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

Chapter 53 Ruoruo, please give me some lychees!
Metropolitan Procuratorate.

The two imperial censors who were qualified to attend the court, after returning to their own territory, could no longer hold back their resentment towards the crown prince, and privately discussed their dissatisfaction with the crown prince with each other:

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince doesn't take us, the Censorate, seriously at all. When Censor Lai went over to greet him at his old age, he pretended not to see us at first and didn't even glance at us. It's clear that he doesn't want to pay attention to us!"

"Yes, he even mocked Censor Lai for seeking fame by dying in front of His Majesty, and even mocked that Censor Lai's life was worthless. I don't know what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is thinking. Wouldn't it be a greater help to him if we help investigate the Second Prince's smuggling?"

"I think the Crown Prince wants to take advantage of the situation and give the Second Prince a hard time, humph!"

The conversation between the two was interrupted angrily by Lai Mingcheng after he discovered it:

"You two, shut up!"

The two censors immediately shut up and dared not say another word, but they still felt resentful in their hearts.

Censor Lai sighed and planned to say a few more words to them:
"Do you know where you went wrong?"

The censors looked at each other, and one of them tried to test:

"We shouldn't discuss His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in private, as this could easily cause trouble for the Censorate?"

"wrong!"

Lai Mingcheng shook his head: "You haven't noticed the good intentions of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He distanced himself from me and excluded me, and even stopped me from investigating the Second Prince in front of His Majesty. In fact, he was protecting me!"

"Protect?"

"Why do you say that?"

The two censors were confused and thought that it was Censor Lai who was trying to save face for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Lai Mingcheng explained: "I was impulsive at the time and did not understand your majesty's warning. Now I think about it and I am a little scared. Think about it carefully. If I investigate the Second Prince again and again, wouldn't it be an act of usurpation for me, a small official, to want to clean up the royal family?"

"Don't listen to how impolite His Royal Highness's words are. Look at what His Royal Highness did. He took the risk of angering His Majesty and took on the burden of investigating the Second Prince for me, just to save my life. In the end, he didn't say anything!"

The two imperial censors were struck by lightning. After being enlightened by the adults, they finally understood the good intentions of the prince: "Rely on the imperial censors to calm down. We know we were wrong. We were too ignorant to see the intentions of the prince."

Lai Mingcheng then softened his expression and warned:

"From now on, you are not allowed to discuss the Crown Prince's faults in private. Otherwise, you know the consequences."

"Yes!"

·······
On the carriage back to the Fan Mansion, Fan Jian and Fan Xian rode together. The father and son chatted about family matters and matters of the court. But when they talked about the Crown Prince, an appreciative smile appeared on Fan Jian's face:
"I used to think that the prince was just a fool and couldn't handle the big responsibility. But now, because of the marriage granted by His Majesty, Ruoruo is going to marry him. After getting to know him more, I found that the prince is actually a wise and sensible heir to the throne."

Fan Xian chuckled and said sarcastically, "I told you a long time ago that the prince had changed, but you didn't believe it at first."

Fan Jian stroked his beard and asked tentatively, "Do you know why I invited the prince to visit the Fan family, but he refused me, but I didn't get angry but laughed instead?"

Fan Xian responded slyly, "Isn't it just to save your reputation?"

"You boy!"

Fan Jian pretended to hit him, but Fan Xian dodged and gave the real answer with a smile:
"Then you are testing whether His Royal Highness the Crown Prince intends to get our Fan family to side with him, right? Now that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has temporarily won the power struggle with the Second Prince, this is definitely not the time for us to express our stance, so you want to test whether His Royal Highness the Crown Prince understands the limits?"

Fan Jian nodded: "The prince understood what I meant and rejected the invitation, which means that he does not need the Fan family to express their views at this time. We can still remain neutral and not participate in the princes' fight, but if Ruoruo becomes the crown princess, this balance seems to be broken."

Fan Xian frowned and thought: "So what father meant is..."

