Chapter 331 Replacement
early morning.
Princess Palace.
Song Yiren was practicing sword in the yard, but her sword moves were completely disorganized.
Although nearly half an hour had passed, she still felt a little embarrassed.
It had become her habit to secretly kiss him in the morning, and it always went smoothly. She didn't expect that he would wake up today.
Fortunately, he seemed to think it was just a dream, and in the dream he mistook her for Song Jiaren.
He fell asleep again after only half of the kiss.
Song Yiren pursed her lips. This was her first time...
Li Nuo walked out of the room, stretched his body, greeted Yiren, and said, "Yiren, good morning."
Song Yiren's hand holding the sword trembled, and she said in a panic: "Good morning..."
The speed of her sword dancing suddenly increased to conceal her current mood.
Li Nuo also practiced with her in the yard for a while. During breakfast, he mentioned: "I dreamed of a beautiful woman last night..."
Song Yiren, who was drinking porridge, choked. She wiped her mouth hurriedly and buried her head in eating.
Zhao Zhiyi looked at Li Nuo, then at Song Yiren.
At first, she thought they were brother-in-law and sister-in-law.
But they call each other husband and wife.
Just when she thought they were in a relationship between a man and a woman, their daily behavior did not seem as intimate as that of a couple.
They said they were not husband and wife, but they lived in the same room and slept in the same bed.
She was also a little confused by them.
At this time, a maid came in and said, "Princess, His Royal Highness Prince Sheng is here."
Zhao Zhiyi was a little surprised. What did her brother want to talk to her about so early in the morning?
After a while, she walked out of the courtyard and into a palace. King Sheng looked at her and said with a smile, "Zhiyi, have you had breakfast?"
Zhao Zhiyi nodded and said, "I have eaten. What do you want to talk to me about so early, brother?"
Prince Sheng rubbed his hands and said, "It's nothing. It's just that these days we've been giving out porridge, sheltering beggars, and providing free medical treatment. The treasury of the palace is empty. In a few days, there won't even be money for the porridge. Didn't you raise hundreds of thousands of taels of silver? I want to transfer some of it to you..."
Zhao Zhiyi frowned slightly and said, "Didn't I tell my brother last time that the money raised by the medical school can only be used for the medical school?"
Prince Sheng said helplessly, "I have no other choice. If we stop distributing porridge now, it will definitely cause greater dissatisfaction among the people, and all the efforts we have made before will be wasted. You also know that the family background of Prince Sheng's Mansion is far less than theirs. We can't compete with them in terms of financial strength..."
Zhao Zhiyi's brows relaxed slightly, she knew that what her brother said was true.
Upon seeing this, King Sheng immediately struck while the iron was hot and said, "Don't worry, I don't want this money for nothing. After I ascend the throne, I will return you double, no, triple the money I borrowed from you..."
Zhao Zhiyi thought for a moment and said, "If we just want to maintain the free porridge and free clinics, we won't need much money. My brother has collected a lot of treasures, right? We can sell some of them, and the money we get should be enough to sustain us for a few months."
King Sheng frowned slightly.
He did collect many treasures, including gold and jade artifacts, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, but collecting them took a lot of effort. Each item was his favorite. How could he be willing to exchange them for money to give porridge to the people?
Besides, he didn't want the money for giving out porridge.
What do the common people mean? The ones who can ultimately influence who owns the throne are the officials in the court.
At present, his reputation among the people has far surpassed that of the other three, and there is no need to continue wasting money on them.
Zhao Zhiyi took off her earrings and the gold hairpin on her head and said, "Don't touch a penny of the money from the medical school. The Princess's Mansion can still gather several thousand taels of silver, plus some jewelry that my mother passed on to me. Give them all to my brother. You can also sell some of your treasures and collections. It should be able to survive these few months..."
King Sheng didn't say anything else, just nodded and said, "Okay..."
He looked a little unhappy and left without saying a word.
Zhao Zhiyi looked at his leaving back and sighed helplessly.
Early in the morning, the two siblings parted unhappily.
She knew clearly that her brother was coveting the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver raised by the medical school.
