Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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Su Xi didn’t sleep well all night, tossing and turning, her face inexplicably flushed. She was afraid that Lu Huan, who had the screen on, would see her unable to sleep, so she pulled the blanket over her head, trying her best to control her body and not move around, so as not to reveal her chaotic thoughts.
As a result, she had two dark circles under her eyes the next day. Su Xi looked in the mirror and was shocked.
The final exams were over. Su Xi was going back to school to pick up the exam papers and summer homework. Summer vacation would then officially begin. Usually, except during exam periods, she would log on every few hours to check on her son’s situation. However, after their heart-to-heart talk in the Imperial Garden last night, Su Xi’s cheeks were burning, and she didn’t dare to log on casually.
As she left the school gate, Huo Jingchuan and Gu Qin walked towards her from the convenience store. Huo Jingchuan, in a carefree and irresponsible manner, instinctively reached out to hook his arm around her neck: “Let’s go home together, Xi Xi.”
Normally, Su Xi would just shove his arm away and tell him to get lost. If she couldn’t stop him, she would just let him hook his arm around her shoulder. After all, the three of them had grown up together since childhood, and there was no distinction between genders. But for some reason, when she saw Huo Jingchuan, her eyelids twitched. She glanced at the air and felt inexplicably guilty. So she quickly jumped back a meter away and warned, “Don’t touch me.”
Huo Jingchuan: “…Are you running a fever?”
After all, in ancient times, men and women were not supposed to have physical contact. Although Lu Huan had begun to learn about modern culture, his mindset hadn’t completely changed yet. If he saw Huo Jingchuan with his arm around his shoulder, his face would definitely turn black… and he might even have tears in his eyes and a dark cloud hanging over his head…
“I don’t have a fever.” Su Xi carefully avoided Huo Jingchuan, preventing his groping hands from getting close to her.
Amid Huo Jingchuan’s speechlessness, Gu Qin’s bewilderment, and her wariness, the three of them went home, each carrying their summer homework.
As Su Xi changed her shoes in the entryway, she overheard her mother talking on the phone with a friend. The friend was saying that recently, people had been sending her gifts frequently— fruit, bird’s nest, health supplements, you name it— and each time they’d leave a note with the doorman telling her to accept it. Her mother was puzzled but also delighted: “The handwriting is quite beautiful, even calligraphy, it’s so elegant it’s unbelievable…”
But Su Xi didn’t pay much attention. She took her homework back to her room, tidied up her desk, and planned to finish all her summer homework in the next few days so that she could relax completely for the next month or two.
She dawdled, glancing at her phone every few minutes as if waiting for a message, but finally couldn’t resist and went online to charge her phone.
As the Emperor had told Lu Huan in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he announced to the civil and military officials today that he had decided to bring the Ninth Prince, who was being raised at Changchun Temple and was now seventeen years old, back to the palace and restore his status as the Ninth Prince.
These words shocked everyone, and the Golden Palace erupted in chaos. When Lu Huan changed into the prince’s attire and stepped into the palace, the civil and military officials were even more astonished.
When the Zhenyuan army returned to the outskirts of the capital, the first person the emperor secretly summoned was not the Zhenyuan General, but a cavalry captain in the army. That very night, this aroused speculation among many ministers who knew the news. Some clever ones had already guessed this, while many more were shocked.
Although Lu Huan had never attended court before, many civil and military officials recognized him, especially the Fifth Prince and others. They couldn’t understand why, despite being clearly just a son of a concubine from the Ning Wang’s household, he was now being claimed by the Emperor as the child of Consort Qing. It was easy to understand— Consort Qing’s death must have been suspicious; she had not only secretly given birth to the child but also secretly sent him out of the palace— but why, seventeen years later, would the Emperor want to bring back the Ninth Prince?!
And what about all those rumors circulating in the capital about the Ninth Prince’s dedication to the country and its people? Could it all have been a prelude to today’s scene in the Golden Palace?
The princes all looked rather awkward, especially the fifth prince, who stared at Lu Huan with an extremely unpleasant expression.
One of the prime minister’s brother-in-law’s henchmen couldn’t help but raise a question in the Golden Palace: “Your Majesty, the status of a prince is no small matter. Is there any evidence to show that if anyone dares to deceive the emperor, it is a serious crime!”
The emperor sneered, “Evidence? I am the evidence. Are you questioning me, my dear minister?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the official was dragged out and immediately imprisoned. The emperor used this decisive method to silence all the civil and military officials in the court.
The emperor then ordered the Grand Astrologer to first compile the scrolls and then choose a day to announce them to the world.
The die was cast. Although the matter caused a great uproar, it was ultimately settled by the Emperor’s insistence. To the astonishment of the civil and military officials, General Zhenyuan, the Minister of War, and Grand Commandant Yun had quietly sided with the Ninth Prince. Among the most formidable figures in the court were General Zhenyuan and the Minister of War. These two held military power, did not form cliques, and could not be won over by a few gifts or beauties from any prince. Yet, everyone looked at the Ninth Prince with complex emotions, wondering how he had managed to gain such favor so quickly after regaining his status.
In this way, the officials, both civil and military, kept their eyes down and their minds at ease, and a subtle change occurred in their hearts…
The imperial court was in turmoil, and the power dynamics in the capital city were undergoing a sudden and dramatic change.
When Su Xi logged on, the incident had already occurred for more than half a day. She found the cub on the map and discovered that the cub was in the mansion he had bought before heading to the Northern Territory. He had bought it in a hurry but had not yet furnished it properly.
At this moment, it seemed that he has been granted a prince’s residence by the emperor, and his steward and imperial guards were moving his belongings.
A banquet would be held tonight, and the Emperor would also be attending.
By now, the threshold of the mansion was almost worn down by the crowds, as countless officials from the capital came to present congratulatory gifts and celebrate the Ninth Prince’s return.
That’s how it was in the capital. People fawned over the powerful and bullied the weak. Those who had previously interacted with the boy were in a state of great shock. They never expected that the rumors about the Ninth Prince that had been circulating recently were actually true. Moreover, he was a young cavalry captain under General Zhenyuan, who made great contributions in the Northern Border Campaign.
The pragmatic officials didn’t care where the little prince had been or what he had done before; they only knew that he was now the Ninth Prince, a figurehead appointed by the Emperor, and so they all rushed to flatter him.
The main gate of the Ninth Prince’s residence was bustling with activity, as officials offered their congratulations. However, after searching around, Su Xi found the cub at the side gate, seemingly dealing with some thorny issue.
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