CHAPTER 379: CHAPTER 379 KINDNESS

Young Master Su silently turned his head to look at the Ninth Prince.

The Ninth Prince’s little face was turning purple with anger.

The palace maid and the eunuch’s shoulders almost dislocated from shaking, then they were scolded by the Ninth Prince, "Hurry and clean the floor!"

The palace maid quickly went to get a copper basin and water.

Young Master Su stared at the peacock for two days, yet didn’t see it spread its feathers.

On this day, the sky cleared up.

The sky was as clear as washed, with white clouds scattered around.

The weather made everyone feel like floating.

Of course, the only one who actually wanted to float away was Young Master Su.

The Dongxiang Marquis Mansion was frantic looking for him.

Especially in the western part of the city, where beggars were concentrated, unable to withstand the ravages of the heavy rain, many houses had collapsed.

After the sky cleared, Mrs. Tang couldn’t sit still and took people to the west of the city to find Su Yang.

Seeing the people there living in poverty and hunger, she felt compassion and had porridge distributed.

But even before the porridge and buns from Dongxiang Marquis Mansion reached the west of the city, many wives and daughters from ministers’ families had already come out to distribute porridge.

Mrs. Tang was indeed a bit surprised, not expecting so many people to come out to distribute porridge.

She didn’t know this matter was related to her.

When she instructed Steward Lin to distribute porridge, a government official happened to hear it, and he went back to report it to their master.

One must know that in some ways, the entire court lived in the shadow of the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion.

The medicines at Dongxiang Marquis Mansion were excellent, and the Emperor was busy criticizing the Imperial Physicians for their incompetence.

The son of Marquis Dongxiang had great physical strength, prompting the Emperor to scold generals for training soldiers ineffectively.

The son of Marquis Dongxiang was skilled in both literature and martial arts, practically the nightmare of noble families in the Capital City.

The wife of Marquis Dongxiang was kind enough to distribute porridge...

Can you imagine the consequences?

One must do better than the Dongxiang Marquis’s wife!

A bunch of bandits lived in the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion, representing the lowest standard.

If you are worse than them—

Even if they curse you, you can’t talk back.

Mrs. Tang and the servant inquired about Su Yang, but no one in the west of the city had seen him.

Inside the Imperial Study.

After court, the Emperor returned and discussed some political affairs privately with several ministers.

After the Right Minister stepped down, the guard responsible for looking after Old Duke Chong returned to the palace.

Every five days, he would come back once to report the condition of Old Duke Chong to the Emperor.

The guard saluted the Emperor.

The Emperor asked, "Has there been any improvement in Old Duke’s condition?"

"Old Duke’s complexion has slightly improved," the guard replied.

"A slight improvement is good," the Emperor said with relief.

If even the Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion couldn’t detoxify Old Duke, then the Emperor had no higher expectations for anyone else.

Duke Chong had inserted spies to watch Old Duke Chong, and Doctor Li told Su Jin, who told Xie Jingchen.

Over the past two days, taking advantage of the heavy rain, Xie Jingchen resolved the matter.

The ground was slippery due to the rain, and the Duchess of Chong accidentally slipped, but the maid who supported her ended up falling instead and broke her leg.

The Duchess of Chong was a person of loyalty and righteousness, naturally wanting to call a doctor to treat the maid who was injured for saving her.

She sent someone to invite a doctor to the mansion, and it was precisely Doctor Li who was called.

For the upcoming period, Doctor Li could justifiably go treat Old Duke Chong’s poisoning.

The Emperor did not agree with the Duchess of Chong putting herself in a dangerous situation.

Fortunately, no harm came from the scare.

Actually, Xie Jingchen’s initial intent was just to have the maid injured because, having injured herself saving the Duchess of Chong, by emotion and reason, the Duchess ought to find a doctor for her.

Having a trusted maid inside Duke Chong’s Mansion means Duke Chong would refrain from sending more spies.

