Chapter 61: Warning
Eunuch Shen carefully considered his words, then Zhang Kou persuaded Prince Zhangwu: “Sixth Sister Pei is exceptionally intelligent, so she must have her reasons for doing this.”
“Your Highness has the best intentions, but as a daughter of a traitor, Sixth Sister Pei dares not and cannot accept them. Writing back to the Crown Prince is to make her attitude clear, with absolutely no intention of clinging to the Eastern Palace. Doing so is also considering things for Your Highness!”
Prince Zhangwu, whose face was full of gloom, had his black eyes slowly light up: “What you say makes sense. I was not thinking carefully and rashly had someone send the letter. For a young miss like her, leading her clansmen to survive and establish themselves in Youzhou is truly not easy. She acts cautiously, unwilling to give others something to talk about, and even more dare not anger Father.”
“So, she directly wrote a letter back to Father. Just like last time, the letter she had Gao Yong present was also to Father.”
Prince Zhangwu became more and more certain as he spoke, regaining his composed and unhurried demeanor as a prince: “This time, I acted improperly. In the future, if there are similar situations, you must remind me to stop.”
Eunuch Shen smiled repeatedly in agreement.
He first muddled through this current hurdle. As for the future, His Highness Prince Wei’s marriage was under the control of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. What business did a mere inner eunuch have to meddle?
“Your Highness the Prince,” an eunuch reported from outside the door: “Crown Princess requests Your Highness to come and dine together.”
The Crown Princess came from the Zhang Clan of Bohai and was the consanguineous niece of the late Empress Zhang. She had been brought into the palace by Empress Zhang since she was young, grew up together with the Crown Prince, childhood sweethearts with deep affection.
After the Crown Princess gave birth to the eldest legitimate son, the Crown Prince took in beauties and concubines, and all the several illegitimate sons in the Eastern Palace were much younger than Prince Zhangwu.
The Crown Princess’s status was unshakable, and Prince Zhangwu’s status in the Eastern Palace was equally secure.
“A Li,” the beautiful, dignified, and elegant Crown Princess smiled brightly as she took Prince Zhangwu’s arm: “Today I had the imperial kitchen prepare dishes you like. Your father is in the study and will come shortly.”
Then, she carefully inquired about Prince Zhangwu’s clothing, food, daily life, studies, and all sorts of trivial matters. She also specifically asked how Liu Yue and Mei Xiang were serving.
Prince Zhangwu replied: “They are all palace servants carefully trained by Mother Consort, acting cautiously and meticulously.”
Liu Yue had previously been frivolous once, and after being punished with the board, she became completely obedient and well-behaved.
The Crown Princess smiled and chided playfully: “You and your father have the same temper, always emphasizing rules in everything. Those two are fine, but in a few days when your cousin enters the palace, don’t always keep a straight face.”
The cousin the Crown Princess mentioned was also a woman of the Zhang Clan of Bohai, the legitimate eldest daughter of the Crown Princess’s brother, fourteen years old this year, two months younger than Prince Zhangwu.
At such a time, sending the woman of the Zhang Clan into the palace to “stay briefly,” the Zhang Family’s intentions were self-evident.
Prince Zhangwu was not very pleased in his heart, but he could not say much, respectfully replying: “Mother Consort, rest assured, I will take care of Cousin.”
The Crown Princess glanced at her son, her words carrying double meaning and implying something: “The Zhang Family guards Bohai Commandery and has soldiers in hand. Your imperial grandmother and your own mother both come from the Zhang Clan. You are the eldest legitimate son of the Eastern Palace and will become the Grand Crown Prince in the future. Women of lowly status are not worth your missing them.”
Prince Zhangwu’s brows twitched, and he lowered his head in acknowledgment.
At that moment, the Crown Prince arrived.
The Crown Princess smilingly led Prince Zhangwu to welcome him. The Crown Prince, who was solemn in front of others, was gentle and casual before the Crown Princess: “Quickly rise.”
He reached out to help her up, naturally holding the Crown Princess’s hand as they entered the dining hall.
Prince Zhangwu silently followed inside.
