Emerging from the Department of State Affairs, the Third Prince strode ahead with large steps while Ling Buyi and Shao Shang followed behind, maintaining a distance of over a dozen paces between them. Watching as the Third Prince turned the corner of the palace alley first, Shao Shang quickly tugged on Ling Buyi's sleeve and whispered, "Does Your Majesty hold the Third Prince in high regard? Does he intend to entrust him with important responsibilities?"
Ling Buyi frowned. "Where did you hear that?"
Shao Shang replied, "First, just now I heard the Third Prince say that Your Majesty wants to select a Classics Lecturer for him—isn't that a sign of great favor? Second, why would Your Majesty involve the Third Prince in Wang Chun's case unless he plans to promote him... Ow!" The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became, and then she received a sharp flick on the forehead.
Ling Buyi curled his fingers, his long eyes narrowing slightly. "First, do you realize you have a tendency to overthink things? No? That's fine—now you know."
"Second, since you know you tend to overthink, consult me first in the future instead of making a fool of yourself in public."
Rubbing her forehead, Shao Shang muttered, "You could just say it nicely... no need for violence... or fingers."
Ling Buyi said irritably, "Your Majesty is assigning the Third Prince a Classics Lecturer to help him cultivate a calmer temperament!"
"Ah!" Shao Shang's eyes lit up. "What did the Third Prince do?"
Ling Buyi said, "Wipe that smile off your face first—the Third Prince originally had a favored concubine whose father and brother, emboldened by her pregnancy, oppressed commoners and seized their property by force. Over ten days ago, the Third Prince found out and, in a rage, not only had the concubine's father and brother arrested and sent to the Court of Justice but also ordered Ji Zun to interrogate them strictly. In the end, two were executed, three were exiled, and their family assets were confiscated. That night, the concubine took her own life upon hearing the news."
Shao Shang gasped. "What about the child in her womb?"
"What do you think?"
Shao Shang trembled, too shocked to speak.
Ling Buyi continued, "Your Majesty believes the Third Prince's temperament is somewhat harsh and severe, hence the need for a Classics Lecturer."
After a long silence, Shao Shang finally said, "It depends on whose perspective you take. If you were one of the Third Prince's sycophants, you'd naturally live in fear, given his strict temperament. But if I were an ordinary fisherman, farmer, weaver, or woodcutter, I'd pray to the heavens every day, begging for an official like him to govern us."
Ling Buyi also fell silent for a moment. "You're overthinking it. The Third Prince merely intended to intimidate those around him to avoid future trouble."
"Still, the beneficiaries are the common people. Hey, I think you might have some prejudice against the Third Prince..."
Before Shao Shang could finish, rapid footsteps echoed—the Third Prince had actually turned back. Standing at the corner with a dark expression, he said coldly, "Are you two quite finished? Can't you save your chatter for private?"
Shao Shang: Definitely short-tempered. Royal Uncle, I think one Classics Lecturer might not be enough—better add half a dozen more.
Ling Buyi raised an eyebrow. "You might not believe it, Third Prince, but Shao Shang and I were just speaking highly of you."
...
Since this was an official assignment, the Royal Uncle had specially granted the use of a spacious imperial carriage. Of course, his original intention was for Shao Shang to ride in the carriage while his son and foster son rode horses. Unexpectedly, the Third Prince was dressed in full formal attire today—three layers of a Curved Robe, a slow sash, jade belt, and brocade shoes—completely unsuitable for riding. And he had no intention of going back to change.Thus, the Third Prince, who was neither considerate nor gentlemanly, took the lead in boarding the carriage, leaving Ling Cheng and the others exchanging bewildered glances—no matter how open-minded the times were, it was hardly appropriate for an engaged young lady to ride alone with a young prince.
Given the freezing weather, Ling Buyi naturally refused to let Shao Shang ride a horse. With a sigh, he handed his sword and shoulder armor to a guard and pulled Shao Shang into the carriage with him.
