Chapter 248 Losing the Game

The eldest prince Zhao Yuze didn't know what had happened in the hall, and returned to the hall excitedly.

Seeing the emperor nodding to him with a smile, he could not hide his ecstasy and strode forward with high spirits.

He smiled happily and said, "Father, I am very lucky to have lived up to your teachings over the years, and I have not brought shame to my mother."

The emperor said meaningfully: "Well, that's right."

Imperial Concubine Jiang hurriedly said, "Ze'er, you only care about fulfilling your father's long-cherished wish, why don't you care about the safety of your brothers? Just now, your brothers fell into the water."

With one sentence, he wanted to shut the emperor up and remind his son at the same time.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Yuze was immersed in the joy of victory and didn't realize what his mother meant. He also didn't notice that his mother and grandfather looked strange.

He said nonchalantly: "In previous years' dragon boat races, there have been people who accidentally fell into the water. This year is the first time that my sons and ministers will lead the team in the race, so I naturally cannot delay the race to save people. Besides, the Imperial Guards and the escort team are here.

In fact, there is no need for my younger brothers to be sad if they lose. Winning and losing is a common occurrence in the military. After all, they are still young. We can compete again next year. I, as your son, should withdraw from the competition and help my younger brothers win the championship. ”

He made it sound as if he could sit back and watch his brothers fight each other.

The court officials around had different expressions, and even the eldest prince's party did not dare to say a word.

This kid has no eyesight. Didn’t he see that King Ping An was squinting his eyes hard?

The hall was silent and the breathing gradually faded.

Zhao Yuze noticed something was wrong, his eyes rolled back and his heart skipped a beat.

Before he could figure it out, a resounding voice came over: "Big Brother is right. We are not as skilled as you. If we lose, we lose."

The second prince Zhao Yuxuan and several of his younger brothers came back after changing their clothes.

Although the four princes were dressed warmly, including cloaks used in winter, their faces were blue and their lips were white, and it was obvious that they were very cold.

Especially the third prince Zhao Yuchen, his weak legs were trembling, he could not stand, he sat down on the chair, sneezing one after another.

The palace servants immediately brought hot ginger sugar water, and the four princes' expressions eased a lot after drinking it.

Zhao Yuze, like a brother, smiled and patted Zhao Yuxuan on the shoulder: "It's okay to lose a round. There will be a horseback archery competition later. You have always been better at horseback archery than me. You will win this time."

Zhao Yuwen laughed, "Second brother doesn't dare to compete with eldest brother. The eldest brother is three years older than the second brother and has practiced riding and archery longer than us. But brothers are just playing together. Don't worry too much about winning or losing, we don't care either."

Zhao Yuze's smile froze slightly, his eyes were cold, but he smiled: "Sixth brother is still young, what do you want to fight for? I will let you go."

Zhao Yuwen looked meaningful: "Really? You can give in anything?"

Zhao Yuze touched his wet head and said, "As long as big brother can give it, it's fine."

As for the country, of course I can’t give it to you.

Zhao Yuwen grinned and didn't say anything else.

The fourth prince, Zhao Yufeng, nodded vigorously: "Of course, we are all the eldest brother's younger brothers. Since ancient times, the law of primogeniture and the law of seniority have always been respected. What can the sixth prince and I fight about? We just want to have fun."

When Zhao Yuze heard his three younger brothers talking at each other with sarcasm, even if he was not very smart, he could tell something was wrong.

He suspected that he had been too excited earlier and had upset his brothers.

Zhao Yuze hurriedly smiled and said, "My four good brothers, don't worry. An elder brother is like a father, and I will naturally take care of you forever."

emperor:"……"

I'm not dead!

Concubine Jiang's smile was stiff and she didn't know how to move her mouth.

Zhao Yuwen rolled his eyes and said, "There was nothing wrong between me and the fourth brother in this competition. We were not as skilled as the others. It was a pity that the second brother lost. I don't know how his boat got several holes drilled in it."

Zhao Yuze was very surprised and looked unconvinced: "Really? How is that possible?"

Zhao Yuwen raised his eyebrows: "Many officials have already gone to investigate. Second brother's boat was sabotaged by human beings. The truth will eventually come out."

He looked at Zhao Yuze with an expression that said, "If not you, who else could it be?"

Naturally, everyone would think so.

Whoever benefits will be the one who caused the shipwreck.

Zhao Yuze's face turned dark: "It's not me! With my strength, I don't need to do this! If you don't believe me, let's compete again!"

King Ping An closed his eyes.

idiot!

Some people sighed and talked in low voices.

"Still competing? Didn't you see that the Third Prince couldn't even stand up? I'm afraid he might have caught a cold."

