Chapter 9 The Faults of an Adopted Son

Emperor Hong'an, enraged, laughed and pulled the Prime Minister to his defense: "My dear minister, could it be that I have truly done a bad job?"

Xiao Yichun: "...His Majesty's benevolent fatherly heart is rarely seen in the world."

He secretly thought to himself, Tianmu was absolutely right, spoiling a child is like killing him.

But...didn't you say that Emperor Zhongzong was a tyrant? Why do you always use him as a comparison?

Look at our Emperor Cheng, she killed her uncles and brothers, changed prime ministers like changing clothes, and fought battles like drinking water and taking medicine. What a smooth and successful life... Emperor Zhongzong was scolded for killing a corrupt scholar. She can do whatever she wants, and everyone listens to her. I would call her the most carefree emperor in history.

The key point is that he was a really good emperor; Emperor Renzong, you should learn from him.

Tianmu's matter-of-fact tone made Emperor Hong'an begin to doubt his own ears.

Emperor Hong'an: "???"

Do you want to listen to what you're saying?

Emperor Cheng was the emperor's posthumous title, different from his temple name. Emperor Hong'an was somewhat unsure who this person was, only certain that he was a descendant of the traitor.

He beheaded his uncles and killed court officials, yet he still received a posthumous honor.

Emperor Hong'an was so angry he almost laughed.

Under the canopy, the court officials all looked grim: they hoped this wouldn't be the future Emperor Zhongzong, or their good days would be over!

In short, Emperor Hong'an's methods of educating his children were definitely problematic. Although he was one of the few emperors in ancient times who personally raised his children, his approach was much gentler compared to that of Emperor Zhongzong.

Emperor Zhongzong was much more direct than Emperor Hong'an. When he was about to die, he only said one sentence to Emperor Cheng: "Do whatever you want."

Emperor Hong'an was different. He wrote a classic final poem on his deathbed, addressed to his fifth son. When I first read it, I only noticed Emperor Hong'an's impressive calligraphy; only later did I realize his deep concern and worry for his son.

Good heavens, the case is solved! Emperor Cheng was indeed Emperor Zhongzong's son.

He actually let Emperor Cheng do whatever he wanted! It's not enough that he harmed one generation; he wants to harm another!

Moreover, judging from the sky's description, this Emperor Cheng is truly capricious, doing whatever he wants.

The court officials looked gloomy and sighed as they looked at their own sons and nephews, saying, "Your lives are not as good as ours."

They still prefer His Majesty!

Your Majesty, why couldn't you have lived two hundred more years?

When he wrote this letter, only his fifth son was capable of shouldering the future of Ningchao, but as everyone knows, he was not actually very satisfied with his fifth son.

In the letter, he taught his fifth son how to be an emperor, how to be a father, and finally gently comforted his son, "The world is of utmost importance, and my son is more than capable of shouldering this responsibility."

What can I say to him? If he had taught his child properly twenty years earlier, maybe he wouldn't have had so many worries later on—oh, sorry, people have talents, and the fifth child really doesn't seem to have any talent.

As for his final letter to the fifth prince, "Now that I entrust the world to him, my heart is truly at peace," it's unclear whether he was comforting himself or the fifth prince.

A handwritten scroll was displayed on the sky, showing clear signs of repairs and shaky handwriting, indicating it was written when the writer was exhausted.

Despite his serious illness, his handwriting remained elegant, but towards the end, the strength of his writing softened, as if one could see the person holding the pen before his death through the pages.

The fifth prince knelt on the ground, his body ice-cold. He struggled to raise his head and saw the handwritten message projected onto the sky. Suddenly, two streams of hot tears rolled down his cheeks.

He himself may not even know why.

The air was eerily silent. After a moment, he heard Emperor Hong'an sigh softly: "Perhaps I was wrong."

These words were too harsh; no one dared to remain calm.

Zhou She looked at the Fifth Prince, who was visibly trembling uncontrollably, whether from fear or grief, it was hard to tell.

Perhaps both.

Xiao Yichun quickly reassured him, "Your Majesty, the future is long, and the princes are still young. There is still time for everything."

Emperor Hong'an remained silent.

Perhaps that's true, but as Tianmu said, people are born with talent, and no matter how much he teaches, he can't stop these few mediocre talents.

