Fu Rou noticed her reaction. “Please do not hesitate to teach me.”
“Seamstress Fu, you have to treat this matter carefully.” Since Lady Li dared to aim for a higher status, she clearly had the skill needed to survive. She was particularly observant when it came to the undercurrents of things. “You were chosen by the Empress to enter the Ministry of Works because of your peony screen. If you do not embroider this well, you will offend Concubine Yan. However, if you do it too well, you will offend the Empress.”
Fu Rou froze as a cold shiver ran up her spine. She did not think much into this task and thought that Concubine Yan simply wanted to see her skills. Thankfully, she was lucky and helped Lady Li. In return, Lady Li had saved her. The Royal Palace was full of traps, any wrong step and she could fall into deep trouble. That was so close!
The Crown Prince visited the Han Mansion again. He did not know why but he could not stop thinking of the show on Zhao Zilong’s Seven Charges into Changbanpo. When he entered the Main Hall, he saw that Prince Han had a guest.
“Crown Prince, you are here.” Prince Han greeted with a huge smile plastered on his face. The guest turned and immediately stood up to greet him. “Your Highness.”
Animosity flashed through the Crown Prince’s eyes when he saw who the guest was. It was not because the guest had a handsome face, nor was it because the guest was giving off an impressive appearance. It was simply because it was Prince Zhou.
Prince Zhou was the son of Concubine Yan. When he had come of age, he had gone to his own prefecture and would not attend court unless there was something on. However, it was almost the Empress’ birthday and the Crown Prince was about to get married. The Emperor had hence called Prince Zhou over to celebrate. The Crown Prince remembered that the Imperial order had just been sent out. In such a short time, Prince Zhou had already arrived at Chang’an. He wondered what exactly Prince Zhou was trying to do.
On the surface, the three brothers could get along but their relationship was not deep. The Emperor and the Empress had gone through numerous challenges together to get to where they were now and the Emperor was extremely respectful to the Empress. However, when it came to feelings, the Emperor preferred Concubine Yan. Prince Zhou, the Crown Prince and Prince Han were hence destined to never be able to treat each other like real brothers.
Even when it came to hunting, the atmosphere between the two brothers and the three brothers were vastly different. The Crown Prince was clearly more competitive when it came to Prince Zhou. Prince Zhou would also not give in and would hunt whatever amount the Crown Prince managed to hunt. Prince Han could see through their relationship but did not interfere. After all, the Crown Prince was his biological brother and Prince Zhou had never offended him either.
The Crown Prince smiled. “It is a great thing that your archery skills improved, as long as you don’t shoot into Chang’an.”
Prince Zhou smiled along. “Crown Prince, you must be joking.”
“Of course, I am joking. Father’s power stretches over tens of thousands of miles. Who would dare shoot into Chang’an?” There was a deeper meaning in the Crown Prince’s words. “This hunt is not over, the winner is not decided until it ends. Come, let us compete to see who can hunt more animals!”
The Crown Prince shot off first as he headed straight into the depths of the forest, leaving everyone far behind. Although he thought that he had made a smart move, he never thought that he would bump into Chen Ji. This lad just loved to sleep on trees.
Chen Ji was lying comfortably as he snored in his sleep, making even the Crown Prince jealous. The Crown Prince immediately shot three consecutive arrows. He completely forgot about the contest he was having with Prince Zhou.
Chen Ji was jolted awake as he jumped up from the branch and nimbly moved to dodge the arrows. He landed on the ground gracefully. He lifted his head only to see the Crown Prince.
“Oh, so it is Your Highness.” Chen Ji’s expression fell. It seems like he has turned into a living target. He cannot come here anymore.
“Chen Ji, are you slacking off on the tree again?” The Crown Prince burst out into laughter.
Chen Ji frowned. “I was simply taking a nap on the tree. It is not considered slacking off.”
The Crown Prince then said, “The way you flipped down from the tree looks pretty impressive.”
Chen Ji did not agree. “They are simply techniques I learnt from acting in martial art shows. After training for so long, they naturally look good.”
“Flip a few more times for me to see.” The Crown Prince ordered.
Chen Ji muttered, “I am not a monkey.”
The Crown Prince did not hear him clearly. “What?”
Chen Ji replied loudly, “Yes, Your Highness.” He then did two somersaults backwards. “Are you satisfied, Your Highness?”
“I am not satisfied.” The Crown Prince could tell that he was just doing the bare minimum. “Go back and prepare, I want to watch Zhao Zilong’s Seven Charges into Changbanpo.”
“That show again?”
From afar, the horn sounded. The Crown Prince recalled that the hunt had not ended and immediately turned to leave. He urged Chen Ji, “Hurry and go!”
Chen Ji sighed as he turned and left the mountain. He knew when he could relax and when he should not. To others, it may seem like his life wasn’t worth much but he was willing to put aside his pride.
Chapter 12.2: Lotus
Meanwhile, ever since Fu Rou entered the palace Sheng Chumu had been feeling depressed. He spent all day either training or studying military tactics. He even dragged his two other brothers along with him.
Sheng Chumu’s two brothers were tortured by him but they could not complain. Eventually they managed to drag Sheng Chumu to the wine house in an attempt to distract him. Alas, the wine was medicine as Sheng Chumu’s mood improved vastly. As the three brothers went happily to settle the bill, they bumped into Lu Qi and his guests.
“Brother Lu, what a coincidence.” Sheng Chumu suddenly burned with anger. If not for Lu Yunji, his Fu Rou would not have entered the palace.
“Of course it is a coincidence. Enemies always meet.” Lu Qi’s expression was filled with malice as he started tugging on his sleeve. “Sheng Chumu, you ruined my sister’s reputation by spouting nonsense in front of the Crown Prince!”
“What can I do if your sister has a birthmark?” Sheng Chumu intentionally shouted this loudly. He wanted the entire Chang’an to know!
“I am going to kill you!” Lu Qi brandished his fist as he dashed towards Sheng Chumu. He was, however, persuaded by his other guests to bear with it until they could carry out their challenge in front of the Imperial Judge.
Sheng Chumu seemed to have suddenly thought of something. “The challenge was meant for Fu Rou. What has it got to do with your sister?”
It was rare that Lu Qi thought Sheng Chumu made sense. “Okay, then let’s set another one.”
“Then let’s do it now.” Sheng Chumu had been bored out of his mind. Now that Lu Qi was right in front of him, how could he easily pass up this chance to teach him a lesson?
“Fine, let’s fight now. If you lose, you better take back every single word you said about my sister.” Lu Qi narrowed his eyes.
“If you lose, you better kneel and kowtow in front of our Duke Lu Residence and shout like father like son.” Sheng Chumu was a filial child. It was not that he didn’t intend to repay his parents, but the time was not right.