392, Prince Ding returns to the capital
392, Prince Ding returns to the capital
This New Year, because of the death of the little emperor, Kyoto Prefecture was much quieter than in previous years.
The only good thing was that everything in Kyoto Prefecture was normal, and there was no chaos just because someone else sat on the dragon throne.
In fact, the people did not care who was the emperor, they cared more about who could bring them a stable life. As long as the monarch sitting above them could bring them a good life, they would support whoever was the emperor.
However, after their regent took charge of the government, he did not immediately ascend the throne and become emperor.
Everyone discussed the matter privately and did not dare to bring it up in public.
Everyone knows that there is a Prince Ding above their regent, so many people are speculating whether their regent is waiting for Prince Ding to return to Beijing because he is not ascending the throne to become emperor.
It was not until the end of February that Prince Ding's troops arrived in Kyoto Prefecture.
On the day Prince Ding arrived in Beijing, Zhao Lang personally led all the officials out of the city to welcome his father.
When Zhao Lang saw his father for the first time, he still gave him enough respect and bowed to his father: "My son greets his father."
"This humble official greets His Majesty."
Seeing this, all the officials behind him also followed suit and saluted Prince Ding.
"Lang'er, there's no need to be so polite. Everyone, please stand up." Prince Ding reached out to help his eldest son. He glanced at the officials behind him, and his eyes fell on the young man following his eldest son, then he moved away.
At this time, Lu Mingfei lowered his head. He felt a pair of eyes falling on him. He knew without guessing that Prince Ding recognized him.
Prince Ding must have known everything they did in Jingdu Prefecture. As for their arrangements in Tong County, I wonder how much Prince Ding knew.
What they didn't expect was that Prince Ding brought his eldest son Zhao Rui with him when he came to Beijing.
"Second brother." When Zhao Rui saw his younger brother, he felt very complicated, mostly jealous.
He was jealous of his younger brother's good luck. He was born as the legitimate son. He was sent to Kyoto as a hostage, but in the end he was able to return to Beijun alive and continue to be the prince of the palace.
After being kicked out by him, he was sent back to Kyoto by their father to deal with a group of feudal lords, but he did not expect to meet a short-lived emperor. After Zhao Chen died, the young emperor ascended the throne, and his good brother became the regent.
Now that the little emperor is dead, his good brother has taken control of the government and become the uncrowned king.
However, thinking that his younger brother's good days would be over once their father arrived, Zhao Rui felt gloating.
When their father becomes emperor, Zhao Lang can only be the crown prince, and as the eldest brother, he will be the eldest prince and the brother most qualified to compete with Zhao Lang for the world.
Thinking of this, Zhao Rui felt that this was his chance. With their father's preference for him, it was hard to say who would become the emperor in the end.
Zhao Lang glanced at Zhao Rui coldly and did not respond to Zhao Rui.
The officials behind knew that their Prince Ding was a romantic man. It was heard that he had many wives and concubines. This eldest son was born to a concubine, and only their regent was the legitimate son of the princess.
It seems that the relationship between the two brothers is not harmonious. The officials in front have realized this and thought to themselves that they should stay away from Young Master Zhao in the future.
The scene was awkward for a while.
In the end, it was Lu Mingfei who stepped in to smooth things over. He said to Prince Ding, who was returning to the capital, "Your Highness, you must be tired after the long journey. The Regent has already had Prince Ding's mansion tidied up. Your Highness, please return home to rest and recuperate."
"The Regent is hosting a banquet at the palace tonight to welcome you, Your Highness."
At the end, Lu Mingfei only said "you" and didn't mention Zhao Rui. A bastard from a royal palace wasn't qualified to have them offer him a welcome.
Originally, they discussed whether to hold the banquet in the palace or in Prince Ding's Mansion, but the two of them had no ambiguity in choosing the location and unanimously chose Prince Ding's Mansion.
When Prince Ding returned to the capital, he must have lived at home. There was no doubt that Prince Ding's Mansion was Prince Ding's home.
"Good, you are thoughtful." Prince Ding raised his hand and patted his eldest son's shoulder. How could he not see the discord between his two sons?
After the father and son met at the door, they went into the city together.
When entering the city, Zhao Lang and his father rode in front, and the rest of the people followed behind. Some officials rode on horses, some rode in carriages, and some walked. The procession was very long.
