Chapter 644: Chapter 644 Fasting

As long as he thought about the fiancée his parents had chosen for him from the Nanyang Marquis Mansion, Prince NanAn felt utterly defeated.

Chu Shun opened the meal box.

A rich aroma of roasted chicken wafted out.

Prince NanAn cast aside the notion that he couldn’t eat, grabbed a chicken leg and gnawed on it.

Roasted chicken paired with Huadiao wine, the finest delicacy on earth.

Seeing Prince NanAn finish all the food in the meal box, and with no one watching around, he could sit or lie down as he wished, so Chu Shun and his companions left at ease.

Shortly after they left, Princess NanAn, worried about her son, had her trusted maid bring him his favorite dishes.

Princess NanAn didn’t believe her son was at fault for breaking the leg of the Heir of Duke Chong, and besides, he was her only child, how could she bear to see him hungry? While Prince NanAn was busy writing a self-reflection memorial, she quickly sent the maid to deliver food to Prince NanAn.

But just as he had overindulged after starving for two meals, Prince NanAn didn’t even lift his eyelids.

“My Prince, please eat a little,” the maid urged.

“Not hungry,” Prince NanAn replied.

“How could you not be hungry, you’ve skipped two meals. If you harm your body, what will the Princess do?” The maid pleaded sincerely.

Unfortunately, Prince NanAn remained unmoved, “Not hungry means not hungry, take it away, take it away.”

Prince NanAn knelt upright.

What could the maid do? The food was brought secretly, and she didn’t dare leave it behind.

She carried the food back to the house, and Princess NanAn asked, “Why are you back so soon?”

“The Prince wouldn’t eat,” said the maid.

“Wouldn’t eat?” Princess NanAn frowned.

“Princess, the Prince might be annoyed that you arranged a marriage with the Nan’an Marquis Mansion girl, and is staging a hunger strike?” the maid speculated.

Princess NanAn’s brows knitted tightly together.

Would her son really go on a hunger strike?

If the issue of breaking the leg of the Heir of Duke Chong hadn’t blown up, the engagement could have been called off.

But now the situation was so serious, if the Prince NanAn Mansion reneged on the engagement, it would be pushing the girl from the Nanyang Marquis Mansion to a dead end.

Not to mention, it wasn’t even the Nanyang Marquis Mansion’s fault.

Letting her son wear iron shoes wasn’t a license for him to cause trouble.

If she had known he was going out in copper boots to get into fights, she would have prevented it with all her might instead of forcing him.

Moreover, to reassure the Nanyang Marquis Mansion, Prince NanAn had already decided to send the engagement gifts in the next couple of days.

“If he doesn’t eat, then let it be; starving for a meal or two won’t kill him,” Princess NanAn said.

The maids exchanged looks in disbelief.

Having spent too much time with the Dongxiang Marquis’s wife, the Princess’s heart had indeed grown more open.

Previously, she would have been frantic with worry.

But thinking of the Heir of Duke Chong breaking his leg in a fight with Prince NanAn, the maids felt a shiver of fear for their Prince.

Dealing with petty demons is more difficult than dealing with the King of Hell.

Is it possible for the Heir of Duke Chong not to seek revenge for his broken leg?

That night, Princess NanAn couldn’t sleep well.

She didn’t want to go to the Duke Chong Mansion to offer apologies.

The matter was initiated by the Heir of Duke Chong; her own son had fallen on a tofu stall, yet the Heir wanted to assault him further, he merely lifted his foot defensively, and it resulted in a broken leg.

It was his own doing, and he had no one else to blame.

But without an apology, Duke Chong’s Mansion would surely retaliate, and Princess NanAn couldn’t bear her only son, Prince NanAn, getting hurt.

With such dilemmas, she tossed and turned all night unable to sleep.

The next day during the morning court, Prince NanAn presented the self-reflection memorial to the Emperor, admitting that he had not taught Prince NanAn properly, leading to the street fight with the Heir of Duke Chong, causing his broken leg.

