Chapter 903: Chapter 719: A House Full of Ah Dous (Part 3)
Prince Liang stood in front of his own Royal Mansion, beside him stood a row of… uh… pure and simple young men…
He was quite sensible and had long gone to inquire about the rules, so those picked out from the mansion were all proper, clean handsome men!
Zhou Mu had already entered the Capital City, his million-strong army was also stationed outside the Capital City. The Southern Emperor had taken residence in the Heavenly Palace Traveling Palace, and everything in the Capital City had already settled, except for the pending dispositions of these princes who once troubled the Capital City.
Although Prince Liang was easily manipulated, he wasn’t a fool; by now he understood what it meant when the big trend was gone!
So, he really didn’t want to fight or compete; he just wanted to survive!
If he could gain favor with Gu Changsheng, when they settle accounts after their grand wedding, maybe he could keep his life, right?
So, Prince Liang shamelessly grinned with a very fawning smile.
But Hongyan Jiaojiao snorted disdainfully, not giving him any face. Sitting high on a horse, she looked down at Prince Liang, with complete disdain in her eyes, sneering and saying, “Is Prince Liang joking? Even if the people from your mansion grew into a flower, I wouldn’t dare catch them!”
“This…” Prince Liang choked, and his wrinkled old hands paused.
“Because they’re filthy! No need to get stained with your syphilitic flowers, dirtying the eyes of our Sovereign! Humph! Move on! Continue the search! Keep arresting! Just not from this house!” Hongyan Jiaojiao didn’t bother with him further, directly leading her tens of thousands of subordinates to continue the grand capture.
Leaving only the plump body of Prince Liang standing in front of his own Royal Mansion, flustered in the bleak wind, the unhealthy old face turning even paler.
During the carpet search and arrest, not a single house was missed, except for his Prince Liang’s Mansion!
Only his Prince Liang’s Mansion was spared! Ah! Not spared, but… despised?
“Wah… heaven wants to destroy my Zhou Liang!” Prince Liang slapped his thigh and started crying immediately.
Therefore, when Hongyan Jiaojiao continued to trouble the mansions of the imperial relatives and nobles under the cover of darkness, a certain despised prince finally seized the opportunity to escape the Imperial Forest Army’s confinement, hurriedly entering the palace.
Emperor Zhoulin had already heard the news from the chamberlains, saying that the Southern Emperor decreed a large-scale arrest of handsome men and strong laborers in the streets, intending to fill the Heavenly Palace!
He was furious and helpless, pacing round and round, sprouting more white hair.
He expected the Commandery Princes to enter the palace from time to time to lodge complaints, but he never thought the first to arrive would be Prince Liang, and surprisingly, Prince Liang wasn’t there to complain, he was there to sob!
He sobbed about how the Southern Emperor’s people captured everyone else’s people, except for his own! Wailing that this would absolutely cut off his way!
Emperor Zhoulin was so angry, he almost kicked the bucket right then. His dragon whiskers were turning white from worry, and while pondering how to handle this matter, his son came to him, crying for not having his people taken. This… this was truly infuriating!
Without another word, Emperor Zhoulin immediately ordered his men to drag Prince Liang out, giving him a beating before throwing him back to his mansion to continue his house arrest!
“Your Majesty, this old servant has already met with Han Qiu. Both Han Qiu and Han Mo, the siblings, speak very highly of the Southern Emperor, saying she is wholeheartedly dedicated and a remarkable woman in history. This matter might not be as we think,” Han Shan thought for a moment and stepped forward to comfort Emperor Zhoulin. His family had been wrongly killed, and now he had only Han Qiu and Han Mo as his relatives, so he trusted his nephew and niece’s words without doubt.
“But you also said, the Southern Emperor is most arrogant and unruly, breaking conventions, and this matter does seem like something an extraordinary woman could do!” Emperor Zhoulin thought of his yet-to-be-wed granddaughter-in-law capturing handsome men to fill the harem, and his liver ached, “Moreover, the Southern Emperor is rumored to be fond of beautiful people; those around her, whether male or female, are all of exquisite appearance, and what’s more, my prospective son-in-law is among them in her Heavenly Palace Traveling Palace; he is rumored to be the first beautiful man in the world by the Itinerant World!”
“Your Majesty refers to Master Lou, but Master Lou and the Southern Emperor aren’t as you imagine, they are…” Han Shan thought of his niece’s words, hurriedly explained.
“Whether it is or isn’t, she hasn’t avoided suspicion, has she?” Emperor Zhoulin spoke with a face full of bitterness and resentment, “Alas, it’s troubling because she is the Southern Emperor; she can act recklessly at will…”
“Your Majesty…” Han Shan wanted to explain further.
“No need to say more; I will go and find out myself.” Emperor Zhoulin waved his hand and strode out.
“Your Majesty!” Han Shan stomped his foot, helplessly following.
…
Inside the Heavenly Palace Traveling Palace, isolated from the external chaos of armies and horses.
Gu Changsheng’s whole family, big and small along with many close-serving female officials, ate to their hearts’ content, filled with delight.
Then, Zhou Mu, who had accompanied Gu Changsheng shopping for most of the day, took the opportunity while she was telling Xiao Gu Ze a story to return to the Crown Prince’s Palace to handle some matters, of course, he assured Gu Changsheng before leaving that he would return.
