The Crown Prince Should Keep His Male Virtue - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The moment I stepped through the door, I saw my mother changing clothes.

As soon as she saw me, she burst into sobs and pulled me into her arms.

“My poor, ill-fated child!

“His Majesty and the Empress actually sent the Crown Prince ten beauties?

“Do they take the Gu family’s eight hundred thousand armored cavalry for a joke?

“Ning’er, don’t you worry. Your mother is going to the palace right now to demand an explanation for you!”

Behind her stood five or six maidservants clad in iron armor, all of them looking equally indignant.

Me: “…”

Speechless as I was, I was also a little touched.

My father was the General of the Northern Pacification, and he and the current emperor were sworn brothers who had been through life and death together. He commanded an army of eight hundred thousand and his reputation shook the realm.

My mother was a fierce daughter of a military family, and she and the Empress had been close friends since their maiden days. In her youth, she too had fought on the battlefield day after day.

I was my parents’ only daughter, and I had been spoiled since childhood.

On the eve of my wedding, my mother had held me and wailed, saying that if I did not like the Crown Prince, she would climb mountains of blades and cross seas of fire to get this marriage canceled for me.

But the Crown Prince and I had grown up together as childhood sweethearts, and our feelings were mutual. Naturally, I had been willing to marry him.

“Mother.” I tugged at the hem of her sleeve. “They weren’t for the Crown Prince.”

My mother froze. “What did you say?”

“His Majesty and the Empress did indeed send ten handsome men to the Eastern Palace, but…

“But they weren’t for the Crown Prince. They were… they were for me…”

The words were almost too humiliating to get out.

My mother, however, let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh, is that all?”

She yanked the coronet off her head, undid the buttons at her collar, and collapsed into a chair.

She had only taken two sips of tea when something seemed to occur to her.

Taking my hand again, my mother spoke in a tone full of earnest expectation.

“Ning’er, the Eastern Palace has no heir. That shakes the very foundation of the state.

“For the continuation of the imperial bloodline, you must work twice as hard!”

Me: “…?”

I began to doubt my entire existence.

Was I losing my mind, or had the whole world gone insane?!

When I returned to the Eastern Palace by carriage, I happened to run into the Crown Prince, who had just had an audience with the Emperor and Empress.

He looked rather dejected.

“Your Highness.” After giving him a curtsy, I hurriedly asked, “May I ask how this consort should deal with those ten men?”

It would have been better if I had not asked.

The moment I did, the Crown Prince’s face darkened again.

“…Settle them in the rear courtyard for now,” he said through gritted teeth.

I could hardly believe it.

“Settle all of them in the Eastern Palace’s rear courtyard?!”

“Yes! All of them in the Eastern Palace’s rear courtyard!”

The Crown Prince flung his sleeve and stormed off.

I was stunned.

…Could it be that the Crown Prince was also thinking of marrying someone else?

Then wouldn’t my position be in grave danger?

With that thought in mind, before going to bed that night, I bathed and then rubbed rose-scented dew all over my body.

The Crown Prince liked this scent best.

In the past, every time I wore rose-scented dew, he would put in extra effort.

Tonight was no different.

As soon as the Crown Prince approached the bedchamber, his previously melancholy expression instantly softened by several degrees.

“Ningning…”

He took off his outer robe and walked toward me step by step.

I lowered my head shyly and bashfully. Under the faint candlelight, my beauty seemed to gain another layer of allure.

But just then-

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone rapped on the bedchamber door.

“What is it?” The Crown Prince lifted his head, a trace of anger in his voice.

Outside, the eunuch delivering the imperial order answered in a voice neither humble nor arrogant.

“Replying to Your Highness the Crown Prince,

“this servant comes by order of His Majesty and the Empress to invite the Crown Princess Consort to select a name tablet.”

Select a name tablet?

What name tablet!

I was the Crown Princess Consort. How dare he!

Uneasy, I raised my head, only to meet the Crown Prince’s gaze.

He looked at me, anger flickering in his eyes, yet he stopped moving.

Then the Crown Prince shifted aside, making a path for me.

Me: “…Your Highness, what are you…?”

The Crown Prince gave a cold snort.

“What are you standing there for?

“Go select your name tablet!”

Me: “…???”

I put on my outer clothes, tidied my disheveled hair at the temples, and walked out of the room in fear and trepidation.

The one delivering the decree was the emperor’s personal eunuch, Eunuch Song, who had always been kind to me.

When he saw me, he immediately bowed.

“Greetings, Crown Princess Consort.

“This servant comes by His Majesty’s order to invite the Crown Princess Consort to select a name tablet.”

I was dazed for another moment.

The emperor… was even managing this?

As Eunuch Song spoke, he presented a tray.

On the tray were five name tablets.

Aside from one that read “Crown Prince,” the other four all bore unfamiliar men’s names.

I was a little confused. “Only five?”

Hadn’t they sent ten people during the day?

“-How many more do you want?!”

The Crown Prince’s agitated voice rang out from behind me.

His phoenix eyes were lifted, and he looked somewhat furious, with a hint of grievance in his gaze.

But looking down, his outer robe hung casually open, revealing smooth skin and the faint outline of abdominal muscles beneath.

…Abs.

Hehe.

My originally wavering heart immediately became firm.

I turned around and directly flipped over the Crown Prince’s tablet.

Stealing another glance, I saw a trace of satisfaction appear on the Crown Prince’s face.

But while he was satisfied, Eunuch Song did not seem very satisfied.

“Would the Crown Princess Consort care to reconsider?

“Before this old servant left, His Majesty specifically instructed me that this year’s newly appointed Tanhua, Tao Zijing, is first-rate in both character and appearance, and is also strong and healthy. He told this old servant to put in a few good words for him before you…”

Me: “…”

No, seriously, what benefit do you get from making me cuckold your son?!

And what the hell do you mean, strong and healthy?!

He’s a Tanhua!

Not a breeding boar in a farmhouse!