Chapter 1317: 【Tongue-Blossoming Lotus】(Lower)

Hu Xiaotian said: "I dare not, following Dakang's ancestral regulations, how could a woman become king? Earlier, Your Majesty made the Princess a king out of necessity, having no choice; now Dakang's situation has improved, and we have found the Third Imperial Brother, so naturally we no longer need the Princess, removing her princely title is justified and also avoids gossip."

Qiqi heard him speak so boldly, and she couldn't help but be secretly startled; Hu Xiaotian truly acted recklessly, daring to say such sarcastic remarks in front of the Emperor.

Long Xuan'en angrily said: "Bold!"

Qiqi hurriedly knelt: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger; he always talks nonsense, Your Majesty, please don't lower yourself to his level."

Long Xuan'en glared at Hu Xiaotian and said: "Rules are man-made; in Dakang my word still counts. Since I dared to break convention and appoint Qiqi as king, I will not fear outside gossip, Qiqi! You must continue as Yongyang King; I do not allow you to relinquish the title."

Qiqi sighed helplessly: "But if I do not relinquish the title, after marrying Tian-ge, what will he be—prince consort or queen?"

Hu Xiaotian opened his mouth wide, then smiled at Qiqi: "As long as you are happy, whatever you call me is fine."

Shamelessness makes one invincible; this thought simultaneously arose in the hearts of Qiqi and Long Xuan'en.

Long Xuan'en said: "Xiaotian's words are not entirely without reason; since it is a joyous occasion, we should seek auspiciousness. The Yongyang Prince's mansion was originally granted to you by me; there is no reason to have you give it up."

Qiqi said: "But..."

Hu Xiaotian here knelt with a thud and shouted: "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"

Qiqi wished she could kick this scoundrel's buttocks; he was deliberately creating discord between her and Long Tingzhen, his heart deserving death.

Long Xuan'en said: "I will personally explain things to Tingzhen; I believe he will have no complaints."

Hu Xiaotian thanked profusely and left with Qiqi to the gate. Qiqi was furious beyond measure; she had wanted to scold him soundly, but after thinking it over she gave him the cold shoulder, strode forward quickly, widening the distance between them to vent her dissatisfaction.

Hu Xiaotian knew she was angry; he did not step forward, smiling as he watched Qiqi depart, not following her. At times like this he could not be bothered to court trouble—women are like that: the more you indulge them, the more they act up.

Qiqi walked a distance, realized he had not followed, turned around and discovered Hu Xiaotian had vanished. She felt a twinge of curiosity, summoned a palace maid and asked: "Where is Hu Xiaotian?"

The maid pointed eastward: "He went toward the Imperial Kitchen Bureau."

Qiqi furrowed her brows; the current Deputy Director of the Imperial Kitchen Bureau is Shi Xuedong, who is Hu Xiaotian's sworn brother, so Hu Xiaotian must have gone to visit him. This scoundrel, stirring up so many troubles, has left me seething; now he leaves as if nothing happened. Truly worthless, Qiqi's anger has nowhere to go. Seeing the maid's eyes darting about, she snapped angrily: "Scoundrel, what are you looking at?"

The maid fell to her knees with a thud, trembling: "I, your servant, acknowledge my fault..."

Qiqi could not be bothered with her; she hurried toward the Resplendent Palace.

Hu Xiaotian indeed went to the Imperial Kitchen Bureau; it was already lunchtime, so he went to get something tasty and, by the way, visit his sworn brother Shi Xuedong. Arriving at the bureau's gate, he happened to meet the Emperor's personal eunuch Yin Zheng, who oversees the Emperor's meals and drinks and performs routine checks before each meal. Seeing Hu Xiaotian appear openly, he hurried forward, bowed respectfully, and said: "Your servant greets the Prince Consort!"

Hu Xiaotian hehe laughed: "Yin Gonggong, you are too polite; I and the Princess are not yet married, our friendship is deep, so when no outsiders are present we may address each other as brothers."

Given his current status, even if you lent Yin Zheng a gall of courage he would not dare call me brother; he accompanied his words with a smiling face: "Whether engaged or not makes no difference."

Hu Xiaotian grunted, thinking to himself: "You eunuch understand nothing; being married and unmarried are certainly different," and smiled: "I have just gone with the Princess to pay respects to the Emperor; I was surprised not to see you, yet here you are."

Yin Zheng said: "I must come daily for the routine inspection; the Emperor's diet cannot be neglected."

Hu Xiaotian said: "After you finish, let's share a meal."

Yin Zheng laughed: "I, a lowly servant, have no such fortune." He glanced around, lowered his voice: "Yesterday, the Zhou Chancellor came and sighed long with the Emperor."

Hu Xiaotian nodded; Zhou Ruiyuan's visit to the old Emperor was indeed my idea, and Yin Zheng does not know I previously had Zhou Ruiyuan do work for me, but from this we can see Yin Zheng is still fairly loyal to me.

Yin Zheng lowered his voice: "I vaguely heard they were discussing the heir apparent."

From afar came Shi Xuedong's loud laughter: "Has Minister Hu arrived?"

Yin Zheng hurriedly stopped speaking, slipped to the side, being cautious and not wanting outsiders to know of his private relations with Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian also smiled and stepped forward, clasping his hands: "Elder brother, I came to the palace to pay respects to the Emperor; it just so happened to be mealtime, so I shamelessly came to beg a meal."

