Chapter 60, Dragon Boat Festival.
Chu Heng asked Zijuan to bring hot water and personally helped Daiyu wash her face. He also took the opportunity to wash and groom himself. When he was done, Daiyu was opening her makeup box and applying perfume to her face.
Chu Heng leaned closer and smelled it, saying, "It smells like peonies, but it didn't smell like this yesterday."
Daiyu laughed and said, "You have a sharp nose. Yesterday's was rose-colored, but we ran out, so we changed to this one today. Which one do you like?"
Chu Heng thought about it carefully for a moment and replied, "I like what you use."
Daiyu gently scolded, "Sweet talk."
"I mean it sincerely." Chu Heng took her hand. "I'll be busy starting tomorrow, and I might not be back on time for dinner. Don't wait for me, eat first."
Daiyu didn't say whether she agreed or not, but only asked, "Is this matter concerning Prince Qi... truly true, or does His Majesty want to eliminate the root of the problem?"
Chu Heng said, "There's no need to wait until today to eliminate the root of the problem, nor is such a grand gesture necessary. In my opinion, it's because Prince Qi has truly committed many evils that the Censor has been summoned. As for His Majesty, he's merely using this as an excuse to get rid of him so that he won't be an eyesore in the future."
Daiyu nodded: "No matter the reason, Prince Qi has involved his old friends, so this matter is tricky. Be careful."
Chu Heng laughed and said, "Don't worry, I took a break today."
Daiyu was taken aback, and it took her a while to react: "If you slack off today, the Emperor will summon you and reprimand you tomorrow. You'll be forced to do it and have no choice but to put in the effort..."
The emperor would feel comfortable entrusting Chu Heng with power now if he wanted to use him, but Chu Heng couldn't just think about the present; for him, the future was the most important thing.
Chu Heng's laziness was for the emperor's benefit. He didn't want to seize power, much less covet it. He wished he could be a carefree prince who loved ease and didn't want to work. It was only because the emperor threatened him that he was forced to take power.
In addition, this attitude was also meant for the Empress Dowager's benefit. Chu Heng did not actually side with the Emperor much, but he could not disobey the Emperor's orders, and he had to do it many times so that the Empress Dowager would think that she had a lot of room to use and win over Chu Heng.
Kill two birds with one stone.
Daiyu wanted to praise his intelligence, but she couldn't help feeling sad. His current caution was a remnant of past wounds.
"That's really clever," Daiyu said with a smile. "When you realize that the Emperor wants to discard you after you've served your purpose, you can submit a memorial, crying and begging to go and be enfeoffed, and then we can have our way."
Chu Heng nodded first, then frowned slightly: "That is indeed my plan, but isn't it a bit too unsightly to cry and shout like that?"
“Your Highness, sometimes we can’t be too concerned about saving face,” Daiyu said.
“Miss Lin, sometimes you have to maintain some self-respect,” Chu Heng said.
The two exchanged a smile, chatted for a while, and then went to bed to rest.
Fortunately, God blessed me and allowed me to meet you.
In the stillness of the night, Chu Heng gazed intently at Daiyu, secretly vowing to himself that he would take her away from this quagmire of the capital.
...
The next day, the emperor indeed summoned Chu Heng. He first gave him a few words of reprimand, and then spoke at length with great earnestness. The gist of his words was that he was to teach Chu Heng to follow the instructions of the officials and learn how to perform his duties. His elder brother, the emperor, had high hopes for him and told Chu Heng not to let him down. Chu Heng reluctantly agreed.
By the time Chu Heng found the three adults who had already begun diligently interrogating the prisoners, it was already late morning.
"I'm late, please forgive me," Chu Heng said apologetically.
"No, Your Highness, please sit down." All three stood up to offer them seats.
Chu Heng sat down without ceremony: "His Majesty just called me over and scolded me, so I can't be lazy anymore. But I don't know anything about these things, so I'll have to trouble you gentlemen to teach me."
The way you sit here asking someone to teach you shows such a serious and sincere attitude towards learning. If they had treated their teachers like that back then, their palms would have been smashed to pieces.
However, no matter how much they complained in their hearts, the three high-ranking officials had to respectfully express that although they were not very knowledgeable, they were very willing to teach the prince.
Chu Heng nodded, chin raised: "Hmm, where to begin?"
The three of them: "..."
Chu Heng is not someone who doesn't respect his teachers; he's just being respectful now, which is called being humble. But if word gets out later and people start saying he's courteous to scholars, he'll have no way of explaining himself.
Being the emperor's beloved younger brother and a noble prince in the royal family meant one had to be proud and arrogant, because the more others disliked him, the more the emperor liked him.
And so, Chu Heng was busy until the Dragon Boat Festival. Although he didn't leave early or return late every day, he finally stopped being lazy in the yamen and was willing to learn how to do his job, even though he was sitting and having people teach him.
The Empress Dowager planned to hold a family banquet and watch a play for the Dragon Boat Festival. Three days in advance, she sent someone to the Prince Duan's residence to deliver an imperial edict, summoning Chu Heng and Daiyu to the palace.
When Chu Heng returned in the afternoon, Daiyu told him about it and showed him the Empress Dowager's reward: "The Dragon Boat Festival gift, Eunuch Zhao said there will be another one on the day I enter the palace, it's the same every year."
"Hmm." Chu Heng casually picked up a fan and fanned himself a couple of times. "We finally have a day off, but we still have to go to the palace. I'm sorry to trouble you."
Daiyu smiled and said, "There's a play and a banquet, what's there to feel wronged about? Besides, I haven't seen Yongkang for quite some time."
