Chapter 62

Perhaps due to staying up too late the previous night, Zhao Hongrun didn't wake up from his bed until the sun was high in the sky the next day.

After waking up, he didn't get out of bed immediately but instead reached out to touch a certain secret spot.

"Phew... It's still okay."

He let out a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

In his dream last night, he once again dreamed of that Imperial Sister, but this time, he only dreamed of the scenes of playing crazily outside the palace with Princess Yulong after leaving the palace yesterday, without any terrible images appearing.

The genuine smile of that Imperial Sister, rather than the one he imagined or fantasized about, made him feel satisfied.

This was a rational emotion: knowing that this relationship had no future, he instead hoped that she would live a better life and tried his best to help her.

"Thump, thump, thump—"

A series of hurried footsteps came from outside the bedroom.

Zhao Hongrun didn't pay much attention and dressed himself, as only his ten clan guards had the right to enter his bedroom.

Sure enough, while Zhao Hongrun was dressing, Clan Guard Shen Yu pushed the door open and, upon seeing his Highness dressing, immediately closed the door.

"What's wrong, Shen Yu?" Zhao Hongrun noticed the bitter smile on Shen Yu's face and asked curiously.

Shen Yu's bitter smile deepened: "Highness, the Sixth Highness has come over."

"Sixth Imperial Brother?" Zhao Hongrun paused in his dressing, a look of distress and helplessness appearing on his face.

He wasn't surprised, after all, he had to bring Princess Yulong out of the palace to play last night, and as a result, he stood up the Sixth Highness Hongzhao.

"Where is he?"

"He's sitting in the front hall, determined not to leave until he sees you."

"Ah?... Do you think I can slip away?"

Shen Yu's facial muscles twitched: "The ten clan guards of the Sixth Highness are watching the windows of our Wenzhao Pavilion, and there are people watching behind the hall... If Your Highness tries to escape through the window, it's probably..."

There's no way out!

Zhao Hongrun was filled with righteous indignation, but upon reflection, it wasn't surprising. After all, his Sixth Imperial Brother Hongzhao was praised as a born genius, wise from a young age. Trying to escape from him was unrealistic.

"Alright, I'll go and admit my mistake."

Sighing, Zhao Hongrun finished dressing and walked to the front hall.

In the front hall of Wenzhao Pavilion, the Sixth Prince Zhao Hongzhao was sitting upright, eyes and mouth closed, his face tight, clearly not in a good mood.

After a careful look around, Zhao Hongrun indeed found the Sixth Highness's clan guards outside Wenzhao Pavilion, clearly considering the possibility that he might try to escape through the window.

Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun sighed inwardly, put on a smile, and bowed to the Sixth Highness.

"Sixth Imperial Brother, I failed to welcome you properly. Please forgive me."

"Even a raised hand doesn't hit a smiling face... right?" Zhao Hongzhao saw through Zhao Hongrun's forced smile, stood up slowly with a stern face, straightened his sleeves, and asked, "Hongrun, where were you last night?"

Although Zhao Hongrun and the Sixth Highness had a good relationship, he couldn't reveal the truth. After all, princesses in the palace were not allowed to leave without permission. If this matter became known, it would be very detrimental to his Imperial Sister.

"Last night... I got lost." He replied solemnly.

"Huh?" The Sixth Prince was clearly taken aback: "Got lost in the palace?"

"No." Zhao Hongrun shook his head and continued solemnly, "It wasn't me who got lost, it was my heart."

"..." The Sixth Prince opened his mouth, stared at Zhao Hongrun in a daze, and after a while, sighed, "Is there... no better excuse?"

Hearing his solemn tone, Zhao Hongrun couldn't hold back and lost his composure: "Alright, alright, I was wrong. I shouldn't have broken my promise... I'll accept any punishment you decide."

Zhao Hongzhao sized up his eighth brother. According to his understanding, Zhao Hongrun wasn't someone who broke promises easily. Even if he was unwilling to attend his poetry gathering, he would have informed him beforehand, and wouldn't have stood him up.

Therefore, he thought that last night, Zhao Hongrun might have done something more important than attending his poetry gathering, at least in the eyes of this eighth brother.

"Last night... Could it be that you left the palace?" Zhao Hongzhao guessed.

"Why would you think that?"

"Hmph, it's obvious!" Zhao Hongzhao stroked his chin, "With whom?"

"What do you mean, with whom? Why does it have to be with someone? Can't I go alone?"

"Ha ha." Zhao Hongzhao shook his head, "If you were alone, you wouldn't have stood me up. In other words, someone must have left the palace with you... Who?"

"Why should I tell you?" Zhao Hongrun's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"Is it Hongxuan? Impossible! Given Hongxuan's character, he doesn't have the courage. ... It can't be a palace maid, right? Hongrun, you would be putting them in danger. ... No, a palace maid wouldn't have the courage to meet a prince outside the palace..."

"..." Zhao Hongrun became increasingly nervous, fearing that this exceptionally intelligent Sixth Highness would guess the truth, and quickly interrupted, "Can't it be someone outside the palace?"

Zhao Hongzhao looked deeply at Zhao Hongrun and suddenly smiled faintly, "It's definitely someone inside the palace!"

This guy!

Zhao Hongrun gritted his teeth and glared at the Sixth Highness, saying irritably, "Alright, I'll make it up. ... Next time you have a poetry gathering, I'll definitely come, okay?"

