Leaning against the backrest too comfortably, Huo Ling didn't want to get up, so he decided to be the last one to leave the study.
Just as he decided to take a nap, Li Zhuang, who had finished packing but hadn't left, approached him and greeted, "Your Highness."
Covering his yawn, Huo Ling didn't even bother to sit up straight. He lazily raised his eyes and asked, "What's up?"
Coming from a humble background, Li Zhuang was not very knowledgeable about etiquette, and this lack of sophistication made him seem "unrefined" to others. However, whether by coincidence or intention, Huo Ling appeared "unrefined" to Li Zhuang as well, giving him a sense of security and sometimes making his efforts to curry favor seem shameless, as was the case now.
"Your Highness, I can recite backwards fluently now." Li Zhuang smirked proudly at Huo Ling, "Do you want to hear me recite?"
In less than a day, he could recite it backwards fluently?
Huo Ling blinked and showed some interest as he nodded at Li Zhuang, "Go ahead, recite it."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Li Zhuang placed the poem he had written on Huo Ling's desk, then stepped back and stood with his hands behind his back. As per Huo Ling's request from yesterday, he began fluently reciting the poem.
Word by word, with passion.
Of course, Huo Ling didn't understand a single word of it.
After flipping through the sheets Li Zhuang handed him, realizing that Li Zhuang had indeed recited it fluently without missing a word, Huo Ling raised his eyebrows slightly — not bad.
Then, with Li Zhuang's emotionally charged recitation that still made others feel sleepy, Huo Ling nestled back against the backrest and started to doze off.
Observing Huo Ling as he recited, Li Zhuang noticed, "…" I can hear him snoring.
At the moment Li Zhuang's voice stopped, Huo Ling also opened his eyes and, with a slight hint of drowsiness, glanced at Li Zhuang, "Can't remember it anymore?" If he couldn't, that was fine too; he wouldn't force it.
Huo Ling's casual inquiry was so nonchalant that it seemed like he wasn't the one who had just been snoring. Li Zhuang didn't know how to refute this. Feeling extremely perplexed, he silently shook his head to indicate he hadn't forgotten, and then continued reciting from where he had left off. Meanwhile, Huo Ling closed his eyes and dozed off again.
Li Zhuang: "…" There's nothing I can say, so I'll just continue reciting. After finishing reciting all the poems as per Huo Ling's request, and seeing that Huo Ling, who was leaning against the backrest, seemed to be fast asleep, Li Zhuang tentatively called out, "Your Highness?"
"…Your Highness?"
Huo Ling: "Zzz..."
Feeling like he had failed to win Huo Ling's favor today, Li Zhuang stiffened his lips and, standing in place for a moment, he unceremoniously came over to Huo Ling, squatted down beside him and pulled his sleeve. "Your Highness, wake up."
As he still couldn't wake Huo Ling, Li Zhuang changed his approach, "Your Highness, wake up quickly, the Emperor is here!"
Huo Ling showed no response, not even the sound of snoring changed in the slightest.
With a vacant look, Li Zhuang decisively removed the hidden pouch behind Huo Ling, and Huo Ling, who suddenly fell back, woke up abruptly. Before he could figure out which day it was today, Li Zhuang's big face was already in front of him. "Your Highness, I have finished reciting."
"Ah? Oh, oh, you've finished reciting." Huo Ling, as though just awakening from a dream, rubbed his face, then patted Li Zhuang's hand generously. "Well done, very good."
Li Zhuang, who tried to cling to the high-ranking officials every day, did not show any sign of being ignored, only excitement at being praised by Huo Ling. However, after Huo Ling praised him, he didn't show any further expression, leaving Li Zhuang a bit bewildered. "Your Highness, don't you have anything else to say?"
"What else do I need to say?" Huo Ling stood up and stretched lazily, naturally retorting.
Meeting the other's eyes, Huo Ling felt that he might have been a bit excessive, but when he thought of the things Li Zhuang had done in the past, he quickly buried that feeling. Huo Ling tilted his head and looked at Li Zhuang, who seemed inexplicably dejected, and patted him on the shoulder. "I think you are very talented."
Li Zhuang's eyes suddenly lit up. "Your Highness?"
"Staying here with me to study is simply a waste of your talent." With a light pat on the shoulder, Huo Ling smiled, his eyes curved. "Why not manage the entire library collection?"
Li Zhuang: "…?"
"Managing the myriad of documents, it requires someone with your memorization skills. I believe in you, you can do it." Huo Ling patted Li Zhuang's shoulder again, with full trust and respect. Despite the weight of Huo Ling's respect, Li Zhuang felt a bit bitter, but he had not reached his current position by not knowing how to read people's emotions. So, in the face of Huo Ling's "respect," Li Zhuang could only feel grateful, "Thank you for your grace, Your Highness."
The things done in the past cannot be erased, so everything now is what he deserves.
Satisfied with his attitude towards Li Zhuang, Huo Ling put down his hand from the other's shoulder, and instead used a fist to thump the other's chest. "Don't disappoint me."
Feeling that he still had a chance, Li Zhuang hastily agreed, "Yes, Your Highness."
Due to this incident, before leaving the palace, Huo Ling first went to find the emperor, who had already returned to the Gan Qing Palace, to report the arrangement he had made for Li Zhuang to his own father, the emperor.
