Tao Sheng suddenly remembered a skit called “Hourly Worker” she had seen before. This Prince Guan seemed to fit the line from that skit—someone who always looks for trouble.

Guan Muyun was surprised by her words. He was a well-known young talent in the capital, and noble ladies often spoke to him. No one had ever talked to him so rudely.

Seeing that he didn’t respond for a long time, Tao Sheng continued, “I heard that you have a concubine and a daughter. Since you plan for her like this, have you thought that it might embarrass her?”

Facing her question, Guan Muyun suddenly felt confident and replied, “We are in love and like each other. Ruojin is the gentlest and kindest person and will not care about these things.”

Tao Sheng sighed inwardly at his matter-of-fact attitude, thinking how selfish it was. No wonder the main characters get along; they are essentially the same type of people. Her way of thinking was on a different level than his, so there was nothing more to say.

Tao Sheng glanced at Xiao Feng, who was approaching. Xiao Feng understood and immediately flapped its wings, pecking at Guan Muyun and driving him away.

Tao Sheng silently praised Xiao Feng for its great instincts. She planned to ask Mrs. Tang to add refined rice to lunch later.

Guan Muyun hurriedly left the Su family and ran into the King of Chu, who was walking toward them leisurely, fanning himself.

Guan Muyun approached and saluted the King of Chu.

The King of Chu looked at him, recognizing him from Duke Ling’s Mansion. This was the prince who had been cheated on and then cheated on someone else. Even in such a situation, he wore dark green clothes, as if trying to show off that he was cheated on.

The King of Chu looked down on Guan Muyun’s outfit but still nodded, “Get up.”

Guan Muyun felt the King of Chu disliked him, thinking it was because his family was closer to the Eastern Palace and he had little contact with the King of Chu’s family in recent years. But even so, most other princes would just put on a show; it was rare to see someone as disgraced as the King of Chu.

Guan Muyun quickly judged that a prince like the King of Chu, who was petty and couldn’t control his emotions, would never achieve great things.

The King of Chu noticed a chicken feather on Guan Muyun’s sleeve, which looked like the Feng Xiao he had spent a lot of money to buy. He pointed to the feather and asked, “Where did you get this chicken feather?”

“I just visited Lord Ji’s home^[1]refers to Ji Yanming’s home.. I don’t know who got a big red-crowned rooster, but it was kept there. That rooster is really fierce, and I got pecked twice. So I got stained with these dirty things, which polluted Your Highness’s eyes. I hope Your Highness will forgive me.”

The chicken in Ji Zhuangyuan’s house? Isn’t that the Feng Xiao I sent?

In the King of Chu’s eyes, this chicken was reasonable and knew who to fight. The conflict between it and Guan Muyun must have been the man’s fault, not the chicken’s.

Seeing that Guan Muyun spoke of Feng Xiao with contempt and made up a story about who sent the chicken, the King of Chu thought of his beloved pet and became angry. 

He gave Guan Muyun a fierce look.

It’s Guan Muyun, the prince of Lingguo, right?

Got it.

Don’t ever fall into my hands again, or I’ll kill you.

_

The King of Chu came to the Su family today for two reasons: first, he heard that Ji Yanming wanted to move to a new house, so he came to show him several houses he had chosen. Second, he hadn’t seen Feng Xiao for a long time and missed him.

The King of Chu entered the Su family’s yard. He didn’t need Tao Sheng to entertain him. He squatted beside the chicken coop and talked to Feng Xiao for a long time. When Tao Sheng mentioned she had given it the nickname “Xiao Feng,” he nodded, agreeing it was a good name. Moreover, “Feng Xiao” can be read as “Xiao Feng” in translation, which is harmonious and matches their Xiao Feng’s personality.

Seeing that the King of Chu preferred to be alone, Tao Sheng sat down in a pavilion, eating iced watermelon and reading a book.

About fifteen minutes later, Ji Yanming returned and saw the King of Chu squatting on the ground, complaining to Xiao Feng about Guan Muyun’s behavior. He took a deep breath and approached to salute the King of Chu.

The King of Chu waved his hand, signaling Ji Yanming to stand up, then followed him to the study to show Ji Yanming the houses he had chosen.

The King of Chu had some selfish motives in selecting the houses, aiming for a location closer to his palace. He said that as long as Ji Yanming liked it, he would immediately find someone to prepare the house, and Ji Yanming would only need to pack his bags and move in.

Ji Yanming silently calculated the prices of the houses and quickly shook his head, saying they were too expensive. He couldn’t accept a gift from His Highness without merit.

When the King of Chu heard this, he became anxious: “You admired me so much in the beginning and insisted on staying by my side. How can I let you down?”

Ji Yanming didn’t expect the King of Chu to view him this way, sensing some misunderstanding between them.

Ji Yanming defended himself, “Back in the Xuanzheng Hall, it was the Emperor who made the decision and assigned me to Your Highness.”

“Okay, stop making excuses.” The King of Chu said, “I heard about this from Gao Zhen.”

Ji Yanming frowned. What did he hear?

“You are just afraid that I will lose my father’s favor and fighting spirit, so you want to deceive me like this. Don’t worry; if we work together and do our best, we can definitely make a comeback.”  

At that moment, Tao Sheng walked in with iced sour plum soup. She overheard the King of Chu talking about “making a comeback” and felt a slight headache.  

Fortunately, the King of Chu quickly moved on from his feelings about Ji Yanming and discussed other topics.  

The emperor has been in poor health recently, and as a prince, the King of Chu should show concern and respect for his father. However, he cannot send the emperor to a doctor for medicine, as this is strictly prohibited in the palace, and he doesn’t want to put himself in danger.  

Tao Sheng looked at the King of Chu with approval.  

The King of Chu knew he couldn’t just send the emperor to a doctor, showing he had some common sense.  

There was a story about a “filial” prince from a past dynasty. When his father, the emperor, was sick, the prince traveled to Jiangnan to invite a famous doctor to treat his father. However, the emperor was angry and threw the prince out.  

The prince’s punishment was fair. Most capable doctors worked in the Imperial Hospital in the capital. There were only a few better doctors outside the court, and the emperor would not trust them. Also, when someone becomes emperor, the father-son relationship changes to that of ruler and subject. The emperor saw the prince’s actions as meddling in his health.  

The King of Chu continued, resting his chin in his hand and looking sad. “I heard that my second brother and his wife brought their children to pray for the emperor’s blessing. The other brothers followed. I don’t want to be as boring as my second brother, so I plan to do something different.”  

But since this concerns the emperor’s health, even careful actions could break the rules. The King of Chu felt uncertain.  

Tao Sheng remembered the five-tone therapy ^[2]is a traditional Chinese healing method using music that corresponds to the five elements.. This is from the Huangdi Neijing ^[3]also known as the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, an ancient Chinese medical text.. It uses music to treat illnesses based on yin and yang and the five elements. The sounds correspond to the five organs: spleen, lung, liver, heart, and kidney. In the Book of Music, it states that music brings joy and can heal the heart and calm the body. If they choose the right piece of music to play for the emperor and support it with backing from the Imperial Medical Bureau, it should have a good effect.  

Especially if His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu plays passionately at the emperor’s bedside, the healing effect would be greater.  

“Your Highness, do you want to express your respect for His Majesty in another way?” Tao Sheng thought for a moment and asked the King of Chu, “I have another idea. Would you like to hear it, Your Highness?”