ADENCPIFPM Chapter 14

Two days later, an imperial decree arrived early in the morning, summoning Chu Chen to the palace.

“My leg is still injured, and Father knows this,” Chu Chen said, spreading his arms as Mutou helped him dress. “Yet he still insists I come to the palace. Could he be settling scores over Fourth Brother’s affair?”

The matter of the hidden camp in the Eastern Suburbs had been resolved the previous day.

As Chu Chen had predicted, the investigation quickly pointed to the Fourth Prince. Caught completely off guard, the Fourth Prince had no excuses ready and simply confessed. However, he was clever and knew exactly how to play on the Emperor’s sensibilities. He wept bitterly before his father, claiming he had only raised a private army out of fear that the Crown Prince would target him after ascending the throne.

The Emperor’s aversion to private armies stemmed from the fear that they would threaten his own power. The Fourth Prince played on this, framing his actions as a desperate measure born of his strained relationship with the heir apparent, thereby allaying the Emperor’s suspicions. After all, the Fourth Prince and the Crown Prince had always been at odds; this was merely another layer of their rivalry being stripped bare.

In the end, the Fourth Prince was punished with six months of confinement, and the incident was settled with much noise but little consequence.

So why had the Emperor suddenly summoned Chu Chen to the palace today?

“The horse the Fifth Highness rode was prepared by the Second Highness, and it was the Second Highness’s men who found the secret camp,” Mutou said as he fastened Chu Chen’s belt. “You were injured by Young Marquis Lu that day, and you returned to the Capital early the next morning. The only thing that connects you to this entire incident is that you invited the Fifth Highness to the Eastern Suburbs.”

Chu Chen nodded. “As long as I refuse to confess, His Majesty can’t possibly frame me, can he?”

“If His Majesty asks why you invited the Fifth Prince to the Eastern Suburbs, how will you answer?” Mutou looked at Chu Chen, reaching up to smooth the stray hairs on his forehead. “Will you say the Crown Prince instructed you? Or that you and the Fifth Highness share a deep brotherly bond?”

Chu Chen: …

‘Neither of those answers seems very good…’

“His Majesty has already reached a conclusion about today’s events. What you need to do isn’t to prove your innocence…” Mutou leaned down and scooped Chu Chen up in his arms, walking toward the door as he continued, “…but to make him believe that what you say isn’t intended to prove anything at all.”

Held in Mutou’s arms, Chu Chen looked at him closely. He saw a sharpness and confidence in Mutou’s gaze, the kind possessed by a master strategist. He was becoming more and more convinced that Mutou was no mere male favorite, but a true advisor.

“Mutou, would you ever lie to me?” Chu Chen asked suddenly.

“If you trust me, why ask?” Mutou replied, leaning forward to carefully place Chu Chen inside the carriage before climbing in and sitting beside him.

Chu Chen took a deep breath, thinking, ‘What good is my trust when you’re so fickle all the time!’

It was only after entering the palace that Chu Chen learned he wasn’t the only one summoned. The Second Prince, the Fifth Prince, and even Young Marquis Lu had all been called in today.

Chu Chen stared blankly. ‘Is this going to be a face-to-face confrontation?’

“Speak,” the Emperor commanded, seated behind his desk. He was writing something with a brush in hand, not even glancing at Chu Chen and the others.

The four of them stood in the hall, exchanging glances, momentarily at a loss for words.

“What would Father like us to say?” the Fifth Prince asked, his tone earnest yet naive.

The Emperor finally looked up at the Fifth Prince. “Explain how it so happened that you all suddenly decided to visit the Eastern Suburbs, and how, by such a remarkable coincidence, someone went missing, leading you straight to Old Fourth’s secret camp.”

Chu Chen thought, ‘At least he’s getting straight to the point instead of beating around the bush.’

“Your Majesty,” the Second Prince began, “I heard the front lines were deadlocked. I thought it best to gather the sons of the capital’s nobility for a polo match—partly to boost the morale of our young men, and partly to shake off their complacency.”

“Heh.” The Emperor sneered, clearly dissatisfied with the Second Prince’s answer.

“And you?” The Emperor raised his gaze to the Fifth Prince.

The Fifth Prince glanced hesitantly at the Emperor, then at Chu Chen. After a moment’s hesitation, he stammered, “Your Majesty… I heard there was some excitement in the Eastern Suburbs and wanted to see it for myself…”

Chu Chen was quite surprised to hear this. He hadn’t expected the Fifth Prince to refrain from throwing him under the bus immediately.

“Oh?” The Emperor’s tone was heavy with implication. “Is that so?”

The Fifth Prince stole another glance at Chu Chen. Before he could speak again, Chu Chen cut in, “Fifth Brother, there’s no need to hide it. Wasn’t I the one who dragged you to the Eastern Suburbs this time?”

The Emperor looked up at Chu Chen, surprised by his words.

“Since things have come to this, I have nothing left to hide,” Chu Chen declared. “Before the Shangyuan Festival, the incident where I fell into the water while playing with a male courtesan on a painted pleasure boat became known throughout the Capital. I have always been deeply troubled by this. On the second day of the second lunar month, I met Fifth Brother’s cousin, Yang Qin, by the lake. Only then did I learn that Fifth Brother had orchestrated the entire scheme to ruin my reputation.”

Mutou had always told him that Chu Chen needed to prove nothing.

‘And so, far from distancing himself from the mess, he was deliberately throwing himself right into the middle of it…’

The Fifth Prince opened his mouth to explain, but Chu Chen gave him no chance to speak, continuing, “Your Majesty, your son is narrow-minded and cannot tolerate a single grain of sand in his eye. When I heard Second Brother was organizing a polo match, I thought I must drag Fifth Brother along. With the sons of all the court’s nobles present, I could make him look a fool and let him taste the bitterness of a ruined reputation.”

