Chapter 162 The Unruly Crown Prince
Although she disliked Zhang, the child was innocent after all. In her previous life, she had also died young. She had finally managed to keep the child alive, and she was not going to let her be treated so cruelly.
Zhang's crime is unforgivable.
They don't even care about their own daughter, raising her to be so timid. Where is the demeanor of a royal princess?
Zhang should be punished.
"Your Majesty, spare our lives!" The servants all knelt down and begged for mercy.
The old women, feeling guilty, kowtowed until their heads bled, probably because they knew the Emperor had discovered their little schemes.
"Spare me! I entrusted my princess to your care and you've turned her into this? You still want your lives? I think all three of your clans deserve to die."
Still not satisfied, Kangxi went up and kicked each of the maids serving the eldest princess, so that it was no longer just one person spitting blood.
Fanghua, afraid of frightening the child, stood in front of her, held the little hand hidden behind her back, and gently comforted her, "Don't be afraid, your father is here to avenge you."
The commotion couldn't be kept secret, and the eldest princess's birth mother, Lady Zhang, quickly arrived.
She also had an eighth princess, who was young, so she kept her by her side to raise her. She only inquired about the eldest princess once or twice a day.
She was puzzled when she learned that the Emperor had raged at the First Princess's place, but she rushed over without stopping.
Upon arriving, she saw the Emperor disciplining the maidservant serving the eldest princess. Without a second thought, she stepped forward to apologize on behalf of the eldest princess.
Fanghua found her appearance truly offensive, so she couldn't help but speak up: "The eldest princess is, after all, your daughter. How can you blame her without even asking her questions? Zhang, do you deserve to be a mother?"
Not only did the Empress dislike Zhang's behavior, but even Emperor Kangxi was driven half to death by her.
“Zhang, when has my princess ever done anything wrong?”
Upon hearing the Empress's words, the Emperor could not help but fly into a rage.
The Imperial Concubine also wanted to reprimand Zhang, after all, she also had a daughter. If her daughter had suffered such injustice, she would not have let those servants off the hook, and she would not have been as biased as Zhang.
"Hmph, a bunch of dogs, they even managed to manipulate my princess. It seems I've been too lenient with you all along."
Next, the Emperor dealt with matters concerning the Imperial Household Department.
However, the princesses living in the North Fifth Palace were all taken back by their mothers.
Not only that, but all the palace maids who served the princess were sent back to the Imperial Household Department to await investigation.
When Fanghua returned to Kunning Palace, she was exhausted. She felt that the matter of the Imperial Concubine coming to see her today was not so simple.
"Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell? Should we summon the imperial physician?" Qiaoling asked with great concern, seeing the Empress's furrowed brows as soon as she returned.
"Qiaoling." Fanghua felt that something was wrong with what happened today, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "Have someone investigate who the Imperial Concubine has been associating with lately."
The Imperial Concubine was behaving very strangely. Although she usually liked to report everything to her, big or small, she knew that it was all just for show.
She wouldn't tell him the real story, but today it concerns such an important matter as the princess. He didn't believe that the imperial concubine was genuinely asking him for help. With her status and position, dealing with a few servants would be a piece of cake.
But why did she come to me again and expose me? And even expose me to the Emperor.
This made her think more.
"Is there something wrong, Your Highness?" No, it shouldn't be like this. They've all seen how the Consort and their Lady have been these past few years. The Consort wouldn't possibly scheme against their Lady.
"I don't know. I have a feeling that today's events are unusual, unlike her usual behavior." Fanghua was somewhat troubled.
"By the way, give me a thorough investigation into the people living in her palace." The Imperial Concubine's behavior was too unusual.
"Yes." Qiaoling didn't say anything more. Since Her Majesty felt something was wrong, there must be a problem. Over the years, Her Majesty's decisions had never been wrong.
After Qiaoling left, Fanghua gently supported her forehead with her hand, emanating a depressed aura.
It's clear that today's events have left her quite troubled.
It takes time to find out the truth, and by then Chenghu had already returned from get out of class.
Now that he's grown up, he's moved to the Prince's Residence. He only comes back each day to have dinner with his mother, the Empress Dowager. He spends most of his time in the Prince's Residence.
"What's wrong with my imperial mother?" Cheng Hu noticed his mother's unusual behavior as soon as he entered and asked her.
Fanghua looked up at her much-grown son, a loving mother's smile on her face. "Chenghu is back. Was your schoolwork busy today?" Her son had grown up and had begun practicing the cultivation techniques given to him by the Heavenly Dao of this world.
