frightfiction Chapter 61 It had been a long time since Lin Shiming had teased the Crown Prince, and his wicked tho
Chapter 61 It had been a long time since Lin Shiming had teased the Crown Prince, and his wicked tho
When Lin Shiming came out of Emperor Longyun's study, he was still in a daze.
Shen Liuxu and her maid were taken away by Li An and his men in utter despair. Prince Ping, accompanied by the Imperial Guards, walked absentmindedly toward his courtyard, not even bothering to wipe the blood from his head.
Lin Shiming frowned, then beckoned to Mu Bolin, the commander of the Imperial Guards who was on duty nearby.
"Go and have someone send some ointment to Prince Ping's courtyard. Make sure no one sees it."
Mu Bolin cupped his hands in greeting and turned to make the arrangements.
The surroundings were quiet, with a cool spring breeze occasionally blowing by.
The two were still somewhat annoyed, and silently walked back side by side. However, when they reached the courtyard gate, Lin Shiming suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?" Lu Yuxi asked, somewhat bewildered. "Have you forgotten something?"
"No." Lin Shiming shook his head and grabbed Lu Yuxi's arm. "Did you bring Tingsong over?"
"It's already been taken over. By this time, Tingsong should have had dinner and been put to sleep by the nannies."
“Then let’s stay outside a little longer and not go to see the child in a fit of anger.” Lin Shiming pulled Lu Yuxi and walked towards the pavilion not far away. “When I was helping my brother and sister-in-law take care of Xiao Anji, my brother told me that we shouldn’t bring our emotions back to the child.”
Lu Yuxi had never heard of this saying, but he rarely refuted Lin Shiming's meaning, and besides, this was just a trivial matter, so he didn't think much of it and cooperated by walking towards the pavilion.
The imperial palace was built on the mountainside, with different levels at varying heights. Emperor Longyun and Lin Shiming's courtyard was naturally located at the highest point on the mountaintop.
Looking out from the pavilion, one can see rows and rows of lights, scattered like stars in the sky.
A eunuch brought tea and a late-night snack, then quietly withdrew.
Lin Shiming picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea, then rubbed his temples in frustration with the other. "What a mess this is! What will my second sister do in the future?"
He thought it was just a normal gossip about Prince Ping being cuckolded, and he even invited Lu Yuxi to listen, hoping to share the good news. Little did he expect that this gossip would eventually bring up the Second Prince Consort!
Lu Yuxi was still angry, but he first grabbed Lin Shiming's hand that was rubbing his temples, then pulled him closer to him and raised his hand to massage his temples.
“I had noticed before that the Second Prince Consort didn’t seem to have much affection for the Second Princess, but I never expected there to be something like this behind the scenes. After returning to the capital, we really need to investigate the Princess’s residence thoroughly. We can’t let the Second Princess suffer such injustice for nothing.”
To be honest, the princes each had their own agendas, but the princesses were remarkably harmonious. Lu Yuxi was naturally willing to support her close-knit elder sister.
Lin Shiming leaned against Lu Yuxi and nodded slightly. "Don't worry, there's no need to wait until we return to the capital. I'll arrange for someone to investigate tomorrow. We can keep it hidden from Father, but even if Prince Ping made a promise, we can't trust him easily."
Lu Yuxi sighed, "Let's keep this from Mother for now. Although Mother doesn't like Shen Wanyi and Prince Ping, she still cares about Second Princess. Let's not let Mother worry about us."
Lin Shiming shared the same idea, so there was nothing wrong with it. But then he thought of something else.
"Father said that Prince Ping and his mother married your second sister to Zhuang Jingyi in order to steal your man. What's the story behind that? Tell me about it."
Although he sympathized with the Second Princess, it didn't mean he would extend that sympathy to Lu Yuxi. If this was true, he would definitely cause trouble for Prince Ping and his group again to vent Lu Yuxi's anger.
Lu Yuxi's massaging hands didn't stop. "This is a long story. Everyone says that among all the imperial heirs, Father Emperor favored my elder brother and me, born to Mother Emperor, giving us the most fatherly love. As for the other imperial heirs, he gave them the allowances due to illegitimate children, which was enough. But in reality—"
Lin Shiming: ?
What is this? A debunking of a rumor?
Do you think I'm blind? Do you think you can lie to me and say that the rumors are untrue and that Father Emperor favors you the most?
Lin Shiming tilted his head, fully prepared to hear what kind of nonsense he was going to spout.
"But in reality, only the first of these two sentences is correct."
...Okay, I misunderstood. You are quite self-aware.
Lin Shiming straightened his head again and continued to enjoy Lu Yuxi's massage service with his eyes half-closed.
Lu Yuxi was completely unaware of what Lin Shiming had been thinking about in those few short moments, and he continued to explain to Lin Shiming.
