Chapter 127

Chapter 127

Prince Qing was so thoroughly scolded by Emperor Yongchang that he was reduced to tears.

First, he was terrified, and second, his pride couldn't take the blow.

Among the four consorts, Gentle Consort Shen was the youngest and the most fortunate in bearing children.

Empress Zhou bore two sons, both of whom died in infancy. Virtuous Consort Liu was favored for three years before conceiving. Noble Consort Du enjoyed over a decade of favor before finally giving birth to the Second Princess and the Fourth Prince. Only Gentle Consort Shen, who entered the palace at sixteen, bore the Third Prince the very next year, becoming the first and last beauty to be promoted to consort after Noble Consort Du.

With Gentle Consort Shen's favor, Prince Qing also served as a young prince for Emperor Yongchang for six or seven years. Perhaps just yesterday, Emperor Yongchang was still complaining that the eldest prince was dull and only good at rote memorization, the next day he was complaining that the second prince was as stiff and uninteresting as a block of wood, and the day after that, he was holding the three or four-year-old Third Prince's hand to catch butterflies. This made the Third Prince fearless of his father from a young age, bold enough to ask for anything he desired.

Having grown up so smoothly until fifteen, his second brother Zhao Sui suddenly earned military honors and was enfeoffed as a prince ahead of him, snatching the position of the most favored prince in their father's heart. This was Prince Qing's first real setback, so he worked even harder at his studies and martial arts. Just as he had amassed a wealth of ambitions and was ready to challenge his second brother, his second brother suddenly became disabled...

Now there was no need to compete, and the cousin he had long admired even sought to marry him. How could Prince Qing not be happy, not be proud?

Though there were missteps in the bandit suppression, he still managed to complete the mission. And in border wars, thousands or even tens of thousands of soldiers perish, so what did the loss of a mere thousand prefectural soldiers in Tanzhou matter? They were but a minor blemish on his otherwise successful bandit suppression.

On the journey back to the capital, Prince Qing indulged in many daydreams, one of which was his father soon formally naming him crown prince.

The grander his dreams, the more jarring it was when his father suddenly unleashed this unprecedented scolding. With his eldest brother, second brother, two prime ministers, his maternal grandfather, the six ministers, and those esteemed dukes and generals all watching, Prince Qing's courage and pride crumbled. He knelt on the ground, trembling and choking back sobs.

Prince Kang knelt nearby, observing his third brother's pitiful condition. He felt both satisfaction that the third brother likely couldn't rival him anymore and a twinge of sympathy, wondering if he, as the eldest brother, should plead for leniency for the third brother.

But plead for what?

His father had no intention of punishing the third brother physically or stripping him of his title. Would a prince of his stature truly be reduced to poverty by forfeiting a year's stipend? A three-month confinement would, at worst, tarnish his reputation. He couldn't plead for his father to reduce the punishment by a month or two.

And so, Prince Kang remained kneeling in silence.

He was no different from Prince Qing's maternal grandfather, Minister of Personnel Shen Shiyan. Initially, he might have shouldered some of the blame for his grandson, but once Peng Daji's memorial reached the capital, Shen Shiyan approached Emperor Yongchang to confess his fault, saying that he had made a mistake in recommending Feng Gui as the Prefect of Tanzhou. Emperor Yongchang refrained from blaming Shen Shiyan, merely instructing him to attend to his duties.

Amid the silence, Emperor Yongchang was the one to finally speak in the hall, addressing Prince Qing with these final words: "You may leave, but remember to send me a self-reflection memorial every ten days."

He only pursued Prince Qing's carelessness and incompetence in the hall, leaving him some visible merits, but Prince Qing knew how many mistakes he had really made.

If Prince Qing could truly reflect on himself, confess all his mistakes, including admitting his arrogance, vanity, and greed for merit, and be willing to reform, Emperor Yongchang would still give him a chance to serve as a prince. Otherwise, Prince Qing would only be a "leisure prince" for the rest of his life.

