A Precious Pearl in the Imperial City-Chapter 98

Li En returned to the Ministry of Rites in a daze and saw Ming Jingzhou holding several books. Without thinking, he asked, "Jingzhou, what are these books for?"

"Oh, I found some books for Prince Chen to copy," Ming Jingzhou dusted off the books and noticed Li En's odd expression. "Minister Li, is something the matter?"

"Jingzhou, now that Prince Chen has married your daughter, isn't it a bit inappropriate to make him copy books?" Li En wanted to tell Ming Jingzhou that the Emperor had hinted at appointing a crown prince. He worried his friend might offend Prince Chen and bring trouble upon himself.

The hearts of emperors were the most complex in the world. The Ming family had always been loyal, and he couldn't bear to see their downfall caused by making a future emperor copy books.

"Prince Chen is young and restless. He never focused on studies as a child. Having him copy books now will cultivate his character and reinforce his memory—it's a win-win. Why shouldn't he?" Ming Jingzhou smiled and bowed slightly. "Precisely because he married my daughter, I’ve prepared these books for him."

For a moment, Li En couldn’t tell whether Ming Jingzhou had any grievances against Prince Chen or not.

"Prince Chen memorized the entire Agricultural Chronicles in five days—proof enough of his brilliance," Ming Jingzhou said with a smile. "It would be a shame not to nurture such talent with more reading and copying."

"Jingzhou," Li En called out as Ming Jingzhou prepared to leave after bowing. "You know Prince Chen never liked studying since childhood. I fear he might resent this."

Ming Jingzhou laughed, his demeanor carefree. "I act with a clear conscience, nothing more."

Li En was taken aback. Watching Ming Jingzhou walk away, he sighed heavily, his emotions tangled.

He had been foolish. With the Ming family’s sharp instincts, how could they not discern the Emperor’s intentions? Perhaps it was precisely because they understood that they insisted on Prince Chen copying books—to temper his character.

Such was the integrity of the Ming family.

Ming Jingzhou entered the palace. The Kirin Palace held a special status, and as the Prince’s Consort, his daughter could see him far more easily than imperial concubines could meet their families.

The moment he arrived at the Kirin Palace’s gates, eunuchs and palace maids hurried to welcome him into the main hall, where tea and refreshments were already laid out. The servants bowed and scraped, their attentiveness bordering on excessive.

"Lord Ming, please wait a moment. Chunfen is helping Her Highness dress," Yang Yiduo said with an ingratiating smile. "Her Highness usually naps in the afternoon, but upon hearing of your arrival, she refused to rest a moment longer."

"Thank you for informing me," Ming Jingzhou nodded to Yang Yiduo.

Yang Yiduo hastily expressed his unworthiness, not daring to slacken in the slightest.

From the servants’ demeanor, Ming Jingzhou could tell his daughter held great authority in the Kirin Palace. They weren’t flattering him—they were using him to curry favor with her.

Hurried footsteps sounded outside. He looked up to see his daughter rush in, her dark hair hastily pinned up with golden hairpins—clearly, she had dressed in haste.

"No need to hurry," Ming Jingzhou said, standing to bow to Jiuzhu in front of the servants.

"Father," Jiuzhu caught his wrist. "Sit, please. There’s no need for formalities between us."

Yang Yiduo served fresh tea and withdrew after bowing, leaving only Chunfen to attend them.

"The servants here seem to hold you in great awe?" Ming Jingzhou reached into his robe and pulled out a letter.

"My lord, the entire Kirin Palace answers to the young mistress. Naturally, the servants revere her," Chunfen bowed deeply.

"That’s good," Ming Jingzhou nodded. "As the Prince’s Consort, you must balance strictness and kindness in managing subordinates."

Too harsh, and you lose humanity.

Too lenient, and they may grow presumptuous.

"Mother taught me much about governance before the wedding. I’ve remembered it all," Jiuzhu noticed the unopened letter in her father’s hand. "Father, whose letter is this?"

"From the two Daoist masters," Ming Jingzhou handed it to her. "Your mother is a remarkable woman. Her advice on governance is always sound."

