Chapter 53

In the following half month, Zhao Hongrun would go to Cuixiao Pavilion at Yifang Waterside every day, drinking wine while listening to Miss Su’s gradually improving qin music, and at the same time, silently pondering the gains and losses of the three father-son battles from the previous few days.

Perhaps out of consideration to comfort his son, the Emperor of the Great Wei not only restored the monthly stipend for Prince Zhao Hongrun’s sleeping pavilion, Wenzhao Pavilion, but also turned a blind eye to his frequent visits to Yifang Waterside, a place of pleasure.

Perhaps the best solace for a man who has suffered a setback is the comfort of a woman; the Emperor might have thought so.

However, the Emperor’s tacit approval did not bring Zhao Hongrun and Miss Su closer. On the contrary, after their intimate encounter, they became somewhat restrained, and sometimes, an unintentional meeting of their eyes would make both of them feel awkward.

Perhaps neither of them was ready to advance their relationship from friends to a higher level. After all, with a six-year age gap between them, this was currently the most awkward and most significant issue.

Putting this aside, they got along quite well, gradually opening up to each other, laughing and chatting, and their friendship grew warmer.

Of course, there were also some not-so-good things. For example, on the 28th of April in the 16th year of Hongde, just as Zhao Hongrun was about to leave the palace to meet Miss Su, he was intercepted by his sixth elder brother, Zhao Hongzhao.

Seeing the sixth elder brother’s half-smiling, half-serious expression, Zhao Hongrun inwardly knew something was amiss.

Sure enough, the first words out of the sixth elder brother’s mouth left him speechless.

"Hongrun, it seems that a few paintings have gone missing from my sleeping pavilion... What do you think about this?"

"Really? Such a thing?" Zhao Hongrun feigned an innocent look.

Unexpectedly, the sixth elder brother instructed the Zongwei Fei Wei to take out a few scrolls of paintings. Upon unfolding them, they turned out to be the very ones Zhao Hongrun had secretly transported out of the palace and sold a while ago.

"Hongrun, are these familiar to you?" the sixth prince asked with a half-smiling, half-serious expression.

Glancing at the paintings in Zongwei Fei Wei’s hands and then at the sixth elder brother Zhao Hongzhao, Zhao Hongrun immediately understood. He bowed his hands in a pleading manner, asking his elder brother to be lenient.

Prince Zhao Hongzhao did not take the misdeeds of his eighth younger brother to heart, knowing that the latter had been living a hard life after their father, the Emperor, had cut his monthly stipend. It was understandable for him to have a few crooked ideas.

Moreover, his purpose in coming to confront Zhao Hongrun was not to demand compensation for his losses.

"Next month, on the fifth day of the fifth month, I plan to hold a poetry gathering at Yafeng Pavilion to invite some young talents from our capital, Daliang, to appreciate poetry and discuss literature. Will the eighth prince honor us with his presence?"

As he spoke, Zhao Hongzhao deliberately waved the painting in front of Zhao Hongrun, making the latter roll his eyes.

"Brother, you came prepared..." Zhao Hongrun smiled bitterly.

To be honest, he had no interest in the so-called "Yafeng Poetry Gathering" of his sixth elder brother, let alone on the fifth day of the fifth month, the Dragon Boat Festival.

On that day, the capital Daliang would be bustling with activities like climbing high places, dragon boat races, and hanging lanterns. In short, it was a day for the people to enjoy themselves, a day for fun. Zhao Hongrun had originally planned to take Miss Su and have a good time.

"Can’t make it on the fifth day of the fifth month," Zhao Hongrun said sheepishly.

"Is that so?" Zhao Hongzhao shook his head and deliberately said in a low voice, "It cost me more than two thousand taels of silver to buy these paintings back..."

"Alright, alright, I’ll go, okay?" Zhao Hongrun raised his hands in surrender. He couldn’t afford to owe more than two thousand taels of silver.

Zhao Hongzhao was satisfied with this response and handed the paintings to the Zongwei beside him, smiling. "Very well, I’ll look forward to the eighth prince’s presence."

Zhao Hongrun rolled his eyes silently. "But brother, according to the usual schedule, Father should be gathering us in the Wende Hall on the fifth day of the fifth month, right?"

Indeed, according to the usual schedule, on the Dragon Boat Festival, the Emperor of the Great Wei would hold a family banquet in the Wende Hall, inviting all the concubines and princes to gather. After the banquet, the Emperor would lead everyone to a high platform to admire the lanterns throughout the capital Daliang.

The Dragon Boat Festival was one of the few times in the year when the princes could gather together.

In previous years, Zhao Hongrun would simply show his face before the Emperor and then slip away to do his own thing, even if he couldn’t leave the palace. This year, with a token allowing him to enter and leave the palace freely, he had planned to show his face before the Emperor and his brothers and then slip out. However, with the sixth elder brother’s intervention, his plan was clearly ruined.

"Don’t worry about that. My poetry gathering is scheduled after the lantern viewing. Father has already allowed me to invite a few young talents from the capital to the banquet. They will sit at my side, and after the lantern viewing, we will go to Yafeng Pavilion to admire the lanterns and discuss poetry. Hmm..."

At the end of his words, the sixth elder brother had a look of deep satisfaction.

‘So, I can’t slip out of the palace.’ Zhao Hongrun sighed helplessly.

"By the way," Zhao Hongzhao seemed to remember something and frowned. "Hongrun, have you offended the Eastern Palace recently?"

