Chapter 2: I'm Not the Crown Prince Yet!
As he walked out of Changle, Liu Rong felt a sense of relief, as if he had narrowly escaped a disaster.
Princess Guantao, Liu Piao, had come to propose a marriage, wanting to marry her beloved daughter to Liu Rong, but Consort Li had unceremoniously driven her out!
Not only was she driven out, but Consort Li also brazenly ordered her palace staff: if Liu Piao dared to come again, they were to throw her out without announcement…
As a result, Liu Piao left the palace and immediately ran to Changle to cry to her Royal Grandmother.
With a casual wave, the Divine Doctor Mother once again achieved a new accomplishment: in three sentences, she offended the current Royal Grandmother, the Princess Guantao, and the entire Marquis of Tangyi family on behalf of her son…
“Phew~”
“I survived today, but this feud is truly cemented…”
“—Mother~”
“My ‘good’ Mother…”
Weiyang Palace and Changle were adjacent to the east and west, separated only by Zhangtai Street.
While sighing with emotion, Liu Rong walked back into Weiyang Palace.
As he approached the Phoenix Hall where he and his mother lived, even before he reached the door, a predictable din of smashing and scolding erupted from within the hall.
Bang!
“Bitch!”
“Daydreaming!!”
“Truly infuriating!!!”
Stepping into the hall, he was met with a scene of disarray and the cowering figures of the palace staff.
Seeing Liu Rong, the palace staff looked at his slightly immature face as if they had found a savior, their eyes filled with anticipation.
Liu Rong took a deep breath, waved his hand casually, and dismissed all the palace staff from the hall.
Then, he walked forward and, while bowing with cupped hands, naturally knelt down before his mother.
“Mother.”
Seeing her son witness her so enraged, Consort Li’s face, full of fury, stiffened.
“Rong… Rong’er is here…”
She greeted him stiffly, then looked away with a hint of embarrassment at the mess in the hall.
Liu Rong, however, was used to it. After a moment of thought, he went straight to the point.
“Mother should know that Royal Grandmother has two sons and one daughter.”
“Father is the Crown Prince, and Prince of Liang is the youngest son.”
“And Princess Guantao is Royal Grandmother’s eldest daughter.”
—In the past, Father was the Crown Prince, and now he is the Emperor, working tirelessly day and night on state affairs with no time for other matters;
Prince of Liang is far away in Changling, coming to Chang'an only once every three years. Even if he wished to show filial piety, he is too far away.
Only Princess Guantao can always be by Royal Grandmother’s side…”
At first, Consort Li didn't react to Liu Rong's seemingly random words.
But when she understood that Liu Rong's words were implicitly questioning why she didn't get along well with Princess Guantao, her sister-in-law, Consort Li's anger, which she had just suppressed, instantly flared up again.
“Does she even remember that she’s the former Emperor’s eldest daughter and the Emperor’s sister?!”
—How can an elder sister constantly scheme to stuff more seductive women into her brother’s bed?!!
“She’s simply going too far!!!”
Hearing this, Liu Rong only shook his head with a sigh, saying no more.
Where exactly this extraordinary mother was extraordinary lay in her peculiar way of thinking.
—She was already an Emperor’s woman, and a concubine at that, yet she still deluded herself into thinking she could have exclusive favor?
Please~
This isn't a romance novel; what kind of Emperor plays pure love with you?
To have given birth to Emperor Qi’s three eldest sons as a concubine was already an immense stroke of luck!
She's lived a long life and is no longer young and beautiful;
Instead of figuring out how to firmly secure her son’s position as Crown Prince, and then, with her son’s elevated status, move into Jiaofang Palace and become the mother of the world, her mind is filled with ‘Your Majesty, love me one more time’?
Liu Rong found it hard to endure.
Yet, she was his own mother, and he couldn't shake her off.
—Not only could he not shake her off, but they would rise and fall together.
In just these few sentences, Liu Rong didn't know what else he could say to his extraordinary mother…
“My son went to Changle?”
