Has the Crown Prince Been Deposed Today? - Chapter 17

Chapter 17. Little Pitiful

Wei Zhao couldn’t help but look in the direction of the sound.

The slanting sunlight filtered through the willow branches, casting dappled shadows. On the cobblestone palace road, a youth dressed only in a thin, bright yellow silk robe, with a face like jade and eyes like black lacquer, his black hair simply tied with a jade ribbon and obediently resting against the nape of his neck, was now leaning weakly on the uneven stones. One hand was on the ground, the other pressed to his chest as he coughed softly, his face pale.

The coughing was indeed as soft and weak as he had heard earlier, as if he were deliberately suppressing it, afraid of being noticed.

Wei Zhao’s eyes narrowed.

This little wolf cub’s martial arts were not weak. He had only been kneeling for a little over half a day, how could he be in such a state? Could he be deliberately acting pitiful again, to avoid the remaining two days of punishment? But if he were acting pitiful, shouldn’t he be making as much noise as possible? Why was his voice as soft as a kitten’s? If he hadn’t possessed profound inner strength and exceptional hearing, he probably wouldn’t have been able to hear it from this close.

Heh, could he be playing hard to get again?

So young, yet he had so many tricks up his sleeve.

Wei Zhao raised an eyebrow, ordered the steward to feed the First Prince some rice and water, and also instructed someone to fetch two energy-boosting pills from the Imperial Hospital, then prepared to walk over.

“Marquis Wei—”

Mu Jue suddenly called out urgently.

Wei Zhao glanced at the corner of his sleeve that was being held by the other man. He lowered his eyes, smiled, and asked politely, “Does the First Prince have any other instructions?”

His deep phoenix eyes pressed down, carrying an invisible aura, as if he could see through all his thoughts.

“N-Nothing.”

Mu Jue’s heart trembled, and he awkwardly let go. Just now, before his brain could even react, he had instinctively grabbed Wei Zhao’s sleeve. How reckless, how rude. What would Wei Zhao think of him now?

He suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of annoyance, annoyed at his own impatience, annoyed at his overly eager performance.

As a courteous and prudent eldest prince, who should remain calm and composed even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, how could he use such a blatant method to try to keep the other man, like a woman in the inner palace vying for favor?

“The First Prince need not worry. You are merely weak and dizzy from hunger. As long as you replenish your fluids and food in a timely manner, you will be fine. The Prince’s filial piety is commendable, but your health is more important. This subject believes that His Majesty would not want to see you harm yourself in the name of filial piety.”

Wei Zhao comforted him gently.

However, these words sounded like unintentional accusations to Mu Jue. His face flushed red, and he almost couldn’t maintain his forced composure.

“Yes… Yurun will remember Marquis Wei’s words.”

Wei Zhao nodded, withdrew his gaze from the eldest prince, and with a flash of his silver robe, strode away.

Gao Jili was currently patting the little Crown Prince’s back to soothe him. However, his obedient little Highness seemed too weak to withstand even that, and with each pat, he coughed even harder.

Gao Jili was puzzled. He hadn’t used much strength. Moreover, he had been fine just a moment ago, why did he suddenly start coughing? However, when he caught a glimpse of a silver-white figure approaching, Gao Jili instantly understood!

The Marquis of Dingbei’s demonic claws were already reaching out. When facing a powerful enemy far stronger than you, the best course of action was, of course, not to confront them head-on and tell them how strong and powerful you were, daring them to fight. Instead, you should act weak, act pitiful, act like you’re about to die, preferably making the other party’s conscience suffer so much that they could no longer bear to harm a weak, pitiful, and helpless creature like you.

And as an excellent steward and a caring “padded jacket,” what he could do, naturally, was to play along and use every means to help his obedient little Highness act pitiful!

“What’s wrong?”

“Is Your Highness feeling unwell?”

Wei Zhao stopped with his hands behind his back, leaned down slightly, and looked down at the “little pitiful” with a particularly gentle voice.

The youth seemed startled, quickly released his hand, and because he really didn’t have the strength to kneel upright, he simply leaned to the side, suppressed his cough, and said with forced strength, “I… I’m fine.”

“Cough, cough… I’m sorry, for d-disturbing Marquis Wei and Eldest Brother’s conversation.”

The youth quickly turned his head and coughed a few more times into his fist. After coughing, he looked up at Wei Zhao with a slightly fearful expression. His dark eyes were filled with annoyance, guilt, and a barely perceptible hint of panic, as if he were afraid that the other man would be angry. If one looked closely, one could also see the small teeth marks on his lower lip, which were slightly pale, obviously from biting down hard to endure the pain.

