Chapter 84: Stopping a Child from Crying part 1
On the day Zhao Chen entered the palace, the continuous winter rains had finally ceased, revealing a rare stretch of sunny weather.
The warm morning light sprinkled over Luoyang City, erasing the traces of rain, while the edges of the pale gray glazed tiles refracted fragmented glimmers of light.
Having learned from his previous experience, Zhao Chen was much better behaved this time.
The moment he entered Yande Hall and finished his formal greetings, he didn’t dare utter a single word of sophistry. hands hanging by his sides, he stood obediently to the side, ready to receive his lecture. “Sister, I was wrong.”
Zhao Yiyi was stunned, nearly choking on her tea. She barely managed to control her expression, focusing her gaze on him before asking, “Where were you wrong?”
Though she asked calmly, she was inwardly astonished. Had the sun risen from the west today?
Zhao Chen kept his head lowered, staring at the blue oricks, and whispered, “I shouldn’t have been so impulsive, nor should I have pushed so ruthlessly.”
Zhao Yiyi pressed her fingers against the center of her brow, frowning. “The Wang family accusing Father of fraud regarding Zhao Shunnian’s marriage—did you drag them into this?”
“Yes.” Zhao Chen hesitated for a split second before nodding, burying his head even lower. “I ordered people to spread rumors to the Wang family, casually mentioning that specific clause in the law. Back when Father and Madam Xu both entered the Lanruo Temple, the Wang family already wanted to back out of the marriage; they only endured it for fear of damaging their own reputation. Now that such a good opportunity presented itself, they naturally wouldn’t let it pass.”
He answered smoothly and calmly, yet Zhao Yiyi suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Glancing at Zhao Duanduan, who was peeling a tangerine nearby, she waved her hand and said softly, “Go outside and play for a while.” She then dismissed the attendants, leaving only the two of them in the hall.
The room fell silent, and Zhao Chen became more nervous than ever before.
He was only fourteen this year, still a half-grown youth. He acted on impulse, relying on a keen wit far beyond ordinary people to orchestrate these events behind the scenes.
Although he didn’t feel he had done anything wrong, standing before his eldest sister now, he couldn’t help but feel guilty.
“How long did it take you to memorize the laws?”
At the sudden question, Zhao Chen blurted out before he could think, “Ten days.”
Zhao Yiyi remarked, “Quite fast.”
Zhao Chen’s heart tightened, and he hurriedly added, “Sister, I… I just casually looked through them.”
Seeing the youth’s panicked appearance, Zhao Yiyi’s heart softened. She sighed inwardly, her voice involuntarily becoming gentler. “The Zuo family is currently in a heated dispute with Father. Since they dared to sue, would they do so without absolute certainty? Just let them make a fuss; why are you so eager for quick results? Even without the family genealogy, the Zuo family has other methods. Their current erratic clamoring is merely to drag things out and ruin the reputations of Father and Madam Xu.”
Although Zhao Chen was intelligent, he was still young and didn’t understand the underlying currents. Seeing that there was still no conclusion after so much trouble, he assumed the Zuo family was incompetent and couldn’t resist making a move himself.
Having held back their grievance for so many years, the Zuo family dared to act now precisely because they had someone backing them.
It was only because she was suppressing things from behind the scenes that the Zuo family had grown bold enough to step forward.
“Father is in prison. When you go back, have Eldest Brother take all of you to visit him,” Zhao Yiyi said, her voice faint but steady, like a trickling stream in spring. “You are currently studying at the School of the Sons of State, and Eldest Brother has been reinstated. Do not give people cause for gossip.”
In officialdom, a charge of unfilial conduct was a graver sin than the sky itself. Once someone seized upon such a handle and labeled you with it, your career could be halted at best, or you could be demoted and dismissed at worst.
Zhao Chen lowered his head and answered “Yes.” He stole a glance at her expression, and seeing her calm and composed—seemingly not too angry—he gradually felt at ease.
Still, he couldn’t help but ask, “Sister, aren’t you angry with me?”
“You acted so impulsively; how could I not be angry?” Zhao Yiyi frowned and glared at him, speaking snappily. “You haven’t grown a bit of caution, acting entirely on spirit and impulse. You don’t know how to think for yourself.”