"Your son will definitely reflect, I hope Your Majesty takes care of your health, your son takes his leave."

After kowtowing three times, Prince Qing quickly wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve, then slowly stood up. Without looking at anyone, he lowered his eyes and strode away.

As he left the hall, Prince Qing heard his father calmly order the court meeting to continue.

Prince Qing, who was ordered to reflect in seclusion, could even skip paying respects to his mother and consort. He directly returned to the Songfeng Hall, which his father had allocated for him and his wife to live in. Ignoring the bowing eunuchs and maids, Prince Qing, with a dark face, locked himself in the front courtyard.

Zheng Yuanzhen received the news of Prince Qing's arrival at the North Garden while accompanying her mother-in-law and mother on a garden tour. The scenery outside the palace was vast and beautiful, and the garden inside the palace was luxurious and elegant. There was no need for long journeys or riding in carriages; one could stroll whenever they felt like it, and when thirsty or tired, there were long corridors to sit in, with maids ready to serve tea and water.

After meeting the Emperor, Prince Qing would definitely go to the West Palace to pay his respects, so the three women went to Gentle Consort Shen's palace to wait.

They waited and waited, until after the court meeting, Shen Shiyan sent a young eunuch to deliver a message to Gentle Consort Shen.

After hearing the young eunuch's words, Gentle Consort Shen turned pale and froze in her seat. Zheng Yuanzhen, who had just been teased by her mother-in-law and mother until her face turned red, still kept her head down, but there was no longer any color in her face.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were both frightened and anxious. Grand Princess Fucheng was furious. After dismissing the palace servants, Grand Princess Fucheng looked at Gentle Consort Shen, "The Emperor has visited you twice in the past half month, didn't you notice any signs?"

If they had been able to detect the Emperor's anger, they could have prepared in advance, such as having Prince Qing plead guilty before his arrival. How could it have come to this, with Prince Qing losing face in the court meeting as soon as he returned to the capital?

Grand Princess Fucheng was forty-seven, nine years older than Gentle Consort Shen. Whether in age or the royal demeanor of a grand princess, Gentle Consort Shen had to respect her.

When Grand Princess Fucheng pressed the issue, Consort Rou, recalling the Emperor's demeanor when he saw her, felt wronged and her eyes reddened: "The Emperor treats me as he always has. If there were any signs, I would surely have noticed."

The only difference was that the Emperor was unusually vigorous those two nights. Consort Rou thought it was because the Emperor was so pleased with their son's achievements that he rewarded her in this way...

Grand Princess Fucheng immediately recalled her brother's behavior during their walk—it was indeed flawless!

With no one on their side to blame, Grand Princess Fucheng thought of Noble Consort Xian and gritted her teeth: "Even if a thousand soldiers died, it was because of a traitor near the Prefect of Tanzhou. Xun-ge himself was almost in danger. Even if the Emperor doesn't reward him, he shouldn't be so angry. Someone must have exaggerated Xun-ge's faults in front of him!"

Noble Consort Du was beautiful, and Noble Consort Xian's favor was due not only to bearing Prince Kang but also to her eloquence, always speaking grand truths that even the court historians would praise.

Consort Rou: "So what? The Emperor has blamed us, and the decree is final. Xun-ge has lost face in public and must be suffering. I need to see him. He was even injured in Tanzhou, and I don't know if he's fully recovered..."

Grand Princess Fucheng's gaze pinned her to the chair: "The Emperor has ordered him to remain in seclusion for reflection. He cannot leave, and no one can visit him. If you go, you’ll just give someone ammunition to accuse you before the Emperor."

Consort Rou realized she was too anxious and finally looked at her daughter-in-law.

Zheng Yuanzhen lowered her eyes: "I’ll head back now."

Grand Princess Fucheng accompanied her daughter out. Seeing her daughter's pale face, she softened her voice and comforted her: "Don’t worry. It’s just a temporary setback. Let Prince Qing thoroughly reflect for these three months. Afterward, he can go to the Emperor and reflect properly. There will still be chances. I’ll figure something out with Prince Kang."

