Masquerade in Bridal Attire and Marry the Prince

213. Meritorious Service

Translator: Bryan

It was after returning to his palace last night that Yuxing Wei received the Emperor’s approval. This was his first time attending a morning court meeting. Having noticed his father’s angry face, he couldn’t help but promptly ask, “Is it about something important, Father?”

The Emperor had been waiting for someone to ask him about it. On hearing his son’s words, he was secretly delighted, but he snorted coldly and threw the urgent memorial onto the jade stairs in front of his throne. “See for yourself! What an unfilial son! I should never have doted on him!”

Yuxing Wei immediately picked up the urgent memorial and ran an eye over it. After reading it, he was also startled, but he also felt that this was a golden opportunity. He promptly read the memorial. After that, he gave it some thought and said, “Father, do you think there’s more to it?”

“My brother was seriously injured only two days ago…” After saying that, however, he left his sentence hanging, but due to his meaningful pause, the others present couldn’t help but begin to make speculations. The Crown Prince had been nursing his injury in the palace for over a month now. No matter how seriously he had been injured that day, he should have made a full recovery by now.

“Desheng! Go to that palace and bring me the Crown Princess! I’ll have them know who the ruler of this country is!”

Yuxing Wei was secretly overjoyed at his father’s fury, but he also couldn’t help but feel somewhat confused. Though Yuxing Tianrui had waged a war against a neighboring country, his only mistake was to do it against the Emperor’s will. He had now taken five Turkish cities, which would be deemed a glorious feat in any dynasty.

Therefore, by rights, the Emperor should order Yuxing Tianrui to press his advantage home. Such anger of his… Had the Emperor become distrustful of Yuxing Tianrui, by any chance? Had they begun to suspect each other?

“Father, seeing as how things have already come to this, we should first figure out where my brother dispatched the troops from, and whether his supply line is sustainable. After all, those he brought with him are all soldiers of Shenglan country. Since they’ve already achieved glory, we must not let them lose it because of trivialities!”

The Emperor was surprised by Yuxing Wei’s words. After a brief moment’s thinking, he nodded his agreement and said, “Do as my third son said.” By giving the instruction, the Emperor was actually giving Yuxing Wei a great honor. Minister Zhao among the courtiers glanced at Yuxing Wei’s face, feeling very pleased with the deal he had struck with the prince last night.

In the palace, Du Chuxuan had just gotten up when he spotted Dongxiang standing in the distance, waiting quietly. In the normal course of events, Dongxiang always waited outside. He had seldom waited inside this house. After gauging the time, Du Chuxuan smiled, “Someone from the palace visited me? Was it Eunuch Desheng?”

Dongxiang nodded. “Eunuch Desheng also brought a lot of guards over here. They’ve surrounded the whole palace.”

Du Chuxuan sneered. The Emperor was putting up a very convincing show. It was as if he really hadn’t found out anything about it yet. Du Chuxuan slowly sat up in bed. “There’s no hurry. Seeing as how they’ve been waiting for me to wake up, the situation is not that serious.”

Dongxiang nodded. He was standing here only because he wanted to report to the Crown Princess on the issue, and then all he needed to do was to finish the task Du Chuxuan assigned him. He quietly helped Du Chuxuan put on the formal clothes that a Crown Princess was supposed to wear. Watching Du Chuxuan making himself up in front of a mirror, Dongxiang found his eyes wet with tears.

“Your Highness, if His Majesty…” Before he could finish his sentence, Du Chuxuan came to know what he wanted to say. He sneered, “He doesn’t have the guts to do that. I have the whole Du family at my back. No matter what the reason is, he can do no more than make a token gesture, as long as he still desires the Du family’s great wealth!”

Dongxiang said no more and helped Du Chuxuan get everything ready. Only then did he walk to the door and shout, “Her Highness is fully dressed. Ready the carriage!”

Standing on both sides of the road were court guards, their eyes solemn. None of their faces changed because of Du Chuxuan’s arrival. They all answered to the Emperor, or to be more precise, they answered to the one sitting on the throne. If someday there was a new emperor, they would switch their allegiance to him.

“Your Highness looks good. His Majesty requests your presence in his study. Please come with us.” Eunuch Desheng’s inscrutable face gave little away. He was now very pleased with “Du Chuyue”. He suspected that “Du Chuyue” had guessed what this was about. Having noticed how composed “Du Chuyue” appeared, he felt that “she” did have what it took to be an empress.

Du Chuxuan was taken into the palace. The convoy passed many stores and he naturally overheard many commoners discuss the matter of Yuxing Tianrui. He didn’t know if someone had misled them, but those commoners actually didn’t know anything about Yuxing Tianrui’s victory. They only knew how many people had died because of his actions.

Du Chuxuan clenched the handkerchief in his hand as a fierce look flashed across his eyes. The Emperor was about to take action, but his methods were somewhat despicable. Yuxing Tianrui’s meritorious service was undeniable. Did the Emperor really think he could fool the commoners with rumors?

Du Chuxuan was taken directly to the Imperial Study through a side door. There were many old courtiers inside, and even Yuxing Wei had the good fortune to be present as an observer.

At the sight of Du Chuxuan walking in, everyone frowned. The Emperor directly threw a memorial to the floor beside Du Chuxuan’s feet. “I can’t believe you and your husband are so bold. Do I look dead to you?!”

Du Chuxuan looked confused. “What are you talking about, Father? I’ve been staying in that palace all along. Eunuch Desheng suddenly brought me here, and now you’re lashing out at me. Did something happen?”

The Emperor narrowed his eyes threateningly. He perceived that Du Chuxuan had no intention to be cooperative. After giving it some thought, he said slowly, “Chuyue, you’re my daughter-in-law, but this is a serious issue. If you’re really involved in it as well, I’m afraid the Du family will be incriminated even if I could exculpate you.”

It was a blatant threat, and it didn’t take a genius to know it. Du Chuxuan snorted inwardly and then pretended to be bewildered. “Father, what are you talking about? What happened exactly? Why are there so many old courtiers here? Did something important happen? I promise all members of the Du family are willing to sacrifice their lives for our country.”

Old Master Zhao’s cheeks twitched and he snorted, “Those words are very touching, Your Highness. Everybody out there believes you and His Highness have been nurshing your injury in that palace. Tell us, where’s His Highness now?”