The years I was in the human world

"There was such a scene at the Sixth Master's house today, and you happened to be there. Do you dare to say that you didn't have any plans in mind?" The emperor looked up at Chu Zhaoli, his eyes filled with coldness. All of his sons could be cunning and clever, but Chu Zhaoli couldn't.

"Your Majesty, please understand. I have been living in seclusion in the mansion for many days. I just went out today after recovering from my injuries. I didn't know about sixth brother's affairs before. Why should I talk about whether I have made any plans or not?" Chu Zhaoli listened to the emperor's sarcasm and knelt down again with a plop, keeping a very humble attitude.

"Are you serious?" The emperor looked at Chu Zhaoli suspiciously. Although his son had not caused any trouble since he came out of the cold palace, and most of the punishments he received were on behalf of other brothers, Chu Zhaoli was so obedient that he couldn't help but speculate with the worst malice.

Listening to the emperor's doubtful words, even though Chu Zhaoli had been accustomed to his partiality over the years, he could not help but feel upset and sad because of his harshness. Chu Zhaoli sighed softly in his heart. His emperor and father hated and feared him just like his mother did:

"If it weren't for the fact that Father felt that I had already reached into Sixth Brother's private residence and could plot against Third Brother without making a sound, why would I have gone there in person to join in the fun and bring myself into trouble for no reason?"

Chu Zhaoli's words sounded helpless, but there was some truth in them. If he really had no manpower, there was no need for him to go out of the palace in person to cooperate with Lu Zhouxue in acting. Not only would it arouse the emperor's suspicion, but if Xie Yang had not come along temporarily, it might have been a waste of time.

The emperor gradually believed him, but he still warned him: "I thought you were an honest man, so I was confident in handing over the position of crown prince to you. Be careful in what you say and do, don't do anything you shouldn't do, and don't let me down."

Chu Zhaoli didn't know whether he was chosen as the crown prince because he was honest and dutiful or because he lacked the qualifications for ambition. Nor did he want to know. His emperor and father never trusted him, and for ten years they had been wary of him like the Wuxiang people in the north. They were afraid that he would take advantage of them, but also disgusted with him and dared not to fight for it.

"Your son doesn't need to do that." Chu Zhaoli said meekly, with his brows lowered and his eyes pleasing to the eye. In fact, he was more obedient and likable than any other son of the emperor, but he just didn't like him.

"You can go down." The emperor waved his hand casually. When dealing with any other prince, he still had some kindness and generosity as a father. But when it came to Chu Zhaoli, there seemed to be only the cold etiquette between the monarch and his subject. Perhaps because the latter had no mother to act as a buffer, the conflict between father and son became sharp and confronted each other.

But then again, the conflict between the emperor and the prince was clearly only the former's one-sided dislike. Chu Zhaoli had always been well-behaved and obedient, or in other words, submissive. In fact, he often wondered, since he had been so tolerant, what else could his emperor and father be dissatisfied with?

"Father, I want to ask for a reward." Chu Zhaoli was still kneeling on the ground. For the first time in his life, he spoke to the emperor. Without waiting for the emperor to ask him what reward he wanted, he continued,

"The servant who caused trouble in Sixth Brother's private residence has caused trouble in front of the people. It is not appropriate to execute her at will. Sending her to serve in other palaces may cause trouble. Therefore, I am bold enough to ask Father to order her to be transferred to serve in my palace. With me watching over her, there will be no more trouble."

Originally, if the prince wanted a palace maid, he didn't need to ask the emperor for permission. But the emperor often suspected Prince Chu Zhaoli, and the servant Lu Zhouxue was involved in a lawsuit. Besides, Chu Zhaoli's words were also a disguised request to the emperor to spare his life, so he had to "make a fuss".

The emperor had already learned the whole story of the Sixth Prince's incident through Xie Yang's memorial. He was also worried about how to deal with Lu Zhouxue, the troublemaker. Chu Zhaoli took the initiative to ask for someone, which was like a perfect match. However, the emperor was still suspicious: "What do you want that criminal slave for?"

Originally, this matter did not cause much impact, and Chu Zhaoli had some contribution in it, but the emperor just refused to believe that his eldest son had such good foresight. Even though the former helped him solve his problems at this time, he still felt that he had ulterior motives.

