Masquerade in Bridal Attire and Marry the Prince

211. All in Readiness

Translator: Bryan

A thin smile touched Du Chuxuan’s lips as he heard the news. Everything was ready now, but he didn’t know when he would receive a report from Turk. That was the only thing he needed before he could carrying out the plan.

Soon, another few days passed by. During that period of time, Du Chuxuan felt as if he were an old man living out his life in retirement, eating with relish during daytime and sleeping soundly at night. Those who had been staking out the palace didn’t get any useful information.

However, it came to Du Chuxuan as a great surprise that the Fang family were the first ones to lose their cool. Looking at Old Master Fang sitting opposite him with a grave face, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat amused. “What’s that supposed to mean? Your daughter is not in this palace right now. Even if she were, she’s a member of the imperial family now. There’s no way you can get her back to the Fang family.”

Old Master Fang heavily poked the floor with his walking stick and snapped, “That’s nonsense! I’m her grandfather. Are you telling me I’m not even allowed to take her back home?!”

“Your Lordship, I’m showing you respect only because you’re His Majesty’s mentor. Still, seeing as how you used to teach His Majesty, you should know that this has been how things work in this country from time immemorial. A concubine needs the legal wife’s permission to go back to her parents’ place. In the imperial palace, the Empress is the only one eligible to go back home without others’ permissions.”

Du Chuxuan was not nervous at all. He easily threw the problem to the Empress. By the time the Empress found out, it would be at least several hours later, and what the Empress wanted to do about it would have nothing to do with him.

Old Master Fang, naturally, knew that as well. He really wanted to know how badly Yuxing Tianrui was wounded. Fang Rui was his only granddaughter. If the Crown Prince died, his granddaughter’s life would be ruined, and he would be the one responsible for it.

“No. You have to either give me my granddaughter or let me see His Highness. An audience with His Highness will dissolve my concern considerably as well!” Old Master Fang refused to budge an inch. He staggeringly rose to his feet and began to walk towards the door. This palace was a rather small one. He believed that he would find the Crown Prince if he searched the rooms one by one.

At the sight of it, Du Chuxuan became angry. “His Majesty made it very clear that no outsiders are allowed to enter this palace. Even Eunuch Desheng has to show me a written fiat from His Majesty to gain entry when coming here to deliver rewards. You wouldn’t even have made it through the front gate were it not for your special identity. Is the Fang family planning to stage a revolt?”

On hearing those words, Old Master Fang stopped dead in his tracks with alarm. He had done that just now because he had been positive that Du Chuxuan wouldn’t dare do anything to him, but it had never crossed his mind that Du Chuxuan would act like a hoodlum and bring up the Emperor, sounding unworried at all.

He stared at Du Chuxuan for a long time. The indefinable air that the woman in front of him was emanating made him feel somewhat uneasy. He could tell at a glance that this woman was not easy to deal with. If Fang Rui made an enemy of this woman, Fang Rui would probably be outdone. It struck him that the East Palace was not the right place for his granddaughter.

Old Master Fang did some quick thinking. When he came to himself, some guards had respectfully taken him out of the palace and settled him in a carriage bound for the capital city.

After returning home, he let out a long sigh and had just decided not to disclose this matter to anybody when a young servant came to deliver a message from his eldest grandson. His grandson hadn’t left his room for quite some time, which made Old Master Fang quite worried. Old Master Fang, naturally, cared about his grandson very much, so he listened carefully.

“My lord, your grandson said that since things had already come to this, you might as well go and sound out the Zhao family. After all, they’re one of the most powerful families in the court. It’s probably much easier for them to make the request than it is for the Fang family.”

Old Master Fang had thought of this method as well, but if he did that, it would mean that the Fang family had to make overtures to the Zhao family. The Fang family had always been proud. How could he humble himself like that? If he did that, the Zhao family would laugh at them for the rest of their lives.

“Your grandson said only one thing. The Crown Prince has seldom stayed indoors for such a long time before. It must be because he’s in a critical condition. It’s either your granddaughter or the whole family. You need to make a decision as soon as possible.”

The old man’s face finally changed at those words. He gritted his teeth and said, “Fine. Go back and tell him I’ll think about it. He needs to take good care of his health lest his illness worsen further.”

Naturally, nobody knew what the Fang family was planning to do. However, news of the old man’s visit to the palace soon reached the Emperor’s ears. Du Chuxuan had no intention to keep it secret. Besides, there was no way he could keep something like that secret.

“What do you think, Desheng?” the Emperor asked in a seemingly casual tone, putting down the memorial in his hand.

After hearing the Emperor’s question, Eunuch Desheng turned around and thought about it carefully before he replied, “The Crown Princess is from a family of merchants, and merchants’ social status is relatively low, but they tend to be more astute than ordinary people. It’d be best if you take that into consideration, sire. Still, there’s no need for you to worry too much about it. I think she’s just playing a little game.

“As far as I can tell, although the Crown Princess has not been on very good terms with your son, she doesn’t have many men under her command. In a word, you don’t have to concern yourself with this matter.”

The Emperor, naturally, felt the same way. He just needed someone to verify his thoughts. Besides, Eunuch Desheng was the only one who could offer him constructive advice about this issue.

“It’s a shame the Du family doesn’t have a competent heir, otherwise their family would be much wealthier than it is now.” The Emperor shook his head, feigning regret and sympathy.

Eunuch Desheng stood on the side, making no remarks on it. The Emperor did not need him to express his opinion. However, he felt that although Du Chuyue was no threat to the imperial family, it might not be easy for the Emperor to take down the Du family.

Another half a month passed and it felt like an instant. Yuxing Tianrui and his army were about to reach the Turkish border. Du Chuxuan finally received a report from Sect Luo about Manlou.

The report was very detailed and it brought Du Chuxuan the greatest hope like a heavy rain after a long drought.

After carefully reading the report about Manlou, he let out a sigh of relief. “Well, this will make everything so much easier,” he smiled. As the saying goes, “Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.” Everything was ready now, and Du Chuxuan finally decided to make his move.