The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.

Jiuzhu nodded with a smile, tilting her head. She decided not to mention that when her mother lectured on governance, she often used her father as an example.

A woman must know not only how to manage subordinates but also how to guide her husband.

Opening the letter, Jiuzhu confirmed the handwriting belonged to her masters before reading carefully.

Noticing her expression growing increasingly strange, Ming Jingzhou asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Someone impersonated me to write to my masters, trying to lure them to the capital. But they saw through the deception." Jiuzhu recalled Princess Roude’s recent warning—someone had been inquiring about her past residence. To think they’d use it for this!

What a laughable scheme. Her masters had raised her for years and despised the capital’s intrigues. She would never summon them over trivial matters, let alone drag them into this den of snakes.

Even worse, the letter claimed Prince Chen mistreated her—favored other women, left her lonely, and threatened the Ming family, reducing her to weeping nightly under the moon.

"How dare they portray His Highness so unfairly!" Jiuzhu smacked the letter onto the table indignantly. "When has my husband ever been lustful? I live with him every day—he doesn’t even glance at other women!"

"And this—‘tyrannical, berating her at every turn’? His Highness is gentle and considerate! He’s never once raised his voice at me, let alone insulted me!" Jiuzhu fumed. "This person is clearly trying to tarnish His Highness’s reputation before my masters!"

Ming Jingzhou looked at his daughter, sorely tempted to point out that Prince Chen had no such reputation to tarnish.

After so long in marriage, how had his daughter still not seen through Prince Chen’s true nature? Was her judgment clouded, or had the prince hidden his flaws exceptionally well around her?

"You mentioned living with His Highness?" Ming Jingzhou asked, surprised. "You’ve shared the same residence since the wedding?"

Jiuzhu nodded. "Is that unusual?"

Her parents had always shared a courtyard.

It was highly unusual.

By imperial custom, a prince and his consort maintained separate residences—even among high-ranking officials, husbands and wives often had their own courtyards. The Kirin Palace had ample space and multiple compounds; the Palace Administration wouldn’t neglect such basic etiquette.

Unless Prince Chen himself had insisted otherwise.

"Nothing unusual," Ming Jingzhou glanced at the sky outside. "Is Prince Chen not here?"

"He was summoned to the Taiyang Palace earlier," Jiuzhu folded the letter and recounted Princess Roude’s warnings. "Are they trying to use me against His Highness?"

As a father, Ming Jingzhou wished to shield his daughter from the palace’s dirty schemes—but fate seldom obliged. "Yes."

"Some people in the capital have truly filthy hearts," Jiuzhu mused, then added, "and rather poor judgment."

If they wanted to play at intrigue, they should’ve at least studied her habits before forging letters to her masters.

"Who would have thought Master managed to swindle a hefty sum from that con artist—enough to renovate the entire temple and even gild the statues." Jiuzhu shook her head. "With such poor wits, he still dared to try deceiving both Masters."

"People in desperate straits often act with reckless abandon," Ming Jingzhou remarked, not having read the letter but piecing together the events from Jiuzhu's words. "Perhaps it wasn’t stupidity but sheer desperation. A drowning man will clutch at even a straw. Such a person is no different from a madman."

"If his scheme failed, might he try to harm His Highness?" Jiuzhu stood up abruptly.

"Come back. Even a true madman knows who can and cannot be provoked, let alone the mastermind behind this," Ming Jingzhou said. "There’s no safer place in the entire palace than Taiyang Palace."

"So the road from Taiyang Palace back to Kirin Palace isn’t very safe?" Jiuzhu quickened her pace. "Father, wait here a moment. I’ll go fetch His Highness for you."

"Fetch him for me?"

Ming Jingzhou: "..."

Was that really for him?

He didn’t tell Jiuzhu that the Emperor had already assigned shadow guards to Prince Chen. With the palace so heavily fortified, assassinating him would be harder than scaling the heavens.

The best opportunity for an attempt had been at the royal hunting grounds.

That failure meant Prince Chen would now be surrounded by countless protectors.

