Chapter 804 It's Settled

"Oh, he's sick."

Zheng Fan nodded, not really caring since it was just a eunuch.

Tian Tian helped Zheng Fan open his salted duck egg, handing it to him.

Afterward, Tian Tian helped the crown prince's younger brother open his salted duck egg, and then handed it to the crown prince.

The three of them,

Ate their shredded chicken and vegetable porridge with pickled vegetables very deliciously. Even the crown prince, who usually didn't have a good appetite, ate a large bowl of porridge.

After eating, feeling belatedly aware, the crown prince lowered his head and looked at his stomach, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Zheng Fan asked.

"Replying to Uncle Zheng, Chuan Ye slept very well."

"Good, that's good. Your schedule will be the same as your Tian Tian brother's. Whatever he does, you follow him. Don't worry about your studies; you'll study with your Tian Tian brother."

"Yes, Uncle Zheng, Chuan Ye understands."

After breakfast, Zheng Fan left. New news had arrived from the Chu Kingdom; it wasn't about the war, but it was even more important than the war.

Tian Tian carried the stools that the three of them had used for breakfast back into the house, and then wiped the stool surfaces with a cloth.

The crown prince stood beside him, wanting to help but not knowing how, so he asked,

"Do you usually do all this?"

"Yup." Tian Tian answered matter-of-factly.

Ji Chuan Ye had been born at a good time. His mother had a difficult labor when he was born, and that day even alarmed the late Emperor and several princes in the capital who all gathered.

As the eldest grandson of the Emperor, Ji Lao Liu had basically secured his position in the court since his birth. The political storms and power struggles in the court never caused any problems for the Wang family in their daily lives, unlike when Ji Lao Liu was at his worst and had to rely on several carts of cornmeal sent by Zheng Fan to make a living.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

"Whenever Father is home, I set out the stools for breakfast every morning, and Father will come to eat." Speaking of this, Tian Tian smiled and looked at the crown prince, "I'm afraid that one day I'll be lazy and not set them out, and Father won't come to have breakfast with me."

He said it with a smile,

But for some reason, the crown prince suddenly felt a pang in his heart.

Among children, the crown prince considered himself a special one, but after looking at this "brother" in front of him, he realized that he was the lucky one.

Especially Tian Tian brother's smile.

"Um, didn't you say last night that you were going to pay your respects to my First Aunt, Second Aunt, and Third Aunt?"

"Yes, that's the proper thing to do."

Actually, in ordinary families, when distinguished guests arrived, the whole family would naturally come out to greet them, especially since this was the current crown prince.

In the families of high-ranking officials in the capital, when the crown prince arrived, the whole family would set up incense tables and kneel down to pay their respects together, following all sorts of rules of the imperial family, without the slightest mistake, otherwise it would be disrespect to the dignity of the imperial family, a crime of great disrespect.

But the Zheng family was an exception.

The Prince of the West was really treating the crown prince like a child from a neighbor's house or a friend's house that he had brought back home, and then just left him there.

So, the crime of great disrespect was very interesting; when you really have the qualifications to disrespect someone, that person, on the contrary, wouldn't dare to blame you for not respecting him.

The little Zhang Gonggong who fell ill today didn't dare to complain at all when faced with this "cold reception" yesterday.

Actually, among the three mistresses in the family,

Fourth Madam had even treated the crown prince on the road;

Xiong Liqing was pregnant, and she was also a princess, so naturally there was no need for her to rush to show any courtesy to the Yan Kingdom's crown prince. The surnames Xiong and Ji were inherently equal;

Liu Ruqing did want to know some etiquette, but she was said to be the Third Mistress, but in reality, she had always regarded herself as a "concubine." Without anyone taking the lead, she naturally wouldn't come out to meet the crown prince alone.

"First Aunt should be busy, I'll take you to see Second Aunt first."

"Okay."

Yesterday, when he was looking for Qing Mang, he had actually already gone to the princess's courtyard, but the princess wasn't there. Today, when the two children entered the courtyard, they saw the princess, who had just finished her breakfast, taking a walk with the help of a maid.

With a big belly, she had to pay more attention to her health. Even if she didn't exercise, she still had to move around often.

"Oh, my son."

The princess also smiled when she saw Tian Tian, and waved for Tian Tian to come over.

"Son greets Mother."

Ji Chuan Ye then respectfully bowed:

"Chuan Ye greets Aunt."

The princess seemed to have just seen the crown prince, and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince?"

"Yes."

"Someone come, bring tea and snacks, and also call Ruqing over."

"Yes, Madam."

At the stone table,

The princess sat on one side, and Liu Ruqing, who had arrived, sat beside her.

