Troublemaker Prince Chapter 8
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 8
"Isn't this too much?" Huo Xiling looked at the dazzling Crown Prince before him and asked.
It wasn't that Huo Xiling lacked experience—it was truly that You Yusui had given too much.
Moreover...
Huo Xiling looked toward You Yusui's smiling eyes, thinking that someday he would let him know that he hadn't been coaxing him.
You Yusui tilted his head and said, "Is it too much?"
According to regulations, the Crown Prince of Jing Dynasty was granted a fief of twenty thousand households, with annual tax revenues totaling ten thousand gold pieces. Additionally, You Yusui's mother came from a top-tier aristocratic family, leaving behind a considerable dowry. Combined with You Yusui's years of frugal living since becoming Crown Prince, the Eastern Palace's private treasury had accumulated a substantial fortune.
You Yusui felt that since he had so much money, he should spend it lavishly. He immediately turned to Fubao beside him and said, "Replace all the decorative items in the Eastern Palace, and get some fine materials to make several spring outfits for Attendant Huo."
After speaking, You Yusui suddenly realized that as Crown Prince, he had lived frugally for so many years, constantly wearing old clothes, yet had enjoyed nothing! This wouldn't do—he needed to live luxuriously. From now on, he would drink only sweet spring water, only the finest pre-spring tea, and wear only clothes made from the highest quality fabrics.
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Fubao asked with a beaming smile, "Would Your Highness also like several spring outfits made?"
"Yes, make them." You Yusui pointed at his chin with his finger, then his gaze met Huo Xiling's as he smiled and asked, "What do you think—would I look good in red?"
The Great Jing Dynasty honored black and red as the most prestigious colors. If You Yusui wore an entirely red outfit, it would certainly be extremely bright and flamboyant. Huo Xiling glanced at You Yusui's court robes, which were primarily black with red accents, and thought that You Yusui would definitely look excellent in red.
"Your Highness would look very good in red," Huo Xiling said softly.
You Yusui nodded and had Fubao arrange for many red casual robes to be made for alternating wear, insisting that the embroidery thread must be gold silk to blind his good brothers' eyes.
"As for my old clothes, throw them all away," You Yusui said after giving his instructions.
Those old casual robes weren't made from top-quality fabrics either, and their colors were the bland shades favored by the scholarly class. Having been worn so many times, it wouldn't be a pity to discard them. Some clothes without the Crown Prince's symbolic patterns could be given to palace servants to exchange for money if they wanted them—this wouldn't violate regulations or constitute overstepping boundaries.
Thinking this way, You Yusui couldn't help but rub his face. Indeed, having been frugal for too long, his mindset was still hard to change. Old clothes should simply be thrown away entirely—why give them to anyone?
Soon, You Yusui returned to the Eastern Palace. Except for the trusted confidants left by the previous empress, all other palace servants had been replaced by people sent by the Emperor, and the Eastern Palace guards had also been changed to more elite troops.
For a moment, everyone saw this but didn't know what had happened, and could only silently speculate in their hearts.
Had the Emperor grown tired of the Crown Prince, or had the Crown Prince gained the Emperor's favor? They couldn't reach a conclusion.
At this time, You Yusui couldn't care about others' thoughts. He was currently pulling his kept male favorite to look at the clothing catalogs that Eunuch Fubao had brought, selecting clothing styles.
"Not this one, not this one, and not this one either. Make him a set of everything else," You Yusui's fingertip lightly tapped the catalog as he gave his instructions.
Huo Xiling looked at the Crown Prince sitting at the table with a slight smile at the corner of his mouth and felt somewhat troubled. He advised, "Your Highness, even if I wore one outfit per day, I couldn't finish wearing them all throughout spring."
You Yusui propped his chin with his hand, looked up at Huo Xiling and said, "Then wear two outfits a day. I like watching anyway."
After speaking, You Yusui continued selecting sachets and accessories for Huo Xiling.