"Your Majesty, I like him." Chu Zhaoli said. What he said was indeed true, but the emperor thought that he was also blinded by beauty. After all, he had seen Lu Zhouxue's face, and she was indeed a disaster. He just frowned and cursed, "You useless thing." In the end, he agreed.

"Your son thanks the Emperor." Chu Zhaoli stood up excitedly, turned around and walked out of the hall with brisk steps. This was the only time he thanked the Emperor sincerely, and even his steps were full of the youthful vigor.

The emperor was stunned for a moment when he saw the prince's eyes suddenly become lively. It was as if he was meeting his son for the first time. He couldn't help but call the boy who was about to leave and showed concern for him for the first time: "Why do you like that criminal slave? There are beautiful slaves in the palace."

"Father, I have met him before at my third brother's place. He has a gentle personality and treats me politely. It would be great if he could come to keep me company." Chu Zhaoli said half-truthfully, but his face revealed expectation and yearning uncontrollably. If everything was fine, it would be great if he could stay with his teacher for a long time.

The emperor had never seen such an expression on his face. He was surprised and felt that the prince was making a fuss. It was my duty to be polite to my master. Why did he keep thinking about her? Thinking of this, the emperor asked, and his words were implying that Chu Zhaoli was not a decent person.

"Father, I have a bad reputation. I dare not neglect you in front of you, but I always despise you behind your back." Chu Zhaoli stood at the door and said to the emperor against the light. He showed a little helplessness on his face. He smiled bitterly, bowed and said, "I will take my leave."

Chu Zhaoli noticed the emperor's mood and deliberately played a pitiful role. The emperor looked at the young man gradually going away, his clothes blown up by the wind, revealing his thin figure underneath. The emperor suddenly felt a little dazed. When did his son grow up so big?

He remembered the second princess calling him father in a childish voice, the third prince hugging his legs and acting coquettishly, the fourth prince getting a black face from practicing calligraphy, the fifth prince breaking his inkstone and daring not to say a word out of guilt, the sixth prince smearing yellow mud on his trouser legs, and the seventh princess clamoring for her father to ride a big horse.

But what about Chu Zhaoli? He only remembered that six years ago, the young man in princess clothes said to him indifferently: "My mother is dead."

At that time, he thought that his son was really cold-hearted and terribly so that he did not shed a single tear when his mother died. Therefore, he hated him even more afterwards. But just now, he suddenly realized that maybe the child was not cold-hearted, but like every child facing misfortune, he was still at a loss and at a loss.

"Chen Ping, do you think I was too harsh on that child?" The emperor felt very uncomfortable when thinking about the young man's body that was so thin that it seemed like he would fall down with a gust of wind. He once again felt that Chu Zhaoli had never done anything wrong.

Even his beloved Third Prince would pretend to obey him but secretly disobey him, but Chu Zhaoli never disobeyed him. His eyes were always calm. Even when he felt that he was scolding out of anger, Chu Zhaoli would only lower his eyes in grievance, kneel down and say: "I know I was wrong."

Chen Ping, the personal eunuch, did not respond to the emperor's words. He knew very well that the emperor just wanted to vent unilaterally and did not need him to respond.

As expected, the emperor continued to talk to himself: "The twenty military sticks we hit him with last time were not too heavy... Chen Ping, please ask the imperial physician to check on him to see if he is fully healed."

The fact that Lu Zhouxue was finally sent to Changle Palace was not hidden from everyone in the palace. The Third Prince was practicing calligraphy in his room at that time. When he heard about this, his hands were distracted and the brush left a long ink mark on the paper: "Chu Zhaoli asked my father for that slave? Do you know why?"

"Your Highness, Eunuch Chen Ping said that the reason the prince gave to Your Majesty was 'he liked the criminal slave.'" the subordinate replied.

"Like? This is not something Chu Zhaoli would say. No matter why, I have to thank him." The third prince sneered and simply stopped practicing calligraphy. He gently put down the ink brush in his hand and led people to Changle Palace.

When the Third Prince arrived, Chu Zhaoli was placing his hand flat on the table for the imperial physician to feel his pulse, with a thin arm sticking out from his sleeve. When he came in and saw this scene, he was stunned at first, then his face showed just the right amount of worry and asked, "Is my brother not feeling well?"

"No, thank you for your concern, third brother. It's just that father is worried that I haven't fully recovered, so he asked the imperial physician to come and take a look." Chu Zhaoli smiled and said. The imperial physician had just finished taking the pulse. He withdrew his hand and hid his skinny arms back into his sleeves.

