"You seem quite pleased?" The emperor's face had turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
You unfilial son, can't you see he's angry?
"The Duke of Zhenguo has guarded the border and fought on the battlefield for more than 30 years, dedicating the best years of his life to Dayuan. Now that he has returned safely, shouldn't he be happy?"
"The people of the capital are grateful for the Duke of Zhenguo's contributions to Dayuan. They spontaneously gathered in front of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to welcome him home. Such affection and righteousness, isn't that something to be happy about?" Ye Jingchen asked one question after another, his voice light, but his head drooped lower and lower.
Although he couldn't see how bad his father's face looked at that moment, he could imagine it.
"Of course it's worth it, I'm so happy!" the emperor replied through gritted teeth.
"Your subject also feels that he did a good job on this task today!" Ye Jingchen said smugly.
emperor:......
He originally intended to swear, but he lost the initiative from the start.
The rebellious son was not afraid of his temper at all, and the same tactics he used on his ministers were useless against his rebellious son!
It seems I'll have to change my strategy if I want to discipline my rebellious son in the future!
"Father, although what happened in front of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion today was a spontaneous act by the people of the capital, it turned out to be a lucky accident and did me a great favor!" Ye Jingchen finally raised his head and said seriously after he had had enough of the emperor.
"What do you mean?" the emperor asked irritably.
"Father, do you know? Although the Duke of Zhenguo is about the same age as Prime Minister Wang, when I saw him today, he looked decades older than Prime Minister Wang. Moreover, most of his hair was white. When he stood with the Duchess, they didn't look like husband and wife, but more like father and daughter!" Ye Jingchen said quietly.
"Really?" the emperor asked, somewhat incredulously.
In his memory, the Duke of Zhenguo was tall and imposing, and the hundred-pound black iron spear in his hands was as light as a feather, which he could wield with ease!
"The most regrettable thing in this world is the decline of heroes and the graying of beauties! The Duke of Zhenguo is old and is no longer the majestic guardian of Dayuan. He has dedicated his life to Dayuan. If only the two underage princes, Jingming and I, were to greet him when he returns home, it would be too inappropriate! Fortunately, the people of the capital are loyal and righteous, which made up for the shortcomings. Otherwise, Father, you would be waiting to be impeached by the censors tomorrow!"
"I have already shown him enough respect by having the Crown Prince of Dayuan personally greet him! If anyone dares to impeach me tomorrow because of this, I will definitely dismiss him from his post!" the emperor roared.
Ye Jingchen lowered his head again and rolled his eyes.
"Is he really old?" After a moment, the emperor asked again when Ye Jingchen did not respond.
"Are you getting old? Why don't you go to your residence to visit me tomorrow?" Ye Jingchen suggested.
"He has returned wounded from the battlefield. If you don't personally visit him, it wouldn't be right, would it? You'd be impeached by the censors and criticized by the historians!"
"I am the sovereign, and he is the subject. It is the rule of propriety that the sovereign does not enter the residence of his subject. Anyone who dares to criticize me for this will have his head chopped off!" the emperor said with a cold laugh.
Ye Jingchen shook his head inwardly. He couldn't carry him! He really couldn't!
While there have indeed been many arrogant, self-centered, and overconfident emperors in history, his father was definitely one of the best!
His father was probably really angry at first, but after hearing that the Duke of Zhenguo was old, his anger subsided a lot. Ye Jingchen even managed to get a meal at Chengqian Palace.
In the afternoon, instead of going to the government office, he took a nap in his sleeping quarters. After waking up, he strolled around the Wenhua Hall to see if the kids were studying properly.
Although he no longer attends classes at the Wenhua Hall, he often comes to check on things before the Wenhua Hall closes for the day after he finishes his shift and returns to the palace.
Although he was not there, the Wenhua Hall still had Ye Jingyu and Ye Jinghe, two top students, and later Ye Jing'an, who was unwilling to fall behind, so the learning atmosphere was still very strong.
Moreover, they had to go to Chengqian Palace to pay their respects every three days. On the way, Ye Jingchen would ask about their studies and take every opportunity to instill in them some values that conformed to the core socialist values but were not too advanced, in order to prevent them from going astray.
In the evening, he learned that although his father did not intend to go to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion in person, he had given the Duke of Zhenguo a lot of medicine to nourish his body.
This time the rewards were exceptionally generous, including several hundred-year-old wild ginseng roots, as well as deer antlers, lingzhi mushrooms, Tian Shan snow lotus, and more!
The next day, instead of an imperial censor impeaching him for neglecting meritorious officials, many ministers sang his praises.
When the Duke of Zhenguo returned from the northern frontier, theoretically, even if the emperor did not visit him, he should still go to the palace to meet the emperor and report on his duties. However, the Duke of Zhenguo did not do so. On the third day after returning to the capital, he submitted his letter of resignation to the palace, requesting to resign.
This matter originally had nothing to do with Ye Jingchen, the crown prince, but the Duke of Zhenguo wrote at the end of his retirement letter: He had held the position of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince for more than ten years, but had never fulfilled his duty of teaching the Crown Prince. He felt ashamed of the emperor's trust, so he requested the emperor to formally accept the Crown Prince as his disciple and promised to teach the Crown Prince well for the rest of his life and impart all his knowledge to him!
When the emperor showed Ye Jingchen the letter of retirement, Ye Jingchen's first reaction was to refuse.
He shook his head vigorously, "Father, there's no need for that! Really! I won't be leading troops into battle in the future, so there's no need for me to learn these things! If the Duke of Zhenguo really likes to be a teacher, he should teach Xie Chang'an properly and let Xie Chang'an inherit his mantle!"
Ye Jingchen wasn't uninterested in the art of troop deployment, but—
He had absolutely no desire to go to the battlefield!
He didn't even want to go to supervise the battle!
However, he did not believe that the Duke of Zhenguo's teachings would only teach him theoretical knowledge!
The emperor showed this to Ye Jingchen with the intention of testing him, but he was displeased to see Ye Jingchen's decisive refusal.
He sent so many talented generals to the northern frontier, but none of them have caught the eye of the Duke of Zhenguo!
The emperor thought again, if he could make the crown prince the disciple of the Duke of Zhenguo, wouldn't it be much easier to take back the military power of the Shenwei Army in the future with this status?
The Crown Prince is only fifteen years old. He will study with the Duke of Zhenguo for three years and then go to the northern frontier for two more years of training. It will be natural for him to take over the Divine Might Army and become its commander. In this way, he will no longer have to be wary of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion day and night!
"Father, I am the Crown Prince of Dayuan. A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall, and a son of a noble family does not sit under a dangerous roof. I really cannot go to such a dangerous place as the battlefield!" Ye Jingchen saw that the emperor looked thoughtful and knew that something was wrong. He quickly tugged at the emperor's sleeve and pretended to cry.
Ye Jingchen's crying only strengthened the emperor's resolve.
The Crown Prince is too lazy. Sending him to the northern frontier for training will be a good idea and will help him get rid of his laziness!
"Don't worry, even if you have to go to the battlefield, I will arrange enough people around you to protect your safety. I will absolutely not let you lose a single hair!"
"This is a great opportunity. I have agreed on your behalf. Go to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to become his apprentice tomorrow!"
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