Xiao Chengjun sucked on the sweet and smiled faintly. âThis candy shouldnât be eaten too often,â he said.
âTodayâs different,â Lou Jing said. He looked left and right, and upon confirming that only Le Xian and An Shun were nearby, he lifted his chin in their direction.
The two young eunuchs obediently turned their backs. Even as they were performing their role of âseeing no evilâ diligently, they had one other duty â to look out for palace guards who might pass by every now and then.
Satisfied, Lou Jing sidled up to his husband, then brushed his lips softly against Xiao Chengjunâs. âItâs me that wants to eat it,â he said. Before the Crown Prince could react, he had captured those sweet, sweet lips with his own, and shared that one candy with the Crown Prince.
âMmphâŠâ Xiao Chengjun was caught completely off-guard, and before he knew it, half the candy in his mouth had been bitten off by Lou Jing.
Lou Jing chuckled softly as he took the Crown Princeâs hand in his. When he saw that the latter still had a stunned look on his face, he couldnât resist planting another kiss on his lips before holding his hand and leading him back to the Eastern Palace.
After returning to the Eastern Palace, Xiao Chengjun changed out of his formal Court robes, and the both of them headed to Fengyi Palace to meet with the Empress.
Lou Jing did not feel comfortable leaving the Crown Prince to go to this morningâs Court session alone; they both knew that what happened there was a matter of life and death, and Lou Jing did not want to go and do his morning greetings with the Empress whilst this was going on. He asked Chang En to send a message to the Empress, and waited on the palace path himself for Xiao Chengjun to get out of the Court session. Lou Jing had to go and give his customary morning greetings now that the morning Court session was over. Xiao Chengjun also needed to go and meet with the Empress since the edict deposing him as Crown Prince had been passed.
Fengyi Palace was always silent and solemn no matter what time of the day it was. Whether in this dynasty or the last, this place remained unchanged, unaffected by external events, as immovable as the mountains.
The Emperorâs consorts and concubines who had come to give their morning greetings to the Empress were just leaving when Lou Jing and Xiao Chengjun entered Fengyi Palace.
Usually, when the Emperorâs concubines came to greet the Empress, they didnât stay for long because the Empress was a man. Earlier today, the news that the Crown Prince had been officially deposed reached Fengyi Palace very quickly, triggering a frenzied discussion amongst the concubines gathered there. They talked until the morning Court session was over, and subsequently, on realising that the Crown Prince might come to visit the Empress very shortly, hurriedly kowtowed to the Empress and left.
Weâre sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so weâre going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
âXgffalcur ab atf Jgbkc Uglcmf jcv atf Jgbkc Uglcmf Jbcrbga.â
Xiao Chengjun nodded slightly, and Lou Jing clasped his fists together in a half-greeting.
Lou Jing took the opportunity to look at the Chunde Emperorâs concubines. Chen Guifei was not among them. She probably took advantage of the fact that she was favoured by the Emperor, and seldom came to greet the Empress. The concubines Lou Jing saw certainly were not as gorgeous as Chen Guifei; even the younger concubines just looked a little fresher, but not prettier. Some of the older ones seemed to have permanently worried looks on their faces.
âThey donât have any children, so my being deposed isnât good news to them,â Xiao Chengjun said in a low voice. He saw how his Consort looked at them, and felt that he needed to explain.
Lou Jing understood. The Empressâ actions in the past years had earned the respect of the Emperorâs concubines, and the Crown Prince was brought up by the Empress. If the Crown Prince continued in his position, the Empressâ position was also secure, and these concubines didnât have to fear unrest in the hougong. However, now that the Crown Prince had been deposed, Chen Guifeiâs power would increase greatly, and given that womanâs personality, they likely had hard days ahead of them.
âFather Empress is really good at managing the hougong,â Lou Jing said, smiling.
âIf it were you managing it, how would it be?â Xiao Chengjun asked, surprising even himself with this question. He regretted it the moment the words left his mouth. They had just confessed their feelings for each other yesterday night â wasnât it a real downer to mention his hougong?
Indeed, once Lou Jing heard this, the warm smile on his face faded. He stared intently at the Crown Prince for a moment, then a side of his mouth curved upwards in an evil, lopsided grin. âIf you took in concubines, Iâd snatch them all away, so that you wouldnât be able to sleep with anyone but me.â
That fiendish expression and those wicked words coming from that exquisitely handsome face brought to mind a poisonous flower in full bloom, one that was obviously dangerous and yet so mesmerizing that one could not bear to look away. Xiao Chengjun stared at him and suddenly thought that if he really ascended the throne and took in concubines, those women might actually fall in love with this whimsical, handsome Empress of his. He, the stodgy, strict Emperor, would probably be left high and dry on the shelf.
