Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot
Chapter 490 - 432: Tyrannical Pet Grandson

Chapter 490: Chapter 432: Tyrannical Pet Grandson

His gaze fell on Lu Yuan’s slightly reddened forehead.

He wanted to rub it.

Then, Lu Yuan’s forehead grew even redder.

Emperor Liang looked at the forehead he had rubbed redder, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

He couldn’t keep rubbing. If he continued, his obedient grandson would turn into a longevity deity.

Instead, he transitioned to ruffling the obedient grandson’s head.

Whoosh.

A large handful of Lu Yuan’s hair came loose.

Lu Yuan: "Grandfather, I don’t want to go bald yet..."

Emperor Liang reluctantly withdrew his hand, but couldn’t resist the urge to ruffle it again.

Lu Yuan sternly glared at him.

Clinging to a big tree while hanging horizontally mid-air and resisting the drag of two Imperial Guards, Prince Ming hollered, "Father! He glared at you! Dig his eyeballs out immediately—"

Emperor Liang threw a shoehorn at him.

Smack!

Prince Ming’s right cheek took a direct hit from the flying shoehorn.

The Imperial Guards tactically released their grip.

Prince Ming froze on the spot for a moment, then crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

During the half a year Lu Yuan spent taking care of the elderly matron, he gained rich and profound experience, making it far easier for him to win Emperor Liang’s favor compared to his wild father, Lu Zhaoyan.

In the face of such a scene, should he take out the keepsake from the Supreme Emperor?

No, the risk was too high.

Whether that keepsake was genuine or what its purpose was, even the Supreme Emperor himself probably couldn’t guarantee.

Besides, Emperor Liang had already acknowledged him, so there was no need to go an extra mile.

He’d save the keepsake for when his false identity as a grandson was exposed, to try using it as a lifeline.

In just a moment’s time, Lu Yuan weighed the pros and cons in his heart, planned his backup route, and closed his eyes to sleep worry-free!

Before sleeping, he grabbed onto Emperor Liang’s hand to prevent him from pulling at his hair again.

The room was filled with stunned silence, shock, and awe. Not a single sound was made.

Lu Zhaoyan addressed the crowd: "Everyone, leave."

Lu Qi frowned and shot a reluctant glance at Lu Yuan before leaving the room.

Steward Jia trembled as he looked fearfully at Lu Zhaoyan: "Your Highness..."

Lu Zhaoyan said, "Shedding blood isn’t appropriate before the Emperor. Your life is spared, but you’ll be docked a year’s salary. Go receive your punishment by the board."

Steward Jia kowtowed repeatedly: "Thank you for the mercy of sparing my life, Your Highness! Thank you for the mercy of sparing my life, Your Highness!"

Sweet heavens, the young master truly holds grudges.

Neither Prince Ming nor Steward Jia escaped his wrath, not even the slightest!

After this incident, Steward Jia no longer dared to neglect Lu Yuan, not even entertaining Dou Qingyi’s attempts to pull him into her fold, which he discarded as if they were nothing.

What a joke! Emperor Liang brimmed with vitality, and the Crown Prince was in his prime. If he offended this celestial star, who knows if he’d even live long enough for the Commandery Prince to ascend the throne.

Steward Jia hurried off to receive his punishment via the board.

The servants were dumbfounded.

They had seen people eagerly collecting wages, but never anyone eagerly rushing to face punishment.

Lu Zhaoyan returned to his room.

Ji Feng knelt on one knee and presented his treasure sword with both hands: "This subordinate failed in his duties. Please bestow death upon me, Your Highness."

Lu Zhaoyan passed by him and sat down on a chair: "Forget it. Even Father is so charmed by him he’s losing his bearings. It’s no surprise you couldn’t keep an eye on him."

Ji Feng said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for sparing my life."

Lu Zhaoyan said, "Stand up."

"Yes."

Ji Feng sheathed his sword.

Although Ji Feng was dispatched to Lu Zhaoyan by Emperor Liang, Emperor Liang had no habit of monitoring his sons. Thus, from the moment Ji Feng pledged allegiance, he became Lu Zhaoyan’s man.

Lu Zhaoyan asked, "Tell me what happened today."

Ji Feng thought for a moment and asked, "How should this subordinate refer to him?"

The fact that His Majesty had publicly acknowledged this grandson spread faster than snowflakes in a storm, but Ji Feng also knew His Highness hadn’t recognized him as a son.

At the mention of this, Lu Zhaoyan sighed in exasperation: "Call him Young Master."

