Troublemaker Prince C34
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 34
Naturally, none of the imperial princes regarded You Yusui as their brother. The First Prince and Third Prince viewed the Crown Prince as a thorn in their side, wishing they could replace him. The Fifth Prince was not close to the Crown Prince—they were mere strangers. The Sixth Prince was a staunch supporter of the Third Prince. As for the Seventh Prince, he was simply a fool whom Consort Xian wouldn't even let leave his palace.
Moreover, this visit to the Eastern Palace to pay respects had been forcibly demanded by You Fengyun. If not for this incident, they would never have come to the Eastern Palace.
When the Crown Prince finished speaking, all the princes recalled that family banquet when the Crown Prince had just recovered from his serious illness, which had cost them dearly.
That family banquet wasn't meant to intimidate the Crown Prince at all—it clearly gave the Crown Prince an excuse to exploit them.
You Yusui touched his chest and said, "This prince's heart aches greatly."
Whether You Yusui's heart truly ached or not, the Third Prince and the others couldn't feel, but they could certainly feel their own purses aching.
"Your Highness, please don't be upset. If you fall ill from anger, that would be terrible," Eunuch Fubao quickly consoled from the side. "All the princes are Your Highness's brothers. How could they unite to upset Your Highness? After all, this would be disrespectful to their elder brother, violate the principles of brotherly harmony, and damage their own reputations."
Hearing Eunuch Fubao's words, the Sixth Prince You Yuliu, who had been taught a lesson by You Yusui using the principles of brotherly harmony, immediately tensed up, his back beginning to ache faintly.
"Second Imperial Brother Crown Prince, it's not that I didn't prepare a gift, it's just that my palace was emptied out, so I really had no way to prepare a gift," You Yuliu said with an ingratiating smile.
Ever since his mother consort's and his palace had been emptied, his finances had been terribly tight—he didn't even have money to reward servants, let alone send any gifts.
You Yusui toyed with his hands and glanced coldly at You Yuliu, saying, "So Sixth Imperial Brother still remembers that he owes this prince one hundred thousand taels of silver, with twenty thousand taels yet to be repaid?"
You Yuliu's expression instantly turned ugly upon hearing this.
"Hmph," You Yusui snorted coldly. "Add another ten thousand taels of silver to be repaid together in the future."
You Yuliu stood dumbfounded like a wooden chicken. He hadn't expected You Yusui could actually do such a thing.
"Third Brother, what about you?" You Yusui looked at You Yushan.
"Whatever Second Brother likes in my palace, Second Brother may take as he pleases," the Third Prince You Yushan said.
Before coming, Consort Xian had already instructed him that he must not clash with the Crown Prince at this time.
"Third Brother is straightforward. In a moment, I'll have palace servants go to your place to fetch things," You Yusui said with a smile.
As for the Fifth Prince You Yuwu, without You Yusui even looking at him, he stood up and said with a smile, "I came in such a hurry this time that I didn't prepare anything. But Second Brother, you know I don't have many good things in my palace. However, I recently obtained several pots of superior-quality camellia flowers, which would be perfect to send to Second Imperial Brother Crown Prince to decorate the palace and dispel the sickly energy."
You Yusui naturally couldn't be bothered to make things difficult for this transparent prince who hadn't participated in the struggle for the throne in over a dozen lifetimes. He simply nodded and said, "I'm very pleased with Fifth Brother's gift."
After speaking, You Yusui waved his hand and said, "I'm tired, so I won't keep you any longer."
Hearing this, the princes wanted to leave, but halfway out, they heard the Crown Prince behind them say, "In the future, just send the gifts. You don't need to come in person."
The Third Prince couldn't help but curse inwardly upon hearing this. Did they think they wanted to come?
Finally, the three princes who had come to visit the sick Crown Prince quickly left the Eastern Palace, not wanting to stay a moment longer.
You Yusui watched them with a cold laugh. If they dared come to the Eastern Palace again next time, he would directly fleece them of everything they owned.
"Fubao," You Yusui called out, then continued, "Take a few young eunuchs and bring some sacks to the Third Prince's palace. Bring back to this prince anything that catches your eye. If he tries to stop you, ask him if everything he said before this prince was false."
"Yes, Your Highness." Eunuch Fubao immediately took the young eunuchs to the Third Prince's palace to collect treasures.
The Third Prince never imagined that his one statement would result in his palace being nearly looted clean, yet he couldn't refuse. If this matter reached Father Emperor, it would likely stir up another storm.
Before leaving, Eunuch Fubao said with a smile, "I knew the Third Prince's heart was truest toward the Crown Prince. Among all the brothers, only the Third Prince treats the Crown Prince best."
After speaking, Eunuch Fubao even wiped his eyes with his hand, looking extremely moved.
You Yushan felt the Crown Prince was far too shameless—even the Eastern Palace's servants could be this disgusting.
After disgusting the Third Prince, Eunuch Fubao withdrew, returning laden with good things taken from the Third Prince's palace.
After Eunuch Fubao left, the Third Prince looked at his now-empty palace and felt like he could barely breathe. In that moment, he finally understood how You Yuliu had felt when he saw his own palace emptied.
"Crown Prince!" You Yushan punched the pillar in front of him, leaving a fist mark.
Consort Xian, having heard the news, rushed over. Seeing her son's angry appearance, she said, "Why are you getting angry? Your father emperor is beating you down in various ways. Endurance is the best strategy."
