Chapter 201: Unhealthy Trends
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
The Crown Prince stealthily covered Lu Chao Chao’s mouth.
“That was a good suggestion. Don’t make it again.” He gave a serious warning.
Lu Chao Chao pried his hand away. “This green hat is not the same as any other hat!”
“What makes it different?” The Crown Prince was taken aback.
“Does Consort Hui usually get along well with the other concubines?” Lu Chao Chao’s small face twisted into a frown.
“Indeed. In the palace, if the concubines fall out of favor and feel despondent, she often personally consoles them. For all these years, she’s remained cold toward Father Emperor and never fawns over him. Yet she’s extraordinarily kind to the concubines. That’s also why Mother Empress has never disliked her, and the other concubines never envy her favor,” the Crown Prince explained, nodding.
However, he felt that Mother Empress seemed a little afraid of Consort Hui. Odd, wasn’t it?
“That’s reasonable. It’s said that back then, Consort Hui didn’t want to marry Father Emperor, but he forced her. After all these years, he’s grown accustomed to trying to win her icy heart, hoping that one day he could melt it,” the Crown Prince added.
Lu Chao Chao chuckled, her smile twisted and strange.
“Melt? Who melts whom is another story entirely, hehe…”
The Crown Prince’s eyelids twitched wildly.
Something about Lu Chao Chao’s tone felt off.
“Are you saying Father Emperor has been cuckolded? Is it her former fiancé?” The Crown Prince’s curiosity was piqued.
Lu Chao Chao shook her head. “No.”
“It’s absolutely impossible for her to have contact with any man after entering the palace!” The Crown Prince was certain. With the palace’s strict security, it was impossible for a wild man to exist.
Suddenly, the Crown Prince’s expression shifted. “Could it be… she keeps eunuchs?!” His face was full of shock.
Lu Chao Chao rolled her eyes. “You can’t even imagine it! Your imagination isn’t bold enough.”
“She’s raising fish in the palace! Consort Hui is truly amazing, hahaha…” Lu Chao Chao laughed so hard her face turned green.
“Father Emperor is going to be livid! Truly, this is the juiciest gossip I’ve ever tasted.”
“For example, even her stillborn child and the adopted Eldest Prince don’t compare to this!”
The Crown Prince’s legs turned weak, and he almost fell into the snow.
The Eldest Prince was adopted?
Wait, could the green hat be even worse than tampering with royal bloodlines?
The Crown Prince’s heart began to panic. This scandal suddenly felt too heavy to digest.
Just how big was this ‘melon’?
But Lu Chao Chao refused to elaborate further, only saying, “Don’t be angry at Consort Hui. She would never compete with the Empress for favor.”
She’s only competing with the Emperor.
The poor Emperor thought her nature was just cold and distant.
She simply didn’t care to warm him.
When the Crown Prince tried to eavesdrop on her inner thoughts, he found her laughing wildly in her mind and had to give up.
As Lu Chao Chao was leaving the palace, she ran into the Sixth Prince, who was carrying a bag and appeared ready to run away.
“I don’t want to go to school either. I’m leaving the palace too!”
“If Princess Sunshine can delay her studies for a month, why can’t I?”
“I refuse to accept this. I want to delay my studies too!” The Sixth Prince had somehow learned about Lu Chao Chao’s escape and her granted month-long vacation, and now he had gotten some silly ideas of his own.
The Crown Prince knocked on Lu Chao Chao’s head. “Look at what you’ve started. What kind of trend are you setting here? If everyone starts following you, what’s next?”
Lu Chao Chao stuffed her hands into her pockets. “Leaving in grand fashion is to be begged to stay.”
“Leaving quietly is true running away.”
Real warriors sneak away at night.
In broad daylight, who is he trying to impress?
The Sixth Prince kept walking while looking back. “I’m really leaving! I’m really running away from home! Hurry and report to Father Emperor! If I don’t get a month-long break, I’m not coming back!”
Lu Chao Chao had used running away from home to blackmail Father Emperor into giving her a month’s vacation.
