Yichun Palace has methods, and Weiyang Palace has depth.
When the masters of these two palaces fight, they will inevitably neglect their precious darlings.
By then, he would make a move to cut the ground from under them and go straight for the crystal…
Thinking that way was too idealistic. Ye Jingchen laughed out loud.
Chenxi did not understand what he was laughing so foolishly about. Seeing that it had nothing to do with him, he quietly returned to his comfort zone.
After Ye Jingchen had laughed enough, he jumped down from the bed, walked to the hall door, opened it, and called for someone.
“Fanghua.”
Outside the hall, among the palace maids on guard, a young girl with a pair of phoenix eyes stepped forward.
“Your Highness, what are your orders?” Fanghua asked respectfully.
“Go prepare a set of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Tomorrow this prince will go visit Third Imperial Brother,” Ye Jingchen ordered.
As soon as he said that, quite a few palace maids and eunuchs showed surprise, but they quickly suppressed the extra expressions on their faces and lowered their brows and eyes.
“Yes!” Fanghua answered without changing expression and left.
Ye Jingchen remembered that he still had something unfinished to read, and he began spouting nonsense with a straight face: “Although Imperial Father has excused this prince from classes for the past few days, this prince, as Crown Prince, cannot neglect his studies. This prince wants to read. You all will stay guard outside the hall. Without this prince’s summons, no one is allowed to come in and disturb this prince’s studying!”
After saying that, whether they believed him or not, he reached out and closed the hall door himself.
He continued reading the Eastern Palace personnel information. There was a thick stack of papers, and although he read quickly, by the time he finished, dusk was already approaching and the light had grown dim.
“Chenxi, put these away first,” Ye Jingchen called him out again.
“Those with problems, try to arrange them together if possible. It will be convenient for you to keep watch over them, and also convenient for them to stir up trouble.”
Of course, it would also be more convenient for dogs to bite dogs.
With the biggest hidden danger for the moment resolved, Ye Jingchen walked briskly to the hall door, opened it, and said, “This prince is hungry. Serve the meal.”
The palace actually had strict mealtime rules, but the Eastern Palace had its own separate kitchen, and the cooks were always prepared. Naturally, the Crown Prince could eat whenever he wanted, and besides, it really was almost dinner time.
Life is only about a hundred years at most. Aside from life and death, the biggest things are eating, drinking, and having fun, and eating and drinking come first.
In his modern life, Ye Jingchen had been a foodie. He spent all his money on eating and drinking, so by the time he was thirty he had not saved much for a wife fund, and he died still a single dog.
But he did not regret it. No matter how bitter life got, he could not let his mouth and stomach suffer!
The palace attendants filed in one after another. Some lit the lamps, while others cleaned the desk.
However, the desk was spotless, with no signs that the books or the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone had ever been touched, so the Crown Prince saying he wanted to study was indeed a lie!
Fangluo, who was in charge of tidying the desk, calmly wiped the nonexistent dust from the table with a cloth.
Before long, the entire palace was filled with warm yellow lamplight.
Then came the part Ye Jingchen had been most looking forward to.
Once again, the table was filled with a lavish spread of dishes, none of them repeated. They were perfect in color, aroma, and taste, and just looking at them and smelling them made his appetite surge.
“Fangcao, Fangluo, come and serve this prince during the meal,” Ye Jingchen called after taking his seat.
Fangcao was a round-faced little girl, while Fangluo had a pair of smiling eyes.
The first-rank palace maids serving the original body were mostly fifteen or sixteen years old, exactly the age of the most delicate charm. They had excellent looks and temperament, and each had a distinctive appearance.
Surrounded by beauties, it was naturally pleasing to the eye, but the food on the table attracted his attention even more.
With a calm heart, he enjoyed the close service of the pretty young girls, and with a delighted heart, he savored the chef’s carefully prepared dishes. Ye Jingchen did his best to hold himself back and avoid eating too much.
And from the moment he put down his chopsticks, he was already looking forward to breakfast the next day.
As Crown Prince, he already ate so luxuriously at every meal. Wouldn’t the Emperor eat even better?
Ye Jingchen was thrilled.
As a son, he should often go before the Emperor to show filial devotion and maintain the father-son bond between them. Only then could he live more securely and for longer.
How about paying respects tomorrow around mealtime?
The Emperor doted so much on the original body that seeing him would definitely make him happy. He would absolutely keep him for a meal, and then he could legitimately taste the Emperor’s imperial dishes.
But he could not go to see the Emperor empty-handed.
Even in the modern world, when visiting a neighbor, you were supposed to bring something to show goodwill.
Although his main purpose in going to the Emperor was to mooch a meal, the Emperor did not know that. This was the perfect time to raise his Affection Level, and he could not waste it.
But what should he give?
Gift-giving was a major subject.
The Emperor ruled over the world. Whatever he wanted, he had. Giving a gift that could truly reach his heart was not easy.
Especially since the original body was still a child. Even if he wanted to give a gift to please the Emperor, he had to keep it within proper bounds. Going too far would inevitably arouse the Emperor’s suspicion.
Children are innocent and naive, untouched by the world. Although the original body was not actually like that, in the eyes of the Emperor, who doted on the Crown Prince, he definitely was. In a child’s eyes, the world is colorful and brilliant… birds can sing, and flowers can laugh…
He had not read novels for more than ten years for nothing. Ye Jingchen knew what to give the Emperor.
“Fangfei, at what hour does Imperial Father have breakfast every day?” Ye Jingchen asked.
Although he had not yet memorized all the first-rank palace maids around him, this was naturally the most appropriate thing to ask Fangfei.
“His Majesty attends morning court at two quarters past the Hour of the Rabbit. If everything goes smoothly, he has breakfast at one quarter past the Hour of the Dragon,” Fangfei answered.
The Hour of the Rabbit…
Ye Jingchen mentally calculated it. The Hour of the Rabbit was five in the morning, and two quarters past that was five-thirty. It was early spring now, and at five-thirty the sky was still not light, yet the Emperor and the ministers had to begin the court assembly.
This was even worse than a modern corporate wage slave!
At least a corporate wage slave usually does not start work until eight o’clock!
As expected, being Emperor was a high-risk, short-lived profession!
If possible, he only wanted to be a leisurely and wealthy prince, with no need to worry about anything and only to enjoy immense wealth.
Unfortunately, he had transmigrated into the Crown Prince, and a Crown Prince favored by the Emperor at that. In the future, he would either inherit the throne or die. He had no choice at all!
“Does Imperial Father go to morning court every day?” Ye Jingchen asked, clinging to a sliver of unrealistic hope.
“Of course,” Fangfei answered.
Ye Jingchen’s vision went black.
His life was finished!
He had died suddenly in the modern world. Was he going to transmigrate into a novel once and still end up dying suddenly in the end?
And in the modern world, at least he had died suddenly from staying up late reading novels, doing something he liked. But after becoming Emperor in the future, he would be forced to deal with state affairs every day and then die suddenly from overwork?
Then what was the point of this transmigration?
But if he did not become Emperor, he would not even live long enough to die suddenly from overwork. His brothers would be eager to kill him first.
The hardships to come could be dealt with later. For now, the most meaningful thing was to flatter the Emperor, cling to his little life, enjoy a life of wealth and luxury, and grow up safely!
“Be sure to wake this prince at one quarter past the Hour of the Rabbit tomorrow morning. This prince must go to Chengqian Palace to pay respects to Imperial Father!” Ye Jingchen instructed.