Chapter 85 (None)

Consort Lin emerged from her palace, a cold winter wind brushing her face. Granny Zhong stepped forward and pulled up her hood, which she grasped, gazing blankly at the darkening sky before bowing her head and walking outside.

"Have Lin Fei and the others come to the palace tomorrow. I want to see them," Consort Lin instructed.

Granny Zhong hurriedly turned around and instructed the young palace maid. Glancing at Consort Lin's expression, she said, "Your Highness, the First Prince couldn't beat the Second Prince. He was momentarily angered and made some mistakes due to his youthful impetuosity. Please don't take it to heart."

Consort Lin remained silent, her expression as gloomy as the sky. Just then, she heard footsteps approaching from the alley ahead and looked up.

Emperor Yuanming and his entourage approached. He frowned and asked, "Is Arui alright?"

“Your Majesty, Arui has taken his medicine and is resting,” Consort Lin replied.

Emperor Yuanming had originally planned to visit Xiao Yunrui, but upon hearing that he was already resting, he stopped. He looked at the sky, hesitated for a moment, and said, "If he rests at this time, he probably won't be able to sleep tonight and will cause a ruckus in the palace again."

Consort Lin said, "Arui is already weak, and after losing a lot of blood, he feels dizzy and unwell, so he should rest for now."

"How do you usually take care of him? I've told you before that Arui is weak and that you should watch over his meals carefully and not let him be picky. I have to worry about everything, big or small. What use are you all!"

Emperor Yuanming was already annoyed, and the more he talked, the angrier he became, especially towards Consort Lin. He snorted and glared at her angrily.

“Arui was intelligent and well-mannered from a young age, but he’s nothing special now that he’s grown up! He’s always by your side. The Lin family has been a noble and prestigious family for centuries. You, Lin Yubi, are beautiful and intelligent. My good son has been ruined by you! Arui likes to play with cats and dogs and has a withdrawn personality, all of which he learned from you! You are usually arrogant and aloof, and you treat your own son the same way. How can Arui be any better!”

Consort Lin replied without changing her expression, "Yes, it's all my fault." She bent down, her nails digging into her palms, her tightly pressed lips as white as paper.

Emperor Yuanming snorted heavily and turned to leave. Consort Lin slowly rose, her body swaying slightly. Seeing this, Granny Zhong quickly stepped forward to help her, but she gently brushed her aside.

"Your Highness." Zhong called out anxiously. Xiuyun was equally worried. She stopped Zhong Mama and shook her head at her.

Granny Zhong thought that Consort Lin had always been proud and had grown up smoothly in her maiden home, never suffering the slightest grievance. After entering the Prince's residence, although she was not a princess, she was a concubine with a proper imperial title, and even the princess had to treat her with respect.

Although Emperor Yuanming did not favor her at the time, he still respected her. After ascending the throne, he made her a Noble Consort, the head of the four consorts.

Consort Lin had never suffered such humiliation before, being berated by Emperor Yuanming. Granny Zhong couldn't help but feel sorry for Consort Lin, her expression turning indignant.

When it comes to caring for Xiao Yunrui, no one can compare to Consort Lin. She devoted herself entirely to raising him. When he had a minor headache or fever, she personally tested the medicine for him. She taught him to write and began his education, and accompanied him in his studies.

Emperor Yuanming's accusations are completely unreasonable. Xiao Yunrui is Consort Lin's lifeblood; how could she bear to see him suffer even the slightest mishap?

Back at Chonghua Palace, Granny Zhong helped Consort Lin remove her hood, her discontent still lingering. Xiuyun lit the lamps, and Granny Zhong, seeing Consort Lin's pale, thin face and weary expression in the candlelight, could no longer contain herself and said, "Your Highness, please don't be sad. Take His Majesty's words to heart. How can His Majesty compare to Your Highness's devotion to the First Prince?"

Consort Lin looked at Granny Zhong with a puzzled expression upon hearing this, then sat down on the couch and couldn't help but smile. "Granny, I'm not sad. Why would I be sad because of the Emperor's scolding?"