Looking… particularly weak, pitiful, and helpless.

Wei Zhao glanced at his knees and saw that there was neither a soft cushion nor any knee pads. The small, not-yet-fully-smoothed stones were rubbing against his knees through the thin layer of clothing without any barrier. The insides must already be bruised and purple. He was a little surprised.

The little Crown Prince didn’t seem like someone who would willingly suffer. In fact, according to the information he had gathered so far, he particularly enjoyed going against Emperor Changping and the entire court. Why was he being so obedient now? Was he acting out the full set, carrying out the “suffering” tactic to the end, or… was he truly repentant?

The latter, obviously, even he himself found laughable.

“Is Marquis Wei here to visit Eldest Brother? In that case, this Prince will kneel further away. To have disturbed Marquis Wei, this Prince truly deserves death.”

The youth clenched his fist and said with particular understanding. Then, without waiting for Wei Zhao to speak, he bit his lower lip and, although with great difficulty, tried to get up with the support of his fat steward. Unexpectedly, because he moved too quickly, he lost his balance and fell back down softly.

“Aiyo!”

Gao Jili cried out, looking as if his heart was breaking. “My dear Highness, please don’t push yourself. You’ve been suffering from a cold and fever since last night, your stomach is upset, and you haven’t had a single bite of food or a drop of water. It’s already good enough that you can barely kneel here. Why are you still struggling? Rest assured, the Marquis of Dingbei is a broad-minded and upright hero. He would never take advantage of someone in a weakened state to harm you.”

The Fourth and Fifth Princes, who were eating melon seeds in the back row, simultaneously: ?

The Second Prince, who was kneeling in perfect posture, waiting for his idol’s inspection: ???

What the hell did he just hear?

Were the iced rock sugar and white fungus soup and the goat milk cookies fed to a dog?

Did some people have no shame when it came to survival?

And also…

As someone who also had a steward, wasn’t someone’s steward a bit too scheming and good at acting??

Only Mu Qi, who was still happily nibbling on a small cookie, was filled with guilt. Goodness, in order to take care of him, who was sick, His Highness, the Crown Prince, had given him his soft cushion, knee pads, food, and drinks, while he himself endured such suffering. How could there be such a good and kind person in the world?

“It’s no matter.”

Wei Zhao, who had been observing coldly, finally spoke.

A hint of an unreadable smile appeared in his phoenix eyes. He bent down on one knee, reached out, and his fingers skillfully and naturally grasped the youth’s pulse. His tone was gentle. “Let this subject examine Your Highness.”

The skin under his fingers was as smooth and delicate as porcelain. Wei Zhao rubbed his thumb over it a couple of times, carefully taking the “little pitiful’s” pulse.

Mu Xiao: !!

The ever-so-dramatic Gao Jili, however—

!!!!

What was meant by putting on a great performance, only to have the person you were supposed to be performing for completely ignore you and even… expose you?

He heard that the skilled imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital could tell how many bowls of rice and how many bowls of water a patient had consumed just by taking their pulse. Would the Marquis of Dingbei also have this magical ability?

This, this, this… his poor little Highness, this time he seemed to have really overplayed his hand.

At that moment, Gao Jili suddenly realized that when facing an enemy, especially a brutal one, the best way was not to act pitiful, but to be as quiet as a mouse, pretending you didn’t exist. Someone like the Marquis of Dingbei, who could chop people into mincemeat to make dumplings, would he spare you just because you were weak? Absolutely not!

So, why did his dear Highness provoke him?

Gao Jili was filled with a thousand, ten thousand regrets, and was even ready to rush into Chengqing Hall at any moment to seek help from His Majesty.

The passing palace staff and some officials who were going to Chengqing Hall to report to Emperor Changping saw the Marquis of Dingbei forcefully holding the little Crown Prince’s wrist from a distance, and the little Crown Prince looking weak and about to faint. They all secretly gasped.

This posture, this scene, a large-scale revenge scene.

Was it really necessary to be so intense?

“How is it? Is there… anything wrong with this Prince’s pulse?”

Compared to his steward, the Crown Prince’s acting skills and psychological quality were much more stable.

The youth opened his clear eyes, his lips pursed, and stared intently at Marquis Wei’s hand taking his pulse. After a moment, he asked with a hint of nervousness.

Wei Zhao’s eyes flashed with confusion. He calmly withdrew his hand and said just as calmly, “Oh.”

“It’s not a big problem.”

“Just some indigestion.”

“This subject will have the imperial physician send over some hawthorn pills.”

Mu Yun: “…..”

Mu Yun: “…..”

Hmph!