Four Seasons Brocade – CH 253

Chapter 253 ☆、

“Why are you so happy today?” Chu Mao noticed that Ah Wu had added another half bowl of rice.

“If I tell Your Highness, you will definitely be unhappy, so I—will—not—say—it.” Ah Wu shook her head, uttering each word slowly and deliberately.

Chu Mao pinched Ah Wu’s cheek. “Nanny Hao will be back in three months at most.”

Ah Wu sighed. Nanny Hao’s hometown was so close to the capital; why did it not take a year or two to travel there? But Ah Wu quickly perked up, smiling, “But at least I will have three months of good days. I am not greedy.”

When Ah Wu was in a good mood, her eyes shone like the morning star, dazzling and radiant, and the curve of her lips made one want to nibble on them and savor them.

This time, it was Chu Mao’s turn to sigh. “You make it sound like my aunt is like a dark cloud hanging over your head, Ah Wu…” Chu Mao wanted to continue lecturing. Ah Wu was too lazy to listen to his praise of Nanny Hao. “I know, I know, but to me, Nanny Hao is like…like…” Ah Wu pointed her index finger to the sky, “…like He is to you.”

Chu Mao could not help but flick Ah Wu’s forehead. “How can you talk like that?”

Ah Wu pouted and rubbed her forehead, saying coquettishly, “That’s how it is, and you cannot even tell the truth?”

Chu Mao snorted coldly but did not say Ah Wu was wrong. When a Prince reached a certain age, comparing Him to a dark cloud was not entirely wrong.

“However, you are still good. You compare Him to my aunt, so you still respect my aunt in your heart.” Chu Mao had to try to embellish Ah Wu in a different way.

Ah Wu sighed helplessly, “Who told her to raise His Highness from infancy? It’s just that Nanny Hao is always targeting me.” Ah Wu could not help but pout and complain again.

Having failed to win over Yuan Yifang and her daughter, she turned to sowing discord between her and Luan-niang. Ah Wu thought to herself that she would not fall for that. However, she could not tell Chu Mao about the hostile exchange in their eyes; otherwise, he would surely dismiss it as nonsense.

“Why not reflect on why my aunt does not like you?” Chu Mao served Ah Wu a bowl of turtle shell and prunella vulgaris soup.

Ah Wu took a sip, wrinkled her nose, and disliked the taste. She did not know where Chu Mao had found the recipe; it was supposed to be nourishing yin and tonifying the kidneys, but the taste was strange.

Ah Wu put down the spoon and looked at Chu Mao with a wronged expression, saying, “So Your Highness also knows that Nanny Hao does not like me?”

Chu Mao chuckled, took the spoon from Ah Wu’s hand, and fed her some soup.

Ah Wu drank two sips but could not swallow, turning her head away. Chu Mao, however, relentlessly forced her to drink two more sips.

“It’s not my fault she does not like me,” Ah Wu blurted out. “It’s all because of Your Highness. She’s like a mother hen protecting her chicks, thinking Your Highness should stay under her wing. She sees me as the eagle that catches the chicks.”

Ah Wu’s words were truly amusing, and Chu Mao was at a loss for words. This was the first time someone had compared him to a chick. Chu Mao pinched Ah Wu’s cheek. “I am the chick, and you are the eagle, huh?”

Ah Wu herself chuckled. She had only said it casually, but she had not expected His Highness to summarize it like that; it actually had a certain charm.

Chu Mao then tried to feed her some soup. This time, Ah Wu did not dodge. She filled her mouth with the soup, puffed out her cheeks, and lunged at Chu Mao, mouth to mouth. Ah Wu tried desperately to pry open Chu Mao’s lips, making soft, coquettish “mmmmm” sounds through her nose, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

Chu Mao, who had initially kept his lips tightly shut, finally succumbed to Ah Wu’s seductive and domineering advances.

“Is it good?” Ah Wu asked, unable to bear this strange taste alone.

Chu Mao frowned slightly, making Ah Wu laugh uncontrollably, her body trembling with laughter. “This is called…” do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Before Ah Wu could finish her sentence, Chu Mao said, “Did not taste it? Try again.”

Ah Wu knew Chu Mao was teasing her, so she went along with it, scooping a spoonful of soup and bringing it to Chu Mao’s lips.

Chu Mao actually drank it all in one gulp! Ah Wu immediately sensed something was wrong. Before she could back away, Chu Mao pulled her into his arms, forcibly taking half of the turtle shell soup. This time, His Highness Prince Qi was ruthless. Ah Wu was kissed until she had no strength left, and she lay limply in Chu Mao’s arms, panting heavily.

“I told you not to provoke me; I have plenty of ways to deal with you. You think I cannot do anything to you just because we cannot have sex?” Chu Mao tapped Ah Wu’s nose. “I am only letting you off the hook because you look so pitiful.”

“Thank you for sparing me, Your Highness,” Ah Wu replied with a grin, leaving Chu Mao speechless.

After their meal, they moved to the east side room. Ah Wu nestled in Chu Mao’s arms, flipping through a book haphazardly, and asked, “Does His Majesty have no plans to appoint an heir?”

Chu Mao, who had been gently stroking Ah Wu’s hair while deep in thought, opened his eyes upon hearing her question and said, “Not long.”

