Chapter 55 Fun

เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มี.ค. 2569 07:02

Chapter 55: Chapter 55 Fun Prince Dai sat high atop his majestic horse, basking in the adoration and cheers of the people. The Crown Prince wore a smile of shared pride, watching the people kneel on the ground, their expressions excited, their gazes fervent and admiring as they looked at Prince Dai. In this moment, Prince Dai was the great hero in the hearts of the people. Following behind the Crown Prince and Prince Dai, the Third Prince and others saw the people’s admiration for Prince Dai, and for a moment, their faces looked unpleasant. However, they quickly masked their emotions with smiles. Controlling their emotions and hiding their true thoughts, keeping a composed smile regardless of what happens, was a skill the Third Prince and others had learned from childhood. The Fifth Prince leaned slightly towards the direction of the Third Prince and gestured with his lips. The Third Prince looked in the direction where the Fifth Prince gestured, which was towards the Crown Prince. "What’s the matter?" The Fifth Prince whispered, "The Crown Prince is really good at keeping his cool." At this time, the cries of "Prince Dai!" from the people were persistent in their ears. The Third Prince understood the Fifth Prince’s meaning and looked ahead at the Crown Prince with a slightly mocking tone, "He has no choice but to keep his cool." Saying this, he tapped his left palm gently with a horsewhip in his right hand, a smile of anticipation on his lips, "Just wait, before long, the Crown Prince won’t be able to keep his cool." The Fifth Prince laughed, "Then there will be a good show to watch." The Sixth Prince said, "We’re waiting for Prince Dai’s return just to see the show." The Fourth Prince was right next to the Sixth Prince. Although the Third Prince and Fifth Prince were speaking quietly, the Fourth Prince still heard them. The Fourth Prince had a special ability—his hearing was particularly sharp. He could hear very faint sounds from a young age. After hearing the conversation between the Third Prince and the Sixth Prince, the Fourth Prince frowned slightly. The Eighth Prince and Zhao Yao were behind the Fourth Prince, and they did not pay attention to the Third Prince and others. Seeing the people’s excitement and hearing them constantly shouting "Prince Dai," not "Crown Prince," Zhao Yao thought to himself that the effect Marquis Xuanping wanted was achieved. At this moment, the people only had eyes for Prince Dai, not the Crown Prince. "Eighth brother, second brother is really impressive." The Eighth Prince heard Zhao Yao say this and jokingly asked, "Are you envious?" Zhao Yao shook his head without any hesitation, "Not envious." "Not envious, why not? Anyone who sees such a scene would feel envious, wanting to become like Prince Dai. Didn’t you just say second brother is very impressive?" "He is very impressive, but I’m not envious." Zhao Yao tilted his small head and said, "Because I’m not second brother. I can’t be as great as second brother. Besides, when I grow up, I just want to go to fun places and eat delicious food," he suddenly stopped there and then lowered his voice to the Eighth Prince, "I don’t like fighting wars, and I don’t want to go to wars. Eighth brother, don’t tell anyone else. If ninth brother finds out, he will definitely laugh at me for being cowardly and say I don’t deserve to be the emperor’s son." The Eighth Prince smiled at Zhao Yao reassuringly, "Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone." Everyone wants to be like Prince Dai, to be adored by ministers and the people, to stand at the center of power. But tenth brother doesn’t want to be Prince Dai; he just wants to do what he desires. Although the tenth brother is still very young, just starting to learn this year and doesn’t understand much, he has a great sense of self-awareness, knowing that he cannot become someone as formidable as Prince Dai. Faced so closely with power, yet tenth brother is completely unmoved—it’s hard to say whether he is naïve or foolish. "Eighth brother, look at this..." Zhao Yao pointed to a pastry shop by the roadside and introduced it to the Eighth Prince, "The snacks from this shop are really delicious. Last year, I even bought their jujube paste cake for you, and you said it was good. Do you remember?" "I remember, you always mention it, it’s hard not to remember." "Eighth brother, the biscuits sold at the booth by the intersection ahead are also delicious. I bought them for you before, do you remember?" "I remember." "And..." Zhao Yao continued to enthusiastically introduce the delicious foods to the Eighth Prince. The Eighth Prince did not find him noisy, listening seriously to him, occasionally responding. Sitting at the front, the Fourth Prince, although not turning back to talk to Zhao Yao and the others, kept listening attentively to Zhao Yao. Every time he heard Zhao