Tian Tian and Ji Chuan Ye sat opposite them.

Exquisite snacks were brought up, as well as tea.

The princess pointed with her finger and said, "Help yourselves."

"Mm."

"Thank you, Aunt."

Tian Tian picked up a snack and took a big bite.

The crown prince gently sipped a little, and also took a small sip of tea. He hardly touched the snacks.

The princess looked at the crown prince's "eating habits," and a look of reminiscence appeared on her face.

People from truly refined families never ate snacks in a gluttonous manner, just to fill their stomachs or something.

It was common to spend half a day eating a snack and drinking a cup of tea.

However, her own man never cared about these things, and the people in the mansion didn't pay attention to these rules either. It was rare to meet someone from the royal family, and it made her miss it a little.

After they had the snacks, Tian Tian bid farewell to the princess with the crown prince.

The princess didn't keep them either.

After the two children left, Liu Ruqing spoke up, "The crown prince's body is a little weak."

"Mm." The princess nodded, "In the past, I thought about many, many things. Now, I think about things simply. I only hope that the child in my belly can be like Tian'er, without illness or disaster from childhood to adulthood."

"The crown prince is just living in the mansion like this, without any other arrangements?" Liu Ruqing asked.

"No need, no need to gild the lily. Just follow the husband's arrangements. It's good too, Tian Tian can have a companion."

"Yes, when the child in your belly comes out in the future, and the child in Big Sister's belly also comes out, our mansion will really be lively."

"What about you, you should also work harder. My sister and I are both inconvenient now, so Husband can only stay at your place, right?"

"Sister…"

Liu Ruqing's face flushed red.

Xiong Liqing smiled and deliberately dragged out her voice, calling:

"Uncle ~~~~"

"Ah, you're embarrassing me, Sister."

…

When the two children returned from the princess's courtyard, they saw Liu Dahu standing there waiting.

Liu Dahu looked at the crown prince beside Tian Tian,

The crown prince also looked at Liu Dahu.

Perhaps, the Prince of the West wasn't the only one who didn't take the Yan Kingdom's crown prince seriously; there was also the Sword Saint who lived next door.

The Sword Saint knew that his eldest son went to the neighboring mansion every day to run drills with Tian Tian, but he didn't tell him that there was an extra person in the mansion.

"Whose child is this?" Liu Dahu asked.

"Tiger Brother, he's from the Emperor's family."

"The Emperor's family?" Liu Dahu's mind didn't react for a moment.

"He's the crown prince."

Sword Maid appeared on the courtyard wall, swinging her legs.

The little girl who had cried bitterly on the Bian River bank while holding her master's body was growing up, and because girls developed faster than boys, these two legs were already showing their length.

"C… crown prince?"

Although Liu Dahu was surprised, he wasn't flustered.

After playing with Tian Tian, he had become very adaptable.

Ji Chuan Ye bowed to Liu Dahu and said,

"Chuan Ye greets Tiger Brother, greets…"

Ji Chuan Ye looked at the Sword Maid sitting on the courtyard wall.

Tian Tian said, "Sword Sister."

"Chuan Ye greets Sword Sister."

Liu Dahu also formally returned the greeting to the crown prince, but he didn't kneel down.

In Fengxin City, everyone only recognized the Marquis of the West, and imperial power didn't have much deterrent force here.

Sword Maid didn't respond at all and continued to sit on the courtyard wall, swinging her legs.

Liu Dahu started running drills with Tian Tian and the crown prince,

After running for a while, the crown prince couldn't keep up and stopped, standing there watching Liu Dahu and Tian Tian continue running.

At this time, Sword Maid jumped off the courtyard wall, looked at Ji Chuan Ye, and smiled:

"Tsk, you're already out of breath?"

Ji Chuan Ye lowered his head.

The little boy was really embarrassed to be said that by a pretty older sister.

Then, the crown prince mustered his energy again and ran another section, and then, he was so tired that he sat down on the ground.

After Tian Tian and Liu Dahu finished running, they started practicing with their swords.

Liu Dahu held a real sword,

Tian Tian held a wooden sword, and he very considerately found a wooden sword for the crown prince as well.

Liu Dahu stood in front and practiced,

Tian Tian and the crown prince followed behind and practiced;

The sword stances weren't difficult; they were practicing the basics, and it was a simplified version from the army, not flashy, but very practical.

As they practiced,

The crown prince's arm became sore and numb, and he had to put down his wooden sword, standing there watching the two older brothers continue to practice.

Then,

The crown prince cried.

