Chapter 176 This is the Royal Family!
"After the New Year's selection of consorts, you should also choose a princess consort." The emperor was in a good mood and was concerned about his son's marriage.
Prince An was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then said, "Father, I do not want to get married now."
The emperor frowned. "He'll be 21 after the New Year. He should have gotten married long ago. It's settled then."
At this point in his speech, Prince An should have expressed his gratitude, but he insisted, "Father, I do not wish to get married now."
The emperor's initially good mood was somewhat dampened by his resistance. He frowned and asked, "Why?"
Prince An lowered his head and remained silent. The emperor frowned slightly, remembering the important matter he had just entrusted to him, and snorted, "Go and get busy."
"Thank you, Father Emperor." Prince An bowed respectfully, then strode away. The Emperor watched his figure disappear through the door of the Imperial Study, pondered for a moment, and said, "It's been a long time since I visited the Consort. Prepare the carriage."
"Yes." Zhao Fuquan responded and went out to make the arrangements, but he was puzzled. Ever since the Consort was confined to her quarters last time, the Emperor had not stepped into the Consort's bedchamber. Why was he suddenly going to the Consort's place today?
Thinking about how the emperor had been pondering the matter of establishing a crown prince these past two days, his expression paused. Could it be what he was thinking?
However, it doesn't matter to him who the emperor appoints as crown prince; his only concern is loyalty to the emperor.
...
After leaving the imperial study, Prince An walked towards the palace gate, his mind preoccupied with the tax embezzlement case that Jiang Yu had told him.
On the surface, the mastermind behind this case should be the Xie family. However, as a prominent family that has ruled two dynasties, and also controlling the Jufeng Money Shop, the Xie family, while not as wealthy as a country, would not have much use for embezzling this amount of money.
The Xie family wants to rebel; what they lack is not money, but soldiers.
So if we dig deeper into this matter, we'll definitely uncover something even bigger. But even if we do, will the Emperor take action against him?
Before he knew it, he had arrived at the palace gate and mounted his horse to return to the Prince An's residence. As soon as he entered the gate, the gatekeeper told him, "Your Highness, Prince Rui has arrived; he just got here."
Prince An grunted in acknowledgment and went directly to his study. Upon entering, he saw Prince Rui sitting at his desk, scribbling on a piece of paper. Prince An approached to examine the symbols Prince Rui had written, but couldn't decipher them, and didn't disturb him.
More than fifteen minutes later, Prince Rui put down his pen and noticed him standing beside him. He asked, "When did you arrive?"
Prince An was already used to this. "I just arrived. Uncle, what are you calculating?"
“I ran into Jiang in the Imperial Study a few days ago… now the Duke of Chu,” Prince Rui said. “He also believed that my wooden bird could fly and gave me a lot of inspiration. After returning, I started to think that my previous research direction was not quite right. Now I should study what can generate power to move inanimate objects.”
When Prince An heard him mention Jiang Yu, his eyes flickered slightly, and then he listened attentively to Prince Rui's speech. After he finished speaking, he said, "I didn't expect that the Duke of Chu also had expertise in this area."
Prince Rui agreed with him, his eyes sparkling as he said, "She told me that the reason why humans and animals have strength in their bodies is because of an organ in the body—the heart, and the power generated by the beating of the heart. I have been experimenting with this for the past few days, and I think the thing I know now that can generate the greatest power is gunpowder."
Prince An became even more interested when he heard him talk about gunpowder. He moved a chair and sat down next to him, saying, "When the firecrackers exploded at the Ironworks Bureau, three blacksmiths died. I felt that gunpowder could definitely be used on the battlefield."
Prince Rui frowned. "I'm not talking about whether gunpowder can be used on the battlefield. Gunpowder can generate power, and I might be able to research a way to make birds fly."
Prince An: "..."
He paused for a moment, then organized his thoughts and said, "Uncle, our campaign is currently facing numerous crises."
Prince Rui's face was solemn; he knew Prince An wouldn't joke about this.
Prince An continued, "Just now, my father summoned me to the Imperial Study, where the Duke of Chu was also present. He is currently investigating a tax embezzlement case..."
He gave a brief account of the tax embezzlement case, and then asked, "Uncle Wang, who do you think the Xie family would partner with if they had one?"
Although Prince Rui did not participate in court affairs, he was still aware of the important events in the court. He was also a very intelligent person. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Prince of Lingnan."
Prince An nodded. "Uncle, Lingnan is located by the sea. The King of Lingnan has fought against the Japanese pirates many times. Do you think he might one day join forces with them?"
Prince Rui's eyes widened in shock, "He..."
He wanted to ask if he dared, but he couldn't finish the sentence. Throughout history, many have colluded with enemy states to seize the throne.
"Alright," said Prince Rui.
Prince An laughed, and Prince Rui said to him, "I came to find you so that you could bring me some gunpowder. The gunpowder that my people brought was not pure."
“Alright, I’ll have someone take care of it right away, and it will definitely be delivered to you tomorrow,” Prince An said immediately.
Prince Rui sighed, "It's best to get rid of the Prince of Lingnan and the Xie family as soon as possible."
Prince An: "But we have to take it one step at a time. Both the Xie family and the Prince of Lingnan have great power, and we can't eliminate them all at once."
At this point, Prince An smiled and said, "Jiang Yu suggested to the Emperor that if it is found that the Xie family was behind the tax embezzlement case, then Jufeng Bank should be nationalized."
He felt it was easier to call her Jiang Yu.
Prince Rui was taken aback for a moment after hearing this. “Your Majesty must be very happy. Also, I would like to see the Duke of Chu again. There are some issues I would like to discuss with her.”
Prince An lowered his eyes slightly. "I've arranged to meet him tomorrow. I also have something to discuss with him. Let's go together."
Prince Rui nodded, and Prince An picked up a piece of paper, wrote a letter, and handed it to the Imperial Guard guarding the door, instructing him to deliver it to the Duke of Chu's residence.
When Jiang Yu received the letter from Prince An, she was talking with the old Duke of Chu. She took the letter from Li Zhong, opened it, and after reading its contents, said to the old Duke of Chu, "Prince An has invited me to meet tomorrow."
"It seems quite likely that it is Prince An," said the old Duke of Chu.
This possibility refers to the possibility of ascending the throne. Often, which of the emperor's sons ascends the throne does not depend on the emperor's wishes.
"At the beginning of the year, many people will surely submit memorials to establish a crown prince," said the old Duke of Chu.
Jiang Yu: "Anyway, we won't get involved."
The old Duke of Chu laughed, "If the Emperor agrees to establish a crown prince, then this crown prince's future days will not be too smooth."
Jiang Yu nodded; the crown prince they had chosen now was just a target.
“The Emperor hasn’t appointed a Crown Prince for so many years, probably because he doesn’t want any more sons to die! But even if he doesn’t appoint a Crown Prince, the princes will still fight for power,” Jiang Yu said.
This is royalty!
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