Chapter 23

“Wa wa wa!”

“My golden-horned king is gone! My silver-horned king is gone! You must compensate me for my cricket!”

Prince Xian cried out as he rushed into the imperial study. The moment he saw Prince Jin kneeling there, he immediately ran up and tugged at his clothes, crying out loud.

“Prince Xian, please stop crying. The Emperor has something to ask you!”

Eunuch Gao stepped forward, helping to loosen Prince Xian’s grip and soothing him.

“Stop crying! Come over here, your father has something to ask you!”

Emperor Jing beckoned gently.

Prince Xian sniffled, being led over by Eunuch Gao.

“Father, what do you need to say?”

Prince Xian sniffled and stood before Emperor Jing, wiping his tears.

“Father, he disrespects you!”

Prince Jin pointed at Prince Xian in defiance.

“Shut up!”

Emperor Jing angrily grabbed the inkstone on his desk and threw it at Prince Jin.

“Ouch! That hurts!”

Prince Jin covered his forehead and kneeled again.

“My son, let me take a look!”

Empress Dowager came forward in concern and gently wiped Prince Jin’s head with a handkerchief.

“It’s fine, just a small scrape, luckily the mud helped cushion it!”

Emperor Jing was too tired to deal with Empress Dowager and Prince Jin. He grabbed Prince Xian’s hand and patiently asked:

“Xian, did you throw mud at your third brother?”

Prince Xian shook his head. “No, father, I didn’t throw it. It was Xiao Dengzi who threw it!”

“Oh? Why did Xiao Dengzi throw mud at your third brother?”

“Well, because I was riding on my third brother’s back looking for crickets!”

“Huh? Why were you riding on your third brother’s back looking for crickets?”

“Because my third brother threw my crickets on the ground. He said crickets shouldn’t stay in the jar, so he let them out. I disagreed, so he threw my jar on the ground! I saw the cricket jump onto his back!”

Emperor Jing nodded, understanding the situation.

“Father, I just wanted to play with Xian, I didn’t mean anything by it!”

Prince Jin, trembling, answered in fear.

“Your Majesty, my son was just playing with Xian!”

Empress Dowager spoke in defense from the side.

“Enough!”

Emperor Jing slammed his hand on the table in frustration.

“Do you all know that Xian is a fool, and still treat him like this? How can you be a good older brother?”

“And you! As the Empress, don’t you know how to teach your children to love and protect their younger siblings?”

Emperor Jing was furious, slapping the table.

“Guards, lock the Empress and Prince Jin in the ancestral hall. Let them face our ancestors and reflect on their actions! Release them only when they realize their mistake!”

“Yes!”

The Imperial Guards stormed into the study, dragging Prince Jin and Empress Dowager away.

“Your Majesty, I still have to go and host the Chrysanthemum Banquet tonight!”

Empress Dowager struggled to speak.

“Let Consort Shu handle it. You go and do what you’re supposed to do!”

Emperor Jing glared at her.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Empress Dowager curtsied, a deep frown on her face.

Originally, she had planned to select a suitable wife for her son tonight, but now everything had fallen apart.

All the good girls had already been chosen by Consort Shu’s son, Prince Yan!

She couldn’t help but curse under her breath about her son, Prince Jin: “What an idiot!”

Why did he go and provoke that fool, Xian?

Now, it’s ruined. Her husband, the Emperor, now looks at him differently, and even she, as the Empress, is caught in the consequences.

“Father, what about my crickets? They’re already punished, but my golden-horned king and silver-horned king are still gone!”

Prince Xian clung to Emperor Jing, pouting.

“Sigh! We’ll catch them for you later!”

Emperor Jing stood up and gently ruffled Xian’s head, his thoughts turning to Xian’s mother. When the assassin tried to kill him, it had been Xian’s mother who stepped forward and blocked the poisoned arrow, ultimately losing her life.

So, Emperor Jing had hoped that after his death, a good son would inherit the throne and take care of Xian, but it seemed that Prince Jin was not that person.

He was truly disappointed.

“Empress Dowager is here!”

The eunuch at the door reminded them.

“Grandmother is here!”

Prince Xian’s eyes lit up as he skipped towards the door to greet Empress Dowager.

Emperor Jing hurried over and bowed.

“Son pays respects to Mother!”

“Hmph!”

Empress Dowager shot Emperor Jing a glare and snorted coldly.

“I hurried over here, and I thought my fool of a grandson had been killed by that poisonous Empress Dowager and Prince Jin!”

“Mother, how could that happen? See, Xian is fine, standing right here!”

Emperor Jing smiled bitterly and pointed to Xian.

“Xian, are you alright? Let Grandmother check if you’re hurt!”

Empress Dowager took his hand and sat down, carefully inspecting.

“My grandmother, your grandson is not hurt, but my crickets are missing! Prince Jin and the Empress are punished, but they haven’t compensated me for my crickets yet!”

Prince Xian whined.

“Alright! Your father will make them catch your crickets for you!”

Empress Dowager comforted him.

“No, my crickets were caught by Sister Cricket. They didn’t catch any fun ones!”

Prince Xian started crying again.

“Sister Cricket?”

Emperor Jing looked at Empress Dowager, confused.

“Oh, she’s the young girl from Minister Xia’s family. She accidentally stepped on his crickets before and then caught two to make up for it.”

“Is she the daughter of Minister Xia, the concubine’s daughter of the Grand Chancellor?”

“Yes, that’s the poor girl.”

Emperor Jing nodded.

“Then issue an imperial order for that girl to come to the palace and help Xian find his crickets!”

“No need for an imperial order. She’s coming to the Chrysanthemum Banquet tonight. I’ll take Xian there to find her! Would Your Majesty like to go see?”

Empress Dowager asked.

“You go. I still have to discuss state affairs with the Grand Chancellor.”

Emperor Jing refused. He didn’t want to spend time with the women in the palace; they always gave him a headache. He appreciated the rare peace and quiet.

“Alright! I’ll take Xian there.”

“Father, I’m going to find Sister Cricket!”

Prince Xian waved and happily followed Empress Dowager out of the imperial study.

Outside the imperial study, Grand Chancellor Yan was discreetly sighing.

Tonight, the young girl’s hopes of marrying Prince Jin had fallen through.

Looking at the Emperor’s attitude toward Prince Jin and the Empress, Prince Jin’s chances of becoming the Crown Prince seemed slim.

But, there’s still Prince Yan. I’ll go notify my daughter and tell her to go all out to win Prince Yan’s heart!

Grand Chancellor Yan signaled a eunuch with a hand gesture, giving him a banknote, and whispered a few words in his ear.

The eunuch quickly headed toward the Chrysanthemum Banquet.

At the banquet entrance, the palace maid was strictly checking the invitations.

“Minister Xia, your invitation only lists the names of Xia Jinlan and Xia Tinglan. May I ask who the two ladies are?”