But it was precisely because of the plan to build a medical school that those doctors were willing to donate silver.
These hundreds of thousands of taels are far from enough. If this money is not used to promote medical reform, it will be difficult to raise more money in the future, and all their previous efforts will be wasted.
If we fail this time, I'm afraid no one will do it again in the future.
My brother just wants to see the results after four months.
And forty years may not be enough for what they have to do.
At this moment, she began to doubt what she had done.
Is it really a good thing for Zhao State to let my brother become the emperor of Zhao State?
Putting aside their status, she honestly felt that any one of the eldest prince, the second prince, and the third prince was more suitable for this position than her brother.
But could it be that the secret that Master Gongsun calculated at the cost of his life was wrong?
She clearly said that the future of Zhao State depends on the next emperor.
She also said that the next emperor of Zhao State had a deep relationship with her...
…
The Fourth Prince's reputation among the people is second to none, and his political achievements are more than the other three princes combined. In addition, there is the prophecy made by the Fifth Realm Yin-Yang Master at the risk of his life. If nothing unexpected happens, the Fourth Prince should be safe.
No one has ever told Li Nuo what he should do.
So in the past two days, he had nothing else to do except editing the book.
When going to bed at night, Li Nuo looked at the only quilt on the bed and said nothing.
Sometimes, it's good to be a little confused.
Song Yiren looked at the quilt and also didn't say anything.
The two of them tacitly did not mention the other quilt. They went to bed and covered themselves with the same quilt.
The bed was very wide, leaving some distance between them.
But the next morning, when Song Yiren opened her eyes, she found that the distance between them had disappeared.
She didn't know when, but Li Nuo had already fallen asleep next to her, resting his head on her pillow and his arms on her body.
The two were so close that their noses were almost touching.
What happened yesterday morning was still vivid in her mind. She didn't dare to kiss him secretly again, but she suddenly had an idea and gently touched Li Nuo's nose with her nose, and she enjoyed it very much.
Just like yesterday, Li Nuo woke up early.
I was originally waiting for her to secretly kiss me so that I could use the same trick again, but I didn't expect that she actually started playing.
Li Nuo frowned slightly, and she immediately retracted her neck.
Seeing that Li Nuo didn't wake up, she moved boldly again.
Li Nuo suddenly stretched out his arms, hugged her tightly in his arms, and said vaguely in a half-asleep voice: "My wife, stop making trouble..."
Song Yiren was startled by this sudden movement and held in his arms, not daring to move.
But soon, her mood returned to calm, and a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.
This time, it wasn't her who took the initiative.
She felt at ease in Li Nuo's arms, closed her eyes, and planned to sleep for a while.
A full quarter of an hour had passed. If Li Nuo didn't get up, the Sixth Princess would come and knock on the door.
Li Nuo had no choice but to open his eyes first, pretending that he didn't know that Yiren was pretending to sleep. He gently removed his arm from her and got out of bed quietly.
Song Yiren didn't move from beginning to end, pretending that she had not woken up yet.
But when she left Li Nuo's arms, she felt a sense of loss in her heart.
Just then, she suddenly noticed Li Nuo approaching.
Then, she felt a soft touch on her face.
The footsteps beside the bed gradually faded away, and soon the sound of the door opening was heard.
She slowly opened her eyes and touched her face, her eyes full of shyness and surprise...
Besides feeling shy and surprised, she also found it a little funny. She was a peak warrior in the fourth realm, and her perception was beyond his reach. Did he think that she wouldn't know if he kissed her secretly?
At this moment, she had already made a decision in her heart.
She will get up late from now on...
After washing up, Li Nuo did some morning exercises in the yard before Yiren came out of the room yawning.
He turned around and looked at Yiren, and asked, "Why did you get up so late today?"
Song Yiren thought for a moment and said, "Anyway, I've hit a bottleneck now. A breakthrough depends on luck. Practicing more is useless. I might as well sleep a little longer in the morning..."
Li Nuo was pretending to be confused, and he also knew that Yi Ren was pretending to be confused. This was the tacit understanding between them.
He looked at Yiren and said, "Go out and buy some vegetables and cook for yourself at noon."
