It wasn’t just the Zhang family matron that got a shock – the other people who liked to gossip about Chang E were all dumbfounded and rather scared. They’d denounced Chang E as a loose woman who had been abandoned by her illicit lover without a thought for years; who knew that she had actually received the Son of Heaven’s favour? And the one they called her bastard son – he was actually the Emperor’s son…
“Greetings to her Grace the Imperial Concubine, and greetings to his Highness the Prince! May you both live for a thousand thousand years!” the Dhief cried. Ever the opportunist, he made a show of kneeling reverently, following the Imperial Commissioner’s example.
At this, everyone hurriedly knelt and kowtowed nervously as well, trembling a little in fear.
Chang E finally got her breath back. She looked at the people kneeling before her and had to pinch herself hard to stop herself from grinning like a Cheshire cat.
“My Lord Imperial Commissioner, you may rise,” she said in the most dignified tone she could muster.
The Imperial Commissioner said his thanks and rose to his feet. The armoured guards behind him also got up, but the villagers still knelt, not daring to make a sound.
“My house is very plain and crude, I hope my Lord doesn’t… will not pay any mind,” Chang E said, making an effort to smile in a reserved manner as she racked her brain for the few elegant phrases she knew the nobility used. She invited the Imperial Commissioner into the house to sit.
“My name is Di Yeqing, and I am the one of his Majesty’s royal guards,” Imperial Commissioner Di said. “Niangniang can just address me by name.” Di Yeqing looked to be around twenty-odd years old, and the green material of his martial outfit was plain, without any sect motifs on it. A sword with a gold-edged ebony sheath hung at his waist, and he had a penetrating gaze. He looked like someone who was very skilled in martial arts.
The Emperor’s search for the lost princes was being done on an urgent basis, and the moment one was found, the Emperor’s orders were that he be sent back to the palace immediately. As such, Di Yeqing intended to have them set off that very day.
“Lord Di, how can you be sure that my son is of royal blood?” Chang E asked. She had calmed down by this time, and now that her head was clearer, there were some things she wanted an explanation for.
“The ministers of the Imperial Court have investigated this matter for some time. Niangniang, please have a look,” Di Yeqing said. He took out a piece of parchment that was covered with dense writing, stamped with a personal seal, and had lots of handprints on it, evidencing that it had been reviewed countless times. It actually looked rather like a document with an accused person’s confession.
Chang E looked down at the parchment briefly. “I can’t read,” she said, after a pause.
Di Yeqing was silent for a moment. He then kept the parchment and quietly explained the investigation process to Chang E.
Chang Qi looked at the neighbours who were still kneeling outside the door and felt a subtle sense of satisfaction. He had previously boasted that his father would come collect him with carriage and horses, and that he would live a life of wealth and luxury thereafter – all his baseless boasting had actually come true in an instant!
“Xiao Qi ah… aiyo!” Chang Qi’s aunt exclaimed. She had been trying to pull his cousin Chang Jiabao and sidle up to Chang Qi, but was immediately blocked by a guard. The guard drew his sword and gestured to her to step back. “I am the the Prince’s aunt, and I want to speak to him,” the aunt said indignantly.
The guard was entirely unmoved. He moved the sword closer towards her, and the silent threat was as clear as if it had been spoken. Chang Qi’s uncle quickly came forward and pulled his wife to the side with a sharp glare, warning her not to speak another word.
The Village Chief, who was also still kneeling, wanted to raise his head to check on the situation, but he caught sight of Zhang You’de out of the corner of his eye and was immediately alarmed. He had helped Zhang You’de in his attempt to marry Chang E, who was now revealed to be one of the Emperor’s wives, and the memory made him feel like his head was in danger of being separated from his body. He hurriedly signalled to him with his eyes to ask him to leave.
Zhang You’de harboured similar thoughts. When Chang E and Chang Qi left the house to get on the horse carriage, that overconfident young disciple of the Jingang Sect had disappeared like a rabbit down a hole.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Chang E and Chang Qi didn’t have many possessions, so they just packed a few sets of clothes as luggage. Chang Qi ran to a spot at the base of the wall and dug out a little bottle where he stored his savings. These were what remained of his ill-gotten gains. He poured out all the money that was in the bottle and stuffed them into his sock.
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“Stop holding me back – we’ve fed them for free for so long, and now that they’ve made it big, they need to return our kindness!” Chang Qi’s aunt yelled. She struggled free from her husband’s grasp and made a beeline for Chang Qi and Chang E, who were preparing to board the carriage. “Sister-in-law, you’re just going to go like this?” In the very least, she wanted to make the Imperial Commissioner give her a thousand or so taels of silver as compensation and also get a good job in the government for her husband.
Chang E turned around. She silently regarded her sister-in-law before her eyes flicked toward her brother. That year, when she had been offered up to service a mysterious nobleman, her brother had not done anything to stop this, and thereafter, when the nobleman left, he had been handsomely compensated for her sacrifice. She owed Chang Sheng absolutely nothing.
