AD (QT) Chapter 151

The imperial concubines watched Consort Li’s tragic state with secret delight, cursing her in their hearts for getting what she deserved. Usually, she relied on her noble birth to look down on them, maintaining an air of lofty disdain. They had long harbored grievances but didn’t dare act due to their lower ranks. Furthermore, Consort Li frequently skipped the morning greetings to the Empress, claiming the Emperor loved her calligraphy and she had to transcribe scriptures for him, and thus couldn’t be delayed by etiquette.

They had truly thought the Emperor liked those scriptures. But judging by the Emperor’s attitude today, if he truly liked them, he wouldn’t have allowed Prince Chun to talk so much nonsense. Clearly, the Emperor didn’t like her transcriptions nearly as much as she imagined—perhaps he even disliked them. They wondered if she would still have the face to use transcribing scriptures as an excuse to avoid paying respects to the Empress in the future.

The mocking and triumphant looks from the crowd made Consort Li wish she could vanish. She was filled with shame and indignation; her beautiful face lost its usual arrogance, and because she was before the Emperor, she had to maintain a smile, making her expression look somewhat distorted. Had she not feared the Emperor’s displeasure, she would have stormed out long ago.

Naturally, Prince Yong’s face was also terrible, as dark as ink. Yet, like his mother, he maintained a stiff smile while inwardly wishing he could swallow Han Ze whole. One could tell they were mother and son just by their expressions.

The Empress cast a smiling glance at the pair and said, “Aze is straightforward and simple; he says whatever is on his mind. Consort Li, don’t take it to heart.”

The Emperor patted the Empress’s hand. “Don’t worry. Aze is a child and Consort Li is an elder; an elder wouldn’t bicker with a child.”

Consort Li gritted her teeth in secret. The Emperor had called her an elder—could she still bicker?

The Empress appeared to let out a sigh of relief and said with a smile, “Then I am at ease.” She paused and added, “The Crown Prince has been brilliant and capable since he was young; I don’t worry about him. Only Aze… I wish I could consider everything for him, fearing he might suffer a grievance. Yet, he still suffered so much for many years. Out of all the children, Aze has suffered the most. As his mother, thinking of his past hardships makes my heart ache.”

The Empress wiped away a few tears. Seeing the Emperor’s eyes also reddening, she hurriedly said, “Today is Your Majesty’s birthday; I shouldn’t have brought these things up and made you sad.”

The Emperor waved his hand. “It’s fine. You are right; out of all my children, Aze has suffered the most. I will not let him suffer another grievance. Let him do whatever he wishes.”

As soon as Emperor Mingzheng said this, the expressions of the concubines, princes, and princesses all shifted slightly.

Han Ze widened his eyes and asked happily, “Dad, Mom, can I really do whatever I want?”

The Emperor glared at him crossly. “You cannot do bad things.”

Han Ze looked defiant. “I’ve never done anything bad! Dad, don’t wrong me.”

Crown Prince Han Wei chimed in from the side, “Imperial Father, although Aze has the nature of a child, he knows his boundaries. When have you ever seen him do anything out of line?”

The Emperor looked at the Crown Prince. Aze’s actions had no fixed pattern and he acted on whims, but thinking carefully, he truly hadn’t done anything outrageous. He looked at Han Ze with a smile. “Your Big Brother is right; I shouldn’t have doubted Aze.”

Han Ze snorted. “Since today is your birthday, I won’t bicker with you. I forgive you.”

Seeing Prince Chun being so disrespectful to the Emperor, Prince Yong and Prince Kang exchanged meaningful smiles. A fool is a fool. The Emperor was the ruler of a nation; no matter how much he doted on someone, he couldn’t allow such rudeness. Naturally, this was the thought shared by the other concubines and royals present.

Emperor Mingzheng burst into laughter. “Then does Dad have to thank Aze for his forgiveness?”

