Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress
Chapter 497 - 494: Anxiety_1

Chapter 497: Chapter 494: Anxiety_1

"This matter you can put aside for now!" The Eldest Princess touched the Buddha Beads, her expression indifferent as she spoke. "From today onward, keep a close watch on Fu Ruoxi. If she makes any unusual moves, report immediately. Also, keep your agents in the palace vigilant about the Empress. We must prevent the Empress from doing anything irreversible."

"Yes!" Wei Zhong responded.

·

Early in the morning of July 23, before the Crown Prince had even finished the court session, Old Fang was already waiting in the front hall of the Crown Prince’s estate, a look of joy on his face.

Hearing the sound of the Crown Prince’s carriage returning to the estate, Old Fang hurriedly went to the entrance to greet him.

As the Crown Prince was stepping through the main door, he saw Old Fang jogging over and instructed Quan Yu, "You go and inform the Crown Princess Consort that I have matters to attend to and will join her for lunch at noon."

"Yes..." Quan Yu nodded in agreement.

The Crown Prince walked with Old Fang to a secluded area and asked, "Does Old Fang have urgent matters?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, the distressed parent whose child is missing entered Dadu City as soon as the gates opened this morning. Soon they will likely strike the Drum of Petition. My suggestion is that Your Highness should enter the palace at this time to observe the Emperor’s reaction to the news, to discern whether the elixir is being refined for the Emperor or for King Liang. We must control the direction of this matter closely and not give King Liang any chance to recover!" Old Fang spoke rapidly.

After the Crown Prince entered the palace yesterday, hadn’t the Emperor already approved the dispatch of new troops to the southern frontier? Your Highness can conveniently report the number of conscripted soldiers to the Emperor and request an early decision!"

Old Fang took the detailed conscription report that had just arrived at the Crown Prince’s estate from his sleeve and respectfully handed it to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince nodded and accepted the conscription report. "I am fortunate to have you, Old Fang, to account for everything!"

"To have met Your Highness is my great fortune! This time... Your Highness must remember, whether the elixir is being refined for the Emperor or for King Liang, you must firmly claim ignorance of the matter! Otherwise, the Emperor will suspect that Your Highness is using Bai Qingyan’s former method of forcing the Emperor to deal with King Xin to force King Liang to his death!"

"I understand!"

Holding the conscription report, the Crown Prince did not enter the estate but turned and boarded the carriage again, heading to the Imperial Palace.

After the court session, the Emperor changed into casual clothes, leaning against an embroidered dragon cushion, and sat on a bamboo mat-covered Luohan bed by the window, reading memorials.

There were ice blocks placed in each corner of the hall, and a bronze vessel filled with crushed ice near the Emperor’s feet. A palace maid fanned the cool air towards the Emperor, making it pleasantly cool.

Gao Demao entered the hall quietly and lowered his voice to the Emperor. "Your Majesty... the Crown Prince has arrived!"

"Mm!" The Emperor, in a good mood, responded. "Just in time. Let him come and take a look at these memorials. He will bear this burden in the future, so he should start to adapt in advance."

The Emperor found reading these memorials incredibly tedious. It was much less appealing than going to the harem, where Lady Qiu had been particularly engaging and persistent lately.

He had come to terms with it. With Jin being strong now, why should he still burden himself as he did in the past? Let the Crown Prince take over. Besides, the Immortal Master had advised that after taking the elixir, one must rest and avoid exertion.

Gao Demao’s face wrinkled with a smile. "No one can say His Majesty isn’t a kind father! You are teaching the Crown Prince so diligently, hand-in-hand!"

Saying this, Gao Demao exited the hall and personally guided the Crown Prince in.

The Crown Prince entered the hall and respectfully saluted the Emperor, placing the detailed conscription report on the Emperor’s desk. "Father, this is the detailed report of the conscription. We have already recruited twenty thousand new soldiers who can be sent to the southern frontier. If Father believes this is insufficient, we can transfer ten thousand new soldiers from the northern frontier to the south."

"Transfer ten thousand..." The Emperor pondered carefully.

"This time, Daliang has suffered greatly under our Jin Kingdom! Xun Tianzhang has even lost his life. Even if we transfer ten thousand new soldiers to the southern frontier, Daliang wouldn’t dare to plot any mischief! As for the peace envoy... they didn’t protest when the Princess of Nandu refused to marry their Fourth Prince!" The Crown Prince laughed.

During this peace negotiation, the reason the Daliang envoy did not persist on the issue of the Princess of Nandu reneging on her marriage to their Fourth Prince was that the Fourth Prince had specifically instructed them before they left: he would rather die than marry the Princess of Nandu, Liu Ruofu.

Unexpectedly, Liu Ruofu had an affair with Jin Kingdom’s prince, so Daliang took advantage of the situation and didn’t bring it up. They were afraid that if they made a fuss, the Jin Emperor might say it was baseless gossip and force Liu Ruofu to marry into the Liang Kingdom, which would be a nightmare for the Fourth Prince.

The Daliang envoy had a difficult job.

The Emperor took a sip of the lily sweet soup sent from the harem and nodded. "You are the Crown Prince. If you think this is feasible, then do it! Here are these memorials... you should also take a look and gain some experience. If there is anything you cannot decide, you can always consult me!"

Hearing these words, the Crown Prince was frightened and knelt down quickly. "Father... what do you mean by this?"

The Crown Prince thought he had misspoken, and the Emperor was insinuating that he was overstepping his bounds.

The Emperor: "..."

The Emperor, seeing the Crown Prince’s terrified expression, wondered if he had been too strict with the Crown Prince in the past, causing such fear.

"Get up. I mean nothing else. I just think that since you are already the Crown Prince, you should become familiar with governing early and share my burdens! Additionally... I intend to invite Cui Shiyan to mentor you. What do you think?"

Hearing the Emperor’s words, the Crown Prince breathed a sigh of relief and quickly expressed his loyalty. "Father is still in good health and will live a long life. He can take his time teaching me. Why must I learn state affairs so quickly? I am... extremely anxious. If Father’s health is not well, he must let me know plainly!"

"Stand up! You have managed the affairs I entrusted to you well so far. I have great confidence in you. Remember! You are the Crown Prince! There’s no need to live in constant fear!"

The Emperor frowned, picked up the lily sweet soup, and was about to drink it to quell his irritation when the sound of drums came from the direction of Wude Gate.

The Emperor’s hand shook, nearly spilling the sweet soup.

Wasn’t that the sound of the Drum of Petition?!

The Emperor, nearly smashing the bowl in his hand, had just intended to hand the memorials to the Crown Prince and take a break. Now... the Drum of Petition sounded again!

Since Bai Qingyan struck the Drum of Petition, it had become a plaything anyone could strike, a toy for the masses.

The Emperor heavily placed the bowl on the desk and called out loudly, "Gao Demao!"

The Crown Prince quickly stood beside the Emperor. Knowing what had likely happened, he was a bit nervous. His hand, hidden in his sleeve, clenched into a fist and then relaxed. Old Fang had instructed that this time... no matter what, he must not tell the truth to the Emperor!