The Princess's Notebook

This polo match started with great fanfare but ended hastily. In the end, the King of Jin and the King of Qin were publicly reprimanded by His Majesty, and Feng Ji and Feng Xun were each given fifty strokes of the cane.

As for the sixteenth and seventeenth young ladies, they were naturally counted on Wang Kang. Before the excitement of the polo game had even ended, Wang Kang, who was not allowed to enter the palace unless there was a grand court meeting, was summoned by His Majesty to the palace.

He was so obsessed with promotion that he had no idea that the situation outside had changed. Suddenly, he was summoned by the Majesty himself. He was so happy that his face was flushed and he was full of energy.

Along the way, the palace walls were majestic and stacked one after another, and he was so happy that he even wanted to compose a poem. What would be a good title? Naturally, good things will come after bad times, and everything will go smoothly.

However, as soon as he stepped over the threshold of the Council Hall, he saw a number of people kneeling on the golden brick floor. He immediately felt nervous and guessed that something bad was going to happen. Before he could say anything, an eunuch who had received the order came to invite him, "Sir Wang, please come in." He pointed to a spot on the ground and asked him to kneel down. That spot was just behind the golden nanmu pillar. On the left was Marquis Changqing, and on the right was Minister Feng of the Ministry of Justice.

They were all people he had never seen before. Wang Kang's legs and feet were sore that he fell to the ground. There was a thud. The palace was wide and the muffled echo lasted for a long time before gradually becoming silent.

After the eunuch walked away and no longer looked at him, Wang Kang dared to shrink and look down. Passing the Marquis of Changqing and Minister Feng in front of him, and then in front, there were Princess Jing'an's husband, the King of Jin, the King of Qin...

He dared not look any further! He huddled up and hid behind a large pillar, not wanting to be seen. He thought he was always careful and prudent, and had never made any mistakes, so how could he end up in such a terrible situation?

The people here are either royal relatives or ministers in the court, and none of them can be offended by a small official of the sixth rank like him.

The setting sun shone through the window lattice, and dots of light fell on Wang Kang's face. His face, which he used to be proud of, was now wrinkled and bitter, like a bitter melon in February or a watermelon in winter. It was not something that suited the occasion.

There was silence for a long time, and beams of golden light slowly set in the west.

Zhao Kun, who was sitting high up, frowned. He opened the document, but could not read a single word. He fell on the desk, leaned sideways, and picked up a note from the other end in great annoyance. Before he could turn it over, he saw that it was written by Marquis Changqing, and his mouth was instantly filled with bitterness.

He stood up suddenly, pointed to the sky and cursed: "You are all bastards! Are you stupid?"

Without naming any names, a bunch of ministers all pleaded guilty. Only the two kings of Jin and Qin, led by Yu, looked at each other and slapped their heads on the ground. From now on, they would never go to see Xiaoliu's fun again. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a gold nugget, and the other princes are not even a wooden stake.

Unable to bear seeing these bastards, Zhao Kun walked away in anger.

It was almost the last moment of the day, and the dry heat mixed with the cool breeze of the night, sometimes cold, sometimes hot. Zhao Kun was extremely irritable, stepping on the gravel with extra force, as if he wanted to deal with all the fools, including Zhao Feiran.

Passing through the flowers and willows, he came to the East Palace.

Passing by the treasure house, through the Rihua Gate. The pines and cypresses are lush and green, the light is gone, only the palace lanterns are swaying in the corridor, and the tassel curtains are fluttering. The cold dew is gradually rising, and Zhao Kun has been walking along the way, calming down a lot. But by chance, when he turned around the flower wall and entered the Tianguang Hall, he saw that Song Dajian seemed to have been stepped on by someone, and he was walking back and forth.

Zhao Kun got angry, "You bastard, why are you standing here if you don't want to serve me?"

