Chapter 604: No one can surpass the prince in seeking death
"Duke Dingguo is right. We must not miss the auspicious time to march."
When Emperor An looked up at the prince, a smile appeared on his face.
"The Crown Prince is filial and concerned about my health. The Imperial Physician has indeed warned me not to drink. I was thinking of making an exception today as the army is heading out to battle. But since the Crown Prince is willing to escort you all to battle on my behalf, I will leave this matter to the Crown Prince. This way, I can recover soon and save the Crown Prince from the hard work."
"Feng Lai, pour wine for the prince for me!"
Emperor An had a warm smile on his face, without any trace of anger. However, only Feng Lai, who had served Emperor An for many years, knew how strong the murderous intent was hidden beneath his smile.
Feng Lai came forward with a wine jug and carefully filled the prince's glass with wine.
Emperor An smiled at the Crown Prince and said, "Go and escort the soldiers to the battle for me."
The prince was originally a little proud of himself for having defeated Emperor An, but when he saw that he was not angry but smiling instead, the pride in his heart suddenly dissipated a lot. When he held the wine glass, he no longer had the previous happiness, but instead looked at Emperor An more.
"Crown Prince?" Emperor An raised his lips.
The Crown Prince quickly turned and stepped forward: "On behalf of my father, the Emperor, I am sending you off to battle. I offer this wine to wish you a speedy and victorious return."
Marquis Wenxin and the others who had watched such a great show below all bowed their heads and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, and thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
When the drums and horns sounded again, Marquis Wenxin and General Yin jumped on their horses and turned to leave with the elite troops behind them. After they walked out, the prince put down his wine glass and walked forward.
"Father, let me help you..."
Emperor An smiled and said, "The Crown Prince is indeed the most considerate of me."
The prince: “…”
Emperor An put his hand on the prince's arm as a matter of course, and spoke and laughed as if he had no grudge against what had just happened. Instead, he praised the prince. Not only did the prince look a little stiff, even the other court officials around him couldn't help but look stunned.
After Emperor An, accompanied by the Crown Prince, descended from the dais, he turned to Xiao Yan and said, "Duke Dingguo, after Marquis Wenxin and his men leave for the battle, the remaining matters will be handed over to you. The Crown Prince is young and inconsiderate, so you will oversee the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue. Be sure to coordinate follow-up matters with them, and ensure that all provisions and other supplies are delivered."
Xiao Yan said, "I obey your command."
Emperor An smiled and said, "I am tired. I will return to the palace first. You can discuss the remaining matters with the Crown Prince."
When Feng Lai helped Emperor An leave, Hou Yu Yanfeng followed with the imperial guards, and the huge crowd surrounded Emperor An and helped him get on the imperial sedan chair.
"His Majesty……"
As Feng Lai helped Emperor An sit down, his expression was filled with worry: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince..."
Emperor An smiled and said, "The prince is too carefree."
Feng Lai: "Don't be angry..."
"Why should I be angry? The prince is my son. I am very happy that my son is capable."
Emperor An had a smile on his face, and even spoke with a cheerful air, as if he was genuinely pleased with what the Crown Prince had done. Noticing Feng Lai's tense expression, he smiled and said, "Alright, don't worry. I'm fine. No matter what happens to the Crown Prince, he's still my son. You should call me Father."
He leaned against the wall of the car and said:
"I am tired, let's go back to the palace."
Feng Lai saw that Emperor An always had a smile on his face, and even his eyes were not sinister at all, but he felt nervous.
He knew Emperor An's mood swings best. What the prince did today was almost like stepping on Emperor An's face in front of everyone. How could he not be angry? But he was so calm now, even smiling. This look made Feng Lai feel a chill down his spine.
He stepped out of the imperial carriage in a proper manner. When he let go of the imperial carriage, the bright yellow brocade curtain embroidered with coiled dragon patterns and bordered with gold thread fell down, covering the face of Emperor An inside.
"Let's go back to the palace."