After a while, the two left the princess's mansion together.
Since Zhao State also promulgated health management regulations, the streets are much cleaner than before.
All the masters of Zhao State's martial arts world who should be arrested had been arrested, and Li Nuo asked the Sixth Princess to make some changes to the regulations.
If this regulation is violated again in the future, the offender will only be fined and no one will be arrested. This way, the people will be more accepting of it.
The two of them were like an ordinary couple, walking hand in hand in the nearby vegetable market, picking and choosing.
The vegetable market was crowded with people. Li Nuo noticed that at some key locations in the market, some people's eyes were constantly scanning the crowd.
They should be from Zhao State's Anti-Theft Bureau.
Ever since the thief turned over a new leaf, the number of thefts in the capital of Zhao State has dropped drastically, and this has been counted as the Fourth Prince's political achievement.
In just two months, the Fourth Prince completely turned things around. As the person who made all this happen behind the scenes, Li Nuo has not yet acquired the power of the strategist.
However, he was not in a hurry.
For a strategist, the result is more important than the process.
His goal from the beginning was to help the Fourth Prince seize the throne. Only by achieving this goal could he enter the family of diplomacy, and once he entered the family, he would be at a high level.
Recently, the Fourth Prince has undoubtedly been the focus of discussion among the people.
Even the people who buy vegetables and the farmers who sell vegetables would mention him.
"I really didn't realize before that the Fourth Prince is so capable."
"Yes, the streets were full of thieves before, but now they are all gone."
"I heard that the government will build many clinics for the people in the future, and they can see a doctor for just a few coins. If this is true, it would be great..."
When the two vegetable farmers were discussing, someone suddenly poured a basin of cold water on them.
"Come on, this kind of thing can only be imagined in dreams. Do you really think that medical treatment will be so cheap in the future?"
"What do you mean by this?"
"You guys are so gullible. Every time you fight for the throne, the princes talk better than they sing, but after they really take the throne, how many of you can fulfill your promises?"
"Just wait and see. Four months later, not to mention medical care, there won't even be sheds for free soup. The beggars will also be driven out of the shelters. This isn't the first time this has happened."
"Besides, don't you know who the Fourth Prince is? In order to collect treasures, he used to force purchases and sales, and robbed people by trickery. He even caused many deaths. How many people were ruined by him..."
"His brother-in-law raped a decent woman in front of her husband. The couple later committed suicide. The Fourth Prince used his power to suppress this matter..."
"If the Fourth Prince becomes the emperor, will you still have a good life?"
"What?"
"Is this true?"
“Is this true or false?”
Many people heard about these things for the first time. After asking each other, some people remembered that it seemed that there were such rumors at the time, but they had never been confirmed and gradually no one mentioned them.
In the past two months, the Fourth Prince has been doing things that benefit the country and the people, and few people would associate these things with him.
Yiren, who was selecting ingredients herself, did not notice people's discussions, but Li Nuo heard them clearly.
This was certainly not an ordinary discussion.
It is very obvious that someone is deliberately guiding public opinion behind the scenes.
And there is no need to guess, you know the identity of the person behind the scenes.
They must be one of the three princes, or more.
The Fourth Prince has been monopolizing the limelight these days, which is a very unfavorable situation for the other three princes. They will definitely take measures to fight back.
However, Li Nuo had no way of judging whether they were smearing or making up stories or attacking based on facts.
All along, the person he had been dealing with was the Sixth Princess.
He trusted the character of the Sixth Princess, but he didn't know what kind of person the Fourth Prince was...
When the two returned to the princess's mansion, Li Nuo found the Sixth Princess sitting in the courtyard with a frown on her face.
He asked Yiren to put the dishes in the kitchen, walked to her side and asked, "What's wrong?"
Zhao Zhiyi stood up and said, "There are some unfavorable rumors about my brother outside. They should be spread by the other three brothers."
Li Nuo said: "I also heard it when I was buying groceries with Yiren just now."
Zhao Zhiyi didn't know how to deal with this kind of thing.
Leaving it alone will definitely not work.
But there seems to be no way to clarify.
Once you overdo it, the situation will only get worse.
