Troublemaker Prince Chapter 15
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 15
You Fengyun could not imagine at all how the Crown Prince, who had always been frail and sickly, could kick away Li Yuan, who weighed over two hundred pounds, and even break Li Yuan's ribs in the process.
So after You Fengyun remained silent for a while, he coughed and said, "Tell Zhen the details."
Anhai, having served by You Fengyun's side for decades as a eunuch, naturally knew that his master had become interested and was prepared to hear the entire process. He immediately had the shadow guards who had followed the Crown Prince out give a detailed report.
After You Yusui kicked away the Empress Dowager's nephew Li Yuan, You Yusui clutched his chest and immediately fainted without waiting for Li Yuan to get up, frightening Huo Xiling beside him into complete panic. Even the two Eastern Palace guards following the Crown Prince failed to react in time.
Everything happened too quickly. Before they could respond, Li Yuan had been kicked away. Before they could be amazed that the Crown Prince possessed such divine strength, the Crown Prince had already collapsed!
"Do you know who you're hitting? I am the heir of the Marquis of Nan'an, the current Empress Dowager's own nephew. You've provoked me—watch your heads!" Li Yuan, relying on his status, had always been used to running rampant in Chang'an. Now that he had been directly kicked away, with his ribs aching and making him gasp for breath, he still had to be helped up by his servants to finish his threats, letting this girl disguised as a boy know what kind of person she had provoked!
"Imperial physician! Imperial physician! Quickly call the imperial physician!" Huo Xiling held the young man wearing a veiled hat in his arms, clearly having lost all composure. His eyes, which were like cold stars, had become like those of a hungry wolf, ready to tear Li Yuan apart at any moment.
Being stared at by those eyes, Li Yuan felt a chill rise from his spine, as if he had already become a dead thing in Huo Xiling's eyes.
At this moment, Li Yuan heard Huo Xiling calling for an imperial physician and finally realized that the identity of the young man wearing a veiled hat in Huo Xiling's arms was probably not ordinary.
It was only then that the two guards You Yusui had brought out of the palace produced the Eastern Palace token, quieting the chaotic environment.
"The Crown Prince is here. You must not act recklessly." The tall and sturdy guard took out the token symbolizing the Crown Prince's identity and shouted loudly. Everyone present was stunned, and even the servants behind Li Yuan dared not act rashly.
The person in Huo Xiling's arms was actually the Crown Prince! Li Yuan's eyes widened as he looked toward Ji Shuang nearby, wanting to ask: Why didn't you tell me?
Ji Shuang was also greatly shocked and completely stunned.
Just then, a group of Imperial City guards rushed out from somewhere unknown and, under the direction of the Eastern Palace guard holding the Crown Prince's token, pressed down on Li Yuan.
"You, having attempted to harm the Crown Prince, take him away!"
Li Yuan found this incredible upon hearing this—he was the one with broken ribs, after all!
"I am the Empress Dowager's nephew. You cannot take me away!" Li Yuan shouted loudly.
However, this was the guard unit directly under the Emperor, who wouldn't care about any Li family or Zhang family. They directly took him away. As for the Li family servants who wanted to rescue Li Yuan, seeing the guard unit's cold and threatening weapons and their murderous aura, even if they had the courage, they no longer dared.
While lying in Huo Xiling's arms pretending to be weak and unconscious, You Yusui listened to the surrounding commotion, but what he thought in his heart was that his good father emperor indeed had people watching and monitoring him. However, this also had its benefits—having his father emperor's people all around him would not make his father emperor suspicious.
Moreover, if he suffered grievances, they could be delivered to his father emperor immediately. You Yusui, having lived over ten lifetimes, had finally understood his father. Sons could fight among themselves, but if others wanted to bully them, they had to weigh whether they had the capability. So, Li Yuan could only pray for his own fortune.
While thinking this, You Yusui wondered why he hadn't completely fainted yet. Logically, he should have fainted!
In Xuande Hall, Emperor You Fengyun, after hearing everything, actually felt a strange sense of relief. It had to be said that his mood was somewhat subtle.
Just then, palace attendants outside Xuande Hall came to report that the Empress Dowager had arrived. Only then did You Fengyun suppress that strange sense of relief in his heart and rise to welcome his mother empress.
The Empress Dowager had been a beauty in her youth, and even now in old age, she still retained her charm. Her brow carried some sadness and melancholy that made people feel sorry for her.
The Empress Dowager had come to plead for her nephew Li Yuan. Earlier, after the Empress Dowager's third brother, the Marquis of Nan'an, learned that his son had been captured by the Emperor's personal guards, he had hurriedly entered the palace to ask his sister, the Empress Dowager, to plead for his son.
The Marquis of Nan'an knelt beside the Empress Dowager, crying bitterly while speaking of how this was his only son, reminiscing about his childhood bond with the Empress Dowager, and describing his hardships over the years.
Upon hearing this, although the Empress Dowager disliked how her third brother's son always caused trouble, Li Yuan was after all her brother's only son. No matter what, she could not let her brother's lineage be cut off. Moreover, there might still be misunderstandings in the matter between Li Yuan and the Crown Prince. So the Empress Dowager steeled herself and came to Xuande Hall.
"Why has Mother Empress come?" You Fengyun asked with a smile on his face, but upon seeing the expression on the Empress Dowager's face, the corners of his mouth immediately flattened.
"Your Majesty, Aijia’s third brother has only this one son," the Empress Dowager said while wiping her tears.
(TL: The term 哀家 (āi jiā) is a first-person pronoun used exclusively by empresses or empress dowagers in imperial China when referring to themselves. The term reflects that the speaker is a widow of the emperor, i.e., the Empress Dowager, and she is still in a state of ceremonial mourning.)
