A giant in slogans, a dwarf in action.
Qu Dubian vividly demonstrated this saying to his father through his own deeds.
Striving for improvement was out of the question.
Qu Dubian's academic performance remained steadfastly mediocre.
Ever since he started shouting 'strive for improvement' every day, Emperor Chongzhao had never again told him to 'act like a prince'. He was probably afraid that after school each day, the boy would instead shout, "Father Emperor, I was very princely today!"
The matter of the Cining Palace music troupe thus passed. After estimating that Emperor Chongzhao's anger had subsided, the Empress changed the evening greeting session of the morning and evening courtesies into square dancing.
It was held right in Fengwu Palace.
Concubines could come voluntarily or not. A new batch was selected from the music troupe to learn the musical scores from the ones brought out by the Seventh Prince.
All procedures were in accordance with the rules.
Emperor Chongzhao neither nodded nor refused, tacitly allowing it.
Thus, the square dancing social activity was preserved within the inner court.
The concubines were happy, and the Empress was also happy.
Because square dancing was held every three or five days, she no longer had to deal every evening with those concubines who had nothing better to do than take an evening stroll, wander over to her place, and casually pay their respects.
They were being casual, but being disturbed every single day was truly exhausting for her.
However, three months later, during a square dancing activity at Fengwu Palace, Attendant Ding fainted.
The Empress hastily summoned the imperial physician. Upon diagnosis, it was revealed that Attendant Ding was already one month pregnant.
-
Late at night.
Qu Dubian sat in his small study.
Two lamps were placed on the corner of the desk. He was alone in the small study; even Consort Xuan was not allowed to enter without his permission. Although Liuliu was off duty, he would still monitor using a simulator.
On the study desk lay a spread-out sheet of paper.
It was covered with a complex relationship chart.
All of it pertained to the concubines who had had dealings with Consort Yun before her death, with a focus on the birth mothers of his several elder brothers. It included the official positions of their maternal families at court and whether they were connected to each other.
Dense lines and annotations in the corners were all in English and simplified Chinese characters.
Qu Dubian frowned, holding a charcoal pencil in his left hand, occasionally making marks on it. In a blank space, he wrote two words in modern Chinese—
Perpetrator.
Then he drew a circle around it and added a question mark.
The handwriting of his left hand was worlds apart from that of his right. His right hand produced purely childish writing; with his deliberate refusal to practice, it was ugly and devoid of any distinctive features.
The left hand's script, however, was sharp yet restrained, each stroke clean and elegant.
Grand Tutor Fang also did not know that he was actually left-handed by habit.
His first reaction upon hearing Attendant Ding was pregnant was whether the perpetrator who had framed the original young prince and his mother would strike again.
Although the circumstances of Attendant Ding and the former Consort Yun were vastly different, and the likelihood of her conspiring with others to frame someone was extremely small—but that didn't mean it was impossible.
Three or four years of playful antics did not prevent him from collecting information about the circumstances related to Consort Yun from years ago.
Getting along well with the concubines was not without its benefits. Occasionally, while conducting square dancing at Fengwu Palace, they would inadvertently reveal bits of information during their chats.
Such as who was on bad terms with whom, and when conflicts between certain individuals began.
Qu Dubian pondered this until midnight.
When he first arrived in this body, he had vowed to avenge the original little prince and Consort Yun. Having been given this reincarnated form, this karmic debt had to be repaid.
Consort De, from his observations, was cut from the same cloth as the Eldest Prince—straightforward in her actions, not particularly cunning.
Consort Wen, accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, occasionally spaced out, but would also strive for the Third Prince's future.
Consort Ruan, mother of the Second Prince, and Consort Yi, mother of the Fourth Prince, were both figures with very low presence.
Noble Consort Rong and Consort Lan were a pair. If Noble Consort Rong made a move, the mastermind behind it was ninety percent likely to be Consort Lan. If Consort Lan made a move, it was unlikely Noble Consort Rong would know about it.
These two were bound together.
Ye Banban stood outside the bedchamber, conflicted for a long time, but ultimately couldn't suppress his worry and pushed the door open.
He first glanced at the bed, found it empty, then went to the small study and stood behind the screen, asking in a low voice, "Your Highness?"
Qu Dubian folded the relationship chart and stuffed it into the very back of a small drawer.
"Ye Banban?"
As soon as he spoke, he realized his voice was hoarse.
Qu Dubian cleared his throat, "I'll be right out."
