Free Web NovelChapter 253: Chapter 253: The Crown Prince’s Regency, Imperial Father Is in Trouble
Ji Qingwu lay on her back in the grass, a heavy little fellow in her arms.
She called out softly, "Young Master Yuan Heng."
Zhao Yuanheng gave a solemn hum of acknowledgment. "It’s me."
He had only just heard from the little eunuchs today that Ji Qingwu had come to the palace.
Recently, she’d been appearing around his father frequently.
During the day, Yuan Heng had spent a long time peering at the entrance of Diligent Governance Hall without seeing a trace of her. Later, he made a point of coming to the vicinity of Zhaoyang Hall to try his luck.
And he actually did.
He hid behind a tree and tailed Ji Qingwu all the way. He saw her crouch on the ground as if tired from walking, her shoulders trembling, though he couldn’t tell what she was doing.
Yuan Heng assumed she was crying.
He hadn’t expected to startle her. He had tried to grab her, but he simply wasn’t strong enough.
An awkward expression crossed his little face as he was suddenly pulled into a soft, fragrant embrace.
There was an empty space in Ji Qingwu’s heart, and just then, a little fellow had delivered himself right to her doorstep.
She hugged him and refused to let go.
Zhao Yuanheng had never sprawled on top of someone like this before, let alone lying on the ground in the grass. It was truly beneath the dignity of a Prince.
He hesitated. "You... let go of me."
But Ji Qingwu hugged him even tighter. "I won’t. Why should I?"
Forced to lean against her shoulder, Yuan Heng looked at the grass beneath her, his little eyebrows knitting together.
But when he smelled her fragrance, his dark eyes showed a moment of struggle before he quietly shifted into a more comfortable position, nestling peacefully in her arms.
Lying on the grass felt strangely grounding. Ji Qingwu didn’t want to get up and remained in that position.
She asked, "What brings you here, Young Master?"
Yuan Heng’s eyes were fixed on the embroidery on her collar as he said, "Just taking a walk."
Then he asked her, "Why are you here?"
Ji Qingwu didn’t know how she had ended up here, or even where "here" was. In the distance was a palace hall she had never seen before.
Her voice was tinged with dejection. "Clearing my head."
The two of them, both wandering aimlessly, had found their way to the most remote corner of the palace—Anhua Palace.
Yuan Heng asked in a small voice, "Did you have a fight with my father?"
Ji Qingwu paused. ’Does this even count as a fight?’
Shaking her head, she said insincerely, "Who would dare argue with the Emperor? Do they have a death wish?"
Yuan Heng looked up at her delicate chin. "I heard noises from the hall. The sound of something being smashed."
’Was the little fellow outside the hall...?’
’How much did he hear...?’
Ji Qingwu gently stroked his head, trying to comfort him.
"Something was just accidentally broken, that’s all. There was no fight. Nothing happened."
Yuan Heng didn’t believe her. "Then what were you crying about?"
Ji Qingwu’s eyes widened. She looked down at him. "I wasn’t crying. You must have been mistaken."
Yuan Heng reached out with a small hand and touched her face. It was, indeed, dry.
"Your father..."
"My father..."
They both spoke at the same time, both about to say something about the Emperor.
Yuan Heng said, "You go first."
Ji Qingwu sighed. "I was just going to say, with your father’s temper, it must have been so hard on you all these years."
Yuan Heng nodded in understanding. "My father has always had this temper. I’m used to it. But his rebukes are harsh only because his love is deep."
He tilted his head back and said with the utmost seriousness, "Being the Emperor isn’t easy. He has to deal with so many things every day, so it’s inevitable that he gets frustrated sometimes. Please don’t be disappointed in him, alright? Give him another chance."
By now, Ji Qingwu’s mood had calmed considerably.
It wasn’t just disappointment she felt, but also a growing sense of confusion.
She didn’t believe everything before was a lie. The affection she had for Emperor Wu Su wasn’t built on hearsay, but accumulated bit by bit through the time they spent together.
Like drops of spring rain pooling into a vast lake, which eventually reflected the desires she kept hidden at its very bottom.
The way the Emperor had treated her was definitely not some crude trick to play with her emotions.
’What on earth happened, or is about to happen, to make Emperor Wu Su change so drastically?’
Ji Qingwu bit her lip lightly, her elegant brows furrowing slightly.
Seeing her looking down without a word, Yuan Heng’s eyebrows scrunched together.
"Or, you could hold on for a few years. Once I’m old enough to act as regent, I’ll—"
Ji Qingwu clamped a hand over his small mouth.
Her eyes quaked with shock. ’Can he really say something like that?!’
The regent had always been the Crown Prince, and it usually only happened when the Emperor was gravely ill or about to abdicate.
Ji Qingwu lowered her voice. "Young Master, you must be careful. Disaster follows careless words. If someone with ill intentions were to hear that, they would inevitably make a huge incident out of it."
Yuan Heng grabbed her wrist, his voice muffled. "My father only has me as a prince. That’s a tacit understanding."
Whether he is officially named Crown Prince or not is just a formality.
That was true enough. Ji Qingwu’s hand slowly loosened.
Yuan Heng continued trying to persuade her, "When I’m old enough to be regent or rule in my own right, my father won’t be so burdened by state affairs. With nothing to worry about, his temper will naturally get better."
Ji Qingwu’s reply was crisp.
"Then let him stay burdened!"
She couldn’t bear to see the little fellow, still so young, take on the heavy burden of the entire empire.
It was a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils. Better to let Emperor Wu Su keep his worries.
Ji Qingwu moved her hand away and pinched his little cheek, her voice gentle. "You just focus on growing up. Don’t think about so many things."
Yuan Heng pulled his face out of her grasp and said with a serious expression, "One must do the work of one’s station. Everything I’m thinking about falls under my responsibilities."
Ji Qingwu sighed inwardly. When it came to duty and responsibility, Emperor Wu Su had raised Yuan Heng very well.
Seeing she was still unmoved, the little fellow asked worriedly, "Are you going to leave the palace? It hasn’t been easy for my father all these years. Please don’t abandon him, okay?"
Ji Qingwu had thought Yuan Heng came to comfort her, but it turned out he was pleading his father’s case.
"I haven’t decided yet."
Sensing his anxiety, she gently stroked his back.
"Do you want me to stay in the palace?"
Yuan Heng stared at her with his dark pupils for a long moment before burying his little face in her chest.
His muffled voice said, "Very much."
The afterglow of the sunset washed over the two figures, one large and one small.
As Ji Qingwu gazed at the orange-red halo of the sun, a similar bloom of fine, tangled threads of affection spread through her heart.
Thinking of how Emperor Wu Su had coldly told her never to appear before him again...
Ji Qingwu snorted coldly. ’That’ll be up to me to decide, when I’m good and tired of it.’
Yuan Heng looked up and saw that her expression was no longer its usual tranquil gentleness. The setting sun at the horizon was reflected in the depths of her eyes.
But it wasn’t the loneliness of a dying sun; instead, it was like a spark that could start a prairie fire.
Yuan Heng silently withdrew his gaze.
’He’s done for.’
’My father, that is.’
The two of them only got up after they had finished admiring the sunset’s afterglow. Ji Qingwu patted the dust off her clothes.
This skirt had already been splashed with soup, so getting it a little dirtier was no great loss.
Ji Qingwu looked Yuan Heng up and down.
"Turn around."
Yuan Heng obediently did so, and Ji Qingwu reached out and patted his little bottom.
He covered his behind, his eyes wide with shock. "Am I going to be implicated too?"
