After leaving the Fifth Prince's residence, Zhao Xuan went straight to Qianyuan Palace.

When he arrived, Emperor Yongsheng had only recently finished lunch after spending the entire morning reviewing memorials. He was just preparing to take his afternoon nap when a young eunuch came rushing over from the Second Princess's residence and gave a woeful account of how the Crown Prince had appeared without warning and ordered his men to beat the princess.

Emperor Yongsheng felt a headache coming on.

The Crown Prince had only just returned to the capital. Instead of spending the afternoon with his wife, enjoying the sweetness of reunion after a long separation, why had he gone to punish his younger sister over something that happened on New Year's Eve?

Could the Crown Princess have complained to him?

Regardless of how exalted the Crown Prince and Second Princess appeared in the eyes of outsiders, when an elder brother struck his younger sister, the matter was ultimately nothing more than a family dispute as far as Emperor Yongsheng was concerned.

But what was he, as their father, supposed to do?

If he defended the Second Princess, he would have to summon the Crown Prince and reprimand him. Yet the Crown Prince was a grown man with a wife of his own. Scolding him would hardly be respectful of his dignity. Besides, given the Crown Prince's temperament, if he dared do something, he certainly wasn't afraid of being reprimanded by his imperial father.

On the other hand, Emperor Yongsheng couldn't simply pretend he knew nothing and let the matter pass. The Crown Prince really had gone too far this time. What kind of elder brother ordered his subordinates to strike his own younger sister?

All his children were equally dear to him.

In the end, Emperor Yongsheng laid the blame on his daughter-in-law.

She certainly had a clever tongue when it came to praising the Crown Prince's magnanimity. So why was she so petty herself? As the elder sister-in-law, why couldn't she let bygones be bygones? More than a month had passed, yet she had still dragged the old grievance before the Crown Prince and stirred up trouble!

Emperor Yongsheng was just about to send for the Crown Prince, Crown Princess, and Second Princess so he could reprimand all three when a young eunuch hurried inside to announce that the Crown Prince was requesting an audience.

Emperor Yongsheng snorted.

He had known it! The Crown Prince was never one to shirk responsibility for his actions.

"Admit him."

The young eunuch who had come on the Second Princess's orders to seek justice from Emperor Yongsheng nearly fainted from fright when he heard that the Crown Prince had arrived.

He was finished!

If the Crown Prince dared strike even the Second Princess, might he come in and give the eunuch a vicious kick?

The mighty Crown Prince had slain more than seventy elite Turkic soldiers himself. Could one kick from him be enough to kill a mere eunuch outright?

The young eunuch flattened himself against the floor, trembling like a leaf.

Emperor Yongsheng regarded him with utter disgust and gave Eunuch Li a meaningful glance. Better to remove the worthless coward before he lost control of his bladder and soiled the imperial floor.

Eunuch Li immediately drove him out.

As Zhao Xuan approached, he caught sight of Eunuch Li emerging with the other eunuch. He spared the obviously guilty-looking fellow not so much as a second glance and strode straight inside.

Emperor Yongsheng was sitting on the edge of his bed in his underclothes.

Looking at the son he had praised so enthusiastically only that morning, he wanted to let the matter go, yet couldn't quite suppress his irritation.

"Really, now. You're nearly twelve years older than Lin'er. Why must you quarrel with her? And to think your wife praised you to me for being so broad-minded!"

Zhao Xuan replied, "When did the Crown Princess praise me to you, Imperial Father? Was it the time the Empress summoned her for questioning in the freezing cold when she was already unwell?"

Emperor Yongsheng fell silent.

Then he said, "I knew it! She must have complained to you. It's not that I'm taking sides, but the matter was already settled. You've only just returned to the capital. Instead of attending to your needs, she's preoccupied with those little grievances of hers."

Yes, his daughter-in-law had indeed suffered two affronts.

But as her father-in-law, hadn't he stood up for her both times? He had punished the Second Princess by making her stand, and he had reprimanded Empress Lin.

What more could his daughter-in-law possibly want?

The imperial household had even greater reason than ordinary families to preserve its dignity, but such pettiness would draw criticism even from a wife in an ordinary wealthy household.

Zhao Xuan said, "Imperial Father has misunderstood. The Crown Princess has been nothing but attentive and considerate toward me, asking after my health and comfort. She never mentioned a word about the past. It was Prince Ning who let something slip when he came to pay his respects. Only after questioning the Eastern Palace attendants did I learn of the other indignity the Crown Princess suffered."