Once inside, Shao Shang became even more convinced that Ling Buyi and the Third Prince must have some unresolved conflict—the imperial carriage was far more spacious than ordinary ones, with enough room for three people to sit side by side. Yet, the moment these two laid eyes on each other, they instinctively took seats on opposite sides, leaving a gap in the middle wide enough to fit three more people.
Then Shao Shang realized that Ling Buyi’s jealousy operated on an automatic sensor.
When it came to Lou Yao, his sourness was like an unending torrential river. With Yuan Shen, it was a seasonal stream. But beside the Third Prince, it was as dry as depleted groundwater. So, Shao Shang rubbed her nose and took the middle seat.
The three of them sat in silence, avoiding eye contact and speaking not a word. The carriage swayed slightly, yet the trio remained perfectly still, the air thick with an eerie tension.
After enduring this suffocating atmosphere for nearly half an hour, just as they were about to reach the Northern Army Prison, the carriage suddenly jerked to a halt. Outside, a clamor of shouts erupted, and upon listening closely, Shao Shang realized the loudest and most domineering voice belonged to none other than the Second Prince?!
The Second Prince bellowed, "…Bring out Third Brother! Fine, Ling Buyi can stay—Father has always assigned him duties. But what’s Third Brother’s excuse? Why can my imperial brother participate in interrogating traitors while I’m barred from it?! What kind of logic is this?! Third Brother, come out and explain—why does Father favor you over me?!"
This was followed by the hushed attempts of his entourage to calm him down.
Shao Shang cursed inwardly—what an idiot! She was certain the Second Imperial Concubine had no idea about this. Given her tendency to even drag the Grand Princess into schemes against the Crown Prince, she would never let her husband pull such a brainless stunt!
Inside the carriage, the Third Prince smirked. Though his features were handsome, his smile was downright villainous.
He glanced at Ling Buyi. "It seems Second Imperial Brother has been living too comfortably lately. A life too smooth tends to cloud one’s judgment. Most of the Jing Sheng officials have grudges against the Qian’an faction and would love nothing more than to crush Wang Chun and the remaining Qian’an loyalists in one go. With my reputation for harsh scrutiny and not being the Empress’s son, Father specifically sent me along to dispel any suspicion that Zisheng might show favoritism out of regard for the Everlasting Autumn Palace—only a fool would think Father is favoring me."
Shao Shang mused silently: She had just thought the same thing earlier. So… did that mean her intelligence was on par with the Second Prince’s? She was beginning to understand Ling Buyi—the Third Prince really was quite detestable.
Outside, the Second Prince continued his tirade, and no matter how hard the guards and eunuchs tried, they couldn’t calm him down. Frowning, Ling Buyi said, "We can’t let His Highness the Second Prince keep causing a scene like this. We don’t want to attract the censors’ attention."
The Third Prince asked, "Does Zisheng plan to intervene? What will you say?"
Ling Buyi replied sternly, "I’ll reason with him. If His Highness refuses to listen, the Feather Forest can disperse them. We’re acting on His Majesty’s orders to proceed to the Northern Army Prison—this isn’t some arbitrary decision. We have nothing to fear, no matter who questions us."The Third Prince sneered, "You're still the same, always cloaking your actions in righteousness. That year when the Eastern Palace's Chief Secretary took bribes, you insisted on detaining him secretly and interrogating him slowly, nearly letting the villain escape punishment!"
Ling Buyi replied, "If we had followed Your Highness's suggestion—making a grand spectacle and mobilizing troops—we might have captured all the criminals, but what about the Crown Prince? It was his first time handling state affairs alone. If scheming individuals had seized the opportunity to provoke him, wouldn't that have been a case of losing the greater for the lesser?"
The Third Prince said, "Those who govern should uphold clear laws, ensuring justice is served without bias, neither bending the rules nor showing arrogance. Benevolence should guide the enforcement of laws, and laws should support benevolence—that is the true path!"