Granny Zhong was taken aback. After Xiuyun finished lighting the lamp, she said with a forced smile, "Her Majesty is always calm and composed. She would never take the Emperor's angry words to heart."

Consort Lin remained calm and said indifferently, "If you don't take it seriously, you won't get angry. The Emperor is the Son of Heaven; when the Son of Heaven is angry, corpses will be scattered for miles. He can scold us at will. If you want to be dissatisfied, you'll have to rebel."

Granny Zhong's expression changed, and she hurriedly said, "It's all my fault for being foolish and senile."

"Your Majesty's words are not entirely biased. Arui is Your Majesty's son, and Your Majesty has four sons, while I only have Arui. I actually forgot such a simple truth; how utterly foolish I am!"

Consort Lin deeply despised herself. She pointed at the low table, as if she were speaking to Granny Zhong and Xiuyun, or perhaps trying to sort out her thoughts.

“Arui was physically weak, but he was clever and intelligent as a child. After his early education, he did well in his studies. Later, he gradually found it difficult to read, became eccentric, and did not like to talk much.”

At this point, Consort Lin fell silent, her brows furrowing deeply, unable to understand what was going on.

After racking her brains, Consort Lin still couldn't find a solution. She looked up at Granny Zhong and Xiuyun, puzzled, and asked, "Why do you think Arui is like this?"

Xiuyun and Granny Zhong looked at each other, pondering seriously, but neither of them could figure out the reason.

"Is it because I'm too arrogant that I've made Ari so withdrawn?"

Consort Lin muttered to herself, recalling Xiao Yunrui's unusual behavior—his bloodshot eyes, his twisted and ferocious expression—and her unease grew stronger.

Xiuyun hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Your Highness, the First Prince was bullied by the Second Prince. Are you just going to let it go like this?"

"We must not act rashly!" Consort Lin sat up straight, placed her hands in front of her, and said resolutely, "When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. Right now, Arui is the most important! You all must keep a close eye on him. The Crown Prince cannot leave the house for the next few days. We must not let anyone with ulterior motives take advantage of the situation to cause trouble!"

Xiuyun hurriedly agreed, "This servant will go to the Crown Prince's palace to instruct Fushun and the others. Granny, you can prepare the meal for Her Highness."

Emperor Yuanming left Xiao Yunrui's palace, intending to visit Xiao Yunjue along the way. Upon reaching the gate, he felt agitated again, turned around, and left in a huff. After walking for a while, Emperor Yuanming found himself at Fanying Pavilion. He paused, then stepped inside.

The Fan Ying Pavilion was brightly lit. Upon entering the side hall, one could hear the shouts and laughter of Xiao Yunzan and Xiao Yunlang. Emperor Yuanming couldn't help but laugh along, scolding the two little rascals for their antics.

Xiao Yunzan and Xiao Yunlang were playing with tops under the eaves. Wen Juan set out the food, and A'Ruo lifted the curtain, "Third Prince and Fourth Prince, it's time for dinner."

"Wait a while, until the winner is decided before using it." Xiao Yunzan was having a great time, staring at the spinning top in front of him, and then whipped it in the right direction.

Just as A'Ruo was about to speak again, she saw Emperor Yuanming walk out of the side hall and turned to Jiang Ling, saying, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has arrived."

Jiang Ling's face darkened, and he immediately lost his appetite. He sat there without moving, and said impatiently, "Come on then."

Wen Juan glanced at Jiang Ling's expression and went out to greet him with A'Ruo. Emperor Yuanming walked to the eaves, where Xiao Yunlang saw him first. He picked up his whip, raised his hand in greeting, and called out "Father!" before hurriedly starting to spin his top. Xiao Yunzan, his eyes fixed on the top, scrambled to greet him along with Xiao Yunlang.

"It's so cold outside, aren't you afraid of getting cold?" Emperor Yuanming was annoyed to see the two of them so engrossed in playing. "Stop playing, go inside! Where is your mother? Doesn't she care about you?"

