The Crown Prince picked up a cup of wine from the tray held by a palace maid and handed it to Qi Shuo: “Royal brother, come, let’s drink together. I haven’t congratulated you on your betrothal yet.”
Qi Shuo reached out to accept it, the corners of his mouth curving into a subtle arc: “Many thanks, Your Highness.”
The pretext for this toast was rather stale.
The two wine cups clinked together, producing a crisp sound.
The Crown Prince held his cup in one hand while using the other to shield the front of his cup as he drank slowly, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Qi Shuo’s movements.
Qi Shuo drained his cup in one gulp and showed the Crown Prince the empty bottom.
The Crown Prince smiled: “Royal brother holds his wine well.”
Qi Shuo casually picked up a cup of wine from the tray held by a palace maid and offered it over: “I’ll also toast Your Highness. I wish Your Highness health and prosperity, and success in all things.”
Having achieved his goal, the Crown Prince drank cheerfully.
“I’ll go over there. Royal brother, enjoy yourself.”
Qi Shuo watched as the Crown Prince departed with light steps, then silently placed his empty wine cup back on the tray held by the palace maid.
The palace maid soon removed the empty wine cup and replaced it with a full one.
Amid the sound of drums and gongs, the dragon boats sailed toward the center of the lake, and the atmosphere aboard grew increasingly lively.
The Crown Prince made a round of toasts and walked to Emperor Tai’an’s side.
Emperor Tai’an saw his flushed face and frowned in reminder: “Drink less.”
“Your son hasn’t, hasn’t had much.” The Crown Prince’s tongue tied in a knot as he silently cursed his bad luck.
How had he ended up walking over to Father Emperor?
Emperor Tai’an’s cold, stern expression sobered him somewhat. He quickly raised his wine cup: “Father Emperor, these past days your son has caused you quite a bit of anger. It’s all your son’s fault. Please don’t take it to heart.”
Emperor Tai’an felt these words were more appropriate, and his expression improved considerably: “It’s good that you think this way. In the future, conduct yourself with propriety. Don’t just do whatever comes to mind.”
Considering the occasion, Emperor Tai’an didn’t say more.
“Your son understands.”
“Go on.”
The Crown Prince secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly left.
Standing not far away, Noble Consort Zhuang and Consort Jing exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing: His Majesty truly had no temper when it came to the Crown Prince.
Consort Jing’s gaze searched through the crowd and settled on Prince Wei.
Prince Wei was chatting with Prince Yuliu. They said something, then both raised their cups and laughed.
Gentle ripples of warmth stirred in Consort Jing’s calm gaze.
The Crown Prince caught sight of this scene and suddenly felt a surge of rage.
This fury came so suddenly he couldn’t suppress it at all. It burned until his entire person became irritable.
He was the Crown Prince—what was Fourth Brother, to be chatting so pleasantly with Prince Yuliu?
The Crown Prince strode over, and when he opened his mouth, his breath was hot: “Fourth Brother, Prince, what are you two talking about?”
What the Crown Prince didn’t know was that at this moment, sweat beaded on his forehead, his cheeks were flushed red—he had the appearance of someone quite drunk.
“We’re discussing Yuliu’s customs and culture.” Prince Wei didn’t want to provoke the Crown Prince, this great trouble, so his tone was very gentle.
“Oh, I’ll listen too.” The Crown Prince also wanted to appear elegant and refined like Prince Wei, but unfortunately, the burning heat engulfed his entire body, giving his expression a somewhat fierce quality.
Prince Yuliu saw that the Crown Prince had drunk too much and was happy to watch him make a fool of himself, so he enthusiastically engaged: “I wonder what aspect of our Yuliu interests Your Highness the Crown Prince?”
The Crown Prince’s peripheral vision caught sight of the incomparably beautiful Princess Lingque, and he blurted out: “Do the women of Yuliu present riddles to men they fancy?”
As soon as these words left his mouth, Prince Yuliu’s smile froze, and the people around them who had been listening with perked ears were also stunned.
Had the Crown Prince gone mad?
Though making Prince Yuliu lose face was somewhat satisfying, His Majesty and the two consorts were present—what if a fight broke out?
