ASTRP -Chapter 146 The Prince with a Face Like Jade Has Become a Scruffy Bearded Old Man

Xiao Yu was sitting at his desk practicing calligraphy when Eunuch Chen rushed in. Without haste, he asked:

“What is it?”

Eunuch Chen hurriedly said, “Your Majesty, quickly! Take off your outer robe and lie on the bed.”

“Several Imperial Tutors have arrived.”

Hearing that the tutors had come, Xiao Yu’s expression changed slightly. He quickly put down his brush and walked toward the bed, removing his outer robe as he went.

While doing so, he asked, “Why would Teacher suddenly come here?”

Eunuch Chen quickly replied, “He’s become suspicious about Your Majesty’s illness.”

Xiao Yu paused mid-motion and looked at him blankly. “Suspicious? Will my pretending to be sick fool Teacher?”

Eunuch Chen was momentarily stumped.

He froze for a second. Indeed, the Imperial Tutor was not easy to deceive.

“This servant will help cover for Your Majesty later,” he said quickly. “We’ll see if we can get through it.”

“If it doesn’t work, we’ll just tell the truth.”

“Based on the Imperial Tutor’s personality, if he finds out the Prince didn’t attend court, he’ll likely go to the Prince’s estate to see what happened.”

Xiao Yu nodded. “Mm.”

After covering Xiao Yu with the quilt, Eunuch Chen hurried out to bring the tutors in.

When he opened the palace doors, only one person remained outside—the other ministers were gone.

This…

Eunuch Chen looked around but couldn’t see the others.

The Imperial Tutor said calmly, “No need to look. I sent them back.”

Eunuch Chen was confused. He had brought them all here himself, and in the blink of an eye, they were gone?

What was the tutor trying to do?

The Imperial Tutor glanced at his expression and let out a cold snort.

“Your little tricks might fool others, but you think they can fool me?”

“Hmph.”

“Step aside.”

He pushed Eunuch Chen aside and strode into the hall.

“….”

Eunuch Chen quickly realized he must have slipped up somewhere and been exposed.

The tutor had seen through them!

He hurriedly closed the door and followed inside.

The Imperial Tutor did not walk straight to the bed. Instead, he circled the desk.

Seeing the ink on the paper still not dry, he chuckled.

“Even when the Emperor is unwell, he doesn’t forget to practice calligraphy. I am very pleased.”

Hearing the praise, Xiao Yu, still lying in bed, instinctively replied, “Yu thanks Teacher for the praise.”

The tutor walked to the bedside and looked at his healthy complexion. “Where does Your Majesty feel unwell?”

Xiao Yu replied calmly, “My head hurts a little.”

“Headache?” the tutor frowned. “Wasn’t it stomach pain?”

Xiao Yu: “???”

Since when did he have stomach pain?

The tutor continued, “Outside just now, Eunuch Chen said Your Majesty had stomach pain.”

Xiao Yu: “???”

Eunuch Chen clearly told him to say head pain.

Now he said head pain, and Eunuch Chen had turned it into stomach pain?

The tutor clearly saw the confusion in his eyes and pressed further.

“Your Majesty, is it head pain or stomach pain?”

This time, Xiao Yu answered, “Both my head and stomach hurt.”

The tutor smiled faintly. “Your Majesty, since you take such care in practicing calligraphy, do you know how the word ‘honesty’ is written?”

Xiao Yu’s heart tightened as he looked at him.

Does Teacher already know something?

The tutor said nothing more, only watching him quietly with a faint smile.

At that moment, Eunuch Chen stepped forward.

“Imperial Tutor, since you’ve already seen through it, just say it directly. What’s the point of going around in circles?”

His words confirmed Xiao Yu’s suspicion.

The tutor had already seen through the lie.

He just hadn’t exposed it, instead probing him step by step, waiting for him to admit it himself.

No wonder everyone said the Imperial Tutor was not easy to deceive—he truly wasn’t.

The tutor ignored Eunuch Chen and continued looking at Xiao Yu.

“Did the Prince not enter the palace this morning?”

Xiao Yu nodded.

“Did the Prince inform Your Majesty in advance?”

As soon as he asked, the tutor already regretted it.

With the situation like this, clearly there had been no prior notice.

As expected, Xiao Yu shook his head.

“I will go to the Prince’s residence and take a look,” the tutor said.

Eunuch Chen had already guessed this would happen.

The tutor left the palace and headed straight for the Prince’s estate.

However, when he arrived at the gate, he was stopped.

The guards refused him entry, saying the Princess Consort was critically ill and unconscious.

The words “Princess Consort” stunned the tutor.

If he remembered correctly, the Prince had not married, nor had there ever been news of him having a beloved woman.

No marriage. No wedding.

Where did a Princess Consort come from?

Feeling tricked, the tutor immediately raised his voice and tried to force his way in.

The guards could only warn him verbally and dared not act.

This was the Imperial Tutor—if anything happened to him, they would lose their heads.

Helpless, they went to call Ning An and Qing Shan.

Qing Shan was delighted upon hearing the tutor had arrived, hoping he could persuade the Prince.

But Ning An felt something was wrong.

Given the Prince’s temperament, even if the tutor went, it might not help.

He tried to stop Qing Shan, but Qing Shan was too quick and ran off.

Qing Shan brought the tutor inside the residence.

On the way to the study, he briefly explained what had happened.

He did not mention the soul swap.

Nor did he mention Elder Cui’s spell.

He only said the Prince had fallen in love with a woman, and she had been seriously injured saving him and was now unconscious.

Because of this, the Prince was deeply self-blaming, kneeling beside her—and had not eaten or drunk anything for three days.

Hearing that the Prince was acting like this over a woman, the tutor’s expression darkened instantly.

He gritted his teeth and said, “As the father is, so is the son!”

“Ah?” Qing Shan didn’t hear clearly. “What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

Soon, they arrived at the study courtyard.

Zhi Liao stood guard at the door but did not stop them, simply stepping aside.

Qing Shan opened the door.

The moment the tutor stepped in with his right foot, a furious voice rang out.

“Get out!”

“….”

The tutor frowned and looked inside.

Seeing the scene, his already furrowed brows tightened even more.

Just as Qing Shan had said, the Prince was kneeling on the ground, with a woman lying in front of him.

Because the Prince’s head was lowered, the tutor could not see his expression.

“I told you to get out!”

The Prince suddenly lifted his head and grabbed the nearest lotus lamp, preparing to smash it.

But when he saw the person at the door, he froze slightly.

The tutor also froze upon seeing him.

The once elegant, jade-like Prince… had turned into a scruffy, bearded man.

His eyes were bloodshot, filled with red veins, and dark circles surrounded them.