Jiang Heng
Shen Wenqiu shook his head. His lips were chapped and he could barely speak. He just looked at Aunt Qin.
Aunt Qin could tell at a glance that Shen Wenqiu was thirsty, so she turned around to pour him some water, but couldn't find him.
She took the teapot and walked outside, but stopped halfway and turned to Shen Wenqiu, saying, "I'll go get you some water. You wait here."
Shen Wenqiu wanted to say no, but his throat was so dry that he could barely speak. Aunt Qin walked quickly and disappeared in no time.
After a while, Aunt Qin returned with water, poured a cup for Shen Wenqiu to moisten his throat, and looked at him with heartache, unable to help but murmur, "If you had just admitted your mistake today, the matter would have been over. Why did you have to endure this beating?"
Shen Wenqiu shook his head. He didn't intend to tell Aunt Qin the details of last night. He only said, "Don't we know what kind of person he is after all these years?"
At this point, Shen Wenqiu smiled, her gaze towards Aunt Qin filled with worry, and said, "Never mind, let's not talk about him anymore. I'm going to the palace to be a companion to the emperor. Mother, how will you manage in the manor all by yourself..."
When Aunt Qin saw that Shen Wenqiu cared about her, tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
She hastily wiped her face with a handkerchief, a relieved smile on her face, and said, "It's alright, it's nothing. Your mother has made it through all these years, hasn't she? Just focus on your studies and strive to make a good future for yourself."
Shen Wenqiu tried to sit up, and Aunt Qin rushed to help him. Just as she was about to disapprove and persuade him, he spoke first: "Mother, once I pass the exam and get an official position, I will bring you to live with me."
Aunt Qin smiled and nodded, seemingly without much hope, but she didn't say anything explicitly, only nodding and saying okay.
Shen Wenqiu saw through it, but offered no explanation. He didn't know when he could fulfill his words, nor did he know what the future held.
After calming down, Shen Wenqiu began to carefully recall what kind of person the Ninth Prince in the book was.
The Ninth Prince, Jiang Heng, is the only child of the former favored concubine, Mu Yan.
Mu Yan came from a family of military generals. She entered the palace to counterbalance the empress. However, Mu Yan's father and brothers had made great military achievements, and the emperor was wary of the Mu family. Therefore, he drugged her for many years, making her unable to have children.
But to everyone's surprise, Mu Yan became pregnant. At that time, the emperor and Mu Yan were deeply in love, so he softened his heart and let her stay.
Because the two had once been truly in love, Jiang Heng also enjoyed a glorious life when he was young.
But later... everything changed.
The Mu family was suddenly accused of treason, and their home was raided overnight.
As for Mu Yan herself, the Emperor originally wanted to spare her life out of consideration for their past relationship, but instead threw her into the Cold Palace for two years and then find a pretext to bring her back.
Unexpectedly, after hearing that her family had been almost completely slaughtered, Mu Yan committed suicide by running into a pillar.
The Empress, who had personally gone to arrest Mu Yan and send her to the Cold Palace, felt extremely guilty and cried for a long time before the Emperor. The Emperor knew the truth of the matter, but he suppressed it and pretended that nothing had happened.
As for Jiang Heng, who was originally living a life of great glory, he ended up living in Yaoyue Palace, where Mu Yan used to live, and suffered all kinds of cold looks.
In Shen Wenqiu's eyes, this Ninth Prince was also a pitiful little thing. Although he didn't know why it was different from the original story, that he came out of the cold palace-like Yaoyue Palace a few years earlier and even had the Emperor choose a companion for him, it was a good thing for Shen Wenqiu anyway.
However... given the Ninth Prince's situation in the palace, his days as a study companion in the palace will probably not be easy.
Shen Wenqiu couldn't help but worry, and then suddenly remembered his savior.
He hadn't seen his savior's face yet, and didn't know his savior's name.
After entering the palace as a companion to the emperor, and being busy with the imperial examinations, I'm afraid I won't have much free time to look for my savior.
We can only hope to meet again someday.
Before Shen Wenqiu could think about it for a while, the imperial physician came in from outside. The eunuch had actually invited the imperial physician over.
That's quite strange. Although the Marquis's mansion could get a warrant to invite the imperial physician for treatment, the Marquis of Huai'an would absolutely not waste such medical resources on Shen Wenqiu.
As for the Ninth Prince Jiang Heng, he is still a pitiful little boy who is not loved by his father. It is quite strange that the Emperor would send a royal physician to his study companion.
Since Shen Wenqiu couldn't figure out the reason, he just let things take their course, first thanking the imperial physician and then completing the examination in an orderly manner.
When the imperial physician arrived at the mansion, the Marquis of Huai'an naturally came over and said a few kind words, putting on a good show of fatherly love and filial piety.
Shen Wenqiu was too lazy to play along, but he couldn't let it get out and get caught doing something wrong, so he pretended to be unwell and responded a little slowly.
The main theme is "willing but unable".
After the imperial physician left, the Marquis of Huai'an snorted coldly and looked at Shen Wenqiu, "Today, it is because of the Emperor's great grace that you have been spared this punishment."
Shen Wenqiu glanced at the Marquis of Huai'an but did not reply.
Marquis Huai'an felt extremely uncomfortable with Shen Wenqiu's attitude, but he couldn't bring himself to attack him again.
He will soon be entering the palace to accompany the emperor in his studies. If something goes wrong when he enters the palace, how will the Marquis of Huai'an explain it when the palace asks about it?
So the Marquis of Huai'an had no choice but to swallow his anger and pretend he hadn't seen it. He continued, "The Ninth Prince is not a favorite, but since he has been able to leave the Cold Palace and attend school with the other princes, you must not neglect him too much."