The atmosphere turned cold for a while. Chang Sheng suddenly raised a hand and slapped his wife, his face purple with anger. “Shut up!” he shouted at her. He turned to address Chang E. “When you get to the capital, write back to let know you arrived safely.”
“Nn,” Chang E acknowledged. She picked Chang Qi up and boarded the carriage.
“Chang Sheng, you’re pretty clever – if we maintain a relationship with an Imperial concubine, our family will definitely see better days,” Chang Qi’s aunt said, suddenly realising that Chang Sheng’s actions might actually be better for them in the long run.
Her husband said nothing. He continued to gaze at the horse carriage shrinking in the distance until it disappeared from sight.
“This humble servant is named Biyun, and I will be the one attending to your needs on this journey. If there’s anything you require, please do not hesitate to tell me,” the green-clad little servant girl said. She was seated on the carriage step used to board the horse carriage.
“Got it. I don’t have anything I need at the moment, so you can take a break,” Chang E said. She sat ramrod straight in the horse carriage and gestured to dismiss Biyun.
“Certainly,” Biyun said. She moved to sit at the space just behind the curtains.
This horse carriage was very big, and the interior was separated into two sections. The front section was separated from the larger back section by privacy curtains.
Chang E stretched out her neck to check that Biyun had really left, and upon confirming this, sank into a more relaxed posture, looking eagerly around the carriage. She grabbed one of Chang Qi’s hands, and said in a low, excited voice, “Son, I’m an Imperial concubine now! Hehehe…”
“Hehehe, and I’m a prince now!” Chang Qi said, grinning like Cheshire cat. He lay down on the cushions and kicked out his legs in glee. He stared up at the magnificently ornamented ceiling of the carriage, his spirits soaring higher and higher. He soon found that he was too excited to sit still, so he got up and started poking around the carriage.
The whole horse carriage was thickly cushioned, and because the weather was hot, soft, cool bamboo mats had been attentively placed in the carriage as well. Incense burners and books were displayed on a wooden bracket was built into the carriage wall, and it all looked very elegant.
The only thing was, after searching high and low, there didn’t seem to be any snacks anywhere. Chang Qi furrowed his brows. He had seen the horse carriage used by the wife of the Jingang Sect Leader, and there were always many snacks on board. Every time she came to the farmlands, she would give him some snacks to eat.
It seemed to Chang Qi that this horse carriage was nice to look at, but it wasn’t really prepared with its occupants’ needs in mind.
“Since the Emperor knew where we were, why didn’t he bother with us all this time?” Chang Qi asked. After the initial excitement had passed, he suddenly thought of this question.
“He probably forgot about me. I’m not even sure why he suddenly remembered…” Chang E pursed her lips. Now that she thought about it, she felt rather unsettled.
The Imperial Commissioner Di Yeqing generally held himself apart from them, so Chang E had to call Biyun in to get information about the situation in the palace.
Biyun was a palace maid, but she didn’t know anything about why the Emperor had suddenly summoned them to the palace. She did, however, know many things about the hougong.
“The organizational structure of the hougong is like this – there’s the Empress right at the top, then in descending order of status, you have two Guifei, four Fei, nine Pin, nine Jieyu, and nine Meiren. Below that, there’s the Baolin, Yünü, and Cainü. For these last three, there’s no limit on the number that the Emperor can have,” Biyun said. She also told them that there were presently many vacancies in the hougong, and that if a concubine was ranked as a Jieyu and above, she could raise her own children. If a concubine didn’t manage to attain the rank of Jieyu, a higher-ranking concubine would raise the low-ranked concubine’s child.
Chang E immediately became anxious when she heard this. If she didn’t manage to attain a high rank, her Xiao Qi would no longer be her son…
Chang E was very stressed about this, and her appetite was very poor for the next few days. “Little bratty bastard, this old mother of yours has some regrets now. Let’s not enter the palace,” she said.
“Aren’t you a heavenly fairy? Don’t be scared,” Chang Qi said. He tickled his mother playfully and put a sweet into her mouth.
Sweets always had the effect of improving one’s spirits, and Chang E pulled her son into her arms, gratified. “Where did you get this sweet?” she asked.
“I got it from a jiejie who sells tofu in town,” Chang Qi said, without batting an eyelid.
Chang Qi laughed happily. Xiaoru had once told him, when people went to a brothel, they were there to eat tofu, so she could be said to be a tofu seller… right?
The palace gate was so high that you had to tilt your head backward in order to see its apex. The words Baihu, meaning “White Tiger”, were gilded in gold letters on the crimson tablet. This was the western palace gate. There were three other gates in the south, north and east, called the Zhuque gate, the Xuanwu gate, and the Qinglong gate respectively. Since they entered from the Baihu gate, they were probably going straight to the hougong.
An old eunuch came out to greet them, and after that, they were sent to a palace on a palanquin.