Sometimes fate plays tricks. If things had followed the original plan, Emperor Hong'an's successor should have been Crown Prince Zhong Jun. Historical records show that Zhong Jun was intelligent from a young age and began studying earlier than his younger brothers. By the age of three, he could already recite the Four Books fluently. At the age of eleven, he was able to debate with the emperor in court.

Of course, more importantly, Zhong Jun was more loving than his younger brothers. Although it might seem strange to say this about a child, many of the decisions he made during his trial period were in line with his father's style.

No wonder Hong'an repeatedly exclaimed, "My son is a gem bestowed by Heaven; I will mold him into a fine vessel, and one day he will surely become a wise and virtuous ruler of the nation."

The few good-for-nothings kneeling on the ground were both nervous and envious.

Therefore, when the Crown Prince died, they were not yet born, and had never even seen the face of their true elder brother.

Therefore, although they knew that the crown prince was highly regarded and that their father liked to start with "the crown prince was like this and that back then," this incident still made them feel envious.

Emperor Hong'an remained expressionless. The sky seemed to be piercing his heart; in that instant, he could recall many things from the past.

The anticipation I felt back then seems like it was just yesterday.

Unfortunately, Crown Prince Xiaoren died too young. So much so that in Hong'an's heart, the dead became an eternally pure white flower, and later, when he looked at his sons, he found nothing about them pleasing to the eye.

Moreover, as he grew older, he transformed from a strict father into a loving one. To his son, Hyojong, he would say, "My child, work hard so you can take over my great cause in the future," while to his sons, he would simply say, "Alright, go play."

As a result, when they got old and had to choose a successor, they were completely stumped.

The fifth prince still had tears on his face, and he wanted to say: Father, it turns out that your love for me was actually so thin.

But he dared not speak, fearing that his elderly father would notice and force him to commit suicide.

The people in the flower hall had different thoughts, but what Tianmu said was indeed common knowledge, so it did not cause any shock.

Zhou's father sat outside, stroking his beard, and said, "Tianmu really knows a lot. If Crown Prince Xiaoren were still alive, the position of Crown Prince would probably be a foregone conclusion now."

Sitting next to him was Princess Zhaoping, Zhong Zhun, who was Zhou She's mother and wife.

Zhong Zhun's gaze was fixed on the sky, looking at the "last letter" displayed on it, and he suddenly said, "Back then, Father Emperor also wrote a similar letter to my elder brother."

Zhou's father was not surprised.

It is common knowledge that Emperor Hong'an loved his eldest son.

When the Crown Prince died, Emperor Hong'an was devastated several times. If it weren't for Empress Xiaozhen'an keeping him alive, he probably would have fallen seriously ill.

Her first son, born before she was made crown prince, was indeed different from her other children.

If Crown Prince Xiaoren were still alive, he wouldn't have dared to think about those merits of supporting the emperor.

As he pondered, Zhou's father felt a pang of melancholy.

Looking at them now, these four adult princes each have their own unique characteristics, and he dares not bet on any of them anymore.

I've said too much already, let's get back to the present.

Because of some inexplicable quirks, the fourth prince lost a leg and became disabled, thus completely ineligible for the throne. Emperor Hong'an was quite conflicted, as he felt he wouldn't live much longer, but the current situation was: his second son committed suicide, his third son was killed, his fourth son was disabled, his fifth son murdered his brothers, and his sixth son had just started school.

Let alone Hong An, I'm starting to despair just looking at him.

If I were on the throne, I would have to consider one question: should Emperor Zhongzong be killed or not?

No doubt about it.

Emperor Zhongzong has already ascended the throne, can he still be killed?

Under the sky, the crowd ate melons about the emperor's family while discussing among themselves: "If the Fourth Prince were my son, I would beat them to death first."

"The royal family's fight over inheritance can be really fierce. I heard that a few days ago, the sons of the richest man's family got into a fight that resulted in a death, all over a few shops in the west of the city!"

"Oh dear, if it were me, I'd be furious to death looking at these unfilial sons!"

Of course, some people were indignant, saying, "The Fourth Prince stealing another man's wife is utterly outrageous! His broken leg was clearly his own fault, how can someone kill someone over this?!"

While opinions varied on this side, the palace remained as quiet as a chicken's nest.

In the suffocating silence, Emperor Hong'an suddenly laughed: "What do you all think? Should I kill him?"

"..." He didn't name names, so no one dared to speak.