He jumped down from the chair, walked around the partition, and emerged from behind the screen. Drowsiness washed over him belatedly; he let out a big yawn and coughed a few times.
"Banban."
Ye Banban: "Your Highness, it's already the latter half of the night. In a little while, His Majesty will likely be holding court. You..."
He sighed, picked up the nodding-off child in one swift motion, quickly carried him to the bed, and then poured him a cup of warm water.
Qu Dubian sat cross-legged on the bed, holding the cup.
Ye Banban felt his forehead, then pinched his palm, confirming he wasn't feverish or sweating from weakness, before chiding, "What urgent matter kept you in the study until now? Did Grand Tutor Fang assign too much homework? If you can't finish it, give it to Xiao Chun. He's idle most of the time anyway."
"Banban, for these next nine months, you and Xiao Chun help me keep an eye on Attendant Ding."
Ye Banban's voice halted.
Qu Dubian lowered his head and took a sip of warm water.
He couldn't keep an eye on Attendant Ding alone. Since he needed Ye Banban's help with this matter anyway, he didn't plan to hide it from him.
"Mainly, watch if anyone with ill intentions approaches her... inconspicuous items, or things like incense..."
A slightly cool little hand pressed against the back of Ye Banban's hand. Qu Dubian said seriously, "Banban, I'm not trying to protect her. You know what I'm thinking."
Ye Banban was silent for a long time. When he raised his hand and placed his palm on Qu Dubian's head, it trembled involuntarily.
"Banban knows."
The death of Her Ladyship was also a wound in his heart, an insurmountable hurdle. They had no way to interrogate Zhang Fanming from the Astrology Office, but there was undoubtedly another hand hidden within the inner court.
"Don't worry, Your Highness. Xiao Chun and I will both help you. But now, you must sleep."
Qu Dubian acknowledged, handed him the empty cup, and said, "Banban, you should go to sleep too."
Ye Banban nodded.
He stayed by Qu Dubian's bedside for a long time.
In truth, the moment he learned Attendant Ding was pregnant, he had already arranged for people and informants around her palace. He just hadn't told the young prince.
Since leaving the Ju'an Hall, roughly four years had passed relatively comfortably and smoothly for His Highness.
He had thought the young prince would gradually forget Her Ladyship, and also gradually forget the two and a half years of hardship and hunger, as children's memories are often fleeting.
Ye Banban thought that was also good. His Highness need not suffer so, remembering only ease and happiness.
But...
His Highness had not forgotten.
Instead, as he grew older, his memories became clearer, and he grew more intelligent.
Ye Banban tucked the hand lying outside the quilt back under the covers.
It was late autumn, and the weather had turned cool. Qu Dubian coughed a few times in his sleep. Ye Banban gently patted him a few times over the quilt.
Recently, perhaps due to the changing seasons, His Highness's nighttime cough was quite severe. Consort Xuan had prepared pear soup to moisten his lungs, but it hadn't helped much.
As the sky began to lighten.
Ye Banban looked at the thin child on the bed.
His eyes held a hidden heartache, his voice barely audible.
"Your Highness, you just need to stay pure and happy."
Discovering tonight that the Young Highness still remembered the matter of Her Ladyship's passing was enough to make him feel wretched.
If one day, hatred and bloodshed truly were to stain the Young Highness's hands and robes, he dared not imagine what kind of madness would overcome him and Xiao Chun that day.
-
Xiuxiang Palace.
Consort Lan was having tea with Noble Consort Rong.
"Given Attendant Ding's low rank, she won't be able to keep the child. Let's just see whom His Majesty will give the child to for rearing."
Noble Consort Rong, sensing her drift, probed, "Your Ladyship, you don't intend to...?"
"There's no need," Consort Lan said indifferently. "Little Six is already growing up, and the Seventh Prince is rather mediocre, not particularly outstanding, and sickly to boot. I was previously worried His Majesty's favor towards him might block Little Six's path, but now it seems he's not a threat."
"The Fourth Prince is astonishingly indolent, and the Fifth Prince, following around Little Six, is quite obedient."
Noble Consort Rong fawned with a smile, "Naturally. So it seems, indeed only the Sixth Prince can compare with the three eldest princes."
Consort Lan examined her nails critically, satisfied. "Mmm. After the New Year, the Fifth Prince will be nearly ten and must move to the Princes' Quarters. Once Attendant Ding gives birth, His Majesty will certainly promote her. At that time, I'll put in a good word with His Majesty. Citing your merit in rearing a prince, you might well be promoted to Pin rank, securing your position as the mistress of Changxin Palace."
