Joy of Life: The melon-eating prince sees through Fan Xian's fake death

Chapter 52 Mom! Help me!
Censor Lai came over with the help of two colleagues from the Censorate. He had just knelt for too long in front of the emperor in the imperial study, and his old body could not withstand the ordeal. He was already shaky when he came out.

Despite the unanimous dissuasion of his colleagues, Censor Lai still wanted to come to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to ask:
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Calling you." Fan Xian patted Li Chengqian's shoulder, indicating that Lai Mingcheng had come behind him. In order to protect the Crown Prince's reputation of being courteous to the wise, he reminded him.

But Li Chengqian was not unaware of his arrival, it was just that it was inconvenient for him to have private contact with Lai Mingcheng. Even if they did communicate, he could not be as close to him as Fan Xian. He could only adopt a not so friendly attitude and keep a distance from him. This was to protect him.
"What's wrong, Censor Lai? Have you not scolded me enough in the court? Do you want to continue?"

Li Chengqian's sarcasm did not make Censor Lai back down. He shyly bowed to the Crown Prince and apologized. His trembling appearance made the two colleagues in the Censorate beside him hide their anger towards the Crown Prince on their faces. Fan Xian and others were also very puzzled.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is usually a nice person, so it shouldn’t be like that, right?
After Censor Lai apologized, he still couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, I have a question that I would like to ask you to answer. Why do you want to stop me from investigating corruption? You clearly proposed a clear theory of controlling rats and investigating corruption, so you should support it, right?"

Li Chengqian snorted coldly: "Because the person you want to investigate is not someone else, but my brother!"

Censor Lai was even more confused. If there was a Left Censor like him who put pressure on the second prince to investigate his smuggling, shouldn't the crown prince, who wanted to secure his position as the heir to the throne, be overjoyed? Could there really be princes who were friendly and respectful to their brothers?

He is "crazy" but not stupid, so this question was not asked.

Censor Lai already had the answer in his mind and said goodbye. The two censors beside him were a little dissatisfied with the impolite prince, but Lai Mingcheng still bowed to the prince before leaving: "Your Highness, Qing Kingdom is lucky to have a crown prince like you."

Li Chengqian watched the hunched-over Lai Mingcheng leave with the help of two young men. He saw the gray hair reflecting golden light in the setting sun. He pretended to be dissatisfied on the surface, but he was actually very happy in his heart, not because he had successfully won the city from the Second Prince.

Instead, he saved Censor Lai's life.

······
"Your Highness, why are you so rude to him? It's not necessary, is it?" Fan Xian moved closer to Li Chengqian. The relationship between them was better than the ordinary relationship between a monarch and his subjects. It was more like friends, so he was more casual.

This is not the case. The question is about the Crown Prince. It is obvious that Censor Lai is helping you to punish the Second Prince. It is fine for you to pretend in the court and in front of His Majesty, but why do you treat him so badly in private? This is not the Crown Prince who usually respects the wise and humble.
"There are some people I can befriend, there are some people I must offend, and there are some people I have to keep my distance from. This is what I should do as the Crown Prince of Qing, and it is also what His Majesty wants me to do."

"So, your Majesty also allowed me to be your friend?" Fan Xian asked.

"Who said you are my friend?" Li Chengqian teased, "You are my brother-in-law."

Fan Xian chuckled: "You are my prince, and I am your brother-in-law. Let's talk about our own affairs and don't mess up our relationship."

As the two of them were laughing, the Minister of Finance Fan Jian came over, bowed to the Crown Prince, and then looked at Fan Xian: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is courteous to the wise and humble, and is close to his subjects and loves the people. Fan Xian, you must repay the Crown Prince's trust in you and live up to his love for you."

"Of course it's necessary."

Fan Xian put away his smile, bowed with a smile, and left space for his father to communicate with the prince.

Li Chengqian said calmly: "Minister Fan has trained an outstanding loyal minister of the Kingdom of Qing like Fan Xian, and has also raised Ruoruo to be well-educated and sensible. He is a man of good parenting skills. I admire him very much."

Fan Jian chuckled, "Your Highness the Crown Prince's previous remarks on combating corruption have benefited me greatly. Today, you were calm and composed in the imperial study, and your performance of being able to move forward and backward with ease not only impressed me, but also satisfied Your Majesty's wish for your son to become a successful person."

Fan Xian was caught in the middle, watching the two of them bragging about their business, and he felt like an outsider:
"Dad, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince needs to rest, let's..."

Fan Jian stretched out his hand to signal him not to interrupt their conversation, and said with a smile:
"Your Highness has now been cleared of all charges and has regained a good reputation. If Ruoruo were here, she would definitely be very happy. In fact, the incident at Baoyue Tower was closely related to our Fan family. Your Highness did not vent his anger on the Fan family, but instead protected Sizhe in front of Your Majesty." "I am very grateful. I would like to invite Your Highness to come to the Fan family when you are free. Although my humble home is small, I will take out all the good things to entertain Your Highness. How about today?"

What Fan Jian meant was that the door of the Fan family was open to me and I was always welcome to visit, so that others could see his intention and position.
Li Chengqian smiled and shook his head: "Thank you for the hospitality, Minister Fan, but I have something else to do tonight. I will bring gifts to visit you at the Fan family next time I have the chance."

Fan Jian was rejected, but nodded with satisfaction, and his smile seemed even happier than before.

······
In the palace of Concubine Shu.

After Li Chengze walked out of the imperial study room full of resentment, he was still disgusted by the prince who acted like a brother in front of His Majesty. The more he thought about it, the more annoyed and angry he became. He went to his mother's palace to try to seek help:
"Mother, a year of confinement is really too long for me. Please ask His Majesty to reduce the time!"

Concubine Shu covered her face with a heavy book, flipped through the pages, and read the papers, not wanting to pay any attention to her unfortunate son:

"You've caused such a big trouble, this is considered light, how can I plead for you?"

Li Chengze felt even more upset. He didn't expect that his mother didn't believe him. Even Concubine Shu thought that it was Fan Wujiu who he appointed to kill the king and seize the throne. Your Highness, you are so cruel!
"Mom, I really didn't do anything like that!"

Concubine Shu calmly closed the book and switched to a new one:
"Does it matter whether you did it or not? Does it matter whether you thought so or not? You can't beat him, just give up."

give up?

ridiculous!

Li Chengze snorted and laughed, and stood up barefoot in anger, looking up at his mother who was sitting and reading:

"Mom, what a joke! If I don't fight him, I will be the one who dies in the end, or maybe you! If he takes the throne, I will definitely die. The best outcome for Mom is to be banished to the cold palace. Isn't that miserable enough?"

Concubine Shu closed the book and looked at her son with indifferent but wise eyes: "I have read a lot of books and I know the right person. If you don't fight, he will let us live. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has said and done that he is a kind person."

"Mother recognized the wrong person. I know the Crown Prince best."

Li Chengze ignored his mother's words, put on his short boots, and left with a sneer: "The way he looked at me was so resentful. You call him a righteous man, but you wanted to kill me with your own hands when you were thirteen years old!"

"If you don't want to help me, then I will fight him to the end on my own!"

Concubine Shu looked at her son's crazy back, secretly opened the book, and sighed:
“I still don’t read enough books”

　Even if the fight goes to the end, Concubine Shu will not die unless she takes action.

　　Personally, I really don't like the idea that if parents are guilty, their children will also be guilty, and vice versa. Everyone is an independent individual. Even if there are social relationships as a bond, the children of bad people are not necessarily bad people, and the children of good people are not necessarily good people.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)