Yu Jin barely had enough time to pamper his wife, let alone the patience to comfort a burly man. He tugged at the corner of his mouth and said, “Fifth Brother, why are you saying such nonsensical things?”
Prince Lu exploded, “Nonsensical? Seventh Brother, do you know that I’ve been demoted?”
“Demoted?”
Prince Lu wiped his face, “Yes, from Prince to Duke!”
“Why?” Yu Jin finally grew curious.
“Because I hit Second Brother!” Prince Lu looked at Yu Jin with a gaze that questioned life itself. “Seventh Brother, can you analyze the reason for me? Why is it that when you hit Second Brother, who was still the Crown Prince at the time – which was an offense against a superior – you only spent a few days in the Clan Court—”
Yu Jin couldn’t help but add, “And was fined a year’s salary…”
“Even if it were three years’ salary, so what? You bought a cosmetics shop for your wife!” Prince Lu slammed the table and stood up, pacing and sighing heavily. “I’ve been demoted in rank! Among all our brothers, you’re all Princes, only I will be a rank below you from now on!”
Yu Jin silently shifted his gaze to the garlic-headed vase passed down from the Han Dynasty.
The fact that Prince Lu could remember he had bought a profitable cosmetics shop for his wife at a time like this showed how deep an impression the vase had left on Fifth Brother.
Prince Lu put his hand on Yu Jin’s shoulder and shook it vigorously, “Seventh Brother, analyze it for me, why is it that you hit the Crown Prince and nothing happened, but when I hit the former Crown Prince, I got demoted instead?”
Yu Jin shook off Prince Lu’s hand and handed him a cup of tea, “Have some tea to calm down.”
Prince Lu took it and gulped it down in one go, even more swiftly than drinking wine.
Yu Jin glanced at Prince Lu and said, “Actually, Fifth Brother has already stated the reason.”
“What did I say?” Prince Lu looked bewildered.
“Father Emperor punished me lightly because Second Brother was the Crown Prince when I hit him. Father Emperor punished you heavily because Second Brother was no longer the Crown Prince when you hit him.”
When the high and mighty Crown Prince behaved inappropriately, the Emperor might think a beating would serve as a good lesson, hoping it might make the Crown Prince more sensible in the future.
But when a former Crown Prince is beaten, it only makes the Emperor feel like he’s kicking someone when they’re down, abusing a fallen Crown Prince.
Two different situations, of course, result in different punishments.
Yu Jin smiled and stroked his chin.
Come to think of it, his timing in hitting Second Brother was quite impeccable.
Prince Lu, however, became even more confused, “Seventh Brother, what do you mean? I don’t understand.”
What did it mean that when Seventh Brother hit Second Brother, he was the Crown Prince, but when he hit Second Brother, he wasn’t the Crown Prince anymore? It’s like saying nothing at all.
Yu Jin smiled and handed over another cup of tea, “Some things Fifth Brother needs to figure out for himself.”
Was he that close to Fifth Brother? Clearly stating such speculations about the Emperor’s intentions, if Fifth Brother turned around and sold him out, what if he also got demoted?
The Duchess’s treatment in all aspects would be a grade lower than the Princess’s, and he couldn’t let A’si be inferior to others.
“Does the Fifth Sister-in-law know about this?”
Prince Lu suddenly turned pale, “No…”
Yu Jin patted Prince Lu’s shoulder heavily, “Fifth Brother should return to his mansion soon.”
Prince Lu left the Prince of Yan’s mansion dejectedly.
Yu Jin put down the cold tea on the table and hurried back to the inner courtyard to share the gossip with his wife.
“Prince Lu hit the former Crown Prince and got demoted?” Jiang Si could barely hold back her laughter. “Prince Lu’s courage is admirable.”
When the Crown Prince was deposed, it seemed like anyone could step on him, but in reality, he was the most untouchable before the Emperor had completely given up on this son.
In this world, the most difficult thing to gauge is the human heart, especially a parent’s heart toward their favored child.
