vrcanaries Chapter 109 Situ Yi
Chapter 109 Situ Yi
Thinking about all this, he felt a pang of sympathy for his younger brother.
The Empress passed away after giving birth to the Crown Prince. Although the Emperor protected the Crown Prince, he was too busy with state affairs to keep an eye on the Crown Prince all the time. Fortunately, the Empress's personal maid was very loyal.
The Empress originally had four personal maids. They agreed that two of them would guard the Empress's tomb after she passed away, protecting her for the rest of their lives.
The remaining two are to protect His Highness the Crown Prince as he grows up, and then they will go to accompany the Empress after he comes of age.
The four of them were originally the Empress's dowry maids, and their long-standing friendship naturally made them extremely loyal.
Of the four, Fangcao and Fangfei remained, and naturally devoted themselves to the Crown Prince whom the Empress had saved with her life.
When the prince was two years old, Fangfei died from poisoning, leaving only Fangcao alive.
This time, the Emperor finally brought the Crown Prince to his side to take care of him personally.
Enraged by this incident, the Emperor executed many people. This swift and decisive action made everyone in the palace realize just how secure the Crown Prince's position was. It also caused many concubines to secretly tear up their handkerchiefs, lamenting that some people were still restless even after death.
Later, the emperor accidentally fell in love with Fangcao while drunk. Fangcao was originally very beautiful, but she had always kept a simple appearance to avoid trouble, and no one noticed her appearance.
However, the Emperor's unexpected drunkenness led to an accident, and Fangcao, being the Empress's concubine, was pregnant.
The emperor felt he had lost face, so he only granted her the title of "Consort Fang". From then on, the Crown Prince's palace lost Aunt Fangcao and gained Consort Fang.
However, the Emperor did not like her. Every time he saw Consort Fang, it was as if he had done something wrong. Therefore, Consort Fang was not favored.
Fangcao was content. Although she could no longer personally take care of the Crown Prince, she had now agreed to the arrangement. Even if she was no longer favored, she still had some power and was dutifully protecting the Crown Prince.
Even if Fang gave birth to a son, she still wouldn't be favored by the emperor, who would only casually name him Situ Yi.
When Situ Yi was three years old, Fang Yi fell seriously ill and passed away.
Despite everyone's objections, the Crown Prince insisted on bringing Situ Yi to his palace. He knew that this younger brother was the only child left behind by Aunt Fangcao, who had been so good to him. He was determined to take good care of her child and protect this younger brother.
At that time, the Crown Prince was already ten years old. He knew that those concubines who already had children were willing to support Situ Yi in order to show their love and gain favor with the Emperor. Even if Aunt Fangcao was not favored, she was still an old woman left behind by the late Empress.
The emperor still gave the crown prince whatever he wanted, and the crown prince agreed as soon as he asked.
And so, Situ Yi grew up alongside the Crown Prince. The two were more than ten years apart in age, and the Crown Prince took care of him as both an elder brother and a father.
Situ Yi was indifferent to everyone in the palace except for the Crown Prince's family, and even ignored the Emperor. This personality obviously made the Emperor dislike him even more, so he was always a marginal figure in the palace.
The last time the Crown Prince saw his younger brother showing such interest in someone was when his son, Shi-hyuk, was born.
It was somewhat amusing; her younger brother had always been too calm. Perhaps that was for the best; it seemed she could let her brother and Jia Hu get to know each other better in the future.
Jia Hu was still wondering, "No way! Has the Emperor's influence reached this far? He even targets the homes of his ministers. Is he keeping a watchful eye on them all along?"
It seems I need to secretly think of a way to ask my grandfather and maternal grandfather if there are people watching my family all the time. If so, I need to be extra careful in what I do. This emperor is a bit annoying!
Seeing Jia Hu's wary glances, the Crown Prince, who had somehow guessed his thoughts, chuckled and patted his head, saying:
"You can rest assured that no one is watching over Hu'er."
The Crown Prince still has some understanding of his father, the Emperor, and hasn't gone so far as to plant spies in the homes of ministers.
Of course, there are a few exceptions, which are special cases where they also have them in their own prince's palace, but those are more for protection and are generally not reported to higher authorities.
Jia Hu wondered doubtfully, could the Crown Prince's words be trusted? But after thinking about it, he realized that the relationship between the Crown Prince and the Emperor was still quite good, so he chose to believe the Crown Prince and give him some trust.
As for my own family, I'll just have to secretly go back and ask my grandfather.
The Crown Prince looked at Jia Hu with obvious disbelief, but smiled and offered no further explanation.
He could sense Jia Hu's distrust of the court and couldn't help but ponder the source of this distrust.
Duke Rong? Impossible. Duke Rong has always been loyal to his imperial father, and I have absolute faith in that.
That was the powerful figure who had contact with Jia Hu. It was this powerful figure's trust in the imperial court that led Jia Hu to also distrust the imperial court.
Jia Hu realized this was a good opportunity and thought that since he had already done this, he might as well go all the way. He suddenly smiled obediently and said:
"His Highness the Crown Prince and His Majesty the Emperor truly have a deep father-son bond. I sometimes don't even believe what my father says."
Jia She lowered his head, feeling somewhat ashamed. He knew that he had done many shameful things that were not worthy of being discussed in public, which caused his son to distrust him. He had been trying his best to change, so why did his son bring it up again?
Everyone in the room laughed, and the crown prince also laughed:
"You naughty boy. Your father is going to be heartbroken."
Jia Hu was fearless. After making a heart shape with his hands towards his father, he said:
“I know my father truly loves me and wouldn’t hold it against me.”
The Crown Prince smiled as he watched Jia Hu's actions:
"You really are a mischievous little devil. How can anyone bear to be angry with someone so adorable?"
Jia Hu looked up obediently, his expression completely innocent, and asked curiously:
"How do His Highness the Crown Prince and the Emperor get along? Do they joke and play around with my father like I do?"
Zhang Zhiyuan quickly tried to stop Jia Hu, arguing that he shouldn't be inquiring about royal affairs so casually.
Zhang Heming raised his hand to stop his son from speaking. He knew that his maternal grandfather was not an ignorant child who didn't know any better, and that he must have his reasons for doing this.
The Crown Prince smiled gently. He also remembered how he used to throw tantrums and roll around with his father when he was a child, but now that he was all grown up, how could he, as the Crown Prince, possibly do such a thing?
The emperor should first and foremost be everyone's emperor, and only secondly his father.
"No, I'm not as mischievous as you."
The Crown Prince mimicked Jia Hu's tone, replying as if teasing a child.
Jia Hu smiled even more adorably, “But when my grandfather was at home, he would often say to my father, ‘Even if you are a hundred years old, you will still be my son.’”
Sometimes when I see my father, a grown man, still acting like a child next to my grandfather, I think he's too immature and childish. But then I also think my grandfather is sometimes happy.