"That's right. The Second Prince and the Sixth Prince rescued several people in the water. They must be exhausted. It's good enough that they can stand here properly."

"As an elder brother, you don't love your younger brothers at all. What if in the future..."

The emperor smiled as he watched his sons appear to be friendly and respectful to each other but in fact they were fighting openly and secretly, and he recalled the tragic struggle he had experienced to win the throne.

Suddenly I felt a chill running up my spine.

The emperor nodded calmly and said, "Very good, brothers should be friendly and respectful to each other. No matter who becomes the crown prince in the future, we can support each other."

The surroundings suddenly became quiet.

The emperor actually mentioned the matter of the crown prince in public.

"Third brother, are you feeling well? Why don't you go back to the palace and rest?"

The imperial physician had just felt the pulse of the Third Prince when he turned around and reported, "Your Majesty, the Third Prince has an evil cold in his body and may be seriously ill. He really needs to return to the palace to recuperate."

"Then send the third child back to the palace to recuperate."

The virtuous concubine turned pale.

This means that he will no longer have a chance to compete for the position of crown prince!

She looked at her eldest sister-in-law helplessly. Mrs. Yuan had a gloomy face.

The entire Yuan family worked like slaves for the Jiang family, some died and some were demoted.

In today's competition, although the Yuan family agreed to lend a helping hand to the eldest prince, they also hope to take this opportunity to allow the third prince to demonstrate his strength.

After all, the Yuan family is also a family of military generals and the princes they taught are no worse than anyone else.

But what no one expected was that the Third Prince was ordered to ram the Second Prince's boat, but he only intended to delay time. Unexpectedly, the First Prince completely ignored him and let him face the other three princes and fight alone. In the end, the Second Prince's boat took on water and overturned the three boats that collided with each other.

Zhao Yuchen’s swimming ability was not very good and he was more seriously injured than the others.

And he was an excellent rider and archer, not inferior to his two royal brothers. He originally wanted to give the dragon boat race championship to the eldest prince, but if he could win the rider and archery championship, they would be evenly matched.

Even if the eldest prince became the crown prince, Zhao Yuchen would be recognized by his father for his ability, and would be entrusted with important tasks and given the title of king.

Her eldest daughter was bullied by the Jiang family, and there was no hope for the prince to emerge.

It's all over!

Now, the founding duke is stationed in the northern border, and the other uncles have their own plans. What can she, a woman, do?

"Hmm." The emperor looked at the remaining three.

Zhao Yuxuan clasped his fists and said, "Father, I, your son...ah!"

Zhao Yuwen also sneezed a few times, rubbed his nose hard, patted his chest vigorously, and chuckled.

He said in a muffled voice: "Father, it's okay. I'm in good health! Ah, haha... hehe."

Zhao Yuxuan also hurriedly said: "Father, I am fine. I am not cold at all."

The emperor smiled and said, "The eldest prince won the navy dragon boat race and deserves a reward."

Zhao Yuze finally heaved a sigh of relief and hurried forward to express his gratitude. He took the brocade box handed over by the official from the Ministry of Rites with both hands, which contained a pair of jade ruyi.

Zhao Yuze was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.

Although there were competitive games such as horse riding, archery and hunting, they were activities that only royal relatives, high-ranking officials and nobles could participate in.

Only the dragon boat race is open to the public.

All the wealthy businessmen, common people and scholars taking imperial examinations who could enter Jinming Lake could watch the competition, and Zhao Yuze became famous in the capital of Bianjing.

Before Zhao Yuze could finish enjoying his joy, he heard his father praising the two brothers Zhao Yuxuan for their bravery in saving people and their talent and virtue.

The voice changed: "My dear concubine, you and the virtuous concubine have always been on good terms. You two should teach your princes well and conquer the world with virtue. Otherwise, if they develop dark thoughts, how can they take charge of state affairs?"

Zhao Yuze's face turned pale.

Concubine Jiang and Concubine Xian hurriedly stood up and saluted: "Your Highness, I will obey your command."

Both of them were so angry that they had to hold it in.

The Queen smiled and said, "Your Majesty, are you praising Xuan'er and Wen'er for doing the right thing? Shouldn't you give them some rewards as well?"

The emperor nodded and said, "Of course. I happen to have two pieces of gold silk soft armor. I will give one to each of you."

Zhao Yuxuan and Zhao Yuwen widened their eyes in surprise.

The two pieces of gold-thread soft armor are desired by all the princes and are priceless treasures.

Zhao Yuze's face suddenly turned dark.

Gu Huan suddenly felt an unfriendly gaze coming towards her, and when she raised her eyes she met Concubine Jiang's gaze.

She looked like she wanted to eat someone.

Gu Huan nodded and smiled at her.

How long can the Jiang family last?