Chu Chen spoke with such “sincerity” that the Fifth Prince, listening from the side, asked in disbelief, “Sixth Brother, you pretended to invite me to the Eastern Suburbs just to get revenge on me?”

“Unfortunately, Young Marquis Lu must hold some grudge against me. On the very first day of the match, he knocked me off my horse with his polo mallet.” Chu Chen shot a glare at Lu Jing. Lu Jing could only raise an eyebrow in helplessness, thinking, *This Sixth Highness truly knows how to deflect force with a gentle touch. With just a few words, he’s not only completely exonerated himself but also pointed the finger directly at me.*

“This subject was reckless and accidentally injured His Highness,” Lu Jing said hurriedly, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect. “I hope His Highness will be magnanimous.”

The Emperor’s gaze fell on Chu Chen’s leg. He had seen Chu Chen enter the hall leaning on a crutch. Before this, he had harbored some doubts about the injury, but since Chu Chen had brought it up himself today, he didn’t mind having it verified on the spot.

“Summon the imperial physician to examine the Sixth Highness’s leg injury,” the Emperor commanded.

‘That old fox,’ Chu Chen thought bitterly. ‘Does he still suspect Lu Jing and I are in cahoots?’

The imperial physician arrived shortly after. Upon examining Chu Chen’s leg, he confirmed that the injury had indeed been sustained two or three days prior and that he would be unable to move freely for at least the next half month.

After the physician was dismissed, the Emperor’s gaze upon Chu Chen softened, the coldness in his eyes finally beginning to fade.

“My dear sons,” the Emperor sighed, his expression darkening with melancholy. “None of you seem to know the meaning of fraternal harmony.”

The Emperor knew perfectly well who had orchestrated this entire affair. He had summoned them all today merely to use the incident as a pretext to reprimand them. He hadn’t expected Chu Chen to derail the conversation so completely, and now, his desire to pursue the matter further had vanished, replaced by a dull ache of sorrow in his heart.

His sons had truly mastered the art of demonstrating the utter frailty of royal kinship.

Between them, there was nothing but schemes and strife, each fighting the others until they were bloodied and broken.

“You may all be dismissed,” the Emperor sighed. “I am tired.”

Hearing the Emperor’s words, the assembled officials knew the crisis had passed. They hurriedly bowed and withdrew.

Chu Chen breathed a sigh of relief. As he turned to leave, he forgot the injury to his leg. His first step faltered, and he nearly fell, but Lu Jing caught him with quick reflexes.

The Emperor’s expression softened as he watched Chu Chen. “Old Sixth, you should rest for a moment. Stay and talk with me.”

Chu Chen’s heart tightened at the command. He saw Lu Jing raise an eyebrow in mock sympathy before turning to leave, leaving the two of them alone in the hall.

Chu Chen leaned on his cane and limped closer to the Emperor.

The Emperor looked up at him, seeing the guilt in his eyes, making him look like a child afraid of punishment after making a mistake. The Emperor’s heart softened, and he stepped forward to steady Chu Chen, saying, “You’re so narrow-minded. You’re nothing like your mother; she was always so magnanimous.”

“Mother was magnanimous, which is why Noble Consort Rong always bullied her. I don’t want to keep getting bullied by Fifth Brother,” Chu Chen said, deliberately softening his tone, his reddened eyes brimming with grievance.

Seeing this, the Emperor thought of Consort Rong, who had always endured everything in silence all these years, and a rare pang of guilt stirred in his heart. He looked at Chu Chen and said, “The Empress gave me a list a few days ago. She selected several young men from the noble families in court who are around your age and unmarried. I will find an opportunity to have them all come to the palace for an audience. We’ll choose someone whose appearance and character are a good match for you and get your marriage arranged as soon as possible.”

“Ah?” Chu Chen was taken aback. “So soon?”

“I neglected you in the past, allowing you and your mother to suffer much injustice,” the Emperor said. “Once you have a family of your own, someone to support and accompany you, you will suffer less injustice. I don’t expect you to be like the Crown Prince and achieve great things in state affairs. I only hope you can settle down peacefully, and in the future, let your princess give you a few children.”

Chu Chen: “…”

‘What’s gotten into the Emperor? Why is he suddenly so invested in my marriage?’

‘Could something have happened to Princess Ning’an, the one Cangsuí offered to the Yao State earlier?’

‘Otherwise, why would the Emperor, perfectly fine as he was, suddenly start playing this “deep father-son bond” drama with me?’

“How is the male favorite in your manor serving you?” the Emperor suddenly asked.

“Uh…” Chu Chen smiled awkwardly. “He’s very good. He serves me well.”

The Emperor nodded. His spies in the manor had already reported that the male favorite attended to Chu Chen day and night, showing remarkable dedication. The Yao State hostage had always been arrogant; his current obedience was unexpected.

Furthermore, the Emperor had just received military reports yesterday suggesting that the alliance between the Yao State and Cangsuí was fraying. The tide of the war might soon turn. His previous frustration had largely dissipated, and it was time to put an end to the humiliation of the Yao State hostage. He couldn’t keep him in Chu Chen’s manor indefinitely.

If word got out, it would make him, the ruler of a nation, seem petty and small-minded.

With this in mind, the Emperor secretly decided that once Chu Chen’s marriage was settled, he would have the Yao State hostage taken away.

Mutou is busy being a strategist, a personal bodyguard, and a walking red flag of mystery, while Chu Chen is busy improvising his way through royal interrogations. And now the Emperor wants to find him a husband! Someone please give this prince a peaceful day—and give your translator a little Ko-fi too! ☕