Following in the footsteps of his father-in-law "Liu Bangzhuo," Huo Ling became the second person to offend the entire court and be untouchable by anyone. Unlike the Deputy Censor Liu Yuanjie, who sometimes didn't respond even when he suffered losses, Huo Ling was resolute and steadfast, leaving everyone at a loss for words. Did anyone not see the unchanged expression of His Majesty the Emperor, which conveyed a reassuring sense that "the Crown Prince still has hope"?
If you don't give face to His Majesty, you won't have any support.
Neither Li Gongming nor Gong Yi were petty people, and they immediately realized their mistake. They not only apologized to Huo Ling on the spot but also shook hands, and they both solemnly acknowledged their mistakes to His Majesty the Emperor.
Li Gongming and Gong Yi: "Your Majesty, we are guilty."
Looking down at the two kneeling, His Majesty glanced at Huo Ling, who seemed to be unable to respond to the actions of the cunning Li Gongming and Gong Yi, and sighed lightly.
Well, he hasn't died yet, and there is still hope for Huo Ling.
Thinking this, His Majesty raised his hand lightly, and the eunuch beside him helped the two men up. "Both of you, you are also thinking for the Great Zhou, so what fault is there?" Before the two men could find joy in their hearts, Huo Jian immediately added, "You were wrong, correct it."
Emperor Huo Jian smiled at the two men.
—He had chosen the Crown Prince. How could his Crown Prince be wrong?
Li Gongming and Gong Yi glanced at each other and then simultaneously turned their heads, silently cursing each other as "old foxes" in their hearts. Afraid of falling behind, they quickly expressed their loyalty to His Majesty. One vowed to do his utmost for the Great Zhou, while the other, dissatisfied with being outdone, declared that he would also strive to the utmost for the prosperity of the Great Zhou while subtly criticizing the other for not doing his best enough.
Crown Prince Huo Ling, who suddenly lost his presence: "…?"
Looking at Li Gongming and Gong Yi, then at His Majesty the Emperor, Huo Ling blinked his eyes, then blinked them again. Though he didn't know why, he felt that in that one moment, he might have learned something after all.
Everyone knows that the management of the Yellow River cannot be resolved in one morning. When Li Gongming and Gong Yi stopped confronting each other, and Huo Ling, after ridiculing others, wanted to continue resting his eyes, the morning court that had experienced some unexpected twists and turns ended in a "harmonious" atmosphere.
After the morning court, before going to the study to give a lecture, Huo Ling had to report to His Majesty about his thoughts after listening to the morning court in the Qianqing Palace.
In the Qianqing Palace.
Before His Majesty could order anything, An De brought a chair over, making Huo Ling very satisfied with his actions. After thanking him casually, he tried to sit on the chair and see if it would be comfortable to lean back and rest his eyes against it.
Before Huo Ling's bottom could touch the cushion, the Emperor, who was about to sit at the front, kicked the chair aside. "An De, get him another stool."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
As the Emperor's most considerate steward, An De smiled like Maitreya Buddha at Huo Ling, grinning as the chair that Huo Ling should have had was moved away, replaced with a stool that was difficult to sit on and might easily be overturned with an improper posture.
Looking at An De, then at the sitting Emperor, Huo Ling touched his nose and decided to stay quiet. He sat on the stool quietly, preparing himself to accept a scolding from His Majesty. After all, he was used to it.
To Huo Ling's surprise, His Majesty did not scold him because he was too lazy to do so. His elbows on the table, arms crossed, and chin resting lightly on his hand, His Majesty calmly gazed at Huo Ling. "Crown Prince, when do you plan to move to the new palace?"
"Father, didn't I already answer this question?" Completely caught off guard by His Majesty's query, Huo Ling blinked his eyes, trying to bolster his confidence. "Didn't we agree to wait until my son is born?"
"We did not agree on that." His Majesty denied firmly and hummed lightly. "I'll ask you again, when will you move to the new palace?"
His Majesty did not want to hear a negative answer. However, even though Huo Ling could see his father's intentions, he tried to resist being drawn in. His eyes wandered, trying to find a reason to refuse His Majesty. "I, I..."
Before Huo Ling could finish, His Majesty put down his hand resting on the table and delivered a fatal blow. "If your answer does not satisfy me, I will remove those who were originally in charge of your protection and replace them with Ye Xiao."
As his body leaned back, His Majesty, who had kept a serious expression for most of the morning, smiled at Huo Ling. "So, think carefully before speaking to me." At An De's suggestion, His Majesty had thought of a way to make Huo Ling bow his head. Looking at Huo Ling's changing expression caused by his words, Huo Jian once again felt that no one could destroy his image of being wise and martial, not even his despicable Crown Prince.