He hadn't intended to say more, but his mother's words inexplicably annoyed him, and Liu Rong's hand, holding a teacup, paused in mid-air.
After a brief stunned, he brought the teacup to his lips with a normal expression.
“Yes.”
“Mother caused trouble, and as a son, I naturally had no choice but to go and apologize, bow humbly, and settle the matter.”
“As always…”
Liu Rong spoke lightly, but his heart was full of bitterness.
It’s been almost ten years;
He has been in this era for nearly ten years.
Ten years was enough time for Liu Rong, as the Crown Prince, to do many, many useful things.
But for these ten years, Liu Rong has spent all his time cleaning up after his Divine Doctor Mother.
To this day, the results are approximately zero.
In the future, who knows how many more troubles await Consort Li to cause, and for Liu Rong, the Crown Prince, to clean up…
“Son, I’m tired.”
He sincerely expressed the bitterness in his heart, and then gazed deeply into his mother’s eyes;
After a long while, he rose with a self-mocking smile, came to the center of the hall, and slowly cupped his hands.
“Mother thinks that when Princess Guantao wants to marry off her daughter, she wants her daughter to become the Crown Prince's Consort without doing anything.”
—Mother only thinks that whoever marries her son will be the Crown Prince’s Consort?
“Heh…”
·
“In the past, I had many reservations in front of Mother, but today, I might as well speak more plainly.”
—The Crown Prince, whoever marries A Jiao will be able to firmly secure the position.
“Unless Father goes against all opinions, and even disregards Royal Grandmother’s threats of death, and insists on establishing me;”
“Otherwise, Mother, today, you have not only rejected Princess Guantao’s marriage proposal, but you have also, on my behalf, rejected the position of Crown Prince that was offered to me…”
As he spoke, Liu Rong’s smile became even wider, and the bitterness within him grew stronger.
“Mother always says that Princess Guantao treats Shaofu Neiku as her own storeroom, moving things out to her mansion by the cartload.”
“Mother thinks that Shaofu Neiku is the family property that Father will definitely hand over to his son in the future, and that Princess Guantao is undermining his son.”
“But Mother has forgotten: Shaofu Neiku is the private property of the Liu Hun, only managed by the Emperor.”
“Princess Guantao can treat Shaofu Neiku as her own storeroom because of Father’s tacit approval and her own ‘Liu’ surname.”
·
“Whether it’s rejecting Princess Guantao’s marriage proposal or resenting Princess Guantao’s actions in Shaofu Neiku, Mother, you have forgotten one thing.”
—Son has not yet moved into the Crown Prince's Palace;
“Mother has never lived in Jiaofang Palace either…”
Such extremely bitter words only made Consort Li shift uncomfortably;
Finally, she could no longer sit still and, filled with suspicion, stood up and walked closer.
“What nonsense is my son saying?”
“The Empress has no son, so His Majesty has no legitimate son. As the Crown Prince, my son is naturally destined to be the Crown Prince, isn’t he?”
“Once my son becomes the Crown Prince, I will naturally gain status through him and move into Jiaofang Palace…”
“—I’m not the Crown Prince yet!!!”
Before Consort Li could finish speaking, Liu Rong’s sudden roar brought the entire Phoenix Hall to a standstill!
Liu Rong, full of rage, spoke word by word under the astonished gaze of his mother, Consort Li: “Son, I’m not the Crown Prince yet!”
“Mother, you are not the Empress yet!!!”
“Whether I can become the Crown Prince depends on Father’s approval and Royal Grandmother’s nod to issue the decree!”
“Don’t you understand this basic principle, Mother!!!”
·
“I rely on Father, but Mother spends all day fighting for favor, first annoying Father;”
“Just when I was about to rely on Royal Grandmother, Mother now angered the Royal Grandmother because of Princess Guantao!”
“Mother, what exactly do you want to do?”
—Do you want your son to be enfeoffed as a prince, and then, in the future, be imprisoned and die under false charges by the younger brother who takes the throne?!!!!