Chapter 19
Turning around and entering the room, Prince Shou went straight to the East Pavilion where the eldest princess was, waiting for the man to come.
Sure enough, after a while, a message came from the door.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"
The two looked at each other silently. The eldest princess lay down with no intention of getting up, covering her forehead and leaning lazily.
Prince Shou stood up, straightened his clothes, and slowly walked to the door, waiting for the prince to come in.
The hem of his clothes, which was filled with heat, opened up, bringing in a gust of hot wind. Prince Shou bowed respectfully to the visitor.
"Good morning, second brother!"
“…”
The prince whom he had bowed to before him said nothing, but instead looked towards the inner room in an extremely unruly manner.
Prince Shou lowered his head and dared not stand up. His face did not show any dissatisfaction. He bowed quietly, waiting for him to vent his anger.
Xiao Yan has always used his status as the crown prince to suppress others. The princes have to get his approval even for the smallest matters. This time, his father sent him to the princess's mansion, and Xiao Yan didn't know how he would torture him.
After a long while, Xiao Yan finally had enough of seeing. He waved his hand and walked towards the inner room.
She went into the inner room without even waiting for him to stand up. A trace of contempt flashed in Prince Shou's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it and covered his face with his hands and coughed silently.
There was also herbal incense in the room. Xiao Yan already hated patients, and when he came in and was hit by the depressing smell, his expression became even uglier.
At this moment, he didn't even want to pretend and just sat down at the top seat and asked the maid.
"Is the Princess still awake?"
She hadn't even slept, so there was no need to talk about waking up. The eldest princess rolled her eyes in the gauze tent, but had to pretend to have just woken up.
"The prince is here?"
The hazy voice was full of fatigue. Xiao Yan knew she was pretending, so he didn't stand up and just asked lazily with his hands on his side.
"Aunt, how are you? I heard you weren't feeling well lately, so I came to visit you. Aunt, if there's anything wrong, why didn't you tell me right away so I could arrange for the palace physician to see you."
The eldest princess felt disdainful but did not show it.
"The Crown Prince is busy with state affairs. My illness is just a minor one and it's not worth calling the imperial physician. It's even more inappropriate to make you two worry!"
Xiao Yan said with a forced smile, "Aunt's affairs are all important matters. Next time, please tell me immediately. I can't bear to see my aunt endure the illness."
As he said this, he looked at Prince Shou who was standing aside.
Prince Shou naturally sensed his accusation and immediately lowered his head like a quail trying to hide in the wall.
This timid sickly person, you can tell at a glance that he is a waste! If it weren't for the emperor's order, this sickly person would never dare to come out on his own initiative. After the death of the former crown prince, this waste didn't even dare to leave the mansion when he came back. He was so cowardly to the extreme.
But what was the meaning of forcing Xiao Heng to come out this time? Was his father using the incident of attending to the sick as a warning to him?
Could it be because of the three million taels of silver? Father had publicly agreed to allocate funds, but secretly dragged this sickly person out, obviously hoping to use this opportunity to suppress his power.
But the person he chose was too weak! When he wanted to take Xiao Heng back, he had already given him a warning. Xiao Heng was so frightened that he probably wouldn't dare to resist him in his life.
Thinking that Xiao Yan's complexion had finally improved, he raised his hand and called him forward.
Prince Shou's eyes were wandering like a frightened puppy. He walked forward tremblingly, not even daring to get close to him.
Xiao Yan grabbed him and dragged him in front of him.
"Did the Emperor send you here?"
"...Yes, my father said that if I didn't come, I wouldn't be a member of the Xiao family anymore. I had no choice but to come..."
His trembling face turned pale again, as if the itch in his throat had been aroused again. He covered his mouth tightly and dared not cough in front of him.
Xiao Yan felt even more disgusted seeing him like this, so he pushed him and told him to cough in the other direction.
"Didn't the Emperor say anything else?"
"He said...he asked me to stay at my aunt's place for half a month and go back after half a month."
Ban Yue...is really waiting for him here!
Xiao Yan's face became increasingly unsightly. The Double Ninth Festival was less than half a month away, and this was clearly an attempt to cool him down and create momentum for the ministers to think that his father's mind had changed and turned to him, the Prince of Shou, whom he had not seen for four years.
But how could he be of any use? In the end, Zuo was just opposing what he was going to bring up at Chongyang.
It seems that the three million taels really moved the emperor's heart, or he was too anxious! But if it weren't for his uncle's constant pressure, he wouldn't have to be so anxious to ask for money now.
Shu Hu chose to fan the flames and instigate war at this very moment. It was clearly not a good time, and sending people to persuade them was useless. He was really a drag!
However, even if it caused dissatisfaction with the emperor, it was not a big deal. After all, the emperor only had three sons left. One was a sickly child who might die at any time, and the other was still a child and was unlikely to be of any use.
Besides, his mother is the Empress Dowager, and his uncle is an important official of the previous dynasty. No matter how dissatisfied his father is, he will not be angry with him for too long. In the end, Dasheng will still be handed over to him.
After thinking about it, his expression became better. He remembered the report from his men and picked up the jade pendant on his body to play with it in his hand.
"I heard someone came to the Protectorate Mansion?"
Prince Shou's breathing stagnated, and he stuttered a few words.
"The Major General came to invite my aunt to a banquet, and that's when we ran into each other."
Xiao Yan didn't believe it. What a coincidence that Cui Hu had just returned and the princess fell ill?
Before he could ask, a voice came from the gauze curtain.
"I said it. Thinking that the young general of the Cui family had returned, I wanted to see him too, so I asked the Duke of Protectorate to tell me. That's why he came to invite me!"
Oh! Old man!