Regarding the rumors, Li Nuo certainly has a solution.
At this time, you must not fall into the trap of self-proof.
People can only prove what they have done, not what they have not done.
If others can make up rumors, they can do the same. They spread rumors about all three princes and muddy the waters completely. No one will gain any advantage, and no one will suffer any loss.
They are still in the lead.
But before that, he had to figure out one thing.
He looked at Zhao Zhiyi and asked, "Are those things really slandering the Fourth Prince?"
Zhao Zhiyi nodded and said, "When..."
She only said one word, and suddenly remembered that when she was still young and lived in the palace with her mother, her brother was punished by her mother to kneel for a long time because of something.
She did not tell Li Nuo with certainty. After thinking for a while, she said, "I'll go ask my brother."
Prince Sheng's Palace.
In a hall, King Sheng's furious voice was heard.
"What?"
"They are so brave!"
"Go tell the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple to arrest those who spread the rumors!"
A figure walked in from outside. He looked over and asked, "Sixth sister, why are you here?"
Zhao Zhiyi said: "I heard some rumors outside that were unfavorable to my brother."
The fourth prince said with a dark face, "It must have been done by Prince Shun, Prince An and Prince Xiang. They are no match for me in a head-on fight, and they can only resort to these shady tricks behind my back. Don't worry, I have already asked someone to deal with them..."
Zhao Zhiyi asked: "How to deal with it?"
The fourth prince said, "If anyone dares to speak nonsense again, they will be arrested and taken to the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple!"
Zhao Zhiyi shook his head and said, "You can't do that. Not only will it not solve the problem, it will be counterproductive."
Then, she looked at the Fourth Prince and asked, "Brother, have you really never done these things?"
The fourth prince shook his head and said, "Of course, don't you believe my brother?"
Zhao Zhiyi looked at him, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Then I'll go back first. Don't worry, my brother. I will find a way to deal with this matter..."
After watching her leave the hall for a long time, the Fourth Prince frowned and ordered a close follower beside him, "Move those things to another place first. Also, send someone to warn them that if they dare to speak nonsense and ruin my plans, I will kill their entire family..."
After the confidant left, his face turned even darker, and he said, "Damn it, if I had known earlier, I wouldn't have left any trouble behind!"
No, if he knew that these things would become an obstacle to his fight for the throne, he might not have done it.
At that time, he was not favored by his father, and he thought that he would be an idle prince in this life, so he didn't have to worry about what he did.
Who could have thought that one day he would also compete for the throne.
Just as he was regretting in his heart, a voice suddenly came from outside the palace: "Sixth Princess, you..."
The Fourth Prince's face changed. He walked out of the hall and saw Zhao Zhiyi standing outside the door, looking at him with disbelief.
He moved his lips and whispered, "Zhiyi, why haven't you gone back yet?"
Zhao Zhiyi looked at him in shock and disappointment, muttering, "So those weren't rumors..."
They were just some small things. Knowing his sister's character, he didn't tell her. Unexpectedly, she still knew it.
The fourth prince said helplessly: "Zhiyi, my brother is very busy now, please don't cause trouble for me, go back first..."
Zhao Zhiyi left Prince Sheng's Mansion in a daze.
She didn't know how she walked back to the princess's mansion. She had always known that her brother had no talent, but she didn't know that he could do such a bad thing.
This was the first time she doubted Master Gongsun's words.
She was very confused. After returning home, she did not see Li Nuo, but went back to her room.
The moment she opened the door, a gust of wind blew in from outside and a slight sound came into her ears.
It seemed like something had fallen to the ground.
She walked forward and saw an envelope.
She looked up again and found that the object had fallen from the beam.
How come there was a letter on the beam in her room?
She looked at the envelope. There was no signature on it.
She opened the envelope and when she looked at it for the first time, her body trembled slightly.
It was Master Gongsun's calligraphy, which she was very familiar with.
Master Gongsun is dead, which means that this letter was placed here by her when she was alive.
But why didn't she give it to her at that time?
She looked at the content of the letter.
There were only two short lines in the letter.
King Sheng has no virtue.
Your Highness can take his place.
(End of this chapter)
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