DLWAV CH41

At the end of the sixth month of the twenty-fifth year of Yuanxi, the Eighth Prince returned to the capital under the escort of the Duke of Wei, Xia Jingyao.

However, this time, the only people who came outside the city to welcome him were the First Prince and some of his subordinates.

“Big Brother.”

Seeing the First Prince, Ao Ruize pulled on the reins and dismounted.

“It is good that you returned safely. It is good.”

The First Prince patted Ao Ruize on the shoulder. While guiding him toward the city with an arm around him, he spoke as if to himself, “Old Eight, Big Brother knows you must be feeling terrible inside.”

“But in this matter, you truly went too far.”

“After all, as a subject and a son, the one thing you cannot and should not forget is your status.”

“But fortunately, Imperial Father is not a suspicious man. His current dragon’s wrath is mostly due to Old Four’s instigation. Once Father’s anger subsides, Mother Consort and I will go to him and plead for mercy on your behalf. If Father is in a good mood, perhaps he will restore your princely title.”

After saying this, he turned to look at Ao Ruize. “Old Eight, what do you think?”

He thought that after this incident, Ao Ruize would surely be much more well-behaved and would treat him with even more respect.

Ao Ruize looked at him and simply smiled, saying, “There is no need.”

“You and I are brothers born of the same mother; it is only right that I help you…”

Halfway through the sentence, the First Prince realized that Ao Ruize wasn’t saying, ‘Then I’ll trouble you, Big Brother. Don’t worry, Big Brother, if you encounter any trouble in the future, your younger brother will go through fire and water for you without hesitation,’ but rather, ‘There is no need.’

“What?”

Before his voice had even faded, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Because at that very moment, he noticed a long line of carriages and sedan chairs following behind Ao Ruize.

This shouldn’t be.

After all, although Emperor Yuanxi’s order was for the Duke of Wei to “escort” the Eighth Prince back to the capital, in reality, wasn’t it to strip him of his military power on the spot and escort him back as a prisoner?

So what was happening now?

Most importantly, those carriages and sedan chairs were all too familiar to him—

Just then, the carriages and sedan chairs came to a halt.

One by one, key ministers of the court lifted the curtains and stepped out of the carriages or sedan chairs.

Seeing the First Prince, they bowed politely. “Greetings to the First Prince.”

The First Prince was bewildered. “You… what are you doing?”

The ministers simply smiled and said, “It is like this: We heard that His Highness the Eighth Prince’s carriage was approaching the capital, so we specially came ten miles out of the city to welcome the Eighth Prince back.”

The First Prince’s face froze.

When Ao Ruize had returned to the court the previous two times, not all of these key ministers had been present. Yet today, every single one of them was here.

And this was under the circumstance where Emperor Yuanxi had supposedly just stripped Ao Ruize of his title.

Intuition told the First Prince that something had gone beyond his predictions.

But before he could speak, Ao Ruize spoke again: “Eldest Brother, if I were to snatch something of yours, you would forgive me, right?”

“After all, you are my own older brother!”

The First Prince subconsciously replied, “Of course.”

Then, he realized something.

These words sounded somewhat familiar.

Ao Ruize smiled. “That is good.”

With that, before the First Prince could react, he reached out and patted the First Prince on the shoulder, then lifted his foot and continued walking forward.

Only then did the First Prince realize that, at some point, this eighth brother of his had grown even taller than him.

Seeing this, the key ministers bowed to the First Prince and then all followed after Ao Ruize.

Soon, this news reached the ears of the Fourth Prince, who was celebrating lavishly with his subordinates.

A strong sense of unease immediately surged in his heart.

He didn’t understand. Why were those key ministers suddenly so respectful to the Eighth Prince?

And why did the Eighth Prince suddenly dare to disregard the First Prince?

On what grounds did the Eighth Prince stand?

Don’t forget, he was just a cripple now.

His future wealth and glory depended entirely on the First Prince and himself…

Just then, as if realizing something, the Fourth Prince’s expression changed drastically.

“Impossible. This is absolutely impossible—”

But soon, he knew he had guessed correctly.

