Chapter 101: Firecrackers
"Greetings, Your Highness. It's unfortunate that we all enter the palace through this gate; it's not surprising that we bumped into each other."
Yuan Siyin gave a perfunctory kneel.
Yuan Fuqing loves sweet snacks, especially milky nougat, but today the little guy was extremely stubborn. He hooked Yuan Siyin's little finger around her finger, glanced at it, and shook his head.
In the past, he would have happily accepted it.
"Thank you, Your Highness. I just had morning tea and I'm not hungry now."
Even if you try to bribe him with candy, it won't work if he bullies your older sister!
Yuan Fuqing puffed out his cheeks and hid behind Yuan Siyin.
Yuan Siyin unconsciously straightened her back and sighed inwardly.
The little one is currently going through a growth spurt, and in another two years she'll probably be taller than me. By then, even if I wanted to cover her up completely, I wouldn't be able to.
Yu Yuanchao smiled gently as before, waving his hand as if he didn't care, but there was a hint of desire in his eyes: "Are you going to pay your respects to the Empress Dowager? Why don't we go together and keep each other company on the way?"
Attracted by the sound of their voices, Yu Shiyan turned around and glanced at them, then silently turned and disappeared through the doorway.
"I'm afraid it's not appropriate. Your Highness should still be going to Chonghua Palace. We shouldn't keep His Majesty waiting."
After saying that, Yuan Siyin ignored him and led Yuan Fuqing across the palace gate, heading straight for Jianzhang Palace.
After Yuan Siyin left, Yu Yuanchao's expression immediately darkened, completely different from before.
Shen Ruolan didn't say much, but just smiled faintly and curtsied to him, "Your Highness, please go to Chonghua Palace quickly. Ruolan should also go and pay her respects to the Empress Dowager."
With that nod from her, Yu Yuanchao had no choice but to suppress his unease and respond.
Inside Chonghua Palace, all but Yu Yuanchao were present.
The emperor, with his hands behind his back, heard the noise at the door and couldn't help but snort coldly, exuding a strong sense of oppression: "The Crown Prince has quite the airs, keeping me waiting for so long."
Yu Yuanchao was startled, clearly not expecting his father to arrive ahead of time. He immediately lowered his head, adopting an extremely humble posture: "Your subject dares not, Father, please calm your anger!"
Considering his status as the crown prince, Yu Hao didn't dwell on it too much. He waved his hand and stopped mentioning it, then sat down, picked up a brush, dipped it in cinnabar, and wrote the character "福" (fortune).
The hall was eerily quiet.
The palace servants held their breath, not daring to utter a sound, for fear of doing something that would displease the emperor.
Anyone with eyes can see that His Majesty has been like a firecracker these past few days, setting off fires wherever he goes, from the Buddhist temple where people come to offer incense and pray for blessings all the way to Chonghua Palace.
This time, the fire has been pinned on several princes; it's just a matter of who will be the unlucky one.
"Why are you all so silent? You weren't so quiet when I wasn't around, but now you're all cowering and behaving like this!"
Yu Hao put down his pen, looked up at his sons, and inexplicably started to get angry again.
"Father's reprimand is correct. In the end, your children are not as good as Father was when he was young..."
Yu Yuanchao knew that his father was subtly bringing up his past, but no matter how dissatisfied he was, he could only bite the bullet and respond.
"All you do is talk, talk, talk! All you do is show off and make fancy moves, but I never see you do anything else!"
Do you know how the following passage is played?
In the north, frost caused complete crop failure, leading to widespread displacement and the spread of disease due to famine. The number of people who died of starvation is countless!
The emperor gave an angry shout, and everyone in the hall knelt down in unison, even their breathing became extremely cautious.
"The people are displaced and starving, and you, my crown prince, the future heir apparent! All you think about all day is those romantic entanglements!"
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