The royal hunting grounds had been their last chance—unfortunately for them, luck wasn’t on their side.

Or rather, Prince Chen’s luck was simply too good.

He didn’t stop Jiuzhu this time, instead leisurely sipping his tea.

When it came to the antics of young couples, elders had to learn to turn a blind eye if they wanted to live to a hundred.

In Taiyang Palace, Prince Chen refused the stack of imperial edicts Emperor Longfeng had delegated to him.

"Imperial Father, you tasked me with leading the ancestral rites. Shouldn’t I focus on memorizing the prayers?" Prince Chen pushed the memorials further away. "One mind can’t handle two tasks. A single me can’t accomplish both."

"So you’re saying you’ll take my place in the rites?" Emperor Longfeng nodded in approval. "In that case, you’re temporarily excused from reviewing these memorials."

Prince Chen stood. "Then this son takes his leave."

Since he couldn’t escape the rites, avoiding paperwork was the next best thing.

Though his father had always doted on him, once the Emperor made up his mind, even kneeling and clinging to his leg wouldn’t change it.

"Wait." Emperor Longfeng called after him. "There are a few people I specifically assigned to Kirin Palace—not to spy on you, but for your safety."

Between ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‍imperial father and son, once suspicion took root, it became difficult to erase.

"Are you referring to Yang Yiduo, or the tea-serving eunuch in my courtyard?" Prince Chen rubbed his hands together. "Imperial Father, you know my temperament—I tend to offend people easily. And now that I’m married with a princess consort..."

Hearing this, Emperor Longfeng sighed inwardly. His child had grown up, yet still worried over such matters.

"How about assigning me a few more?" Having spent so much time with Jiuzhu, Prince Chen had picked up her knack for shrewd calculations.

Anyone his father sent would undoubtedly be a master in their field. With them around, he and "Little Pig Ming" would be even safer.

More importantly, maintaining such experts cost a fortune.

But if they were dispatched by the Emperor? Not a single coin from his pocket.

If he missed this chance to recruit more experts, Jiuzhu would surely scold him for being wasteful.

When Emperor Longfeng remained silent, Prince Chen eyed him suspiciously. "Imperial Father, you’re not… reluctant, are you?"

"Fine. For your princess consort’s sake, I’ll send a few more," Emperor Longfeng chuckled. "Should I include two palace maids trained in medicine?"

"Many thanks, Imperial Father." Prince Chen nodded eagerly, then added, "But since you’ve suspended my stipend and I now have a household to support, their salaries and expenses should still be… heh heh heh."

"Get out." Emperor Longfeng laughed, swatting him away. "So this was your scheme all along."

Watching his son scamper off grinning, the Emperor shook his head with an amused sigh. "Grown man with no sense of decorum, still scheming to pinch pennies from his old father."

"Your Majesty, the entire empire is yours. Prince Chen is your child—what’s more natural than children eating and spending their father’s wealth?" Liu Zhongbao gathered the memorials back onto the imperial desk. "You can’t fault His Highness for that."

After laughing, Emperor Longfeng suddenly grew pensive. "I told him about the agents in Kirin Palace to prevent future distrust if he discovered them himself."

Liu Zhongbao neatly arranged the memorials, not daring to comment.

"I overthought it." The Emperor’s smile was serene and content. "Officials criticize my son, but what do they know of his pure-hearted kindness?"

As Prince Chen exited Taiyang Palace, he spotted "Little Pig Ming" waiting by the white marble balustrade.

Seeing him emerge, Jiuzhu lifted her skirts and hurried over. "Your Highness, I’ve come to escort you back to the palace."

"Escort me back?"

Jiuzhu nodded, whispering by his ear, "There’s been some minor trouble. I won’t rest easy until I’ve brought you home."

Between his father assigning shadow guards and his princess consort personally fetching him, just how fragile did they think their once-unstoppable prince was?

"Oh, and Father brought you many books. He’s waiting at Kirin Palace."

Prince Chen’s steps grew leaden.

Escaping paperwork only to face transcription—was this the fate of a mature prince?