Emperor Yongsheng was speechless.

That damned second son! Why couldn't he keep his mouth shut?

After silently cursing Prince Ning, Emperor Yongsheng continued glaring at the Crown Prince.

"Even so, as her elder brother, you shouldn't have struck your own sister."

Zhao Xuan replied, "Last year, when I accompanied the Crown Princess to serve tea to Imperial Father, the Second Princess was disrespectful toward her. I warned her then that there would be no second offense. What happened on New Year's Eve proves that she never took my warning seriously. I therefore had no choice but to discipline her personally, lest she repeat her misconduct in the future."

He continued, "Furthermore, as her elder brothers, the Fourth and Fifth Princes have a responsibility to guide her conduct. The Second Princess's failure to observe propriety demonstrates that they have failed to instruct her properly. I took the opportunity to discipline them as well. I came specifically to inform Imperial Father."

Emperor Yongsheng's expression changed.

He sprang to his feet.

"You struck them too?"

"I merely tested their martial arts. The Fourth Prince barely passed. The Fifth Prince's training was inadequate, so he suffered a little for his shortcomings."

Emperor Yongsheng was so furious that his chest rose and fell.

Unfortunately, the Crown Prince had perfectly reasonable justifications for punishing the Second Princess and testing the Fourth and Fifth Princes. The emperor couldn't find a single convincing reason to reprimand him further.

Zhao Xuan glanced at the bed, which had already been made ready for his father's nap, then bowed.

"If Imperial Father has no further instructions, I won't disturb your rest."

Emperor Yongsheng watched the Crown Prince depart, his face livid.

Reasonable or not, the Crown Prince clearly had no regard for his imperial father!

Of Prince Shun and all his siblings, to say nothing of the entire civil and military court, who else would dare behave so confidently before the emperor?

Well, let the Second Princess finish her punishment. The girl really did need to have some of her willfulness knocked out of her.

But the Fourth and Fifth Princes had been dragged into the affair through no fault of their own, merely because of their younger sister.

Emperor Yongsheng arranged for imperial physicians to examine them.

Then he ordered someone to summon Prince Ning to the palace!

Poor Prince Ning.

He had hurried back from the palace to his princely residence on an empty stomach and had barely managed two mouthfuls of noodles when an imperial summons startled him into hurriedly making himself presentable again.

By the time he reached Qianyuan Palace, he was thoroughly bewildered.

He had only just stepped inside, without even having a chance to bow, when Emperor Yongsheng hurled a teacup at him and burst into an angry tirade.

"You useless wretch! You're no good at scholarly pursuits or martial arts. I gave up expecting anything from you long ago. All I ask is that you keep out of trouble and stop causing me headaches! But look at you! A grown man, yet instead of thinking about how to accomplish something worthwhile, you run to the Crown Prince and spread gossip!"

Prince Ning instinctively clutched at the teacup that had struck him.

He paid no attention to the tea soaking half his body or the tea leaves clinging to his robes. He didn't even rub his aching chest.

Instead, he stared at his imperial father in utter confusion.

"What happened? Why is Imperial Father so angry?"

Eunuch Li quickly explained the situation.

Prince Ning was speechless.

"Well... the Crown Prince is excellent in every respect, but even if Second Sister did something wrong, surely a few words of reprimand would have sufficed? Why resort to physical punishment? Imperial Father, is Second Sister's face all right?"

"Stop pretending to be the good fellow! Tell me, why did you go to the Crown Prince and stir up trouble?"

Prince Ning's knees buckled.

He dropped to the floor with a thud, looking utterly aggrieved.

"Imperial Father, I wasn't trying to stir up trouble! I only thought that no matter how exalted the Crown Prince's position may be, he's still my younger brother. I'm useless, so I can only leave him to undertake disaster relief and fight our enemies, so busy serving the country that he couldn't even make it home for New Year's Eve.

"I can't help him with those things, but surely I ought to do what little I can for him and his wife? If I knew my younger brother's wife had been mistreated and deliberately kept quiet, letting him believe everything was perfectly fine at home, then... then what if the Crown Prince heard about it from someone else later? When the frontier needs him again, how could he leave with peace of mind?"

Emperor Yongsheng had nothing to say.

Prince Ning lowered his head, and two streams of tears rolled down his cheeks.

"I know I'm foolish, Imperial Father. I can't compare with Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, or Second Sister when it comes to pleasing you. But when I accompanied the Crown Prince on the campaign against Shu, I earned a share of military honors simply by following him around.