Song Dajian hurried down the stairs to apologize, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince applied medicine, but seeing that I was stupid, he drove me out. Your Highness is fine, just a little painful. The imperial physician said that you just need to rest well for a while."

Zhao Kun already knew about this, and after hearing what Supervisor Song said again, he felt much more at ease.

In the Tianguang Hall, the candlelight was bright. Zhao Feiran was unable to lie flat due to a back injury, so he turned over and lay on the couch. He was wearing a middle-length shirt with a slightly open collar, and a few beads of sweat could be seen faintly.

It is obvious that he has suffered a lot.

Zhao Kun stood still under the banana leaf canopy, not moving forward. He seemed to be watching a joke, or even angry.

"Xiao Liu, you feel the pain now! Where is your previous brave and fierce appearance? Your Highness, there are times when you hide and endure it yourself! This is the most exciting thing in Kyoto."

Zhao Feiran raised his head, "Dad, it does hurt a little..."

"You're showing off even though you love me!" Zhao Kun yelled, "When you were on the polo field, you must have remembered your identity. You must have remembered that you are the crown prince of our dynasty, and you will unify the country and achieve eternal hegemony in the future. You..." He was so angry that he couldn't catch his breath, "You still remember me, and your mother! You bastard!"

The night was dark and the branches outside the window were rustling against each other.

"Father..." Zhao Feiran begged for mercy miserably.

"You useless thing! If you don't take care of yourself, what else can I say?"

Seeing that his own silly son had not mentioned the young lady at all in such a situation, he was furious. Angry that he did not cherish himself, and angry that the young lady did not know what was good for her. After scolding her three or five times, the turmoil in his heart and chest improved a lot, and Fang Zhenzhen calmed down and went to see Zhao Feiran on the couch.

Even with the white middle garment on, one could still see the tightly wrapped back, which was not illuminated by the bright light from all around. It was said that it was covered with scratches, scarlet, broken skin, and cracks, and there were some places where there was no intact skin at all.

Thinking of this, Zhao Kun felt sad again.

He and Atong had watched this child since he was young, never letting him get tired or suffer, never letting him get hurt. Now, for a little girl, and a little girl without conscience, he has fallen into such a situation.

His Majesty walked slowly to Zhao Feiran and sat on the edge of the couch, straightening his bedding and tucking in the corners of the quilt.

"You... can't sleep lying down at night. You have to cover yourself with a blanket. Don't let the injury on your back not heal yet and you catch a cold."

At this moment, His Majesty is wholeheartedly instructing his children, putting aside his imperial majesty, and acting like a truly loving father.

"Father," Zhao Feiran was not used to it and could not stand it, "My son will take good care of himself."

The father and son had such a tender moment without any status. They just asked and answered, and then there was no more words. Your Majesty looked out the window. The crescent moon was in the sky, casting a bright light, but it was shattered by the window. If you were not far away, you might not be able to tell the truth.

After sighing, Zhao Kun slowly asked, "Do you like that young lady so much?"

Zhao Feiran jumped up in fright, pulled his wound, whimpered twice, and then lay down again.

"Father, what nonsense are you talking about? How can I like her? She is not good-looking, her family background is not good, and her education is just literacy. She has no merits, so why should I like her? Father, you are confused!"

Ignoring his nonsense, Zhao Kun stood up and walked to the window, staring at the crescent moon, as if he was back to the past in an instant.

"The day your mother and I got married was also on a similar night. A bright crescent moon was setting in the west. I had never seen a girl like her. She was like Guanyin, saying yes to whatever you said and never objecting to anything you asked her to do. She took care of you wholeheartedly. At that time, I felt..."

As he said this, Zhao Kun laughed at himself. Why was he saying these things in front of a child?

Unexpectedly, Zhao Feiran suddenly continued, "Dad, I remember. Mom said that you were arrogant and looked down on Mom and treated her badly."

Zhao Kun's face suddenly darkened, "Why did your mother tell you this?"

