Emperor Jingming first looked towards Prince Qin.
Prince Qin was an adopted son, accustomed to keeping a low profile. In such a situation, if the other princes didn’t speak up, he certainly wouldn’t be the one to do so.
Emperor Jingming then turned his gaze to Prince Qi.
Prince Qi stood with lowered eyes, his face devoid of any excess emotion. In his heart, he had made up his mind that unless Emperor Jingming called on him directly, he definitely wouldn’t be the one to stick his neck out.
During the period when the position of Crown Prince was vacant, his competition with Prince Jin had already become apparent. Now that the Crown Prince had been reinstated, it was time to lower his profile as much as possible. Taking the lead now would serve no purpose.
It was better to be patient for now and wait for the Crown Prince to make a fatal mistake.
Emperor Jingming’s gaze slid towards Prince Lu.
Prince Lu stood in the corner, thinking he was unnoticed, but his casual stance made Emperor Jingming frown repeatedly.
Send him to Qianhe County? He wouldn’t go! Among all these people, he was just a commandery prince. Why should he be considered for such a difficult task?
No way, no way, absolutely not!
Emperor Jingming looked at Prince Shu.
Prince Shu’s inner thoughts: I don’t want to go…
Prince Xiang’s inner thoughts: I don’t want to go…
Yu Jin: My wife is about to give birth, of course, I don’t want to go…
Emperor Jingming angrily fingered the white jade paperweight on his dragon desk.
Very well, these little beasts!
Since none of them wanted to go—Emperor Jingming slowly swept his gaze over each person from beginning to end.
The prince immediately tensed up: Father is about to call someone out!
Who would be the unlucky one?
“Why is no one speaking?” Emperor Jingming asked first.
The princes, steeling themselves, all expressed the same sentiment: Such an honorable task shouldn’t be fought over among brothers; they would all follow the Father Emperor’s instructions.
“In that case—” Emperor Jingming paused, then said lightly, “We shall draw lots.”
The princes wore strange expressions.
Draw lots?
Was it appropriate to decide such a serious matter by drawing lots?
Emperor Jingming laughed coldly in his heart: Nothing could be more appropriate than drawing lots—fair, just, and cheating no one, young or old.
“What do you think?”
The princes answered in unison: “Drawing lots is best.”
Emperor Jingming glanced at Pan Hai, signaling him to fetch the lot container.
Soon, Pan Hai returned with an exquisitely carved vermilion lacquer container, standing before everyone.
Emperor Jingming lightly tapped the table: “Alright, draw the lots. No need to be polite about this.”
Pan Hai cleared his throat and added, “There are six lots in total. The one who draws the orchid lot stays behind, and the one who draws the peony lot will accompany the Crown Prince to Qianhe County.”
The princes silently tugged at the corners of their mouths.
So there were even flower lots.
The lot container passed before each person, and the princes each drew a lot from it.
Yu Jin lowered his eyes and turned over his lot, revealing a lush peony flower.
He wiped his face.
Damn it, such bad luck!
He wasn’t one to shy away from hardship, having crawled through piles of corpses before. Going to Qianhe County wasn’t anything. But in about a month, A Si would be giving birth…
Yu Jin held the peony lot, his heart heavy with frustration.
Emperor Jingming lightly coughed and asked, “Who drew the peony lot?”
After a moment of silence, Yu Jin stepped forward: “Your son drew the peony lot.”
A flash of schadenfreude crossed the eyes of the other princes.
Seeing it was Yu Jin, Emperor Jingming inexplicably felt relieved.
The Seventh Prince had some capability. With him accompanying the Crown Prince to Qianhe County, at least there was no need to worry about the Crown Prince returning missing an arm or a leg.
“You may all disperse. Seventh Prince, you stay behind.”
The princes unanimously breathed sighs of relief, never having been so eager to leave the imperial palace.
In the imperial study, Emperor Jingming looked at the Crown Prince, then at Yu Jin, and said, “You two set out tomorrow. Brothers should support each other and be mindful of safety.”