Huo Xiling watched with dizzying eyes, thinking to himself: Is this the imperial lifestyle?
"What fragrance do you like?" You Yusui asked Huo Xiling after selecting several sachet styles.
Huo Xiling came from humble origins and had depended on his sister for survival. After his sister married her husband, he followed his brother-in-law to practice martial arts. How would he know about fragrances?
"I like the fragrance on Your Highness," Huo Xiling answered without thinking.
As soon as the words fell, Huo Xiling saw You Yusui looking at him with teasing eyes, which made him extremely embarrassed.
However, the faint bitter-tinted winter plum fragrance on the Crown Prince had indeed comforted him that night, allowing him to sleep peacefully.
The next moment, You Yusui reached out to embrace Huo Xiling's neck, smiling as he said, "You really know how to please me."
You Yusui was smiling. Whether Huo Xiling was sincere or not, he was happy at this moment.
"The bitter-scented plum fragrance on Your Highness smells very good," Huo Xiling said, lowering his eyes to look at the delicate white skin at You Yusui's neck.
"Bitter scent?" You Yusui looked at Huo Xiling and then realized, "That's the medicinal smell I picked up when I was seriously ill before."
"The plum fragrance is the scent of 'Spring's Message in the Snow' that my mother loved. The palace burns it daily. If you like it, I'll have people make you several more sachets."
Now Huo Xiling knew that the bitter-tinted plum fragrance on the Crown Prince wasn't an incense that the Crown Prince himself preferred.
"Whatever fragrance Your Highness likes, I'll use that," Huo Xiling said softly.
You Yusui felt that his kept male favorite was truly too considerate—using whatever fragrance he liked, so obedient. He should pamper him more.
Huo Xiling didn't yet know that he had already taken on a strange image in the Crown Prince's heart, but his desire to make the Crown Prince happy was genuine.
"I like osmanthus fragrance. Will you use it?" You Yusui smiled as he looked at Huo Xiling.
Huo Xiling replied with a serious expression, "I will!"
You Yusui had Fubao fetch the incense materials, and half an hour later, You Yusui had acquired a sweet-scented little wolf dog.
After selecting the clothes and arranging the handover of Eastern Palace affairs, You Yusui was also tired and went to lie down on the bed to rest.
After Eunuch Fubao drew the curtains in the inner chamber, he directed the palace servants to destroy You Yusui's old clothes—these were embroidered with dragon patterns that commoners couldn't use.
Standing aside with nothing to do, Huo Xiling couldn't help but ask Eunuch Fubao for those clothes without the Crown Prince's symbolic patterns. Eunuch Fubao looked at Huo Xiling with an expression that said "we understand everything," then stuffed Huo Xiling with various personal items the Crown Prince had used.
"The Crown Prince is thin-skinned, so don't let him see these," Eunuch Fubao instructed.
Upon hearing this, Huo Xiling was so embarrassed that he immediately fled the scene.
Eunuch Fubao watched Huo Xiling's retreating figure and couldn't help but say, "Young people, ah."
While the Eastern Palace was happily and busily making spring clothes, the Sixth Prince was already despairing.
He was only fourteen years old, still many years away from coming of age and being enfeoffed as a prince, but at such a young age, he had already incurred enormous debts, and his creditors demanded repayment within a short time.
With no powerful maternal clan and no personal savings, You Yuliu could only seek help from their palace patron, Noble Consort Xian.
Noble Consort Xian was the Empress Dowager's niece, her father was the Minister of Justice, and she came from a distinguished family. She had two sons with the current Emperor: the Third Prince You Yushan, who was brave and fond of fighting, while her second son, the Seventh Prince, was naturally slower in reaction than ordinary people.
In Noble Consort Xian's Jianjia Palace, the Eldest Princess had brought her twelve-year-old daughter to discuss marriage arrangements with Noble Consort Xian.