Perhaps due to his cultivation technique, he appeared very aloof, showing only a touch of gentleness and closeness towards those closest to him.
"Don't rush, Your Majesty, you haven't told us what's wrong yet?" Chenghu was naturally worried because his mother was acting strangely.
"It's nothing." But she didn't hide it from him and told him what had happened today, "The Empress Dowager just felt that the Consort was acting very strangely."
Upon hearing this, Chenghu also felt that the Imperial Concubine was different from before. "Your Majesty, this matter may be related to the bondservant. Your Majesty, don't forget that the person in charge of the Imperial Household Department is Lord Nalan Mingzhu. He is Father Emperor's close minister."
Although he had not yet been involved in court affairs, his mother, the Empress Dowager, had never shied away from discussing matters of state with him, so he knew some of them.
Upon hearing Cheng Hu's words, Fang Hua immediately realized, "You're right. It seems this matter is not simple. I'm afraid the Imperial Concubine is not only after Xi Zhu, but also has connections to the previous dynasty."
Why didn't she think of that? Consorts usually don't get involved in matters of the previous dynasty. The fact that she took such action this time probably means that this matter is related to the Niohuru clan.
"Chenghu is truly clever. You even thought of something that even the Empress Mother didn't consider. This matter has nothing to do with us. Since your Father Emperor doesn't want me to get involved, let's just pretend we don't know anything about it." Fanghua's mood immediately improved.
After all, she was unwilling to do such troublesome things; doing them would be pointless and could easily offend people.
Although she looked down on the bondservant families, she couldn't deny their immense power; the servants in the harem were all from the bondservant families.
"It's good that Your Majesty thinks this way. This matter will be decided by Father. Your Majesty should use this time to properly manage Chengreng. I heard that he took people to the horse farm again today."
My younger brother is good in every way, except he's very resilient.
Even with the Emperor's personal discipline, this brat would still cause trouble from time to time. At only four years old, he had the audacity to ride a horse.
"How dare he!" Fanghua was furious upon hearing this. "Hmph, I'll beat him when he gets back." She thought this son would be easy for her, but she didn't expect him to be much more difficult to raise than Chenghu.
“Empress Mother, please don’t be angry. You can teach your brother slowly. It’s just that he’s acting too much and it’s worrying. You can just give him a gentle scolding.”
Chenghu would never say that he was deliberately trying to distract the Empress Dowager, since it would be good for her health to move around.
"Hmph, don't defend him. Wait until he gets back and see how I deal with him." This son can't be left alone now. Doesn't he know how old he is? He dares to do such a dangerous thing.
Seeing that his mother had turned her attention to his younger brother, Chenghu felt relieved.
"Empress Mother, your son is a little hungry. Is there anything to eat?" He didn't want to upset his Empress Mother.
Upon hearing that her son was hungry, Fanghua's attention was indeed diverted. "Yes, yes, Your Majesty, I'll have someone bring it up for you right away."
While the mother and son were enjoying their meal, Chengreng, who had gotten into trouble outside, returned home.
"Empress Huang's mother, Emperor's mother."
Before they even saw the person, the voice reached their ears from afar.
"That brat has absolutely no manners." Fanghua's temples throbbed violently at the sound of that horrifying voice.
She put down the pastries in her hand, got up, and walked outside.
Chenghu had no intention of going to the theater, after all, this younger brother was not someone to be trifled with, so it was better for him to stay away.
Having a younger brother who is too capable can also be a problem.
Outside, Chengren thought that upon his return he would receive affection and love from his mother, the Empress Dowager.
Who would have thought that he would be startled by the Empress Dowager's dark face the moment he saw her today.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, who made you angry?" Chengren didn't dare to step forward; his mother was too frightening at this moment.
Seeing his hesitant look, Fanghua was furious. "You brat, I heard you took some people to the horse farm today?" Fanghua stared coldly at her troublesome son.
Upon hearing this, Chengren felt a chill run down his spine, because his mother, the Empress Dowager, was truly skilled at spanking.
"Empress Mother, let me explain."
The little one speaks with such seriousness, but the content of his words is infuriating.
"My father promised to give me a pony, but he hasn't given it to me yet. So I'll go get it myself. Otherwise, what if people say that my father is untrustworthy?"
Seeing his act of doing what was best for his imperial father, Fanghua felt an urge to hit him.
Her eldest son was sensible from a young age, so she didn't play the role of a strict mother. Instead, she became a strict mother to her reborn youngest son.
"Then your imperial father should thank you." Fanghua was furious. "You, come here to me."
How could I, Chengren, dare to do that?