Prince Wei shifted his feet, very much wanting to flee.
“Of course they don’t just present riddles randomly…” Prince Yuliu steadied his emotions and carefully chose appropriate words.
The Crown Prince spoke shockingly again: “Didn’t your sister present Yang Zhe with a riddle the moment she saw him?”
That “because of the lotus one obtains the lotus root, having apricots one needs no plums”—if he were asked, he could also come up with an answer.
It was always like this—the women he was interested in, he couldn’t obtain despite exhausting all efforts, yet others gained them effortlessly.
What was the point of being Crown Prince!
Though Prince Yuliu didn’t want to sour relations, at this point his face also darkened.
If he continued to respond with a smiling face, these Great Zhou people would look down on Yuliu.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, by Yuliu custom, it’s improper to publicly discuss a woman who is already betrothed.”
“Yuliu women can publicly seek out men, but you can’t publicly speak of it—your customs are quite strange indeed.” The Crown Prince’s head was swelling, and he could no longer control his tongue.
The eavesdropping crowd: “…” The Crown Prince really dared to say anything!
“Royal brother, is he the Great Zhou Crown Prince?” Princess Lingque stepped forward, her beautiful eyes locking onto the Crown Prince.
Prince Yuliu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
His sister was a young lady who could afford to be bold—it was better for her to step forward than him.
“Didn’t you see him at the welcoming banquet that day?” The Crown Prince spoke.
“I don’t remember.” Princess Lingque’s almond eyes widened slightly, appearing innocent and guileless. “So the Great Zhou Crown Prince is like this—”
She drew out her voice. Though her tone carried no mockery, it made everyone feel deeply embarrassed.
The Crown Prince was completely oblivious. Due to the burning heat, he tugged at his collar: “I remember now—you were hit in the head by a rock.”
The crowd: “…” For a moment, they didn’t know whether to feel embarrassed for the Crown Prince or for Princess Yuliu.
Princess Lingque also nearly lost control of her expression.
She’d thought the Great Zhou Crown Prince was merely a lecher—she hadn’t expected him to be a sharp-tongued lecher!
She bit her lip and covered her face, crying: “I knew people would laugh at me…”
Heh, what did she, a young girl with amnesia, have to fear? When the commotion reached the Great Zhou Emperor, let’s see who got scolded. Even the Great Zhou officials, seeing the Crown Prince verbally tease a woman, would be disappointed in their heir apparent.
Princess Lingque’s calculations were clever, but she didn’t know that the Crown Prince at this moment, under the assault of the five-colored powder’s medicinal effects, had completely lost his rationality.
His entire body felt as if it were on fire—he had to do something to feel better.
“Why are you crying?” The Crown Prince, unbearably hot, unconsciously stepped forward.
Prince Wei, worried things would become too embarrassing, quickly grabbed the Crown Prince’s arm: “Elder brother, you’ve drunk too much. Let me help you lie down for a bit.”
“Let go!” Being touched by Prince Wei was like oil sparks splashing into a powder keg—the Crown Prince completely exploded.
Prince Wei was also shocked.
Could the Crown Prince possibly intend to grope Princess Lingque in front of everyone?
With this thought, he blocked himself firmly between the two and dared not let go.
“What’s going on?” A heavy voice came through.
Prince Wei instinctively turned his head: “Father Emperor—”
Emperor Tai’an’s icy gaze passed over Prince Wei and fell on the Crown Prince.
Usually, Emperor Tai’an’s cold stare was enough to make the Crown Prince behave, but at this moment, the Crown Prince’s eyes could see nothing—only a mass of flames.
Hot, so hot!
He forcefully tugged at his collar. A breeze blew in, carrying the coolness of the lake water.
That heat driving him mad seemed to have found an outlet.
As everyone watched in stunned disbelief, the Crown Prince rapidly stripped off all his clothes and ran toward the side of the boat.
This action was so shocking and unprecedented that for a moment, everyone including Emperor Tai’an forgot to react.
It wasn’t until a loud splash sounded that some eunuch shrieked at the top of his lungs: “Disaster! The Crown Prince has jumped into the lake!”
And then came wave after wave of alarmed screams.