Chapter 365: Chapter 291 Crown Prince
Fu Zhen and Su Xinger, after paying their respects, stood up. The Crown Prince, surrounded by Prince Rong and his son, headed off towards the memorial hall.
The two eunuchs attending closely by his side blocked the various officials eager to follow and serve.
Watching the backs of the procession, Su Xinger said, "It’s really going downhill."
Fu Zhen glanced at her and walked towards where Pei Zhan was, "What do you mean by that?"
Su Xinger leaned in and whispered into her ear, "The Crown Prince’s virtue does not compare to the Empress and Emperor."
Fu Zhen replied, "How do you see that?"
"In the past, he was young, you wouldn’t know. Over the past few years as he has grown, ever since there have been a few concubines in the harem, rumors have been surfacing from time to time.
"Although the Emperor also has other concubines in the harem, he respects the Empress in all matters, handing over all harem affairs to the Empress alone. For many years, there hasn’t been the slightest mistake in terms of protocol.
"So, the concubines in the harem are very well-behaved, without any tricks, more relaxed and gentle towards the Empress than even in front of the Emperor.
"But here in the Eastern Palace? If it weren’t for the Crown Prince favoring Consort Li, making Consort Yu, who gave birth to the Imperial Grandson, restless, perhaps she wouldn’t have conspired with Yongping before.
"How can the harem be stable when the man lacks discipline? In other words, if you can’t manage the harem, other areas are likely handled sloppily as well."
Between the two of them, they had countless discussions on disrespectful topics since childhood, discussing the Crown Prince’s private affairs was hardly considered anything.
Fu Zhen was curious: "How many concubines are currently in the Eastern Palace?"
"Originally four, two concubines, and two beauties, but Consort Yu was confined earlier, so only three remain."
Fu Zhen thought of the Crown Prince’s age, and as he had already held the coming-of-age ceremony two months ago, having only three or four concubines in the palace didn’t seem a lot.
She said, "The Emperor is a sage for the ages; who in the world can compare to his virtue? The Crown Prince is still young, a slight inferiority to him is understandable."
Fu Zhen, in particular, admired the virtues of the Empress and Emperor immensely; with such parents setting an example, the Crown Prince’s virtue still had a chance to be honed.
Ultimately, discussing these matters behind closed doors easily invited criticisms, so they shifted the subject to other idle chatter and reached the small courtyard that Yang Zhan had arranged for Pei Zhan to handle official business.
For Pei Zhan, a grand General Pingxi, to undertake the work of the imperial guard was indeed a case of misusing talent, but since he came, the tasks had to be done.
Busy setting defenses and patrolling last night, he returned to the manor near midnight.
On returning, he woke the sweetly sleeping Fu Zhen, chatted casually, and placed a few dew-laden lotus flowers picked from the courtyard into her vase, before contentedly going to wash up and lie down.
Early in the morning, from the main house came Mrs. Pei’s furious scolding of the flower thief, while Pei Zhan, nonchalantly, dug his fingers into his ear and returned to Prince Rong’s Mansion.
When Fu Zhen and the others arrived, Pei Zhan just happened to be sitting inside listening to the guards report. In the span of a day and a night, surprisingly, no useful clues had been gleaned from the Prince Manor.
"Go out first, when you see familiar female relatives arriving, then come back and report." While dismissing Guo Song, Pei Zhan looked at Fu Zhen, "A very dull occasion, why didn’t Mother come herself?"
Fu Zhen smiled, "There was a theft at home, and she had Father set traps at the garden gate."
Pei Zhan paused, "Is that necessary!"
Just for picking a few broken flowers...
Su Xinger eyed him, "Oh, oh, oh, so you’re not happy that we came, should we leave?"
Pei Zhan surely was delighted. Ever since deciding to marry, he had often been teased and no longer cared.
Given the vast expanse of the Prince’s Manor, the corner where Fu Zhen and the others were did not attract attention. Meanwhile, after the Crown Prince paid his respects at the memorial hall, he was also invited to a quieter and more spacious area of the Prince Manor for tea and rest.
After a round of tea, someone came to report to Prince Rong. Seeing this, Prince Rong was about to scold them away, but the Crown Prince said, "Uncle Wang, no need to stand on ceremony, there are many matters in the Prince Manor, you go handle them."
Prince Rong sighed, stood up, instructed Yang Zhan to accompany well, and then retreated.
Only the Crown Prince and Yang Zhan were left in the room; having accompanied each other since childhood, their conduct relaxed.
The Crown Prince said, "I heard the incident occurred in the ancestral hall. The perpetrator is quite strange; having entered Prince Manor, why choose such a place?"
Yang Zhan shook his head, "I too am at a loss."
The Crown Prince glanced at him, then lowered his head to savor his tea.
Yang Zhan’s hands resting on his knees rubbed unconsciously.
In the teahouse outside the alley, Xu Yin and He Qunying sat face to face.