Outside, Yu Yanfeng led the imperial guards to lead the way, and all the people around made way. As the carriage passed through the crowd and slowly moved towards the city gate, Feng Lai followed beside the carriage, feeling uneasy.
…
"Dong Guo Gong."
After Emperor An left, the officials who had come to see him off also dispersed. The Crown Prince stopped Xiao Yan, who was about to turn around and leave, and quickly stepped forward.
Xiao Yan turned around and asked, "What are your instructions, Your Highness?"
The Crown Prince glanced at the officials around him, and after seeing them quickly leave, he stepped forward and said, "I just wanted to share some of the burden with my father..."
"Your Highness, there's no need to explain to me." Xiao Yan interrupted the prince calmly, "You don't need to tell me more about your relationship with His Majesty."
Seeing Xiao Yan's indifference, the Crown Prince hurriedly said, "I really don't intend to hide anything from you. It's just that the Emperor has been making frequent moves recently, and many people in the court have become skeptical of me. I just want to let them know that the Emperor is old, and I didn't mean to deceive Duke Dingguo..."
Xiao Yan raised his eyes with some annoyance, and that look made the prince stop talking immediately.
"You are the Crown Prince. You don't need to explain to me what you want to do. I don't have the ability to take care of everything for you."
"The army has already set out. I still have to coordinate with the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War regarding subsequent food and military supplies. I don't have time to discuss this with the Crown Prince. Please proceed as you please."
Xiao Yan treated the prince extremely coldly, and when he turned and left, he completely ignored the prince's exceptionally wonderful face behind him.
The prince couldn't help but look stunned when he saw him leave.
He did not discuss today's matter with Xiao Yan because Emperor An was furious about the previous grain issue. In addition, Cui Qi told him that because the Ministry of Revenue had previously refused to raise grain, he and the Cui family had secretly purchased grain on a large scale, causing the grain prices in Beijing to be inflated. Qian Baokun actually ordered people to take gold to the Jiangnan area to raise grain.
As the army marches south, if the people from the Ministry of Revenue can gather enough food and fodder in the south of the Yangtze River, it will save half of the manpower and material resources on the way to Pingyang County. However, the grain harvest in the south is good this year and the price is low, so the Ministry of Revenue does not want any grain from the capital now.
Those grain merchants were fine. Even if the court didn't want the grain, they had already sold a lot of it, and they had their own market for the rest. However, the large amount of grain hoarded by the prince and the Cui family was almost all left in their hands.
The court did not collect grain from the capital, so they could not sell the grain in their hands. It was also impossible to transport it out of the capital and sell it to the Ministry of Revenue through grain merchants in the south of the Yangtze River. If so much grain was really transported out, how could it be hidden from others? If it was discovered that he and the Cui family had hoarded grain, they would become the target of public criticism.
The prince asked people to ask the grain merchants in the capital to "return" the grain to them, but who knew that those treacherous people had lowered the price of grain to the extreme, and the price they offered was less than 30% of what they had sold it to him before.
After Cui Qi sent the news last night, the prince was so angry that he wanted to kill someone.
Today, when he saw Emperor An seeing off the army from the high platform, he suddenly rushed forward and snatched the emperor's job.
The prince knew Xiao Yan would be furious, but he didn't expect him to just leave. He grabbed the person next to him and asked, "What does Xiao Yan mean?"
…
Qian Baokun was also asking Xiao Yan from a distance, "You're just leaving the Crown Prince hanging like this, aren't you afraid he'll hold a grudge against you?"
Xiao Yan said indifferently: "That would require him to bear the grudge as long as he lives."
Qian Baokun was surprised: "You mean..."
Xiao Yan's face was filled with disgust. He had originally wanted to find a mascot to annoy Emperor An, but he ended up annoying himself. This prince was as stupid as a pig and was courting his own death.
When it comes to seeking death, no one can compare to the prince.
…
Inside the city gate, Tang Ning murmured softly as he watched Emperor An's carriage go far away.
"This prince..."
It's really asking for death.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com