Princes Yong and Kang instinctively looked at each other, then quickly looked away, but they were thinking the same thing: Is Han Ze the only biological child here? Are we all picked up from the street? Otherwise, why is the gap between us so huge?

The others: “…” Prince Chun is practically ruling the palace. If this doting continues, how are the rest of us supposed to live?

Han Ze wore an expression that was both helpless and smug. “No need, no need! Who told you to be my Dad?”

The Emperor laughed again and looked at the Empress. “Our Aze has always been filial.”

The Empress agreed. Among all the Emperor’s sons, only Aze’s filial piety was the most pure. She smiled and said, “Indeed. When the Chen family gave him gold as an apology, he knew you needed disaster relief funds. He loves gold so much, yet he turned around and had all that gold hauled to the palace. It’s clear that in the child’s heart, you, his father, are the most important.”

These words made Emperor Mingzheng feel immensely warmed. He praised, “This is what a truly pure heart looks like.”

Everyone else felt a surge of bitterness. In the Emperor’s heart, as long as a child was born of the Empress, they were perfect—even a fool was better than them. This was something they simply couldn’t comprehend.

Originally, they were jealous of the Emperor’s favoritism toward the Crown Prince. But the Crown Prince was the eldest legitimate son who had fought alongside the Emperor to win the world; no matter how jealous they were, they knew he deserved that honor.

But Prince Chun was just a fool with no merits. Why did he get so much love? Most hateful of all was that this love seemed even greater than what the Crown Prince received. They couldn’t accept it, but there was nothing they could do; the Emperor’s heart was unpredictable, and they didn’t dare speak out.

Prince Yong suppressed the surging jealousy in his heart, a scheming look appearing in his eyes. He looked at Han Ze and asked, “Third Brother, Imperial Father is so good to you. I wonder what birthday gift you have prepared for him?”

The implication was clear: If the gift is poor, doesn’t that make you unworthy of the Emperor’s favoritism?

“Prince Yong!” Consort Li barked with a frown. Prince Yong was clearly losing his logic due to being provoked by Han Ze. She hated Prince Chun just as much, but she knew that before the Emperor, she couldn’t and didn’t dare do anything. The Emperor was deep; even her father, the Marquis of Xuanping, couldn’t guess his thoughts. By targeting Prince Chun like this, Prince Yong wouldn’t gain anything from the Emperor; it would only make the Emperor dislike him for scheming against his brother.

The Emperor was indeed displeased, but he said nothing. No matter what gift Aze gave, he would like it; even if he gave nothing, he wouldn’t blame him.

Prince Yong felt a tinge of regret after speaking. Han Ze was a fool; bickering with a fool just made him look foolish too.

Han Ze looked at Prince Yong, snorted, and said, “You’re asking what I’m giving Dad? Are you trying to see whose gift is more expensive?”

Prince Yong choked on his water. “Why would you ask that?”

Han Ze said impatiently, “Then why are you asking what I’m giving? Since you’re asking, I’m guessing you want to compete to see whose gift is worth more.”

Prince Yong waved his hand. “That really isn’t what I meant.”

The look Han Ze gave him was one of pure disdain. “I know.”

Prince Yong was blank. “Know what?”

Han Ze looked at him mockingly. “Your gift definitely isn’t expensive, so you’re afraid to compete with me.”

Prince Yong barked, “Nonsense!”

Han Ze looked at him. “Then why won’t you compete?”

Prince Yong felt he couldn’t allow himself to be looked down upon by a fool. “Fine, let’s compete!”

The Emperor and Empress: “…” They had no idea how things had evolved to this point.

Consort Li’s heart was in her throat. She feared the Emperor’s blame and feared that Prince Yong’s gift wouldn’t be as good as Prince Chun’s. She rubbed her temples; Prince Yong really shouldn’t have engaged with Prince Chun. It wasn’t a wise move. Even if he won, what glory was there in beating a fool? It was simply looking for trouble.