Shi Xuedong laughed heartily, affectionately putting an arm around Hu Xiaotian's shoulder, speaking softly: "Mountain delicacies and sea flavors are yours to choose; the old fogey certainly does not have your blessings." The old fogey of course refers to the Emperor.

Shi Xuedong is also a shrewd person; since taking charge of the Imperial Kitchen Bureau, he has kept this place and the Imperial Garden Bureau in perfect order, managing his subordinates with skill; a group of little eunuchs have been made obedient under him, and even the Imperial Kitchen's chefs are respectful.

Shi Xuedong ordered a trusted eunuch; not long after, a table of fine dishes was sent to his room. The greatest benefit of overseeing the Imperial Kitchen Bureau is satisfying one's appetite; whatever the Emperor wishes to eat must first pass his lips, and he must taste every delicacy. Now he has eaten to his fill, his belly and intestines bulging, clearly having grown a notch fatter than before.

The wine is also the fine Jade Spring wine searched from the Imperial Garden Bureau's cellar; since Hu Xiaotian left the palace, Shi Xuedong has held great power, and the Imperial Garden Bureau's wine cellar is entirely under his grasp; possessing such power and not using it would be foolish.

After a few cups of wine, the two inevitably recalled their initial entry into the palace; Shi Xuedong sighed: "Life is like a dream; when we first entered the palace, none of us imagined we would have today."

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "United brothers can cut through metal; as long as we share the same thought and exert the same effort, our good days still lie ahead."

Shi Xuedong shook his head: "You do not heed my advice; back in Dongliang Jun I urged you not to return, for the ruler's heart is unfathomable. Now a Long Tingzhen has appeared out of nowhere, and the Emperor has even stripped Yongyang Princess of her title." Naturally well-informed in the palace, he believes the removal of Yongyang Princess's title is closely tied to Hu Xiaotian, and that the Emperor likely intends to strike at them both.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Having come all this way, why speak of such things? Elder Brother! I have just seen the Emperor and persuaded him to return the Yongyang Prince's mansion to me."

Shi Xuedong stared, stunned, at Hu Xiaotian: "Is that possible?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded: "The old fogey is extremely selfish; besides himself, no one else matters to him, and he is suspicious by nature; once he senses someone might be adverse to him, he will strike at that person."

Shi Xuedong drank a little wine, his courage naturally bolstered: "In my view you should not have returned; given your present stature, why bother with the title of prince consort? Wherever under heaven there is no fragrant grass; if you want a woman, you can find one; why hang yourself on a crooked tree like Yongyang Princess?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed at Shi Xuedong's description of Qiqi as a crooked tree: "How so?"

Shi Xuedong clinked his cup with Hu Xiaotian's and said: "Dakang is waning; though we have luckily lingered, we cannot escape defeat's end. Yongyang Princess is merely an unhappy princess in a declining state; being her prince consort brings no real benefit."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "Do you truly think that?"

Shi Xuedong nodded, then added with a laugh: "My father said so." He lowered his voice: "Such talk is only for us brothers; before outsiders I dare not say it."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Of course."

Shi Xuedong, carried away by the topic, could not help but comment on Qiqi's appearance: "Actually this Yongyang Princess is not bad-looking, but she is too tall, her visage exudes an aloofness that makes one feel unable to approach, lacking any feminine charm; brothers, as an elder brother I ought not say this, but if you marry her, you will surely have troubles ahead."

Hu Xiaotian burst into laughter.

Shi Xuedong said: "Do not laugh; though I am a eunuch, I judge women accurately. Yongyang Princess will absolutely not tolerate your philandering; while you are still unmarried, enjoy yourself now—I will introduce you to a place. Kangdu has newly opened a Linglong Workshop, which is full of exotic beauties; go see for yourself when you have time."

Hu Xiaotian gazed at Shi Xuedong with a smile: "Are you still interested in women?"

Shi Xuedong sighed, shook his head, habitually twirling his orchid-finger: "Perhaps I grew weary of rich food in my youth, now I am pure and desireless; seeing a woman makes me feel nauseous, and the more beautiful she is, the more she disgusts."

Suddenly a light knocking came from outside; Shi Xuedong frowned, annoyed at whoever dared disturb their brotherly chat at this moment, and snapped sharply: "Blind fool, why bother us now?"

The door was pushed open from outside, and there stood Yongyang Princess Qiqi.

Shi Xuedong's face drained of color; he fell to his knees with a thud. He had clearly ordered the gate guarded and outsiders barred, yet even if an important person arrived, notice should have been given; he never expected Yongyang Princess to walk straight in. His earlier tirade was loud and clear, surely audible even outside. He quivered: "Your servant did not know the Princess's august presence would grace us; please forgive any offense..."

Qiqi coldly stared at Shi Xuedong; her gaze alone could kill him.

Shi Xuedong almost pissed himself from fright, yet he heard Hu Xiaotian lazily say: "Elder brother, rise; is there anyone else here?"

Qiqi shouted: "Kneel!"

Shi Xuedong glanced at Hu Xiaotian then at Qiqi, then resolutely raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the face.

Recommendation new book《Rebirth of Leisure》Ye Leiyang returned to the day of filling out his application, he did not want to stand out, he did not want to get rich and famous, he just wanted to leisurely spend his life, leisurely accompany those important people in his life as they slowly grow old. /Book/(To be continued~^~)