Ah Wu looked up at Chu Mao immediately. “How so?”

“Someone cannot wait any longer,” Chu Mao said, a slight smile playing on his lips, a smile that seemed both disdainful and pleased.

With the Emperor’s days numbered, the Sixth Prince had lost Consort Xiang’s support in the palace, while the Fifth Prince was unpopular. Both were likely anxious. As far as Ah Wu knew, the Empress had been frequently summoning the Fifth Prince to the palace these days, precisely to curry favor with the Emperor at his bedside.

“Is Your Highness not worried?” Ah Wu asked, surprisingly having the leisure to rub her hair.

“Then what do you think I should do?” Chu Mao smiled. “Go to the palace to stay with the Emperor, but I am afraid he will not want to see me much.”

The long-standing estrangement meant that even knowing the late Empress had not committed suicide, the Longqing Emperor could not feel close to Chu Mao. Moreover, the one who killed the late Empress was his favored Consort of over twenty years, and the one who exposed her was none other than Chu Mao.

“That’s not what I meant. I just heard that the Sixth Prince is currently trying to win people over, and he recently took two more wives,” Ah Wu said.

“Let him go. If His Majesty’s health truly could not hold on any longer, he would not have remained without an heir. Does he not know how chaotic the court would be if he passed away without an heir? Many wolves are eyeing us from the north and south,” Chu Mao said.

Ah Wu’s eyes lit up. “You mean, His Majesty is deliberately feigning weakness, watching you all try your luck?” Ah Wu murmured, “That’s it. The more you jump around now, the faster you will die.” Ah Wu deeply understood the psychology of a sick person; they were most prone to suspicion. The Sixth Prince’s actions were a blatant disregard for the Emperor. Instead of serving him, he was courting ministers—clearly harboring rebellious intentions.

“The Fifth Prince has been much more restrained lately, behaving obediently as a dutiful son in the palace. Perhaps his chances are better,” Chu Mao said casually.

The calmer Chu Mao was, the less Ah Wu believed he had not done anything, but that he simply would not tell her.

“I do not believe Your Highness has not done anything in private. What is Your Highness really thinking?” Ah Wu tugged at Chu Mao’s sleeve and asked.

“Guess for yourself. I will tell you if you guess right.” Chu Mao pulled his sleeve back, got up, and went to the bathing room.

Ah Wu pouted at Chu Mao’s retreating figure, thinking to herself, “Fine, guess for yourself.”

Chu Mao had just said, “Someone cannot wait.” His tone was not hurried; in fact, he seemed quite pleased to see this person do so. He also said that the Emperor would probably soon issue an edict to establish an heir, and that it was related to this one who “cannot wait.”

Ah Wu repeated “cannot wait” several times, then her eyes suddenly widened. If this person could not wait, would they stage a coup? And clearly, Chu Mao knew this. He only needed to guide the situation, prompting this person to stage a coup. As long as they did not actually succeed in the end, he would be the biggest beneficiary.

No wonder Chu Mao was so calm and collected; Ah Wu was certain her assessment was correct.

However, forcing the Emperor to abdicate was not an easy task to plan. The most crucial element was coordination from both inside and outside. Bringing troops into the city during the day, under the watchful eyes of everyone, was impossible without alerting the enemy. And at night, after the curfew in the capital, if troops were to be mobilized from outside the city, they would require tokens from the Five City Garrison Command to enter and exit. While mobilizing the Imperial Guards in the capital, along with personal retainers, was a feasible force, speed was paramount; otherwise, if the Western Mountain Army received word and entered the city to protect the Emperor, everything would be over.

All of this necessitated the Five City Garrison Command. After overcoming that hurdle, they still needed to gain access to the Forbidden City. The best route was through the Shenyou Gate, the back gate of the Forbidden City, which was closest to the Qian Yuan Hall, where the Emperor resided.

Therefore, they also needed to establish connections with the Imperial Guards.

The smugness on Ah Wu’s face vanished completely, replaced by fear.

The Emperor now trusted no one, especially his three older and stronger princes. The only one he could truly trust was the Imperial Princess. Therefore, entrusting the Imperial Guard to the Duke of Wei, the husband of Princess Fuhui, was effectively a disguised handover to her.

The Longqing Emperor believed that Princess Fuhui was the least likely to betray him, as they were siblings, and only he could bestow upon her the greatest honor. His three nephews, however, were a different story and would not respect her as her brother would.

Princess Fuhui originally understood this, and her actions were always based on loyalty to the Longqing Emperor. But now, Ah Wu was uncertain about Princess Fuhui’s stance.

With her mother’s abilities, she could surely find out the Emperor’s true condition. Ah Wu knew that the Longqing Emperor’s days were numbered. In this situation, if Ah Wu were the Imperial Princess, she would inevitably have to choose one of the three factions. A correct gamble would ensure continued honor. As for being wrong? The Imperial Princess probably could not accept that word.

Ah Wu hoped she was wrong; the Imperial Princess had never liked the Sixth Prince. But Ah Wu also knew it was mostly because of Consort Xiang, while the Sixth Prince, Chu Yu, had always been respectful and courteous to the Imperial Princess.

Ah Wu did not dare call for Zi-Yi inside. Taking advantage of Chu Mao’s presence in the bathing room, she turned and went to the side room.