Chapter 50: Late-Night Lake Cruise (1)

At the same time, right in front of the Chaotian Palace, a young man dressed in eunuch attire was carrying a massive bundle of candied hawthorns on a stick, sauntering toward the gates.

"Who are you, and what is your business here?" asked the little Daoist gatekeeper, Golden Bean, spotting someone approaching from afar. What caught his eye most was that this person was shouldering an enormous bundle of candied hawthorns—easily packed with dozens of them, densely clustered together!

"You must be little Daoist priest Golden Bean. This humble servant is Little Xiuzi, a small retainer serving the Heir of Han. I have come today by imperial command to seek an audience with the Abbot of our Chaotian Palace," replied Little Xiuzi.

Little Xiuzi was a sharp-witted fellow. He had long since noticed that the little boy's eyes were practically glued to the candied hawthorns, so he promptly plucked one off the stick and handed it over.

"Oh~ You must be the Little Xiuzi that Uncle Yanhe mentioned! I know you. You really are a good person. Come on, I'll take you in to see the Grandmaster." Little Xiuzi was bought over by a single skewer of candied hawthorns on the spot.

With a massive bite into his treat, the little Daoist boy skipped ahead to lead the way.

Little Xiuzi hurried to keep pace, along the way distributing the candied hawthorns to the children he passed, sparking waves of cheerful cries.

Nearing the inner gate, Little Xiuzi handed the remainder of the bundle entirely over to little Golden Bean. Watching the boy struggle under the weight of the massive stack as he wobbled away, Little Xiuzi couldn't help but chuckle.

He quickly collected himself, however, smoothing down his robes to ensure his attire was impeccably neat. This was the teacher of the Heir Apparent; he had to show the utmost respect!

"Little Xiuzi, subordinate of the Prince of Han's Heir, comes to pay respects to the Abbot!" Without crossing the threshold, Little Xiuzi bowed respectfully outside the door and waited.

A moment later, a voice rang out from within—full of vigor yet carrying the seasoned timbre of age.

"Enter." Hearing the voice from outside, the elderly Daoist master bade Little Xiuzi to come in.

"Little Xiuzi pays his respects to the Abbot." As soon as he crossed the threshold, Little Xiuzi dropped to his knees and kowtowed before the old Daoist priest. The reason was simple: the old Daoist before him looked utterly astonishing. Though clearly advanced in years, he possessed the complexion of a child, a head of pitch-black hair, and ruddy cheeks. Dressed in Daoist robes, he radiated the ethereal air of an immortal! Could this truly be an immortal descended to the mortal realm?!

"What brings Yanhe to send you here?" The old Daoist frowned as he looked down at the young palace attendant, his face a mixture of reluctance, shock, and bewilderment.

"Immortal Master, a decade ago the Heir invited you to a pleasure boating excursion on the lake, scheduled for tonight. He sent me to inform the Immortal Master, and I shall return later to escort you," Little Xiuzi replied, respectfully changing his form of address to Immortal Master.

"Very well, then I must trouble you, young friend." The old Daoist Zhang Zhenheng stared repeatedly at the young eunuch before him in utter confusion.

"Since I have delivered the message, this junior will take his leave," Little Xiuzi said, preparing to make a hasty retreat.

"Thank you for your trouble, thank you," old Daoist Zhang Zhenheng said repeatedly, escorting Little Xiuzi to the door. As he watched the departing figure of the young eunuch, his mind was filled with sheer disbelief.

What on earth is going on? You are a young eunuch—a man missing his roots! Where on earth does such a dense aura of true dragon energy come from all over your body? How could a eunuch possibly possess dragon energy?

Moreover, this dragon energy appeared completely unadulterated! Yet it felt somewhat superficial and unstable, not as though it belonged to him naturally, but rather like the lingering trace left behind from long-term proximity to a true dragon!

Could it be that you've genuinely been in contact with a true dragon recently? Stop messing around, will you? Old Daoist as I am, nearing eighty years of age, I've never laid eyes on a dragon even once! Could a little eunuch like you have seen one?! The old Daoist furrowed his brow, filled with hesitation.

