Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Searching for a Needle in the Heart Sea of the Emperor Early morning, in Yongxin Palace, Noble Princess Consort Rong was helping the emperor get dressed. "Cousin, can Prince Dai really return to the capital this afternoon?" In private, Noble Princess Consort Rong called the emperor "cousin." Since she was young, she followed the emperor around, calling him cousin affectionately. "It won’t be delayed until evening, will it?" At night, the city gates of the capital would be closed, and by then, Yun’er wouldn’t be able to get into the capital. "He will return to the capital in the afternoon." The emperor gave Noble Princess Consort Rong a definite answer, "Arriving at the time of Wei." "Arriving at the time of Wei, then I’m relieved." Noble Princess Consort Rong said, her brows furrowed, showing a worried expression on her face, "That child always reports good news and hides bad news. This time he went to Liangzhou to quell the rebellion, the situation was very dangerous, he must have been injured and surely kept everyone from telling us." She sighed softly, "Sigh, I wonder how many times he got injured this time, if he suffered any serious injury." "I haven’t heard that he was seriously injured." "Cousin, you used to be like this too, hiding injuries every time, not letting any of us know. By the time you returned, your injuries had already healed." Noble Princess Consort Rong pointed at the emperor’s chest, playfully saying, "If it weren’t for me discovering the scars on your body, I wouldn’t know you were injured. Prince Dai is just like you were when you were young." The emperor held Noble Princess Consort Rong’s finger, smiling, "Getting injured on the battlefield is normal, nothing to fuss about." Noble Princess Consort Rong said grumpily, "Right right, as long as it doesn’t kill, it’s a minor injury." "Exactly." The emperor reached out and patted Noble Princess Consort Rong’s backside, "The second one is not a child anymore, you shouldn’t worry too much." "You father and son are just the same." Noble Princess Consort Rong said helplessly, "When you were young, I often worried about you getting injured on the battlefield. I didn’t expect that as I grew older, I would still have to worry about our son getting injured on the battlefield." The emperor pinched Noble Princess Consort Rong’s chin gently and shook it lightly, "You just worry too much." "Women are just prone to worry. Besides, with a husband and son fighting outside, how can I not worry?" Noble Princess Consort Rong wrapped her arms around the emperor’s waist, slightly tilting her head up as she said, "Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about you now." The emperor lowered his head and kissed Noble Princess Consort Rong’s lips, "Alright, I should go to court, you can sleep a bit more." Noble Princess Consort Rong stood on tiptoe and gave the emperor a strong kiss on his lips, "Cousin, take care." The emperor chuckled and then left Noble Princess Consort Rong’s sleeping chamber. After the emperor left, Noble Princess Consort Rong returned to bed for a nap. As for going to Zhao Yang Palace this morning to pay respects to the Empress, it completely slipped her mind. Today is the fifteenth, the day when the concubines need to pay their respects to Empress Xie. The first and fifteenth of each month are the days when the concubines pay their respects to Empress Xie. In theory, the concubines should pay respects to Empress Xie every day. Empress Xie also hopes that the concubines would come to pay respects to her every day, but the former empress didn’t think so. She felt that the concubines coming to pay respects every morning was too much trouble. Moreover, it would prevent the concubines from sleeping well every day. Out of concern for the concubines, she changed the daily routine to the first and fifteenth of each month. Empress Xie couldn’t change the rule set by the former empress. If she changes it to a daily routine, she would inevitably be seen as ungracious, unlike the former empress. In Wende Hall, Zhao Yao and the others were having breakfast. "It really is a coincidence today." Yu Meiren said, "Today is the day to pay respects to the Empress, and Prince Dai returns to the capital today." Pan Cairen said, "Noble Consort Rong is going to compete with Her Majesty the Empress again, we better be careful." Pan Cairen dreaded the days when they had to pay respects to Empress Xie on the first and fifteenth of each month. Every time they went to pay respects, there were bound to be conflicts. Liang Zhaoyi comforted Pan Cairen, "Her Majesty and the Noble Consort won’t concern themselves with us." Yu Meiren said, "We just sit quietly." The Fifth Princess pouted slightly, "I don’t want to go." She always felt very anxious and scared when going to pay respects to Her Majesty the Empress. "Mother, can I not go?" "No." Yu Meiren also didn’t want her daughter to go, but there was no other way, she had to go. "If you don’t go, it will be disrespectful to Her Majesty." The Fifth Princess then looked at Zhao Yao with envy, "I wish I were Tenth Brother, then I wouldn’t have to go to Zhao Yang Palace to pay respects." Zhao Yao said exasperatedly, "The only good thing left about studying is this." Saying this, he suddenly laughed mischievously at the Fifth Princess, "Fifth Sister, you must behave." The Fifth Princess glared fiercely at Zhao Yao, "Tenth Brother, you need to study hard, don’t let the teacher hit your palm." "Though I’m not smart at studying, I’m well-behaved, so the teacher won’t hit me." "Tenth Brother, how about this, I’ll go to study on your behalf, and you go to Zhao Yang Palace for me." The Fifth Princess thought this was a great idea. Zhao Yao rolled his eyes at the Fifth Princess and added two words: "Dream on!" "Tenth Brother, didn’t you dislike going to study..." Before she finished