CH 72.1

Chapter 72.1 – This Face Causes Trouble

They had a good night’s sleep in the palace, but on the second day, it snowed again outside.

The Emperor and the officials were stuck in the palace. The Emperor was said to have had a fever last night, and someone were sent to the capital overnight to call the royal physician. There hadn’t been any news about his condition until this morning, but judging from Zhang Jian’s look, it was probably going to be hard to return today.

When Qi Yang and Lu Qipei arrived outside the Emperor’s residence, the Fourth Prince was pestering Zhang Jian, saying, “This palace doesn’t have a lot of physicians and medicines, I’m afraid it would be inconvenient if Royal Father stayed here to recuperate. We’re only 50 li from the capital, and it only takes two to three hours by carriage. It would be better to return to the palace.”

Zhang Jian smiled as he listened, but his face was serious as he said, “It would not be possible today. Your Highness can see that it’s snowing again outside. No matter how carefully you drive, it wouldn’t be as good as staying warm inside. If His Majesty caught a cold outside again, I’m afraid the illness might become worse…”

Zhang Jian’s eyes were shining as he gave the Fourth Prince a meaningful look, as if saying ‘if his Majesty’s condition worsens, can you bear the responsibility?’

The Fourth Prince understood; he only wanted to take advantage of the Emperor’s illness to curry favor, so how would he dare to bear such a responsibility? He immediately hesitated, and just happened to catch a glimpse of Qi Yang and Lu Qipei arriving. He immediately changed the topic towards them, “Qi Yang is here too?”

Zhang Jiang also saw Qi Yang and her prince consort, and gave them a bow.

Qi Yang nodded at the Fourth Prince and asked Zhang Jian, “I heard that Royal Father had a fever last night, and his condition got worse. I was worried, so I’ve come to visit.” After a pause, she glanced at the Fourth Prince again, “I don’t know how Royal Father is right now, would it be convenient to meet him?”

Zhang Jian’s face did not change when he heard those words. First, he said that His Majesty was in good health, then he went inside the hall to report.

After Zhang Jian left, the Fourth Prince snorted and said, “Royal Sister sure is busy. You didn’t come when Royal Father was sick yesterday, and only thought of visiting now?” As he said that, he glanced at Lu Qipei, as if saying that she only cared about her little romance and didn’t care about her father’s health.

Then, the Fourth Prince continued, “However, your visit today is in vain. Royal Father is not seeing anyone. If you’re busy, you should just go back.”

The Fourth Prince was being snide, but unfortunately Qi Yang just ignored him completely. It made him feel powerless, as if his fist was hitting cotton. From the very beginning, he didn’t like Qi Yang for one sole reason – it was because she was favored by the Emperor.

However, the Fourth Prince still underestimated how much Qi Yang was favored by the Emperor. As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Jian came out. The latter was still smiling, but his words were completely different from when he was facing him. “His Majesty hasn’t rested yet, please come in, Your Highness.”

Qi Yang didn’t say anything about this outcome, and let Lu Qipei inside after thanking Zhang Jian.

The Fourth Prince’s eyes opened in astonishment, as if he had not expected the Emperor to show his favoritism so blatantly. Although the Emperor had been partial ever since he was small, this was the first time it was so blatant.

He turned to Zhang Jian and gritted his teeth, saying, “Since Royal Father is seeing Qi Yang, he should be in good health. I would also like to see him.”

After saying that, he was going to follow Qi Yang and Lu Qipei, but he was stopped by Zhang Jian. “His Majesty is only seeing Princess Qi Yang and her prince consort.”

The Fourth Prince became even more upset. He tried suppressing his emotions, but failed. He asked, “Why? Is His Majesty so partial to Qi Yang!?”

Of course this wasn’t something easy for Zhang Jiang to say, but anyone with eyes could see that the Crown Prince and Princess Qi Yang were His Majesty’s favorite son and daughter. The former was born from the Empress, while the latter was born from his favorite consort.

What was even more rare was that the two had always had a good relationship, and the two of them took up all the Emperor’s love and affection. The rest of his children were basically in the same situation as the Third Prince, and didn’t have much weight in the Emperor’s heart.

Instead of answering this sensitive question, Zhang Jiang lowered his eyelids to answer the previous question. “His Majesty said that there was a lot of noise outside the hall earlier which disturbed him, so he doesn’t want to see anyone else.”

The meaning of these words was obvious; the Fourth Prince had been too noisy. But he was here to show his concern and filial piety!

The Emperor had such a temperament; he was very nice to those he loved, and cruel to those he hated. As for the rest, he didn’t care about them. And the Fourth Prince had never been someone who could enter his heart. Although he already understood that the Emperor was cold, his heart still felt cold at this moment.

In the end, he didn’t have the courage to cause a ruckus outside the Emperor’s residence. Not to mention, the Emperor already disliked him for being noisy before, so he could only turn around and leave.

Zhang Jian looked at his back and secretly shook his head. He stood in a different position, and saw things differently. No wonder the Emperor favored the Crown Prince and Princess Qi Yang; none of these princes were smart… and some were not only not smart, but also didn’t even know their duties!