The Emperor listened and said, “How come I heard that it was the Heir of Duke Chong who assaulted Prince NanAn, and ended up breaking his own leg?”

The Emperor showed no leniency towards Duke Chong.

In terms of self-reflection, Duke Chong should be the first.

Yet Duke Chong stood there unresponsive, making the Emperor dislike him even more.

Duke Chong felt wronged, as his son ended up with a broken leg from a fight, despite the other party only having minor injuries.

The incident took place in front of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, in front of a large audience, how humiliating.

But however humiliating, it’s still his son involved.

Yesterday, the Old Madam Duke Chong entered the palace, and the Empress Dowager reprimanded Prince Zhenbei, ordering him to solve the impostor Old Madam case within a month, so he didn’t believe the Emperor was unaware.

In the end, it was just the Emperor venting his dissatisfaction with the pressure on the Empress Dowager on him.

Duke Chong remained silent, and a minister stepped forward saying, “Though the fight was initiated by the Heir of Duke Chong, the root of the trouble lies with Prince Zhenbei Mansion, as the impostor Old Madam slandered the Empress Dowager and the Old Madam Duke Chong, damaging the Empress Dowager’s prestige. The Heir of Duke Chong was only trying to defend the Empress Dowager’s honor, albeit a bit impetuously, but his filial piety is commendable.”

The Emperor gave the minister a deep look, “As I know, it’s not the first time they’ve been fighting.”

The minister, “…”

The slap in the face came too swiftly, and it was the Emperor doing it publicly.

The minister’s face turned pale, and he nearly collapsed.

Since the Empress Dowager had already dealt with it yesterday, the Emperor didn’t dwell on the matter.

The morning court was primarily to discuss state affairs, spending half a day on Duke Chong’s Heir fighting with Prince NanAn would be improper.

However, today’s court session did not please the Emperor.

Halfway through the discussions, Duke Chong’s faction brought up the drought issue.

Last time, the Emperor’s self-reproach edict earned him admiration for his literary talent from the common people, but talent alone didn’t help much; it moved the people but didn’t move the heavens.

The drought was worsening, and without timely rain, it could lead to disaster.

Duke Chong proposed that the Emperor should conduct a sacrificial ceremony to pray for rain, bringing blessings to the nation.

Although the Emperor was prepared to host the sacrificial ceremony, being reminded so blatantly still displeased him.

He never saw rain as something that could be summoned by pleading.

If heaven truly disapproved of him as emperor, why not strike him down with a thunderbolt directly, sparing the people the hardship?

Yet, all past emperors did it, and he couldn’t be the exception.

He didn’t want to write the self-reproach edict himself, that could be delegated, but the rain ceremony could not.

Duke Chong looked at the Emperor and said, “Conducting the sacrificial ceremony is no small matter, we ask the Emperor to decide soon, to save the people from disaster.”

Marquis Dongxiang stepped forward and said, “Let me take charge of this sacrificial rain ceremony.”

The Emperor hadn’t even agreed yet, but Marquis Dongxiang was quick to step in and take charge.

The Emperor glared at Marquis Dongxiang.

Weren’t they at odds with Duke Chong? Why was he suddenly siding with him?

Duke Chong was also a little dazed.

Everyone knew about his feud with Marquis Dongxiang.

Marquis Dongxiang would either oppose him at every turn or side with him, digging traps.

Now that he was eager to take on the task, Duke Chong couldn’t help but suspect that Marquis Dongxiang was planning something mischievous again.

Regardless of what plans Marquis Dongxiang had, Duke Chong didn’t want him involved.

Fearing the Emperor might agree with Marquis Dongxiang, Duke Chong hastily said, “Your Majesty, the rain ceremony is a duty of the Ministry of Rites and the Astronomical Bureau, traditionally managed by professionals. Marquis Dongxiang is a military general, letting him handle this may lead to mistakes.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep