Chapter 251: More Commotion
Two more days passed, and the weather grew colder. Yu Chao fell ill due to the unfamiliar climate.
Ying Tong was quite pleased to hear this. He had his follower find out that Sang Er and Gong Changan were in Wen Mingqian’s room, so he eagerly hurried over.
At that moment, Wen Mingqian was grinding incense. Upon seeing Ying Tong arrive, he quickly rose to greet him.
“Where are those two?” Ying Tong asked, not seeing Gong Changan and Sang Er.
“They said they were going to watch the Prince of Chu’s Heir Apparent draw horses, so they must have gone to the Imperial Horse Administration,” Wen Mingqian replied. “It’s cold over there, perhaps the Heir Apparent should wear an extra cape!”
The person following him quickly went back to fetch a cape, but Ying Tong couldn’t wait and headed directly to the Imperial Horse Administration.
Upon arriving, he indeed saw Ying Bai drawing that Ershi Horse, with Gong Changan and Sang Er standing by watching.
Sang Er watched with particular absorption, which made Ying Tong feel very uncomfortable.
Just as he arrived, Zhuola Han also came looking for them.
She ignored everyone else and asked Gong Changan directly, “Why did you come here without telling me? You made me look all over for you.”
Gong Changan felt like crying but had no tears: “Do you want me to get bitten again? Don’t come near me.”
“I already said I won’t bite you again,” Zhuola Han’s voice lowered unconsciously. “I just wanted to leave a mark.”
“Princess, it would be best to wait until he has recovered! People say you forget the pain once the wound heals. He’s only just scabbed over now, so of course he’s afraid of you,” Sang Er said from the side.
She naturally felt heartache for Gong Changan and thought this princess from the Northern Frontier was a bit too wild.
However, due to her own status, she couldn’t do much. But seeing her cling to Gong Changan like a persistent fly every day made her unable to suppress her anger.
Now that there were no elders around, she couldn’t help but retort to Zhuola Han a few times.
Zhuola Han bit her lip and remained silent. She didn’t actually want Gong Changan to be afraid of her. But she was used to being willful on the grasslands, where anything she wanted, she could have just by saying so.
Why couldn’t Gong Changan be hers? Even though she repeatedly said she would treat him well, he still avoided her.
Just like now, Gong Changan had once again hidden behind the Prince Zhao’s Heir Apparent.
“Princess, this is the Central Plains, and Han people have Han customs,” Ying Tong said, disliking Zhuola Han’s willful and arrogant behavior. “You’re not that young anymore; what’s with all this pulling and tugging with boys?”
Zhuola Han was already full of frustration, so she was naturally unhappy to hear him say that. She immediately retorted, “Does it concern you how I behave? You can’t even compare to others, and you dare to lecture me? It’s only because my brother is ill; if he were here, I don’t believe you’d dare speak to me like this! I wouldn’t even look twice at someone like you!”
Ying Tong had competed with Yu Chao several times and never won, and he had also lost when competing with Ying Bai.
Zhuola Han, however, had touched a sore spot, and Ying Tong’s complexion immediately changed.
Seeing that the situation was worsening, Gong Changan quickly stepped in to mediate. “It’s all my fault, no matter what. Princess, didn’t you say you wanted to pick leaves from that maple tree in the Imperial Garden that day? I just came from there, and the leaves on the whole tree are already bright red. I’ll accompany you to pick them now.”
Saying this, he pulled Zhuola Han away, leaving Ying Tong there to vent his anger.
Seeing this, Ying Bai felt it wouldn’t be appropriate to let the tension linger.
He put down his brush and said, “Brother, don’t you love horses the most? Why don’t you try riding this horse and see if it’s any different?”
He had intended to ease the tension with Ying Tong, but his words at this moment sounded like a different kind of sarcasm to the enraged Ying Tong.
He immediately turned his head and said, “What are you showing off to me?! This horse is meant to be ridden, not drawn. No matter how much I like horses, I won’t ride yours. I just can’t stand seeing you gloat like this!”
Hearing this, Ying Bai also became angry, but he suppressed his temper and said, “Brother, I fear there’s some misunderstanding between us. Actually, my answering the question correctly that day was pure luck. Besides, I thought it wouldn’t look good if neither of us could answer. No matter how much I love this horse, it can’t compare to our brotherhood. I didn’t mean anything else by saying that!”
“You mean I’m petty? That I’m judging your gentlemanly conduct with a villain’s heart?” Ying Tong sneered. “Don’t act so magnanimous after getting the advantage. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking behind my back!”
“Tell me what I’m thinking behind your back, I’d like to know,” Ying Bai couldn’t help but step forward and ask him, “What have I done to wrong you?”
Ying Tong felt agitated and couldn’t help but push Ying Bai down: “You know in your heart what you’ve done. Who has the patience to explain this to you!”
Sang Er, who was nearby, quickly rushed over and helped Ying Bai up, asking, “Heir Apparent, are you alright?”
However, Ying Bai knew that Ying Tong had feelings for Sang Er, and her coming to help him now would only make Ying Tong even more enraged.
So he pushed Sang Er’s hand away, but unexpectedly, Sang Er was pushed and fell to the ground.
Ying Bai stood up on his own and sat back down to draw. “I promised Princess Zhuola Han I would draw this for her, and I cannot go back on my word.”
After saying this, he picked up his brush and continued drawing, appearing completely absorbed.
Ying Tong glared at him fiercely and stepped forward to help Sang Er up.
At this moment, Sang Er was already in tears.
“From now on, don’t pay attention to this heartless and unfeeling person,” Ying Tong said, both angry and pained. “He’s cunning and thinking of climbing higher!”
In Ying Tong’s view, Ying Bai was clearly playing both sides.
Ying Bai didn’t argue. He knew that Ying Tong’s misunderstanding of him was deepening, and no explanation would be useful.
He had been having a difficult time in the palace these days. If only his parents had the influence of Prince Zhao’s family, he wouldn’t have to endure such humiliation everywhere.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have entered the palace in the first place; he would have been leisurely and carefree at home.
By that evening, Wen Mingqian was applying medicine to Gong Changan and carefully examining the wound. Seeing no signs of inflammation, he was relieved.
“This Zhuola Han is really like a dog,” Gong Changan said, looking at the wound on his shoulder and complaining.
“The medicine Imperial Physician Su prescribed is very effective,” Wen Mingqian said. “I was worried about the wound becoming inflamed earlier.”
“Now the conflict between Ying Tong and Ying Bai is deepening. I wonder when they will truly clash,” Gong Changan began to ponder serious matters again.
“I think after the last banquet, the relationship between Prince Zhao and Prince Chu should have become even more tense,” Wen Mingqian also said. “Subsequently, their two families will inevitably contend for Princess Zhuola Han. Since the King of Fenye intends to choose a son-in-law from among them, it’s impossible to avoid conflict.”
“Mother, who do you think the King of Fenye will favor?” Gong Changan asked.
“Given the King of Fenye’s personality, he will choose a son-in-law who is easy to control,” Wen Mingqian had long seen clearly. “He doesn’t want to be controlled by others, so he is more likely to choose Ying Tong.”
“But Prince Zhao and the others might not think so. They will surely believe the King of Fenye will choose the more outstanding one,” Gong Changan laughed. “All fools!”