Do not speak while eating, do not speak while sleeping. Although dining together, no one spoke. The Crown Prince occasionally glanced over, and Prince Zhangwu guiltily dared not meet his eyes.
After dinner, the Crown Prince called Prince Zhangwu over and said indifferently: “Your maternal cousin brother is sending someone to the capital city, arriving in a few days. I am busy with affairs of state, so the matters of welcoming and hosting are all entrusted to you.”
Prince Zhangwu respectfully accepted the order, his heart uneasy as he waited to be scolded and reprimanded by Father.
But the Crown Prince said no more and waved him away.
After Prince Zhangwu left, the Crown Prince said to the Crown Princess: “A Li is young and hot-blooded, acting impulsively. He needs to be properly disciplined and restrained.”
The Crown Princess was also dissatisfied with her son’s actions in private, but when she opened her mouth, she defended him: “That Sixth Sister Pei is young but scheming and capable. After just one meeting, A Li cannot forget her. Even across thousands of miles, he still misses her.”
The Crown Prince was more objective: “A Li’s will is not firm; how can you blame Sixth Sister Pei.”
Prince Zhangwu had been bewitched. Even the Crown Prince, upon mentioning Sixth Sister Pei whom he had never met, was full of praise.
The Crown Princess was somewhat surprised and raised her eyes to meet the Crown Prince’s: “I heard Sixth Sister Pei wrote a reply.”
The Crown Prince hummed in acknowledgment, then said no more.
The Crown Princess did not ask further.
What exactly did Sixth Sister Pei write in her letter to the Crown Prince? No one knew except the Crown Prince himself. Even Grand Tutor Pang quietly pondered it in his heart.
Unfortunately, the Crown Prince was extremely deep-minded, showing no clues on his face. Instead, Commander He had secretly received orders from the Crown Prince, leading a team of guards out of the palace on an errand, and had not been seen since.
His Highness Prince Wei erupted in fury once again.
Wu Zhong knelt on the ground, taking a kick to the chest, grimacing in severe pain but daring not cry out or beg for mercy.
“Useless trash!” Prince Wei’s face was ashen as he cursed vehemently: “Can’t even handle this simple errand! This prince would be better off raising a dog than you!”
Last time, they lost a hundred Dark Guards.
This time, they deployed two hundred men, yet all were lost again. How could His Highness Prince Wei not be angry?
The mere Pei Clan, a household of women, children, elderly, and weak, turned out to be a tough bone to gnaw!
Prince Wei cursed for a full half hour, kicking Wu Zhong three times and slapping him four times during it.
Wu Zhong, with a swollen face and head bowed: “Please calm your anger, Your Highness. This lowly one will personally go to Youzhou, capture Sixth Sister Pei apart from the Pei Family members, and bring her…”
Slap!
Wu Zhong did not dare move, taking the fifth slap squarely.
Prince Wei had used too much force and nearly strained his waist, his eyes shooting out flames of rage: “The Beiping Army has five thousand elite soldiers. How many men do you plan to bring?”
The memorial about the Beiping Army suppressing bandits had already been sent to the Imperial Court. Sending people now would be tantamount to delivering heads to the Beiping Army.
Prince Wei was not crazy.
Wu Zhong continued to bow his head and take the scolding.
Prince Wei’s throat was nearly smoking: “Without this prince’s instruction, do not act again. Get out!”
Wu Zhong slunk away dejectedly.
Prince Wei’s face was grim, resentment flashing in his eyes.
In the case of Daoist Master Tianji, the Crown Prince feigned benevolence and righteousness hypocritically, gaining much fame in the court and greatly increasing his momentum. Even if Emperor Xiaowen favored this youngest son, he still had to rely on the Crown Prince for affairs of state.
With one side waning and the other waxing, his own situation as Prince Wei was no longer so favorable.
His advantage lay in the capital city and the palace, where he had no personnel in Youzhou. Wanting to bypass the Beiping Army to kill the Pei Family members was truly difficult. It was not impossible, but for just this one stifled anger, it was not worth the major mobilization.
Fine, he would endure this for now. When the day came that he seized the position of heir and sat on the dragon throne, crushing the Pei Clan would be like crushing ants.