Both the Eldest Princess and the Emperor were born to the Empress Dowager, and Noble Consort Xian was also the Empress Dowager's own niece. If these two families were to intermarry, it would truly be adding kinship upon kinship.
"Shuang'er is lovely. It would be Yushan's fortune to marry her," Noble Consort Xian said, looking at the twelve-year-old girl chasing butterflies nearby. Clearly, she was very satisfied with this future daughter-in-law, and her interests became even more closely aligned with the Eldest Princess's.
"Mother will definitely agree to this marriage, but we need to mention it to Imperial Brother and make it official," the Eldest Princess said.
"When the time comes, have aunt host a family banquet, invite His Majesty, and then you act according to the plan—it will be foolproof," Noble Consort Xian said with a smile.
The plan was set; they only needed to perform a play before the Emperor.
At this moment, the Sixth Prince You Yuliu and Consort Ning requested an audience with Noble Consort Xian.
After the two entered Jianjia Palace, You Yuliu revealed everything that had happened that morning, even adding embellishments to say that the Crown Prince had been disrespectful to Noble Consort Xian and looked down on the Third Prince.
Upon hearing this, Noble Consort Xian only felt that You Yuliu was a fool. If she had handled this matter, today's situation would have been completely different—there might even have been calls in court to depose the Crown Prince. It was unfortunate that You Yuliu was a pig who had played even a good hand terribly.
"The Noble Consort must seek justice for us mother and son!" Consort Ning cried.
Noble Consort Xian frowned and said, "Get up first."
After a moment, Noble Consort Xian said, "Let's set the family banquet for the Crown Prince's birthday. We'll celebrate the Crown Prince's birthday and let him know that even when beating a dog, one must consider its master."
Noble Consort Xian acted swiftly. After coordinating with the Empress Dowager in Changle Palace, she sent an invitation to the Eastern Palace, saying it was a family banquet hosted by the Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince must attend.
The person delivering the invitation left hastily after placing it down, saying they needed to deliver invitations to other consorts and princes in the palace.
Thus, when You Yusui woke up, he received the invitation from Changle Palace.
"Is Your Highness unhappy?" Huo Xiling, standing nearby, looked at You Yusui, who was holding the invitation with fingers so tense they had turned slightly white.
"Mm," You Yusui responded.
Everyone in the palace knew he never celebrated his birthday, because his mother had died in difficult childbirth. Even though that strong woman had endured until the next day for his sake before passing away, You Yusui didn't want to celebrate his birthday.
Every birthday, he would quietly sit before his late mother's portrait and copy scriptures for her. However, this time the Empress Dowager was using her seniority to pressure him, insisting he must attend the banquet at Changle Palace on his birthday.
Eunuch Fubao couldn't help but sigh and quietly told Huo Xiling the reason for the Crown Prince's unhappiness.
Huo Xiling walked to You Yusui's front, grasped You Yusui's hand, gently pried his fingers open, then carefully massaged them as he said, "Your Highness, from now on, I'll spend every birthday with you, alright?"
You Yusui glanced at the young man before him and smiled as he asked, "Accompany me in copying scriptures?"
"I'll make longevity noodles for Your Highness," Huo Xiling smiled and said.
"Not bad." You Yusui lowered his head and asked, "When is your birthday? From now on, I'll spend it with you."
"Your humble servant’s birthday is on the Shangsi Festival. After this birthday, I'll be sixteen," Huo Xiling smiled and said.
Suddenly, You Yusui raised his head sharply and said, "What did you just say? How old are you?"
"Next month I'll be sixteen," Huo Xiling answered.
As soon as the words fell, You Yusui's body couldn't help but lean backward.
"Your Highness!" Huo Xiling was frightened and quickly reached out to support You Yusui.
"Your Highness, what's wrong with you?" Huo Xiling asked in panic.
You Yusui said weakly, "I just suddenly lost all worldly desires."
Huo Xiling: ???
Seeing this, Fubao immediately shouted, "Imperial physician! Imperial physician! Quickly fetch the imperial physician!"