Accidentally Having a Baby with the Future Emperor - Chapter 1

A lone wild goose flies high in the sky above the wide Chu River.

Early in the morning, a restaurant named Chujiangkuo in Jiangnan was already filled with scholars and literati.

That day was the restaurant’s annual literary competition, also known as the Chu River Gathering.

“Did you notice anything while coming here? There were suddenly many soldiers on the street. Did something happen?”

There was still some time before the official start of the gathering, so a few scholars sitting together began fanning themselves and chatting idly.

“You don’t know? I heard the Crown Prince just returned victorious from quelling the Wuman rebellion in the southwest. It seems he’ll be staying in Jiangnan for a few days. All the officials in Jiangnan Road are terrified, afraid of making even the smallest mistake. They’ve been strengthening the city’s defenses since three days ago.”

“That explains it. I heard that prince is harsh in conduct, naturally cold and unfeeling, and quite ill-tempered.”

“Ill-tempered is an understatement. In putting down the Wuman rebellion, the southwest flowed with blood. Several groups of generals and officials have died. They say it’s all because they were punished for failing to supervise the troops properly. One official, apparently, was only delayed by half an hour during a supply run because of diarrhea, and still got executed!”

The Crown Prince, Xi Rong, had long been known among the common folk for his ruthlessness and fondness for war.

A nation’s heir with such a temperament starkly contrasted with the gentleness and harmony esteemed by the current generation of literati.

As soon as those words were said, a lively discussion erupted among the bored scholars.

“Only half an hour late and he had a reason too, but cutting off his head for that? Isn’t that excessively cruel? If it continues like this, who’d still dare serve in court?”

“What’s so strange about it? The Eastern Palace’s brutality is well-known across the land. Back then, to secure his position as the crown prince, he personally led troops to annihilate his maternal clan and even petitioned for the Empress to be deposed. Cold-blooded doesn’t even begin to describe it. Don’t forget, the people have given him a rather infamous nickname, ‘Ghost Yaksha.’”

A yaksha, monstrous and fierce.

Add ‘ghost’ to that and it becomes doubly sinister.

Not particularly painful but deeply insulting.

“No wonder there are rumors that the Crown Prince carries foreign blood and suffers from some dreadful madness. At birth, the Imperial Astrologer declared him ominous, a harbinger of calamity. If not for being the Empress’s legitimate son, he might never have been considered for the heir apparent.”

“A barbarian witch hardly deserved to be the empress. If not for the Emperor being trapped and desperate back then, he would never have married a foreign woman as his consort. Those barbarian tribes, lacking etiquette and education, are like ungrateful wolves. The Emperor treated them kindly enough, didn’t he? Yet they repaid kindness with betrayal and rebellion.”

“This is called a leopard never changes its spots. No wonder none of the Five Great Clans or Seven Noble Houses support the Crown Prince. I hear more and more voices in court are pushing to make Prince of Wei the heir. If I were in charge, I’d support Prince of Wei too who is kind, benevolent, and beloved by the people. Last year when Jiangnan suffered a severe drought, His Highness Prince of Wei fasted and refrained from drinking water for seven days at Ci’en Temple on behalf of His Majesty, nearly starving himself to death. He prayed for rain and only then did the rain fall, saving hundreds of thousands in the south of Yangtze River…”

“…”

Their conversation grew heated.

No one noticed the light that had quietly turned on in a hidden private room on the second floor.

Songzhou’s prefect, Wu Zhiyin, stood with his hands clasped, trembling in fear. Cold sweat soaked through his layered official robes.

He didn’t dare make a sound and only dared to glance nervously at the Crown Prince seated in the carved sandalwood chair, whose expression revealed nothing.

Crown Prince Xi Rong, the one called ‘Ghost Yaksha,’ wore dark robes and a black crown that bound his hair. A sword hung at his waist. His nose was like a suspended gallbladder, his brows like blade carvings. His face, as sharply handsome as ice, was even fiercer than the qilin patterns embroidered on his robes.

Xi Rong lifted his eyes.

Wu Zhiyin instantly fell to his knees in panic and pleaded, “This official failed in his duties, allowing such lawless rascals to spout nonsense. I beg Your Highness for punishment!”

“No harm done.”

The man gave an emotionless reply from the chair.

“I came here today precisely to hear what the people truly think of me, so I may reflect and improve.

“It’s important to guard the people’s mouths more than a breach in the river, have you not heard this principle, Lord Wu?”

Wu Zhiyin hurriedly raised his head. In the soft light of the lamp, he happened to meet the gaze that suddenly turned toward him. The prince’s pupils were light brown and not the usual black the ordinary people have. They brought to mind an endless snowy plain filled with knives.

Those cold eyes gave the already sharp and handsome face an even harsher edge of ruthlessness.

Wu Zhiyin couldn’t tell whether the prince was mocking him or speaking in earnest. Cold sweat trickled down as he dared not reply. He was already panicking, afraid the scholars outside might say something even more disrespectful.

Just then, the noisy chatter outside was abruptly cut off by a light laugh.

The laugh was clear and pleasant, like a spring-striking jade.

The scholars, caught mid-speech, all heard it. They who always criticized the world weren’t fools; they could tell the laugh carried mockery, not approval.

Everyone looked around and soon all eyes landed on a young man in blue robes seated by a secluded window, drinking alone with a wine jar in hand.

“It’s you!”

“What are you laughing at?” someone demanded angrily.

The youth raised his hand, holding a wine cup. His head tilted slightly, revealing half of a stunningly beautiful face. His black eyes glinted like gems and curved like a sly cat’s as he said, “I laugh because your stories are poorly told. Every sentence begins with ‘I heard.’ Since you only heard it, you clearly didn’t witness it yourself. And if you didn’t witness it, how can you claim it with such certainty?

