Moonlit Calamity: The Dragon Girl's Life of Idleness is Broken

After they finished looking at them, Emperor Sukang instructed Eunuch Xue to show them the ones he had just picked out, thinking that maybe one of them might be blind and like them!

Under Emperor Sukang's watchful eye, the group began another round of uneventful inspection.

After they had looked through each one, Emperor Sukang began to ask, "Well, are there any that catch your eye?"

The princes remained silent, knowing full well that this was the case.

Emperor Sukang narrowed his eyes and stared at them. He knew that they would die in the same way again.

"What, are your standards so high that you can't stand any of them? I think you're going to fly to the heavens."

Emperor Sukang was slightly annoyed.

"I've taken a look, and there are several with stunningly beautiful faces, others who are exceptionally pretty and elegant. Aren't there enough for you to choose from? Hmph..."

Emperor Sukang sat on the dragon throne, his hands resting on the table, his face cold as he stared straight at them.

Seeing that they remained silent, Emperor Sukang suppressed the anger that was about to rise in his heart and called out to each of them one by one: "Third son, you speak."

Prince Jin sighed slightly. There was no way to avoid it after all. He could only reply, "Your Majesty, we have no intention of looking down on you. Your son... Your son believes that we cannot judge a person solely based on a portrait. We must also consider their upbringing, inner qualities, character, and other aspects."

"Nonsense! You don't even like her looks, do you expect to understand her inner qualities? At least make up something convincing." Emperor Sukang looked at him with displeasure.

The Prince of Jin couldn't think of anything to say, so he lowered his head and remained silent.

He figured that he would be scolded no matter who he chose, so saying more would be wrong, and not saying anything would also be wrong, so he might as well not say anything, so he would get scolded less and his father would suffer less.

Emperor Sukang gave Prince Jin a cold look. "You good-for-nothing, all you know is how to play dead. Fifth Prince, you speak."

Prince Qi was filled with mixed feelings: "This... Your subject thinks Third Brother is right," and after seeing Emperor Sukang's gloomy face, he added, "Father's words also make sense."

King Xuan quickly chimed in, "Your subject agrees with Fifth Brother."

Emperor Sukang slammed a memorial onto Prince Xuan, furious. "Did I ask you? You just rattled off answers and even asked for a review? When I asked you, you couldn't answer a single word, not uttering a single syllable. You're all playing dead for me."

Prince Xuan timidly bent down, picked up the memorial from the ground, and said tremblingly, "Father, Father, please calm your anger."

Emperor Sukang picked up the teacup on the table and drank it all in one gulp. Eunuch Xue quickly stepped forward to refill it, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm down."

He finished his tea, paused for a moment, and then slammed the teacup down. The teacup rolled a few times on the imperial desk before falling to the ground. Eunuch Xue caught it, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm down." He took the cup and withdrew, then brewed another cup of tea.

Emperor Sukang calmed his anger slightly, looked at Prince Xuan, and said, "Come on, Sixth Prince, if you like to talk, continue."

King Xuan lowered his eyes, quickly searching his mind for the right words to answer. Why was his brain not working properly today? What should he do? He suddenly felt that all the books he had read before had been wasted.

"Your Majesty, I find them all quite good. Each one is beautifully painted and described as having great talent. It's dazzling to see so many, and it's really hard to choose!" After saying this, Prince Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Emperor Sukang frowned as he looked at him: "Since it's so hard to choose, I'll grant you permission to pick a few more."

King Xuan was dumbfounded. He suddenly raised his eyes, glanced at Emperor Sukang, then lowered his head again. Should he pick a few more? He should remain silent. Silence is golden. If he continued to speak, he would be less than a blade of grass.

"It's like this again. Hmph... what about you, Seventh Brother?" Emperor Sukang snorted coldly as he saw everyone bowing their heads in silence, then turned to look at Xiao Han.

Xiao Han replied calmly, "Your subject is still young. I will make plans after my elder brothers have chosen their wives."

The three princes secretly rolled their eyes at him. What happened to the promise of standing together through thick and thin? You little brat, you actually betrayed us.

"You and the sixth prince are only three months apart, so you should be of marriageable age. But you should consider each other first. When I was your age, I was already married."

"Since you all say that looking at portraits is not enough, then I will have the Empress host a banquet and invite the daughters of various families. Then you can get to know them properly."

Princes: ...

Emperor Sukang looked at them with anger and distress: "If you can't even squeeze out a few words next time, I'll make you pay."

The Prince of Jin said, "Father, I think we shouldn't hold the banquet. The Empress Dowager is not in good health and should not be overworked."

Emperor Sukang didn't understand them. "You don't need to worry about that. If the Empress is unwell, there are still the Noble Consort, the Virtuous Consort, and the Gentle Consort. Surely not everyone is sick!"

"I will have someone send another list to each of your prefectures shortly. Go back and take a close look at it. You may leave now!"

Emperor Sukang didn't want to talk to them anymore. Continuing to talk would easily cause him to have a heart attack. He was the only one babbling on and on, and they didn't take it seriously at all. It made him feel like a gossipy old woman, and he was easily made sick by getting angry. He wanted to live a few more years!

"My son, please retire."

Emperor Sukang slammed another memorial down, angrily saying, "You always manage to run away quickly when you take your leave."

After leaving the imperial study, Prince Xuan sighed, glanced back, and said to his brothers, "Father must be furious inside, right?"

Xiao Han raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him: "Why don't you go in and comfort him, Sixth Brother?"

Upon hearing this, King Xuan waved his hand and said, "Alright, Father has Eunuch Xue to comfort him, so I won't take his job."

King Xuan then said, "It's almost noon. I heard that Qinlan Tea House has recently launched new teas. Let's go and have a seat."

"Third brother, fifth brother, seventh brother, are you going or not?"

Xiao Han said, "I won't go."

Prince Qi thought for a moment and said, "Let's go. If we run into the people Father sent to deliver the list when we get back, Father might even have them monitor us and let us look at it again!"

The Prince of Jin seemed to be thinking: "This is something my father would do."

King Xuan said, "Let's go, Seventh Brother, you're the hardest to get an appointment with."

"No, Third Brother, Fifth Brother, Sixth Brother, you go ahead. I have things to attend to at home, so I'll be leaving now."

King Xuan watched his retreating figure and said, "If you have any good tea, I'll send some to your residence another day."

Xiao Han waved his hand in acknowledgment.

As they were walking out, someone from Consort De's palace came and stopped Prince Xuan, saying that Consort De's headache had flared up and asking him to go and take a look.

Upon hearing this, King Xuan became anxious and hurriedly asked Xiao Quanzi, "Has the imperial physician been summoned?"

"Please."

He turned to his two older brothers and said, "I'm sorry, Third Brother and Fifth Brother, Mother is not feeling well right now. Let's make an appointment another time."

King Xuan looked apologetic; it was he who had suggested going for tea, but now he couldn't go.

The Prince of Jin patted him on the shoulder: "Drinking tea is a small matter, you go and take a look first."

King Xuan nodded and followed Xiao Quanzi toward the inner palace.

Seeing that only the two of them were left, Prince Qi said helplessly, "Third Brother, shall we still go?"

The Prince of Jin was also helpless. He looked up at the sky and saw that it was noon.

"Let's not go, let's go back."

The Prince of Jin and the Prince of Qi parted ways at the palace gate and each boarded their own carriage.