Qiao Qiu and Dongfang Wuye turned around and saw the Second Prince walking over with an unpleasant smile on his face.
Dongfang Wuye frowned slightly, his white robes and black hair making him look as handsome as if he had stepped out of a painting.
The Second Prince was stunned and walked over to Dongfang Wuye. "Third Brother is so handsome. He truly deserves to be the son of the most beautiful woman in the world back then. Why is Your Majesty so concerned about Third Brother? Could it be that Your Majesty doesn't even have a maid to warm your bed? Do you have some special fetish?"
The Second Prince's ambiguous gaze swept back and forth between the two men. He couldn't be happier that things went as he imagined, so he would have two fewer competitors. The Kingdom of Jinxi did not allow the emperor to be homosexual, so if rumors of such a preference were spread and the evidence was confirmed, the emperor would absolutely be ineligible.
"Second brother, if I remember correctly, you recently took in a male concubine. I heard that he is very handsome, with extremely alluring eyes." Qiao Qiu's eyes, which seemed to be stained with ink, overflowed with a hint of a smile, but the smile did not reach his eyes.
The Second Prince's expression changed. "Dongfang Wuche, don't make false accusations!"
"It's better for me to make baseless accusations than for you to spew nonsense." Qiao Qiu glanced at him disdainfully. "Besides, you know in your heart whether it's true or not."
"You!" The Second Prince's face flushed red, and it took him a long time to choke out, "You are the Crown Prince, yet you speak such vulgar language. Where is the demeanor of a Crown Prince?"
Qiao Qiu raised an eyebrow, a half-smile on her face, and said, "I don't have it, but you do?"
"I, you, you don't want to..."
"Don't make baseless accusations, huh? I can curse openly, can you?" Qiao Qiu said, using her inner strength to force her voice into a thin line, sending it into the Second Prince's ears. "I haven't wanted the position of Crown Prince for a long time. Reviewing dozens of memorials every day is exhausting. If you have the guts, have a contest with the Third Prince. Whoever wins, I'll put them on the throne."
"Really?" The Second Prince's eyes lit up. He had that much insight. He knew he was no match for Dongfang Wuche, but the fact that Dongfang Wuche was willing to give up the throne was like a windfall.
Qiao Qiu nodded and said firmly, "I, Dongfang Wuche, am a man of integrity, and my words are absolutely true to my word."
"Tell me, how do you do it?" The Second Prince trusted Dongfang Wuche's character; this man's word was his bond. When he was young, he once promised his father that he would shoot three hundred arrows in the horse farm in one day. However, it rained heavily that day, and the target was almost invisible. The eunuch serving him advised him to go back, but he wouldn't listen. His father issued an edict ordering him to go back, but he still wouldn't listen until he had shot the three hundredth arrow onto the target before he finally went home.
The next day, his high fever persisted, and he remained unconscious for five days. The imperial physicians tried everything they could, and finally managed to bring Dongfang Wuche back to life.
If he were merely keeping his word to his father, the emperor, that would be one thing—after all, the emperor is a man who cannot keep his promises. But what about the young eunuch? He promised the young eunuch that he would visit his sick mother after leaving the palace, and indeed, he went to great lengths to find her in a remote, impoverished village. Not only did he harbor no resentment, but he also gave the young eunuch's mother many gifts, hired a doctor, and covered all the medical expenses and the cost of the medicine for the young eunuch's mother until she received the best treatment.
Upon returning, he brought back a letter from the eunuch's mother to the eunuch. The eunuch immediately knelt before Dongfang Wuche, moved to tears.
Since then, everyone has known that Dongfang Wuche's promises are as heavy as Mount Tai; he never makes them lightly, but once he does, he will definitely keep them.
This is also the real reason why the Second Prince believed Qiao Qiu's words so much; Dongfang Wuche has never broken his promise to anyone.
Qiao Qiu naturally knew Dongfang Wuche's character; these were good qualities, and she would naturally help Dongfang Wuche maintain them.
"From today onwards, whoever saves the most people without violating morality will win. No underhanded tricks or schemes are allowed to frame the other side, and no one can be harmed. Points will be awarded based on the number of people saved; one point will be added for each person saved, and one point will be deducted for each person harmed."
"Elder brother, what are you saying?" Dongfang Wuye looked completely bewildered.
"Didn't you hear..." Before the Second Prince could finish speaking, Qiao Qiu, who had somehow managed to get his hands on a pear, covered his mouth and warned, "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."
The Second Prince gestured to him with his eyes: This is what you said.
"I keep my word. I'll tell Wuye about this later." Qiao Qiu said, then used her inner strength to force her voice into a thin line so that it could reach the Second Prince's ears. "Do you want to die? There are Father Emperor's spies everywhere in the palace. I'm using a secret technique to transmit my voice, so only you can hear me."
The Second Prince suddenly realized what was going on, took the pear, and said with a smile, "Thank you, Eldest Brother, the pear is delicious."
Then the Second Prince whispered, "Brother, you mustn't help your third brother cheat."
"Don't worry, I'll just send people to protect him. The rest is up to him. After all, competitions are all about individual strength," Qiao Qiu said, suppressing a laugh.
"I'm relieved to hear you say that," the Second Prince said with a smile.
"Don't take any chances. I'm the one calculating the points; I have no idea what you're doing," Qiao Qiu warned him directly.
The Second Prince also understood that Dongfang Wuche's men might really be everywhere. As for the matter of male concubines, he had disguised his little darling as a woman and brought him into the villa. He even dressed as a woman every day. He did it so secretly, yet he still found out. How could he doubt Dongfang Wuche's ability to monitor people?
The Second Prince chuckled and said, "Eldest Brother, I know you are fair and impartial. You and Wu Ye can continue your conversation. I'll be leaving now."
After saying that, he glanced at Dongfang Wuye with lingering reluctance and left.
Dongfang Wuye felt a chill run down his spine from Qiao Qiu's gaze. He suppressed the urge to rub his skin to rub it and looked at Qiao Qiu, asking, "Eldest brother, why did you make me compete with second brother? Is this also a difficult test for me?"
Qiao Qiu nodded. "This is the first test for you. Come on, I'll take you out of the palace to the best restaurant in Jincheng for a delicious meal."
"Thank you, Eldest Brother." Dongfang Wuye smiled, a genuine smile from the bottom of his heart.
"Let's go."
"Um."
The news quickly reached the Emperor's ears. The Emperor, who was over forty years old and had long been a shrewd and calculating man, showed a rare expression of doubt.
What exactly is Che'er trying to do?
Lately, he's finding it increasingly difficult to understand his son's actions, and sometimes he even gets caught up in them, which gives him a headache.
"There's no need to follow the Crown Prince anymore. Withdraw everyone."
"Yes." The guard withdrew.
Che'er's character is perfectly fine, and he has his own unique style of handling things. As his father, I can no longer control his affairs. Let him develop as he pleases, as long as he can eventually succeed me.
"Oh, right, Eunuch Gui!"
The Emperor suddenly remembered something and called out to Eunuch Gui, who was waiting outside the Imperial Study.
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