The Crown Prince feared the Emperor’s wrath and hesitated to go.
"Your Highness, after arriving, just say that you heard King Liang was making elixirs for His Majesty. You couldn’t tolerate King Liang slandering His Majesty, so in your anger, you ordered the guards to send those children out of King Liang’s mansion. Otherwise, how can the bond between father and son grow any colder?"
Under Old Fang’s repeated earnest persuasion, the Crown Prince reluctantly changed his clothes and took the detailed report on the Shuoyang bandit raid, then entered the palace to see the Emperor.
As Old Fang said, once the Crown Prince entered the palace, he presented the report and began to cry for mercy.
The Emperor then became furious, pointing at the Crown Prince with a grief-stricken face. "Look at you. You are already the Crown Prince! What more do you want! Do you still wish to harm your brother?!"
"Father, you have wronged your son! Your son never intended to harm his brother! That day, I truly just wanted to visit my brother! But... when I saw he was indeed making elixirs and recklessly claimed it was for you, how could I tolerate him slandering you! I ordered the guards to send the children out for treatment and passed out in anger!"
The Crown Prince looked up at the extremely angry Emperor, his mind working quickly, and choked out, "Later... when I saw King Liang was unharmed, I realized he was truly making elixirs for you. I was genuinely angry and upset!"
"What?!" The Emperor raised his voice, on the brink of fury. "You are angry at me?! Have I disappointed you?!"
"Yes! Father, you have disappointed your son! I am the Crown Prince... I should be the one you trust the most!" The Crown Prince’s face was full of tears, his eyes filled with anger and unwillingness. "Making elixirs for you... concerning your health, it should be me doing it! I should be your most trusted son, not King Liang!"
The Emperor’s rising anger was suddenly doused, not only subsiding but also leaving warmth in his heart.
After all this fuss, it was the Crown Prince vying for favor.
The Emperor leisurely sat in his chair, watching the Crown Prince crying, and threw a bright yellow handkerchief on the ground. "What are you crying for? At your age, fighting for favor with your brother... aren’t you ashamed to even mention it to me!"
The Crown Prince crawled forward, picked up the handkerchief, and continued wiping his tears, still crying.
"Why didn’t I entrust this task to you! Isn’t it because you are the Crown Prince! Just like now... King Liang’s elixir-making has already confined him to his mansion, and the Imperial Censor’s reports are piling up on my desk like snowflakes! As the Crown Prince... if you made elixirs, would you still want your position?!"
The Crown Prince looked up at the Emperor, stunned, and then said, "Father... but you are my father, the person I respect and love most. I am willing to do anything for you! Please entrust this task to me! I will certainly do it better than King Liang!"
Although the Crown Prince’s disruption of King Liang’s elixir-making displeased the Emperor, his actions to gain favor, treating him with utmost respect, dissipated much of the Emperor’s anger.
"Enough! Get up!" The Emperor leaned against the fluffy pillow. "You still shouldn’t get involved with this. Be a good Crown Prince. In the future... you will succeed me! Don’t let other things distract you. Remember... my most beloved son is you! Precisely because it’s you... I don’t want you involved in anything that goes against ancestral teachings."
"Father..." The Crown Prince tried to argue but saw the Emperor raise his hand to stop him.
"No need to discuss this further! If you’re really idle... help me handle the memorials! My study is piled halfway up with them!"
Seeing this, the Crown Prince agreed, bowed, and obediently left the hall.
Standing aside, Gao Demao noticed a hint of a smile in the Emperor’s eyes. He brewed a cup of tea, chuckling, and said, "Although the Crown Prince disrupted the elixir-making, his sincerity toward Your Majesty is commendable! This reminds me of stories of young children vying for favor in ordinary families, harmless yet amusing. I didn’t expect to see it today."
The Emperor took the cup and smiled, "Yes... the Crown Prince is filial."
After drinking the tea, the Emperor asked Gao Demao, "How much of the elixir sent by King Liang is left?"
"About ten capsules, Your Majesty," Gao Demao quickly replied.
The Emperor nodded and ordered, "Fetch one elixir! Also, send all the memorials in the study to the Crown Prince’s residence. Unless it’s extremely urgent, don’t bring them to me!"
Gao Demao complied immediately.
After taking the elixir with water, the Emperor lay down to rest on the soft couch.
Since resuming the elixirs, the Emperor had become increasingly indifferent to state affairs. The memorials in the study had piled halfway up the room! Every day, these memorials were sent in after being sorted by ministers.
But the Emperor felt that life now was how an emperor’s life should be.
When he ascended the throne, he was thrilled, happy to finally be the man above all. No one could bully him anymore.
But after the initial joy, came endless burdens. To be a good king, to be better than his father. Constantly worried if his actions met Bai Weiting’s approval, afraid Bai Weiting would criticize him over trivial matters, always proclaiming to correct the king, which made him immensely irritated.
Now, Bai Weiting was dead, and the Jin Kingdom no longer had the Bai family. The Emperor felt much relieved but still worried about how history would judge him.
In childhood, fear of bullying made him anxious every day.
After taking the throne, fear of doing poorly made him cautious daily.
But if he truly let go from the depth of his heart, everything seemed less important.
The Crown Prince, feeling a weight lifted, returned to his residence, only to be met with piles of memorials soon delivered there. To impress the Emperor, he buried himself in the study, diligently handling the memorials without respite.
The Crown Prince worked tirelessly. Just as he finished tackling the mountain of memorials, new ones were delivered.
Thus, when Bai Qingyan sent someone with news, saying she was going to Dengzhou to escort Madam Dong back to Shuoyang on behalf of her mother, and asked the Crown Prince to send any urgent messages in that direction, the Crown Prince didn’t take it to heart.
Early in August, Mrs. Dong was arranging for people to load festival gifts for the Dong family in Dengzhou onto the carriage.
Bai Qingping rode into the city, intending to see Bai Qingyan off.
Bai Jinzhi went to Boyun Courtyard, feeling uneasy and hesitating for a long time. Seeing Bai Qingyan sitting on the soft couch reading a letter from Bai Jinxiu in Dadu, she swallowed back her wish to go to Dengzhou with Bai Qingyan and didn’t dare to say it out loud.