"Among the other sons born out of wedlock, the Emperor's favoritism varied. Compared to the princes, the Emperor preferred his daughters. This was especially evident in their marriages."
“People like Prince Ping would choose several candidates and have the Empress Dowager meet them. The Empress Dowager would then select the smartest and most suitable girl and inform the Emperor. The Emperor would simply issue the decree. Apart from stamping the decree at the end, the Emperor would not be involved in the entire process.”
Lin Shiming asked with some doubt, "What about Prince An?"
“Prince An has chosen the Mu family himself, and she is the only option given to the Empress Dowager. So the Emperor and Empress Dowager have given in to his wishes. Moreover, the Emperor and Empress Dowager will only care about their principal wife. Whether to take in concubines or not, and how many to take in, is up to them.”
Oh! So it seems they were quite independent in choosing their marriage!
"And what about the princess?"
"My father loves his daughter dearly. When choosing a husband for a princess, he would take as long and careful a time to select one as he did when choosing a crown princess for me and my brother."
When the topic of choosing a crown princess came up, Lin Shiming immediately thought of his sister-in-law, who had been taken home by his brother. Feeling somewhat guilty and embarrassed, he climbed out of Lu Yuxi's arms and offered her a cup of tea in a flattering manner.
Lu Yuxi understood, smiled, took the teacup, took a sip, and then reached out to tap Lin Shiming's nose.
"Don't worry, that's all in the past."
Lin Shiming chuckled awkwardly, touched the spot where Lu Yuxi had touched him, and then shifted the subject with a wandering gaze.
"Let's get back to business."
“Alright.” Lu Yuxi went along with his wishes. “Just like my eldest sister, Father spent more than half a year choosing Xiao Feng. Although he comes from a poor family, his knowledge, skills and character are all excellent, and his future is bright. If his family background is not good, Father can give my eldest sister more dowry so that they can live a good life.”
"The same goes for my second elder sister. Father knew she was soft-hearted and might not be able to handle things, so he carefully chose a marriage for her with the second son of a noble family. The Wang family has been noble for generations, with a clean family tradition, a scholarly family, and never participates in factional struggles. She won't have to worry about anything after marrying into the family and can enjoy a lifetime of honor."
“But Shen Wanyi and Prince Ping disliked the fact that the Wang family’s foundation was only in the Imperial Academy and they had no support. So she put on a pitiful act in front of the Second Princess, asking her to feel sorry for her mother and brother. In the end, she used both soft and hard tactics to get the Second Princess to report to the Emperor and marry Zhuang Jingyi, the grandson of the Crown Prince’s tutor whom they had chosen.”
"So, the grandson of the Crown Prince's tutor married the Prince of Ping's sister? Did they really steal your girlfriend?"
Lu Yuxi said calmly, "Anyone who can be poached so easily can't be considered a stable cornerstone. At most, they're just a weathervane. He's just a junior tutor to the Crown Prince. If it weren't for the sake of my second sister's reputation, I would have kicked him out of the court long ago."
These words were spoken with authority and domineering force.
Lin Shiming liked this kind of gentle yet capable and strong person. He rested his head on his hand, his eyes sparkling, and looked at Lu Yuxi with longing.
Lu Yuxi looked up at him, smiled gently, and said, "What kind of look is that?"
It's so captivating.
No one dared to approach, so Lin Shiming grinned and moved closer to Lu Yuxi, casually resting his head on Lu Yuxi's arm. "This is the look I use to look at my husband."
Having not teased the dignified and polite Crown Prince for a long time, Lin Shiming's mischievous thoughts once again took over. He tilted his head with a wicked grin and rested it on Lu Yuxi's arm.
Lu Yuxi was startled for a moment, and hurriedly put down the teacup in her hand. As her face gradually flushed, her eyes slowly deepened.
He forced himself to control the shock in his heart, raised his hand and gently stroked Lin Shiming's head twice, "I wanted to settle accounts with you when you called me husband last time, but I didn't expect you to deliver yourself to my door today."
Last time? Lin Shiming looked blank and was about to raise his head to say something, but Lu Yuxi didn't give him another chance to ask questions. She pulled him up and strode into the courtyard.
Lin Shiming immediately sensed something was wrong, only then remembering that they were now married, no longer the time when he could cause trouble and flirt with them at will without being punished.
He stumbled a couple of steps as Lu Yuxi pulled him along, and quickly stammered, "Lu Yuxi! Your Highness, aren't we going to see Tingsong?"
“He’s five years old now, he can sleep by himself.” Lu Yuxi continued walking, but her expression remained calm. “Besides, there’s another disobedient child who can’t sleep by himself waiting for me to coax him tonight!”
The little boy, Lin Shiming, struggled and begged for mercy to no avail, and was dragged back to his room and coaxed to sleep.