Chapter 176: Sneak attack 4 (1/2)
En Route to Xinfeng palace
The Morning court was shorter than usual since Emperor Zhong failed to entertain any long debates. After he had shot down two debates brought up by the two main opposing parties before it could be overblown. The officials quick understood that the Emperor was not in the mood to entertain any of their usual tactics.
They didn't bring up any issues that would result in an argument to prevent the Emperor from stepping in and making a permanent decision that would be unfavourable to the parties involved as he did in the previous two cases brought up. less than two hours later the court was dismissed and Emperor Zhong left with his entourage.
Seating there and listening to the officials talk endlessly coupled with the Crown Prince's issues left Emperor Zhong with a slight headache. Emperor Zhong loosened up the bottoms at the round collar of his official robes as he walked back to his palace.
”How is the crown Prince?” Emperor Zhong asked Chief Eunuch Caihong who followed him closely.
Eunuch Caihong like the other servants following the Emperor hastened their steps to match Emperor Zhong's long strides. ”Your Majesty, while morning court was ongoing Matron Min at Xinfeng palace sent word that the Crown Prince was awake”.
Emperor Zhong immediately stopped walking, he glance to his left at the path leading to Xinfeng palace in thought. The stop was so abrupt that the maids and guards following behind nearly fell on their faces, as a majority of them lost their footing. They tried to minimize the fall by holding onto each other, luckily Emperor Zhong was absorbed in his thoughts. The mishap escaped his attention, of not at his current mood. They would have spent the rest of the day at the household department and received heavy punishment
After some thought, Emperor Zhong turned into the path leading to Xinfeng Palace. He ran into a long line of palace maids from the kitchen carrying several trays of untouched food. The maid was not very attentive and didn't hear him coming so they continued with their conversation.
When he heard the Crown Prince mention, Emperor Zhong stopped behind a tall tree. He wanted to hear what the maids were discussing. He raised his right hand, signalling the rest of his procession to be quiet. Their conversations filtered into his ear.
”What do we tell Chef Jiang, sister Xiu. This is the third set of food the Crown Prince is rejecting. If his majesty finds put that his Highness hasn't eaten anything. We might end up punished”
”His Highness must not have found these dishes appealing, let's report to the Chef and maybe get a new set of food that might be to his taste,” the senior maid said.
”Look at all these top-notch dishes made with the best quality ingredients, what about it isn't appealing. I think his highness is just throwing a tantrum!” the first maid said.
”This insolent little_” Eunuch Caihong stepped forward to caution the maid but was held back by Emperor Zhong. He turned to Emperor Zhong in shock, ”Your majesty, that maid is being disrespectful, let me go discipline her_”
”No need!” Emperor Zhong said stone-faced.
”You! Be careful with your words! You must always remember your position. The walls have ears, his highness is the next Emperor. Lowly maids like us do not deserve to talk about him much less criticize him. Even if he keeps rejecting our food, you should shut up and just do your work!” the senior maid scolded.
The mods were farther away so they no longer heard their voices so clearly. Emperor Zhong waited for them to be long gone before continuing forward. When he got to the front of Xinfeng palace, he dismissed his servants and infringing the greetings given by the servants stationed at Xinfeng Palace, he charged into the palace.
Xia Ying held a bowl of porridge up while trying to feed Zhongshan Ling who sat upon the wide bed in loose clothes. She brought a spoonful of porridge to his lips but he frowned and turned away. As she borough the spoon back to the plate, the bedroom door was pushed back with force.
Xia Ying shivered and sat up, the spoon in her hand fell into the plate with a clang and she looked to the door. She quickly stood and bowed deeply when he came face to face with the Emperor's tight expression. ”your_ Your Majesty!”
”Leave us!” Without sparing her a glance, Emperor Zhong glared down at his son.
”Y_Yes, Your Majesty;” she glanced at Zhongshan Ling for a second before picking up the spoon and retreating from the room.
”Paa!!”