"So what?" You Fengyun looked at the woman before him and asked with a calm expression.
Seeing her son's expression, the Empress Dowager's heart couldn't help but skip a beat. Although You Fengyun was born from her, she had never been able to figure out what her son was thinking. But thinking of her third brother's pitiful appearance and Li Yuan lying in the prison cell with broken ribs, the Empress Dowager felt that no matter what, she had to make You Fengyun release Li Yuan from prison today.
"Yuan'er is still lying in that cold and damp prison cell. His ribs are broken, and there's no imperial physician to treat him. Clearly it was the Crown Prince who broke his ribs, yet Your Majesty doesn't punish the Crown Prince but makes Yuan'er suffer punishment instead. What kind of reasoning is this?" the Empress Dowager said through her tears.
The next moment, You Fengyun slightly raised his eyelids. He looked quietly at his mother empress and asked, "So, in Mother Empress's view, who is more important between the Crown Prince and your nephew, who is closer and who is more distant?"
"This..." the Empress Dowager was stunned.
You Fengyun said unhurriedly, "Mother Empress, Zhen hopes you remember that Zhen's imperial sons are your own grandsons. Having Zhen punish your own grandson for the sake of an outsider—this is not good."
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager's eyes widened. An outsider? In an instant, the Empress Dowager's heart plummeted into an icy valley.
The Empress Dowager wanted to retort that Li Yuan was her own nephew, how could he be an outsider, but meeting You Fengyun's eyes, the Empress Dowager finally realized that even though the Li family was her maternal family, they ultimately did not bear the surname You.
Only after seeing You Fengyun's cold and hard expression did the Empress Dowager realize that she had made the wrong plea.
The cold emperor spoke. "The Marquis of Nan'an failed to educate his son strictly—penalize half a year's salary. The Marquis of Nan'an 's heir attacked the Crown Prince—strip him of his heir status and give him twenty strokes of the rod as a warning to others."
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but gasp and quickly said, "Twenty strokes might leave Yuan'er disabled!"
You Fengyun said indifferently, "Today they dared to be disrespectful to the Crown Prince. If they don't receive punishment, won't they dare to be disrespectful to Zhen next time?"
You Fengyun's words were spoken casually, but the Empress Dowager knew the Emperor was protecting imperial authority. The Crown Prince was the heir apparent, the empire's successor. Being openly disrespectful to the Crown Prince was being disrespectful to imperial authority.
The Empress Dowager felt she could say nothing more and could only hurriedly leave, instructing someone to tell the executioners not to be so heavy-handed.
After the Empress Dowager left, You Fengyun looked at the sky outside the window and asked Anhai beside him, "What do you think of Zhen's several imperial sons?"
Upon hearing this, Anhai immediately replied, "All the imperial sons are dragons and phoenixes among men, resembling Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, You Fengyun snorted coldly and said, "The Crown Prince has fainted. Have someone send some tonics to the Crown Prince's palace."
"Yes," Anhai responded.
In the Eastern Palace, You Yusui lay on the bed with his eyes closed, his entire person pale and fragile, as if he might shatter at any moment.
Eunuch Fubao watched this scene anxiously like an ant on a hot pan, while Huo Xiling stared intently at You Yusui's face, afraid he might miss the moment when You Yusui awakened.
Imperial Physician Cui, who had been summoned, calmly took the pulse. The Crown Prince's pulse was strong and vigorous, strong enough to kill two oxen, but he couldn't say this. He had to help cover for the Crown Prince, and even if he spoke out, no one would believe him given the Crown Prince's appearance.
"Imperial Physician Cui, have you diagnosed anything!" After a moment, Fubao asked anxiously.
Cui Yan put down You Yusui's wrist and explained, "The Crown Prince's body is weak. Due to stimulation, his qi rushed to his heart in agitation and he fainted. It's nothing serious—I'll insert two needles and he'll be fine."
After speaking, Cui Yan took out silver needles to perform acupuncture on You Yusui.
This set of needle techniques that Cui Yan used was to help You Yusui conceal his condition. After the treatment, for seven days, no matter who took his pulse, it would show signs of weak pulse and insufficient qi and blood, preventing You Yusui from being exposed when examined by other imperial physicians.
Soon, the needling was complete. Cui Yan removed the silver needles from You Yusui's body and said, "In a little while, His Highness will wake up."
Upon hearing this, both Huo Xiling and Fubao's anxious hearts were relieved. At this point, Huo Xiling also had time to ask Imperial Physician Cui why the Crown Prince's delicate body could kick away a two-hundred-pound fat man.
Upon hearing this, Cui Yan was silent for a moment, then began to speak nonsense with his eyes wide open.
"The Crown Prince previously consumed a five-hundred-year-old ginseng root. His qi and blood were abundant but hadn't been released. This time, kicking away the son of the Marquis of Nan'an was entirely due to that ginseng root's tremendous effect. Now that his qi and blood are depleted, the Crown Prince has fallen unconscious. However, this is also a good thing—releasing the excess qi and blood prevents it from harming the Crown Prince's weak body."
You Yusui, who wasn't actually unconscious, listened to Cui Yan's words and vaguely felt something was wrong, but ultimately chose to remain silent. After all, he was supposed to be frail and sickly.
"Next, I'll write a prescription for His Highness the Crown Prince. Remember to supervise His Highness to drink the medicine properly," Cui Yan said, taking out paper and brush.
Upon hearing this, You Yusui opened his eyes. He looked at Cui Yan and asked, "Can it be changed to dietary supplements?"
"No," Cui Yan smiled.
"Your Highness, it's alright. I'll drink the medicine together with you," Huo Xiling said, grasping You Yusui's hand.
You Yusui: ...Could you just directly help me drink all this medicine?