It turned out that he wanted to establish some connections for his good nephew before he died. But what could he do even if Xiao Heng had the connections of the Duke of Protectorate?
Can he use it? Does he dare to use it?
Besides, the Duke of Protectorate has held the military power for so many years, and the Duke of Protectorateate Cui is not a fool. How can he join your game just by meeting him once?
It’s a beautiful thought...
Xiao Yan laughed nonchalantly.
"So that's how it is! If Aunt wants to see him, just summon him. Before, it wasn't easy to see General Cui at the border, and now that he's back, it's not easy to see him. How about I call Cui Hu over and let Aunt see him?"
“No need…”
The voice coming from the gauze curtain gradually became weaker, and Prince Shou hurried forward.
"Auntie, is it time for you to take medicine?"
Someone inside seemed to nod, and he quickly turned around to look at Xiao Yan's expression. Xiao Yan was not willing to embarrass an old lady after all, so he raised his head. The maid outside the door came in with medicine.
When the medicine cup was opened, the aroma of the medicine immediately filled the air and gave people a headache.
Xiao Yan hated the smell of medicine very much. He frowned and looked like he was going to eat someone for a long time, but he couldn't help but find an excuse to go out.
Prince Shou sat at the head of the bed, slowly feeding medicine to the eldest princess, with a hint of joy in his eyes.
The eldest princess didn't want to see him either, and at this moment she was muttering in a low voice with a hint of gloating.
"Look at him! I didn't force him to come, but he came anyway! And he even felt uncomfortable coming."
Upon hearing this, Prince Shou couldn't help but smile slightly.
"How could he bear to have his work taken away from him by me? Even if he didn't want to, he still had to come to save face."
Thinking of his deflated expression just now, the eldest princess couldn't help laughing and pulled Prince Shou to her side.
"He's so petty, I'm afraid he'll give you a hard time again. Ah Heng, you better be careful."
Prince Shou nodded and put the empty medicine bowl aside. "Don't worry, auntie. Ah Heng knows what's going on."
After tucking in the quilt for her and putting up the gauze curtain outside, Prince Shou got up and went out, and casually touched the incense burner where medicine was burning.
When he went out, he nodded quietly at the tip of his nose. A strong smell of herbs rushed into his nose. He forced himself to bear it and walked out the door.
"Even feeding medicine leaves a trace..."
Outside the door, Xiao Yan was standing there waiting for him, but before he could say anything, Prince Shou suddenly sneezed.
Then she quickly covered her face, bent down, and apologized to him repeatedly.
A muffled voice came from under his sleeve, "Second brother, please forgive me! Ah Heng didn't mean to..."
He paused as he spoke, and was about to sneeze again. Xiao Yan really couldn't stand it anymore, so he flicked his sleeves and left him behind.
Even after walking a long way, I could still hear him sneezing one after another.
This is so annoying! Damn sick guy!
Why are all of them so sick? If they are so sick, why don’t they just die quickly?
He was so annoyed that he had a headache. He went to the back garden and finally could no longer hear his voice. Xiao Yan rubbed his temples and stretched out his hand to call the servant beside him to come forward.
"Go back! Tell him to write down everything that comes to him during this time. Remember every word they say. I'll need to ask him about it later."
The servant took the order and ran back immediately. Xiao Yan was extremely tired and walked forward slowly.
Suddenly, a woman's sweet laughter came through the flowers and lingered in my ears.
He was suspicious and walked around the tangled branches. He saw two young ladies from an unknown family playing in a small pavilion next to the rockery.
The silver bell-like laughter was very lively, much better than those two sickly ones.
The haze in his heart was dispelled by the two little girls. He walked forward calmly, listening to their laughter as they talked.
"Sister Chunying, you're too picky! Isn't it enough for our family to arrange for the third son of the Prime Minister? Why don't you agree? He has a good family background and a good upbringing! I'm afraid he'll be promoted to a minister this year. It's rare to see such a young minister!"
The person being spoken to paused for a moment, lowered his head as if embarrassed, and was encouraged by the people next to him for a long time before he replied shyly.
"The third son of Prime Minister Luo is naturally very good. Why would I dare to criticize him? But I still have a thought in my heart that is difficult to express."
The girl beside him asked hurriedly, "Is there anything between us sisters that is inconvenient to talk about? Just tell me! My dear sister, I promise not to tell anyone!"
Annoyed by her, the girl named Chunying finally whispered about someone.
"Every year when I enter the palace, I often see him. This year, His Highness is even more graceful and elegant, with an extraordinary demeanor. When I came to my senses, I realized that I couldn't look away. I could only look at His Highness the Crown Prince."
Xiao Yan raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect that this little girl was still so devoted to him.
However, there are many women invited into the palace every year, and he really can't remember which family this girl named Chunying is from.
The little girl seemed shy after she finished speaking, and quickly added another sentence.
"Sister, please don't tell anyone. If anyone knows I'm thinking about His Highness, I'd rather die!"
He couldn't help but chuckle at his daughter's coquettish behavior.
When the two girls heard someone behind them, they both turned around, and Xiao Yan also looked over without concealing his expression.
That girl named Chunying is really pretty! Her eyes are as beautiful as a painting, and her face is as rosy as spring. She really lives up to her beautiful name of Chunying.
It was originally just a private conversation, but now she was caught by the real person and her face turned red.
Biting her lip, she couldn't run away or stay. The extremely shy little girl's delicate look made people feel pity for her.
Xiao Yan's gloomy mood was completely melted away by her two words, so he walked forward.
"Young lady, please don't talk about death so easily. Without this beautiful woman, the world will lose its luster!"
The girl who was teased blushed even more, and couldn't help covering her face, even forgetting to be polite.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