"These are all sound principles, and I do not dispute them. However, governance is not simply black and white. Sometimes, a measured approach leads to resolution, and indirect paths can achieve the goal. That incident seemed ordinary, but it was clearly aimed at the Eastern Palace. Had we launched a full-scale investigation, wouldn't we have played right into the hands of the mastermind behind it?"
"Nonsense! You're just twisting words. Without proper laws, how can there be a prosperous and orderly world?"
"Priorities must be weighed. If the heir apparent is unstable, how can the court function properly?"
...
Both the Third Prince and Ling Buyi were tall men, and even while seated, they towered over Shao Shang. Thus, their heated debate raged back and forth over her head, leaving her to prop her chin in her hands and listen silently.
"Um... well... the Second Prince is still outside shouting insults," she timidly raised a small hand and softly reminded the two dignitaries.
Both men fell silent simultaneously.
Ling Buyi took a deep breath before speaking. "Since Your Highness disapproves of my method of dissuading the Second Prince, may I ask what brilliant solution you have to resolve the current predicament?"
The Third Prince snorted coldly, then suddenly seemed to think of something and smirked. "I'll go tell my second elder brother that, among all our brothers, he's actually my favorite."
Shao Shang, caught off guard, gasped and looked at the Third Prince—was this true? It felt utterly bizarre to her.
Ling Buyi exhaled sharply, glaring.
The Third Prince continued, "Every time something happens in the Eastern Palace, suspicions inevitably fall on me. But thanks to Second Brother's presence, I avoid most of the trouble. By birthright and seniority, if anything were to happen to the Crown Prince, the benefits wouldn't fall to me anyway. I should go thank Second Brother for shielding me from so much slander over the years. Many, many thanks!"
"And then provoke the Second Prince into a public argument between two imperial princes, humiliating His Majesty?!" Ling Buyi said darkly.
As the Third Prince's brows furrowed and another battle seemed imminent, Shao Shang could bear it no longer. She said firmly, "Your Highness, Lord Ling, please calm yourselves. Why not let me go out and dissuade the Second Prince?"
Without waiting for nods from the Third Prince or Ling Buyi, she quickly slipped out of the carriage.
Shao Shang didn't disembark but perched halfway beside the coachman. She pulled out a handkerchief and waved it at the Second Prince not far away.
A beauty leaning against crimson sleeves, her smiling face beckoning—the Second Prince, who had always been fond of beauties and was even more indulgent toward them, slowly guided his horse to the carriage side.
Once the Second Prince approached, Shao Shang immediately dropped her smile.
She motioned for the coachman and guards to step away, then said coolly, "The Third Prince and I are on imperial orders to assist in interrogations at the Northern Army Prison. I advise Your Highness to leave quickly, lest you incur His Majesty's displeasure later."
The Second Prince flew into a rage. "You dare use Father to pressure me too?!"
"Your Highness jests. His Majesty is the ruler of the realm—who dares not yield to him?"
The Second Prince choked on his words.Shao Shang continued, "Truth be told, I've barely exchanged a few words with the Second Prince. Matters between you and His Majesty as father and son are certainly beyond the reach of a mere woman like me—I just feel sorry for the Second Imperial Concubine."
The Second Prince looked suspicious. "What about my concubine?"
"Not long ago, I saw Your Highness in the rocky grove by Little Mirror Lake, entangled with a palace maid, being all affectionate and merry," Shao Shang said.
The Second Prince's face turned red. "You—you're lying!"
"Coincidentally, I happened to recognize that palace maid. I believe her name was Bi... Chi?" Shao Shang rested her chin on her hand, pretending to think.
"It's Bi Liu!" the Second Prince blurted out.
"Ah, yes, Bi Liu!" Shao Shang clapped her hands. "Your Highness has such a good memory!"
The Second Prince's face began to shift from red to green.
"Hmm, why did I say 'Your Highness has a good memory'?" Shao Shang feigned contemplation before suddenly realizing, "Ah, because this isn't the first time, is it?"
The Second Prince opened his mouth wide in fury. "Don't you dare slander me!"
