"As long as Mr. ng ets with Prince Chu, then Prince Chu will receive the respect of scholars from all over the world. At that ti, the Crown Prince and Prince Dai..." Minister Li’s eldest son stopped mid-sentence, but his smug expression said it all.
"For now, we’ll pretend to know nothing." Minister Li spoke with ease, "Whatever the Emperor instructs us to do in hosting Mr. ng, we shall do exactly that and nothing more."
"Father is right."
At this mont, Lv Cong had already returned to the Eastern Palace and reported verbatim to the Crown Prince what Minister Li had told him.
Upon hearing it, the Crown Prince flew into a rage. He found it hard to accept, of course. He did not dare to speak ill of Mr. ng and could only vent his anger at Minister Li, accusing him of sabotaging, spreading false words from Mr. ng. He even said that Minister Li must not have delivered his visiting card and writings to Mr. ng.
Lv Cong felt that what the Crown Prince said made a lot of sense and joined in cursing Minister Li alongside the Crown Prince.
The Eighth Prince, watching from the side, found the Crown Prince’s self-deception quite amusing. He thus suggested to the Crown Prince that he should complain about Minister Li to the Emperor.
He said this casually, not expecting the Crown Prince to take it seriously, but the Crown Prince imdiately went to the Imperial Study to lodge a complaint with the Emperor.
The Emperor was reviewing morials when he learned that the Crown Prince had sothing to discuss with him, so he had Sun Kui call him in.
The Crown Prince entered the Imperial Study, first respectfully saluting the Emperor, then imdiately launched into an angry complaint against Minister Li. He accused Minister Li of negligence, two-faced conduct, and using Mr. ng to humiliate the Crown Prince, among other charges.
The Emperor was dumbfounded by what he heard. Sun Kui, standing to the side, was equally flabbergasted.
After outlining Minister Li’s alleged cris, the Crown Prince pleaded with the Emperor to punish him severely.
The Emperor set down the morials and his vermillion pen, and with a slightly grave expression asked if there was any evidence for the cris the Crown Prince had just ntioned.
The Crown Prince claid he had evidence and relayed what Lv Cong had told him to the Emperor.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor’s expression beca very peculiar.
The Crown Prince continued angrily, "How could Mr. ng possibly say such things? It must be Minister Li using Mr. ng’s na to humiliate . Father, Minister Li is really too audacious; he cannot be lightly pardoned."
The Emperor looked at the Crown Prince with an eerie gaze, as if he was looking at sothing strange.
Is this really my son?
Sun Kui was dumbstruck: Is this person really the Crown Prince? Has the Crown Prince been possessed by a ghost?
The Crown Prince didn’t notice the Emperor’s unusual expression and kept on cursing Minister Li. In his mouth, Minister Li was a deceitful, atrocious scoundrel guilty of heinous cris.
The Emperor did not interrupt the Crown Prince and quietly listened to his tirade.
The Crown Prince stopped cursing after a while and once again pleaded with the Emperor to severely punish Minister Li.
Only after the Crown Prince had stopped shouting did the Emperor speak: "Crown Prince, do you think Mr. ng didn’t see you because Minister Li didn’t deliver your visiting card and writings to him?"
"Yes, Father."
"Do you really think Minister Li would dare be so bold?" The Crown Prince’s previous comnts made the Emperor wonder if his eldest son’s brains had been eaten by a dog.
"Father, what wouldn’t Minister Li dare?"
"And why would Minister Li do so? Does he not know that deceiving and insulting the Crown Prince is punishable by death?" Listening to such absurdity—no, such jokes—from the Crown Prince, the Emperor felt no anger, but rather found it amusing. It had been ages since he’d heard such a hilarious joke.
"Father, Minister Li is indeed very audacious."
The Emperor said expressionlessly, "Have you not considered the possibility that Mr. ng doesn’t want to see you?"
"Why wouldn’t Mr. ng want to see , Father?" The Crown Prince could not accept, nor did he wish to believe, that Mr. ng did not want to et with him. "I have the utmost respect for Mr. ng."
The Emperor voiced what the Crown Prince dared not say: "Do you an to say because you are the Crown Prince, Mr. ng could not possibly refuse to see you?"
The Crown Prince did not speak. Because that was exactly what he thought.
The Emperor picked up a morial and threw it at the Crown Prince’s head. The Crown Prince instinctively dodged, but dared not move.
With a thud, the morial smacked hard against the Crown Prince’s head.
Though not as hard as an inkstone, the morial still hurt a bit when it hit his head. The Crown Prince was so terrified that he hurriedly knelt and begged for forgiveness: "Father, please forgive ."
"Don’t you have any idea why Mr. ng would co down from the mountain to give lectures?" The Emperor wasn’t originally angry, but seeing the Crown Prince’s foolish appearance made him more and more irritated. "People like him were forced by you all so that he couldn’t stay in the wilderness and had no choice but to co down from the mountain to give lectures."
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