280, The Prince Returns

280, The Prince Returns

A month later——

Beijun Pingcheng·Dingwangfu

Goose feather-like snowflakes drifted down with the wind, covering the entire north.

Zhao Lang returned to Pingcheng, Beijun, when the first snow fell in Beijun.

The carriage stopped at the gate of Prince Ding's Mansion, and he got out. Looking at the familiar gate of Prince Ding's Mansion, he remembered the scene that year when he left home with his family and got on the carriage to Kyoto Prefecture.

He had left Beijun not long after his eighth birthday, and now, when he returned here, he was already a grown man.

[This Beijun, this Pingcheng, this Dingwang Mansion, he is finally back! ]

However, the guards at the gate of the palace were all unfamiliar faces, and they were probably no longer aware of him, the prince of Prince Ding's palace.

Thinking of this, Zhao Lang took out a token from his arms and gave it to the guard beside him.

Li Qun stepped forward with their prince's token, but was stopped by the long spear in the hands of the guard.

The guard looked at the group of people at the gate of Prince Ding's mansion with a wary look in his eyes, "Who are you?"

"Open your eyes and see what this is!" Li Qun pushed the token in front of the guards.

"This, this is..." The guard saw it more clearly and recognized it as the token representing the prince of their Dingwang Mansion. Looking at the young man surrounded by people, didn't he look a bit like their prince?

Could it be that this person is really the prince who was taken hostage in Kyoto Prefecture as mentioned in the legend?

Didn't they say that their prince was taken hostage in Kyoto Prefecture? I haven't heard that he was released. The guards looked at each other, some suspicious and some uncertain.

Li Qun was very angry when he saw that these guards didn't even recognize his own prince. He asked, "How dare you guys greet the prince after he came back?!"

The guards then put away their spears and saluted the prince who stepped forward, saying, "Subordinates, greet the prince."

When the doorman saw that it was their young master who came back, he hurried back to inform the housekeeper.

When the old butler received the news, he was shocked at first, then delighted. He quickly sent someone to inform the princess, and he himself hurried to the gate with his men.

When he arrived at the gate of the palace, he saw their prince leading people in. The old butler paused for a moment, stared at the young man walking in front, and his breathing stagnated.

The young man in front of them had a pair of phoenix eyes and a handsome appearance. Didn't he look exactly like their prince when he was young?

After seeing the man's appearance clearly and confirming that it was indeed the grown-up prince of their family, tears welled up in the old housekeeper's eyes. He ran forward with a few big strides, crying, "Prince, it's really you who are back!"

"Old servant, old servant welcomes the prince back to the mansion." The old butler knelt down and bowed deeply to their returning prince.

"Welcome back to the mansion, Prince." The servants following behind also knelt down to welcome their prince back to the mansion.

Zhao Lang took a step forward and helped the old housekeeper who was kneeling in front of him, "Uncle Chen, get up quickly."

"Thank you, Prince." The old housekeeper didn't dare to ask their prince to help him. He stood up by himself and looked at their prince who had returned. He remembered that when their prince left the mansion that year, he was just a little boy, but now he has grown so big. "I didn't expect that the prince still remembered this old slave."

"Of course I remember." Zhao Lang said.

***

Upon receiving the news, Princess Ding hurried out with a group of servants and saw her eldest son standing in the courtyard.

Almost at first sight, she recognized the man who had returned as her biological son whom she had not seen for many years.

The mother and son looked at each other from a distance. Princess Ding looked at her eldest son in front of her, tears welled up in her eyes, and she shouted, "Son——" and ran towards her eldest son who had returned.

"Mother." Zhao Lang couldn't help but take two steps forward and caught the hand of his original mother.

Prince Ding threw himself into his eldest son's arms, hugged him, and burst into tears, crying, "Lang'er, you are finally back. Do you know how much I missed you during all these years when you were away?"

"After you left, I was worried that you would be bullied outside. When it was cold, no one gave you more clothes... My son, I am sorry for you. I made you suffer outside."

Zhao Lang hugged his mother, who threw herself into his arms. Listening to her cries and words, he recalled the years he had been a hostage in Kyoto Prefecture, the growing distance between him and his family, and his father's indifference to him, as if he had lost his son.

As for his mother, she hadn't paid much attention to him since she gave birth to her youngest son. He used to resent her, but after Lu Mingfei came into his life, his complaints towards her had decreased significantly.

Compared to his father's indifference, his mother would at least send people to Kyoto to send him gifts and write him letters every year, worried that he would be bullied and have a bad life outside.

This is his biological mother, they are his biological mother and son, and the only relative in the world who still cares about him.

Sighing slightly in his heart, Zhao Lang also knew that his family, especially his mother, was someone he could not let go of. He took out a handkerchief from his bosom and wiped his mother's tears, "Mom, please stop crying. I'm back, aren't I?"