His mother looked like she was about to beat him up, so he wasn't going to go up to her. If he did, his backside would be bruised and battered. What about his reputation as the Crown Prince?
“Empress Mother, I promised Father Emperor I would visit him today. It’s getting late, so I just came back to let you know so you won’t worry. I’m going to find Father Emperor now and won’t be back tonight.”
After saying that, Chengreng ran away quickly.
Before Fanghua could even speak, the brat had vanished without a trace.
"Chengreng, if you're so capable, then don't ever come back again!" Fanghua shouted angrily as she chased after him for a few steps.
At this moment, Fanghua had lost all the dignity of a nation's mother; she was nothing more than a furious old mother with a rebellious son.
Chengren, who was far away from Kunning Palace, also heard his mother's angry words.
He patted his chest fearfully, "Luckily I ran fast."
The look of lingering fear on his face prompted He Yuzhu, who was panting beside him, to silently remark, "Master, you've angered the Empress like this. Aren't you afraid of her punishing you when you go back?"
My buttocks are definitely not going to stay.
"He Yuzhu, are you alright?" Chengren still quite liked this man who had followed him his whole life in his previous life, after all, he was only loyal to him.
"Your Highness, I'm fine, just a little out of breath." He Yuzhu knew that his Crown Prince was easy to get along with, so he spoke more casually.
"It seems your kung fu skills aren't up to par yet. You need to learn more from Eunuch Li. From now on, when I have classes, you can go to Eunuch Li to learn martial arts." I can't let the people around me hold me back too much.
Many things have changed in this life. He now has four top-notch experts by his side, no less skilled than the royal guards of his previous life.
He knew that these things were the protection and confidence that his mother, the Empress, gave him.
He Yuzhu had also studied martial arts for many years, but his foundation was lacking, so it was impossible for him to catch up with Fu Man and the others.
But they are still much better than the servants around my second brother and his men.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. This servant will certainly not disappoint you." He Yuzhu was a smart man and naturally knew that the Crown Prince was doing this for his own good.
"Okay, let's go to the Qianqing Palace."
He Yuzhu was puzzled. "Your Highness, are you really not going back today?" Going to the Qing Palace is no better than going to the Kunning Palace. My Crown Prince, don't forget what you did today.
"I won't go back. If I go back now, I'll be in big trouble." I won't go back, I'd rather die than go back. I won't go back for the next few days unless my mother calms down.
But it wasn't so easy to appease his mother, so he had to ask his father for help and ask him to plead for him.
After Chengren ran away from Kunning Palace, Fanghua returned to the main hall and saw Chenghu eating happily. Her anger from earlier had subsided considerably.
"Empress Mother, where is my brother?" Chenghu had heard everything that had happened outside, but he dared not recognize him.
Fanghua glared at him, "You brat, you're putting on an act with me. I don't believe you didn't hear what happened just now." Neither of them is easy to deal with.
"Empress Mother, you can't take your brother's anger out on me. If you're still not satisfied, I'll go and take my brother away right now." He couldn't let his brother take the blame, even if it meant sacrificing his own friend.
"Hmph, that brat ran off to your Emperor Father's side." She got angry just thinking about it.
How did such a sensible and well-behaved son become so mischievous and unpredictable in this life? He has truly been unleashed his true nature.
In his previous life, he had no mother and had to please the emperor to survive. Although he was the crown prince, he received no more than others, so he lived cautiously.
In this life, he is alive and has his brother to protect him, so he can do things much more freely.
Fanghua was happy to see this change in him.
I was happy, but my son was so infuriating and gave me a headache.
Upon hearing that he had gone to the Qianqing Palace, Chenghu decided not to go looking for him anymore.
After all, his father couldn't possibly be unaware that he had gone to the horse farm today. Going there now would only share his father's anger with his younger brother. It would be better for him to have dinner later and then return to the prince's quarters.
"Let's not talk about that brat anymore. He'll get what's coming to him when he gets back." Fanghua sat down at the table. "It's perfect that we, mother and son, can have a good meal today. We don't need to save any for him."
The two brothers love to fight over food at the dinner table, constantly asking her to pick this and that for them, until their arms get sore.
"Alright, I'll do whatever Mother Empress says."
Compared to the harmonious relationship between mother and son in the Kunning Palace, Emperor Kangxi's life in the Qianqing Palace was not so easy.
He had originally planned to go to Kunning Palace later to talk to the Empress about the Crown Prince.
I never expected this brat to come here.
It was obvious that this brat had gotten his comeuppance at Kunning Palace and had come here seeking comfort.
Who gave him the illusion that he would comfort him?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com