"Understood." Ji Feng recounted Lu Yuan’s outing, "Young Master found the mansion boring and said he wanted to go out and look around. Midway, he went to buy Osmanthus Cake, and in the blink of an eye, I lost him."

Lu Zhaoyan didn’t blame Ji Feng but instead said, "For you to lose track of him, his martial arts skills must not be weak."

Ji Feng had been by Emperor Liang’s side for years, and he was acquainted with several of Emperor Liang’s sons.

On the surface, the Crown Prince appeared to be the least like Emperor Liang. Emperor Liang was valiant and brave, while the Crown Prince didn’t pursue martial arts and seemed the weakest of all his sons.

But ever since arriving at the Crown Prince Mansion, Ji Feng had noticed many of Emperor Liang’s traits reflected in the Crown Prince.

Lu Zhaoyan said, "I see. You may leave now."

Ji Feng asked, "Shall this subordinate continue to follow the Young Master?"

Lu Zhaoyan said, "He doesn’t want you following him; today he could’ve summoned you out in front of Father."

Ji Feng thought about the miserable state of Steward Jia and Prince Ming, realizing if the Young Master truly wanted to get rid of him, there were surely a hundred ways to accomplish it.

"Understood."

Ji Feng went to stand guard outside Lu Yuan’s room.

Emperor Liang was inside the room.

The door was left ajar.

By protocol, he needed to bow and request an audience with Emperor Liang first.

Yet in that moment as he stood at the gap in the doorway, preparing to bow, he was struck dumb by the shocking scene unfolding before his eyes!

Lu Yuan’s medicinal broth had been prepared—not prescribed by the Imperial Physician, but brewed by the mansion’s doctor as a tonic for Lu Yuan.

"I’m not drinking it."

Lu Yuan turned his head away, his voice hoarse to the extreme.

"Utter nonsense!"

Emperor Liang glared at him, "If you don’t drink the medicine, how will you recover fully?"

Emperor Liang naturally looked burly and dignified, intimidating even when not angry, and downright terrifying when he was stern.

Yet Lu Yuan appeared utterly fearless, let out a haughty grunt, turned his back to face the wall, and flaunted the back of his head to Emperor Liang!

Emperor Liang: ...My obedient grandson’s back of the head is adorable.

Lu Yuan’s refusal to drink medicine worked effectively against Lu Zhaoyan, but not on Emperor Liang.

He was assertive. If he decided the medicine must be drunk, Lu Yuan had no choice but to obey.

With the dazzling authority of an Emperor...

As he stared at his obedient grandson’s head, his authority faded away.

He signaled to Eunuch Yu with a wave of his hand.

Eunuch Yu tiptoed forward and asked softly, "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

Emperor Liang lowered his voice as well and asked, "Do you have grandchildren?"

Eunuch Yu: "This servant is a eunuch."

Emperor Liang: "I’ve just become an Emperor."

Eunuch Yu clarified, "This servant didn’t have that anymore when I entered King Qin Mansion."

Emperor Liang asked curiously, "King Qin Mansion has such rules?"

Eunuch Yu hastily replied, "No, this servant was going to be sold to the palace, but old King Qin saved me."

Emperor Liang nodded thoughtfully, "I vaguely recall that being the case."

Eunuch Yu added, "But this servant has a little great-nephew back home."

Emperor Liang asked, "Does your great-nephew drink medicine?"

Eunuch Yu shook his head, "He doesn’t, he has to be fed."

"Fed?" Emperor Liang frowned, "Doesn’t he have hands of his own?"

Eunuch Yu chuckled awkwardly, "He does."

His great-nephew was still a child, only three years old.

Three-year-olds drinking bitter medicine naturally required being spoon-fed.

Emperor Liang stared at Lu Yuan with a stern expression, "I’ll ask you one last time: Are you drinking the medicine or not?"

Lu Yuan didn’t even lift his eyelid.

Emperor Liang’s gaze gradually hardened: "If you don’t drink it, I’ll—"

Eunuch Yu’s heart leapt into his throat.

Surely not? He had just acknowledged this grandson, and now he was going to execute him?

Master, please show some sense!

Emperor Liang is nothing like Great Zhou’s Supreme Emperor. He is decisive in killing and never merciful. Why are you defying him?

"Your Majesty..." Eunuch Yu knelt down with a thud, pleading for Emperor Liang to calm his anger.

Only to hear Emperor Liang assert domineeringly to Lu Yuan, "Then I’ll feed you."

Eunuch Yu: "..."

Lu Yuan: "..."