Unless...! A flash of inspiration suddenly struck the old Daoist's mind, and he thought of another possibility.

It must be the dragon energy emanating from his own good-for-nothing disciple!

His good-for-nothing disciple possessed a tremendously condensed dragon energy, and this little eunuch waited on Yanhe every day, thus becoming saturated with it!

Still, this overwhelming aura of dragon energy was simply terrifying!

The old Daoist supplied himself with a logical explanation in his own mind!

Never mind, I won't dwell on it anymore. Let's just wonder what kind of surprise that brat Yanhe has prepared for me tonight. Flicking his horsetail whisk, the old Daoist sauntered back into his room.

Over at the Prince of Han's estate, Zhu Zhanhao was waiting as his mother, Lady Wei, had attendants prepare a change of clothes for the Prince of Han's evening boat outing.

Zhu Zhanhao keenly noticed that his mother's expression was poor, for she had failed to bring the jade Ruyi scepter she usually loved to toy with!

"Mother, what's wrong? Who has upset you? Father and I have matters to attend to tonight, which is why we couldn't take you along on the lake." Zhu Zhanhao assumed she was upset because she was being left behind while he went boating with the Prince of Han.

"Hao'er, it's not like that..." Princess Wei wore a hesitant expression, stopping herself before finally blurting it out.

"We are heading to our fief, but that's no reason for people to chase us out! Today, just a moment ago, the daughter of Lady Hu the Palace Attendant—that girl named Shanxiang—actually came to ask when your mother plans to set off for the fief! And it was the Crown Princess who sent her to ask! Isn't this a blatant attempt to drive us away?!" Princess Wei said indignantly. She felt that while they were willing to leave, they refused to be chased out like stray dogs!

"Mother, it's not like that, really. Let's not be angry," Zhu Zhanhao quickly tried to comfort his indignant mother.

"What do you mean it's not like that! You have no idea, Hao'er, and your father is an utterly unreliable wretch as well!" Princess Wei suddenly changed the subject, launching into a complaint about the Prince of Han. This left Zhu Zhanhao utterly baffled—they were just talking about moving to the fief, so how did it veer back to the Prince of Han?

"Mother, does Father have something to do with this as well?" Zhu Zhanhao asked hesitantly, wearing a careful, ingratiating smile.

"Of course he has to do with it! That girl from Lady Hu's household is only fifteen or sixteen, yet your father, that shameless old man, stared right at her unblinkingly, speaking in such a gentle tone he practically wanted to pull her into his arms!" The more Princess Wei spoke, the angrier she became. Wearing a furious expression and knitting her pretty brows, she nearly shredded the handkerchief in her hand.

"Ah, did such a thing happen?" Zhu Zhanhao asked cautiously, rolling his eyes inwardly at his father's unreliability. Just a short while ago, his father had brought home a woman who had borne him a daughter, and now he had his eyes on someone else already?

"Hao'er, you have no idea. That girl is the same age as you; she's old enough to be his daughter!" The princess remained indignant, glaring with her pretty, wide eyes, brimming with dissatisfaction.

In response, Zhu Zhanhao could only offer a helpless, placating smile, having no idea what to say.

"Hao'er, you don't know, that girl looks just like a..." Princess Wei had originally wanted to say the girl looked just like a vixen, but looking at her own son standing before her, an entirely different thought suddenly occurred to her. Her expression shifted instantly, replaced by a radiant smile.

"Hao'er, that girl is rather good-looking, and since she's from Lady Hu's household, her background is pure. She would make a rather fine match for my son..." Looking at her son and recalling her encounter with Hu Shanxiang just moments ago, the more Princess Wei thought about it, the more satisfied she became, her heart overflowing with delight.

"Mother, Father and I still have business to attend to. You can ponder this on your own." Seeing where this was heading, Zhu Zhanhao thought: *Why is this being dragged onto me? Am I supposed to snatch the woman my old man has his eyes on? Forget it, I'd better make a run for it.*

With that, Zhu Zhanhao scooped up the change of clothes his mother had prepared for his father and bolted in a flash.

"Mother, this child has matters to attend to. Father and I might return rather late tonight, so do get to rest early."