"My mother told me to remember this well, so that I won't be mean to others if I have a crown princess in the future."

Slowly walking back to the bed, Zhao Kun looked at Zhao Feiran with a softer expression, "I was not very kind to your mother in the beginning. I did a lot of wrong things and misunderstood many people. But," he let out a long sigh, "your mother and I still have a future. We still have two children."

Seeing that Zhao Feiran didn't understand, His Majesty explained, "Since you like her, then just like her. It's no big deal. When your mother and I first got married, I was not as good to your mother as you are. That young lady..."

"Dad, I really don't like her!"

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince really doesn't seem to understand.

"Then why did you save her? If you didn't save her, she would just be trampled under the horse, or dragged away by the horse. She would just have injured her legs and hands. What does it have to do with you?"

Zhao Feiran couldn't believe it. "Father, how can this be? Your son is the Crown Prince, and you must always consider the people."

His Majesty spoke earnestly, "My son, it is good for the crown prince to consider the people, but the first thing is to make sure you are safe. With you, there will be people, and there will be a future for Daye. Don't abandon yourself for the sake of just one person like you do. Do you understand?"

"Father, a person is also a person. You can't give up on her just because she is alone."

At first, Zhao Kun still felt a little lucky, thinking that it was just the first time his son paid attention to a girl and he was embarrassed to say anything. However, after he said this, he was shocked to realize that his son really lacked some training.

There is still a lot lacking.

"My son, remember this. Whether you are the emperor or the crown prince, your every word and action is a role model, and you are all under the supervision of your officials and the people. All actions and policies have choices. If you choose someone, you will abandon yourself. If you choose yourself, you will abandon this person... The mountains and rivers are magnificent, and the world is vast. The fewer people or objects that can make you abandon yourself, the better."

We talked by candlelight until late at night.

Finally, before leaving, Zhao Kun whispered, "During the day, I summoned Wang Kang to the palace. The young lady of the Wang family should have heard the news by tomorrow at the latest. If she is sensible, I will spare her this time. If she is ignorant, your Tianguang Palace and Cheng'en Palace will be very busy in the future."

Zhao Kun left in a carefree manner, leaving Zhao Feiran lying on the bed to defend himself.

I really don't like her! Dad, you have to believe me!

The Wang Kang mentioned by His Majesty rushed out at the last moment before the palace gates were locked, and returned to Xuandefang just before curfew.

This time he did not enter the backyard, but stayed alone in the study room in the front yard. At first, he wanted to write a poem while the fear was still there. After grinding the ink, he wrote a crooked "Three o'clock in the morning, the night is cool..." and then it was like a flood that had been released, with no power to continue.

He ordered the servant to bring some wine, and imitated the way people drank to drown their sorrows, and was heartbroken.

Who would have thought that after swallowing two ounces of cat urine, he suddenly felt relaxed and his mind became active, thinking about today's events. He crossed his legs, leaning on the long table, one hand on the rose chair, the other twirling his beard, thinking of something good, his eyes lit up, and he smiled.

It turned out that on the way back, he had already found out everything that happened. As for the Crown Prince's rescue of Shiqi Niang at the racecourse, that was the most important thing, and it was accurate to the last detail.

The Crown Prince is seventeen years old, and it is the time to select concubines. He is so fond of Seventeenth Lady, so the future father-in-law must be him, the Fourth Master Wang.

This is the best blessing from heaven!
He shouted outside, "Someone, go check on Shiqi Niang. Is she asleep?"

The servant outside looked at the sky, then looked down at his own servant's clothes. He sighed at the moon, it was already dark after the lighting time, and now even the unmarried young man in the front yard could no longer enter the back yard, so how could they find news about Shiqi Niang?

"Master, it's almost ugly hour, the ladies should all go to bed."

Wang Kang laughed loudly, "That's right! You're going to be the Crown Princess soon, so you should take good care of yourself. Don't want your health to be damaged before you even get married."

(End of this chapter)