If Only He Could Help His Young Imperial Uncle

The princes were beaten until they wailed and howled for mercy.

The consorts stood outside the imperial classroom, their hearts aching at the sounds. Every one of them gnashed her teeth at Xiao Yu!

The ministers also seized the opportunity to impeach Xiao Yu for disregarding the law, behaving recklessly, and committing grave insubordination... They all petitioned Emperor Jinyuan to strip him of his title.

Outnumbered, Emperor Jinyuan finally conceded. He could only make a token show of punishment by confining Xiao Yu to his residence for a month.

No one was satisfied with this outcome, but one look at Emperor Jinyuan's dark expression silenced them.

After all, if they pushed His Majesty too far, nothing good would come of it...

The Eastern Palace

Meanwhile, warmth and harmony filled the palace.

"Eat as much as you like. There's more if it isn't enough."

Consort Wan watched the crown prince and Xiao Yu eating with relish across from her, her face wreathed in smiles.

Ever since learning that the crown prince was her child, she had taken charge of all his daily needs and meals.

And since Xiao Yu lived in the Eastern Palace, she naturally treated him just the same.

When she learned that he was the heir to the Prince of Zhennan, she was even more delighted.

Who in Great Jing did not know that the Prince of Zhennan had distinguished himself defending the country? Brave and skilled in battle, he was a great hero in the people's hearts.

Everyone loved a hero, and she was no exception.

In fact, she had once admired the Prince of Zhennan herself.

When he married, she had been sad for quite some time. But once she thought of how his bride was the dazzlingly talented Sister Su, she had let it go.

As she looked at Xiao Yu and saw traces of an old acquaintance in his features, a flicker of nostalgia crossed her eyes.

Then she remembered the recent rumors from the imperial classroom. Her delicate brows furrowed with concern.

"Please forgive me for speaking out of turn, Your Highness."

She told Xiao Yu, "The emperor is still wary of the Prince of Zhennan's household. It would be best not to draw too much attention to yourself in the future."

"Rulers are the most heartless of all. He may shower you with favor now, but there's no telling when he might change his mind..."

Xiao Yu swallowed his mouthful of rice and replied, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I know what I'm doing."

[See? That worthless emperor really knows how to play people. He's fooled everyone.]

[He isn't showering me with favor at all. He's using me as a blade to get rid of troublesome ministers and reclaim the rest of his political power.]

[After all, as the ruler of a nation, he can't act against his ministers without solid evidence. Otherwise, people could easily call him a tyrant.]

[So even if he's a worthless emperor, he's still an emperor. The art of ruling comes naturally to him, and he knows exactly how to keep his subjects under his thumb!]

[I'm useful to him now, so he won't touch me yet. Once he has complete control over the court and I'm no longer useful, that's when he'll deal with me.]

[But that's still a long way off. I'm perfectly safe for now!]

Consort Wan was speechless. He certainly took it in stride.

The crown prince had far more concerns. He pressed his lips together.

Did Emperor Father intend to make Little Imperial Uncle face those crafty ministers alone?

If only he could help his uncle. Unfortunately, he had neither the strength nor the support right now.

Seeing that he had stopped eating and looked worried, Xiao Yu lightly tapped his head. "What are you worrying about, kid? Eat your food!"

"Oh," the crown prince replied glumly.

He picked up his bowl, but the food no longer tasted as good as before.

Seeing the crown prince's low spirits, Consort Wan knew that he was worried about Xiao Yu.

After a moment's thought, she said to Xiao Yu, "Your Highness, if you need help..." She could contact her father.

Her father was upright and incorruptible, and had always disliked forming factions for personal gain.

But he doted on her. If she asked, he would surely offer some help.

"No need. I can handle it myself. Stay out of this," Xiao Yu refused.

He liked Consort Wan very much. Something about her reminded him of his mother.

She was a small source of warmth that he cherished in the palace.

And there was the little crown prince, too.

He did not want to drag them into this...

"Also, I should move back to my own palace. I won't be coming to the Eastern Palace anymore," Xiao Yu suddenly said.

"Why?" the crown prince asked anxiously.

He had finally found a companion. He did not want them to part just like that...

He looked at Xiao Yu with tears in his eyes. "Do you dislike me now, Little Imperial Uncle?"

"Because I'm useless..."

"No!"

Seeing that he was about to cry, Xiao Yu hurriedly replied, "You know I'll only offend more and more people. If I stay here, I'll definitely drag you into trouble..."

The little crown prince was the first friend he had made after coming to this cold imperial palace. Of course he treasured him.

Now that the boy was also his nephew in name, he naturally had to protect him.

"I'm not afraid!"

Once he heard that Xiao Yu did not dislike him, the crown prince relaxed.

"Little Imperial Uncle, I can look after myself! So many people have tried to remove me as crown prince over the years, but none of them succeeded. I've survived it all, and I'll survive this time, too!"

Consort Wan also took the opportunity to say, "The crown prince is right. Another person means another source of strength. You're still a child yourself. Don't shoulder everything alone."

An unexpected warmth stirred in Xiao Yu's heart.

He lowered his head. "Let me think about it..."

The crown prince quickly answered for him. "There's nothing to think about, Little Imperial Uncle. Just keep living here. I promise I'll keep myself safe!"

If possible, he wanted to protect Little Imperial Uncle, too...

Seeing how much the boy wanted him to stay, Xiao Yu stopped teasing him. "All right, then. I won't move out. I'll keep living here!"

Staying close was good, too. If anything happened, it would be easier to alert each other and deal with it.

The next day

Bang, bang-

Wei Yi knocked at Xiao Yu's door. "Your Highness Prince Yu! Your Highness Prince Yu!"

"Prince Yu!"

Creak-

Xiao Yu opened the door and snapped impatiently, "You're so noisy!"

The moment Wei Yi saw Xiao Yu, he dropped to his knees. "Prince Yu, please, save the crown prince!"

Xiao Yu was instantly wide awake. "What do you mean? What happened to the crown prince?!"

Wei Yi was so frantic that he burst into tears. "The crown prince... the crown prince fell into the water!"

"I called for so many people, but no one would go in to save him!"

Xiao Yu hauled him to his feet. "Where? Lead the way!"

Wei Yi immediately broke into a run. "In the pond just ahead..."

Xiao Yu reached the pond Wei Yi pointed out.

He paused briefly at the sight of the still water.

Then he jumped in without hesitation!

It was pitch-black underwater, and Xiao Yu could barely see, but he could vaguely make out a figure not far away.

Xiao Yu swam toward him.

But the moment he moved his foot, something suddenly wound around it. The more he struggled, the farther down he sank!

He looked back.

It was a mass of unidentified, pitch-black waterweed spirits trying to absorb him as nourishment!

Looking closer, he realized that the figure bundled up in the weeds was the little crown prince he was searching for!

Xiao Yu swam toward the weeds binding the little crown prince.

When he reached the boy, he found that he had already lost consciousness.

Xiao Yu fed him a pill to protect his heart, then gave him a Sand Tang to prevent him from drowning.

Then he drew a dagger and sliced through the weeds.

But the more he cut, the more weeds appeared. Unwilling to give up such rare nourishment, they wound tightly around the two of them!

Utterly fed up, Xiao Yu summoned Qinggeng. "Eat these annoying things!"

"What even are these things? They're all black. How disgusting!"

Qinggeng's eyes were full of disgust and refusal.

Looking at Xiao Yu, Qinggeng complained pitifully, "Master... aren't you worried they'll upset my stomach...?"