Both of them responded in unison.
“Seventh Son, I know you’re concerned about your wife. Fortunately, Qianhe County isn’t far from the capital. If you go early and return early, it shouldn’t take too many days…”
“Your son understands,” Yu Jin replied, his face showing no trace of dissatisfaction.
Having already drawn the peony lot, there was no point in showing discontent and needlessly incurring the Emperor’s displeasure. He wasn’t that foolish.
Seeing Yu Jin’s lack of resentment, Emperor Jingming indeed showed a smile: “That’s good. You may leave now.”
As soon as Yu Jin and the Crown Prince stepped out of the door, the Crown Prince reached out to pat Yu Jin’s shoulder.
Yu Jin instinctively dodged, leaving the Crown Prince grasping at the air. The Crown Prince gave an awkward smile: “Seventh Brother, I’m quite happy you’ll be accompanying me.”
Yu Jin chuckled.
He wasn’t happy!
The Crown Prince, unaware of being disliked, spoke warmly: “That day when Seventh Brother saved young Chun, I knew you were a good person. With Seventh Brother accompanying me, I feel at ease…”
Inexplicably labeled as a good person, Yu Jin twitched the corner of his mouth. He didn’t respond, listening to the Crown Prince ramble on for a while before pausing his steps and saying, “Second Brother, no need to see me off. We’re not going the same way.”
He cupped his hands towards the Crown Prince and quickly left.
The Crown Prince stood there, rubbing his nose.
The Seventh Brother was still so cold.
But he could see that although Seventh Brother appeared cold, he was warm-hearted, much better than those honey-mouthed, dagger-hearted ones.
The Crown Prince returned to the Eastern Palace and told the Crown Princess about going to Qianhe County, instructing, “No need for too many sets of bedding, three sets will do… Oh, and bring my usual pillow, I’m afraid I won’t sleep well with others…”
When the Crown Princess heard that the Crown Prince wanted to bring even his spittoon, she couldn’t bear it any longer and said, “Your Highness is going for disaster relief, not for pleasure. It’s inappropriate to bring all these things.”
“Inappropriate?” The Crown Prince jumped up as if his tail had been stepped on. “I just want to bring some familiar items, how is that inappropriate? It’s already miserable and unlucky enough to risk my life for disaster relief, can’t I make myself a bit more comfortable?”
The Crown Princess solemnly said, “Your Highness, the people of Qianhe County are in dire straits. You’re going on the Emperor’s orders to comfort the victims. If you bring several carts of personal items, how will it look in the eyes of officials and commoners? Won’t it ruin your reputation?”
She had originally thought it was best to be a quiet, idle prince, but fate had other plans. An earthquake during the sacrifice ceremony had turned this man’s fortunes around, making her and young Chun’s futures unpredictable.
If the imperial family could divorce, she truly wanted to take young Chun and leave this mess far behind!
“Ruin my reputation?” The Crown Prince hesitated at the Crown Princess’s words.
He had just regained his position as Crown Prince and couldn’t afford to damage his reputation.
“Alright then, you can pack as you see fit…” The Crown Prince said dejectedly, no longer wanting to look at the Crown Princess’s cold face of righteousness. He left to chat with some young palace maids in the garden.
Yu Jin returned to his manor and headed straight for Yuhe Garden.
Early May was the season when flowers and trees were lush. In a quiet corner of Yuhe Garden, clusters of orchids had bloomed, and the tall silk trees had burst into countless fluffy pink fans.
Jiang Si’s belly was already quite large. She was slowly walking in the courtyard, accompanied by Dou Shuwang.
Er Niu lazily followed behind, occasionally sweeping his fluffy big tail across the orchid-embroidered hem of Jiang Si’s skirt, trying to attract his mistress’s attention.
Sensing Yu Jin’s return, Er Niu bounced over to greet him.
Yu Jin, preoccupied with how to tell Jiang Si about going to Qianhe County, completely ignored the enthusiasm of the large dog and walked past with a somber face.
Er Niu: “…”