It’s just that the effect was unexpectedly good—the maid’s leg was broken, and it needed to be checked every few days to see if the bones were misaligned, so no suspicion would arise.

Finally, they could start detoxifying Old Duke Chong. Although it would take time to see results, the first step was taken.

After inquiring about Old Duke Chong, the Emperor casually asked, "Is everything fine with the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion?"

Marquis Dongxiang wasn’t present and, unlike the last time, hadn’t sent people to surround the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion tightly, so the Emperor was a bit worried about someone sneaking in secretly.

The guard replied, "Nothing happened at the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion, but the Young Master Su...."

"What about him?" the Emperor asked.

"He ran away from home," the guard replied.

"...."

Ran away from home?

Marquis Dongxiang’s son ran away from home?

The Emperor thought back to when he left Qingyun Mountain and Young Master Su almost hugged his legs, begging to take him to the Capital.

But Marquis Dongxiang felt it wasn’t the right time and didn’t agree.

The Emperor could still remember Young Master Su’s disappointed look then, pitiful and longing.

Unexpectedly, he ended up doing something like running away from home?

"How many days has he been gone?" the Emperor asked.

"Young Master Su left on the day Marquis Dongxiang left the Capital, it’s said he smashed half a wall to escape. The Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion spotted him disguised as a little beggar in the street but couldn’t catch up with him," the guard said.

"Right now, the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion is searching through all the beggars’ nests for Young Master Su."

The Emperor, "...."

Eunuch Fu, "...."

Ran away from home disguised as a little beggar?

Even if the people of Dongxiang Marquis Mansion searched until their shoes wore out, they would hardly find him.

The Emperor’s face turned into a black line.

Indeed, he truly is Marquis Dongxiang’s son.

His thinking is just different from others.

The guard finished reporting and withdrew.

The Emperor took a sip of tea, and he was genuinely curious about how Young Master Su managed to evade detection by the people of Dongxiang Marquis Mansion.

As a prince growing up in the deep palace, he had a few desires to sneak out of the palace.

The Emperor not only had those desires but also acted on them.

Outside, a little eunuch entered, saying, "Your Majesty, there is bad news—the Imperial Garden has been burglarized."

The Emperor furrowed his brows.

Eunuch Fu then said, "What could possibly be stolen from the Imperial Garden?"

"Could someone have stolen flowers or grass?"

"It’s the peacocks," the little eunuch replied.

"The two peacocks raised by the Emperor are missing."

The little eunuch was so anxious he was about to cry.

Negligence in care leading to the disappearance of the peacocks was a crime worthy of decapitation.

They searched for two days, thinking that as it was raining, the Emperor wouldn’t visit the Imperial Garden, hoping to remedy the situation, but to no avail so far.

Rather than let the Emperor discover and question them later, it was better to confess directly.

Just after the little eunuch finished reporting, another eunuch came over, saying, "The peacocks have been found."

The little eunuch, "...."

"Found them?" the little eunuch hurriedly asked.

"The Ninth Prince was worried that the peacocks would get sick from the rain, so during the storm, he brought them back to care for two days," the eunuch replied.

"Now that the sky has cleared, he brought the peacocks out again."

The little eunuch shrank his neck and looked at the Emperor.

Eunuch Fu smiled and said, "The Ninth Prince has a kind nature. Having been sick for quite a few days, he probably empathized."

Thinking about his son being sick for quite a few days and not going to visit him, the Emperor felt a bit moved.

Living in this intrigue-filled palace and still retaining a childlike heart was indeed rare.

"I recall there is a peacock-patterned inkstone, reward it to the Ninth Prince," the Emperor instructed.

When the little eunuch brought the inkstone to the Ninth Prince’s bedroom,

The Ninth Prince and the palace maids and eunuchs were all stunned.

Especially the palace maids and eunuchs, who had been worried sick about the peacocks being out in the chaos for two days, and now the Emperor not only wasn’t angry but even rewarded the Ninth Prince?

:::