CHAPTER 452: CHAPTER 452: RESOLUTE

The Empress Dowager is unwell.

The Prince then took the opportunity to excuse himself.

The Emperor did not leave with the Prince. After all, since the Empress Dowager was ill, it was the duty of the Emperor, as her son, to attend to her at her sickbed.

Of course, having grown up in the palace, the Emperor knew the Empress Dowager’s weak voice was feigned.

The Empress Dowager was pretending to be sick.

The Emperor was pretending to be a dutiful son.

And neither interfered with the other.

After the Imperial Physician had taken the Empress Dowager’s pulse, administered acupuncture, and prescribed medication, the Emperor "advised" the Empress Dowager a few words before returning to the Imperial Study.

Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

Second floor, private room.

Chu Shun and the Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo Mansion were sitting there having tea.

The two of them appeared somewhat bored.

The door creaked open.

Prince Nanan walked in.

With a jade fan in hand, he exuded elegance.

Once the door closed, his handsome demeanor crumbled, and he hurried to the table to pour himself some tea.

Waving the jade fan swiftly, he said, "In this scorching heat, I just want to soak in ice. What is so urgent that Brother Mu called us here?"

"I don’t know," Chu Shun said while sipping tea.

"What’s worse is that he himself is the latest one to arrive," said the Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo Mansion.

After the three of them waited for the time it took to drink two bowls of mung bean soup, the Heir of Marquis Beining finally entered.

The Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo Mansion turned around and jumped at the sight of the Heir of Marquis Beining with a bruised and swollen face.

"Who beat you up?" he hastily asked.

"Did you call us here to help you get revenge?" Chu Shun asked.

"Who was so bold to provoke us?" Prince Nanan asked.

"... ."

"It was my cousin."

The Heir of Marquis Beining sat down, too pained at the mouth and eyes to want to speak more.

Prince Nanan and the others exchanged glances.

Was it the Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice who did it?

"You weren’t caught teasing a decent woman by your cousin, were you?" Prince Nanan said with a stifled laugh.

The Heir of Marquis Beining, "... ."

"I’ve already been beaten this badly, and you’re still making sarcastic comments," the Heir of Marquis Beining exclaimed.

Just speaking made his mouth hurt.

He inhaled sharply.

Chu Shun poured a cup of tea for him and said, "Why did your cousin Zhao beat you up?"

The Heir of Marquis Beining drank half a cup of cold tea.

Then he explained the course of events to Chu Shun and the others.

The matter went like this—

The Junior Minister of Ministry of Justice Lord Zhao and Eldest Young Madam Zhao were matched by Marchioness Beining.

The two were a perfect pair, a match made in heaven, without any faults.

The only shortcoming was that after three years of marriage, they had yet to have children.

Mrs. Zhao was worried and anxious about this.

She sought countless doctors for Eldest Young Madam Zhao to treat her body in hopes of holding a grandson, yet there was never any good news.

Instead, Old Master Zhao’s concubines kept bearing children one after another.

Yesterday, another concubine was discovered to be pregnant.

Mrs. Zhao was so upset and angry that she couldn’t get out of bed.

Marchioness Beining rushed to visit, and Mrs. Zhao, with tears in her eyes, wanted to find a concubine for her son.

Actually, this idea had been in Mrs. Zhao’s mind for a year already, but since Marchioness Beining was the matchmaker for Eldest Young Master Zhao, Mrs. Zhao held back for the sake of saving face.

This time, she truly couldn’t bear it anymore.

Marchioness Beining managed to calm Mrs. Zhao down with a lot of persuasion.

After returning from the Zhao Family, Marchioness Beining had a headache, not knowing what to do.

The Heir of Marquis Beining saw her troubled look and asked what was going on.

Marchioness Beining told the whole story to the Heir of Marquis Beining.

The Heir of Marquis Beining then said, "Cousin-in-law has been seeing doctors for over a year and has nearly become a walking medicine bottle. Could it be that the problem isn’t with her, but with my cousin instead?"

Marchioness Beining thought this was possible.

And then—

She entrusted the task of verifying this possibility to the Heir of Marquis Beining.

The Heir of Marquis Beining, "... ."

