Lu Yan kowtowed deeply: "I have no complaints."
The emperor raised his hand and said, "Go down and receive your punishment."
Lu Yan kowtowed again to express his gratitude, then stood up and went out to receive his punishment.
Prince Yong brushed past Lu Yan and, upon entering, performed the grand ceremony he hadn't had time to perform earlier: "I pay my respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty."
The emperor looked at Prince Yong and sighed, "Do we still have to be like this between you and me? Get up quickly, someone come and give me a seat."
A chair was placed behind Prince Yong, who sat down only after expressing his gratitude.
The emperor looked at Prince Yong's legs and asked, "Is your leg feeling better?"
Prince Yong's leg was injured in his early years. It was fine on weekdays, but when the weather got cold, his leg would easily hurt. So when his mother asked for the fiefdom of Shenyang for him, she hoped that it would be warmer and he could have a better time in winter.
But in the end, his fiefdom fell into Yongzhou.
The reason behind this cannot be explained in a few words.
Prince Yong laughed heartily, seemingly holding no grudges from the past. "Winter in Yongzhou is only a little cold, but bearable. Furthermore, we discovered hot springs in the Shiwan Mountains. During the winter, I went there to recuperate. That's why whenever Your Majesty summoned me to the capital for the New Year, I was unable to go."
"It's a warm day, and the Crown Princess has invited me. I haven't seen Your Majesty for many years, so I thought of coming to the capital. I came without being summoned, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
The emperor waved his hands repeatedly. "What's the big deal? I'm so happy you're coming to the capital. But I'm curious, how did the Crown Princess invite you?"
Prince Yong didn't hide anything. This bastard emperor was full of suspicion. The more he hid things, the more he suspected. If he was more open, he might not have been so suspicious. He smiled a bit flatteringly: "Brother, didn't you see that new firearm? I want to play with it. The Crown Princess said that the capital has the newest and most powerful firearm, so I came to see it for myself."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but stand up and take two steps forward, then squatted at the emperor's feet and looked up at him: "Brother, I don't want these things, how about you let me play with them?"
Even though he was already a grandfather, he squatted at his feet, just like when he was a child, begging him to give up his toys.
The emperor seemed to see the two men's childhood appearance in a trance. Prince Yong liked to wield swords and guns since he was young. Anything given to the emperor by the late emperor would make other brothers jealous, but Prince Yong never did.
The only time I begged him for something was when I asked for a dagger that was a tribute from an exotic country. The dagger was beautiful and gorgeous, and most importantly, it could cut through iron like mud.
The emperor gave him the dagger at that time, and thought that Prince Yong would take the opportunity to leave. However, he just touched it again and again and couldn't let it go. He then practiced his sword skills with the dagger, and then sheathed the dagger and returned it to him carefully and reluctantly.
Prince Yong cherished the dagger so much that he didn't even try it out to see if it could really cut through iron like mud as rumored.
The emperor came to his senses and hurriedly said to Eunuch Zhang, "Go and get the knife hanging on the wall in my bedroom."
Soon, the sword was brought over. The emperor took it, bent down and helped Prince Yong to his feet. He placed the sword in his hand and held it firmly. "This is for you. The prince will take you to play with the firearms later. If you like it, you can keep it in the capital. This way, you can play with new firearms whenever the Ministry of Works makes them."
Prince Yong was delighted and asked with sparkling eyes, "Is it true?"
"Of course." The emperor smiled warmly and said, "Your leg injury makes you afraid of the cold. How about going to the hot springs in Xiaotangshan during the winter?"
Prince Yong held the sword in his waist, his mind and eyes filled with the sword in front of him and the firearm that was about to be obtained. He didn't pay attention to what the emperor said at all, and just nodded repeatedly.
When Prince Yong drew his sword, he was dazzled by the cold light on it and only then did he come to his senses. He looked at the emperor hesitantly, "My Royal Brother, are you telling me that you won't let me return to Yongzhou?"
The emperor nodded and said, "I don't have much time left. I'm not even dead yet, and the world is already in such chaos. I wonder what kind of chaos the world will be in after I die. So, you must stay with me and help me watch over the Great Zhou Dynasty."
The emperor's hand patted Prince Yong's shoulder with warmth and strength. Prince Yong's heart sank, and he looked him up and down frantically: "Is my brother's health really not good?"
Prince Yong always believed that the emperor was in good health. Even though the news reached Yongzhou last year, he did not believe it.
Even though the fourth prince rebelled, Prince Yong thought that the emperor was testing him and setting a trap for the princes. However, he didn't expect that he would get away with it by accident.
King Yong was deeply dissatisfied with the emperor's behavior. The crown prince of a country should be a virtuous person, not be chosen through trial and error.
Prince Yong was conceited about his understanding of the emperor and guessed 99% of his thoughts. Who knew that the emperor was actually sick!
Prince Yong suddenly became nervous. Seeing that the emperor was silent, he looked at Eunuch Zhang and said, "Eunuch, tell me, is my brother teasing me again? Is he deceiving me again?"
Eunuch Zhang wanted to nod, but he couldn't because it was true. He wiped his red eyes and said, "Last year, the imperial physician said that Your Majesty's health was not good. If you rest well, you can live a few more years. So Your Majesty asked His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to be regent and start recuperating."
"Who knew? Even during his recovery, there were still accidents. His Majesty's health was fluctuating. The imperial physician said that if he hadn't recuperated for several months last year, the Fourth Prince's rebellion this time would have cost His Majesty his life."
Prince Yong's body swayed, and he said quickly, "Then I will ask my wife to bring the children to the capital to see you, my brother. You haven't seen your brother's grandchildren yet, have you? They are chubby and naughty and cute."
The emperor snorted, "You're talking like everyone else doesn't have grandchildren. I have them too!"
Seeing that the emperor's mood was not affected by his illness at all, Prince Yong felt relieved and accompanied the emperor to reminisce about the past and talk about the changes in Yongzhou over the years.
The estrangement between the two brothers seemed to disappear at this moment.
East Palace.
Xie Qing hadn't had a good rest for a long time. The people around him were sleeping soundly, and he also felt sleepy and gradually fell asleep as well.
It was not until an hour before the palace banquet that Yijia called them several times and the two of them finally woke up from their sleepy state.
"We've been delayed for a quarter of an hour. I don't know if we can make it in time." Yijia hurriedly pulled Qin Wan to sit in front of the dressing table and helped her wash up.
The little boy over there had also rested enough and came in to help Xie wash up.
Time was tight, so Yijia didn't do any complicated French hairstyles. She simply tied her hair into a bun and wore a simple crown as decoration. With Qin Wan's current aura, the simple outfit didn't diminish her aura at all.
When it was time to put on makeup, Yi Jia looked at Qin Wan's skin, which had become so rough that her eyes were red with heartache. "I just applied a thick layer of moisturizer to the Crown Princess after she showered, but it didn't get any better. I wonder how long it will take to restore her skin to its former state."
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