Chapter 53.2

When he first adopted his several sons, he was not as free as he was now, so he could only find time to visit them whenever he could. However, after the birth of his grandson, he went out to visit him as soon as his rest day was approved and had watched him grow from being swaddled to becoming a teething toddler.

Very soon, before he even had to inquire about what happened, someone in the court had accused the Second Prince’s cousin of going on a rampage in the center city area and having trampled a 5-year-old child to death.

But in the end, the matter was reduced to a minor incident.

And the deceased 5-year-old was said to have deliberately teased the horse to the point where it lost control.

At that time, the cousin of the Second Prince had already tried to restrain it, but because the horse was out of control, he could only watch the child, who caused the disaster, die under the horse.

The old eunuch went from anger at first to despair before, finally, numbness.

He had served the Emperor for many years, so from just a glance, he knew what the Emperor was thinking about.

The Emperor was only irritated at the courtiers’ accusatory comments.

The irritation was not about the 5-year-old dying or his son’s cousin’s disturbance and murder but that the Third and Fourth Princes were standing in a united front against the First and Second Princes.

The death of a 5-year-old child was just an excuse to fight for power and gain between them.

The old eunuch had seen many such things happen before, but it had not been his family who had died. So naturally, it was none of his business, and he didn’t know how painful that despair was until it was a loved one of his who died with there being nowhere to seek redress.

He knew there was nothing he could do.

Whether it was for his son who had lost a child or for the loss of an all-important grandchild.

He still served the Emperor respectfully on the surface and treated the Second Prince with nothing unusual.

Sure enough, the Second Prince soon found out that the child was his nominal grandchild, and in the end, mindful of the fact that he was an old eunuch beside the Emperor, he sent a precious gold rockery decoration to the old eunuch’s residence outside the palace to make up for the dead child.

The old eunuch’s eyes darkened when he learned of this.

A rockery made of gold to buy his grandson’s life! But he still had to wear a smile and kneel down before the Second Prince, saying lightly, “It was that child who didn’t have the good fortune. It’s not worth the trouble, Your Highness.”

The Second Prince really didn’t take it as a big deal, but the old eunuch buried his hatred deeply within his heart.

He thought he would never have a chance to avenge his grandchild.

But unexpectedly, now 3 years later, when even the second prince couldn’t remember the incident anymore, someone approached him.

The old eunuch had been in the palace since he was a child and had always acted cautiously throughout his life and never did anything out of bounds.

But this time, he chose his grandchild.

It would have been just as well if his grandson had died innocently, but those people refused to let him off and had insisted on adding blame to his little body, laying all the fault on the innocent one.

The old eunuch slowly got up and bowed to the departing figure of the Eldest Prince, his demeanor still respectful.

It was just that, the sound of a small child’s giggling and shouting echoed in his ears.

“Grandpa, I love Grandpa the most …”

***

“Checkmate.”

Shen Hu’an’s umpteenth miserable defeat.

He looked at the piece in his hand, which was still waiting to be put down, but he still wasn’t able to return to his senses for a long while.

“Brother-in-law, is this really your first time playing chess?”

The weather was getting better and better these days. Lin Shiheng, who had always been wearing a heavy coat, has now taken off his winter clothes and changed into his blue robes, which made him look even weaker. He was sitting, kneeled in front of the table, as his slender and beautiful fingers slowly withdrew the pieces from the board.

“Even a small soldier can ‘eat’ a general, isn’t that what you just said?”

“What I’ve said is true.”

However, Shen Hu’an was still full of bewilderment. “But this is only the first time you’ve played…”

“I’ve been smart since I was young and have always learned what I could, so Your Highness need not be too serious.”

Nowadays, people would praise implicitly, so how could they be like Lin Shiheng, who wouldn’t even blush at the slightest. It was just that Shen Hu’an has been worn out by his Brother-in-law for some time already, and he was even nodding his head as a matter of course when hearing the other boast about himself.

“Yes, how can I compare with Brother-in-law? Why don’t we stop playing chess? The weather has been quite fine recently. What if we go for an outing together or go hunting at the estate under my name?”

