The Sixth Prince held the cup in place and looked at everyone, his expression somewhat embarrassed and flustered. "Father, please forgive me. I... I have always been in the palace and have never seen blood. Suddenly, I heard Third Brother talking about it... and I lost my composure for a moment!"
The emperor frowned slightly and waved his hand.
He couldn't say he liked this son, at most he felt a little guilty about him, but that wasn't enough to make him value him too much...
But the eldest prince, the second prince and the third prince were reminded that there were not only three of them who were princes in the room, and Xiaoliu was also the son of their father.
As a prince, enjoying the prosperity and wealth of the Wei Dynasty, he naturally had to make some contributions to the Wei Dynasty, such as... serving as a border garrison soldier and suffering torture, or negotiating with the grassland people!
"Father, my sixth brother has been in the north and must be very familiar with the border troops. Why not let him go to the border?" The third prince was the first to propose, and he secretly wanted to accuse his brother of secretly making friends with the border troops.
The eldest prince immediately followed, "Yes, Father. Sixth brother has lived here for a long time, and he may often go to the grassland. There is no one more suitable than him!"
The Second Prince also joined the attack, smiling and taking advantage of the opportunity, "Father is wise, my sixth brother is not young anymore, it's time for me to share your worries for the court!"
Everyone in the court was busy, and none of them were fools. They all wanted to be as shrewd as foxes. When they saw the three princes working in such a tacit understanding and unanimously pushing the Sixth Prince forward, they knew they had bad intentions.
But in the final analysis, the life or death of the Sixth Prince has nothing to do with them.
At this time, who would be willing to risk offending the three princes to protect the Sixth Prince?
So, everyone lowered their heads and started counting the tiles, pretending to be deaf and dumb!
The Sixth Prince was somewhat alarmed. He quickly stood up and saluted, replying, "Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, I have been confined to the imperial palace for so many years. I have never been to the grasslands, nor have I met the border guards. I… I dare not take on this task. If anything goes wrong, wouldn't it ruin Father's meeting with the Khan of the grasslands…"
Fearing the fish had slipped off the hook, the Third Prince quickly retorted, "Alas, Sixth Prince, you're being too modest. This time, you were responsible for repairing the palace and paving the official roads. You even led the Imperial Censor to punish corrupt officials. This is no small matter, and you've done such a good job. It's just a matter of contacting the grasslands. You can definitely handle it clearly."
"Yes, sixth brother, go ahead and do it without worry. Big brother is counting on you!" The eldest prince continued to add fuel to the fire, looking proud of his younger brother's ability.
The Sixth Prince was extremely anxious, with traces of sweat on his forehead, but he could not escape the joint attack of his three brothers no matter what.
Finally, an old minister couldn't stand it anymore and stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the Sixth Prince is indeed too young and has no experience in grassland-related affairs. Why not replace him with someone else?"
The Third Prince was furious when he saw someone trying to sabotage his plans. He immediately said, "Lord Wu is right. Since you care so much about my sixth brother, why don't you take the trouble to accompany him? My sixth brother is young, but you are an old minister. It would be a wonderful thing if we could complement each other!"
The eldest prince and the second prince looked at each other and nodded.
This old minister surnamed Wu was not an important official in any of the six ministries. He was just the director of the Imperial Observatory.
If he were in the previous dynasty, he would also be an important figure, but now the emperor does not believe in these astrological and fortune-telling theories. Except for letting this person come out to pretend during sacrifices, he ignores him on weekdays.
Even if he went to the grassland with Lao Liu, or even sided with Lao Liu, it would have absolutely no impact on the competition for the next emperor!
Lord Wu was caught off guard and hesitated, not knowing what to do.
The emperor yawned, a little impatient, and waved his hand, ordering, "Then let the Sixth Brother and Lord Wu go to the grassland. Remember to send a team of border guards to protect them."
The matter was settled, and no one objected. Of course, it was difficult to object, and no one was willing to object.
The Sixth Prince and Lord Wu stood up, knelt down and kowtowed, taking over this hot potato.
After a few more small talk, the emperor ended the banquet, and the eldest prince, the second prince and the third prince walked away arrogantly.
The officials followed closely behind, fearing that they would be caught by the Sixth Prince and be embroiled in further trouble...
The Sixth Prince smiled bitterly and invited Lord Wu to his courtyard to discuss the matter of going to the border tomorrow.
No one knew that after the gates were shut, Xizi and the others were guarding the place tightly. However, the Sixth Prince and Lord Wu had put aside their dejection and smiled...
The third prince felt that he had tricked his younger brother and was very happy. He returned to his courtyard and asked his followers to set up a banquet.
The follower had something on his mind, and when he heard that his master wanted to drink, he hurried to make arrangements.
Soon, a sumptuous meal was served, and two dancers were called to accompany the drinking.
One of them was pretty and charming, the other was elegant, both were rare beauties, and they coaxed the Third Prince to drink until he was half drunk.
The attendant then said cautiously, "Your Highness, Mr. Zhou's trip to Tai'an...something went wrong. I'm afraid it won't work out."
The Third Prince's mind was in a trance and he couldn't remember for a moment. He asked, "What happened to Tai'an?"
The follower can't do anything but explain it more clearly.
"Your Highness, Mr. Zhou went to Tai'an to start a cashmere clothing business. Who would have thought that the family that previously ran this business could not withstand the pressure from the merchants in the county and had already sold the cashmere clothing weaving method at a low price.
Nowadays, almost everyone in Tai'an County knows how to weave cashmere clothes and trousers. Mr. Zhou is a step behind..."
"Idiot!" The third prince was unhappy and cursed.
It wasn't that he had to have the cashmere clothing business, but he thought it was profitable. Now that the business was gone, his money was naturally gone too, so he couldn't help but feel angry and disappointed.
"Send a letter to Mr. Zhou!" The Third Prince snorted coldly. "Useless! Tell him to investigate what's going on. Did someone leak the news in advance and ruin this good deed?"
The attendant was embarrassed and responded more cautiously, "Your Highness, I'm afraid Mr. Zhou can no longer serve. When he was in Tai'an, his horse was bitten on the neck by a weasel that ran out from the roadside. It startled the carriage, and Mr. Zhou was thrown into the moat... and died!"
After saying this, fearing that the Third Prince would be angry, he quickly added a few more words, "However, the guards have already investigated. This was indeed an accident. Many people were present at the time and saw it clearly. It's impossible for anyone to tamper with it. Also, the cashmere business was completed before Mr. Zhou set off. Everything is just a coincidence..."
happen!
The Third Prince threw the wine glass in his hand in anger, "Useless! Such a useless thing! You can't even handle such a small matter!"
The attendants, dancers, and even the guards at the door were so scared that they knelt down.
It would have been fine for others, but the followers couldn't help but criticize in their hearts.
They say that a bad soldier brings a bad general. When their master has just come back from the border in a panic, it's only natural that they should be useless servants!
It’s so unfair that they get scolded!
But he could only think about it, he would never dare to say it out loud even if he was beaten to death.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