Zhou She seemed to have returned to his past life. When faced with the homeroom teacher's question, he skillfully lowered his head, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw his good brother Tan Zhao's face turned slightly to the side.

Their eyes met again, and they saw a satisfactory answer for each other.

Both of the fourth princes thought at the same time: Serves him right.

As moral and courteous young people of the new era, they despise their fourth uncle for showing no concern for his relatives.

Seeing that no one answered, Xiao Yichun softened his tone and said gently, "Your Majesty, since it was not intentional, the Fourth Prince has been punished for his mistake, and a little reprimand is enough."

As he spoke, he thought to himself: I came here to discuss the Northern Barbarians and the Crown Prince, how did it turn into mediating a private royal affair?

Emperor Hong'an looked at him: "My dear minister, do you wish to punish the Fourth Prince or Emperor Zhongzong?"

This is terrible!

Just as Xiao Yichun was about to speak, Tianmu called out the roll call:

Emperor Zhongzong was able to survive, and Xiao Yichun must have played a part in it.

Most people perceive Xiao Yichun as a refined and cultured official, skilled in governance—a classic image of a civil servant. However, the real Xiao Yichun…

He was a veteran of three reigns, not only long-lived but also incredibly skilled in martial arts. Even past seventy, he was still incredibly agile, beating his grandson until he was bloodied and bruised – all testaments to his formidable prowess.

What a magnificent Fighting Buddha!

Having just heard Xiao Yichun's words of comfort and then Tianmu's evaluation, Emperor Hong'an was somewhat puzzled. Looking at the refined and scholarly face of the Prime Minister, he said, "I never knew you were so... full of martial virtue."

Xiao Yichun was equally dumbfounded: "..." Am I such a fierce person?

Not only did Emperor Hong'an not believe it, but no one in the entire court dared to believe it.

Xiao Xiang was clearly gentle and good at being a nice guy, which earned him the nickname "Doughy Prime Minister".

The first person to call him that was the Minister of War, who was sitting in his backyard at the moment, looking at each other with several colleagues.

This Xiao Yichun has a temper as soft as dough; no matter how you mold her, she won't get angry. Sometimes she mediates between the parties, just like a dough with too much water—not only soft, but also sticky.

The Vice Minister of War was so embarrassed he could barely speak: "It seems that Prime Minister Xiao still values ​​camaraderie among colleagues..."

He beat his grandson until his head bled...

I wonder which good-for-nothing descendant got this "honor".

Zhou She was also whispering to Tan Zhao: "Isn't Xiao Xiang's grandson that Xiao Jianhe over there?"

He and Xiao Jianhe were merely acquaintances. Xiao Jianhe was a rough gem, while he was a stubborn rock; they were not comparable.

Tan Zhao lowered his voice and whispered, "Prime Minister Xiao has more than one grandson."

Zhou She suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."

It's reasonable that the Prime Minister's family has a good-for-nothing like him, and also a talented person like Xiao Jianhe.

During Emperor Renzong's reign, Xiao Yichun's fighting prowess was largely untapped. This was mainly because Emperor Hong'an had a very good personality, and the relationship between ruler and subject was one of harmony, leaving Xiao Yichun with virtually no opportunity to fight.

Among the officials of the same court, historical records clearly state that Ren Heng, who once served as Minister of War, had a rather volatile temper. He did indeed have several conflicts with Xiao Yichun, but in Xiao Yichun's notes, he wrote, "Don't argue with fools," indicating that most of the time, he had a relatively open-minded attitude.

Minister of War Ren Heng slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "You damned Xiao Tuanzi!! You civil officials really are all bad!"

The Vice Minister of War, his forehead beaded with sweat, hurriedly stopped him, saying, "My lord, please don't act rashly—"

Have you forgotten that you are also a civil servant?

Ren Heng, a military officer by training, was agile and nimble. The Vice Minister of War could barely restrain him and could only watch as his superior flew into a rage: "Who is he calling a fool?"

"Prime Minister Xiao probably didn't do it on purpose..."

Amidst the chaos, Emperor Hong'an's expression changed: "I've never heard of such sarcasm from you, my dear minister."

Xiao Yichun appeared calm on the surface, but was actually extremely embarrassed: "I was just trying to relieve myself."

Emperor Hong'an nodded casually.

Clearly, they didn't believe a single word.