Chapter 8: The Lady Invites

The old eunuch hurriedly helped the lady to her feet, and Consort Ding, forgetting her own pain, rushed forward to embrace her son, sobbing, "Oh, my heavens, what has happened? He was fine this morning..."

"Perhaps he suddenly fell ill with hysteria? It seems like he was possessed," the old eunuch speculated.

"What are you standing there for? Quickly fetch the imperial physician and the exorcist!" Consort Ding, with her hair disheveled, screamed. "And hurry to bring the Emperor here!"

The last sentence had a significant effect; Prince Qi immediately calmed down.

"No, don't tell Father!" he lifted his head in panic.

"You beast, what have you done?" Consort Ding, now understanding, immediately let go of her son and rubbed her own belly.

No matter how she asked, Zhu Fu remained tight-lipped, like a sealed gourd, saying nothing.

Is there any mother who can't discipline her son?

Consort Ding immediately called in a few attendants, had the prince restrained on a stool, and pulled down his pants, exposing his buttocks.

Then she personally wielded the cane, striking him fiercely.

Usually, it wouldn't take more than ten strikes for Prince Qi to break down.

This time, he managed to hold out until the thirtieth strike before collapsing and begging for mercy, indicating the severity of the situation.

"Speak, what exactly happened?" Consort Ding, panting and out of breath, threw down the blood-stained cane and asked fiercely.

At this moment, her makeup was smudged, her hair was disheveled, and her voice was hoarse. She looked like a fierce demon, not a bit of her former beauty remained.

"Sixth Brother, Sixth Brother was pushed into the water by me..." Zhu Fu, lying on the stool, said weakly, feeling a sense of relief. He had been so scared that he couldn't sleep for days, and dark circles had appeared under his eyes. It was truly tormenting.

"What, you?!" Consort Ding exploded again. So, the culprit causing all the turmoil in the palace was right here!

"Are you trying to defy the heavens?!" She picked up the cane to strike again.

The old eunuch quickly intervened. "Lady, you can't hit him anymore, or something worse will happen!"

"I wanted to avenge Mother, thinking she would be happy." Zhu Fu, not being stupid, quickly defended himself loudly: "I only wanted to make him look ridiculous, drenched and embarrassed. I never intended to kill him! But later, I was so scared that I ran away..."

"You fool, you're still explaining? For something like this, you should never admit it!" Consort Ding, chest aching with anger, pointed at the eunuchs and said fiercely: "If any of you dare to spread this, I will kill your entire family!"

The eunuchs, terrified, quickly said they wouldn't. In these turbulent times, no one was kind-hearted. If she said she would kill your family, she would do it.

"It's too late..." Zhu Fu said softly.

In the western chamber, it was so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping.

Consort Ding, regaining her composure, waved away the attendants, leaving only her trusted old eunuch by her side.

Then she asked her son angrily: "You fool, did you confess to anyone?"

"Sixth Brother already knows," Prince Qi said softly.

"Did he see you?" Consort Ding gritted her teeth. "Even if he saw you, no one would believe a ten-year-old child!"

"He didn't see me..."

Consort Ding, about to breathe a sigh of relief, heard Prince Qi gasp: "But he said Mr. Liu saw it, and Mr. Liu told him himself."

"Mr. Liu?" Consort Ding recalled. There was only one Mr. Liu in the main hall, but it was impossible. "It can't be Liu Ji, right?"

"That's him," Prince Qi nodded.

"Nonsense, Mr. Liu is a divine figure who long ago stopped meddling in worldly affairs! How could he care about such trivial matters?!" Consort Ding refused to believe it.

"But Sixth Brother said so," Prince Qi insisted.

"He's just trying to trick you, fool!" Consort Ding poked her son's forehead, leaving a bloody mark.

"Does he have the wit for that?" Prince Qi found it hard to believe. He had always looked down on his simple-minded sixth brother, thinking that after Second Brother, the stupidest was Sixth Brother.

"You were so scared that you wet your pants. Who's the one lacking sense?" Consort Ding, rubbing her belly and chest, wished she had another hand to massage her throbbing temples.

She had survived the treacherous palace of Chen Youliang and knew not to act rashly. She needed to think carefully about the consequences.

Fortunately, she had enough time to think things through thoroughly.

~~

When the sun began to set, the beautifully composed Consort Ding instructed the old eunuch:

"Lord Hou, please invite Prince Chu to come."

She planned to deny everything and scare Sixth Brother into not spreading any rumors.

"Yes, Lady."

"Also, go to Mr. Liu personally and ask for a leave of absence for the prince." Consort Ding paused and whispered: "And complain to him, saying that Prince Chu is slandering my son, and see his reaction."

"Yes, Lady." Hou the eunuch asked: "But if Mr. Liu knows nothing, won't it complicate things?"

"Rest assured, Mr. Liu won't meddle in such trivial matters." Consort Ding was very confident. "You know why he is in this position today, don't you?"

"Indeed, Lady." Hou the eunuch nodded in agreement.

"So I don't believe Mr. Liu would talk. But just to be safe, we need to confirm it," Consort Ding said coldly.

"Lady, you are truly cautious." Hou the eunuch hurriedly flattered her.

~~

At the hour of the Monkey, the gong for the end of class rang in the main hall.

"Phew, another day survived!" Prince Yan stretched and turned to Zhu Zhen with a smile. "How is your hand?"

"How could it not hurt?" Zhu Zhen looked at his left hand, which was still somewhat swollen.

He had ultimately been struck on the palm by Liu Bowen.

"Come, let me apply some ointment." Fifth Brother showed a small porcelain bottle. "This is a formula by Zhang Zhongjing, with a few additional herbs I added. It will hurt a bit at first, but it will reduce the swelling overnight."

It will hurt a lot, Zhu Zhen thought to himself, politely declining Fifth Brother's offer: "No, it's fine. It doesn't hurt anymore. I'm just angry that he dared to hit a prince of the Ming Dynasty. Isn't he afraid I'll tell Father?"

"You'd better not. If Father finds out, he'll say it was well-deserved!" Fifth Brother quickly stopped him from this foolish idea.

"And then he'll beat you even harder," Zhu Di added. "You are a prince of the Ming Dynasty, but first and foremost, you are Father's son. When Father's temper flares, even Elder Brother can't escape a beating."

"Is that so..." Zhu Zhen's face fell.

"So, we must strengthen ourselves. We need to improve our resilience," Zhu Di, putting his arm around Zhu Zhen's shoulder, said as they walked out: "Not to boast, but no one is better at taking beatings than I am."

"Fourth Brother has toughened his palms and buttocks with years of practice. It will take you years of hard work to achieve that," Fifth Brother also recommended his solution: "Use my medicine..."

Zhu Zhen was stunned, unsure if they were joking with him.

As they spoke, the three princes left the main hall.

The Crown Prince only studied in the Wen Hua Hall in the morning and went to the Wu Ying Hall in the afternoon to intern with Father, so they returned together.

Hou the eunuch was already waiting outside the Wen Hua Gate. Seeing the three princes come out laughing, he quickly knelt and respectfully said to Zhu Zhen:

"Prince Chu, my lady invites you."

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