Surely, he thought, he could succeed too!
The Sixth Prince steeled himself with determination, slinging a small bag over his shoulder before stepping out to beg for food.
Little did the Sixth Prince know that while others were granted a month-long vacation, he was about to earn himself a thorough beating.
Lu Chao Chao blinked her big, innocent eyes and waved over a few young beggars.
“Go follow him, hmph.”
“Smash his begging bowl.”
“Take any steamed buns or coins he gets.”
“Call a few more brothers and give him a good lesson. Let him understand the dangers of the world!”
“Will this stop this unhealthy trend now?” Lu Chao Chao asked the Crown Prince proudly.
[I’ve got the skills to fend for myself. Even if I run away, I can carve out my place in the world.]
[But if they want to imitate me? Maybe in their next life!]
[Watch me rip their umbrellas to shreds!]
The Crown Prince stifled a laugh, his shoulders shaking lightly. “Alright, alright, well done.” This unhealthy trend was promptly nipped in the bud.
The Crown Prince escorted Lu Chao Chao back to the mansion. Gently pinching her round cheeks, he thought to himself, [She breathes, she runs, she jumps—how wonderful.]
After watching her enter the estate, the Crown Prince turned and left.
“Mommy, mommy, I’m hooomme!” the little one shouted as she ran through the courtyard. But instead of the usual tranquility, she found a finely dressed old woman adorned with a red flower in her hair waiting there.
The old woman greeted Lu Chao Chao with a smile. “So, you must be the esteemed Princess Sunshine?”
Lu Chao Chao looked at her mother, Madam Xu, puzzled.
Madam Xu, known for her calm demeanor, now wore a grim expression. “Granny Hua, please leave. Shi Yun has no interest in this.”
Despite her elegant attire, Granny Hua wasn’t offended. She smiled and replied, “Madam Xu, do think this over carefully. You may be a Xu Family daughter, but you’ve been married for years now. You can’t rely on your maiden family forever.”
“A woman needs someone to depend on,” she continued. “You’re still young; you can’t spend your whole life just raising children. Besides, the other party has a respectable family. This is the best choice you could make.”
“Their family has promised to treat these children as their own. They won’t be mistreated.”
Madam Xu’s expression darkened further. “Deng Zhi, show her out.”
Without another word, Deng Zhi moved to eject the old woman.
“Ah, ah, don’t push me! Madam Xu, give this some thought!” Granny Hua’s voice faded as she was ushered out, leaving Madam Xu visibly upset.
Ever since Madam Xu’s divorce, matchmakers and proposals—many on behalf of influential families—had come to her like an endless tide. It was all tiresome.
Lu Chao Chao slipped out of the room and quietly called Rong Che over.
“Your wife’s gonna be gone.”
“Lots of people are stealing your wife…”
“They’re proposing to my mommy,” she added gleefully, clearly enjoying his distress.
Rong Che almost fell off the wall he was perched on. “Seriously?”
“I’m only telling you this because you help me with my homework,” she said with a straight face.
Panicked, Rong Che began pacing in circles. Seeing that someone else was now worried, Lu Chao Chao relaxed and strolled leisurely back home.
“Oh, Chao Chao,” Rong Che called after her, “the capital’s been restless these past days. Don’t go out at night, alright?”
“What’s going on?” she asked, curiosity piqued.
Rong Che hesitated before replying, “It’s no secret, so I’ll tell you. Recently, there’s been a serial flower thief in the capital. Many women have already been harmed.”
His face turned grim as he continued. “This person is highly skilled and utterly ruthless. No one survives once they’ve broken into a house.”
“All the victims share one trait—they’re all thirty-four years old.” Rong Che, having been tasked with capturing the criminal that very night, was deeply concerned.
Though Lu Chao Chao was just a child, her fearless nature worried him. “Promise me you won’t sneak out and make your mother worry, alright?”
Lu Chao Chao nodded seriously this time. She would never cause trouble for the adults.