Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

The old emperor: “!!!”

Suddenly understanding her intentions, the emperor slapped his dragon throne and burst into hearty laughter. “Xiangyang, my dear Xiangyang, repeat all your brother’s achievements in detail. Ministers, I also want the Six Ministries to compile a record of the Crown Prince’s accomplishments and present it to me.”

Before anyone could speculate on his motives, the emperor joyfully added, “What use is it for only the court to know of these achievements? They must be proclaimed to the entire empire!”

The entire court praised the Crown Prince, and the people eagerly awaited his ascension to the throne. What use was the Crown Prince’s resistance?

Hurry!

The old emperor signaled to the Jinyiwei with his eyes:

While the Crown Prince is away from the capital, act quickly and make it an irreversible fact!

---

In ancient courts, it was customary not to publicize the individuals responsible for implementing policies on a large scale. Only officials were typically aware of who spearheaded certain initiatives.

Moreover, if enough time had passed, newly appointed officials might not even know who was behind the policies.

As a result, many officials present were utterly stunned.

“So, the Crown Prince has actually done real work?”

They had assumed his stable position was purely due to the emperor’s favoritism.

---

Meanwhile, in distant Yangzhou.

The Crown Prince sneezed.

His reserved aide promptly removed his outer robe and held it out to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince waved it off. “I’m not cold.”

The aide, without a word, slowly put the robe back on.

The Crown Prince glanced around, then had an epiphany. “Why would I sneeze out of nowhere? It must be my father coming up with new ways to torment me!”

The aide stayed silent.

The Crown Prince nudged him. “Don’t you agree?”

At last, the aide spoke earnestly. “His Majesty deeply cares for Your Highness. Furthermore, His Majesty only hopes that Your Highness will fulfill the duties of the Crown Prince at all times, strategizing for the nation. It is not torment.”

The Crown Prince, skilled at ignoring such remarks, changed the topic. “Once I’m done with this round of work, I can go back to lounging around. If I’d known it would be this troublesome, I wouldn’t have taken on this responsibility in the first place.”

The aide glanced at him, confusion flickering in his eyes. “Your Highness, your words and actions don’t align. If you don’t want to be the Crown Prince, why do you constantly take on responsibilities?”

The Crown Prince’s mouth twitched. “Just because I don’t want to be the Crown Prince doesn’t mean I’m some heartless villain. Life-and-death matters aren’t something I can ignore.”

It’s just that over the span of thirty-plus years, the accumulation of responsibilities had made it seem like he was taking on a lot… that’s all.

Still, it wasn’t a big deal.

The Crown Prince reasoned to himself that aside from final evaluations of a reign, Chinese history never gave detailed credit for individual achievements. Besides, as the Crown Prince, handling these matters was simply his duty.

“Thinking of it that way, there’s absolutely no issue!”

The Crown Prince turned to his aide. “Let’s go! I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll treat you to authentic Yangzhou cuisine!”

Seeing the aide’s puzzled expression, the Crown Prince laughed even more heartily. Draping an arm around the aide’s shoulder, he teased, “I knew it! You’re such a stiff that you’ve probably never even noticed how beautiful Yangzhou is.”

The aide raised his hand and slowly removed the Crown Prince’s arm from his shoulder, responding in a serious tone, “Your Highness, I do admire Yangzhou’s beauty. Slender West Lake is exquisite, and the Qiong flowers are also…”

“No, no, no, that’s not what I meant. Although those things are beautiful too.”

The Crown Prince paused, lost in thought, and slowly began to speak:

“Do you see the street behind our residence? Every morning, there’s an old man who sets up a stall there selling pancakes. The pancakes are thin and golden, and a long line forms early in the morning. They must taste amazing.”

“At the end of the street, there’s a pickle shop. You can tell right away that they make their pickles in-house. You should see the cabbage leaves and spicy radish strips—perfectly pickled, not soggy at all. Toss them with chili powder or five-spice seasoning, pair them with steamed buns, and you could eat several in one sitting.”

“And those strings of dried beans, soy-cured chicken, marinated duck, and pig ears hanging from the walls of the local homes… You don’t get it. Those things aren’t fragrant if roasted in an oven—they have to be sun-dried, hanging out in the open! If you could buy a few pounds of those, it would be the best thing ever.”

As they walked, the Crown Prince casually described his observations from recent days. His eyes lit up when he saw steaming buns fresh out of the oven. He immediately pulled out some money, bought two, and tossed one to his aide. “Anyway! I’ll treat you next time!”

He then smiled at the bun-seller and asked, “Madam, have you visited the new money exchange shops that have sprung up these past few months?”

---

Confronted with the Crown Prince’s impressive achievements, the Daoist priest remained silent throughout, seemingly lost in thought. Then, at the conclusion, he suddenly blurted out:

“This perfectly aligns with the omen of the hen turning into a rooster.”

The officials: “?”

The Minister of Works: “How does it align? Please explain.”

The Daoist priest, recalling the Prince Fu’s instructions, steeled himself, gritted his teeth, and boldly repeated:

“The hen transforms into a rooster to usurp the role of crowing, which symbolizes the Crown Prince’s actions as mere pretense! His only goal is to secure the position of Crown Prince! Once he ascends to the throne, he will cast off his mask and rule tyrannically!”

[Nonsense!!!]

[What kind of omen is a hen turning into a rooster?!]

Xu Lang was indignant: [If you confine two hens together for a year, one of them will naturally turn into a rooster. Conversely, the same happens with roosters.]

[If that’s the case, I could transform a million hens into roosters!]

[This is outrageous! I need to find a way to reveal the truth. The Crown Prince is such a good person; he must not be falsely accused!]

The court of Daxia: (⊙o⊙)

Wait, this sort of thing exists???

Some officials couldn’t help but wonder: Could this apply to humans? Should we experiment with two people?

If it worked, wouldn’t this mean we could always have enough men or women as needed?!

Beside them, the emperor’s eyes suddenly sparkled.

---

Ten years into the Xia reign, in April, a rooster laid an egg in Chai Bamboo Village. In October, there were three earthquakes.

During the Tongzhi reign, in February of the first year, a rooster laid an egg in Dajia Fort, followed by earthquakes in May and famine in June.

In the third year, in May, hens in Manka Street transformed into roosters during a famine.

— From “Records of Danshui Hall”

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British biologists Allsopp and West studied over 120 species capable of natural sex changes and discovered a fascinating principle: most of these creatures undergo sex changes when they reach 76% of their maximum body size. They named this phenomenon the “76% Rule.”

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