286, Father and Son
286, Father and Son
Isn’t it?
Zhao Lang looked calmly at the man in front of him, the man he called his father. He didn't say what he was thinking, but his eyes were full of affirmative answer.
"You!" Prince Ding's heart sank when he met the gaze of his eldest son.
However, Zhao Lang knew in his heart that now was not the time to break up with his father. He still needed to rely on this man to secure his position as the Crown Prince and take back everything that belonged to him. Therefore, he absolutely could not create a conflict or rift with this man at this time and let others take advantage of him.
He glanced at Zhao Rui, who was adding fuel to the fire, and suddenly brought up another matter: "Father, I have written you dozens of letters over the years. Before I came back this time, I also wrote you a letter. Have you never received a letter from me?"
He was exaggerating here on purpose. There certainly weren't dozens of letters, but there were a few. But ever since he suspected that the letters he had sent back ended up in Zhao Rui's hands, he hadn't written to his father again.
Therefore, when he returned to Beijun this time, he did not send a letter home in advance because he knew that if Zhao Rui knew that he was coming back to Pingzhou, he would definitely send someone to kill him on the way.
To be safe, he came back directly.
He added that last sentence on the spur of the moment to trick Zhao Rui. "Don't you enjoy intercepting my letters? Then I'll let you take the blame!"
"You have written me dozens of letters?" Prince Ding was stunned when he heard that his eldest son had written him so many letters, but he himself had never received any of them.
Zhao Rui, who was standing aside, was full of doubts when he heard his brother mention the letters. He had only had someone intercept two or three letters from Zhao Lang, so where did the dozens of letters come from?
Moreover, this time, he hadn't received any news about Zhao Lang's return. If he had received a letter from Zhao Lang saying he was coming back to Beijun, he would have definitely sent people to ambush him along the way and would not have let Zhao Lang return to Prince Ding's Mansion alive!
Zhao Lang had been observing his half-brother's expression the entire time. Seeing Zhao Rui's expression, he understood everything. All those letters he had sent to his father over the years must have fallen into the hands of this half-brother!
He also saw the surprise on the man's face. It was obvious that his good father had not received the letter he had sent back. Seeing Zhao Rui's guilty look, he pretended to be aggrieved and said, "Father, although I have gone to Kyoto Prefecture, I have never forgotten my family. You are my father, the closest relative I have in this world. I always miss you and mother in my heart."
"Over the years, every New Year and other festivals, I have sent letters and gifts home, and each time I specially prepare a copy for you, Father..."
Zhao Rui knew that if he let Zhao Lang continue, he would be finished and would lose his position and weight in his father's heart. So before Zhao Lang could finish his words, he quickly interrupted Zhao Lang and said, "Second brother, the journey from Jingdu Prefecture to Pingzhou is long, and it is possible that the letter will be lost along the way."
"Father is always in the army, so it's not easy to get things from outside into the barracks. Perhaps the things you sent back were put away by Mother. Why don't you go back and ask her if she kept them?"
Of course, Prince Ding was no fool. He understood what his eldest son said. But he had a clear mind: one son had grown up beside him, the other was his legitimate son, a son he had never been close to since childhood and had been held hostage in Kyoto at the age of eight. He had a clear understanding of who was closer and who was more distant.
Even a person's five fingers have different lengths, let alone whether a person's heart is biased.
So at this moment, he suspected that the letters and gifts sent to him by his legitimate son were taken away by his illegitimate son, but Prince Ding subconsciously helped his illegitimate son to conceal this fact, "Maybe your mother put it away. I will ask her later."
"I'm glad you're thoughtful." Seeing the desolate look on his eldest son's face, and remembering that his son had been in Kyoto for all these years and that he, as his father, had never cared about or asked about his son, Prince Ding felt a little sorry for his son.
However, they could not help but investigate the matter of this legitimate son running away without saying a word.
Meeting his son's gaze, Prince Ding softened his tone this time. "Then tell me, why did you suddenly come back without a word?"
"Father, there is a reason why I came back this time. I didn't come back for no reason." Zhao Lang said.
"Oh, what's the reason?" asked Prince Ding.
Zhao Lang didn't directly explain the reason. He glanced at Zhao Rui standing beside him, then turned his gaze back to the man in front of him and said, "I want to talk to you, my father, alone about this matter."
