The excited dowager kept on rambling on and on about irrelevant topics without really revealing her inner intentions.
Prince Song maintained the atmosphere by laughing or smiling when necessary or answering questions when asked but desisted from commenting when the need arose.
Empress dowager noticing that the young Prince verses son was becoming bored, ordered some refreshments but not without asking him his preferences.
"My child, which tea do you prefer; oolong tea, chamomile tea, green tea , pu'erh tea or chrysanthemum tea?"
"Wow!"
Prince Song exclaimed,
"It seems that the dowager's palace produces and houses lots of tea " he continued and smiled.
"Anyway, your Majesty ,l will drink whichever you offer me as I am not a "Tea person" but if it's wine l can enumerate the ones l like"
"Really? tell me the wines you like" the dowager humored him.
"I like rice wine, yellow wine, white wine and even barley wine but the best of them all for me is the rice wine" he concluded.
The dowager promised to give him lots of them but since it was morning they have to eat breakfast first and drink some teas to aid digestion.
Accepting to follow the dowager's idea, he agreed to have breakfast with her and listed the things we wants to eat .
"I will have rice porridge, boiled beef shank, noodles , egg pancakes, fried meatballs, and Pollock soup as main course while the side dishes will be salad, shredded radish, roasted fish and shrimps... desserts will be rice cakes and fruit punch."
The attendants"..."
Dowager empress" done!" ..."I will have same thing as well"
The royal kitchen set to work in order to cook and prepare everything the prince ordered.
Once they finished , stream of trays flowed from the kitchen to the garden where the dowager normally have her breakfast.
Mouthwatering aromas filled the air that Prince Song perceived it from the room he was chatting with the empress dowager.
His grumbling stomach betrayed him and the dowager let out a soft chuckle and held his hands while bringing him to the garden.
Settling down to eat, he was amazed at the beautiful meal before him that he couldn't bring himself to start eating.
Noticing his reluctance, the dowager became a little scared thinking that maybe the food was not up to his standard.
She asked him why he wasn't eating and his reply sent the kitchen attendants speechless.
"This food is like a beautiful piece of art meant only to be admired not eaten. How can you guys make this food so beautiful that I can't bear to eat it?"
The dowager broke into a fit of laughter while holding her stomach.
"Make the food ugly next time" the dowager said.
The attendants agreed but wondered how an ugly food looks like.
The duo started eating with the dowager placing food on his bowl at intervals.
Prince Song not getting what the dowager is hinting at, ate his meal silently but not without returning the gesture and this made her so happy.
'So this is the feeling of being a mother' she told herself.
With the meal done, they ate desserts and the dowager insisted that pu'erh tea should be prepared to aid food digestion.
Every refreshment taken, Prince Song thanked the dowager and made to leave, but she held him back with a pitiful face and made him promise to visit her all the time.
Seeing that face, he finally understood after all he's not stupid.
Happy that he could use the dowager to enter the palace anytime he wants, he promised to visit her, and the dowager promised too that she will make sure nobody stops him from entering, she meant the empress.
Free from the dowager's clutch, he ran towards his brother's palace not wanting to be held back again ,not even minding that he incurred some gazes on the way.
Immediately he reached there, he regained his composure and like a gentleman entered the place.
Whoever saw him then and finally now won't believe they are the same person because their demeanor has changed too.
Announcing his presence, he was let in into his brother's study where he found him pacing around.
Noticing his arrival, he ran towards his brother like a child that has been expecting his mother to come back from the market and give him the toys he was promised.
"Where have you been all morning, older brother" the crown prince cried.
"I have been in this palace ,younger brother" Prince Song mimicked.
Grabbing his brother's hand to make him sit down, Prince Soon started narrating what transpired between him and a girl he met yesterday, a special girl for that matter.
After the narration, it occurred to him that he doesn't know how his brother escaped from their pursuers.
Prince Song narrated his own story without missing out any information, from the chase to the girl.
He looked so silly with gestures he was making with his hands so that his younger brother imagines the scenes , after telling the story to his heart content and without interruptions, he went back to his brother's story.
"Little Soon, I remember you telling me that you guys were alone in an abandoned warehouse after the rain has fallen on you"
Prince Soon nodded.
"So you mean to tell me that nothing happened between the both of you in that period of time you spent alone?" Prince Song continued his questions.
Prince Soon nodded again and his older brother almost knocked his head.
He wondered how a young blooded male can stay in a private place with a very beautiful female as Soon described her , without even hugging her.
Though he believed that the girl cannot be as beautiful as the girl he saw yesterday ,but his brother is very handsome that sometimes he wondered how he became a male with all his beauty.
Shoving the thought at the back of his mind, he asked him if he made an arrangement to see the girl again and Prince Soon answered positively .
"Brother I have a plan l need you to help me execute and I promise to give you whatever thing you ask for if you help me"
Prince Song getting interested asked him to continue .
"I need you to be the crown prince's substitute"
Prince Song spat out the wine he just casually put inside his mouth"
No! l won't, I don't even want to stay here anymore, I'm going home"
Holding back the agitated prince, he narrated to him how he was caught yesterday, he promised him that he will make sure food and wine are delivered to him and on time too.
He also promised to be back before his imperial lessons and switch over.
Prince Song still not convinced with the arrangement told him they should use a different clown this time around but his younger brother told him they need a 'breathing crown prince'
Agreeing finally, they proceeded with the plan and the crown prince told his eunuch to prepare lots of drinks and food for them.
The eunuch not suspecting anything ordered the attendants to get what the prince requested for.
The eunuch was ordered to escort Prince Song away and was not allowed to wake up the crown prince as he wants to sleep all day till it's time for his imperial lessons. He was also ordered to reject visitors whoever they are.
Prince Song was escorted out and the chief eunuch felt that something was wrong with the whole thing but he suppressed his suspicions.
In order to convince the chief eunuch that he was still in the room, the crown prince called him in and ordered for more wine .
The chief eunuch wanted to protest against it since he is not yet at the age of drinking but decided against it and got what he wanted.
"Chief eunuch, l don't want anyone in my room including you"
He nodded and left with the remaining attendants in order to fulfill his order.
Convinced that the prince has left , the eunuch relaxed but didn't know that while he was exhaling a sigh of relief, Prince Song used his martial arts to enter the crown prince's room through the backyard.
"So easy" he exclaimed and went into the room of his brother.
"I thought you really left brother, you took so long" the crown prince complained.
"I had to reach the gate and make it seem as if l really left the palace by making some alibis " Prince Song said.
They switched robes and Prince Song complained
"The crown prince's robe is really very heavy"
After everything has fallen in place, the crown prince left the room through the same way his brother came in and thought to himself
*it's really fun not playing by the rules*
Climbing the walls from the place that looked the lowest and with less guards ,he left the palace and went towards the abandoned warehouse where he last met the girl.