Imperial Husband Chapter 13

Da Xia Imperial Palace, Xiyu Palace.

Li Jin was sitting alone in a side hall arranged by Zhiqiu, waiting for Gu Rushuang.

Although Li Jin was only six years old, still a young child, he was, after all, an unrelated male. According to Da Xia law, he could not enter the inner palace. Therefore, Gu Rushuang had arranged for Li Jin to stay in Xiyu Palace, where the princes resided before the age of ten.

Looking at the vast and quiet side hall, Li Jin murmured to himself, "Speaking of which, he should be here at this time too, right?"

No sooner said than done.

The moment Li Jin's words fell, the sound of children's voices came from outside the side hall door.

The children's voices that would appear in Xiyu Palace could only belong to either the princes or the children of those high officials and nobles from the capital who were sent into the palace to serve as study companions.

Outside the door.

The Fifth Prince, Ying Zijun, surrounded by a group of children, walked up to another child lying on the ground, dirty all over, clearly having just been beaten. He deliberately kicked the fallen child hard. "You little bastard, who gave you the nerve to twist the truth in front of Father Emperor, getting me punished with copying?"

"I did not."

The child stubbornly denied it.

"Still daring to talk back to me?" Ying Zijun was angered by the child's attitude and stepped on the child's stomach. "Little bastard, the one who gave birth to you was just a lowly servant. You have no right to put on airs as a prince in front of me. But, I'm magnanimous, I'll give you one more chance. Just lick my shoe clean, and I'll let you go. How about it?"

Having said that, Ying Zijun deliberately moved his foot above Ying Yuan's face.

"Seventh Prince, did you hear what the Fifth Prince said? Don't be ungrateful," said the speaker, one of Ying Zijun's study companions, Lan Haoyuan, who often offered schemes to Ying Zijun to bully Ying Yuan.

Another of Ying Zijun's study companions, Zhu Ren'an, chimed in, "That's right, Seventh Prince, don't go too far."

The child, namely Ying Yuan, did not speak this time but used his eyes to give Ying Zijun his answer.

Ying Yuan truly had not said anything, nor did he have the opportunity to meet Ying Zhengjing alone. Therefore, after learning the reason for Ying Zijun's attack this time, Ying Yuan had only said those initial words, 'I did not.'

The person who gave birth to Ying Yuan was of lowly status and had died from postpartum hemorrhage right after giving birth to him. Thus, from birth, Ying Yuan became an insignificant person. Even his name was given on a whim by Ying Zhengjing, lacking the generational character befitting a prince. Not to mention Ying Zijun, who often bullied and humiliated him, even ordinary palace servants would seize chances to mock Ying Yuan or even withhold his provisions.

[渊 (Yuān): deep pool or abyss]

Once, a consort had adopted Ying Yuan, but after realizing she could not gain favor through him and that Ying Yuan's presence instead caused Ying Zhengjing to dislike her, she would beat and scold Ying Yuan, nearly beating the young Ying Yuan to death on several occasions.

However, Ying Yuan was not destined to die. Once, when that consort was beating Ying Yuan, Ying Zhengjing happened to witness it. Only then did Ying Yuan manage to escape her control and come to Xiyu Palace.

"Little bastard, did you hear me talking to you? Are you deaf?" Ying Zijun grabbed Ying Yuan's hair and sneered, "When I go to pay respects to Mother Consort later, I'll tell her that you bullied me."

Creak.

Li Jin suddenly pushed the door open. "I saw it. Clearly, you all are the ones bullying him, right?"

"Who are you? How dare you interrupt me teaching this little bastard a lesson?"

Having his good fun interrupted, Ying Zijun's anger intensified, and he glared fiercely at Li Jin.

Li Jin's status was special, he was not only the biological son of the Empress's younger sister but also the legitimate son of the Prince of Dingbei. Therefore, both publicly and privately, Ying Zhengjing had no intention of letting Li Jin become a study companion, nor did he want Li Jin to interact with the princes too early. Furthermore, Gu Rulan also did not want her son to have contact with the princes too soon. Thus, when taking Li Jin to the palace to see Gu Rushuang, she would always avoid them.

With the Emperor's tacit assistance, Ying Zijun and the other princes had never truly met Li Jin.

"You just called him Seventh Prince? And you are the Fifth Prince?"

Li Jin ignored Ying Zijun and instead asked his study companions.

The study companions, not understanding his intent, nodded.

Ying Zijun had always been the object of currying favor in the palace, when had he ever experienced the feeling of being completely ignored? He exploded on the spot. "Didn't you hear me asking you a question?"

Li Jin curled his lips and replied with a question instead. "Fifth Prince, the Seventh Prince is a prince acknowledged by His Majesty. For the Fifth Prince to repeatedly call the Seventh Prince 'little bastard,' could it be that you are denying His Majesty?"

He... is helping me?

Ying Yuan's mind only had time to conjure these few words before he instinctively lost consciousness.