Chapter 109 The Emperor and Chu Yang.
When Chu Heng met the emperor, the emperor was disciplining his son. The fourth and fifth princes listened attentively with their heads bowed, and Chu Yang, who had also been summoned, was punished by standing with them.
Upon hearing that Prince Duan had arrived, the emperor impatiently waved his hand, telling his two sons to stand aside. But when he faced Chu Yang, he smiled kindly and said, "Yang'er, go and greet your father."
"Yes." Chu Yang bowed before turning around the screen and heading towards the door.
The Fourth Prince inwardly scoffed. Anyone who didn't know better would think that the Prince of Duan's heir was actually the Emperor's son! Could it be that there really was some kind of "love me, love my dog" thing, that the Emperor had doted on his younger brother, the Prince of Duan, in his early years, and now Chu Yang was benefiting from his father's influence?
But even if you love someone so much that you love their pets too, you can't treat your nephew more than your own son, can you? The fourth prince became more and more depressed. He treated his own son like an enemy, cursing him at the drop of a hat, but he was all smiles and full of praise for his nephew.
Just as the Fourth Prince was wondering if Prince Duan and his son had some secret to pleasing their father, the Emperor, Prince Duan led his heir in respectfully, bowing to the Emperor one after the other.
The emperor laughed and said, "You and your son are truly cut from the same cloth. I have told you countless times, there is no need to stand on ceremony."
Chu Heng respectfully replied, "Propriety must not be disregarded; we dare not be disrespectful before Your Majesty."
"Fine." The emperor raised his hand. "I can't go against you and your son. Sit down."
The fourth and fifth princes came to greet their uncle. Chu Yang quickly moved a few steps, not daring to accept the princes' greetings.
The emperor's smile deepened as he looked at him: "Yang'er, come sit next to me."
Chu Yang thanked the Emperor first, then sat down on the footstool in front of the Emperor's bed. The Emperor reached out and pulled him to sit on the edge of the bed.
Chu Heng observed the expressions of the two princes. Although the fourth prince tried to conceal it, he could not hide his jealousy, while the fifth prince simply envied him.
Chu Heng sneered inwardly. There was no hope for the Fourth Prince. He was just incredibly stupid to be jealous of a mere prince's heir.
The emperor is currently dissatisfied with his sons because, in his eyes, they are all vying for his throne and are his enemies.
But Chu Yang was merely the heir of the Prince of Duan, the emperor's nephew. The emperor could praise, admire, and like him at will because he posed no threat to the emperor.
Chu Heng thought to himself, "It's a pity the emperor doesn't know that if his nephew had the opportunity, he wouldn't be unwilling to accept his position."
Chu Heng, multitasking, reported on the day's court affairs one by one. The emperor himself had given the order, and as he listened, he suddenly began to ask the fourth and fifth princes for their opinions.
The fourth prince was eager to prove himself. Now that his three older brothers were no longer an obstacle, and the fifth and sixth brothers were not old enough, he believed that the position of crown prince was already a sure thing for him.
After all, the emperor had no other choice.
Unfortunately, the fourth prince had only studied in the Imperial Study over the years and had never truly participated in court affairs. However, he was somewhat good at theoretical discussions, and his answers always disappointed the emperor.
Needless to say, the Fifth Prince couldn't even understand his books.
The emperor sighed deeply. Even though he was unwilling to accept reality, he knew that he would eventually pass the throne to his son.
But now their abilities have truly disappointed the emperor.
Not only are they inferior to their eldest son, but their unfilial second son is far superior to them. The emperor thought bitterly, how could his sons all be such incompetent fools, utterly unfit for great responsibilities!
Suddenly, the emperor saw Chu Yang sitting obediently with his eyes lowered, and without thinking, he asked, "Yang'er, what do you think of the salt administration of Lianghuai?"
Chu Heng clenched his fist.
Chu Yang blinked: "Your Majesty, my mother said that my maternal grandfather was a salt inspector. At that time, she lived in Yangzhou with my maternal grandparents for a year. Later, after my maternal grandmother passed away, she came to the capital."
The emperor was taken aback, and after a long while, he said, "That is indeed the case. It was nearly twenty years ago when the late emperor appointed Lord Lin as the Salt Inspector."
"Twenty years? That's a long time," Chu Yang sighed. "I wasn't even born then."
The emperor couldn't help but laugh: "At that time, your father and mother were not very old either, so you naturally wouldn't have been born."
Chu Yang looked at his father: "When Father was young, um... I can't imagine."
"Your father wasn't as obedient as you were when he was young. He didn't like studying and often skipped school." The emperor patted Chu Yang's head, his eyes narrowing as he recalled the past.
"Oh!" Chu Yang clapped his hands and laughed, "So I'm an even more obedient child than my father!"
Chu Heng smiled and replied, "Yes, you are the most well-behaved child in the world."
Chu Yang was even happier. He ignored the emperor, climbed off the bed, and rushed straight into his father's arms.
Chu Heng put his arm around him and stood up, bending over and laughing, "Your Majesty, please forgive this child, he's been so unruly again."
The emperor chuckled and said, "He's just a child, Fifth Brother. It's not good for you to be so strict with him. When you were little, you weren't as good as Yang'er, and we weren't this strict with you."