Jiang Ling could only get up and walk to the door. When Emperor Yuanming saw her, he immediately said with displeasure, "Be careful not to catch a cold. Since you are here, why don't you take care of them?"

The room was filled with the smell of incense, making it dry and stuffy. The two of them were constantly making a ruckus, never still for a moment, and they couldn't stand it any longer, so they looked for an opportunity to slip outside.

Since they weren't afraid of the cold and were dressed warmly, Jiang Ling went out to play with them.

Jiang Ling was furious upon hearing Emperor Yuanming's accusations, as if she were deliberately ignoring them and intending to harm them.

"The Emperor is in charge," Jiang Ling replied sarcastically.

"You're even assigning me errands now!" Emperor Yuanming choked, angrily grabbing the backs of their robes. "Get inside!"

Xiao Yunlang remained still, but Xiao Yunzan was bold. He twisted his body to break free, bent down, picked up two spinning tops, and stuffed them into his clothes.

"You still treat it like a treasure!" Emperor Yuanming glared at him. Xiao Yunzan chuckled and slipped into the house, obediently saying to Jiang Ling, "Mother, I'm going to wash my hands."

After Xiao Yunlang entered the house, he followed Xiao Yunzan. Emperor Yuanming looked at them and ordered, "Go and fetch water and prepare a meal."

After dinner, Xiao Yunzan pestered Jiang Ling, saying, "Mother, can I play with Alang a little longer?"

Emperor Yuanming put down his teacup and said, "Have all the large characters I asked for been written?"

Xiao Yunzan blinked his bright black eyes and said, "When Father set up the calligraphy, he said he would check it a year later!"

Emperor Yuanming was stunned and said incredulously, "When did I say I would stay for a year?"

Xiao Yunzan said confidently, "Father once said that he would check at that time, which would be a year."

Jiang Ling wanted to punch him, but Emperor Yuanming was so angry he laughed and said "Good!" several times. "Ten large characters, you little rascal, you plan to finish them in a year. How could you even say that? Aren't you ashamed? I'm ashamed for you!"

Xiao Yunzan raised his hand in a bow, his little face tense and serious, and said, "Thank you for being embarrassed on my behalf, Father. But I am not embarrassed, so there is no need for you to be."

Emperor Yuanming stared at Xiao Yunzan in disbelief, then looked at Xiao Yunlang, who was kicking the carpet beside him, and finally at Jiang Ling beside him.

"Do you usually just let them have their way?"

Faced with Emperor Yuanming's questioning, Jiang Ling's anger flared. She restrained her emotions and said to Xiao Yunzan and Xiao Yunlang, "Go back to your rooms. You only need to play for half an hour. You must wash up and go to bed to rest."

The two responded one after the other, exchanged greetings, and then skipped and hopped back into the house together. Emperor Yuanming watched them intently for a long while before saying, "You, Jiang Shi, completely disregard my words! You let them go back to their room to play, without mentioning their studies at all! You're ruining my perfectly good son!"

"The room is dark at night, and there will be endless homework to do when it's time to go to school. Why rush?"

Jiang Ling was extremely annoyed and cursed Emperor Yuanming in his heart. He said coldly, "Since he is the emperor's son, the emperor should just take him to the Chuigong Hall to raise him, so that I don't spoil him. I can't bear the blame for spoiling a prince."

"How dare you talk back!" Emperor Yuanming was so angry that his head ached. He said sternly, "You are ignorant and incompetent, and you expect my son to be the same. A-Zan is clever, but he doesn't put his mind to his studies. As his mother, don't you feel it's a pity? A-Lang is still young and should be taught proper manners!"

"What the Emperor says makes absolutely no sense."