Shao Shang replied coolly, "Before summer, a group of palace maids was dismissed from the palace. Among them was one named Shui Man, who was promptly taken into your residence, wasn't she? Let me tell you, Shui Man wasn't originally on the list of those to be dismissed—I added her name."
The Second Prince stammered, "You—you—you..."
"At the time, Shui Man was showing signs of pregnancy. Just as Your Highness was about to confess your mistake to the Empress and request the maid, she was dismissed from the palace. You must have thought yourself quite fortunate then."
This "Second" Prince wasn't entirely wicked—he didn't resort to silencing her but instead took her in as a concubine. One wonders if the Second Imperial Concubine knew of Shui Man's origins.
The Second Prince no longer dared to rage and mumbled, "Then... I should thank you..."
Shao Shang's eyes glinted with frost. "This matter could be trivial or serious. If it were blown out of proportion, charging you with defiling the palace wouldn't be excessive. Her Majesty was ill at the time, and you still dared to trouble her with such a scandal—were you trying to anger her to death?"
The Second Prince stuttered, "N-no, I didn't mean that. I would never dare to disrespect Mother Empress..."
"Still, while Her Majesty needn't know, the Second Imperial Concubine certainly should. She isn't ill, after all. Oh dear, it just occurred to me—though she isn't ill, she's recently pregnant again, isn't she?" Shao Shang watched with delight as the Second Prince's face cycled through another round of color changes.
She continued softly, "How pitiful. The Second Imperial Concubine has been utterly devoted to you, exhausting herself with frequent pregnancies and tirelessly scheming day and night for your sake. Now, barely three months into her pregnancy—when she should be resting—she dragged the Grand Princess to see Her Majesty yesterday. For whom does she toil and worry so? Even an outsider like me can't help but feel heartbroken..."
"Don't—don't you dare tell her! At least not now—this pregnancy hasn't been easy for her!" The Second Prince's face flushed crimson as he struggled to speak. "I'm leaving! You're not to say a word!"
...
Shao Shang returned to her seat between the two high-ranking figures, and the procession set off again.
The carriage fell silent for a moment before the Third Prince suddenly asked, "Was it appropriate for me to hear all these unsavory secrets about Second Imperial Brother?"
Shao Shang replied, "It's fine."
The Third Prince sneered, "Don't tell me it's because you trust my character or because I'm upright and wouldn't engage in underhanded schemes..."Shao Shang asked curiously, "Oh, so Your Highness is the type of person who acts openly and aboveboard without any underhanded dealings? That's wonderful. I'm not very good at judging people, so I didn't notice at all."
Third Prince: "..."
Shao Shang explained, "When I said 'it's fine,' it's because afterward I reported the entire matter truthfully to His Majesty."
The Third Prince froze.
"Her Majesty is frail, but His Majesty is strong and vigorous—he can hunt tigers in the mountains and catch turtles in the water." The implication being that the Emperor wouldn't be angered to death by his son.
The Third Prince moved his lips: "And then, what did Father say?" Did he not beat this insolent little girl to death?
"His Majesty didn't say anything at the time. But..." Shao Shang tilted her head in thought, "The next day, when I carelessly let Her Majesty's red-tailed koi fish escape, His Majesty didn't scold me."
"On the third day, when I mistook Xunzi's words for Zhuangzi's, His Majesty didn't reprimand me either."
"On the fourth day—"
"Alright, you don't need to say anymore." The Third Prince rubbed his temples.
The carriage fell silent again.
After a moment, Ling Buyi finally couldn't hold back any longer. He turned his face away and let out a muffled, cheerful laugh—right in front of the Third Prince, he reached for the girl's small hand and interlaced their fingers tightly.
Author's Note: 1. This chapter is a bit shorter. Let's see if I can add more tomorrow.
PS: Don't you think the revamped "Keep Running" isn't bad at all? Especially the recent episodes—I laughed until my stomach hurt. When I'm in a good mood, writing becomes more enjoyable too!
PPS: I didn't save time from writing to watch variety shows. I watch them while eating!
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