Fan Jian took a deep breath and said, "There is someone behind the Second Prince, and she has not yet exerted her strength."

The carriage fell into silence.

After a while, Fan Xian spoke up: "So His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that he would not come today, but would come later when he is free. Does that mean that he will need us to stand up and express our opinions after that person returns to Kyoto to maintain the balance between him and the Second Prince?" Fan Jian looked out the window. It was cloudy after the rain, and the sky was filled with mist. "The struggles among the royal family have been a huge vortex since ancient times. I hope that after Ruoruo becomes the Crown Princess, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will protect her."

Fan Xian nodded: "I hope so."

After the two returned home and sat down to eat, Fan Xian told Fan Ruoruo, who had been waiting for a long time, the latest news about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince: the rumors had been cleared up, and Li Chengze had been defeated in the court, achieving a phased victory.

"great!"

Fan Ruoruo's face was filled with joy. She usually ate very little, but she happily ate a few more bites of food. She asked her brother curiously, "After His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has finished his recent work, he didn't say when he would come to visit me?"

Fan Xian looked at Fan Jian, and the father and son smiled at each other: "Dad invited the prince to our house, but he didn't come. Do you think he is free? It will probably take some time before he can take you out."

Fan Ruoruo sighed: "Hey, at this rate, when can I become the Crown Princess?"

Fan Xian was so amused that he almost spit out some rice grains: "Your brother hasn't even married yet, and you want to get married at such a young age?"

Sister, please be more lychee!
Fan Ruoruo rolled her eyes beautifully and said sarcastically, "That's because you don't like Princess Wan'er that much, and that Saint Haitang Duoduo from Northern Qi is pestering you, so you don't want to get married that much, right?"

Fan Xian choked.

"Oh, and there's the courtesan Si Lili. She seems to be with me..."

"Stop!"

Fan Xian was really annoyed by his sister's filial piety, so he quickly told his parents to stop talking before they got angry: "Ruoruo, don't be too happy too soon. The Crown Prince won't marry you so soon. I'm afraid you and him will have to wait until someone comes back to marry you."

Fan Ruoruo was so angry that she picked up her chopsticks: "Humph! Brother, what nonsense are you talking about! Also, who is the someone you are talking about? Brother, tell me!"

······
In the Yannian Palace, Li Chengqian sneezed twice. Someone must have scolded me or missed me!
Jiang Ziyan, who was dozing off beside the Crown Prince, hadn't reacted when she heard him sneeze. Qingzhu poked her with his hand to remind her. She was startled out of her nap and rubbed her eyes in confusion as she looked around:

"Sister Qingzhu, is dinner ready?"

An embarrassed expression appeared on Qingzhu's face:

"All I think about is eating! His Royal Highness has caught a cold, go and put a fox fur coat on him."

Jiang Ziyan was so scared that she nodded quickly, ran to Li Chengqian with her clothes, and said, "Your Highness, I will put clothes on you~"

Seeing that extremely pretty little face approaching him, but trying to please him cautiously and miserably, Li Chengqian wondered if he had scared the girl too much last time, causing her to be so timid?
Until he saw Jiang Ziyan's little eyes drifting towards the pastries on his table.

Li Chengqian withdrew his sympathetic thoughts, raised his arm expressionlessly, and asked her to put on her clothes:

"Eat it when you're hungry, and don't take a nap when you're full."

Jiang Ziyan pouted her lips and poked with her two jade fingers:
"But once I'm full, I want to sleep."

Li Chengqian held his forehead and pointed outside the door:

"Go and call Luan Hongyu in for me. I want to ask her about Fan Wujiu."

"Good~"

Before Jiang Ziyan ran away, she turned back and pointed at the cakes in the palace and asked, "Your Highness, can I still eat it?"

"You can hold on until you die!"

Jiang Ziyan happily stuffed the food into her arms and ate it while taking it:

"Your Highness, I will not die. I am very smart!"

(End of this chapter)