Yes,

The Great Yan crown prince, who was mature and had once been praised by the late Emperor as a "good Holy Grandson,"

Started crying loudly in this situation.

Children of this age were supposed to cry often, but Ji Chuan Ye had forgotten when he had last cried. Even when his own father had called him to drink medicine that time, he hadn't cried.

Liu Dahu and Tian Tian stopped;

Because of the difference in status, Tiger hesitated for a moment and didn't go up;

Tian Tian went over, but he really didn't know how to comfort him.

Because Tian Tian had never cried since he was little, except when the Sword Saint had taken him out of Litian City when he was still in swaddling clothes. After the magic pill accompanied him, he had never cried.

The crown prince cried for a long time,

Until he couldn't cry anymore,

He wiped his tears with his sleeve,

And then looked at Tian Tian, looked at Liu Dahu, looked at Sword Maid, and said apologetically:

"I don't know why, but I just cried. Father said that a man doesn't shed tears easily, but I cried for so long."

"Your father isn't here, don't be afraid, he doesn't know. We won't tell him."

The crown prince felt that there was a lot of sense in this.

Afterward,

The three children went to take a bath.

The Prince of the West liked to take baths. This habit had been retained all the way from Tiger Head City to Shengle City to Snow Sea Pass and finally to Fengxin.

He liked to take baths, and he also liked to take his godson with him;

So, after running drills and practicing with swords every day, Tian Tian would take a bath before noon, using his father's bathhouse.

Liu Dahu also loved to take baths, because his family used a wooden tub. When his grandma or mother took a bath, the other family members had to wait in the courtyard;

It wasn't as comfortable as taking a bath in the Marquis's bathhouse.

Finally,

The three children took off all their clothes and got into the pool.

"Hoo…"

Liu Dahu swam around;

Tian Tian picked up a towel and said to the crown prince:

"Little Brother, sit over here, Brother will scrub your back for you."

In the past, when Zheng Fan took Tian Tian to bathe, he liked to scrub Tian Tian's back.

Tian Tian had always wanted to experience the job of "back scrubber," but Liu Dahu only dared to take a bath with him, and would never dare to let Tian Tian scrub his back for him.

The crown prince was confused, but obediently did as he was told.

"Father said that you have to scrub hard, otherwise you won't be able to scrub off the dirt."

Tian Tian put the towel on the crown prince's thin back and scrubbed hard.

The crown prince was pushed forward by the force,

And leaned forward,

Falling directly into the bath.

"Ah!"

Luckily, Liu Dahu was swimming back and immediately went up to pull the crown prince out.

The poor crown prince choked on a few mouthfuls of water and kept coughing.

After a flurry of activity,

The three of them were quiet,

Quietly soaking.

Liu Dahu said, "A powerful guy has come to our personal guard camp."

The last time they went to the snowy plains, Liu Dahu and Tian Tian had both served as Zheng Fan's personal guards, so the two children still considered themselves members of it and referred to it as "our personal guard camp."

"How powerful is he?" Tian Tian asked curiously.

"I can't beat him, and he's not much older than me. Zheng Man can't beat him either."

Zheng Man was a wolf cub, brought out of the desert by Liang Cheng.

"Then he must be really powerful," Tian Tian said.

The crown prince, who had recovered, also wanted to join this "chat" and said, "My father's personal guards are also powerful."

Children were probably like this; they could pretend to be adults and be very serious, and they could also really be like children.

It was really laughable to compare them to the Emperor's guards.

Liu Dahu then said:

"That guy I'm talking about, he just beheaded a pillar of the Chu Kingdom on the battlefield."

After Chen Xianba entered Zheng Fan's personal guard camp, he quickly began to take charge.

The personal guard camp was actually a very united but also very competitive circle. They were all proud and arrogant, because they were either capable themselves or their parents were capable.

Chen Xianba relied on his fists to subdue the others.

A pillar of the Chu Kingdom was a very high-ranking official;

Liu Dahu knew some things, but Tian Tian and the crown prince didn't really have much of a concrete impression.

After crying today, the crown prince was uncharacteristically childish and competitive, saying:

"The head of my father's personal guard is one of the Four Great Swordsmen."

Liu Dahu said, "My father is the leader of the Four Great Swordsmen."

"…" The crown prince.

"Hee hee." Tian Tian covered his mouth and laughed.

"Tian Tian Brother, what are you laughing at?" the crown prince asked.

Tian Tian replied, "Father said that my real father once defeated the leader of the Four Great Swordsmen."

"…" The crown prince.

The three children had soaked enough, Liu Dahu got up first and put on his clothes.

Tian Tian also got up, wiped himself clean, and then helped the crown prince wipe his body. The crown prince was a little scared.