Jiang Ling initially tried to hold back, but couldn't help but retort, "The Emperor constantly claims they are his sons, but when has he ever truly cared for them? How much does he really understand them? A-Zan and A-Lang study during the day, and their homework isn't just about writing large characters. Writing large characters isn't something that can be done overnight; it requires strong wrists first. They are still young; recognizing characters is enough for them. A-Lang recognizes hundreds of characters and can recite them from one to one hundred. A-Zan has recognized most of the Thousand Character Classic, can recite the multiplication table, and knows simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Both are lively, clever, and well-mannered. Apart from the Emperor, no one can find fault with them!"

Emperor Yuanming felt extremely complicated. Xiao Yunrui and Xiao Yunjue were fighting all the time, and their studies were mediocre. What he didn't expect was that Xiao Yunzan and Xiao Yunlang, who played around all day, had already learned quite a few characters in addition to writing large characters, and their arithmetic was not lagging behind either. In fact, they were even better than their two older brothers.

For a moment, Emperor Yuanming was speechless. He coughed awkwardly and said dryly, "You are right, but you are a bit lacking in manners. Fine, I will not hold it against you."

Although Emperor Yuanming, as their father, usually only gave verbal instructions, Jiang Ling didn't mind and preferred to teach them herself. However, he always interfered, condescendingly pointing fingers and giving orders. He took all the credit, while blaming her for any shortcomings.

Jiang Ling viewed Emperor Yuanming as if he were facing a sticky, indistinct lump of mud. He felt utter disgust, yet he couldn't avoid it.

Emperor Yuanming sighed and said earnestly, "Arui and Ajue were both clever and quick-witted when they were young, but after they grew up and went to school, they only did so-so. I'm worried that Azan and Alang will be like them. You should pay more attention to them and not spoil them."

In Jiang Ling's view, princes did not need to take the imperial examinations. Knowing how to write policy essays and being well-versed in the classics was sufficient; mastering mathematics was the most important thing. This was because mathematics was not just about accounting, but primarily about cultivating their logical abilities.

Other benefits go without saying, but the most important thing is to avoid becoming an unreasonable and illogical scoundrel like Emperor Yuanming!

Emperor Yuanming, who had a lot to say, couldn't hold back any longer and rambled on, "Ajue likes to go out of the palace to play in the entertainment districts, and he especially enjoys cockfighting, dogfighting, and sumo wrestling. Arui doesn't like crowds, and when he goes out of the palace, he just wanders around aimlessly. Usually, he stays in the palace and has people bring in some cats and dogs to play with. It's fine if he just plays around, but I'm afraid that someone with ulterior motives will encourage him to get addicted and lose his ambition."

Jiang Ling was stunned, and hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, are you getting some cats and dogs to do with as a game, or are you killing them for amusement?"

Emperor Yuanming glanced at Jiang Ling, nodded, and said dismissively, "Some beasts, killing them is fine. What's important is if someone pays attention to their preferences and caters to them."

Jiang Ling's mind went blank for a moment, the food from his dinner churned in his chest, and he felt so nauseous he wanted to vomit.

Cats and dogs are considered animals in their eyes, and so are ordinary people.

Xiao Yunrui is a pervert, and Xiao Yunjue is no better. Cockfighting, sumo wrestling, and dogfighting are all forms of entertainment based on stimulation and bloodshed.

Consort Lin and Consort Zhao must have known, and they probably thought it was not worth mentioning, just like Emperor Yuanming.

They stood high above, never bowing their noble heads to look down upon the common people, the creatures, the ants beneath their feet.

Even if they had calculated everything perfectly, they overlooked one thing: their chances of winning always lay with their son.

There are also hidden masters in the palace, who have not made a move in recent years.

Xiao Yunrui and Xiao Yunjue are now fighting each other and have tasted the bitterness of bloodshed. One day, they will kill each other!

Jiang Ling wasn't a big believer in God, but at that moment she couldn't help herself and silently prayed in her heart.

"Gods and Bodhisattvas, I beg you, let them fight each other to the death, and take Emperor Yuanming away with them!"

She wanted to rid the people of evil; she wanted to be the powerful regent empress dowager!