novelaction Chapter 345 The Crown Prince's Worries!
Chapter 345 The Crown Prince's Worries!
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince smiled and said, "Father, you are overthinking it. Fourth Brother is young and inevitably impetuous. This Miss Mu may be the first time Fourth Brother has fallen for someone. It's normal that when he sees a woman he likes, he can't tolerate anyone else for a while."
The Emperor frowned. "You mean, once his novelty wears off, everything will be fine?"
“Father, what my fourth brother said is not wrong. He is a man, alone in Yan. There is no one there to care for him. Who knows what kind of trouble might happen to him. Besides, I'm afraid Mother will also be worried.”
"Hmm, what you said makes sense. Well then, let me think about this matter some more."
"Yes, Father."
The Crown Prince is a smart man. Some things are best left unsaid. If he were to repeat them, his shrewd father might doubt his intentions.
Upon leaving the imperial study, the Crown Prince's previously somewhat solemn expression relaxed considerably.
Upon returning to the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince went directly to Duanmu Chen's residence.
"Greetings to Father." Duanmu Chen was practicing calligraphy when he saw his father coming over, so he quickly stood up and bowed.
"Fine, let me ask you this: are you still not over Mu Xinnuan?"
Duanmu Chen was taken aback. "Father, after your reprimands, I have come to a clear understanding. There are plenty of fish in the sea; why be hung up on just one? I understand."
"Okay, that's good. What did you learn today?"
The Crown Prince and Duanmu Chen talked in the room for about fifteen minutes before the Crown Prince got up and returned to his study.
"Your Highness, in my humble opinion, it seems that His Highness Changsun still hasn't given up on that Miss Mu." The head eunuch said, taking out a small stack of Xuan paper from his sleeve.
"At first, I just thought the person in the painting looked familiar, but after looking at it carefully, I was able to confirm that it was a portrait of Miss Mu."
The Crown Prince, with a gloomy face, took the painting and examined it one by one. It was indeed a portrait of that girl from the Mu family!
"Hmph! This Chen'er has truly been bewitched by a woman! He doesn't even know that she's about to become his fourth aunt? Such disregard for propriety and morality—if foreign officials find out in the future, they'll probably use this to make a big fuss!"
“Your Highness is absolutely right. This servant has already reassigned the people who previously served Your Highness to do hard labor.”
The Crown Prince took a deep breath. "Go, invite the Crown Princess here. Tell her I have important matters to discuss with her."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The Crown Princess was also somewhat incredulous after hearing the Crown Prince's words! How could her son possibly...?
But when she thought of Mu Xin Nuan, who was indeed like a dazzling star wherever she went, it was understandable that her son would take a liking to her. After all, even someone like Prince Chang Le could be attracted to her, so it wasn't surprising that her son would too.
The fact that the two are close in age but belong to different generations is indeed a bit of a dilemma.
"What does Your Highness think we should do?"
"Now that Father Emperor intends to send his younger brothers away from the capital, Chu Ze wants to marry Mu Xin Nuan first, but the Emperor feels that Mu Xin Nuan is too young. If they get married now, it would be a disgrace to the Mu family. Therefore, he has not yet agreed."
The Crown Princess's eyes lit up. "Does Your Highness mean that I should find a way to make this happen?"
"Exactly. Once Mu Xin Nuan becomes Chu Ze's wife, she will be Chen'er's elder. That will completely put an end to his hopes!"
"Yes, I understand."
"Also, I don't want to hear about Chen'er's feelings for Mu Xinnuan from other people's mouths again."
"Yes, Your Highness, I understand. Since you want to make this happen, what about the concubine by Prince Chang Le's side?" The Crown Princess looked at the Crown Prince with burning eyes. Clearly, she also felt that this was a good opportunity that could not be missed.
"Well, you can arrange this matter. Just don't make it too obvious. Although Father is getting old, he's not senile yet. Don't let a small matter cause a big problem and upset Father again. Also, we can't let Fourth Brother find out that we did this on purpose. If it causes Fourth Brother to have a grudge against me again, I'm afraid it will be a loss."
"Yes, Your Highness. I will take care of it immediately."
"Go and do it. Be careful in everything you do, and don't let even the slightest word get out before Father Emperor's decree is issued."
"Is Your Highness worried that Prince Ming might also take the opportunity to plant spies around Fourth Brother?"
"My fourth brother has a large army under his command, so naturally he wouldn't let go of such a good opportunity. However, my fourth brother isn't stupid either. He's spent three years training at the border, and that wasn't for nothing. Besides, he's always been at odds with my second brother, and he's been close to me since childhood. He won't side with my second brother."
The Crown Princess nodded. "Your Highness is right."
The Crown Prince looked calmly at the Crown Princess with a hint of gratitude in his eyes. He gently took her hand in his. “Speaking of which, my fourth brother’s closeness to me is all thanks to you! Over the years, you have always been quite kind to him. When he was little, he always clung to you and followed you around. If it weren’t for your kindness back then, I’m afraid my fourth brother might not be so devoted to me now.”
The Crown Princess smiled faintly. After so many years of marriage, she naturally knew what place she held in the Crown Prince's heart.
“Your Highness is saying these things again. I am his elder sister-in-law, so it is only natural for me to treat him with more affection. Your Highness, please rest assured, I know what is important. Also, I have heard about the princes’ plans to leave the capital. I am currently making arrangements to prepare some things for them.”
"Yes. You're so thoughtful. If you hadn't always been by my side all these years, things would have been much harder for me."
The Crown Princess lowered her eyes and smiled, leaning against his chest as he moved. "It's just that I've always been incompetent. I only gave birth to your son, Chen'er."
"Hehe! One is enough. I only have one legitimate son, so naturally only he can succeed me in the future. No one else is qualified, which will make things much quieter."
The Crown Princess's heart skipped a beat. This wasn't the first time the Crown Prince had said this, and she naturally knew that he still valued Chen'er highly. Moreover, putting aside the matter of Mu Xin Nuan, Duanmu Chen had always been a good grandson in the Emperor's eyes, and the Emperor greatly admired him.
"Have you been by Mother's side these past few days?"
"Yes, I went there early this morning. The Empress Dowager said that she was much better and asked me to come back, saying that the Crown Prince should not be without someone to serve him." The Crown Princess paused. "Today, Princess Ming came to the palace. The Empress Dowager's expression did not look good when she saw her. I thought that the Empress Dowager might want to talk to her, so I withdrew early."
The Crown Prince nodded. His mother had never liked this Princess Ming, and today she would likely give her another lecture. Therefore, it was good that the Crown Princess had withdrawn.