He brought trouble on himself with his loose tongue, moreover, it was an order from his own mother.

There was nothing else the Heir of Marquis Beining could do but comply.

However, openly suspecting his cousin of having an issue was something the Heir of Marquis Beining dared not do.

So, he resorted to a roundabout way.

He had someone beat him up a bit.

After all, being beaten at the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion was something he was used to.

Then, he had someone keep an eye on the Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and when they crossed paths on official duty, he pretended to be in a swoon, leaning on the Junior Minister to get to an apothecary.

After applying the medicine, the Heir of Marquis Beining knocked out the Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and had a doctor take his pulse.

"When my cousin woke up, he beat me up," the Heir of Marquis Beining said while rubbing his eyes.

Prince Nanan and the others twitched their lips.

"Not getting beaten to death shows your cousin is indeed a close relative," said the Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo Mansion.

"... ."

"Wasn’t I doing it for his own good?" the Heir of Marquis Beining said with grievance.

"So, what did the doctor say?" Prince Nanan asked.

"... ."

"All in vain. The doctor wasn’t skilled in that area."

"... ."

Not being skilled would have been the end of it.

But that doctor happened to be very kind-hearted.

Just as they were leaving, the doctor remembered an Imperial Physician who was skilled in treating such ailments and recommended him to Eldest Young Master Zhao, urging him not to hide his ailment.

There were several patients in the pharmacy at that time, and upon hearing this, the way they looked at Eldest Young Master Zhao completely changed.

Eldest Young Master Zhao had to hold back and leave the pharmacy, dragging his cousin to an alley for a thorough beating.

The Heir of Marquis Beining dared not fight back.

Prince Nanan and the others were speechless.

Prince Nanan patted the shoulder of the Heir of Marquis Beining and said, "I suggest you avoid your cousin in the future. I’m afraid he might beat you every time he sees you."

"Why did you call us here?" Chu Shun asked.

The Heir of Marquis Beining looked at them and said, "Could you take the blame for me?"

As soon as he finished speaking.

Chu Shun, Prince Nanan, and the Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo Mansion all stood up.

They took their jade fans and left.

The Heir of Marquis Beining hurriedly stopped them, his face full of pleading.

"This is too big a burden for me to bear alone," the Heir of Marquis Beining said, feeling hopeless.

Eldest Young Master Zhao is the Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

He often went out to handle cases.

People on the streets and alleys all knew him.

Someone already recognized him.

With the speed at which gossip spreads in the Capital City, the Heir of Marquis Beining felt that his aunt was probably halfway dead from anger, and his own mother was on her way to apologize.

If he didn’t find a few scapegoats, he’d be beaten to death when he got home.

"Ten meals?" the Heir of Marquis Beining said.

"Half a month!" Prince Nanan said.

"Deal."

Prince Nanan turned back and sat down.

However, he soon realized something was off, "Where do you get the money to treat me for half a month?"

"The Beauty Pavilion just delivered money to each mansion. They happened to see me on the way and gave it to me directly," the Heir of Marquis Beining said.

Prince Nanan, "... ."

"So, I won’t be short of money to spend?" Princess Nanan twitched her lips.

Chu Shun patted his shoulder, chuckling silently, "Congratulations, Commandery Prince, on picking up a burden so readily."

Prince Nanan, "... ."

He felt like dying.

Just then, the waiter came with the dishes, interrupting the topic.

The aroma of the food filled the air.

The Heir of Marquis Beining pulled out a silver note from his pocket and handed it to the waiter.

The waiter’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Ten thousand taels?" the waiter’s voice was quite airily high.

"No small change."

"... ."

The waiter left, turning back three steps a time.

Prince Nanan let out a long breath, "That feeling of being wealthy and lavish has finally come back!"

"As Young Master Su always says, without money, you don’t have the confidence to speak."

"I wonder if he’s recovered from his beating?" Chu Shun said.

"How about we buy a few sticks of candied hawthorn and visit him later?" suggested the Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo Mansion.

"A few sticks won’t be enough. Each of us should carry a pole of candied hawthorn. Aren’t Brother Jingchen’s hidden guards always buying by the pole?"

"... ."

"Buy as many as you’d like. What about my cousin’s problem?"