Red Mansion Rebirth: Ghost Phoenix

After the prince returned from Daming Palace, he sat in Lizheng Hall for a long time before ordering Qinghai: "Send Wang Chenghui to serve lunch."

Qing Hai was silent for a while, then he softly advised, "After the rain last night, the Crown Princess was very concerned about Your Highness, and even ordered the Imperial Kitchen to prepare meals for those who came to do the work..."

"Yes." The prince stood up and said, "Let's go to Cheng'en Palace."

Qinghai wanted to say something but stopped himself. However, looking at the prince's back, which was thinner than two months ago despite his big strides, he sighed and quickly caught up with him.

The Crown Princess was smiling and instructing He Ke on how to draw a picture, and she also held Tao Ge'er in her arms and taught him to read the Three Character Classic. The room was filled with the affection of the mother and the filial piety of the children, and the atmosphere was full of joy.

Seeing the prince suddenly coming, she could not help but be surprised. She hurriedly handed Tao Ge'er to the wet nurse, stepped forward to pay her respects to the prince, and asked in a low voice: "Aren't you busy? How did you have time to come here?" She took a handkerchief and wiped the rain off his shoulders.

"I have a headache, so I come here to relax." The prince answered, touched the head of He Ke who came forward to bow, and also touched the little head of Tao Ge'er who put himself in front of his father, then fell on the couch where the Crown Princess had been sitting before.

He Ke was very observant. Seeing this, he asked the Crown Princess for leave: "Your Majesty, Brother Tao has been studying for half an hour. Can you come out to play with me? We can just watch the goldfish in the corridor and promise not to go out in the rain. Is that okay?"

When Tao Geer heard this, he immediately ran over and hugged his sister, and looked at the Crown Princess pitifully: "Xiaoyu! Look at Xiaoyu!"

The Crown Princess smiled helplessly and said, "Okay. Go ahead." She then reminded the nurse, "The autumn rain is cold, you must not get wet!"

The brother and sister held hands and followed the wet nurse and others.

The prince looked at He Ke's back and asked the princess with a smile, "How is it? Is it worthwhile to raise this daughter?"

The Crown Princess placed the hot tea brought by the palace maid in front of the Crown Prince and sighed, "Zhu Qing secretly talked to me the other day. Seeing the child being so sensible, I felt so distressed that I almost cried.

"The Crown Prince has sisters. Even if Princess Yongning was a good kid, I don't think she would have taken care of Prince Zhongsu like this, right?

“It’s even more so for me.

"Zhu Qing also said that I was only eight or nine years old when I remembered to look after my cousin sisters who came to visit me during meals.

"But we and Ke are only five years old..."

The prince was speechless. He lay down and closed his eyes.

Upon seeing this, the Crown Princess shut her mouth in embarrassment, knelt down beside the Crown Prince, and gently massaged his temples.

After a long while, when everyone thought the prince had fallen asleep and the princess signaled everyone to leave, the prince spoke in a low, hoarse voice:

"Your father...is there any outstanding talent buried in your family?"

The Crown Princess raised her eyebrows slightly, paused, and then replied softly: "The court employs people, and everyone should use their talents to the best of their abilities.

"There really are some outstanding people in our family, who dares to bury them?

"My Lord's question left me confused.

"Did someone in the family cause trouble? Complain? Or did you want to give me something good to reward me for treating my daughter well?"

The prince snorted and opened his eyes. He was always serious, but he also said with a hint of ridicule: "Oh, it's rare to see such a weird Crown Princess. This is the first time I've encountered such a weird Princess in all these years."

The Crown Princess blushed and smiled: "Master, please tell me, what exactly do you mean by asking this?"

"Since you don't say anything, it means that what I asked is not what you want." The prince sat up, straightened his clothes, looked into the eyes of the Crown Princess, and smiled, "I will ask you again, is there any lost pearl in your family?"

The Crown Princess gritted her teeth, bent her knees and bowed her head, "Indeed not."