Because that afternoon, a clear decree was issued from the palace.

It read:

“The Emperor, who governs by the Mandate of Heaven, decrees: The Eighth Imperial Son, Zhao Ruize, manifests heroic brilliance daily, and his natural gifts are pure and beautiful. Thus, carefully obeying the Mandate of Heaven, consulting the ancient rites, and complying with the sentiments of the people, I reverently inform Heaven, Earth, the Ancestral Temple, and the Altars of Soil and Grain to confer upon him the Book and Seal, installing him as the Crown Prince to take his rightful place in the Eastern Palace, to give weight to the eternal lineage, and to unite the hearts of the Four Seas.

Proclaim this to the world, that all may know.

1st Day of the 7th Month, Yuanxi Year 25.”

Crash!

The teacup in Consort Xian’s hand smashed directly onto the floor.

Almost simultaneously, the First Prince and the Fourth Prince grabbed the inkstones at their hands and smashed them viciously onto the ground, shattering them into dust.

The First Prince roared hysterically, “Has Father gone mad?”

The Fourth Prince’s eyes were bloodshot. “Zhao Ruize is neither the eldest nor born of the legitimate wife (Empress). On what grounds does Father appoint him as Crown Prince? Moreover, he is already a cripple!”

First Prince: “What about those ministers in the court? Why didn’t they stop Father?”

The next second, the Fourth Prince grabbed a teacup and smashed it to the ground as well.

Because the answer was already too obvious—

Emperor Yuanxi and the entire court looked down on them. They would rather choose the “crippled” Zhao Ruize than choose them.

But the Fourth Prince still held onto a shred of luck. “But aren’t they afraid… aren’t they afraid that the vassal states will mock Great Yang when they hear this news?”

However, they soon realized the truth.

The strongest among the vassal states, the Oirat, had been annihilated by Zhao Ruize’s troops. Although the Chongnan Kingdom and the Neimati Tribe hadn’t been completely destroyed, their lands were already in shambles; they likely wouldn’t recover for a hundred years.

So now, those vassal states were too busy fearing Zhao Ruize—how would they dare mock him?

In other words, they didn’t even have a final chance to turn the tables!

Thinking of this, their vision went black.

Upon receiving this decree, the civil and military officials who were still in the dark were naturally in an uproar, which goes without saying.

Especially the nobility.

Do not forget, when Emperor Yuanxi reopened the Imperial Selection, they had completely disregarded Ao Ruize because they disdained him as a cripple.

One can imagine their regret. If they had married their daughters to Ao Ruize back then, they would now be ascending to heaven along with him.

But now, Ao Ruize was an existence they could no longer hope to climb up to.

Their intestines were turning green with regret.

Inside the Imperial Palace, Emperor Yuanxi sat high on the throne, while Ao Ruize sat formally below.

As soon as the decree was sent out, Emperor Yuanxi couldn’t wait to call Ao Ruize “Crown Prince.”

After saying it, he smiled even more happily.

Before this, he never knew the words “Crown Prince” could sound so pleasant.

It took him a good while to compose himself.

Then, as if thinking of something, he said with a loving expression, “Aside from this, is there anything else you want?”

Now that the treasury had money, his back had unconsciously straightened a lot.

Ao Ruize smiled.

He said, “Actually, there is indeed something this son wants right now.”

Emperor Yuanxi: “What is it?”

Ao Ruize: “This son hopes Father can bestow the former Duke of Zhao’s residence upon me.”

Emperor Yuanxi: “The former Duke of Zhao’s residence?”

He remembered. The “former Duke of Zhao” Ao Ruize mentioned was that fellow who, years ago, delayed military intelligence, causing the deaths of several thousand soldiers at the hands of bandits, and was subsequently stripped of his title and exiled by the Emperor.

He vaguely recalled that the residence was right next to the Duke of Wei, Xia Jingyao’s, estate.

Emperor Yuanxi simply said, “Bestowing that house upon you is no issue, but it has been abandoned for over a decade…”

“Then this son thanks Father in advance.”

