Chapter 235: Another assist is coming.
The emperor frowned and said, "No rush, let's wait a little longer."
Consort Duan stood up and said, "Not in a hurry? How can we not be in a hurry? Your Majesty, please listen to me this time. The Fifth Prince is a kind and virtuous man, and he will surely be a good ruler in the future."
Pure goodness is nothing more than being easy to control.
The emperor understood, but there was indeed no more suitable candidate at the moment. "Let me think about it."
Consort Duan coughed, then patted her chest and softened her tone, saying, "Alright, think about it again."
The emperor stood up and said, "I've noticed you've been coughing a lot these past few days. Take good care of yourself."
Consort Duan nodded slightly, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
The emperor stood up, gently patted her shoulder, and turned to leave her room.
The palace examination will be held half a month after the provincial examination.
After seeing the results of the exam, Zhou Ruiyuan did not return immediately. He stayed in the capital for another half a month. During this time, he also mentioned that the emperor might appoint the fifth prince as the crown prince.
However, this fifth prince does not seem to want to be the crown prince.
In a restaurant in the capital, the Fifth Prince hugged his servant and cried, “I don’t want to be the Crown Prince. What’s so good about being the Crown Prince? I’m forced to attend the morning court every day and have to read so many memorials. Being a prince is so much better. I don’t have to manage the affairs of the court, and I can eat and drink well and go wherever I want.”
The servant comforted him, saying, "Your Highness, you should think of it this way: if you were the emperor, what wouldn't you have?"
The Fifth Prince shook his head. "You think I can have everything I want? I just want to eat something good. Can't I eat that much as a prince? Why do I want to be emperor? I don't want to, I don't want to!"
He cried harder and harder.
The servant had no other choice but to say, "Your Highness, why don't we escape?"
"Escape?" the Fifth Prince asked, puzzled.
The servant nodded and said, "That's right, escape! Escape for a while, and we'll come back after the Emperor has established a Crown Prince."
Upon hearing this, the Fifth Prince quickly sat up and wiped away his tears. "That sounds pretty good."
The servant smiled and said, "Yes."
The fifth prince thought for a moment and then said, "Where should we escape to?"
The servant pointed south and said, "Of course, we should go down to Jiangnan. I've heard there are many delicious things there."
The Fifth Prince had no other hobbies but eating.
His eyes lit up when he heard that. "Okay, when are we going?"
The servant leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Go tonight."
The Fifth Prince was very excited upon hearing this and slammed his hand on the table, "Very well, let's set off tonight!"
The two hit it off immediately and set off that night.
The Fifth Prince, following the instructions of his servant, carried a bundle containing silver notes and silver. The two agreed to go to Wancheng County in the south.
And a carriage was parked at the city gate.
The servant waited for him in the carriage outside the East Gate.
However, the Fifth Prince was not a very thoughtful person. He mistook the East Gate for the West Gate and got into a carriage at the West Gate that night.
The driver of this carriage was a deliveryman from Cheng'an County who was delivering goods to the Zhou family.
We had just stopped the carriage at the city gate to rest, waiting for dawn before setting off again.
The Fifth Prince sat in the carriage for a while, then asked the coachman outside, "Why aren't we leaving yet?"
The driver, still half asleep, casually replied, "We'll continue when it's light."
The fifth prince thought the coachman was the servant boy, so he took his luggage and fell asleep in the carriage.
After daybreak, the coachman found no one in the carriage and drove it toward Cheng'an County.
The Fifth Prince was still asleep in the carriage. After waking up, he called out to the coachman outside the carriage, "Little Li, where am I?"
The servant boy was called Little Li.
Upon hearing this, the coachman was startled to find someone in the carriage behind him. He quickly stopped the carriage, pulled back the curtain, and looked inside. He was shocked to see a young man sitting there. "Who are you? What are you doing in my carriage?"
The fifth prince was also startled when he saw the coachman, "You...who are you?"
He was very timid; when he saw the coachman, his voice trembled with fear.
Seeing that the young man was following him like a wildcat, the coachman was no longer as fierce as before and softened his tone, saying, "I am a coachman from the Zhou family, here to deliver goods to the capital. Who are you?!"
Normally, when the Zhou family delivers goods, they use at least four horse-drawn carriages, along with escorts from the security company.
However, this time the driver was only delivering clothes and food that Du Wanchun had prepared for Zhou Ruiyuan, so he didn't bring as many people.
The fifth prince trembled. Although he was timid, he knew he couldn't reveal his identity because he was afraid of being sent back to be the crown prince.
He quickly replied, "My family is all dead, I'm the only one left, so I want to go south."
Upon hearing that he was an orphan, the driver's tone softened. "We're not going to Wancheng County in the south, we're going to Cheng'an County."
Upon hearing this, the Fifth Prince realized that he had gotten into the wrong carriage and quickly said, "Cheng'an County is fine too. Uncle, I have nowhere to go, so please take me with you."
Seeing his pitiful state, the driver agreed, "Alright, you can come with me."
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