Chapter 6

As Una Rhodes said, her mother was the crown princess and her father was a general. For now, Robert Johnson really didn’t dare do anything to Una Rhodes. He could only keep this hatred in his heart.

……

These days, among the adult princes, only the Crown Prince and the Third Prince reside outside the palace. The rest of the adult princes live within the palace.

As for the second prince, he was a dead man who had long since passed away.

Unable to bear the humiliation inflicted upon him by Una Rhodes, the third prince still took the token and entered the palace to seek out his mother.

Before meeting with the queen mother, Robert Johnson was taken to the study.

“Have you met Una?” The king was standing by the table, painting with a brush.

On the desk lay an unfinished portrait of a beautiful woman. The woman riding a horse in the painting wasn’t yet completed. If Robert Johnson paid attention, he would realize that it was the Crown Princess.

“Indeed, Your Majesty,” replied Robert Johnson, still resentful and unwilling to say much.

After staring at the third son for a moment, the king sighed and ordered him to be sent away.

He certainly loved his own flesh and blood, but was it really worth caring about someone who was so stupid?

The king already had his plans. He sent Robert Johnson to the National Shrine to pray for blessings and to have Robert Johnson break off the engagement. Wasn’t all that enough to make Robert Johnson understand that he shouldn’t mess with Una Rhodes?

Taking the brush and dipping it in cinnabar, I gently applied it to the person’s red lips in the painting. In this world, the only one who truly cares for him, loves him, and is loyal to him is his elder sister.

Robert Johnson, of course, had no idea what the king was thinking. After leaving the study, he went to see his mother.

On the road, a figure running quickly with his head down suddenly bumped into Robert Johnson, instantly provoking his anger.

“You wretched woman, don’t you know where your eyes are?”

A fierce slap was delivered. As the Third Prince was skilled in martial arts, he naturally didn’t hold back. The frail figure was knocked to the ground, looking extremely pitiful.

Enid Johnson coughed violently twice, almost losing her breath.

He was already in poor health. After taking that slap, the fact that he didn’t pass out was a courtesy toward Robert Johnson.

“Third brother, it’s all my fault for being rude to you… Ahem, ahem!”

Immediately afterwards, a bout of coughing so severe it felt like his lungs might burst forced Robert Johnson to fall silent for a moment. He never expected that the person who had bumped into him would be such a worthless person despised by the emperor.

The anger in my heart grew even stronger. If it were just a common servant, I could at least beat them to vent my anger. But now, I can’t even hit or scold them.

The reason why Enid Johnson was disliked by the king is simple enough.

By then, the king already had five sons, but he still hadn’t had a daughter to cherish. In order to win the king’s favor, Enid Johnson’s mother bribed the court physicians to spread rumors that this child would definitely be a princess. The king was overjoyed by this news. Before the child was even born, it was given the name “Jiao,” meaning “endlessly cherished.”

Originally, they planned to have a baby girl and claim it was a set of twins, one boy and one girl. But their plan wasn’t successful.

The king was furious. This reckless concubine died during childbirth. The name given to her beforehand carried an insulting meaning, and it wasn’t changed.

“Since you know your health isn’t good, don’t run around outside.” Facing such a good-for-nothing, Robert Johnson had no desire to stay any longer. With disgust, he glanced at Enid Johnson and left.

The scene outside the study was witnessed by Kent, who was by the king’s side. He reported it to the king, along with the message that Ingrid Johnson wished to meet with him.

This was the third time Ingrid Johnson had met the king since her birth.

Kneeling on the cold stone bricks, Ingrid Johnson lowered her head, her beautiful face expressionless. “I pay my respects to the Emperor. Long live the Emperor!”

No sound came from above for a long time. Although Ingrid Johnson had a clear handprint on her face, it seemed like she didn’t care at all. She continued to kneel, as the king had ordered.

Ingrid Johnson had a delicate and innocent appearance. If she were a woman, she would surely evoke sympathy from others.

It’s a pity he’s a man.

The king, who desperately wanted to have a princess, sighed, clearly growing impatient. “What do you want?”

“Your Majesty, your servant has reached the age of twelve and wishes to study at the Imperial Academy.” Princes could enter the academy at the age of six. However, no one took care of Enid Johnson’s enrollment, and she herself wasn’t interested in attending school either. As a result, she hadn’t been able to study at all until now, at the age of twelve.

It would have been fine to live a mediocre life like this, but with Una Rhodes around, Enid Johnson couldn’t help but want to compete and strive for more!

“In that case, let’s go to Shangshu Fang tomorrow and get things organized. Be diligent, so as not to bring shame to the royal family.” The king had never paid much attention to Enid Johnson. Now, he had no high expectations of her either—as long as she didn’t cause any trouble, that would be enough.

Upon returning to Yuanhua Palace, the handprint on Ingrid Johnson’s face immediately caught Aunt Fang’s attention. She was deeply distressed and quickly went to get some medicine to treat Ingrid Johnson’s wound.

Before the medicine bottle could be opened, Kent, who was by the king’s side, arrived with two young servants.

“Why have you come here, Father-in-law? What brings you here?” Enid Johnson hurried forward to greet him, bowing slightly to Kent. This respectful attitude clearly pleased Kent very much.

His attitude toward Ingrid Johnson also improved significantly. Pointing at the two young servants behind him, he said with a forced smile, “Isn’t this the king showing his concern for you? He’s sent these servants to bring you some gifts.”

Enid Johnson was shocked. She stared at the trays in the hands of the two young servants, her eyes filled with disbelief and excitement. Her voice trembled as she knelt down and bowed before the palace where the king resided.

“Is this a gift from His Majesty the Emperor?” Enid Johnson took the tray from the young servant’s hands. A tear rolled down onto the tray. “His Majesty still remembers me! How fortunate I am!”

With that, she raised the tray in her hands, gazed in the direction of the king’s palace for a moment, then quickly got up from the ground. Ignoring the stains on her robe, she hurriedly tried to set down the items on the tray. But then she thought it wouldn’t be right to leave Kent alone like that. In her haste, she became completely flustered.

“Please have some tea before you leave!”

After welcoming the guests into the palace, Enid Johnson carefully took care of the gifts, then asked Aunt Fang to bring in the tea.

Ever since entering the courtyard, Kent couldn’t hide his disdain. This Yuanhua Palace exuded a sense of desolation and dilapidation. Though not dirty or messy, it simply lacked any signs of upkeep.

“How is His Majesty’s health these days?” Enid Johnson had red eyes, looking extremely devoted. She asked Kent with great concern, “How’s his diet? Does he suffer from any headaches or illnesses?”

“May the Holy Emperor be in good health.” With that alone, Kent refused to say anything more.

Enid Johnson opened her mouth to ask further, but then realized it wouldn’t be appropriate. With an awkward smile, she bowed to Kent and said, “I’ve delayed your work. Please forgive me.”

“It doesn’t matter. Now that the items have been delivered, it’s time for me to leave.”

Kent got up, and Ingrid Johnson escorted him to the door with great courtesy. Although he gained nothing in return, he felt quite pleased overall.

“Elder Lord!” Enid Johnson suddenly called out to him. She stepped closer and shyly handed him a cloth bag. “Please, Elder Lord, have some tea. Don’t refuse. I beg you to convey my regards to the Emperor on my behalf.”

With persistence day after day, any effort will ultimately yield satisfactory results.

For example, under Mr. Wells’s daily, drill-like method of teaching, Una Rhodes eventually caught up with the princes of her own age at Shangshufang.