Chapter 46 White Deer (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
Soon after, the Crown Prince returned, and news of the Emperor's reward for him also spread: he received a pair of pearls, unlike Zhou Xiaoyan.
Fu Mingzi glanced at Zhou Xiaoyan with a half-smile, while Zhou Xiaoyan remained calm.
"The Crown Prince is magnanimous and surely won't mind." Fu Mingzi's words were not sincere at all. The Crown Prince had gone to great lengths to hunt many prey, even a wild boar, but in the end, he only gained a pair of pearls compared to Fu Mingzi, who had just freeloaded off the prey. If the Crown Prince weren't a broad-minded person, he would probably be furious.
Zhou Xiaoyan sneered: "This is nothing. With Father Emperor's methods, the Crown Prince will suffer many more grievances."
Upon hearing this, Fu Mingzi couldn't help but glance at Zhou Xiaoyan again and said softly, "Then, Your Highness, would you like to visit the Crown Prince?"
"No need," Zhou Xiaoyan said, looking somewhat tired. "We'll talk about it when we get back to the palace."
Fu Mingzi wanted to offer a few more words of advice, but seeing Zhou Xiaoyan's tired profile, he didn't say anything more, only saying, "Then Your Highness should rest well. This humble subject will take his leave."
Zhou Xiaoyan opened his mouth, somewhat reluctant for him to leave, but seeing Fu Mingzi's respectful demeanor, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to say it and could only nod: "You should go and rest too."
**
Perhaps the Crown Prince was truly a magnanimous person, for he showed no disappointment or sadness at these rewards. In the following days, he continued to chat and laugh with Zhou Xiaoyan, appearing quite intimate.
Perhaps the emperor was a little angry, because the next day he only took a casual stroll before returning to his camp.
However, whether it was a coincidence or not, the emperor returned early, but the crown prince was lucky enough to hunt a white deer, which caused a sensation throughout the camp. This was an auspicious sign!
When Fu Mingzi heard the news, he had just returned to the camp with Zhou Xiaoyan. Then he saw the Crown Prince with a radiant face, surrounded by a group of people, walking towards the imperial tent. He must have gone in to present the auspicious omen.
Fu Mingzi couldn't help but click her tongue: "It's quite a coincidence. Today, His Majesty was supposed to go hunting in the Northeast, but he happened to feel unwell and returned early. Instead, the Crown Prince went to the Northeast and happened to hunt a white deer. I don't know if this is good luck or bad luck for the Crown Prince."
Zhou Xiaoyan said coldly, "In the eyes of princes and ministers, this is naturally good luck, but in the eyes of the Emperor, it is certainly a great misfortune."
Fu Mingzi chuckled. He naturally understood this principle. For these princes and ministers, auspicious omens were indeed mysterious things. The crown prince had personally hunted a white deer, which meant he was blessed by heaven and his position as crown prince was even more secure. However, the emperor was not a magnanimous person. Something that should have been within his grasp had been snatched away by the crown prince. The emperor probably had no choice but to think about it.
As they were talking, the emperor emerged from his tent. His gentle face wore a forced smile, while Consort Luo beside him looked radiant and smiled with perfect poise.
"Good, the Crown Prince is indeed brave and capable of hunting a white deer." The Emperor gave a dry compliment.
"It is because of Father Emperor's wise governance and harmonious society that we have received Heaven's blessing and received this auspicious omen. Your son is merely fortunate to have been there." The Crown Prince's words were quite flattering.
However, the emperor's expression did not improve. Fate is a very strange thing. If there is no hope at all, the emperor will naturally not think too much about it. But when it is just a little bit short, the emperor has no choice but to think about it.
"Alright, Your Highness, you must be tired from the spring hunt. Go and rest. I will reward you handsomely in the future." The emperor waved his hand, seemingly not very interested.
The surrounding officials finally realized something was wrong. If the emperor was truly pleased with the great auspicious omen presented by the crown prince, he should have rewarded him handsomely on the spot. The words about rewarding him handsomely in the future seemed more like a perfunctory gesture.
However, the Crown Prince seemed to have anticipated this and was not surprised. He simply bowed and said, "Your subject obeys." After saying this, he did not linger, put down the white deer, and gracefully withdrew.
The emperor's cloudy eyes stared fixedly at the crown prince as he left, and the forced smile on his face finally disappeared completely.
**
"Have you found out who's behind this?" The Crown Prince was furious. He flicked his sleeve and smashed the teacup that the servant had brought him on the ground.
The person kneeling below trembled and said, "Your Highness, the guard who led us to the northeast has been captured, but he is very tight-lipped and we can't get a single word out of him. He just keeps crying out that he is innocent."
The prince's breathing became heavier. He wasn't a fool. Perhaps he had felt joy when he hunted the white deer, thinking that he was truly blessed by the heavens. But after thinking about it carefully, he finally understood the danger involved.
The emperor had been wary and dissatisfied with him for a long time, and he was well aware of this. Therefore, he always acted with trepidation. However, this time, he happened to catch a white deer in the place where the emperor had planned to hunt. He could almost imagine how the emperor would feel when he found out.
However, he couldn't just let the white deer go and pretend nothing had happened, because the commotion he made while capturing the deer was too great, and many people around had seen it. If he let it go, it would probably cause even more trouble.
Therefore, he had no choice but to bring the white deer back and present it to the emperor.
