Chapter 204 - 205: Foolish Shenanigans
Li Hao didn’t like to argue. If there was a problem, he solved it with his fists.
And now was no exception.
He rolled up his sleeves and charged at Li Yan.
Of course, Li Yan wasn’t just going to stand there and take it.
Just as the two were about to go at it, someone suddenly shouted.
"The Saint has arrived!"
Everyone present froze.
Li Hao and Li Yan both stopped, pretending as if nothing had happened. They joined their brothers and sisters in greeting the Emperor.
"Your son greets Imperial Father."
Li Ji also stood and bowed to the Emperor.
The Emperor looked at his children. Seeing them all grow up so tall, handsome, and dignified filled his heart with great satisfaction.
He said with a smile.
"Court ended early today, and We had nothing else to do, so We came to see your lesson.
How is it going? What have you learned from Prince Zhao?"
Li Hao said without hesitation, "Our teacher is amazing!"
No matter how foolish Li Yan might be, he knew better than to speak ill of Prince Zhao in front of their father. So, he nodded in agreement.
"The teacher is indeed amazing. None of us can beat him."
The Emperor laughed at this. "But of course. Prince Zhao went to the battlefield at a very young age and often fought against enemy troops. His skills are unquestionable. But don’t be discouraged. Study hard with Prince Zhao, and sooner or later, you will become as brave and formidable as he is."
Li Hao nodded vigorously.
"Yes! I will study hard."
The Emperor knew that his presence would disturb his children’s lesson.
So after a short while, he prepared to leave.
As he turned, the Emperor’s gaze inadvertently fell upon the little book boy standing behind Prince Zhao.
The little book boy’s head was lowered, and only his forehead and a part of his eyes and brows were visible, not his full face.
But the Emperor still found him familiar.
It wasn’t until he had left the Training Ground and was seated in the Dragon Carriage that the Emperor remembered where he had seen that little book boy before.
But at that time, the little book boy had been wearing women’s clothes.
It was Lady Hua from Prince Zhao Mansion.
The Emperor couldn’t help but frown.
He knew Prince Zhao was very fond of this Lady Hua, but no matter how fond, he shouldn’t have brought her to Chongwen Hall.
’That’s where the princes and princesses study! How can I let him act so recklessly?!’
Zuo Ji asked respectfully.
"Is Your Majesty returning to Hanzhang Hall?"
The Emperor thought for a moment before saying, "To Fanghua Palace."
Fanghua Palace was the residence of Princess Consort Jin.
Princess Consort Jin was one of the earliest Concubines to enter the palace. Her beauty was no longer as radiant as it once was, and fine crow’s feet had appeared at the corners of her eyes.
The Emperor rarely spent the night with her anymore, but he never forgot her share of gifts during festivals. When he occasionally thought of her, he would come and visit for a while.
Furthermore, Princess Consort Jin had given birth to a princess, and with her sweet daughter by her side every day, her life was quite comfortable.
Princess Consort Jin was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Emperor had arrived.
"This consort greets Your Majesty."
The Emperor helped her up and chatted with her about daily matters with a smile.
After the pleasantries were over, the Emperor finally got to business.
"You mentioned before that you have a niece, sixteen years old, with a gentle temperament and outstanding looks, and that your family wanted to marry her to Prince Zhao.
How are things progressing? Do you need Us to decree a marriage?"
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Princess Consort Jin’s expression became very strange.
Seeing her hesitant look, the Emperor said.
"If you have something to say, say it directly."
Princess Consort Jin said cautiously.
"This consort originally intended to mention this marriage to you, but... but I’ve heard people say that Prince Zhao prefers men and isn’t interested in women."
The Emperor’s expression changed, and he snapped in a low voice.
"Nonsense!"
Princess Consort Jin was startled. She hurriedly got up and knelt beside the Emperor.
"This consort misspoke. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
The palace maids and eunuchs standing by also knelt down one after another.
The Emperor told them all to rise.
He asked with a cold face, "Where did these rumors come from?"
Princess Consort Jin had heard it from her own sweet daughter.
Naturally, she couldn’t sell out her daughter, so she could only force herself to lie.
"This consort doesn’t know where they came from. In any case, many people are saying it.
I felt there must be some truth to it, so I decided to give up on the idea of marrying my niece to Prince Zhao."
After leaving Fanghua Palace, the Emperor instructed Zuo Ji, who was following him.
"Have someone investigate who is spreading these malicious rumors to slander Prince Zhao."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Imperial Palace wasn’t small, but it wasn’t vast either.
With a little extra effort, Zuo Ji discovered the source of the rumors.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, it’s because Prince Zhao was personally teaching a little book boy by his side during archery class. Their actions were overly intimate, which led people to make assumptions and sparked the rumors."
What Zuo Ji didn’t say was that there had already been many rumors before this suggesting Prince Zhao might prefer men.
’Otherwise, he’s a grown man with so many concubines in his rear courtyard, yet not a single one is pregnant to this day.’
’Does that make any sense?!’
Hearing the words "little book boy," the Emperor immediately thought of Lady Hua.
Prince Zhao had only brought one little book boy with him to the palace—Lady Hua, disguised as a man.
To those who didn’t know the truth, Prince Zhao and the book boy were so close, there must be some sort of unspeakable relationship between them.
It had even reached the point where Prince Zhao’s marriage prospects were being affected.
The Emperor wouldn’t believe this was Prince Zhao’s fault.
He felt it was all Lady Hua’s fault for being so insensible. Relying on his favor, she acted wantonly and seduced Prince Zhao into this reckless behavior with her.
The Emperor was a man himself; he knew that when a man was overcome with passion, he wouldn’t listen to reason.
If he were to forcibly separate Prince Zhao and Lady Hua, or do something unpleasant to Lady Hua, not only would Prince Zhao fail to appreciate his good intentions, but he would also come to resent him.
The Emperor didn’t want to fight with Prince Zhao over a mere Lady Hua.
This matter still had to be handled through Prince Zhao.
The Emperor summoned Wu Wang and instructed him.
"Go to the Training Ground and give Prince Zhao a message. Tell him to come see Us after class. We have something to discuss with him."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
「In the Training Ground.」
The princes and princesses were all playing on their own.
As usual, Li Ji was teaching Hua Manman archery.
By now, Hua Manman had learned the basic archery techniques. She could shoot an arrow without Li Ji’s hand-over-hand guidance, but her aim was still not very good. She needed more practice.
Wu Wang walked over quickly and relayed the Emperor’s message to Prince Zhao.
Li Ji waved his hand. "This Prince understands. You may leave."
Wu Wang left respectfully.
Before he left, he glanced furtively toward the Training Ground.
But he quickly averted his gaze and hurried away.
After returning to Hanzhang Hall, he faithfully reported what he had seen and heard at the Training Ground to the Emperor.
When the Emperor learned that Prince Zhao had spent the lesson preoccupied with fooling around with Lady Hua, even neglecting the princes and princesses, he became even more determined in his idea to arrange a marriage for Prince Zhao.
As long as Prince Zhao married a proper wife, his Princess Consort could properly manage the women in the Prince Mansion’s rear courtyard, including Lady Hua.
That would prevent Prince Zhao from being seduced by Lady Hua into such foolishness again.