Overjoyed, Noble Consort Rong knelt at Consort Lan's feet and performed a grand bow.
"Thank you, Your Ladyship!"
She returned to Changxin Palace with brisk steps, a smile spreading uncontrollably across her face.
When the Fifth Prince returned from his studies and saw her radiant expression, he asked, "Mother Consort, what has made you so happy?"
Noble Consort Rong pulled him close, showering him with affectionate praise that left the Fifth Prince utterly bewildered.
Noble Consort Rong also had a table full of dishes prepared. "Eat, eat quickly. I have good news to tell you later."
The Fifth Prince took a few bites, stole a glance at his mother consort, and after confirming her genuinely good mood, hesitated for a moment before gathering his courage. "Mother Consort, I also want to tell you something."
Noble Consort Rong: "Good son, speak."
Her gentle tone gave the Fifth Prince some encouragement. He put down his chopsticks.
"I don't want to keep running around at Sixth Brother's beck and call anymore. Not that I won't help him in the future, but next year, I'll be moving to the Princes' Quarters. The commute from the Quarters to the academy is different, I won't be going together with Sixth Brother. It won't be on the way anymore. If Sixth Brother keeps ordering me to do things, it will really interfere with my studies."
"It's actually quite disruptive already. When Sixth Brother isn't studying, he drags me along not to study either. Mother Consort, could you speak to Consort Lan? On days we don't have lessons, I'm available, it's just..."
Smack!
Noble Consort Rong's face darkened as she slammed her chopsticks down.
The Fifth Prince flinched in fright.
Noble Consort Rong stood up, pulling him directly off his stool. "You stand up straight!"
Fifth Prince: "Mother Consort..."
Noble Consort Rong squatted down impatiently. "Mother Consort is about to become the mistress of this palace, do you know that?"
"Consort Lan said today that you'll move to the Princes' Quarters next year. She will report to His Majesty, saying I've worked hard raising you, and since Changxin Palace has no mistress, she'll have me promoted. It's practically happening next year. How can you hold your mother back at this critical moment?"
After a long silence, the Fifth Prince said, "Mother Consort, we actually don't need to rely on others to live well. I am a prince. In the future, when I establish my own residence outside the palace, providing for you in your old age and fulfilling my duties won't be a problem. When you're older, I can even request of Father Emperor to let you leave the palace and live with me."
"Mother, I'm not competing with my elder and younger brothers for anything, and you don't need to curry favor with Consort Lan either..."
"What are you saying!"
Noble Consort Rong was incredulous. "My son, your mother has worked so hard to raise you all these years. When I was carrying you, I lived in fear every day, terrified someone would take you from me. That I was able to keep you and raise you myself was entirely thanks to Consort Lan."
"Now that you're about to move to the Princes' Quarters, you think your mother is no longer important, that she can't control you anymore, is that it?"
Fifth Prince: "Mother Consort, I don't, that's not what I meant."
Noble Consort Rong choked up: "Then you're abandoning your mother?"
Fifth Prince: "... I am not."
Noble Consort Rong hugged him. "Good child, once I climb to the rank of Pin, your status will also be higher. For your mother's sake, don't be willful, alright?"
The Fifth Prince wearily rested his chin on Noble Consort Rong's shoulder and patted her back.
"Alright, I promise you."
"Mother, don't cry."
He reached out and wiped Noble Consort Rong's tears.
-
Several months passed like flowing water.
Attendant Ding's pregnancy had reached its fifth month. It was again late spring, early summer.
Qu Dubian squatted in the courtyard fiddling with strawberry juice. Da Hei was becoming lazy, nestling at his feet, basking in the sun for two or three hours at a time.
Zhiyi was holding a cup of water, practicing palace etiquette steps, and had already developed quite a graceful form.
This was the peaceful, tranquil daily life of Shunning Palace.
Then, a piece of news began to circulate, its origin unknown—
The child in Attendant Ding's womb was incompatible with the Sixth Prince.
Qu Dubian: "Incompatible with Sixth Brother?"
Ye Banban: "Yes. I confirmed it several times; that's indeed how the rumor is spreading."
Qu Dubian poured the strawberry juice into an empty bamboo cup, added honey water, lemon, and a bit of crushed ice, covered it, and shook it.
"Banban, don't you think the method of spreading this rumor feels familiar?"
Ye Banban nodded.
Only this time, there was no involvement from the Astrological Bureau, just widely circulating rumors.