Thinking of what the emperor had said to him in front of his ministers today, the crown prince felt a chill in his heart. He knew that the emperor's fear of him had deepened even further.
Who on earth could have devised such a vicious scheme, not only scheming against their own thoughts but also knowing the emperor's thoughts so well?
He must find out who's behind this immediately; someone who hides in the shadows and schemes against people is far too dangerous.
"Continue the interrogation!" The Crown Prince regained some composure: "You must pry his mouth open for me!" The reason he suddenly left the planned hunting route was because of a guard's unintentional remark, and he did not believe it was just a coincidence.
"This servant understands." The person kneeling on the ground trembled as he accepted the order and withdrew.
After everyone left, the Crown Prince took a few deep breaths and calmed himself down.
He absolutely cannot act rashly now. The emperor has already grown distant from him, and this auspicious omen incident will likely make him even less favored. He needs to keep a low profile once again and avoid drawing attention to himself.
With this in mind, he roughly formed a plan and called out loudly, "Someone come here."
A young eunuch rushed in and reported, "Your Highness."
"Go to the Fifth Prince's tent and tell him that I have something to share with him. Ask him to come over." Yesterday's reward incident had made him somewhat disgusted with his younger brother, but now, this brother had become the key to breaking the deadlock.
"Yes." The little eunuch withdrew silently.
The Crown Prince remained seated, his hands clenched into fists. He could only hope that Zhou Xiaoyan was truly incompetent, otherwise his move might just invite trouble. However, given his current predicament, he had no choice but to take a risky gamble.
When the eunuch sent word from the Crown Prince's side, Zhou Xiaoyan was playing chess with Fu Mingzi in the main tent. Zhou Xiaoyan's chess style was cautious and methodical, while Fu Mingzi's style was the opposite, bold and unrestrained, with unparalleled momentum.
Zhou Xiaoyan calculated for a long time, and it seemed that he had driven Fu Mingzi into a dead end. But when Fu Mingzi made a move, a smile appeared on his anxious face: "Your Highness, you are too kind."
Zhou Xiaoyan was stunned. He turned around and saw that a large part of the territory behind him had been lost. It turned out that Fu Mingzi's aggressive attacks at the beginning were just a prelude to this move.
Zhou Xiaoyan stared intently at Fu Mingzi, who still wore a smug smile. However, Zhou Xiaoyan didn't find him annoying at all. It's said that one should think three steps ahead before taking one step, but this person probably already saw ten or a hundred steps ahead after taking only one step.
"I lost." Zhou Xiaoyan calmly conceded defeat.
I thought I'd be a bit smarter after being reborn, but it seems I'm still no match for him.
Fu Mingzi laughed triumphantly: "Your Highness is actually quite skilled, but I am even more skilled. My elder brother usually loses more often than he wins when playing chess with me."
Zhou Xiaoyan didn't speak, but he couldn't help but ask in his heart, "Then why did you lose three games in a row when we played chess in the court in the previous life? Was it just to make Father Emperor look at me with more respect?"
He dared not think about it too deeply, for it would cause him a sharp pain in his heart.
Back then, he desperately wanted to gain his father's attention and favor. Later, just like in this life, his father suddenly saw him, his son who had been invisible in the past. He was overjoyed.
Therefore, he wanted to do even better so that his father would praise him more and linger on him longer.
Later, when he heard his father praise Fu Mingzi's chess skills, he was unconvinced and wanted to play against him in public. Fu Mingzi lost three games in a row, and his father praised him with a smile. He was like a fool, smug and proud.
Zhou Xiaoyan suddenly recalled the moment when they finished playing chess, and Fu Mingzi looked at him with a fleeting sadness in his eyes. At that time, was he grieving that he, this fool, had been completely used by his father, or was he grieving that he had fallen in love with such a fool?
Thinking of these past events, Zhou Xiaoyan's mood instantly became much more depressed.
Sitting opposite him, Fu Mingzi was a little confused. Just a moment ago everything was fine. "Your Highness," he called out tentatively.
Zhou Xiaoyan snapped out of his daze and looked at Fu Mingzi in a daze.
Oh, right, this isn't the last life. At this time, Fu Mingzi isn't as cautious towards him as he was in the last life, nor will he deliberately lose to him to protect his pride. Perhaps this seemingly carefree person also has a meticulous side and knows who is truly close to him.
"I'm fine." Zhou Xiaoyan's voice was a little dry, and he even tried to curl his lips into a smile: "I just remembered some things from the past."
Looking at Zhou Xiaoyan's expression, Fu Mingzi knew that those past events were not good.
“The past is the past. Forget those painful things, otherwise, thinking about them again will only torture yourself.” Fu Mingzi said gently, “Your Highness, you should look forward now. There are still many wonderful things in this world.”
Zhou Xiaoyan suddenly smiled. That was just his nature; no matter how difficult things got, he always kept his heart set on the light.
"Your Highness," Wei Baocheng's voice came from outside, "His Highness the Crown Prince has sent someone over, saying he has something to report to Your Highness."
Zhou Xiaoyan's originally gentle expression suddenly turned cold. Knowing that what had happened in his previous life might be about to happen again, he looked towards the door, a cold light flashing in his eyes: "Let him in." There was an undercurrent of turmoil hidden in his calm tone.
In his previous life, the Crown Prince also hunted a white deer. In order to divert the Emperor's attention, he also approached him, who had come with him. However, in this life, his situation has changed a lot compared to the previous life. He wonders what the Crown Prince will say to him this time.
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