Zhao Chen replied, “Sister, I did think about it. It was precisely because I thought about it that I did it.” He looked up slightly, his gaze meeting those gentle almond eyes, and said earnestly, “I knew the consequences. But if I didn’t do it, if I didn’t make them suffer some punishment, I would never be at ease in this life. It would be like a fishbone stuck in my throat, keeping me tossing and turning at night.”
The youth’s expression was firm. Though his voice was soft, it carried an irreversible determination.
Zhao Yiyi had known Zhao Chen was unruly, but she hadn’t realized he was stubborn to this extent.
She scolded him with a frown, and while the boy was willing to obediently admit his mistake—looking so pitiful one couldn’t bear to speak harshly—he refused to retract his stance.
“Sister, don’t be angry.” Seeing her brows knitted lightly, Zhao Chen hesitated for a moment before stepping forward to tug at her sleeve.
Zhao Yiyi said, “Since you’ve memorized the laws, when you go back, write out the Great Chu Legal Code from memory three times. Bring it to me personally next month.”
The Great Chu Legal Code consisted of thirty volumes, its records numerous and complex. To write it out three times within a month meant he would have to finish one full copy every ten days—no small undertaking.
Knowing this was no easy task, Zhao Chen didn’t dare utter a single word of objection. He drooped his head and agreed, “Alright.”
Having sat in the courtyard playing the zither earlier, Zhao Yiyi was dressed a bit warmly. Under the illumination of the bright sun, she felt slightly hot.
After giving her instructions, she rose to go inside and change into lighter clothes.
“Her Highness worries a great deal for the Second Young Master,” Yunzhu whispered from the side while helping her change.
Zhao Yiyi replied, “It’s good for him to learn a lesson.” If she truly wanted to punish him, she wouldn’t have just made him write out a few volumes of laws.
It was only because his actions were too extreme that she dared not treat it lightly. She feared he would become arrogant and stray further down this path, so she deliberately delivered a stern warning.
Making Zhao Chen write out the laws was also to ensure he remembered them even more firmly.
Just as she was combing her hair, Mancao entered and reported, “Your Highness, Vice Director Jiang is here to pay his respects. He personally brought a box of pastries, saying it is an apology to the Grand Princess.”
During the pitch-pot game that day, Zhao Duanduan had been dragged down by Jiang Jiayan, causing her to lose directly in the second round. Thinking of her temperament, she probably wanted to eat Jiang Jiayan alive. Zhao Yiyi simply raised an eyebrow and said, “Let him take it back. Just say the thought is appreciated.”
Earlier, while walking by the Taiye Pond to relax, Zhao Duanduan had seen Jiang Jiayan passing by with the pastries.
She wandered around the edge for a while, estimating that Zhao Yiyi and her brother had finished talking, and prepared to return to Yande Hall.
However, halfway there, she was stopped by a group of people.
“Grand Princess.” The female official in the lead, wearing an ivory skirt, curtsied to her and smiled. “Grand Princess is here? We servants were just about to go to Yande Hall to find you.”
Zhao Duanduan took half a step back and asked, “What is it?”
The female official said, “Today, the Empress Dowager personally went into the kitchen and made a dish of crispy bone fish. Hearing that the Grand Princess enjoys it, she specially wanted to invite the Grand Princess over to taste it.”
The official’s voice was gentle, and she subtly mentioned the hard work involved in the preparation; her soft expression made one subconsciously want to be close to her.
But Zhao Duanduan merely replied, “I had breakfast not long ago, so I can’t really eat much. Please thank Her Imperial Majesty for her kindness on my behalf.”
These days, the Empress Dowager was always seeking her out.
Sometimes she made snacks and sent them over, sometimes she sent people to invite her, and sometimes she even came in person.
Even her sister said that was her birth mother and told her not to be too apprehensive.
“This is unavoidable,” her sister had said, looking at her with gentle eyes, her voice clear and soothing. “She wasn’t the one who switched you and Linchuan back then. Although she was at fault, it wasn’t a heinous crime.”
But she still didn’t like it, nor did she want to be close to her.
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