Chapter 174 Finding Trouble Again
Qingwu and Xiao Ji did not stay in the palace for too long. On the second day, the emperor issued an edict to reward Xiao Ji with a palace in the best location in the capital. After the palace was cleaned up, on the fourth day, the two bid farewell to Xiao Yuancheng, left the palace, and moved into the palace.
During this time, the two of them carefully compared the books in Minghua Palace with the note left by grandma, and also inquired about the appearance of the eldest princess, and they completely confirmed the identity of grandma.
Of course, life after returning to the palace was not so peaceful. After the morning court the next day, several princes came to the palace to visit Xiao Ji.
At the morning court session, the emperor rewarded Xiao Ji with such a large mansion in front of all the civil and military officials. Which prince would not feel jealous?
It's only been three months. He came back at the mere mention of someone else.
The four princes, dressed in court robes, headed for Chonghua Palace together. On the way, Prince Ning couldn't help but sarcastically remarked, "He's really lucky. How come my great-aunt came back so early? And even spoke for him."
Hearing this, Wu didn't know what he was thinking about, and said sarcastically: "Some people are born lucky, there's nothing we can do about it..."
He had not been doing very well recently and had originally thought that avoiding the border was a good thing, but as the border war gradually subsided and Lao Wu became more famous, he became unhappy.
How could that rookie, a fresh recruit who had never been on the battlefield, actually win a battle? Although he had only killed a minor Xiongnu general in a conflict involving several thousand men, it was far from a significant achievement in King Wu's mind. However, when the battle report reached the capital, everything changed.
The most hateful one was the Marquis of Zhenbei, who had not attended court for several years. Today, he suddenly came to court and praised the fifth brother, saying things like "Your Highness the King of England is a talented general, and he will become a great man in the future." King Wu's face turned pale when he heard this.
When he had made great contributions on the battlefield, the Marquis of Zhenbei never praised him in this way.
King Wu didn't say it explicitly, but King Wen understood his implication and said with a smile, gently shaking his folding fan: "Brother, why do you care? My fifth brother's humble military achievements are no match for yours in the past."
This sentence made King Wu sneer, "Does this king care about how he fights?"
What mattered was that he thought that by sending the King of England away, he could stay in the capital and gain the upper hand. However, that did not happen. After only three months, Xiao Ji came back.
King Wu let out a long breath, suppressing the frustration in his heart, "Let's just think about what our Sixth Brother will say later."
When Xiao Ji was abandoned, they thought that Xiao Ji would not be able to come back for a few years, so their attitude was not very good. They did not expect that he would come back in just three months, and now they feel a little embarrassed.
But as soon as he finished speaking, Prince Wen and Prince Ning couldn't help but look at Prince An. Prince An was stunned for a moment and then said angrily, "No, why are you all looking at me?"
King Wen's eyes narrowed as he smiled, like an old fox. "What will you do when you see your sixth brother's wife?"
They have not forgotten the last time Prince An teased Xiao Ji's concubine. Three months later, she was promoted from concubine to principal wife, and now she is his legitimate sister-in-law.
Prince An's face flushed crimson, and he stiffened his neck and said, "This prince...this prince didn't do anything out of line! I just made a few jokes!"
King Wen waved his folding fan and smiled meaningfully, saying, "Fourth brother, your comment back then about 'it's better to stay' didn't seem like a joke."
Prince Ning also fanned the flames: "That's right, she is now a legitimate princess. Fourth brother, you will have to apologize later."
"You!" Prince An was so angry that he was speechless and coughed several times. Thinking back to the frivolous words he said to Qingwu, he did regret it now.
But asking him to apologize to his brother's wife is impossible.
As they were talking, Chonghua Palace was already in sight. Unlike other palaces, Chonghua Palace did not have a main hall. It was for the princes to live in and consisted of various suites.
Seeing them step into the gate of Chonghua Palace, Xiao Ji had not yet come out to greet them. Prince An, standing in the courtyard, snorted, "What an arrogant guy! He didn't even come to greet his brothers when they came in."
He didn't lower his voice intentionally, and the next moment he heard a voice from the side - "It is my fault that I failed to welcome you in person."
The four princes turned their heads and saw Xiao Ji walking slowly towards them in a blue brocade robe, with a golden crown on his head and a jade belt hanging from his waist, which made his figure look as tall and straight as a green pine.
In just three months, most of the immaturity between his brows had faded away. His peach blossom eyes were still clear, but his former coldness had disappeared. His demeanor was replaced by calmness, restraint, and even simplicity. He had matured a lot.
Beside him was the girl whom he had only met a few times. She was dressed much more extravagantly today than the last time she left the palace.
She wore a long dress of pale sweet pink brocade with cloud patterns, the hem of which was embroidered with intricate twined flower patterns in silver thread, which gave off a faint glow. She wore a moon-white chiffon shirt with large sleeves, the sleeves of which were also embroidered with great skill.
Two red gold and kingfisher phoenix hairpins were symmetrically pinned in her hair. The phoenix held a string of pearls in its mouth, which swayed gently on both sides of her eyebrows as she walked, attracting everyone's attention to her already beautiful eyebrows.
Seeing that everyone was looking at her, she was not shy at all, and smiled at everyone who looked at her. She was bold and bright, and graceful and elegant. Although these were two very different words, they were well blended in her.
The four princes then noticed that Qingwu had her arms around their sixth brother's, an intimate gesture rarely seen in the royal family. However, this action did not make her look delicate and dependent, but rather the opposite. She was like a tree, and their sixth brother seemed to be somewhat dependent on her.
The thought of this girl with such a good family background, appearance and temperament being Xiao Ji's principal wife made several princes feel a strange feeling in their hearts. Although their principal wives were not bad, if they were in trouble, they might not be able to do what this girl did. Of course, this was mainly because they had a lot of concubines in the palace, and it was difficult for the princess to confide in them.
However, when their gazes moved down and they saw Xiao Ji's right leg pause slightly when he walked, they immediately understood. The bitterness of seeing this handsome man and beautiful woman and their mutual support just now dissipated a lot.
Even if he came back, wouldn't his leg still be lame? What good would it do if he became a prince again? He couldn't be crown prince if he couldn't walk.
Just as Prince An was staring at Xiao Ji's legs with a sense of pride, Xiao Ji and Qing Wu had already come close to him, and the words he said were -
"My legs are not very convenient, so I can't come all the way to meet you, Fourth Brother. Please forgive me."
The tone of this statement was flat, but there was a yin and yang to it.
Prince An's originally slightly smug expression froze for a moment, and he could only smirk and say, "Sixth brother, you're joking. Why should we be so polite to each other between brothers?"
Prince An thought that after he said this, Xiao Ji would let him go. After all, everyone was concerned about each other's face. However, the next moment, his pupils widened in surprise.
"Then why did Prince An just say that I was arrogant for not welcoming you? Isn't it too harsh for me to welcome you when I have legs like this?"
With this sharp-tongued and mean look, where is the simple and reserved demeanor he had just now?
After three months of training in the folk, Xiao Ji's mentality had changed. What about aristocratic face, what about social etiquette? With brothers like this, what's the point of keeping a good appearance? It's just fake.
He had not forgotten how Prince An had teased Qingwu in front of him and how Qingwu had protected him.
Now that he has returned to the palace, how could he let Prince An go?
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