Chapter 123 Mother Won’t Beat You
"How are they?"
In the side hall, Emperor Jingxuan glanced at Asui and others who were sleeping on the bed after being moved back from a corner, and asked the imperial physician.
After the imperial physician took the pulse, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Princess, please be at ease. The young masters are just asleep."
Yun Wan's worries were still lingering, and she asked in confusion, "He just fell asleep? Then why can't I wake him up?"
"Uh." The doctor was stunned for a moment, then stroked his beard and said with embarrassment, "Maybe he's drunk."
“…”
Everyone's eyes instantly fell on the three cubs sleeping side by side on the huge bed, their faces flushed. Their eyes were so scorching that they seemed to be able to stare holes through them, and pressure suddenly hit them.
However, the three cubs were completely unaware and each turned over and adjusted themselves to the most comfortable sleeping position, which was both infuriating and funny.
Princess Yongshou glared at her son, who was sleeping with his butt sticking out, and said, "Royal brother, if that's the case, why don't we wait until they wake up tomorrow to question them?"
He knew his troublesome son very well, and his 'disappearance' and 'drunkenness' today were definitely related to Pei Qian.
Although Princess Yongshou was also very angry at the end of the day, she did not want her child to be punished too harshly by his uncle who was already angry. By the next day, no matter how angry she was, it would have mostly subsided after a night.
Concubine Shu smiled wryly and replied, "Princess, you're right. We can't wake them up right now anyway. It's better to let them get some sleep first and deal with them tomorrow."
Thinking back to how she had said in the morning that someone was trying to harm the Third Prince, but the result was completely different, Concubine Shu was so embarrassed that she wanted to find a hole to hide in.
But on second thought, she was just overly worried and missed her son too much.
Emperor Jingxuan raised his hand to dismiss everyone, and the inner court, which had been in chaos in search of the three cubs, finally returned to peace.
.........
The next day, in the main hall of Zichen Palace, the three cubs who had just woken up and had their fill knelt side by side on the smooth and hard floor.
The spirit of Emperor Jingxuan sat in the main seat, while Yun Wan and other mothers of the children sat on the sides, making it look like a three-court trial.
"Tell me, what happened yesterday?"
Asui and the others knew that they had gotten into trouble yesterday. Upon hearing this, they looked at each other and lowered their heads.
Emperor Jingxuan looked at the third prince and said, "Chenghui, you are older, you speak."
"Father, this is my fault."
The Third Prince lowered his head and said with shame, "I shouldn't have acted impulsively yesterday, leaving the palace maids behind and running off alone. I made Father and Mother worry."
After waking up today, he realized that the whole palace was looking for them yesterday.
Upon hearing this, Concubine Shu became anxious.
How could this child take the responsibility on his own initiative?
Emperor Jingxuan's expression was calm. "So, it was your idea to hide on purpose?"
The Third Prince paused, and was about to nod when Pei Qian beside him shouted, "No!"
"Uncle, I found that place and took them there. I also secretly brought the fermented rice balls from the kitchen!"
"And me."
Ah Sui raised his hand, straightened his small frame, and spoke clearly, "I went there of my own accord, and we didn't hide on purpose. It was because the Third Prince encountered a sad event that we took him to the secret base."
Emperor Jingxuan sneered.
And the secret base, these little bastards.
Yun Wan: "Your Majesty, since there is a reason for this, why don't you first listen to why the Third Prince is so sad?"
Normally, my son always stays with Pei Qian. There must be a reason why he was able to bring the Third Prince along yesterday. He even went so far as to "drink to drown his sorrows".
Concubine Shu on the side urged: "Hui'er, speak quickly!"
The third prince was silent for a moment.
"You kid, you're making me so anxious. Just speak up! If you have any grievances, just say it out loud. What are you afraid of when your father will take care of it for you?" Concubine Shu said impatiently.
Princess Yongshou frowned: "Third Prince, do you have something to hide?"
The Third Prince shook his head, but secretly glanced in Concubine Shu's direction. He raised his head and summoned his courage to speak: "Father, I heard from the palace servants that I am not Mother's biological child. Is that true?"
As soon as these words were spoken, there was silence all around.
Yun Wan and Princess Yongshou paused, somewhat surprised.
Concubine Shu's expression changed slightly: "Who told you that? Which dog slave is talking nonsense in front of you?"
It was no secret in the palace that the third prince was not her son, but Concubine Shu did not like others to mention it. Since the birth of the third prince, she ordered that no palace servants were allowed to mention it, let alone tell the third prince.
Therefore, even though this was a matter known to everyone, no one dared to offend Concubine Shu by telling the Third Prince about his life experience.
