Chapter 229 Selling One's Strength

Hongzhao felt the anger and pressure that seemed to be about to burst through the roof, and slowly closed his eyes. In an instant, countless background music tracks played in his mind.

"I dare not open my eyes, hoping it's just my imagination..."

He gritted his teeth in anger. He had tried to guard against everything, but he still couldn't stop his third brother's foul mouth! He should have kept his mother's maidservant by his side in the first place. If she had said the wrong thing, Cui Guo would have smashed her mouth!

These days, it's clear that Father Emperor is in a bad mood, and Hongzhao understands this better than anyone else.

On the surface, his body is getting better every day, but in reality, his vitality is gradually disappearing. This is a sign that the power of the False Death Pill is slowly fading away. As the owner of the body, Yinzhen naturally cannot be unaware of the changes. The most obvious change is that his face and body have aged considerably in the past three months.

He could clearly feel his body gradually depleting itself in a false sense of prosperity, but neither the imperial physicians nor the folk doctors could see anything wrong. They all said that the emperor's health was deteriorating day by day, and that the tonics he drank were like water being poured into a bottomless pit, making no sound, let alone having any effect.

Hongzhao tried to comfort him, telling him to relax, but he was also feeling terrible. Unfortunately, ever since the power struggle at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he hadn't heard the system's electronic voice again. No matter how he called out to it in his mind, he received no response. If the system shop weren't still working properly, he would have truly believed that the system that had been with him for fifteen years had simply vanished.

This feeling of being the only one sober while everyone else is drunk is not pleasant. Coupled with the daily changes in his body, it felt like ants were gnawing at Yinzhen's heart. His frustration and resentment, which he felt like wanting to have his bones scraped off, almost reached their peak.

If they were to encounter Hongshi, a mere chatterbox with no brains, wouldn't it ignite the fire instantly?

Although he understood the situation, Hongzhao was almost completely baffled as to how to extinguish the fire.

Hongshi was completely terrified, but not entirely dumbfounded. He still managed to quickly kneel down. Over the past few years, Hongzhao had been with him almost every time he came to see his father, the Emperor, and he had seen his father's kind face many times. Although he was still afraid, his timidity had lessened somewhat. But today, however, it completely pulled him back into the state of fear he had always felt before, like a mouse seeing a cat, or even a more intense version of it.

In the summer heat, cold sweat instantly covered his entire body, and he explained with trembling lips and a lack of confidence.

"No, Father Emperor, your son...your son...that's not what I meant, Father Emperor..."

His seemingly unspoken words made Hongzhao's vision go black. It was as if he were watching a melodramatic soap opera up close. Something that could have been explained in two sentences was instead stammered out. Others only lost love, but Third Brother, you lost the yellow belt around your waist that was now in jeopardy!

Hongshi was speechless, but Yinzhen, in his rage, had a bellyful of words to say.

The veins on his forehead bulged, and within a few breaths, his eyes turned crimson. He stood up, supporting himself on the table with one hand and pointing the other straight at Hongshi, who was slumped on the ground.

"You worthless wretch! When have I ever mistreated you! How can you be so disloyal and unfilial? Such behavior is unlike that of the former Eight..."

"Father, please calm your anger!"

Hearing that something was wrong, Hongzhao quickly shouted to stop him. Then, he deftly lifted his robe and knelt down next to Hongshi. Broken inkstone fragments scattered all over the ground. As Hongzhao knelt down, he stared intently at his father's expression. Seeing his father's brows furrow and his eyes fixed on his knees, Hongzhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It's alright, he doesn't seem to have lost his mind from anger, so there's still time to calm things down.

Just now, it seems that Father Emperor was thinking that Hongshi's loose tongue had connected it with the dying gyrfalcon that Eighth Prince had given to the late Emperor. The connection in his mind was already extremely dangerous. If he were to say it out loud, then Third Brother would have to bear this infamy in the history books from now on.

Hongzhao's interruption did have some effect; at least Yinzhen managed to swallow back the half-sentence he had blurted out, his face still grim as he gathered his breath. "This matter has nothing to do with you. Stand up and stay away."

Unusually, Hongzhao did not listen this time—"Father! Third brother is just like the former Consort Qi. You always know he is bad at talking. Please let him explain himself. If he can't explain himself clearly, you don't need to punish him. I, as his younger brother, will be the first to not let him off the hook."

Yinzhen's chest heaved violently as he tried his best to suppress his anger and prevent it from affecting others. Just then, Su Peisheng walked in from outside, his eyes wide. "Your Majesty..."

The sound of the inkstone shattering was so loud that everyone inside and outside heard it clearly. In the Emperor's fury, who would dare to provoke him? At first, Su Peisheng didn't worry because he heard the Third Prince's voice, but when he heard the Crown Prince's voice, he had no choice but to come in and take a look.

It wouldn't have mattered if he hadn't come in, but as soon as he walked in and said two words, the emperor finally found an outlet for his anger.

"Get out!" Another teacup fell to the ground, and Su Peisheng sullenly lowered his head and retreated.

"You speak!" Yinzhen pointed angrily, and Hongshi looked up uncertainly a beat later.

Hongzhao couldn't stand it any longer, so he reached out and gave him a hard shove, which snapped him out of his daze.

"Your Majesty, please understand. I do not have such a bold idea. I did promise Cai Ping that I would ask Your Majesty to grant her the position of a secondary consort before the child is born, so that she can take good care of herself during her pregnancy. What I meant was that I could not receive this favor before the child is born, not... not..."

He dared not say anything more after that. With a bitter face and two lines of tears, he looked up at his still angry father, the Emperor. A string of crystal pendants hung precariously, making Yinzhen unable to bear looking at them and avert his eyes.

Although he was still furious, upon reflection he realized that what Hongzhao said was true. Hongzhao was right; his son was not cunning and had always been a filial and loving person.

But what's said is said. Even those in the royal family can't control their own words and actions, so being implicated isn't entirely unjust.

Hongzhao noticed that his father was hesitant, so he pressed on and crawled forward again to plead, "I beg you, Father, to have mercy. My third brother speaks without thinking and doesn't understand what he means. You have every right to scold or punish me, Father. I only ask that you consider your health and not get angry anymore."

Hongshi nodded repeatedly after hearing this, as if his own voice was part of Hongzhao's body, and he looked at him with the eyes of a second parent.

In the height of summer, clothes are light and thin. Hongzhao is still wearing a gold-trimmed outer robe with white snow reflecting red plum blossoms. The red plum blossoms bloom on his knees, causing Yinzhen to frown and keep glancing upwards.

These two sentences clearly gave the emperor a way out. Yinzhen didn't want to take it, but he couldn't care less about whether he did or not. He stared at Hongzhao's two steps that he took and was quite alarmed. He couldn't help but exclaim "Eh!"

That's enough.

“Stand up, stand up! What kind of appearance is this, all crooked and twisted?”

This was a sign that his temper was softening. Hongzhao readily thanked him, bowed deeply, and stood up, not forgetting to pull his third brother, who was so frightened that he didn't know what day it was, back to his feet.

Feeling a stinging pain in his knees, Hongzhao thought to himself, "If it weren't for the fact that you're a good friend, I wouldn't have used so much force."