“You haven’t seen me for quite some time.” Chu Heng turned and gently fanned Daiyu. “Why don’t you mention me? That’s too biased.”
Daiyu asked in surprise, "When did I disappear? Don't we see each other every day?"
Chu Heng shook his head seriously: "Where have we met during the day?"
Daiyu chuckled: "You're so irreverent. I'm not talking to you anymore."
Daiyu left him and went to tell the maids to hang up the mugwort and calamus.
The royal family is very particular about celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival. Although the Prince Duan's residence is outside the palace, in previous years Zhao Qing always followed the palace rules when making arrangements, and Chu Heng never interfered. This year, Daiyu took over, so she instructed the servants to do it according to the rules.
Chu Heng hurriedly followed, adding, "We'll have to drink realgar wine then, and I hate that taste the most."
Daiyu covered her mouth and chuckled: "You don't like realgar wine? Could it be that you're the White Snake?"
“You’re even whiter, you’re like the White Snake.” Chu Heng held Daiyu’s hand and examined it closely.
Daiyu laughed out loud: "Is that what Lady White Snake said?"
The two chatted and laughed, and time flew by. Before they knew it, it was time to go to the palace for a banquet.
That day, Chu Heng and Daiyu changed into their formal attire and put on their Five Poison Sachets. As they were about to leave, Daiyu stopped him: "Why isn't it the one I made for you?"
With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, Daiyu had recently embroidered a sachet with the five poisonous creatures for Chu Heng to wear on the festival. However, he was carrying a different one today.
Chu Heng held her hand and smiled tenderly, "I couldn't bear to wear the one you made, so I put it away carefully a long time ago. This one... I don't know which maid made it. I'll have to ask Eunuch Zhao."
Zhao Qing, who was standing nearby, quickly replied, "Your Highness, it was made by the embroiderers in the manor. The Prince mentioned the other day that he wanted a sachet like this for the Dragon Boat Festival, so I asked them to send this over."
Daiyu nodded, and when she looked at Chu Heng, she couldn't help but smile and say, "You've kept all the purses I gave you before, and you've never used them?"
"How can it be used?" Chu Heng said matter-of-factly.
Daiyu felt comforted, but couldn't help but chuckle: "It's just a purse. It was made for you to use. If it gets torn or lost, I'll just make you another one."
Chu Heng hurriedly said, "No, no, this won't do..."
“Okay,” Daiyu said firmly. “I want to see you wear the one I made.”
These words struck at Chu Heng's weak point. He had nothing to say and let Daiyu do as she pleased, eventually wearing the Five Poisons Sachet she had made herself.
Daiyu nodded and smiled, "My needlework is not good, but it's not shameful."
Chu Heng helped her step over the threshold, and upon hearing this, he strongly disagreed: "You're just too modest. If that's not good, then there's nothing good in the world."
"What have I done that you can't tell me?" Daiyu smiled, pursing her lips. "I'm afraid that one day when I need to kill someone, you'll hand me the knife!"
“That won’t do.” Chu Heng immediately shook his head. “How can I ask you to do such a thing? Tell me, and I’ll instruct someone else to do it.”
Upon hearing this, Daiyu burst into laughter, leaning back and forth. She held onto her phoenix crown with one hand and said, "Don't make me laugh. It's quite a hassle to get dressed like this."
Chu Heng was innocent; he was clearly just telling the truth, but he still obediently kept quiet.
All the way to the palace, the emperor and empress were in Renshou Palace, showing filial piety and chatting with the empress dowager. Hejia and her children had already arrived, along with several princesses with their children and husbands, and several princes with their wives and children.
Chu Heng and Daiyu first bowed to the Emperor, Empress Dowager, and Empress, and then greeted everyone below them before taking their seats in order.
The Empress Dowager then smiled and said to the Emperor, "Look how busy Heng'er is. He never arrived this late in previous years. How is he doing with his duties these days?"
Chu Heng thought to himself that this was blatant lying. He had arrived much later in previous years than he had this year. If he hadn't been afraid that the Empress Dowager would find fault with Daiyu, he wouldn't have come so early to play along with their act of family harmony and prosperity.
The emperor laughed and said, "A few days ago you were thinking of slacking off, and I gave you a good scolding. Now you've changed and are very diligent."
The Empress Dowager said, "The Emperor has always doted on him, but he only says that. How could he really bear to scold him? I don't believe it."
"I only have this one younger brother, who else should I love more than him?" the emperor said, glancing at Chu Heng.
Chu Heng felt a wave of nausea and turned to speak to Daiyu, but saw Princess Wen'an smiling and speaking first.
"I heard someone say the other day that my fifth sister-in-law has not yet returned to her parents' home. Is that true?"
Chu Heng said, "Since you can hear this, you must not have a hearing problem. Didn't you hear the imperial edict posthumously conferring titles upon my wife? My wife's parents have both passed away. Now that you mention this, I would like to ask you, why didn't you go to pay your respects to Consort Zhaomin when you entered the palace today?"
Wen An's mother had passed away, and upon hearing this, his face paled. He said sharply, "I was just saying something nice, why is Fifth Brother acting like this? Fifth Sister-in-law's parents are indeed dead, but the Jia family raised her. They've disregarded their years of kindness in raising and educating her..."
Wen'an didn't finish her sentence, not because Chu Heng stopped her, but because Daiyu suddenly covered her face and wept: "Eighth Sister is absolutely right. Over the years, my maternal grandparents have treated me very well."
Wen An stared at her in disbelief. This couple was both crazy; one would curse whenever she wanted, and the other would cry whenever she wanted. What kind of job had the Empress Dowager given her?
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