Ao Ruize looked at him and said frankly, “Actually, this son does not want that house to live in. I only wish to have a resting place outside the palace. This way, I won’t have to use the Duke of Wei’s back door at night, and I won’t have to climb over the wall in the morning.”

Emperor Yuanxi: “…”

The first two sentences were fine, but what did the last two mean?

What did he mean by ‘won’t have to use the Duke of Wei’s back door at night’ and ‘won’t have to climb over the wall in the morning’?

‘Back door’, ‘climbing walls’… were these proper terms?

Emperor Yuanxi was completely stunned by the bombshell Ao Ruize had suddenly dropped.

Because Ao Ruize’s meaning was clearly that he was having an illicit affair with someone in the Duke of Wei’s household.

Who could it be?

Was it the Duke of Wei’s widowed older half-sister? Was it the Duke’s aunt who was staying there? Or perhaps one of the former Duke’s concubines who were also widows?

—No matter which one, this was not something the Crown Prince of a nation should be doing!

Emperor Yuanxi finally processed it.

Then he realized that Ao Ruize had already walked far away.

Emperor Yuanxi: “…”

However, just as Ao Ruize exited the Taiji Palace, he was stopped by someone.

The person was none other than Consort Xian.

She looked excited. “Old Eight, you’re finally back! Do you want to come sit at Mother Consort’s place?”

“Mother Consort.”

The smile on Ao Ruize’s face faded.

He simply said, “I have a lot of official business to handle this afternoon, so I won’t go.”

With that, he lifted his foot to leave.

Consort Xian got anxious and quickly reached out to block Ao Ruize. “Mother Consort knows you are busy now, but no matter how busy you are, it’s not urgent enough to miss a moment.”

“Mother Consort hasn’t seen you for a long time. I just want to sit down and chat with you. Oh right, I also made your favorite Silver Ear and Lotus Seed Soup and…”

“Enough.”

Ao Ruize interrupted her directly. “I have never liked Silver Ear and Lotus Seed Soup.”

It was only because the original owner admired and longed for Consort Xian’s affection. Since Consort Xian made Silver Ear and Lotus Seed Soup often, the original owner ate it often. Gradually, the soup became the thing the original owner craved most in his memories.

But Consort Xian had ultimately betrayed that admiration.

The expression on Consort Xian’s face froze completely.

She thought back carefully. Indeed, the Eighth Prince had never said he liked Silver Ear and Lotus Seed Soup.

She used to make it often because the First Prince constantly clamored for it.

Thinking of this, the unease in Consort Xian’s heart almost solidified into substance.

But she still tried to explain. “Old Eight…”

Ao Ruize, however, brushed her hand away.

He looked at Consort Xian and simply said, “Consort Xian, do you remember when the flood happened in Yunzhou? The First Prince suddenly ran to your palace to complain that he was too busy with official duties and really couldn’t spare the time to go to Yunzhou for disaster relief, lamenting that such a good opportunity for merit would be wasted?”

The expression on Consort Xian’s face froze completely.

Facing Ao Ruize, who wore a faint smile but had eyes devoid of any warmth, only one sentence remained in Consort Xian’s mind: Old Eight knows.

Yes, he was so smart; how could he not guess that the First Prince had deliberately said those words back then just to lure him into going to Yunzhou in his stead?

Because the First Prince suspected there was a trap in the Yunzhou flood matter but didn’t want to waste a potential opportunity for merit, he came up with the idea of letting the Eighth Prince go.

That way, if there really was a trap in Yunzhou, it wouldn’t hurt him.

And if the Eighth Prince successfully completed the task, the credit would still be counted as his.

He must also know that she had later guessed the First Prince’s intention but, for the sake of the First Prince, chose to play deaf and dumb.

Ao Ruize simply said, “Go back. If the First Prince finds out that you couldn’t wait to come and curry favor with me the moment you heard I became Crown Prince, he will certainly be very unhappy.”

He spoke lightly, “When that happens, you might lose even your last remaining son.”

With that, without waiting for Consort Xian to react, he left her behind and continued walking forward.

Support me on Ko-fi