"How is my brother?" The third prince's eyes fell on Chu Zhaoli's sleeves. The thin arm lingered in his mind. Is his elder brother so thin? In his memory, the prince always looked submissive. Has he become so thin?

"Your Highness, this..." The imperial physician had been frowning since he began taking the prince's pulse. When the third prince asked him questions, he seemed to be hesitant to speak. He knew that there were many conflicts among the princes, and he was not sure whether he could tell the third prince the crown prince's true situation.

"Just tell me directly. Don't worry about anything. I have some idea about my own body." Chu Zhaoli said. He didn't care what the third prince would do after hearing it. Besides, this imperial physician was not his man. He couldn't hide his physical condition even if he wanted to.

"Your Highness is suffering from deficiency of blood and energy, weakness and coldness. He is really lacking too much in health, and he is overly worried, so he looks thin and lacks youthful complexion. If he does not take good care of himself, he may..." The imperial physician did not say the second half of the sentence, but everyone present understood what he meant.

"Please, imperial physician, prescribe some warming and nourishing prescriptions for my royal brother. Make sure he takes good care of his body." The third prince didn't know what kind of mentality he had when he told the imperial physician this, but after hearing the imperial physician's assertion, he couldn't help but feel a tightness in his heart, and he actually felt some genuine worry.

"Why are you here, Third Brother?" After sending the imperial physician away, Chu Zhaoli asked someone to bring a plate of sweet-scented osmanthus cake. He pushed the plate of cake in front of the Third Prince and said with a smile, "This is the first batch of sweet-scented osmanthus cakes. They are just out of the pot. Try them. I remember you like this."

The third prince looked at the pastries pushed in front of him but did not move. He looked up and met Chu Zhaoli's smiling eyes. Suddenly, he felt a nameless rage. He was not angry when his father blamed him for no reason, nor was he angry when others bullied him. But now, when he heard about his physical condition, he still looked nonchalant.

Could it be that his eldest brother was made of clay? When would he react a little and stop looking so nonchalant? The Third Prince wanted to see some different emotions in Chu Zhaoli's eyes, no matter what they were, but not this nonchalant look.

That would make him feel that he was no different from the common people in Chu Zhaoli's eyes, the Third Prince thought, and couldn't help but sarcastically said, "It happened many years ago, but my brother hasn't improved at all and is still thinking about it."

Chu Zhaoli was not angry at the Third Prince's sarcasm, as if he only regarded him as an ignorant child. However, he still gave a slightly different reaction than before. He brought the plate of cakes back and said, "Forget it if you don't want to eat it. I didn't make it especially for you."

If it wasn't steamed for him, then who was it for? The Third Prince was unhappy again, and his fists clenched under his sleeves. Just as he was about to ask, the little girl's crisp voice interrupted him: "Brother Crown Prince, where is the osmanthus cake you made for me?"

Du Qiao rushed in from outside, and the palace maids and nurses behind him chased after him, shouting, "Miss, slow down. Be careful not to fall."

As soon as Du Qiao came in, he noticed the steaming cakes on the table. He ran to Chu Zhaoli, hugged his arm and complained, "Brother Crown Prince, you said you would steam the cakes for me, but why did you give them to others? What should I eat?"

"Girl, isn't the whole pot of food in the kitchen enough for you?" Chu Zhaoli smiled and touched the little girl's head. At Du Qiao's request, he got up and took her to the kitchen. When he left, he nodded to the Third Prince and said, "Third brother, please help yourself."

The gentle boy with the cute girl hanging on his arm was clearly a happy scene, but it was a bit glaring in the eyes of the third prince. That was clearly his elder brother, the elder brother that everyone else sneered at except him. When did he have such a good relationship with the apple of the Du family's eye?

The Third Prince was very conflicted. Most of the time, he was just like everyone else, looking down on Chu Zhaoli and even mocking him behind his back. However, the brotherly and respectful behavior he displayed in front of others was not entirely an act. He also didn't know what his attitude towards his mediocre elder brother was.

At the moment when Chu Zhaoli and Du Qiao walked away together, he only knew that he was very unhappy. His elder brother originally only had eyes for him, but now he gave his tenderness to another person, the daughter of the Du family. Just considering what Madam Du did to his elder brother, what right did Du Qiao have? How could she still act like a spoiled child in front of his elder brother?

The third prince thought angrily, but in the end he did not leave, but followed.