Chu Heng laughed and said, "Your Majesty has wronged me. This kid is more difficult to deal with than I was when I was a child. If I'm not strict with him, he'll take advantage of my kindness."
The Emperor shook his head and smiled: "I think Yang'er is very good... Good child, no matter how strict your father is with you, come to your imperial uncle, and your imperial uncle will stand up for you!"
Chu Yang grabbed his father's clothes and smiled at the emperor, "Thank you, Your Majesty. But my father treats me very well. It's because I love reading, not because he forces me to."
The emperor became more and more pleased with Chu Yang, wishing he were his own son. When he turned to look at his own son, he became even more dissatisfied.
The emperor, weary, said, "Your little cousins are so young, yet they know to study diligently. You're all just standing here like idiots. Hurry up and go back to your study!"
The fourth and fifth princes nodded in agreement and respectfully withdrew.
Chu Yang scratched his father twice, feeling that the emperor didn't like him; he was making enemies for him.
Chu Heng gently rubbed his son's head to comfort him.
The emperor rubbed his forehead before looking at Prince Duan and his son: "The salt administration of Lianghuai will proceed as you have discussed. I am tired today, so you may take Yang'er back to your residence."
Chu Heng bowed and said, "Yes."
Chu Yang also bowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
...
As the carriage left the palace, Chu Heng pinched his son's cheek: "You certainly know how to take advantage of a situation."
Chu Yang, resting his chubby chin on his hand, said with a hint of pride, "Father, I don't just study in the palace. His Majesty often summons the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince, and I have to go with them every time. I'm quite experienced now!"
Chu Heng smiled and pulled him onto his lap, rubbing his little face: "Our Yang'er is so smart! Tell Daddy, what experience have you gained?"
Chu Yang snuggled into his father's arms and said, "His Majesty doesn't actually dislike the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince, nor does His Majesty truly like me. However, if I go along with him, His Majesty will still be happy. After all, he doesn't dislike me, so of course he'll be happy if I go along with him."
Chu Heng smiled and said, "His Majesty is happy with anyone who goes along with him, except for the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince."
“If they don’t obey His Majesty, he will be even more unhappy,” Chu Yang continued his father’s words, then sought his opinion, “Father, am I right?”
Chu Heng nodded: "Yes."
The emperor both hated his sons for being so unambitious and feared that they would become too capable for him to control.
The emperor himself was conflicted and acted on a whim, constantly tormenting his sons. Just like the second prince, the reason he risked rebellion was because the emperor gave him hope, and then he began to hesitate and waver.
He was given hope from time to time, and then his hope was cut off from time to time. The second son was driven to the brink of madness before he had the idea to fight to the death and put it into action.
However, the emperor failed to learn from his mistakes, and he repeated the same mistakes with the fourth and fifth princes.
Chu Yang leaned on his father's arm: "It's so pitiful to be the emperor's son. Luckily, I'm the son of my father and mother."
Hearing this, Chu Heng couldn't help but laugh. He deliberately teased the little guy, "But as your parents' son, you can't be the emperor."
Chu Yang did not respond to his father's joke. He lay on his father's body for a while and said, "Father, I said before that I wanted to be the emperor because I felt that I was qualified to be one. But now I know that I am not qualified to be the emperor just because I am the grandson of the late emperor."
Chu Heng patted him on the back and casually asked, "Then... what do you think it takes to be qualified to be emperor?"
"To be an emperor, one must be concerned for the country and its people. Only those who have the country and its people in their hearts are qualified to be emperors," Chu Yang said. "I think the current emperor is not qualified."
Chu Heng was stunned for a long time. He never expected to hear such words from his son. The little guy... really made him look at him in a new light.
“Actually…” Chu Heng said softly, “His Majesty also once had this qualification.”
"Yes, I have." Chu Yang was a little sleepy, and he mumbled, "I wanted to see the former emperor."
The carriage slowly returned to the Prince Duan's residence. Chu Heng stared at his son's sleeping face for a while before wrapping him up tightly and carrying him back to the main room.
"Why are you asleep?" Daiyu asked in surprise. "Quickly put him down. This chubby little fellow must be tiring you out."
Chu Heng laughed and said, "His weight is not enough to tire me out. Today, His Majesty met with the princes and also summoned Yang'er. He must be tired."
Daiyu helped the little guy lie down, then bent down to undress him, whispering, "His Majesty has lost his temper with the two princes again. Has Yang'er been implicated?"
Chu Heng also came over to help his son take off his clothes, and upon hearing this, shook his head: "His Majesty likes him very much right now."
Daiyu pursed her lips, turned around and put down Chu Yang's clothes, then ordered someone to fetch water to wash his face and feet.
"Let him sleep here, don't move him." Daiyu stroked the little guy's head.
Just as Chu Heng was about to say something, he heard this and tugged at Daiyu's sleeve: "How old is he? He's still sleeping with us, which is a waste of time."
Even though they were an old married couple, Daiyu couldn't help but blush when she understood the meaning behind Chu Heng's words. She slapped Chu Heng's hand and said, "Nonsense, who carried him here?"
Chu Heng sighed, "I brought this on myself."
She was genuinely fond of her son just now, and she's also genuinely annoyed that he's in her way now.
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