Upon hearing this, Shen Wenqiu finally seemed to realize what was happening and replied, "How could I be the kind of person who flatters the powerful and belittles the weak? Since His Majesty has arranged for me to be the Ninth Prince's study companion, I will certainly accompany His Highness in his studies with all my heart."
Marquis Huai'an was displeased upon hearing this.
Although he was skeptical about whether the Ninth Prince would regain the Emperor's favor, he still supported Crown Prince Jiang Yunquan more.
However, the Crown Prince looked down on him, so he had no choice but to try to curry favor with Prince Rui.
Although Prince Rui was only the emperor's younger brother and it was not his turn to succeed to the throne, he was still the emperor's favored younger brother and therefore had some influence.
If we could win Prince Rui's favor and have him say a few good words for us to the Emperor, wouldn't that make life at home much more comfortable?
Marquis Huai'an only uses his mind on these things, but his plan to send Shen Wenqiu to Prince Rui's bed has already failed. Now that Shen Wenqiu has entered the palace to accompany him in his studies, he has turned his attention to pleasing the princes.
The Marquis of Huai'an shook his head disapprovingly, adopting a benevolent fatherly demeanor. He glanced at Shen Wenqiu and said, "That's not quite right. Although His Majesty has made this arrangement, His Highness the Crown Prince should still be the priority. After all, he is the heir apparent and the future ruler of the land..."
Shen Wenqiu was unwilling to hear the Marquis of Huai'an repeat these words, and immediately showed a nervous expression, interrupting the Marquis of Huai'an, "Father, be careful with your words."
Upon hearing this, the Marquis of Huai'an broke out in a cold sweat and slapped his mouth.
He almost got carried away with his pride. If those words were to get out to some fool and the Emperor found out, it would be a terrible thing.
They'll think he's cursing the emperor to die, something his family can't afford.
Thinking of this, the Marquis of Huai'an felt that it was all because of Shen Wenqiu that he, the usually steady Marquis of Huai'an, had spoken out of turn.
But he couldn't find fault with Shen Wenqiu, and he couldn't bring himself to punish Shen Wenqiu again for not returning home at night. In the end, he could only keep his anger to himself and left in a huff.
Aunt Qin had been sent back to her room by the Marquis of Huai'an when the imperial physician arrived. Now that she heard that the Marquis of Huai'an had left, she hurried over to visit Shen Wenqiu.
When Shen Wenqiu saw Aunt Qin, she was still worried and pulled her aside to give her some instructions before finally lying down to rest under her concerned gaze.
Aunt Qin stayed with him in the room for a while, watched him fall asleep, and sat for a while before leaving.
After resting for a few days, Shen Wenqiu was almost fully recovered. It just so happened that it was time for her to go to the palace to accompany her studies, so she packed up and went to the palace.
Before leaving, the Marquis of Huai'an was still uneasy, feeling that Shen Wenqiu was someone who didn't know his place in the palace.
He even considered severing ties with Shen Wenqiu, but it was just a thought.
After thinking it over, he and Aunt Yan discussed whether they could change the choice of Shen Wenyu as the study companion, but it was just a thought.
There's no need to ask; of course, none of these are acceptable.
Therefore, in the end, Marquis Huai'an and Consort Yan could only watch as Shen Wenqiu entered the palace to become a companion scholar.
As for Aunt Qin, she was not allowed to come to the front; she could only hide by the screen wall and peek from afar.
Shen Wenqiu also glanced at them from afar, and before leaving, he mentioned his mother, looking at the Marquis of Huai'an and Aunt Yan, that despicable couple, with a forced smile.
Although they had a lot of foolish ideas, they all knew that Shen Wenqiu was going to enter the palace to accompany him in his studies, so they couldn't mess with him. Naturally, they also understood his meaning.
He wants to see his mother perfectly healthy and well when he comes back next time.
The journey from the Marquis of Huai'an's residence to the palace was not short. Shen Wenqiu didn't know how long he had been in the carriage before he finally arrived at the palace gate.
The carriage couldn't go in, so he got off, took out the palace entry token that had been delivered earlier, explained his purpose to the imperial guards, and was then led to the prince's residence by the eunuch who had been waiting at the palace gate.
The princes lived in the Princes' Residence, and the Zhaoming Hall, where they studied, was also located within the Princes' Residence.
As for these companions, they lived with the princes so that they could review their lessons together every day.
The eunuch led Shen Wenqiu through a winding path, into the Prince's residence, and then into Zhaolin Palace, before finally stopping.
The eunuch smiled at Shen Wenqiu, "Young Master Shen, this is the Ninth Prince's residence. At this hour, the Ninth Prince should already be up. Please go in."
Shen Wenqiu smiled. He couldn't afford to give any money as a reward, so he could only smile and say, "Thank you, sir."
The father-in-law sized up Shen Wenqiu, knowing he wasn't someone who could make money off of him. He pursed his lips, said nothing, and left.
Shen Wenqiu didn't care. He just looked up at the three characters "Zhaolin Palace", nodded, and walked into Zhaolin Palace.
Just past the small artificial hill by the entrance, I saw a thin but neatly dressed young man carrying a book box walking out.
The man saw Shen Wenqiu approaching, but he didn't seem surprised. He simply stopped and looked at him.
Shen Wenqiu also stopped and looked at the young man. In just one glance, a thousand thoughts rushed through her mind.
This young man must be the Ninth Prince, Jiang Heng, right?
After thinking for a moment, Shen Wenqiu raised his hand in a salute, "Your subject Shen Wenqiu greets the Ninth Prince."
However, he felt...
Why does this Ninth Prince feel strangely familiar?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com