"Tian Tian Brother, I'm scared."

"Um…"

"Let me do it."

Liu Dahu took a dry towel to help the crown prince wipe his body. After Tian Tian put on his clothes, he brought the crown prince's clothes over.

Finally, the three of them came out.

"I'm going home first, my mother should have finished cooking," Liu Dahu said.

"Okay, Tiger Brother, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, Tiger Brother."

After Liu Dahu left, Tian Tian pulled the crown prince to the entrance of his courtyard, where a servant was already waiting.

When the servant saw the two masters returning, he immediately went down to instruct the kitchen to prepare.

Soon, lunch was brought up.

Having exercised in the morning, the crown prince had a good appetite, and Tian Tian was also very happy to eat because he had someone to accompany him.

In the afternoon, Tian Tian asked the crown prince, "Do you want to take a nap?"

The crown prince replied, "I have to study."

"Mr. Bei only comes on even-numbered days, but we can read on our own first. Can Little Brother read?"

"Yes, I can."

"Good."

In the afternoon,

Tian Tian practiced calligraphy, and the crown prince recited;

Then the crown prince practiced calligraphy, and Tian Tian practiced painting;

Little Zhang Gonggong, who had been absent from work for most of the day due to illness, struggled to get up;

He wasn't just suffering from a change of environment; he had simply been frightened and had nightmares yesterday, and his mind was a little unclear.

Damn it, the Prince of the West's mansion was really too scary.

Arriving at the courtyard, seeing the two children sitting there doing their homework on their own, Little Zhang Gonggong also breathed a sigh of relief. This was good.

The black cat and the fox were still lying there sunbathing. When they saw him coming, the two demons even made room for him.

Little Zhang Gonggong actually understood,

And sat down;

Sitting there, he leaned against the ground and fell asleep.

Last night, his mind had been "mumbo jumbo" all night, and he hadn't rested well at all.

After Tian Tian finished painting, he picked up the painting paper and went to give it to Princess Mother for inspection, and took the crown prince with him. The two children saw that Little Zhang Gonggong was sleeping so soundly, so they didn't wake him up.

So, when Little Zhang Gonggong woke up from his nap, he found that His Highness was gone.

"Where did Master go?"

The black cat raised its tail, wagged it, and then ran a few steps away, stopped, and looked back at Little Zhang Gonggong.

"Oh, thank you."

Little Zhang Gonggong got up and followed the black cat.

The black cat led Little Zhang Gonggong behind a rockery, where there was a downward staircase.

It didn't really matter whether there was a door here, so they simply didn't install one after the later renovations.

The black cat walked in, pointed its tail inside,

And harmlessly called out:

"Meow."

"He's inside?"

Little Zhang Gonggong walked down the staircase. It wasn't really dark inside. Although the light wasn't very bright, he could still clearly see what was in front of him after he got used to it.

"Master? Master? This servant is here, Master, why did you come here to play? Be careful not to fall again, Master."

Little Zhang Gonggong shouted as he came to the bottom.

And then,

He saw a coffin.

"Hiss…"

Little Zhang Gonggong, who was startled, subconsciously patted his chest,

And then cursed in the national curse that all Yan people knew,

Because Yan people and barbarians had been fighting for hundreds of years, and in many terms, especially in swear words, "barbarian" had naturally become a descriptive adjective:

"Scared me to death, there's actually a coffin here, it's really dirty barbarian qi."

Dirty barbarian, referred to bad luck.

The next moment,

The coffin lid,

Opened.

From inside,

Someone sat up,

And this person slowly turned his head,

Looking at Little Zhang Gonggong.

"…" Little Zhang Gonggong.

…

The next day,

Breakfast;

"Hasn't Zhang Gonggong recovered yet?" Zheng Fan asked.

The crown prince stood up and replied:

"Replying to Uncle Zheng, he was better for a while yesterday, but his old illness relapsed."

Tian Tian added, "He was also foaming at the mouth."

Zheng Fan was a little surprised and said:

"Wow, he's that sick? Your father is really something, knowing that you're not in good health, he actually sent such a eunuch who's always getting sick to be your companion."

The crown prince lowered his head, not knowing what to say.

Zheng Fan ate his pancake and turned his head, looking at Zhao Cheng, who had just brought today's milk and was squatting there feeding the cat and fox,

And said:

"Zhao Cheng."

"This servant is here!"

Zhao Cheng immediately came over and knelt down.

"From now on, you'll take Zhang Gonggong's job. When Zhang Gonggong recovers, we'll switch back."

"This servant obeys."

"Okay, it's settled then."