"Your brother is not an outsider..." Prince Ding felt that if his legitimate son had anything to say to him, he could say it in front of his illegitimate son.
"Father, this matter is of great importance. I can only tell you first." However, Zhao Lang's attitude was also very tough, with an expression that said, "If you let Zhao Rui stay here, I won't tell you anything."
"..." Prince Ding could only wave his hand, signaling his eldest son to leave.
Zhao Rui bowed and turned to leave. His eyes swept over his younger brother Zhao Lang before he walked out.
As he walked out the door, the expression on his face turned cold.
[Damn Zhao Lang! You shouldn't have come back! As soon as you came back, you took away everything that originally belonged to me!] Zhao Rui clenched his hands hanging at his sides into tight fists. He wanted to draw the sword at his waist and go in to cut Zhao Lang, his own brother, into pieces!
If it weren't for that woman Chai, his biological mother would have become the princess of Prince Ding's Mansion, and he would have been the prince of Prince Ding's Mansion. How could Zhao Lang, who was born later, take away everything that originally belonged to him!
The guard outside the door reached in and closed the study door.
Seeing that their young master had a cold face and looked unhappy, the two guards looked at the young master standing at the door and did not dare to speak to him.
[Zhao Lang, since you came here on your own initiative, don't blame me for being rude!] Zhao Rui turned his head slightly, glanced at the closed door, and left.
After seeing their young master leave, the two guards felt inexplicably relieved. The murderous expression on their young master's face just now was so terrifying.
But it is also true that their prince is back now. Before their prince came back, their eldest young master acted like a prince in this palace. But now that their prince is back, the position of prince still belongs to their prince. There is no way their eldest young master can be happy!
The guards and servants in the palace were all very clear about these things.
However, the masters' affairs are not something that a small guard like them should ask about or care about. The most important thing for them is to stand guard at their posts and do the things within their positions well.
***
After Zhao Rui left, only the father and son were left in the study.
Prince Ding sat down on the chair and reached out to take the teacup to drink some tea, only to remember that he had thrown away the teacup and teapot beside him, and there were still broken teapots and teacups on the ground and no one had come to clean them up.
He looked at his eldest son standing in front of him, and did not let him sit down to talk, but deliberately let him stand.
"Tell me, what's going on?" Prince Ding looked at his legitimate son who had grown to be as tall as him. This legitimate son seemed to be taller than his father, and looked very much like him when he was young.
But this legitimate son's temperament was nothing like his father's. Instead, it resembled that of Chai, a woman with a cold face all day long, as if someone owed them both a hundred thousand taels of silver. This was also why he disliked his wife and this legitimate son. Chai was not like the other women in the harem who knew how to please him, their husband; even Zhao Lang, the legitimate son, did not know how to please his father.
This mother and son look cold-hearted, just like two ungrateful wolves that can never be tamed!
Meeting his father's gaze, Zhao Lang could clearly see the displeasure in his father's eyes. Knowing the man had deliberately left him standing, he didn't wait for him to ask him to sit down. He found a nearby seat and sat down before replying, "Father, are you aware that the Hu soldiers crossed the northwest defense line and marched south all the way to Kyoto Prefecture, killing many along the way and even entering Kyoto City, burning, looting, and killing countless people?"
"Well, we have also received news about this matter. I sent people to chase those Hu soldiers half a month ago." King Ding said.
"Since my father knows about this, have you found out who let these Hu soldiers into the territory of Dayan?" Zhao Lang asked.
But when Prince Ding heard his son's words, he said, "Our defense line in the northwest is so long, and we don't have soldiers stationed in every place. These Hu soldiers crossed the mountain and were not discovered by our border guards. That's why they slipped through the net and came into our territory to cause chaos. It wasn't let in by anyone."
Hearing this, Zhao Lang looked at the man in front of him intently. For the first time, he felt that this man, who served as the highest general of the Zhenbei Army, had slept with too many women over the years and had made his brain stupid. That was why he treated the Hu soldiers who came into their territory to burn, kill and plunder as fish that had escaped the net and as an accident!
"..." Prince Ding, why did he feel so uncomfortable when he met the look in his eldest son's eyes?
"Just say what you want to say, don't look at me like that!" If the legitimate son looks at him like that again, he can't guarantee that he won't hit his son! Author's words: Thank you Bole 9492239 (9492239) for your support, mua! To know more exciting content, please leave me a message on Liancheng Reading
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