her sentence, her little head was hit by Yu Meiren. "Is Wende Hall a place where you can go?" Yu Meiren sternly reprimanded the Fifth Princess, "You’re so grown up, yet still spouting nonsense all the time." The Fifth Princess pouted, "I’ll go, alright." "Fifth Sister, Fourth Sister and the others surely won’t say anything about you today." Zhao Yao knew that the Fifth Princess disliked going to Zhao Yang Palace to pay respects for another important reason, which was to avoid Fourth Sister and the others. Before the Second Mother Consort and Fifth Sister moved to Wende Hall, they lived in Yong’an Palace. Yong’an Palace was the residence of Princess Consort Liang, and Fourth Princess was Princess Consort Liang’s daughter. When they were young, Fourth Princess frequently bullied the Fifth Princess, finding amusement in it. The Fifth Princess was thoroughly scared by Fourth Princess’s bullying, unable to help but feel terrified and anxious when she saw Fourth Princess. Later, with the help of Liang Zhaoyi, Yu Meiren moved with the Fifth Princess into Wende Hall. On regular days, the Fifth Princess would stay in Wende Hall and not go out. Fourth Princess, disliking how isolated Wende Hall was and its proximity to the Cold Palace, refused to come to Wende Hall to bully the Fifth Princess. Fourth Princess would only verbally bully the Fifth Princess on the first and fifteenth of each month. At other times, she couldn’t even find the Fifth Princess to bully. Previously, Fourth Princess would send people to invite the Fifth Princess to go out and play, but it was really just an excuse to bully her. However, the Fifth Princess refused. With her timid nature, she wouldn’t have dared to refuse, it was Liang Zhaoyi who sent Gui Xing to decline for her. Seeing Liang Zhaoyi backing the Fifth Princess, Fourth Princess naturally became indignant and incited her mother, Princess Consort Liang, to discipline Liang Zhaoyi. Princess Consort Liang didn’t think highly of Liang Zhaoyi and wasn’t interested in bullying a minor Zhaoyi, but since her daughter needed her to back her up, she played the part of the Princess Consort to scold Liang Zhaoyi. As soon as Princess Consort Liang reprimanded Liang Zhaoyi, the emperor found out about it. The emperor asked Empress Xie to select two mamas to re-teach Fourth Princess the etiquette rules. Moreover, he also punished Fourth Princess to copy the "Women’s Precepts" a thousand times, without missing a single word. As for Princess Consort Liang, while the emperor didn’t punish her directly, he didn’t visit Yong’an Palace for several months. Empress Xie used this incident to harshly scold Princess Consort Liang and her daughter in front of all the concubines and princesses. Naturally, Princess Consort De and the others did not miss the opportunity to add insult to injury, making Princess Consort Liang and her daughter a laughingstock of the entire harem. Since then, neither Princess Consort Liang nor Princess Consort De and the others dared to rely on their status to randomly reprimand lower-ranking concubines. The princes and princesses also didn’t dare to bully others casually. After this incident, Fourth Princess never bullied the Fifth Princess again. Although she would still verbally belittle the Fifth Princess on the first and fifteenth of each month. These past two years, the Fifth Princess’s personality has become more lively, and she’s become braver, but she still developed a psychological shadow over Fourth Princess. In Fourth Princess’s presence, she would involuntarily become timid, unable to stand up against Fourth Princess. She remains unfazed as Fourth Princess belittles her, as it doesn’t physically harm her. "Why won’t she say anything about me?" "Because today, the focus of the greetings is Second Brother. When you go to pay respects, all the topics will revolve around Second Brother, and Fourth Sister and the others won’t bother you." Hearing what Zhao Yao said, the Fifth Princess felt much more relieved, "That’s good." Seeing that it was getting late, Liang Zhaoyi reminded her son, "Yao Yao, eat quickly, otherwise, you’ll be late for your studies." Zhao Yao stopped talking with the Fifth Princess, lowered his head, and quickly drank his porridge. After finishing, he hurriedly left with Tong Xi. Walking out of Wende Hall, Zhao Yao could clearly feel that the atmosphere in the palace was different today. "With Second Brother returning, the palace has immediately become lively." Not only lively, but also festive. The great victory in Liangzhou was something worth celebrating. With Prince Dai returning, naturally, the palace needed to be filled with joy. "Isn’t the palace going to celebrate tonight?" Tong Xi said, "Your Highness, aren’t you most looking forward to tonight’s banquet? Aren’t you happy?" "Happy, of course." Thinking of the beef and other delicious food he could eat at tonight’s banquet, a radiant smile appeared on Zhao Yao’s little face, "I hope it can immediately turn to evening." "Your Highness, you should eat less at noon today to have room for the delicious food tonight." "You’re right." At this time, in Chengguang Hall, the ministers were still in the morning court. The atmosphere in today’s morning court was also different, filled with jubilation. Although many people didn’t want Prince Dai to return, the emperor was happy today, so the ministers did not dare to dampen his spirits and could only be happy with him. The main topic of today’s morning court was whether to award Prince Dai a pearl. The discussion of awarding Prince Dai a pearl had been ongoing for many days, without a decision being reached. Today, with Prince Dai returning, a decision had to be made. No matter what the ministers said, the emperor didn’t give a definite answer. This left them guessing what was really on his mind. The mind of an emperor is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.