"If I have even a shred of conscience, I can't pretend not to have noticed the Crown Princess's grievances and then turn around and play the part of a good elder brother in front of the Crown Prince..."

He paused dejectedly.

"Forget it. If Imperial Father feels so sorry for Second Sister, then punish me instead. I'm the one who talked too much and caused Second Sister to suffer another grievance."

As he wept, Prince Ning's stomach suddenly let out several loud growls.

He began crying even harder.

"Imperial Father, I've been wronged! The moment I heard the Crown Prince had returned, I rushed to pay my respects without even eating! I went with nothing but sincere intentions. I truly never imagined the Crown Prince would become so angry that he'd go and strike Second Sister!"

Emperor Yongsheng was speechless.

"Get out and finish your meal! I can't stand watching you put on this ridiculous act!"

Prince Ning wiped his face and withdrew, still sniffling.

Eunuch Li stepped forward to console the emperor.

"Your Majesty, please don't be angry. The princes and princesses merely have the occasional disagreement. It's hardly worth damaging Your Majesty's health over."

But Emperor Yongsheng was furious.

"If they were still teenagers, I could dismiss this as youthful foolishness. But one of them is already a father, and another has a wife! Yet they're still quarreling with a thirteen-year-old girl!"

Eunuch Li suggested, "Perhaps Your Majesty could visit the Second Princess and excuse her from the remainder of her punishment? The wind isn't as cold anymore, but the sun is quite strong. The Second Princess has been pampered since childhood. She may not be able to endure standing beneath the sun for half a day."

How could Emperor Yongsheng possibly go?

If he intervened and the Crown Prince learned of it, that stubborn son might very well go and supervise the Second Princess's punishment personally, making the situation even more unpleasant.

Besides, Emperor Yongsheng didn't particularly want to intervene.

The Crown Prince had certainly been at fault, but what Prince Ning said wasn't entirely untrue either.

The Second Princess really had bullied the Crown Princess while the Crown Prince was away serving his country.

And Empress Lin had summoned the Crown Princess despite knowing she was unwell. The poor girl's face had turned pale from the cold, leaving even Emperor Yongsheng, as her father-in-law, in an embarrassing position.

When all was said and done, it was Empress Lin's fault!

She hadn't raised her daughter properly!

******

Meanwhile, at the Eastern Palace, Du Yizhen knew that the Crown Prince had gone to settle accounts with the Second Princess and her brothers.

Enduring the lingering soreness and aching discomfort in her body, she took another bath, then waited for her husband to return so they could have lunch together.

When Zhao Xuan finally came back wearing a stern expression, the coldness of his demeanor made Du Yizhen reluctant to reproach him for his earlier excesses.

Instead, she asked worriedly, "Will they complain about you to Imperial Father?"

"There's no need for them to complain. I went and informed Imperial Father myself."

Du Yizhen's heart tightened.

"What did Imperial Father say?"

"He blamed me for striking the Second Princess, but he didn't cancel her punishment."

Du Yizhen opened her mouth, then hesitated.

Zhao Xuan pulled her out of her chair and into his arms. He sat down with his Crown Princess on his lap, then lifted her chin.

"I put the blame on Prince Ning. Imperial Father won't hold it against you."

Relieved, Du Yizhen wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Actually, I didn't feel terribly wronged at the time. I just found the Empress and her daughter irritating. But knowing you're willing to stand up for me makes me quite happy. I'm only afraid it'll cause trouble for you."

Zhao Xuan said, "I'm the one who brought trouble upon you."

Du Yizhen didn't like hearing that.

She immediately raised a hand to cover his mouth and glared up at him.

"Don't say things that make us sound like strangers!"

Zhao Xuan was speechless.

Hadn't his Crown Princess been the one to say something like that first?

Still, he didn't argue with her.

Later, during their afternoon rest, the sound of the Crown Princess's muffled whimpers, almost indistinguishable from sobs, once again drifted from the rear palace bedchamber.

Zhao Xuan held the woman in his arms tightly.

"Go ahead and cry. Let out all those grievances you've been holding inside."

Even if his Crown Princess refused to admit it, Zhao Xuan knew she must still be harboring some hurt deep down.

Du Yizhen didn't want to cry at all.

She only wanted to throw him out!

Unfortunately, the defenses of this noblewoman of Shu had already fallen.

All she could do was let Great Qi's Crown Prince advance through the conquered territory without the slightest obstruction.

Chapter 41

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