Proud Feather

Chapter 31 Surrender
Compared to the gloom and misery of the Tian family, Chu Ling was quite happy.

After returning to the palace, he took a bath and changed his clothes. Seeing that it was getting dark, he asked Zheng Qiu to go and see the emperor.

The emperor had just stopped reviewing the memorials when he saw Concubine Tian Shu coming in from outside, and suddenly realized that it was getting dark.

"Your Majesty has finally rested. I have come several times but you didn't notice." Concubine Tian Shu said with a smile.

"Really?" the emperor sighed. "There are too many memorials piled up. A while ago..."

Because of the death of the prince a while ago, he has been distracted from state affairs.

"You just got better. Please take care of yourself!" Concubine Tian Shu asked with concern. "Shall we have dinner served?"

The emperor was indeed hungry and nodded: "Serve the meal!"

Looking at the food being served, he suddenly remembered something and turned to ask, "Did A Ling go to the Sanfasi today?"

The eunuch Sun Shouquan smiled and replied, "Your Majesty remembers it very clearly. Yes, the princess left the palace this morning."

"Are you back now? Did you get into any trouble?"

"I'm back. As for the things... there are indeed some. Why not wait for the princess to tell you herself?"

The emperor nodded at him and said, "You are keeping us in suspense!"

That being said, the emperor wasn't displeased with his behavior. Sun Shouquan had served the emperor for years and had long understood the situation. The emperor loved to chat about family matters. In his early years, it was the empress, and later, the concubines and princesses. They would talk things over slowly and attentively; that was how they felt at home.

As Concubine Tian Shu was setting the table, she said, "Even if I want to ask you something, Your Majesty, please eat first. You've lost a lot of weight recently, so you need to eat well."

The emperor touched his waist and sighed, "I haven't had much appetite lately, so my clothes have become a little loose."

Concubine Tian Shu smiled and said nothing more. If she continued, she would inevitably bring up the Crown Prince again. Wouldn't that be a sad thing for the Emperor?

She thought for a moment and changed the subject: "How could His Majesty agree to let the princess go to the Three Courts? I'm a little worried. The princess has never been involved in government affairs. Will she..."

The emperor was unconcerned. "Even if she caused trouble, how big of a problem could it be? The Three Courts are not stupid. They can't handle such a small matter."

After a pause, the emperor continued, "I agreed to her request. First, to reassure the Crown Princess, and second, to give A-Ling something to do. A-Yi is eight years younger than her. I'm busy with state affairs, so he's shouldering half the responsibility of a father. The two siblings have a special bond. Asking her to personally oversee the work of the Three Law Departments will also help ease her mood."

At this point, he showed displeasure on his face: "That monk just took advantage of A Ling's bad mood."

Concubine Tian Shu replied, "Your Majesty is right. The princess normally wouldn't pay attention to any monks. It's all Hui'er's fault for insisting on asking for divination and causing such a big fuss."

The emperor just smiled and didn't respond.

Concubine Tian Shu's heart tightened, but she didn't have time to think about it. A voice came from outside: "Father! Father!"

The emperor smiled, looking at Chu Ling who came running in noisily, half happy and half reproachful: "You have no manners at all, running in like this without even letting anyone know."

Chu Ling stopped and saluted formally: "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, Father—is this all right?"

The emperor had no choice but to beckon her. "Have you had dinner yet? You came here at this time, hoping to get a free meal, didn't you?"

Chu Ling giggled: "Father really understands me." She turned around and asked, "Does the Concubine Shu mind?"

Of course, Concubine Tian Shu couldn't say she minded, so she could only make way and said, "Princess, you've come just in time. His Majesty is talking about you!"

"Really? What did you say about me?" Chu Ling turned around and asked, "Father, are you scolding me again?"

"Who scolded you?" The emperor nodded at her. "They said it was your first day at the Sanfasi, and I don't know if you got into any trouble."

"What kind of trouble could I possibly cause?" Chu Ling disagreed. "Even if I did, there are still the Three Law Courts officials here!"

Hearing this, everyone laughed. Chu Ling was confused: "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

Sun Shouquan added a humorous comment: "Princess, what you said is exactly the same as what His Majesty said just now. They are indeed father and daughter, connected by heart!"

Chu Ling showed a proud smile: "Of course!"

The father and daughter first ate a bowl of soup to fill their stomachs. The emperor looked up and asked, "What did you do when you went to the Sanfasi today?"

"Watching the Dali Temple hearing a case!" Chu Ling replied, "Master Gao is investigating the rumors and trying to figure out who is ruining my reputation."

The emperor nodded: "Have you found anything?"

Chu Ling replied: "There is some clue, but the key witness..."

She stopped talking mid-sentence, and the emperor asked, "What's wrong?"

Chu Ling smiled and replied: "Keep it secret! The case is still under trial, so you can't disclose it casually!"

The emperor laughed: "You are playing tricks on me!"

Concubine Tian Shu asked, "Princess, will you go tomorrow?"

"Of course I went." Chu Ling continued, "This is the task that my father gave me. I have to do it well! Father, don't you agree?"

The emperor nodded. "That's the attitude. If you were a prince, I would assign you more errands."

"I'm not a prince, but I can still help my father!" Chu Ling said, smiling as he served the emperor some food. "Father, please eat more."

Concubine Tian Shu glanced over and ate in silence.
-
The next morning, as soon as Gao Mian arrived at the Dali Temple, he was startled by the person sitting in the court.

"Princess, you..."

There was no imperial procession today, and she had arrived too early! She was so quiet, was she trying to scare people to death?

Chu Ling played with the golden folding fan sent as tribute from Shu while saying, "Master Gao doesn't seem to want to see me."

"No," Gao Mian said, "I just thought you were going to inspect the Ministry of Justice today."

"Oh, you can't wait to send me off!"

"No!" Gao Mian flatly denied. "I am truly honored that the princess is willing to condescend to come to the Dali Temple."

Chu Ling nodded: "You should feel honored indeed. Believe it or not, Minister Lin has been waiting for two days and has been feeling very nervous now?"

"..."

Chu Ling stopped teasing him: "Alright, do your job well! When Madam Tian comes later, I'll ask her some questions."

Would Madam Tian come? Gao Mian was skeptical. In his opinion, the princess's poisoning in public was too outrageous. If the Tian family had just reported it to the higher authorities, His Majesty would have had to side with them. But since the princess said so, the Tian family probably hadn't reported it to the higher authorities? It couldn't have been that serious, right?
Half an hour later, Gao Mian heard the clerk's report and had no choice but to believe it.

The Tian family really surrendered!

What the hell, why on earth would they give in? Even if they couldn't see Concubine Shu for a while, they could just go find the Second Prince!
Mr. Gao could only suppress his doubts for the time being. He looked at Mrs. Tian and Tian Ben who were being helped into the court, and he perked up.

Today is a tough battle.

　The fever has gone down, but I still feel like vomiting. I can only drink some porridge to fill my stomach these two days.

　　(End of this chapter)