Princess Ding took the handkerchief handed to her by her eldest son and wiped her tears. She raised her head from his arms and looked at him, who had grown up. When she thought of the suffering he had endured during these years when she was not able to see him, her heart ached as if someone was cutting her heart with a knife. "You, you have grown so big, and you have lost so much weight..."

"When you were out there, didn't you eat well and take good care of yourself?"

"No, mother, I took good care of myself and ate well outside. I just grew up." Zhao Lang looked at his mother and said seriously.

Looking at her eldest son in front of her, and thinking that he had grown up without her seeing him, Princess Ding felt extremely guilty and sorry for the child.

While the mother and son were talking, Concubine Li and Concubine Yang from the palace came out with all the concubines and beauties in the backyard, as well as all the illegitimate sons and daughters in the palace.

Concubine Li, who was dressed up in all her splendor, saw the princess standing in the courtyard and shouted, "Sister, I heard that the prince is back..."

"This, is it, the prince?"

"The prince has grown up so much now. He looks so much like the prince when he was young." The latter sentence was said by Concubine Yang.

Compared to Concubine Li who was dressed in brightly coloured clothes and wore heavy makeup, Concubine Yang wore a plain robe and only had a light makeup on her face. She looked refined, elegant and graceful.

The two concubines have been very favored in the palace over the years. Even though many women came into the palace later, they were unable to shake their status.

Even in these years, Concubine Li's status in this palace is slightly higher than that of the principal princess.

Seeing these women from the harem arrive, Princess Ding instantly put away all the sadness on her face, wiped away her tears, glanced at the two concubines leading the group, and announced to everyone present: "This is Lang'er, the Crown Prince of our Ding Palace."

Zhao Lang was unfamiliar with his father's women before, and even less so now. Therefore, when he saw these women coming, he simply stood beside his mother and said nothing.

"I have met the prince."

"Meet the second brother."

Upon hearing this, the concubines and beauties at the back, as well as the illegitimate sons and daughters of the palace, all bowed to the returning prince (the legitimate brother).

"No need to be so polite, everyone, please stand up." Zhao Lang raised his hand and asked everyone to stand up.

"Thank you, Prince/Thank you, Second Brother." These concubines and beauties, as well as the young masters and young ladies of the palace stood up and looked at the Prince (legitimate brother) who had returned.

Concubine Li looked at the mother and son in front of her, a flash of resentment flashing through her heart. With a smile on her face, she deliberately asked, "But, sister, didn't the prince go to Kyoto to study? We haven't received an edict from the emperor saying that the prince should come back. Why did the prince come back?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire courtyard fell silent in an instant.

"Pa!" Princess Ding raised her hand and slapped him.

"ah--"

After being slapped, Concubine Li fell directly to the ground, covered her face and looked at the woman who hit her, crying and asking, "Sister, why did you hit me?"

"How can you not bear to see my son go home? Ah? Li Wan'er, what are your intentions?" Princess Ding had tolerated this bitch for so many years, but this time she couldn't bear it anymore and slapped this bitch in the face.

Ever since her eldest son left home and went to Kyoto Prefecture, the son born to this lowly woman, Li Wan'er, took her son's place, joined the army, became a major general, and now has become the right-hand man of her husband, Prince Ding.

Obviously, that position should belong to her son!

And that vile woman, Li Wan'er, because her son had gained power, had been constantly opposing her in the palace's inner courtyard, always trying to outdo her. She had put up with this woman for so long, all these years, just for her son! Now that her eldest son had returned, this woman was still stirring up trouble!

"I, I didn't do that..." Concubine Li covered her face and started crying, looking like she was wronged.

Zhao Lang didn't even glance at the woman lying on the ground. He held his mother's hand, looked at her palm, and said to her with a distressed tone, "Mom, next time if someone says something wrong or does something wrong, just let the people below punish her. Don't do it yourself. It would be painful if you hurt your hand."

"It's still Lang'er who knows how to feel sorry for his mother." Princess Ding looked at the love in her eldest son's eyes. She thought of her husband who had favored his concubines over the years, and she felt a pang of heartache.

Zhao Lang held his mother's hand and patted it, with a soothing look in his eyes.

Concubine Li looked at the mother and son, who were both loving and filial, but did not take her seriously, and she hated them even more in her heart!

Seeing that something was amiss, the old butler hurried out to smooth things over, asking their princess, "Princess, since the prince has come such a long way, why don't you invite him back to his room to sit down and rest for a while, and have a cup of hot tea? I'll have someone clean up the courtyard and prepare water for him to bathe."

"Well, by the way, ask the kitchen to send some hot food back to my courtyard." Princess Ding took her eldest son's hand and turned to leave.

The servants behind were busy catching up with their mistress and the prince.

"Yes." The old housekeeper responded and arranged for the servants behind him to do their work.