Ji Zhuo watched the two walk in holding hands, and gratification flashed in his piercing eagle eyes. These two kids really didnât disappoint; he hadnât expended all that effort getting them together for nothing.
âSince we still have half a yearâs time, we should make ample preparations,â the Empress said, getting straight to the point. âNext month, the Jingnan Hou will be back in the Capital.â
âYes, Erchen is aware,â Xiao Chengjun said, bowing in acknowledgment. He looked anxiously at Lou Jing. Getting himself deposed as Crown Prince was one of his backup plans, but at the time he married Lou Jing, he hadnât thought that it would really come to this. It was really just a temporary retreat in any event.
Empress Ji had raised the Crown Prince as his own child, and he naturally knew what this child was thinking. He sighed. âZhuoyu, I know all this hasnât been fair to you. I didnât think that things would end up like this, and originally, I had wanted you both to live out your lives together in blissâŠâ He had really hoped that Lou Jing would become the next Empress. Out of all the sons of the nobility, Ji Zhuo was very certain that no one other than Lou Jing could capture Xiao Chengjunâs heart. When the Emperor didnât favour the Empress, the Empressâ position was not secure, and hougong in turn would be fraught with turmoil.
âFather Empress, you need not worry,â Lou Jing said, smiling in his usual obedient manner. âErchen also wants to live out his days happily with Dianxia.â
What he meant was, he didnât have any regrets or complaints; to the contrary, he wanted to continue being together with Xiao Chengjun.
Ji Zhuoâs face was a handsome one, but it was usually cold and aloof. On hearing what Lou Jing said, his usually glacial expression turned into a warm smile. âGood. Thatâs good,â he said approvingly.
Lou Jing used his pinky to hook Xiao Chengjunâs palm, and Xiao Chengjun looked over at him with a slight smile.
âFather Empress, now that the Crown Princeâs position is empty, the palace also will not be a peaceful place. Please take care of yourself,â Lou Jing said. Having comforted his husband, he put on a serious face to address the Empress. Chen Guifei and the Minister of the Left had expended so much effort to pull Xiao Chengjun down, and there was no doubt that their plan was to make the Third Prince the new Crown Prince.
âThe rules set by our ancestors are still in place. Itâll be very difficult to install the Third Prince as the Crown Prince,â Ji Zhuo said, barking a short, derisive laugh. His eyelids then drooped a little, and some sadness appeared on his face. âYesterday, the Imperial Physician sent news that Chengjinâs health hasnât improved. After you move out from the Eastern Palace, remember to visit him more often.â
Xiao Chengjun made a deep sound in his throat in acknowledgment.
Deposing the Crown Prince wasnât as simple as just passing an edict. In the days that followed, the edict had to be made public, and the Imperial ancestors had to be âinformedâ by performing a ceremony at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Not a single step could be omitted.
Luotang Square had a few unoccupied mansions, and the Chunde Emperor allowed Xiao Chengjun to pick any one of these and do minor renovations on it for his use before he left for his fief. Xiao Chengjun ended up picking a mansion that was neither the largest nor the most well-built; he chose the one closest to the Anguo Gongâs mansion.
News that the Crown Prince had been deposed spread across the whole Capital in a day.
To the commoners, this was just a conversation topic at tea or after a meal, but to the aristocratic families, it was much more than that.
Lou Jingâs maternal Second Uncle and First Aunt were very worried on hearing the news, and sent someone to request an audience with him.
âYour Second Uncle and I have discussed. Weâll leave only after we see you settled into the Anguo Gong mansion,â the First Aunt said, holding Lou Jingâs hand. Worry creased her face. âYou poor child, why is your life full of hardship? To have this happen right after youâre marriedâŠâ
âItâs a good thing,â the Second Uncle said, disagreeing. âWhatâs so great about being the Crown Prince Consort? After a bit, you should go and ask for an Imperial favour and come to Lingnan to visit. Erjiu will bring you to go and whack some Southern Barbarians. Itâll be fun,â Xu Che said, clapping Lou Jingâs shoulder. He looked rather happy about this whole affair; to him, marrying into the Imperial family was the real hardship.