"Very good." The prince stood up. "Then I will go and do my work. You, continue to look after the children."

The Crown Princess's smile froze a little: "I have prepared something for the Crown Prince..."

"I'm not eating anymore. I have an appointment at noon." The prince strode away.

Qinghai followed closely behind, holding an umbrella high in his hand, but he didn't dare to even look at the Crown Princess.

The Crown Princess fell down on the couch with a pale face. Zhu Qing came up and gently helped her to lie down. She asked in a low voice: "Why didn't you mention your uncle?"

"My uncle is a doctor in the Ministry of Rites. If nothing goes wrong, he will be able to move to the Ministry of Revenue in two years. If I speak up now, he will be seen as clinging to someone close to him, and the Qingliu will not let him go. On the contrary, he will encounter setbacks when entering the Ministry of Revenue."

The Crown Princess finished talking to herself, then fell on the soft pillow and closed her eyes. After thinking for a while, she suddenly frowned and opened her eyes, and said, "I should have recommended Mo Lin!"

Mo Lin is the Crown Princess's half-brother and her only brother.

Zhu Qing thought she had figured it out, and a genuine smile appeared on her face: "The Queen has finally..."

"The prince must have known about his reputation as a child prodigy. If I had told him just now, the prince would have given him a job, which would have been considered an oblique title!

“But I didn’t say that!

"This is obvious. I want my only brother, the future uncle of the emperor, to be a successful candidate in the imperial examinations. I am not aiming to be the crown prince's confidant, but to be a senior official in the court and a prime minister!"

The Crown Princess regretted it so much that she punched the pillow and bit her lips for a long time before she said angrily, "Forget it. Anyway, the Crown Prince also knows my knot, so maybe he won't think too much about it."

Zhu Qing refused to speak anymore and closed his mouth tightly.

However, the prince, who was about to return to Lizheng Palace, turned around and walked back. He happened to hear her two words about her half-brother at the door. His expression became even colder. He glanced at the palace maid at the door and strode away.

Qinghai also turned around and glanced at the two palace maids guarding the gate, their eyes full of murderous intent!

The two palace maids knelt on the ground, sweating profusely, and their bodies could hardly hold on.

After the prince left, they hurriedly helped each other and went in to report.

The Crown Princess' eyes went dark: "Zhu Qing!"

Zhu Qing hurriedly stepped forward and shouted in a low voice: "What did the prince say?! Tell the truth, and I will spare you, promote you to the second rank, and let you go six games in the future!

"If you dare to say even a word of nonsense, you and your whole family will be waiting for me!"

The two maids did not even look at each other, but answered in unison: "Only the last sentence of the queen: Forget it, the prince also knows my knot, he will not think too much about it!"

The Crown Princess and Zhu Qing both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, step back! From now on, the two of you go to the back and sweep the garden. Don't get close to the prince anymore!" Zhu Qing shouted sternly and let them go.

Then he turned back to comfort the Crown Princess, "It's alright. Your Highness has always known the Majesty's suffering and will not be really angry with you."

The Crown Princess raised her hand and wiped her sweat with a handkerchief: "I hope so."

The prince hurried all the way to the back door of Lizheng Palace, stood in the drizzle, and looked up at the tall palace standing in front of him. In the autumn wind and drizzle, it looked so gloomy and lonely.

“Qing Hai, I have a shallow foundation, few connections, and little power. Those old officials know this very well. That’s why they dare to bully me so unscrupulously.

“But the Crown Princess should also know.

"Otherwise, she wouldn't have been ridiculed by a little lady in Daming Palace.

"Even so, why is she still unwilling to put aside her prejudices and let her blood relatives become my helpers?

"Just because of her ridiculous reasons?

"Then why did she marry me back then?

"Isn't I a concubine's son?!

"She is capable, she is noble, she loves cleanliness, she should marry my second brother!"

The prince snatched the umbrella from Qinghai's hand and threw it to the ground!