Huo Ling's expression was unpleasant. Even though he sometimes sought to reinforce others, just thinking about dealing with the other party made his head hurt.
As the then commander of the Yu Lin Army, Ye Xiao, was fiercely loyal and liked to argue and insist on what he believed in. With him, be it a prince or a crown prince, he would not hesitate to strike if he felt it necessary.
Even the heir apparent Huo Li has been beaten by Ye Xiao, and even though he was punished with twenty lashes and knelt for three days in the ancestral hall upon returning to the Duke's mansion, Ye Xiao still doesn't feel that he was wrong to beat the heir apparent.
"Disrespecting his aunt is one thing, but letting him know - isn't that asking for trouble?" Huo Ling, who knew about the incident at the time, also found it very reasonable. So, on a sunny day, he directed the "cat-dog army" he had formed in the palace to cause mischief at the Eastern Palace, messing up the koi pond, and getting the usually tidy heir apparent covered in fur.
Afterwards, under the protection of Concubine Ye, Huo Ling, unscathed, took his cats and dogs out of the palace to share the taste of roasted koi with Ye Xiao.
Huo Ling's relationship with Ye Xiao was so good that they could even share a bed, but that didn't mean he was willing to receive his personal protection. He couldn't stand Ye Xiao's annoyance over minor mishaps, unlike Concubine Ye, who always doted on him. Ye Xiao found Huo Ling's lack of rules and manners very intolerable.
Every time Ye Xiao saw Huo Ling, he would discuss what "proper decorum" meant, and sometimes even take direct action to correct Huo Ling. When Huo Ling grumbled about his unwillingness, Ye Xiao would resort to using his fists.
With such a cousin, who could stand being protected by him?
With a wry smile, Huo Ling couldn't continue pretending, "Father, why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? Let's talk calmly."
The emperor was very pleased with Huo Ling's reaction, but he was not satisfied with his erratic cultural level. His expression suddenly turned cold, "Is that how you use 'why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut'?"
"Cough, as the saying goes, when dealing with important matters, don't dwell on trivial matters. Father, please don't mind such trivial matters." Huo Ling waved his hand, and his attitude became very quick, as if he hadn't used "being your son" as an excuse at all, "It's just a matter of moving to a new palace? I'll move."
The emperor had nothing to say about Huo Ling's wording and shut his eyes. He couldn't be bothered to scold him anymore. "Alright, go to your studies. Don't obstruct my sight here."
"Alright, alright. But before 'leaving', I have something to tell you, Father." Since he was going to move to the new palace, he naturally wanted to negotiate some benefits; otherwise, it would be a loss.
With the thought of not wanting to lose out on anything, Huo Ling engaged in a bit of "negotiation" with the emperor and obtained permission to keep the Yan Prince's mansion as a separate fiefdom outside of the palace. He also secured a promise that as long as he slept in the Eastern Palace at night, he could go wherever he pleased during the day. Satisfied with this outcome, Huo Ling happily "left" the Qianqing Palace.
After Huo Ling left, the emperor was once again left alone in the Qianqing Palace to deal with a pile of memorials awaiting his attention.
Seeing the stack of memorials on the desk and thinking about Huo Ling's promise to move into the Eastern Palace that failed to bring him joy, the Emperor, Huo Jian, couldn't help feeling unhappy. It was something that should have been reasonable, but why did it feel like he was "coercing" him?
With a bang on the table and a toss of the memorials, the emperor was too agitated to deal with state affairs and directly left the Qianqing Palace to stroll in the imperial garden. As for the incident where the Emperor, while attempting to relax in the imperial garden, "encountered" a beautiful woman, he was not at all pleased, and instead raged over the leakage of his whereabouts. This had nothing to do with the Crown Prince, Huo Ling.
Yawning, when he entered the study, Huo Ling wasn't surprised to find that Huo Can wasn't there. He greeted Gongsun Xun and Li Zhuang, who were already seated, then took his own seat and closed his eyes to rest against the backrest of his chair.
When Prime Minister Wang Ancheng entered, Huo Ling opened his eyes without needing Li Zhuang's reminder to show respect.
After the class ended, when Huo Ling came to retrieve the tasks he had already graded, Wang Ancheng assigned him today's tasks and also handed him a note, which read: [Your Highness, next time, at least write one word.]
Huo Ling, after reading the note, felt no shame whatsoever. He smiled nonchalantly at Wang Ancheng and took everything handed to him.
Wang Ancheng, feeling as if his hairline was receding and unsure of what to do, questioned his initial decision to volunteer for this. However, after sighing and deciding not to disappoint the favor of the imperial family, he felt that perhaps he could try a little harder.
If the emperor hadn't given up, how could he? With this thought in mind, Wang Ancheng regained his determination and even gave Huo Ling a smile.
Huo Ling was puzzled, "…?"