He was very enthusiastic. “Brother-in-law might not know but many games taste delicious after being cooked, but it’s not as enjoyable unless we hunted them with our own hands. How about we bring our bows and ride over then come back at night?”

Lin Shiheng certainly knew what this Brother-in-law was thinking about in his restless little head.

The other person just wanted to beat him once.

He couldn’t win in go before, so he made a fuss about playing chess that Lin Shiheng had never played before. Now after losing at chess, he planned to go hunting.

He collected the chess pieces as he asked in a faint voice, “Your Highness wants to beat me so much?”

Even with his small thoughts having been seen through, Shen Hu’an still had the cheek to smile “Sister said if I can win against Brother-in-law, I won’t need Brother-in-law to teach me and help me study in the future.”

Lin Shiheng reminded him, “The Princess was talking about playing chess.”

“But when my sister said this sentence, she didn’t specify that I could only win at chess.”

Shen Hu’an was very confident, “Brother-in-law taught me that it’s okay to use small means occasionally in order to win. Isn’t Hu’an now simply returning Brother-in-law’s teachings?”

“I’ve also taught Your Highness that one’s ability is worth ten’s calculations.”

(TNote: one’s ability is worth ten calculations = calculations are useless before absolute power/ All tactics are useless in the face of absolute power.)

“No harm, no harm, Brother-in-law, just agree with it. Ever since Brother-in-law and Sister married, I have been detained by Sister to study every day, and even when I return to the palace, I still had to memorize texts. It’s been a long while since I’ve been able to have a good lighthearted time.”

A pale smile appeared on the handsome face of the blue-clad scholar. “Wasn’t it Your Highness himself who said he wanted to compete?”

[E/N: this ‘compete’ is the one for power/the throne.]

“If I don’t teach Your Highness, what will Your Highness use to compete with them?”

Shen Hu’an pondered for a few seconds and sadly found that what the other had said was really reasonable.

“But, but, I won’t be able to last like this every day! I’ve been so relaxed for these many years, for it to suddenly be like this, I can’t adapt!”

Lin Shiheng nodded. “Your Highness has been happily relaxed for so many years, that is equivalent to using all the relaxed and happy days in advance. Now that they have been used up, naturally, you have to start working hard.”

“Well, now that the game of chess is over, it’s time for Your Highness to warm up the books.”

So once again, Shen Hu’an, who tried to persuade again but was counter-persuaded, could only droop his head and get up weakly to go read.

When Shen Huyang knocked on the door and saw her brother’s back straight and reading seriously, she couldn’t help but smile.

Hu’an had always been lazy, but after studying with Fuma these past few days, he could actually change those bad habits… It seems that Fuma was really very patient in teaching.

She walked over to the blue-clothed scholar who was also reading a book and whispered, “Is Fuma feeling tired? Do you want to take a break?”

Shen Hu’an, who was going to get hit by a board if he didn’t straighten his back to study, lowered his book and piteously asked, “Sister, I’m feeling tired too. Let me rest a bit too.”

“Your body’s so healthy, how would you be tired already?”

Shen Huyang, who had long been accustomed to spoiling her brother from time to time, still shook her head helplessly. “Study well.”

Lin Shiheng laid down his book and stood up. His handsome face was smiling tenderly at Shen Huyang, which actually left her stunned.

“Princess is right, teaching Your Highness for a long time has indeed been a bit tiring, so why don’t we go to the garden together to feed the fish and enjoy the flowers?”

Shen Huyang would never refuse his offer and immediately smiled, “Naturally, that would be nice, but it’s still a little chilly out, so let me go get another cloak for Fuma first.”

The cloak was quickly brought over, and the couple went out together, leaving Shen Hu’an alone to continue studying bitterly.

He did want to take advantage of his sister and brother-in-law’s absence to be lazy, but every time his brother-in-law came back and randomly tested him, if he couldn’t recite it, his hands would be hit. So after a while, Shen Hu’an didn’t dare to sneak around and be lazy again.

