Chapter 288

Chapter 288 Xie Run said meekly, "Even if your concubine is eloquent, isn't it because Your Highness indulges her?" As she spoke, she quietly stepped forward and tugged at Prince Jing's sleeve, lowering her voice. "Your Highness, the maids and servants are all here. Please grant your concubine a bit of face." "If not for your concubine's sake, then for Taotao's sake?" "His face is big, so his face should carry more weight than mine." Prince Jing had remained composed through the earlier part, but at those last words, he couldn't hold it in and nearly laughed out loud. Still, to maintain his image, he didn't let the laugh escape directly. "Say that to Taotao when he's older, and see if he gets angry at you, his mother." Xie Run could tell from his tone that there was no trouble today, and she said with a smile, "He's still young now, so having a big face is only natural. Everyone he meets praises him for being blessed." "If he still looks like this when he grows up..." Xie Run paused and glanced at Prince Jing. "Your Highness and your concubine are hardly ugly people, so Taotao shouldn't end up with a round face either." She nodded with certainty. She didn't quite dare to imagine that beautiful picture. After exchanging a few lighthearted words with her, Prince Jing's anger did dissipate somewhat. He picked up the tea on the table and took a shallow sip, but in the end, he didn't care for it much and quietly set it back down. Prince Jing: "Do you know why I am angry?" Xie Run thought for a moment. "Your concubine does not know." "I originally thought Your Highness was angry that your concubine sent someone to the front courtyard this morning to ask how to handle Concubine Wan's funeral arrangements. But upon reflection, Your Highness is not the sort to be so unreasonable." "Could it be that some careless person did something foolish today and provoked Your Highness's anger?" Xie Run made a casual guess, and as it turned out, she hit the mark. Prince Jing gave her a dark look, and Eunuch Shian, reading the situation, stepped forward to explain briefly. "Your Highness encountered Consort Hua on the way here." Xie Run: "..." Just hearing Consort Hua's name made Xie Run's teeth ache. That one had no ill intentions, truly, but she wasn't very clever and loved doing foolish things. Eunuch Shian also looked somewhat aggrieved. When the master was angry, those who served him closely suffered as well. "Consort Hua was wearing a white dress, burning paper money and setting off lotus lanterns by the Bishui Canal." "She said she was praying for peace and safety for the people and soldiers affected by the disaster in Qiangwu..." Xie Run: Hard to comment. As concubines of Prince Jing, only if the Prince died could they wear all white—that was mourning attire. Of course, there was also the Emperor's death, but that was still far off. Prince Jing had just been established as Crown Prince, and the turmoil in the manor had just settled. Things were finally looking up, yet she went and courted bad luck in white clothes. No wonder Prince Jing's expression was sour. Xie Run said softly, "Consort Hua has always acted without thinking things through. Shall your concubine send someone tomorrow to remind her properly?" Xie Run thought she would need to find someone with seniority from the Qingsong Courtyard. Otherwise, if she sent her own people, Hua Yu might take it as provocation or humiliation. Prince Jing gave a light snort. "No need." "With that brain of hers... reminding her would just be a waste of breath." The disdain in those words was rather heavy. Xie Run realized belatedly, "Your Highness is this angry—could it be that you suffered some grievance today?" Prince Jing immediately sat up straight. "Who could possibly make me suffer a grievance?!" Such a strong reaction—it seemed she had guessed right. Xie Run watched Prince Jing in silence. Prince Jing: "..." After a moment, Prince Jing finally spoke: "Why do you not address me as Crown Prince?" The question came out of nowhere and startled Xie Run. She belatedly performed a bow. "Does Your Highness wish to hear the truth or a lie?" Prince Jing: "Tell me both." Xie Run felt helpless inside but said slowly, "If Your Highness wishes to hear the truth, then it is that your concubine is timid and only dares to act according to the rules." According to the rules, only after Prince Jing underwent the investiture ceremony and received the jade seal could he truly become the Crown Prince. This was the same principle as when concubines in the inner court were promoted—only after being registered at the Zongren Mansion and receiving the official decree of investiture could they be considered truly elevated in rank. "If Your Highness wishes to hear a lie, then it is that your concubine prefers to call you 'Your Highness' to seem more intimate; your concubine also does not care for flattery..." Prince Jing laughed. "Your words are half truth, half lie—I suspect you've thought through all of it already?" Xie Run lowered her head, looking a bit embarrassed. "Since Your Highness sees through everything, why must you expose your concubine?" "If you wish for your concubine to call you Crown Prince, then your concubine will boldly do so in private?" Prince Jing snorted coldly. "No need for that!" "Whether I can even become Crown Prince is still up in the air!" Xie Run was not one to be easily intimidated. "Your Highness must not jest with your concubine." "Something as major as establishing a Crown Prince—the Emperor has already issued the decree personally. Who could possibly change it?" Even if the current Emperor was unreliable, there was no precedent for revoking a decree establishing a Crown Prince. Prince Jing wore a faint, ambiguous smile on his face. "Today, the court officials were all discussing whether, if I became Crown Prince, the Princess Consort would be fit to be Crown Princess." "Nine out of ten spoke at length, listing all manner of reasons why the Princess Consort could not be Crown Princess." "From what they meant, if I wished to become Crown Prince, the first thing I would need to do was divorce my wife—or demote her from wife to concubine." "To do such a shameless thing, if it's recorded in the annals of history, I'm afraid I'll be cursed by ten thousand people. Those old bastards actually have the nerve to say such things!" Prince Jing had wanted to say this for a long time. It was only because those old-timers in court had deep seniority, and he had only just been established as Crown Prince, that he couldn't be too presumptuous. Now, with a belly full of pent-up frustration, he had finally found an opportunity to voice it. As soon as Xie Run heard this, she knew that Prince Jing had been holding in his anger at court. Consort Hua had just happened to be foolish enough to come before Prince Jing, walking right into the line of fire. Xie Run: "This concubine does not understand the matters the court officials discuss." She lowered her head and said gently, "I only know that Your Highness is the Crown Prince personally appointed by the Emperor, and that will not change because of the court officials' dissatisfaction." Prince Jing had always been a man of temper, not a spineless sort like Prince An or Prince Wei. Even when he was still an unfavored prince, he had secretly harbored defiance against the Emperor. Now that he was firmly established as Crown Prince, he could do whatever he pleased with even more abandon—how could he be manipulated by a few court officials? The court officials may not have genuinely objected to a foreign woman like the Princess Consort taking the position of Crown Princess; rather, they likely wished to gain some leverage over Prince Jing while his foundation was not yet stable. What appeared to be a struggle over the position of Crown Princess was, in reality, a contest of strength between the old ministers and the new Crown Prince.