Chapter 256: Determined to Fight
Ying Bai was stunned for a moment, then turned his face to look at his mother in disbelief.
“Why are you staring at me like that? Don’t you recognize me?” Princess Consort Chu asked him.
“Mother, didn’t you always tell me to be patient? Why are you acting out of character now?” Ying Tong asked. “This… why is this happening?”
“We have endured again and again, but now they are baring their teeth at us,” Princess Consort Chu said with a cold laugh. “The matter of the Liu family in the previous court is ongoing, and it is actually aimed at us.”
“Why are they making things so difficult for us? Is it just because I won that horse?” Ying Bai was worried.
“Silly child, you still don’t know!” Princess Consort Chu said, looking around and lowering her voice even further. “What do you think that King of Fenye is up to? He wants to choose a suitable husband for his daughter from among you and Ying Tong, which is why he made you two compete at the banquet.”
“Is that so? Mother, how did you find out?” Ying Bai was truly surprised.
“You are still a child, what can you understand? If it weren’t for this, why would Prince Zhao and the others be so hostile?” Princess Consort Chu said. “Their family doesn’t lack this one horse, and the Emperor and Empress wouldn’t change their opinion of you two just because you won it. Therefore, the crucial point lies with the King of Fenye, and Prince Zhao and the others must have known before us.”
“Then how did Mother know? Who told you?” Ying Bai couldn’t help but press.
“Child, this is what I need to instruct you on. You must get close to Princess Duanmin in the palace and try to please Zhuolahhan.
I saw that the Princess likes you very much. Didn’t she say at the banquet that she wanted to adopt you as a godson? You must not fail her good intentions.
Furthermore, she is an elder to Princess Zhuolahhan and the main consort of the King of Fenye. She can have a say in the matter of choosing a husband,” Princess Consort Chu instructed him earnestly.
“But Mother, I don’t like Zhuolahhan either. She’s too wild and willful,” Ying Tong frowned.
“Silly child, what does it matter if she’s wild and willful? You must know that behind her are the hundred thousand cavalry of the Northern Frontier!” Princess Consort Chu couldn’t help but pinch her son. “If you don’t want to suffer humiliation or be driven to desperation by Prince Zhao and the others, you must borrow the strength of Fenye!”
“But… but they can’t stay in the Capital City all the time,” Ying Bai said. “At least three months, and at most half a year, they will have to return to the Northern Frontier.”
“You do know that,” Princess Consort Chu glanced at her son. “Listen patiently as I finish speaking. In addition, you must rely more on Tutor Zhuge in the palace. He greatly admires you. Someone of his status is respected by both the Emperor and the Empress. With him speaking for you, wouldn’t that be a great help!”
“How does Mother know the Tutor admires me? He only praised me once or twice,” Ying Bai said. “How can I rely on him to that extent?”
He felt his mother was exaggerating.
“You don’t know this, do you?” Princess Consort Chu smiled proudly. “Mister Hua Ying is currently staying at our residence! He went to our home on Tutor Zhuge’s orders. He is the one who told us about the King of Fenye’s selection of a husband, otherwise how could your father and I have known?”
“Mister Hua Ying… actually came to our home? Is it true? It’s not a fake, is it?” Ying Bai still found it hard to believe.
“There are quite a few people in the Capital City who know Mister Hua Ying. If you are not at ease, you can go out of the palace with Chang An to our home one day and recognize him,” Princess Consort Chu said. “Otherwise, how would I dare to let you compete?”
“Mother means for me to compete with Ying Tong for Zhuolahhan?” Ying Bai asked.
“Not just compete for this. From now on, we will climb step by step, to the very top!” Princess Consort Chu’s cheeks were stinging from the cold wind, but her eyes were exceptionally bright. “Ying Tong is a fool. You must find a way to provoke him in the palace and make him look foolish!”
As for Princess Consort Zhao, she was on her way to see the Empress. When she reached the entrance, she learned that the manager of the Eighth Bureau was inside reporting to the Empress, so it was inconvenient for her to enter. She then went to her son’s residence.
She met Ying Tong’s granny on the way, and the other woman quickly stepped forward to pay respects.
“How has Tong’er been these past few days? Is he still angry?” Princess Consort Zhao asked.
“Replying to Your Ladyship, our Heir Apparent has been a bit unwell these past two days. I just returned from the hospital with his medicine,” the granny said, holding two packets of medicine.
Princess Consort Zhao naturally became anxious upon hearing this and asked, “What are his symptoms? Which Imperial Physician did you consult? What prescription did he give?”
“Your Ladyship need not worry too much. He just has a headache and a cough. Imperial Physician Wu was called to examine him, and the prescription he gave has already shown improvement after two doses,” the granny said quickly.
“That’s good,” Princess Consort Zhao was more than half relieved to hear this. “This child doesn’t like to eat when he’s sick. Make sure you prepare several meals for him each day, even if he only eats a few bites each time.”
“Your Ladyship’s instructions are noted. I have been preparing five or six meals a day these past few days. I wouldn’t dare let the Heir Apparent go hungry,” the granny said.
“See, I’m just worried and flustered. You have always been very meticulous, otherwise I wouldn’t have let you accompany Tong’er into the palace,” Princess Consort Zhao said with a wry smile.
“It’s because you cannot be by the Heir Apparent’s side that you have to ask for every detail,” the granny sighed softly. “Alas, the heart of a parent!”
“I think this illness of his is also because he’s unhappy in his heart. You should remind him often not to be so impulsive and irritable,” Princess Consort Zhao said. “I know you all take great care of him when you are with him, but I am truly worried about his temper.”
“It’s not that I’m being gossipy, but it’s not surprising that our Heir Apparent is unhappy. For example, today, Princess Duanmin invited Prince Chu’s Heir Apparent and the others to eat grilled lamb, but they didn’t even ask our Heir Apparent. They could have at least said something, like our Heir Apparent is sick, which would have been proper etiquette. They didn’t even send someone as small as a grasshopper, and they just left us aside.” Ying Tong’s granny said with dissatisfaction.
In the past, Prince Zhao’s Heir Apparent was the most important person in the palace. Who would dare to neglect him? Even she, his granny, was respected by everyone.
Princess Consort Zhao was naturally pained to hear that her son had been neglected, so she asked the granny, “Does the Empress know about this?”
“I don’t know if Her Ladyship the Empress knows or not, but I heard that Princess Duanmin and the others have rejected the Empress’s face. The hierarchy in the palace is not being observed anymore,” the granny pouted. “Her Ladyship the Empress originally wanted to treat them to lamb soup, but they didn’t appreciate it. Our Heir Apparent is currently sick and cannot eat lamb, so she ordered the Imperial Kitchen to prepare a lighter meal for him. Her Ladyship the Empress is very concerned about our Heir Apparent.”
As they were talking, they arrived. The granny lifted the curtain, and the palace maids inside came forward to greet them.
“I’m feeling very cold. I’ll sit in the outer room first,” Princess Consort Zhao said. The palace maids immediately stepped forward to help her take off her outer clothes and brought over a brazier.