“This is the Qingping Palace, the residence of concubines who have yet to be assigned a rank,” the eunuch said. “If I may trouble Niangniang and Dianxia to stay here for the time being? Once his Majesty has confirmed your rank, you will be able to move out.” Even though the eunuch’s words were courteous, there was no sincerity in his voice at all.
“The High Priest is waiting. Let’s get Dianxia changed into fresh clothes,” Di Yeqing said quietly to the old eunuch. He had followed them over to the palace.
“Certainly,” the old eunuch said. He seemed to be in awe of Di Yeqing and agreed immediately.
In addition to Biyun, there were two young eunuchs and a palace maid stationed in Qingping Palace to wait on them. Chang Qi, who was still rather unsteady on his feet, was hustled off to wash up and change into a light-coloured brocade robe.
This wasn’t as high quality or elaborate as the usual outfit worn by a prince, but it was still much nicer than the usual coarse peasant garb that he wore. Chang Qi had a handsome little face, and looked absolutely adorable in the light-coloured robe. His long black hair was combed neatly and fastened with a blue hair tie, and he wore a matching blue belt at his waist.
Everyone liked looking at beautiful things, and eunuchs were no exception. When the old eunuch saw Chang Qi all dolled up in his new clothes, his expression couldn’t help but soften. “Dianxia, this way, please,” he said, a much kindlier look on his face.
Di Yeqing took Chang Qi straight to Zhanghua Pavilion. From afar, Chang Qi could see a man standing tall in the very centre of Zhanghua Pavilion. The man was clad in a wide-sleeved, cloud-patterned huafu with a long train that extended far behind him like a peacock’s tail feathers. It was a truly beautiful sight to behold.
“High Priest,” Di Yeqing said, by way of greeting. He knelt, and all the palace staff behind him knelt as well.
The High Priest turned around. His eyes lit up as he looked at Chang Qi, who was standing right in front of the group. He took hold of Chang Qi’s little hand in his pale, slender one.
Chang Qi noticed that there was a round stone next to the High Priest that was about the size of a millstone. The stone was translucent and had a blue cast to it. This was the Dragonstone, which had the ability to verify if someone was of royal blood. Whilst Chang Qi was absorbed in looking at the stone, the High Priest suddenly produced a small knife and made a small cut in Chang Qi’s finger.
“Ah!” Chang Qi yelled in shock. A drop of his blood fell on the Dragonstone, and it immediately glowed with a burst of blue light. The light in the stone undulated, as if there was a dragon soaring inside the stone.
“He has royal blood,” the High Priest pronounced. He bent his head to look at the little boy. “You’re called Chang Qi?”
Chang Qi licked his injured finger and nodded, looking warily at the High Priest.
“Moving forward, your name will be Chen Ziqi,” the High Priest said, smiling slightly. Chen was the royal family name.
Thus ended this mysterious ceremony. Chen Ziqi went back to Qingping Palace utterly confused. The guards went with Di Yeqing to report back to the Emperor, and the old eunuch was nowhere to be found. The only person accompanying Chen Ziqi was a young eunuch.
Zhanghua Pavilion was some distance from Qingping Palace, but without a palanquin, Chen Ziqi only had the option of walking back on his own two feet.
To hell with this prince thing! It was not prestigious at all; he’d gotten his finger cut, his blood let, and now he had to walk back home himself! As he passed a remote garden, he couldn’t help but vent his frustration on a rock, kicking it into the flower patch.
“Tweet!” A pleasant, crisp chirp sounded from where the rock landed.
Chen Ziqi pressed aside the flowers curiously and saw a round, fluffy little red chick glaring ferociously at him with its tiny wings flared.
—
Author’s note: Mini-theatre
Qiqi: Yo~ A chicken?
Birdie Gong: Yo~ You’re not happy to see your husband? (⊙v⊙)
Qiqi: Of course I’m happy! I get to eat chicken soup tonight!
Birdie Gong: Tweet?
Ooooh~ Chen Ziqi finally met our infamous ml
And this time it’s not even just a portion.. It’s the whole damn chicken.. A full course meal.. 😂😂
The thing is, the chicken might be the one that eats him~
The Prince life is being rough on him so far LOoOooL
I was feeling kinda emo for the little prince and then the mini scene did me in 😅😅
Thank you for the chapter
He finally meet his husband…hahah
don
t.. DONT EAT HIM!!!!!!!At least he knows he likes c*ck
HAHAHA oh dear I laughed too hard at this comment 😂
So cuteeeee ><
The little theater never fail to always bring me a good laugh 😂🤩😂… Thanks for the chapter ❤️❤️
How adoerable~~~ Are they both kids?
Yup they are! They grow up eventually, but their kid interactions are one of my favourite parts of the book 😁
Hehe is ziqi going to eat chicken or is the chicken going to eat him (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵)
Thank you for the chapter dear Riceball