Of course, he also felt that it was unnecessary. After all, the third prince's biological mother was of humble origin, so it made no difference whether to say it or not.
The Third Prince's eyes were filled with tears: "Father, Mother, is this true?"
In fact, he understood it from Concubine Shu's reaction, but he still wanted to confirm it.
Emperor Jingxuan's expression remained unchanged. He looked at the Third Prince and said in a deep voice, "Yes, although you are not Concubine Shu's biological child, you were raised by her. She is your mother."
"Who told you this?"
A cold gleam flashed in his eyes.
The Third Prince's expression was gloomy. "It was a palace maid and a eunuch. I overheard their conversation yesterday, but I didn't see their faces."
Emperor Jingxuan said coldly, "Because you learned that Concubine Shu was not your biological mother, you threw away the palace servants and hid away alone in anger?"
His tone became more serious. The Third Prince flinched and said timidly, "Father...I know I was wrong."
Emperor Jingxuan's tone was cold and gloomy. "Do you know that those two palace maids did this on purpose, just to create discord between you and your son? If they had malicious intentions and took advantage of your solitude to kill you, would you still be able to stand here and talk peacefully today?"
His tone became stern at the end.
The Third Prince murmured, "Father..."
Disappointment flashed across his face, and Emperor Jingxuan said coldly, "You are eight years old now, not a three-year-old child who has not yet begun to understand. You should know the principle of thinking twice before acting. You take others' words to heart and don't even realize that you are being led by the nose."
He could accept his son's mediocrity, but he could never be so stupid as to be taken advantage of by others without knowing it.
"Go apologize to your mother."
The Third Prince blushed with shame, not daring to disobey his father. He apologized to Concubine Shu: "Mother, I'm sorry. I know I was wrong and shouldn't have made you worry."
Concubine Shu stepped forward and pulled him aside, her expression loving: "Good boy, it's not your fault, it's the fault of those servants."
Seeing that she did not blame him, the third prince breathed a sigh of relief.
But can the mother and son, who were not close to begin with, really be the same as before after a rift arose?
Emperor Jingxuan: "As for who your biological mother is——"
Concubine Shu's heart tightened, "Your Majesty!"
She didn't want the third prince to know who his biological mother was.
Ignoring her, Emperor Jingxuan continued, "She was frail and passed away after giving birth to you. She has been posthumously named Concubine Cui. Now that you know this, please go to Wende Hall and burn a stick of incense for her when you have time."
"I understand, son." The third prince silently took note that his biological mother's surname was Cui.
Emperor Jingxuan said: "As for Consort Shu, you have failed to control your subordinates strictly, causing the palace maids to be lazy and not fulfill their duties. You are unworthy of the word 'Shu'. From this day on, you will be stripped of your title, demoted by half a rank, and fined three months' salary as a warning to others."
"If it happens again, Chenghui will move to Nanyang Palace, where someone will take good care of him."
Concubine Shu suddenly understood what he meant.
After dealing with this, Emperor Jingxuan glanced at the two people who were gossiping with their ears perked up, "As for you two..."
The two cubs were shocked, bent over and prostrated themselves, saying loudly: "Uncle/Your Majesty, we know we were wrong!"
Emperor Jingxuan chuckled and admitted his mistake quite quickly.
Yun Wanfu was helpless, but Princess Yongshou had already thought about how to beat the child when she got back.
"Considering that this is your first offense and you haven't committed a serious mistake, go back and copy two passages from the Book of Rites five times."
The matter ended here, and Emperor Jingxuan left the third prince alone.
After leaving the palace, before Pei Qian could even remember to be happy, Princess Yongshou twisted his ear.
"Mom! Mom! Please be gentle--" he cried.
Princess Yongshou snorted coldly: "You little bastard, wait and see how I'll deal with you when I get back!"
Witnessing all this, Asui subconsciously touched his ears, turned his head and met his mother's dangerous smile.
"Don't worry, dear. Mother won't beat you."
Asui put his hands in his pockets and acted very well.
After talking with the third prince alone, Emperor Jingxuan returned to the main hall and saw Yun Wan holding the ruler, while Asui stood aside and obediently stretched out his hand.
His eyebrows twitched, and he subconsciously stopped her: "Madam, he is still young, isn't this too much..."
Yun Wan smiled: "Your Majesty, do you think I am too harsh?"
Suddenly sensing something was wrong, Emperor Jingxuan changed the subject abruptly: "That's not the case. I suddenly remembered that I have something important to deal with. Madam, please go ahead."
After saying this, he pretended not to see Asui Baba's gaze, turned around and hurried out.
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