Emperor Jingming was a wise ruler. As such, he couldn’t be too capricious. Except for his sons, he couldn’t simply reward or punish his subjects on a whim.
Although he felt a twinge of sympathy for that unfortunate young lady at the moment, he couldn’t bestow gifts upon her to save face now. Otherwise, how would he handle the censors accusing him of indulging in female charms and wanting to expand his harem?
With these thoughts in mind, Emperor Jingming looked at his frost-faced son and said with a smile, “After all, he is your cousin. Don’t speak of him too harshly.”
Yu Jin replied expressionlessly, “Your son supports reason, not relatives.”
Whether supporting reason or relatives, it was all to help A Si. As for Ji Chongyi, that scoundrel, there would eventually be a time to deal with him and vent anger for A Si.
Emperor Jingming sighed, “You seem very suitable to work alongside Zhen Shicheng.”
He’s too straightforward, unable to even say something pleasant to hear, not at all like someone from the royal family.
For some reason, although Emperor Jingming found fault with this, deep in his heart, he felt a hint of worry.
“You’ve done well with your tasks. Keep up the good work in the future. You may go now.”
“Your son takes his leave.” Until he walked out of the palace gates, Yu Jin was still bewildered, completely unclear about the purpose of being summoned to the palace.
Looking back at the majestic and solemn palace walls, his eyes, like black pearls, narrowed slightly, filled with dazzling, shattered light.
Chief Eunuch Pan Hai witnessed this scene and inexplicably felt that the Seventh Prince who walked out of the palace gates was completely different from the one who had faced the Emperor. But if asked to explain the difference, it was difficult to articulate.
Perhaps he was simply unaccustomed to the constraints of the palace.
Pan Hai returned to the palace and reported to Emperor Jingming that Yu Jin had departed.
Emperor Jingming removed the book covering his face, glanced at Pan Hai, and suddenly asked, “What do you think of Prince Yan?”
Pan Hai shuddered.
To comment on the princes? He would have to be mad to do so.
“This servant has not had any dealings with Prince Yan and cannot say.”
Emperor Jingming stared at Pan Hai for a moment, then smiled, “Very well, you may withdraw.”
Perhaps it was because he, like those sons of his, was born and raised in the palace, no different from the princes of past dynasties, that he always felt an inexplicable curiosity towards his seventh son, Jin, who was born among the common people.
What Emperor Jingming himself didn’t realize was that once a person becomes curious about another, tolerance naturally follows.
One must have more patience to see how the other person will stir things up.
The actions of those in power affect countless hearts. After Emperor Jingming summoned the ministers of the Six Departments for questioning, he specifically called Prince Yan into the palace, and finally had Chief Eunuch Pan Hai personally escort him out. This immediately sparked speculation among many.
Had Prince Yan gained the Emperor’s favor?
Competing with the Crown Prince? That was out of the question. No one would compare a prince raised among commoners from childhood to the Crown Prince firmly seated in the Eastern Palace.
But a prince favored by the Emperor was certainly different from one whose face the Emperor could barely remember.
If Prince Yan couldn’t compete with the Crown Prince, couldn’t he help someone else compete against the Crown Prince?
For instance, the Fourth Prince, Prince Qi.
Among the princes, Prince Qi’s reputation was the highest, known for both virtue and talent.
The consorts in the palace were the first to receive this news, and Consort Xian immediately began to scheme.
She had previously thought the Seventh Prince was useless, but now it seemed he had great potential.
The Fourth Prince was such an outstanding child, only disadvantaged by being born a few years later. If he had a favored brother to support him, his future path would be much smoother.
Consort Xian was very clear about the importance of a prince being favored. Just like the Sixth Prince.
The Sixth Prince’s mother, Consort Zhuang, was once renowned for her talents, but now that she was older, she had long since fallen out of favor. However, because of her favored son, the Sixth Prince, whenever he pleased the Emperor, the Emperor would visit Consort Zhuang’s quarters.
Because of this, no one in the palace dared to look down on Consort Zhuang.
Consort Xian was a woman of action. Just as Yu Jin returned to his residence in Quezi Hutong, a eunuch from Consort Xian’s side arrived with a pile of gifts.
Erniu blocked the door, not letting them enter.
The eunuch shrilled, “You beast, don’t block the way!”
Erniu, enraged upon hearing this, leaped up and pounced on the eunuch, pinning him to the ground, and went to bite his bottom.
The eunuch screamed in pain and shouted, “Are you all dead? Quick, chase this beast away!”
Long Dan, arms folded across his chest, reminding them with a smile, “Erniu holds the fifth rank, personally conferred by the Emperor.”
Three years ago, during a fierce battle between Great Zhou and South Lan, the master was severely wounded. It was Erniu who bit to death the enemy who was about to deliver a fatal blow to the master, and dragged him out from among the mountains of corpses.
Erniu’s leg became lame at that time.
Not only did Erniu save a prince of the current dynasty, but the South Lan person he bit to death was also a minor prince. When news of the battle reached the capital, although Erniu was just a dog, Emperor Jingming, disregarding the censors’ protests, picked up his brush and conferred upon Erniu the title of General Xiaotian, of the fifth rank.
Upon hearing Long Dan’s words, the eunuchs were stunned, unsure whether it was true or false.
Long Dan sneered, “It’s only been three years and everyone has forgotten? Do you want to see the bronze plaque around General Xiaotian’s neck?”
Hearing this, Erniu released his bite and stood upright, revealing the bronze plaque hanging around his neck.
The large dog stood majestic and imposing, looking down upon the dumbfounded eunuchs.
“See that? Strictly speaking, you should bow to Erniu when you see him. Want to beat him? That’s assaulting a superior, punishable by caning and imprisonment!”
The eunuchs were even more stunned, and couldn’t help but look towards their leader on the ground.
The lead eunuch, clutching his bottom, struggled to his feet. Just as he was about to invoke Consort Xian’s name to intimidate them, he saw the large dog suddenly bare its teeth.
The lead eunuch shuddered in fear and fled, looking disheveled.
The other eunuchs naturally scattered in a flurry.
In an instant, all fell quiet, with only the pile of gifts on the ground giving off a sense of bustling abundance.
Erniu stepped over the gifts and came to Yu Jin’s side, who had remained silent throughout. He nuzzled his hand affectionately.
Yu Jin’s icy face showed a hint of a smile as he gently stroked Erniu’s head, saying, “Well done. I’ll have Long Dan buy you some braised beef later.”
“Woof! Woof!” Erniu barked twice in satisfaction, then squeezed past his master to continue eating meat bones.
Under the shade of a tree, a bowl of meat bones emitted a tantalizing aroma. Erniu picked out the most appealing one and gnawed on it, his big tail wagging back and forth.
Hmm, with meat bones, if only there was a mistress to keep company, a dog’s life would be perfect.
Long Dan looked at the gifts piled on the ground, then at Yu Jin’s cold expression, and tentatively asked, “Master, shall this servant throw all these out on the street?”
Yu Jin sneered, “Why throw them away? They’re all good things. Keep them for use!”
He never did the foolish thing of taking out his dislike for a person on objects.
Good or bad, it’s all done by people and has nothing to do with the objects themselves.
With Erniu causing such a commotion, many who were paying attention to the situation here learned about it.
The Crown Prince had originally planned to find an opportunity to severely suppress Yu Jin, to prevent him from joining forces with the Fourth Prince and causing him headaches in the future. Now, hearing that Consort Xian’s people couldn’t even enter the door of the residence in Quezi Hutong, he couldn’t help but be amused.
Well, it seemed he didn’t need to rush to play the villain. The Seventh Brother was indeed different from the other brothers.