Chapter 201: Curbing Bad Trends
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
The crown prince gently covered Chao Chao’s mouth with his hand. “That was good advice, but perhaps it’s better to not give next time,” he suggested earnestly.
Chao Chao brushed his hand aside, her small face serious. “Dis gween hat not same like others!”
“What makes it so different?” the crown prince inquired, his brow knitting in puzzlement.
“Consort Hui always nice to others, right?” Chao Chao pondered aloud, her expression thoughtful.
“That’s true,” the crown prince agreed with a nod. “She visits the concubines when they feel lonely and comforts them. Despite her distance from the king and her lack of interest in his favor, her kindness to the concubines ensures that neither Mother nor anyone else resents her.”
[Mother seems slightly wary of her, though. That’s strange…]
“It’s understandable. They say Consort Hui never wished to marry him; it was Father who persisted. Over the years, he’s become used to her coldness, always hoping to warm her heart,” the crown prince reflected.
Chao Chao giggled, a mischievous glint in her eye. “Warm heart? Hard to say who gonna melt who. Hehehe…”
The crown prince’s eyes narrowed slightly, detecting an odd note in Chao Chao’s laughter. “Are you implying Father is being deceived?” His interest piqued.
Chao Chao shook her head, her eyes wide with innocence. “Nope.”
“Once she entered the palace, she had no chance to meet any other man!” The crown prince asserted confidently, sure of the palace’s strict security.
Suddenly, his face changed. “Could it be… with a eunuch?!” The idea startled him.
Chao Chao rolled her eyes playfully. “You’re not thinking big enough!”
“She’s clever! Consort Hui is really something, haha…” Chao Chao’s laughter filled the air, her cheeks rosy with amusement. “Did you know she adopted the eldest prince after her own child was stillborn? And that could hardly be considered a scandal in comparison!”
“Father would be furious to hear this. It’s the biggest scandal I’ve come across.” The crown prince nearly stumbled into a snowdrift after his own remark.
Wait, the eldest prince was adopted? Could there be a scandal greater than tampering with royal bloodlines? A wave of anxiety washed over him. This scandal seemed too vast to grasp. How deep could this go?
Chao Chao remained tight-lipped. “Don’t be angry at Consort Hui; she isn’t competing with the queen for favor.” Her battles are solely with the king. Poor king, so convinced of her natural aloofness. She simply isn’t drawn to him.
The crown prince tried to tune into her thoughts but was met only with peals of uncontrollable giggles and gave up.
As Chao Chao left the palace, she noticed the sixth prince also packed and ready to leave.
“I no wanna go to school. I wanna leave palace too.”
“Princess Sunshine got to delay school for a month. Why can’t I?”
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
“I’m not happy. I wanna delay school too.” The sixth prince had clearly heard about Chao Chao’s earlier escapade and concocted a similar plan.
The crown prince tapped Chao Chao on the head. “Look at the trend you’ve started! Now everyone wants to follow your lead. How can this be allowed?”
Chao Chao stuffed her hands in her pockets, her voice cheeky. “Big exit means they want you back.”
“Quiet leave means really running away.”
True warriors flee under the cover of darkness. In broad daylight, who’s he kidding?
The sixth prince kept looking back as he walked. “I’m really leaving, I’m really escaping. Go tell Father, if I don’t get a month off, I’m not coming back!”
Chao Chao’s daring had earned her a month’s reprieve. I can do it too! Emboldened, the sixth prince walked on, his purpose clear. Unbeknownst to him, instead of a holiday, a strict scolding awaited him.
Chao Chao winked and beckoned to some street beggars.
“Follow him.”
“Break his begging bowl.”
“Take all the buns and money he gets.”
“Give him a little rough up with help from a few mates. Let him see how tough the world is!”
“See, I’m stopping this bad trend, see?” Chao Chao grinned up at the crown prince with a triumphant smile.
[I can take care of myself. Even if I run, I’ll survive. But if they want to follow my lead, they should wait for another lifetime! Watch as I pull the rug from under their feet!]
The crown prince laughed, his shoulders shaking. “Alright, alright, well done.” The potential crisis was cleverly diverted.
He escorted Chao Chao back to the mansion, affectionately pinching her small cheek. Life’s simple pleasures—breathing, running, jumping—felt precious.
After making sure Chao Chao was safe at home, the crown prince left.
“Mommy, mommy, I’m home…” The little one shouted as she ran, only to find an unfamiliar old lady with a bright red flower in her hair inside.
The old lady gave Chao Chao a warm smile. “Is this Princess Sunshine?”
Chao Chao looked towards her mother, her face full of questions.
Madam Xu’s expression was stern. “Flower Granny, please leave. I have no interest.”
Despite her elegant appearance, the old lady maintained her composure under the sharp rebuke.
“Madam Xu, please consider this carefully. Although you come from the Xu family, you’ve been married away for years. You can’t depend on your maiden family forever.”
“We women need someone to rely on.”
“You’re still young. You shouldn’t spend your life just with your children. Moreover, the other family is quite well-off and offers you the best possibility.”
“They will treat your children as their own and won’t neglect them.”
Madam Xu’s face darkened even further. “Deng Zhi, escort our guest out!”
Without a word, Deng Zhi promptly began leading the old lady out.
“Hey, hey, don’t push… Madam Xu, think it over,” the old lady’s voice trailed off as she was escorted away, leaving Madam Xu looking exceedingly troubled.
Since her divorce, various matchmakers had been relentlessly proposing suitors for Madam Xu, including those from prestigious families. Madam Xu was thoroughly fed up.
Chao Chao slipped out and called to Rong Che at the connecting wall next door. “Your wife is about to be snatched away.”
“Lots of folks are trying to steal your wife…”
“Someone’s proposing to my mom,” Chao Chao said with a mischievous twinkle.
Rong Che nearly fell off the wall. “Really?”
“I’m only telling you because you help me with my homework,” Chao Chao explained earnestly.
Seeing him so agitated, Chao Chao leisurely strolled back inside.
“Oh, Chao Chao, things are tense in the capital these days. Don’t go out at night, okay?” Rong Che warned her.
“What’s happening?” Chao Chao’s curiosity was piqued.
Rong Che hesitated, then decided it was safe to tell. “There’s been a serial rapist in the capital recently. Many women have been hurt.”
“The culprit is clever and ruthless. Wherever he strikes, no one survives.”
“And all the victims have one thing in common; they are all thirty-four years old,” he added, revealing his assignment to capture the rapist that very night.
Though Chao Chao was only a child, her bravery was notable, and Rong Che worried she might attempt to sneak out.
“Don’t sneak out and worry your mother, alright?”
Chao Chao nodded solemnly. She wouldn’t cause trouble for the adults.