"Mother Consort, how long must I endure?" You Yushan asked with reddened eyes.
"Endure until after your wedding, endure until the First Prince can't help but make the first move," Consort Xian consoled. "You'll see, the one who falls hardest will definitely be the First Prince and that woman Su Hewan."
"But now the Crown Prince's Grand Preceptor and Grand Mentor—one is a great contemporary scholar, the other is the Grand General," You Yushan couldn't help but say irritably.
Consort Xian snorted coldly and said, "Gu Shen only has the reputation of a great scholar without any official position in court. Although he has disciples serving as officials in court, they can't influence the situation. As for the Grand General, he is your aunt's husband and is far away at the frontier. He can't help the Crown Prince at all. His Majesty would absolutely never allow a Grand General who holds military power to help the Crown Prince."
"These people only have high prestige and good reputations. They seem like a bouquet of flowers, but in reality, the Crown Prince doesn't have many people in his hands. His Majesty's arrangement is like cooking with hot oil—he's roasting the Crown Prince on a fire rack."
"Moreover, can these people compare to your maternal grandfather? Can they compare to the Empress Dowager?" Consort Xian asked with a laugh.
Consort Xian's father was the Minister of Justice, commanding the imperial guards. The Empress Dowager was her own aunt, and they were of one heart. As long as they made no mistakes and let the First Prince and Crown Prince fight, victory would always be theirs.
"Having these people as the Crown Prince's three tutors will only provoke the First Prince," Consort Xian said with a smile.
"Let's not talk about this anymore. In a few days, it will be your wedding. Are all the preparations ready? Are you familiar with the procedures?" Consort Xian said as she pulled the Third Prince to check the items.
And just as Consort Xian said, the only one whose defenses were broken was the First Prince.
"I once lowered myself to visit Gu Shen's home three or four times, but he wouldn't even open the door for me. Yet now he became the Crown Prince's Grand Preceptor without even refusing," the First Prince You Yuyi felt he was going mad. That feeling of something already considered his being snatched away was truly unbearable.
However, he was now confined to the palace and couldn't do anything.
He could only constantly console himself that once he entered court, he could gather strength to compete for the position.
You Yusui in the Eastern Palace didn't know what You Yuyi was thinking. If he had known, he definitely would have packaged up Grand Preceptor Gu and sent him to You Yuyi's presence to let You Yuyi relive his classroom days.
The next day, You Yusui rose early, dressed in dignified Crown Prince's regular attire, and waited for the new teacher his father emperor had found for him.
Holding the Analects, You Yusui couldn't help but yawn, then said to Huo Xiling beside him, "I've sacrificed too much to make Imperial Physician Cui suffer."
As his words fell, an elderly man with a calm and refined temperament stepped through the door. This was Gu Shen, the great contemporary scholar. Disciples who wished to enter his tutelage flocked to him, yet only those with both virtue and talent could enter under his guidance.
"I pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince," Gu Shen performed the ritual of subject to ruler before the Crown Prince.
You Yusui then performed the disciple's ritual toward Gu Shen, saying, "I pay my respects to Teacher."
Gu Shen stroked his beard and said, "Your Highness, please sit."
After You Yusui sat down, while flipping through his book, he asked, "Teacher, actually I have a question. Why is it that when my imperial brother sought to meet you several times, you kept him outside your door?"
"Oh, that? Actually, I always felt he wasn't a good person."
You Yusui: ??? Don't you think you don't quite fit the image of a great contemporary scholar?
Later, You Yusui recalled that when Gu Shen was young, he seemed to have been an even more youthfully arrogant figure than his maternal grandfather.
"That old fellow Xie Rusi has already instructed me that if you don't want to study, I can't force you," Gu Shen said. "So, Your Highness, what do you want to do now? Listen to my lectures, or...?"
You Yusui immediately lay down, looking pitifully at Gu Shen and said, "Teacher, I'm sick. Can I rest the whole time?"
"Granted."
"Then Teacher, can you teach Xiling? You don't need to teach him Confucian studies—just military strategy would be good," You Yusui said, looking weak and pitiful at Gu Shen.
One should know that Gu Shen was not only a great scholar but was also somewhat versed in the classics of all schools of thought.
Gu Shen, who had thought he had come to the Eastern Palace just to collect his salary without working. "That's fine too. However, the way of using troops relies on unexpected victories. How much he understands and can use will be his fortune."
As his words fell, You Yusui blinked at Huo Xiling.
Huo Xiling was also very happy, but—Your Highness, didn't we agree to study together? Why is it only him studying now?
"Xiling, be good. Study well, and this prince will reward you," You Yusui coaxed.
Being coaxed like a child made Huo Xiling's ears turn a bit red, but he still agreed with a "yes."
Three days passed in a flash. You Yusui had lounged in the Eastern Palace for three days, while the weddings of the First Prince and Third Prince were already prepared.
The cheerful sound of suonas rang out, audible even from the Eastern Palace.
Listening to the sounds outside, You Yusui couldn't help but say, "How annoying. Why must this prince's two brothers get married on the same day, making this prince unable to decide whose banquet to attend?"
"So, for the sake of fairness, this prince has decided not to go to either. Since this prince isn't going to either, naturally there's no gift money either. Isn't this very reasonable?"
Everyone: ...You can just say you're stingy.