Though he could make decisions on his own, Huo Ling felt that he should still inform the emperor, to avoid being scolded for no reason at some point. Even though he was accustomed to being scolded, Huo Ling was not prepared to endure any unfounded scolding that had nothing to do with him. He wasn't that despicable.
Since becoming familiar with Huo Ling and realizing that he also had a son, the emperor had basically not argued with Huo Ling over minor matters, so regarding Huo Ling's arrangement for Li Zhuang, the emperor, who had already forgotten who Li Zhuang was, casually waved his hand. "I know."
Before Huo Ling bid farewell, the emperor raised his head from the stack of memorials and reminded him, "Remember to move into the new palace as soon as possible."
"Am I the kind of person who talks but doesn't act? Father, you can rest assured." Huo Ling's face carried a hint of grievance, "Because the memorials obscure your view of my expression," said the emperor, who couldn't see Huo Ling's expression, "I really don't trust you. So, I'll have An De help you move to the palace."
Without waiting for Huo Ling to object, the emperor quickly added, "Or I'll have Ye Xiao help you?"
Upon hearing this, Huo Ling swallowed the retort he had just prepared and quickly changed his tone, "It's just fine for An De to help me." He then added, "Regarding the 'respect' you have for me, Father, I am deeply moved. I don't know how to express it, so I can only take my leave with respect and admiration for you, Father, so as not to end up crying uncontrollably due to emotional outburst."
Unsure what to say to Huo Ling, who was so sincere, and not sure what expression to show, the emperor finally gave Huo Ling three words with the last bit of "parental love" for Huo Ling, "Just get out."
"Okay, Father, I'm leaving."
Huo Ling, carrying the pastries and hairpin he bought on the way, left the Gan Qing Palace and returned to the Yan Prince's Mansion.
As he gave the pastries and hairpin to the Crown Princess Consort, Mrs. Liu, Huo Ling awkwardly rubbed his nose, and informed her that they would be moving into the Eastern Palace in the near future. "I'm sorry, you may have to deal with two mother-in-laws in the future." Thinking that their days in the future would be less unrestricted, Huo Ling wanted to return to the Gan Qing Palace and converse with His Most Beloved and Respectable Father again.
Because of not living in the Eastern Palace despite being the Crown Princess Consort, Mrs. Liu would encounter some people who would make insinuations about her at some banquets. However, she wished that Huo Ling could do what he wanted to do and become the person he wanted to be, so Mrs. Liu had never mentioned to Huo Ling - In the eyes of the world, it is only legitimate for the Crown Prince and Crown Princess Consort to live in the Eastern Palace.
Even though they were going to move to the Eastern Palace soon, Mrs. Liu did not remind Huo Ling, who was unaware of this fact. Facing Huo Ling's concern about having to deal with two types of mother-in-laws, Mrs. Liu, who had already changed her address to "Your Highness", smiled, "You are overthinking it, Your Highness."
"With you, I'm not afraid of anything."
Under Mrs. Liu's gaze, Huo Ling, feeling uncomfortable, awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and changed the subject by saying, "Um, Ay, let me help you put on the hairpin."
"When I saw that hairpin, I knew it must suit you." Huo Ling held the hairpin, looking eager to try, "Shall we try it on?"
Looking at Huo Ling, who had become a bit talkative due to shyness, Mrs. Liu smiled softly and let Huo Ling insert the hairpin into her hair.
After putting on the hairpin for Mrs. Liu, Huo Ling looked left and right, feeling that his level of choosing hair accessories was as good as ever, "I knew that you would look beautiful wearing it." He smiled, pleased with himself, "Of course, I chose it well."
Mrs. Liu lowered her head and smiled lightly.
The tenderness of that lowered head made Huo Ling unable to say anything, even not realizing that the Zhu Yu Gou Qi Lean Meat soup he drank was supposed to be for Mrs. Liu.
Seeing this, Mrs. Liu smiled, her eyes curved, but she did not remind Huo Ling.
- His Highness, is really cute.
The emperor's efficiency was very high. The "cute" Huo Ling and Mrs. Liu moved into the Eastern Palace with the agile help of the director, An De, the next day.
After moving into the Eastern Palace, due to various agreements made with the Emperor, Huo Ling's days did not change much, studying when he should, attending court sessions, wearing plain military uniforms when he felt like it. And because he lived directly in the palace, Huo Ling had a lot more time to sleep every day.
As for Mrs. Liu, who had to deal with two types of mother-in-laws, her days were actually not as difficult as Huo Ling had imagined. Aside from the daily greetings, the troubles from the Empress Dowager were kept at bay thanks to her mother-in-law, Concubine Ye, who had told the Empress Dowager, "You can trouble me, but you can't trouble the people around me."
After suffering a few times, the Empress Dowager stopped causing trouble for Mrs. Liu.
In the eyes of Mrs. Liu and Huo Ling, their days weren't much different from before.
However, others did not think so.
Since moving to the Eastern Palace, more and more people showed increasing respect for Huo Ling, and there were also many people like Li Zhuang trying to cling to Huo Ling's power.
Different methods, different attitudes.
Though he did not understand why such a situation had emerged, Huo Ling was very satisfied with it. Every day, someone was trying to get on his good side, and each way they tried was eye-opening for him.
Apart from feeling that he was ignorant, Huo Ling also learned a lot of things he thought were worth emulating.
As for whether anyone succeeded in getting close to Huo Ling, who knew?