"Every time?" Zhao Hongzhao asked calmly.

Taking advantage of the situation?

Zhao Hongrun glared and said irritably, "Just once!"

Zhao Hongzhao glanced at his brother, not arguing, and stroked his chin, muttering, "Who could it be? ... Actually, it's not hard to guess..."

"Twice!" Zhao Hongrun gritted his teeth.

Zhao Hongzhao looked at Zhao Hongrun again and continued muttering to himself, "First, it's someone inside the palace. Second, Hongrun was willing to stand me up to take them out... It was the Dragon Boat Festival yesterday... Did they want to see the city's festivities? In other words, this person has never left the palace... Not a palace maid, it should be someone who, even if discovered, wouldn't face a life-threatening situation... Hmm?"

Damn, he guessed it!

Seeing the Sixth Highness frown and his expression become serious, Zhao Hongrun cursed inwardly.

"Three times! ... Don't push your luck, Sixth Imperial Brother!" Zhao Hongrun gritted his teeth.

Zhao Hongzhao thought for a moment, smiled, and nodded, "Alright, three times it is! ... Next time, don't stand me up again."

"Hmph!"

Zhao Hongzhao left, satisfied.

After he walked out of Wenzhao Pavilion, he glanced thoughtfully in the direction of the princesses' quarters.

"Fei Wei."

"Your servant is here."

"Go and investigate... last night..." He stopped halfway, suddenly realizing something, and waved his hand, "Never mind, it's fine."

Fei Wei looked at his Highness in confusion.

I really should... Hongrun knows what he's doing, why should I meddle so much? ... But, is there a princess in the palace who has a good relationship with Hongrun? Who could it be? I'm quite curious... Don't think about it, don't think about it...

Undoubtedly, he felt pity and sympathy for the princesses in the palace. After all, they had even less autonomy and freedom than the princes.

Sigh, golden birds in a cage... Born into the imperial family...

Shaking his head, Zhao Hongzhao returned to Yafeng Pavilion on his own.

The two days after the Dragon Boat Festival, the city was still bustling.

Knowing that Princess Yulong had never had the chance to leave the palace before, Zhao Hongrun did his best to persuade her to go out of the palace in disguise with him.

Not for any other reason, just to dispel the deep gloom and loneliness in her heart.

Although Princess Yulong's frowning face was also beautiful, Zhao Hongrun still hoped she would be happy every day.

The palace historian Xu no longer dared to inquire about Princess Yulong's affairs after being reprimanded by Zhao Hongrun, and the palace maid Cui, who was Princess Yulong's personal attendant, had always been close to her. Therefore, Princess Yulong could slip out of the palace before dusk, hiding among Zhao Hongrun's clan guards, without being discovered.

Unfortunately, after the Dragon Boat Festival, Zhao Hongrun no longer had the opportunity to leave the palace after dusk, as it was a royal decree.

This made it impossible for Zhao Hongrun to secretly take Princess Yulong out of the palace, as taking her out in disguise during the day would expose her to the imperial guards, and her physique was very different from that of the clan guards. At night, the darkness could provide some cover, but during the day, how could he hide her?

However, Zhao Hongrun had a solution. Every time he went out, he would buy a small, cute clay figure from the market and have a clan guard deliver it to Princess Yulong. Sometimes, he would return to the palace earlier and personally visit Yujiong Pavilion, not only to give her the small clay figure as a gift but also to chat with her and share the interesting things he saw outside the palace.

With Zhao Hongrun as a confidant, Princess Yulong gradually became more cheerful. She drew pictures of the scenes outside the palace based on what Zhao Hongrun told her about the Dragon Boat Festival, and hung them in her room. Looking at them every day made her feel happy.

During this period, the re-examination of the imperial examinations, organized by the Ministry of Rites, concluded. As this was the first time the Ministry of Rites was in charge of the examinations, they took it very seriously. The Minister of Rites, She You, personally oversaw the examination and invited the newly appointed Censor-in-Chief, Su Geng, to serve as the deputy supervisor to strictly control cheating.

The final list of successful candidates surprised Zhao Hongrun.

He had thought that the scholar Wen Qi, who had warned him about Ji Chu's cheating during the examination, would pass, given the quality of his essay and his writing speed, which had left a deep impression on Zhao Hongrun.

However, Wen Qi did not make the list.

Additionally, the top scholar of this year's palace examination was a nineteen-year-old commoner from Shangdang, Kou Zheng, and the second place was a twenty-year-old commoner, Luo Cong.

The eighteen-year-old grandson of the Chancellor He Xiangxu, He Xinxian, who was known for his literary talent and was a regular at the Yafeng Poetry Gathering, only placed third, which surprised many people.

Whether it was the Crown Prince, Prince Yong, or Prince Xiang, they all began to secretly recruit these young scholars, selecting the best to join their advisory teams.

Even Prince Yan and Prince Qing, who were not as prominent as the first three, also secretly recruited staff.

After all, for the other princes, this year might be their last chance to challenge the Crown Prince. Once the eldest grandson, Yong Lu, turned eight next year and entered the imperial academy, gradually gaining the emperor's favor and trust, their chances of ascending to the throne would become increasingly slim.

PS: Happy New Year 2016!

Page AD starts

Page AD ends