You might think this person has been beaten and scolded by their parents, with the parents appearing ready to finish off this child, but if someone else were to kick this person, the first to be unhappy would be the parents.
A person’s heart can be very hard, but a parent’s heart can be very soft.
Jiang Si was very certain about this, at least the Crown Prince’s later reinstatement proved Emperor Jingming’s intentions.
Prince Lu was truly fearless in his ignorance, courting death.
Jiang Si’s comment “Courage is admirable” made Yu Jin smile knowingly.
His A’si was much smarter than Prince Lu.
“The possibility of Prince Jing being reinstated is very high,” Jiang Si said.
Although she couldn’t explicitly mention events from her past life, she could still give hints.
“Don’t worry, I won’t go provoking the former Crown Prince.”
So, things you want to do should be done early, opportunities once lost may never come again. This applied to marrying A’si, and also to beating the Crown Prince.
Prince Lu returned to his mansion and steeled himself to see Princess Lu.
“There’s something I want to tell you—”
Princess Lu raised her willow-like eyebrows, her eyes full of murderous intent, “Is Your Highness planning to bring a concubine home for the New Year?”
After saying this, she slammed the table heavily, waiting expressionlessly for Prince Lu’s answer.
“If only it were that simple—” Prince Lu sighed.
“What did Your Highness say?”
Prince Lu tightened his scalp and said dejectedly, “I hit Prince Jing today, and Father Emperor demoted me to Duke…”
He waited for a while but didn’t receive the expected storm.
Prince Lu looked at Princess Lu, puzzled.
“Is that all?” Princess Lu raised her eyebrows.
Prince Lu nodded heavily, “Yes.”
Isn’t this enough?
“I see. If there’s nothing else, let’s wash up and have dinner,” Princess Lu said calmly.
Prince Lu blinked and held Princess Lu’s hand, “Did you not hear clearly what I said?”
Princess Lu gave Prince Lu a look, “I’m not deaf.”
“I’ve been demoted to Duke, and you’ve been demoted from Princess to Duchess.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Prince Lu reached out to feel Princess Lu’s forehead, “Are you running a fever?”
Princess Lu turned her head away impatiently, “Is Your Highness going to eat or not?”
“Of course, I’ll eat, but… aren’t you angry?”
Princess Lu threw another glance at him and stood up directly, “Demotion is just demotion. A lower annual salary means you’ll have less extra money to keep concubines and bedwarmers. Alright, I’m hungry, let’s go eat.”
Looking at Princess Lu’s beautiful face, Prince Lu felt a surge of emotion.
He never thought there would be a time when the tigress would look pleasing to the eye. Why did his eyes feel so sour?
Ahem, it must be the strong wind irritating his eyes.
Prince Lu pressed the corners of his eyes and smiled, “I’m hungry too. Let’s eat.”
The edict of Prince Lu’s demotion was officially delivered to Prince Lu’s mansion and quickly spread to the ears of several princes.
Fifth Brother hit the former Crown Prince and got demoted!
That’s not right, why didn’t Seventh Brother face consequences for hitting the Crown Prince?
It seems they need to go to Prince Lu’s mansion for a few drinks, and then to the neighboring Prince of Yan’s mansion to have a few drinks with Seventh Brother.
For a time, the thoughts of the various princes were in turmoil, and the stone-paved road between Prince Lu’s mansion and Prince of Yan’s mansion suddenly became busy. When the news spread that Prince Jing’s family would attend the New Year’s family banquet, even the number of people visiting the former Crown Prince at Jing Garden increased.
At first, they were worried about Emperor Jingming’s dislike of the former Crown Prince and dared not go, but now with the Emperor’s gesture, they had ready-made reasons to visit Jing Garden: Prince Jing was beaten so badly by Prince Lu, of course they had to offer their condolences.
In response to this bustle, the Prince of Yan’s mansion, Prince Lu’s mansion, and Jing Garden showed surprisingly consistent behavior – they all closed their doors to visitors.
Those who had been holding back their curiosity finally got to wait until New Year’s Day.