GOSSIP 1

"Your Majesty, Mr. Su is really unmannerly! Now he is trying to seduce the Princess!"

The king, as well as the queen dowager, were totally surprised as they heard the report from the senior court lady. The king should make sure that he did not mishear, "My sister... what?!"

"It is always the kind of view I see every day. Her Highness invites Mr. Su to take a walk in the garden and talks with him for a long time. Good Heaven, they do it at daylight, below the bright sun! Now it has become a hot rumor in the entire palace!"

Queen dowager was about to take a sip of her tea, yet she quickly changed her mind. She put the teacup and talked in a loud voice. "How come... she has been married after all... how can she still do such improper manner?!"

"Mr. Su should also be blamed, he has betrayed the kindness His Majesty grants for him. Just because His Majesty gives him a high appreciation, he then becomes a greedy man, eyeing more than he should own. He isn't satisfied with just becoming the royal physician, now he wants to manipulate the Princess!..."

"I must investigate for the truth." The king stood up. Yesterday he also got the same report, yet it was informed by government officials who did not agree Zhu Su got appointed as the royal physician, thereby he chose not to believe them and instead assumed that they were blowing hoax just to defame Zhu Su.

But unexpectedly, now the senior court lady also gave the same report?

"It's been so well known in the entire palace. And the entire palace is certain that the Princess has an affair with Mr. Su." Another court lady reported.

"The gossip spreads so fast just like an arrow shot. I am even suspicious, perhaps this rumor has gone out of the palace and even the commoners have heard about it," This is an opinion from a courtier.

"Your Majesty, you have to investigate it all. It is a very embarrassing issue. Princess has got married, it is unethical if she gets close to another man," The senior official added.

"And if necessary, you must punish Mr. Su for his impropriety! We must deter him!" Another senior official snarled furiously.

The king bit his lips. "I can't believe this. I'm sure Mr. Su is a person who upholds ethics, and moreover, I'm sure my sister isn't a lustful woman. Whatever she does, I am sure her purpose is virtuous, not like your accusations."

"Your Majesty, the problem is how people perceive it. Whoever sees such closeness of them will agree to say that they have an affair, because it appears in such that way!"

The king inhaled, took a deep breath. "Call the Princess and Mr. Su to come here, right now!"

Receiving the order, the courtiers immediately did their jobs. Just for a moment and they had been standing right in front of Zhu Su's residence.

"Mr. Su, the King summons you to come to the palace, right now!"

Looking out of the door, Zhu Su immediately found that the courtiers' faces were sour and contemptuous. "Does His Majesty need something from me?"

The chief courtier snorted. "Geez, you are apparently shrewd at pretending to be stupid!"

Zhu Su furrowed his brows. "Sir, I really don't get the point!"

"Oh well, just come to the palace. Don't waste time here!"

Confused, Zhu Su was forced to follow the courtiers.

Once he arrived at the palace, he met with another group of courtiers who brought the princess. The princess' expression was the same as his - looking confused, having no idea about why she was suddenly summoned at this time.

"... I am reminding you, after all. Who said that married women can't get tempted by other men?..."

"... But, still, you can't do that. Because you are no longer a prince, whereas she is a princess. Don't let that forbidden feeling awaken in her mind. This is for your own safety, Boy! You don't wish to be sentenced to death in a foreign country, do you?"

The torch in Zhu Su's brain was inflamed. The king must suspect him to have an affair with the princess! He cursed hard in his mind. As far as he could discern, Ava King is an open-minded and objective person, so how could he draw conclusions so easily from something unclear?!

But, Gao Qing whom he assumed as a wise philosopher could even have such the thinking, so why the king could not?...

As he was kneeling down before the king, Zhu Su opened his mouth, "Your Majesty, would you mind telling me about the reason why you call me here?"

The king stared at Zhu Su sharply. "I'll be to the main point. Do both of you..." He paused, clearing his throat, "have often done forbidden affairs in this palace?"

The princess yelled. "Your Majesty! I have got married, how can you accuse me as such?!"

"If you are not having a forbidden relationship with him, then why do you always meet with him in the palace garden every day?"

"You know, I am very fond of studying. Moreover, to study such new knowledge which is good for opening up our horizons of knowledge. I never know about Chinese Medicine or Chinese Philosophy, so I ask Mr. Su who is an expert on this topic. My motive is no more than studying! How can you accuse me that bad?!"

"Not only me. The whole palace is talking about that gossip!"

The princess yelled again. "Gossip?! Geez, so it's a holycrap gossip! People will be busy gossiping about something and it becomes a big problem!"

"Because this is the way they all see you! And you must know it for sure, as a noble princess, you have to do the court manners strictly?!..."

"Gossip is a weapon without eyes and brains. They just talk nonsense without even trying to find out the truth. After all, why do the stereotypical views of people are always, if men and women are close, then they are definitely in love? Right? If people see a man and a woman are walking together, they immediately conclude that the man and woman must be husband and wife, even though it is on the knees of the gods. After all, they can be siblings, or neighbors, or no more than close friends. Their brains have indeed been programmed by the subconscious perception, which states, if men and women become close, then they are certainly in love with each other. But is it really like that? Not a chance! I respect Mr. Su like a disciple respects her teacher!"

The princess' long and fiery explanation made the king lose for words. On the other hand, Zhu Su gave two thumbs up for the princess. He often asked the same question, anyway. Why can people make perception easily? And why are they convinced that their own perception is true? A man is too close to a woman, do they surely fall in love? Not really. But very often the society would give such a conclusion. If a man is too kind to a woman, most of the people immediately say that he is attracted to her - is that true? Not really. Many men purely respect women without having to love them. For example like his feelings for the princess, that was purely the feeling of gratefulness for her kindness as well as the respect for her as she was a princess, that was all. Moreover, the princess was fond of studying, he was happy to share his knowledge with anyone who loved to study. So Zhu Su did not fall in love with the princess, let alone making an affair with her. And, so was the princess.

The king surveyed his sister with a sharp look. "Really... you have no feelings for Mr. Su?..."