Gu Changsheng expressed deep disdain for his tireless commuting between two places. She naturally knew what he meant by returning; climbing walls and climbing into bed. Damn, her evildoer had already become very skillful and proficient!
An excellent Crown Prince, forcibly raised to become a Gentleman on the Beam, coming and going, what is to be done?
If this gets out, damn it, she’ll be labeled a femme fatale again for no reason. She’s wronged! She’s seriously wronged!
With her reputation like a shadow, she, as a celebrity, is about to lose her shadow!
This was something she couldn’t respond to.
Gu Changsheng knew it was futile to stop him, so she let him be. She went to the study to check on the recent academic progress of Little Meat Bun and Little Han Mo with the Black Face.
Little Meat Bun, though young and mischievous, had the capital to be inherently mischievous. His book learning was quite good. But Little Han Mo with the Black Face was a different story. He was interested in martial arts and military strategy, excelling in them. However, when it came to academic studies, he was nothing more than an Ah Dou who couldn’t be propped up!
This time, another person was added to this Ah Dou, and that was the young little beauty, Wuchang Yue, who was only eight or nine years old in the Traveling Palace!
The former Little Witch Lord of Bashu, now one of the few young Celestial Witches of the Wuchang Family in Bashu, Madame Wuchang Yue, her education, how to say it… The people of Bashu have high aspirations, and their education is limited to recognizing characters only. It’s truly hard to agree with!
“Cousin…” Wuchang Yue was very resistant to studying.
“Call me Witch Lord or Your Royal Highness!” Gu Changsheng, holding a scroll, rubbed her temples in frustration. This was her child bride, calling her ‘cousin’ messed up the hierarchy!
Although, the hierarchy was already messed up, but they were distant relatives. She didn’t think it necessary to rank them by seniority!
“Then Witch Lord, I’m really not cut out for learning literature. How about I practice witchcraft?” Wuchang Yue pouted, resistant.
“No way! Your Witch Lord here is not cut out for music, chess, calligraphy, or painting either. I must cultivate you into the perfect lady of noble character!” A child bride, raised poorly, with no one to even complain to, so Gu Changsheng put in her utmost effort.
She firmly believed that although she herself was exemplary, having just one excellency was enough happiness for her family, no need for an exemplary daughter-in-law too!
“…” Wuchang Yue was immediately discouraged and fell silent.
“Big daughter-in-law, don’t worry, I won’t mind you not being able to recite texts!” Little Meat Bun moved closer to Wuchang Yue from behind the desk, his chubby little face serious, whispering, “Later, I’ll tutor you privately, I’ll teach you how to recite texts.”
“Humph!” Wuchang Yue rolled her eyes, unwilling to give him face. She’s a Little Celestial Witch, does she need a child younger than her to teach her? That would truly damage her Celestial Witch prestige!
She would study by herself! Never let the little ones around teach her!
However, after a while, Wuchang Yue raised her head from the book, looking aggrievedly at Gu Changsheng sitting in front, “Cousin…”
“Witch Lord!”
“Witch Lord, how do you read this character?” Wuchang Yue held out the scroll in her hand, pointing to a character and asked, “Narrow (YI)?”
“Narrow (YI) your ghost! Narrow! Narrow! I taught you this character three times yesterday, three times!” Gu Changsheng immediately knocked on the table.
Ah Dou, a complete Ah Dou!
“But, it’s clearly the ‘yi’ in ‘more the merrier’ here…,” Wuchang Yue said helplessly after being yelled at.
“You also ate hot pot pork today. With pork in your belly, are you a pig or a human?” After Wuchang Yue’s similar questions surfaced countless times, Gu Changsheng couldn’t hold back any longer!
“…”
Wuchang Yue lowered her head, extremely aggrieved. She was a Celestial Witch, fulfilling her role as a Little Witch Girl was already good enough. But… why did she have to learn music, chess, calligraphy, and painting? Why did she have to learn needlework and embroidery? Clearly, Bashu women weren’t like this…
The blame lay on Little Meat Bun’s liking, and Gu Changsheng also liked Wuchang Yue very much, so she was fully cultivated as a child bride!
Seeing the once good little girl about to be scolded into tears, Gu Changsheng softened her tone with a helpless expression, “Alright, alright, learn slowly, there’s no rush.”
“Okay,” Wuchang Yue replied with a grievance.
Little Meat Bun looked on with pained expression, while Little Han Mo with the Black Face, on the other side, was taking pleasure in her misfortune. At least with this Little Celestial Witch around, he was no longer the child with the worst academics at home, finally someone was below him, so happy!
Indeed, comparison leads to balance. Even with academic failures driving Gu Changsheng mad, in contrast to Wuchang Yue, Little Han Mo with the Black Face began to naturally exude a slight pride and confidence…
Gu Changsheng, although appearing nonchalant on most days, was quite attentive to the only three little ones in the family. So, while her foster father was asleep getting a good rest, she reluctantly took on the role of an evening tutor, but the results were disappointingly mediocre! With an Ah Dou dragging three, especially when only one out of the three wasn’t an Ah Dou? It was worrisome!
While she was teaching the children to read, Zhou Mu, who went back to handle official duties, was caught red-handed by Emperor Zhoulin who had been lying in wait…