Yao talking about delicious foods, he couldn’t help but chuckle. Seeing Zhao Yao animatedly talking about food, gesturing zealously, he almost fell off his horse several times, saved only by the Eighth Prince who timely grabbed his arm. The Eighth Prince offered his water pouch to Zhao Yao, helplessly yet dotingly said, "Are you thirsty? Want a drink?" As Zhao Yao was just about to take the water pouch and drink, a commoner suddenly rushed from the roadside into the road, spreading his arms to block the path of the Crown Prince and Prince Dai. Both the Crown Prince and Prince Dai quickly reined in their horses, or they would have run into the person. Kneeling in front of Prince Dai’s horse, the man kowtowed heavily three times and shouted loudly, "Your Highness Prince Dai, you are our great hero, you should be the Crown Prince..." Before he could finish, the Imperial Guard covered his mouth and dragged him away. No one had expected such a thing to happen. The Imperial Guard and the attending eunuchs all knelt down to plead guilty. The people on both sides of the road, seeing those armed guards kneeling to plead guilty, were startled and then knelt down one by one, showing fear. The Crown Prince raised his hand to signal the Imperial Guard to stand up, speaking gently, "It’s okay, continue on." He spoke as if the previous incident was trivial and not worth minding. The Imperial Guard and accompanying eunuchs quickly stood to thank him, "Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince." The Crown Prince turned to Prince Dai, "Second brother, you needn’t mind." Prince Dai did not mind at all. He smiled and said, "Elder brother, I didn’t mind." In the procession of officials following behind, the Imperial Censor saw that Prince Dai not only did not apologize to the Crown Prince for the earlier incident but also appeared smug, his brows furrowed deeply. The other officials witnessing the scene had very subtle expressions. The Crown Prince’s faction was naturally furious, already planning how to impeach Prince Dai for arrogance and rudeness in the morning court session. Prince Dai’s faction, however, saw no problem and rather felt what the man said was correct. The Crown Prince continued to chat and laugh with Prince Dai, as if he really had put the previous incident behind him. The incident earlier had greatly improved Prince Dai’s mood, and he started to converse seriously with the Crown Prince. Before this, Prince Dai had only been perfunctory with the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince and Prince Dai continued to talk and laugh, appearing to be genuinely brotherly and friendly. The Third Prince and others, seeing the Crown Prince completely unfazed by the earlier incident, were puzzled and surprised: Has the Crown Prince changed? Not the slightest anger, this is not the usual Crown Prince. Even if the Crown Prince was excellent at concealing his emotions, in the face of what happened earlier, he should have broken his facade. But instead, he was smiling and laughing, continuing his conversation with Prince Dai. Does the Crown Prince truly not care? Impossible! Anyone, in his place, couldn’t remain indifferent to the earlier event. The Crown Prince has truly improved significantly, managing to keep his composure. "It shouldn’t be," the Third Prince unconsciously said. The Fifth Prince heard the Third Prince and quickly asked, "Third brother, what shouldn’t be?" "The Crown Prince is not angry. Don’t you find it odd?" "Of course it’s odd." The Fifth Prince asked, "Third brother, what do you think the Crown Prince is up to?" The Sixth Prince leaned in and said, "It was a big embarrassment for the Crown Prince earlier, yet he can still chat and laugh with Prince Dai." Saying this, he thought of a possibility, showing a strange expression, "Could the Crown Prince have been bewitched?" The Third Prince squinted his eyes, confidently saying, "There’s definitely something fishy about this." The Fifth Prince, however, did not think so, "That person earlier must have been arranged by Marquis Xuanping to embarrass the Crown Prince." He clicked his tongue, "Tsk tsk tsk, Prince Dai couldn’t wait to put the Crown Prince in his place right after returning to the capital." The Sixth Prince smiled broadly, "Isn’t the show just starting?" After saying this, the three of them exchanged knowing smiles. The Fourth Prince and Zhao Yao did not see it that way. The Fourth Prince was initially a bit surprised, but quickly understood what was going on, a deep look passing through his eyes. Zhao Yao had a seemingly innocent and naive expression, but internally he marveled at how the Crown Prince had dug another pit for Prince Dai. Prince Dai had just returned to the capital, and so many interesting events were unfolding—truly entertaining! Next, it’s likely that the drama between the Crown Prince and Prince Dai will continue to unfold.

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