"The Crown Prince?" Zhao Hongrun was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Zhao Hongzhao glanced around and lowered his voice. "I don’t know the details, but the Eastern Palace has reported you to Father, saying that you are unlearned and only know how to go out of the palace for pleasure, which is not in line with the prince’s etiquette..."

"Is that so?"

Zhao Hongrun was surprised. He had been shuttling between Wenzhao Pavilion and Yifang Waterside, visiting his mother, Consort Shen, and meeting Miss Su, and had not paid much attention to palace affairs. Moreover, the Emperor had not reprimanded him for this, so Zhao Hongrun was unaware that the Crown Prince had been speaking ill of him behind his back.

As for the Crown Prince’s resentment, Zhao Hongrun was not surprised. After all, the Crown Prince, Hongli, had gathered a group of officials in the Ministry of Personnel, but in the recent imperial examinations, half of those officials were dismissed by the Censorate. This meant that all the efforts the Crown Prince had put into the Ministry of Personnel were in vain, and it was no wonder he was angry.

However, Zhao Hongrun was not worried. In the last imperial examination, his father had secretly used his conflict with Luo Wenzhong to reorganize the entire Ministry of Personnel. Therefore, during this period, his father’s attitude towards him was particularly lenient, not only restoring his monthly stipend but also turning a blind eye to his visits to Yifang Waterside.

Thus, Zhao Hongrun was not concerned about the Crown Prince’s influence in this regard.

In his view, the Crown Prince’s anger was just temporary. After all, he, Zhao Hongrun, was not a key figure in the Crown Prince’s struggle for the throne, so it shouldn’t come to a serious conflict.

"Be careful in the coming days, don’t give them a chance to catch you."

"Alright."

After a few more words, Zhao Hongzhao got up and took his leave.

On the fifth day of the fifth month, Zhao Hongrun got up early.

After bathing and changing clothes in his sleeping pavilion, Zhao Hongrun first led the Zongwei to Ningxiang Palace to pay respects to his mother, Consort Shen.

In theory, he should have first gone to the Wende Hall or the Chui Gong Hall to pay respects to his father, and then to his mother. However, Zhao Hongrun did not care. In his view, there were plenty of princes paying respects to his father, so one more or one less didn’t matter. But at Consort Shen’s place, probably only he and his brother Hongxuan would go to pay respects.

Unfortunately, his mother, Consort Shen, scolded him for this, and after a few words, she ordered him to leave Ningxiang Palace and go to the Emperor to pay respects.

Zhao Hongrun could not argue with his mother, so he had to lead the Zongwei to the Chui Gong Hall again.

The palace was already decorated with lanterns and filled with a festive atmosphere. The palace maids, who were usually lively, seemed to have changed into new palace uniforms.

Unfortunately, these lively palace maids did not dare to appear before the unmarried prince Zhao Hongrun. They only dared to glance at him from a distance and then quickly fled in groups.

As he walked, Zhao Hongrun suddenly saw someone standing in the palace corridor ahead. The person was dressed in fine clothes, hands behind his back, and was smiling as he watched Zhao Hongrun approach.

‘Prince Yong... What is he doing here?’

Despite having no particular relationship with the other, Zhao Hongrun had to take the initiative to greet him due to the hierarchy.

"Hongrun, I greet Prince Yong."

Unexpectedly, the other grabbed Zhao Hongrun, who was about to bow deeply, and smiled. "Not the second prince, but Prince Yong?"

Indeed, this person was Zhao Hongrun’s second elder brother, Prince Yong, Hongyu.

‘...’

Zhao Hongrun looked at his second elder brother in surprise. To be honest, he had no particular relationship with this second elder brother and rarely spoke to him throughout the year. However, the second elder brother’s attitude towards him was unusually warm, to the point where Zhao Hongrun felt somewhat overwhelmed.

"We are brothers, sharing the same blood. Why be so formal and call me Prince Yong, distancing our brotherly bond?" Prince Yong, Hongyu, smiled.

"..." Zhao Hongrun looked at his second elder brother in surprise, unable to understand his intentions.

After all, Prince Yong, Hongyu, was different from the sixth prince, Hongzhao. He was a powerful prince in the struggle for the throne. If not necessary, Zhao Hongrun did not want to have too much involvement with him, to avoid getting entangled in the struggle and causing endless trouble.

However, since his second elder brother was being polite to him, he could not just leave, so he had to accompany him to the Chui Gong Hall.

"When did the second elder brother enter the palace?"

"The elder brother just arrived..."

"Why not go to pay respects to Father and Consort Shi?"

Zhao Hongrun knew that Consort Shi, who had a strained relationship with Empress Wang, was the birth mother of this second elder brother.

"I was waiting for you," Prince Yong, Hongyu, smiled.

"For me?" Zhao Hongrun looked at Prince Yong, Hongyu, in confusion. "What does the second elder brother need from me?"

At this moment, a cunning look flashed in Prince Yong, Hongyu’s eyes, and he said in a low voice, "We’ll talk about it later."

Just as Zhao Hongrun was about to ask again, he heard a low cough from behind. He instinctively looked up and saw the Crown Prince, Hongli, surrounded by a group of people, looking at them coldly.

To be precise, he was looking coldly at Prince Yong, Hongyu, who was beside Zhao Hongrun.

‘Please, do we have to be so coincidental?’

Zhao Hongrun was speechless, a strong sense of foreboding rising in his heart.