Sun Kui went to Xinde Palace early in the morning to invite the Fourth Prince to the dining hall of Chengguang Hall to have breakfast with the Emperor.
On the day of a prince’s ing of age, he can eat breakfast with the Emperor.
The Fourth Prince, dressed in princely attire, went to the dining hall of Chengguang Hall for breakfast. He had not yet been conferred a princely title, so he was temporarily not qualified to wear a python robe.
"Your son greets Father Emperor."
The Emperor walked forward and personally helped the Fourth Prince up.
"Let’s eat first."
"Yes, Father Emperor."
Sun Kui brought two bowls of longevity noodles; the first bowl was given to the Fourth Prince, as today was his birthday. The second bowl was for the Emperor.
The Emperor acpanied the Fourth Prince in eating the longevity noodles.
While the father and son were eating the longevity noodles, neither spoke a word.
After finishing the noodles, the Emperor finally spoke to the Fourth Prince. He instructed the Fourth Prince on many matters. First, he explained many things as the Emperor, and then he advised the Fourth Prince on various matters as a father.
This was the first time the Emperor had spoken so much to the Fourth Prince. It was also the first time the Fourth Prince had spoken so much to the Emperor.
Neither the father nor the son was very talkative. Moreover, although they saw each other every day, they rarely spent time together.
After finishing the conversation, the father and son went together to attend the morning court at Chengguang Hall.
At the start of today’s court session, Sun Kui announced the imperial decree conferring the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince was conferred the title of Prince Chu.
Upon hearing the title "Prince Chu," many ministers’ expressions changed.
Then they heard that the Fourth Prince’s fief would be Liangzhou.
Many more ministers were shocked.
Although it had long been guessed that the Fourth Prince’s fief would be Liangzhou, when the Emperor truly granted Liangzhou to the Fourth Prince, the ministers couldn’t help but be surprised.
Among the major provinces, the only one that could pare with Jizhou was Liangzhou. Liangzhou was even larger than Jizhou, but Liangzhou was not as close to the capital as Jizhou.
Prince Dai had also long guessed this, but he still felt unsatisfied. Liangzhou was clearly conquered by him, yet it was given cheaply to Prince Chu, who did nothing to earn it.
The only thing that could make Prince Dai feel slightly better was that Liangzhou was farther from the capital than Jizhou.
After reading the imperial decree, the Emperor also announced that Prince Chu would be married next month. After the marriage, he would immediately go to Liangzhou.
The ministers were extremely shocked that Prince Chu was to go to Liangzhou immediately. They had thought the Emperor would keep Prince Chu in the capital.
Knowing that Prince Chu would leave for Liangzhou once married, both the Crown Prince and Prince Dai secretly breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Although Prince Chu would not pose a threat to them temporarily, if he stayed in the capital, he would sooner or later bee a threat to them.
Before leaving the capital, Prince Chu had to move out of Xinde Palace and into the Prince Chu Mansion.
Even though princes often went to their fiefs after being conferred, they would have a mansion in the capital.
Before Prince Chu left the capital, Zhao Yao directly moved into the Prince Chu Mansion. Every morning, he went to the palace with Prince Chu and returned to the Prince Chu Mansion with him every evening.
On the day of Prince Chu’s wedding, he also went with Prince Chu to the Lu Mansion to greet the Princess Consort Chu.
Of course, on Prince Chu’s wedding day, Zhao Yao did not stay at the Prince Chu Mansion. However, on the day before Prince Chu left the capital, Zhao Yao went to stay at the Prince Chu Mansion for a night.
That night, Prince Chu brushed aside his newlywed Princess Consort Chu to sleep with Zhao Yao.
The brother duo lay on the same bed and talked a lot. Zhao Yao was very sleepy but forced himself to stay awake to talk to Prince Chu. In the end, it was Prince Chu who said he was sleepy, prompting Zhao Yao to fall asleep.
On the day Prince Chu left the capital, Zhao Yao saw him off to twenty li outside the capital. If Prince Chu hadn’t urged him to return, he probably would have continued to escort him.
Until he could no longer see Prince Chu’s figure, Zhao Yao finally turned back towards the capital. On his way back, he couldn’t hold back his tears any longer.
While Prince Chu was around, Zhao Yao tried hard not to cry. He dared not cry in front of Prince Chu, fearing that his tears would make Prince Chu feel bad, so he held back all along.
Tong Xi, seeing Zhao Yao cry so bitterly for the first time, was at a loss as to how to fort him.
Half a month after Prince Chu left, Zhao Yao finally eased from his departure.
Luckily, the Eighth Prince was by Zhao Yao’s side. Otherwise, if he were alone, he would have been heartbroken for a much longer time.
After arriving in Liangzhou, Prince Chu wrote to Zhao Yao regularly, sending him delicious and fun things from Liangzhou.
Zhao Yao gradually got used to the days without Prince Chu around. Alas, whether he liked it or not, he had to get used to it.
After Prince Chu left, Zhao Yao’s relationship with the Eighth Prince became even closer, almost inseparable.
Far away in Liangzhou, Prince Chu always paid attention to Zhao Yao. Only after learning that he was doing well did he feel relieved.
After Prince Chu left, the dynamics of the court changed somewhat.
Many ministers were sent by the Emperor to Liangzhou to assist Prince Chu.
Now the court had reverted to the opposing situation between the Crown Prince and Prince Dai. However, the two sides continued to engage in minor skirmishes, not daring to escalate into all-out war.
Zhao Yao felt that the struggle between the Crown Prince and Prince Dai wouldn’t remain minor for long and would likely escalate, potentially even leading to an outright fallout.
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