“Besides the hearsay, your story has other flaws.

“Take, for example, His Highness Prince of Wei’s praying for rain. While classics like the Book of the Later Han and Huainanzi do mention fasting practices, they require the support of Daoist cultivation, divine resonance, and incantations taught by the Daode Tianzun. |1|

“As a noble prince, His Highness Prince of Wei wouldn’t dabble in Daoist cultivation, so he wouldn’t know those methods. An ordinary person can’t survive more than three days without food or water, yet His Highness Prince of Wei managed seven? That doesn’t make sense. By spinning it like this, are you implying the prince was secretly eating during the fast?

“If some unsuspecting commoner took you seriously, the next time there’s a severe drought happening, won’t they carry His Highness Prince of Wei to Ci’en Temple to starve himself again? Aren’t you all pushing His Highness Prince of Wei to his death?”

His final line was drawn out with an idle sigh.

The crowd was struck dumb by his seemingly twisted but oddly reasonable logic.

Inside the private room, the commander of the Crown Prince’s guards, Jiang Cheng, couldn’t help himself and his shoulders shook from suppressed laughter.

Xi Rong gave him a sidelong glance.

Jiang Cheng quickly composed himself.

“All these years, the Prince of Wei has been winning the people’s hearts under the guise of being a virtuous lord, always trying to overshadow Your Highness. Truly despicable. This is the first time I’ve ever felt so satisfied.”

Xi Rong said nothing. His eyelids lifted slightly as his gaze passed through the thin curtain, landing on that figure in blue, far off in the corner.

“He’s also a scholar attending the gathering?” Xi Rong narrowed his eyes and asked.

It was clearly a question meant for Wu Zhiyin.

Wu Zhiyin jolted to attention and quickly bowed. “He should be. The Chu River Gathering is renowned far and wide, and entry is by invitation only. Since this young gentleman is seated here, he must have an invitation.”

Xi Rong said nothing more.

Wu Zhiyin quietly let out a breath of relief and wiped a bead of cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

In his heart, he was even a little grateful to that unknown youth.

If it hadn’t been for the youth’s timely intervention, an embarrassing scene would have occurred in his jurisdiction that day. It was uncertain whether he’d still have his head on his shoulders then.

The group of scholars didn’t argue with the youth further, as the gathering was about to begin.

The Chu River Gathering was a highly prestigious literary event, famed among scholars. Each year it selected one top winner and two runners-up. The top winner not only received a cash prize and two jars of the rare wine Dukang but also had the chance to gain the favor of regional officials and a recommendation to the imperial court.

Because of the great incentive, many scholars traveled long distances to attend.

The literary gathering lasted from afternoon until evening, a long affair. Wu Zhiyin had expected Xi Rong to leave early, but to his surprise, the prince remained seated behind the curtain and watched the entire event.

Fortunately, the scholars were focused on showing off their literary talents and didn’t speak recklessly again.

In the end, one top scholar and two runners-up were chosen. The top winner received one hundred taels of silver and two jars of Dukang, while the runners-up received fifty taels and one jar each.

Wu Zhiyin was the least interested in who had won. He only cared about the prince’s mood and desires.

Thanks to his years of experience in flattery and observation, he soon keenly noticed that Xi Rong kept glancing in one particular direction.

There, by the dim glow of a whale oil lamp, sat a strikingly elegant youth by the open window, drinking alone.

Wu Zhiyin instantly realized that the prince had been watching that blue-robed youth who had spoken earlier.

But oddly, after his interruption, the youth hadn’t participated in the literary competition at all. He’d simply sat there, drinking alone, as if he had only come for the wine and not the event.

But at such a grand and famous gathering, with such a chance to make a name for oneself, who could possibly resist? And judging from his earlier speech, he was clearly no ignorant fool.

Truly strange.

Although Xi Rong’s expression remained unreadable, a flicker of puzzlement clearly passed through his eyes.

When the literary gathering ended and the crowd gradually dispersed, the youth also set down his wine cup, rose, and left with the others.

Xi Rong looked at Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng understood, gave a bow, and immediately lifted the curtain to follow.

The early spring night was still a bit cold. Upon entering the main hall, many people pulled on cloaks.

Most of the scholars exited the inn directly and departed in their carriages.

The blue-robed youth, Gu Rong, however, walked with a few others to a small room by the counter on the first floor.

The inn was closed for the day and only two waiters remained inside.

“Well done. Here’s your ten taels and a jar of wine.”

One of the waiters pulled out a pouch of silver and a sealed jar of Dukang, distributing them to the scholars who lined up.

Each of the scholars smiled with delight.

But when it was Gu Rong’s turn, the counter was empty. Nothing was placed there.

Gu Rong asked, “Where’s my wine and reward?”

The waiter looked him up and down, raised a mocking brow, and gave a cold snort. “You still want wine and a reward? The owner hasn’t had someone beat you up already, that’s giving you face!”

Gu Rong said, “Why do the others all get theirs?”

The waiter rolled his eyes so hard they nearly flipped to the ceiling and snapped in a near growl, “The others? You dare compare yourself to the others?!

“What did the owner pay you all handsomely to do? To spread the Crown Prince’s bad name and sing praises of His Highness Prince of Wei! And what did you do, huh? Don’t you have even a clue?”

Gu Rong: “……”

Jiang Cheng, watching from the shadows: “…………”

The author has something to say:

Baby Rongrong: Making money is so hard QwQ

Dragging myself along, it’s finally started! There are some differences from the synopsis, the assassination plot comes later.
Enjoy the read!

E/N: A preview chapter. I’ll update properly once my main project (The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mecha) catches up with its raw in a month or so.