***

Outside the door, unlike Shen Hu’an’s idea of her sister and brother-in-law feeding the fish and enjoying the flowers, Shen Huyang walked with her husband down a small path, then seeing that there was no one around, she whispered, “Fuma, my heart remains rather disturbed, do you think something could have gone wrong?”

“Princess, be at ease.”

The blue-clothed scholar held out his hand and gently patted the back of her hand.

“That Eunuch Zheng has always served by His Majesty’s side, and every time His Majesty went to bed at night, he would take off his fragrance bag along with his clothes. He could ascertain that His Majesty had never opened the fragrance bag to look at it.”

“But what if Emperor Father looked at the fragrance bag but was unmoved?”

Lin Shiheng patted her hand again and spoke with a warm voice, “Since Princess took on the ‘Hu’ character for Princes, even if the empress later fell out of favor, she must have had feelings for His Majesty at the beginning. All that I want is for His Majesty to feel a little guilty towards the Princess and His Highness after seeing that fragrance bag.”

“At that time, we don’t need to do anything more. The indifference for more than ten years will naturally make His Majesty bestow favor on Princess and His Highness due to the nostalgia for the empress.”

Shen Huyang had always trusted her husband in these matters, so she was relieved to hear this. When she met her husband’s gaze again, she became even more affectionate.

“It’s Huyang who tired Fuma out, having someone as magnificent as Fuma to have to scheme for Hu’an…”

“Princess, why do you have to say it like that? The two of us are husband and wife, so if the Princess is worried, I would definitely solve all your worries for you.”

Shen Huyang’s heart felt soft. “But, are we really not telling Hu’an about this matter?”

Lin Shiheng smiled gently. ” His Highness is innocent by nature, so it is better if he doesn’t need to pretend. If he really knew about this matter, I’m afraid His Majesty would see through it.”

Shen Huyang nodded, unable to contain her admiration for Fuma after all.

“Fuma was able to come up with such a plan and even managed to convince Eunuch Zheng beside Emperor Father to be our helper, Huyang feels inferior.”

The handsome fuma smiled as he cradled his wife in his arms. “Everything I think about is just for the Princess.”

Shen Huyang’s face flushed again, and she leaned against her Fuma’s arms with her eyes full of satisfaction.

When Lin Shiheng saw her like this, he didn’t tell her that the reason he decided on this plan was that the old eunuch had been the first to find the hidden poem in the fragrance bag.

This matter could be kept from the Emperor, but everything was true.

The poetry hidden in the fragrance bag was true.

Writing countless poems about loving the Emperor was also true.

It’s also true that before the crisis, the Emperor was disheartened and ordered to burn these poems.

Only the fragrance bag that the old momo carried was fake. After all, the original poems had already been burned.

Shen Huyang was now rejoicing that this plan would make the Emperor less indifferent to them – brother and sister.

But how would she be happy if she knew that Consort Liu did indeed harbor feelings for Emperor Father in the first place, but still ended up with resentment because of his indifference?

“Fuma.”

Perhaps there was a connection between the heart and the soul. When Lin Shiheng thought about this, Shen Huyang suddenly lifted her face and asked, “Do you think that Consort Mother really… because of Emperor Father’s indifference…”

“How could it be?”

The blue-clad scholar’s expression was, as always, earnest and gentle.

“The Consort had Princess and His Highness. Even if only for the sake of her children, she would never have been so inconsiderate. She had been ill for a long time and there was no medicine, so she had to leave this world.”

“I suppose so.”

Shen Huyang leaned on his shoulder, complaining in a rare and childish way.

“Consort Mother wouldn’t really like Emperor Father, Emperor Father hasn’t been good towards her at all.”

She said this as if she was convinced that Consort Liu had passed away so early precisely because she was suffering from her illness, then again, she couldn’t help but lean closer to her fuma.

“When the weather becomes clearer, let’s go hunting together.”

“Fuma doesn’t know how to use a bow and arrow, can Huyang teach you?”

She hasn’t given up on having her Fuma exercise more to strengthen his body.

The corners of the blue-clothed scholar’s lips gently curled up, and he softly responded.

“Okay, all according to Princess.”