Zheng Yuanzhen couldn’t stop trembling and looked at her mother with tears in her eyes: "Is there really still hope?"

If the Emperor was angry, he could have scolded Prince Qing privately. Why did he have to make such a public scene in court?

Zheng Yuanzhen didn’t pity Prince Qing, but she was afraid that he would completely lose the Emperor's favor, afraid that she and her mother would lose both their reputation and their advantages, ending up with nothing.

Grand Princess Fucheng firmly held her daughter's hand, her gaze gentle yet resolute: "There is. I won’t let you endure this injustice for nothing."

"After saying goodbye to her mother, Zheng Yuanzhen, accompanied by her maid, headed east. Passing by Prince Kang and his wife's Qinghui Hall and Prince Hui and his wife's Yunshan Hall, she noticed how quiet it was inside.

Zheng Yuanzhen knew that Yao Huang had taken Chen Ying, the two side consorts, the children, and the two princesses out to play. Today, it seemed they were playing chuiwan, a simple game that both adults and children could enjoy.

Yao Huang, Prince Hui.

If Prince Hui hadn’t been crippled, he would have been Emperor Yongchang's undisputed choice for Crown Prince, and she would have long been Princess Hui, calmly waiting to become Crown Princess.

But there were no ifs. She was now Prince Qing’s wife.

Entering Songfeng Hall, Zheng Yuanzhen immediately felt the servants' fear. Learning that Prince Qing was in the inner room of the front courtyard, she left her maid outside and entered alone.

The door to the inner room was not closed, only a layer of gauze curtain hung. Zheng Yuanzhen stood outside the curtain and softly said: "Third Brother, I'm back."

Before marriage, she had always called Prince Qing "Third Cousin." After marriage, Prince Qing found "cousin" too distant and asked her to call him "Third Brother."

There was no response from inside.

Zheng Yuanzhen lifted the curtain and entered, her gaze sweeping the room. She saw Prince Qing's python robe discarded outside the bed, and he lay horizontally on the bed, his black boots kicked off to the side, likely after he had lain down.

Zheng Yuanzhen slowly approached the bed. As soon as she looked over, she met Prince Qing's icy eyes, glaring at her: "I sent you a message. Why did you only come back now?"

Zheng Yuanzhen: "...I was at Consort Rou's place. I thought you would go to pay your respects to her first..."

Prince Qing laughed, a laugh uglier than a cry: "Then why didn't you keep waiting for me there?"

Zheng Yuanzhen knew he was upset after being scolded. She sat by the bed, took his hand, and said: "Third Brother, don't be like this. The Emperor's sudden outburst caught us off guard. We are all suffering with you."

Prince Qing turned his head, glaring fiercely at the inner side of the bed. His cousin's words were harsh, but he knew she was only concerned about him.

Seeing that he had calmed down somewhat, Zheng Yuanzhen asked with confusion, "Father has always doted on you since childhood, almost never showing anger. Why did he suddenly blow up like that today? Did you accidentally do something wrong in Tanzhou that Father found out about?"

Upon hearing this, Prince Qing abruptly shook off her hand, sat up, and glared at Zheng Yuanzhen with a sarcastic tone, "What wrong could I have possibly done? You looked down on me even before I left the capital, and now you think it's all my fault, don't you? You think if I had listened to you, I wouldn't have ended up like this, right?"

It was just a matter of suppressing the bandits. Father didn't trust him, his grandfather didn't trust him, and even his mother, aunt, and cousin—these women—all looked down on him!

If only they hadn't been constantly nagging him, he wouldn't have been so eager to achieve merit, and he wouldn't have neglected to investigate Prefectural Governor Feng!

"Get out, I don't want to see you right now."

Pointing to the door, Prince Qing looked at Zheng Yuanzhen with an expression of utter disgust.

Zheng Yuanzhen left in a fluster.