Empress turned their attention towards Danzi.

"How can we leave without finding the Luban lock?" Although Danzi didn't understand that by leaving, the wife of the Dongbo Prince and Zhu Huan were implicitly accusing him of theft, and that this accusation would forever stain his reputation, he vaguely sensed that the matter shouldn't end like this. Thus, he boldly expressed his thoughts.

The Empress paused slightly, taken aback.

"Let's search!" Minghe took the lead, looking around. "Everyone, let's search together."

Danzi also began to search.

Hearing this, the Empress glanced at the Empress Dowager and unsurprisingly saw her serious expression. Unable to read her emotions but understanding her silence as agreement with the Crown Prince, she raised her voice, "Everyone, search for the Luban lock!"

Only then did the palace staff scatter to search for the Luban lock.

Some men from the guests' side also started looking around.

Xiao Yu didn't join the search, silently watching Minghe and Danzi.

Lu Ming commented, "Look at that, Prince Zhu cries out, and immediately the princess, ladies, and palace staff surround him with questions and concern. The Crown Prince and Minghe, on the other hand, have no adults around them, looking quite pitiable. Should we go and support them?"

Pei Yanli remained silent.

Although Xiao Yu felt a pang of sympathy, he knew that Danzi and Minghe would face various challenges in the Imperial Academy and the court in the future and must learn to resolve problems on their own. As always, he watched from a distance, ready to step in only if absolutely necessary.

"Found it!" Suddenly, a young eunuch picked up the Luban lock from a path and hurried over to the Empress Dowager and others.

"Prince Zhu, is this your Luban lock?" the Empress asked Zhu Huan.

"Yes, this is it!" Zhu Huan quickly clutched it to his chest.

"Was it found on that small path?" the Empress Dowager looked ahead.

The young eunuch replied, "Yes."

"Empress Dowager, the Crown Prince and Minghe didn't walk on that small path!" a child suddenly spoke up.

The Empress Dowager asked, "Princess Ying, how do you know this?"

"Because I thought they looked nice, I wanted to play with them, so I followed them. We came from the cobblestone path," Princess Ying pointed to another path laid with cobblestones. "We didn’t take the small path, I remember very clearly."

"Right, we walked on the cobblestone path!" Danzi said.

Minghe added, "Uncle said walking on cobblestones is like a massage, so we like it."

The cobblestone path was far from the small path; even an adult couldn't throw the Luban lock from there to the small path, meaning the Crown Prince couldn’t have stolen Zhu Huan's Luban lock.

The wife of the Dongbo Prince’s face turned ashen. She hastily apologized to the Empress Dowager and the Empress, "Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, it was my son's mistake, wrongly accusing the Crown Prince. Please punish us."

"Is only Prince Zhu at fault?" the Empress Dowager asked slowly.

The wife of the Dongbo Prince’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly responded, "I am at fault, Your Highnesses. I failed in my parenting. Please punish me."

"Indeed, both should be punished," the Empress Dowager said quietly.

The wife of the Dongbo Prince was startled. Relying on the old Prince's hard-earned merits, their family had enjoyed privileges and care from the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress. Hearing the word "punish" now sent chills down her spine.

However, the Empress Dowager didn't specify the punishment but slowly turned to the Empress, "Your Majesty."

The Empress felt a tightening in her heart and bowed her head, responding, "Mother Empress."

The Empress Dowager asked, "Do you understand your position?"

The Empress was unsure of the Empress Dowager's implication.

"You are the mother of the nation and the stepmother to Yuanheng, Yuanping, and Yuanyin. Watching your own child being falsely accused, you sought to smooth things over rather than seeking the truth. Have you ever considered Yuanheng's perspective?" the Empress Dowager questioned.

With Emperor Yongxi in poor health, and the Empress herself also frail and unlikely to bear children, whichever prince ascended the throne would ensure her position as the Empress Dowager.

She treated both Yuanheng and Yuanping the same.

However, seeing Yuanheng with little power and generally overlooked, assuming he would not ascend the throne, she neglected him. Now, realizing she had angered the Empress Dowager, she hastily admitted her fault, "This consort is at fault."

The Empress Dowager addressed everyone, "Yuanheng is the Emperor's eldest son, my eldest grandson. He is upright and proper in conduct and does not deserve to be slandered or maligned!"

Initially, no one had discerned the Empress Dowager's concern for the Crown Prince, but now they understood and became cautious, resolving never to underestimate the Crown Prince again due to his lack of support.

Danzi looked at the Empress Dowager, blinking twice.

The Empress Dowager extended her hand to Danzi and Minghe, "Yuanheng, Minghe, come here."

The two children approached and took the Empress Dowager's hand.

Holding the children's small hands, the Empress Dowager walked out of Yixiang Garden without another word.

She left behind a group of male and female guests standing still.

After a while, Lu Ming regained his composure and said, "With the Empress Dowager stepping in, no one will dare underestimate His Highness now."

Xiao Yu slightly raised his lips.

Pei Yanli witnessed this and smiled as well.

The Empress Dowager, holding the hands of the two children, walked for quite a while, almost reaching Ciheng Palace.

Danzi called out, "Great Grandmother."

The Empress Dowager slowly stopped and looked down at Danzi, "Hmm?"

"Great Grandmother, are you angry?" Danzi asked.

The Empress Dowager replied, "I am not."

Minghe candidly pointed out, "Empress Dowager, you're lying. Your nostrils were flaring. I heard it."

The Empress Dowager was momentarily speechless.

Danzi stretched out his little hand, attempting to soothe the Empress Dowager, but he was too short to reach her chest. Instead, he patted her stomach, saying, "Great Grandmother, don't be angry, don't be angry. When you get angry, you cough, and coughing is uncomfortable."