Chapter 57: The Crown Prince Must Be the First to Touch It

Xiao Youlan did not speak.

From his perspective, this high fever of Zhong Yun's had come about suspiciously.

The people he had sent over were not fools; it was impossible for them not to know if someone had fallen ill, and if they had discovered that Zhong Yun was unwell, they naturally would have reported it immediately.

In the current situation, it could only be that Zhong Yun had deliberately hidden it from these people herself, or rather, she had intentionally made herself sick.

"I know what you are thinking."

Emperor Yongzheng spoke in an indifferent tone, "You merely feel that this must be a play directed and acted by the Zhong girl herself. Because she wanted to stay overnight in the Eastern Palace, and you refused her, she is feigning illness and feigning pity."

These little tricks could not deceive Xiao Youlan, and even less could they deceive the current Emperor.

Xiao Youlan did not raise his head, and he still did not speak.

Emperor Yongzheng said firmly, "She is doing this only to stay in the Eastern Palace and to keep your heart. In my opinion, for a young woman to be willing to put in such effort is not a bad thing; it can even be called interesting. If I were you, I would have kept her in the Eastern Palace yesterday."

Xiao Youlan knew that his Imperial Father would say such things.

"Even if you do not like her, she is, after all, just a woman. The Eastern Palace is so large; are you afraid there are no vacant rooms? Or are you lacking in her food and clothing? She is, after all, Grand Tutor Zhong's own granddaughter. Although the Zhong family's descendants are few, Grand Tutor Zhong has been an official in the court for these years, and those he has befriended or promoted are as numerous as the hairs on an ox. He is also a great Confucian scholar of his generation. You marrying this granddaughter of his is of nothing but benefit to you."

Xiao Youlan remained silent.

"Could it be that you listened to your mother the Empress and only want one woman in this life? If it were an ordinary family, that would be fine, but you are the Crown Prince, and furthermore, the future Emperor. An Emperor with only one wife cannot sit firmly on the throne, and this is also a lack of responsibility toward the world." Emperor Yongzheng was thinking that perhaps he should not have let his son stay by the Empress's side back then.

The Empress was indeed intelligent; she was proficient in the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and she never forgot the poetry and essays she read. The sons and daughters raised by her side were all intelligent and sensible.

But the Empress also had her flaws; she was too womanly and benevolent, yearning for "one life, one pair," and even used this to teach her son.

This was what had raised a Xiao Youlan.

Seeing Xiao Youlan knitting his brows, Emperor Yongzheng knew he was about to speak up to refute him.

He spoke first, coldly, saying, "You must know that you are not my only son."

Xiao Youlan was startled.

"A few days ago, I received a family letter from the Jing Prince. He is your younger brother and was also taught at your mother the Empress's knees in those years. In the letter, he said he missed me, and also missed you, his elder brother, but you should understand that what he also misses is your position as Crown Prince and this dragon chair of mine. Furthermore, the Duan Prince is also still in Fengdu."

Upon hearing the Duan Prince, Xiao Youlan's gaze deepened a little.

"Originally, he said the Virtuous Consort's health had greatly improved and he was preparing to return to Lianzhou. But I sent people to Jiaoyuan this morning to have him stay a while longer. I heard he and the Yan Family girl are in mutual love. My intention is that it won't be too late to leave after this marriage is settled. After all, with a high-ranking and influential family like the Yan Family, forming a marriage alliance is a great help, no matter what one does."

Xiao Youlan knew that his Imperial Father mentioning these brothers was all to keep him in check.

If he did not act as Crown Prince, there were plenty of people who wanted to enter the Eastern Palace immediately.

If it were in the past, Xiao Youlan would not have felt there was anything to it; if he didn't act as Crown Prince, so be it.

But now, he could not be so casual.

Because "Hua Lianying" had not yet fallen in love with him.

He was merely relying on his status and power as Crown Prince to forcibly keep her by his side; if he were no longer the Crown Prince, he would not be able to keep her.

If the Duan Prince became the Crown Prince, she would return to his side.

This was something Xiao Youlan absolutely did not want to see.

Therefore, facing his Imperial Father, Xiao Youlan chose to bow his head in submission, "This son knows his mistake; this son understands."

With these words from him, Emperor Yongzheng's expression softened a little; after all, Xiao Youlan was still his most proud and favorite son.

His tone became kinder as he said, "Then go to Baoci Palace and bring the Zhong girl to the Eastern Palace."

Having just intimidated the Crown Prince, he also timely displayed a benevolent side, saying, "The end of the month is the Empress Dowager's birthday. At that time, you shall bring the woman you admire into the palace to attend the banquet for me to take a look. If she is a good one, I will make the decision to take her in as a Side Consort or a Lady."

Combining kindness with severity was Emperor Yongzheng's habitual method.

Xiao Youlan bowed his head respectfully, "Many thanks, Imperial Father."

Eastern Palace.

In the front courtyard, Shu Yu was clutching a recurve bow, showing it off triumphantly to several personal guards. When someone coveted it and wanted to touch it, he hurriedly turned to avoid them, saying with great seriousness, "No! This must be touched by His Highness the Crown Prince first!"

He looked out toward the gate again, "Strange, why hasn't His Highness the Crown Prince returned yet?"

He did not wait for the Xiao Youlan he was longing for, but instead waited for the bored Nan Xueyin.

Nan Xueyin strolled over, pointed at the recurve bow in his hand, and asked right away, "Where did this come from?"

Shu Yu did not hide anything, "This is a new recurve bow our craftsmen just finished researching. It is heavier and more powerful than those in the past; it is said it can shoot through the armor of ordinary soldiers. I just got it and am going to let His Highness have a look."

Nan Xueyin became a little interested, "Let me see."

Shu Yu refused without thinking, "No! You are a weak woman; you can't hold this recurve bow, don't go knocking it up for me!"

Nan Xueyin did not say a second word and reached out to grab it directly.

Shu Yu yelled "Hey, hey, hey!" for a long time, but this "weak woman" in his mouth snatched the recurve bow from his arms in a few quick moves.

Considering she was a woman favored by the Crown Prince, Shu Yu yielded a little and did not scold her, but just put his hands on his hips and said, "It's no use even if you snatched it; this string is pulled extremely tight, most people can't even pull..."

Before the word "open" had even left the bottom of his throat, he saw Nan Xueyin lift the recurve bow in a very casual posture, her thumb and the web of her hand neatly hooking it, and the string was pulled open with ease.

Shu Yu saw it with his own eyes and stared blankly.

Nan Xueyin released the string and commented calmly, "It is indeed not very easy to pull."

Shu Yu:...

How did that not sound humble at all?

Nan Xueyin turned her head to look and saw arrows placed beside him. She picked one up, nocked it, looked left, and looked right, aiming to find the most expensive door or landscape.

After looking around, Nan Xueyin chose the north side, the Crown Prince's study.

She drew the bow and nocked the arrow, aiming at the position.

The arrow flew out almost instantly, nailing fiercely into the door pillar of the study, emitting a muffled "thump" sound.

"Ah!"

It was also at this moment that a woman's scream suddenly rang out from behind.

Nan Xueyin turned her head and saw Xiao Youlan, as well as the pale-faced Zhong Yun beside him.