The entire East Street was cleared, leaving a straight road with no obstructions in front.
The people of Kyoto Prefecture knew that Prince Ding was returning to the capital today, and their regent came out to greet him. Many people ran out to watch the excitement.
On both sides of the road blocked by officers and soldiers were people who came out to watch the excitement.
"Is that our Regent?"
"Yes, it's our Regent Prince."
"Wow, our regent is so handsome!"
"I wonder if the Prince Regent has married yet. I want to marry..."
“…”
The girls from Kyoto Prefecture smiled foolishly when they saw their handsome Regent Prince. If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, these girls would have wanted to take off the sachets they were wearing and throw them to their Regent Prince.
Prince Ding, who was riding a horse in front of the team, looked at the familiar Kyoto Prefecture and the people on both sides with a face full of high spirits.
Zhao Lang's face was calm as he rode his horse behind his father.
Lu Mingfei rode his horse behind Zhao Lang, and next to him was Zhao Rui, who was also riding a horse with him. He didn't intend to pay attention to this person, but this person seemed to be oblivious to his cold face and even rode his horse over to talk to him.
"I didn't expect that Lord Lu would become the Minister of Revenue at such a young age. I remember that Lord Lu was still a small county magistrate in Beijun two years ago, right? It's different now that he's with my good second brother. Getting promoted and getting rich is just a matter of a word from my good second brother." Zhao Rui was filled with hatred as soon as he saw Lu Mingfei's face.
If his good second brother was the first person he hated, then Lu Mingfei must be the second person he wanted to kill!
The moment he saw Lu Mingfei, he thought of the two times he had suffered and the humiliation he had endured at his hands. He would never be able to get rid of the hatred in his heart unless he killed Lu Mingfei.
How could Lu Mingfei not see the murderous intent in Zhao Rui's eyes? He glanced at Young Master Zhao and retorted, "Why? Did General Zhao become a junior general just because of a word from the prince?"
"You! You!" Zhao Rui was speechless after hearing Lu Mingfei's words.
"What do you mean? I don't talk to stutterers." Since he had already offended him, Lu Mingfei didn't mind continuing to offend him. This wasn't Beijun, and he wasn't really afraid of Zhao Rui.
Even if Prince Ding brought tens of thousands of troops outside the city, what would happen? They had a large number of troops stationed in Kyoto Prefecture. If Zhao Lang and his father really came to blows, who would win?
They still have a lot of people in Tong County, who can directly cut off the reinforcements from Beijun. As long as they don't let the reinforcements come in, they can firmly control the situation.
However, it would be best if Zhao Lang and his father could resolve the power struggle without resorting to violence. After all, if a fight really came to this, firstly, Zhao Lang and Prince Ding were father and son, which would undoubtedly hurt their father-son relationship; secondly, it would be a case of one man against another, and the casualties would be the people of Dayan.
Therefore, if the issue of the throne can be resolved without resorting to force, it is better to handle the matter with gentler means.
However, I don’t know whether Prince Ding is willing to give up the throne and power that are so close to him.
"..." Zhao Rui was so speechless after being scolded by Lu Mingfei.
Finally, he understood one thing, that is, his eloquence could not compare with that of Lu Mingfei, a civil servant, so he had to shut up and stop provoking Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei looked at Young Master Zhao, who didn't dare to provoke him again, and wrote something in his notebook: He PK Zhao Rui three times, and he won every time!
Just a mere Zhao Rui, what does he count for?
In the past, this fellow was only able to bully Zhao Lang because of Prince Ding's favor. Just wait, if one day you fall into my hands, I will avenge you for all the bullying you did to Zhao Lang, or I will take your last name!
Zhao Lang, who was riding a horse in front, suddenly turned around and looked back, and happened to meet Lord Lu's eyes staring at him.
Lu Mingfei didn't expect Zhao Lang to look back at him. He was stunned for a moment, then gave a bright smile to his Royal Highness the Regent.
Zhao Lang's gaze paused on the young man's bright smile, then he turned back with a stern face.
Finally, he couldn't help but smile.
Lu Mingfei, who was riding behind, did not see it, but Prince Ding, who was riding side by side with his son, saw the smile on his son's face.
It was the first time that Prince Ding saw his eldest son smile like this, so he couldn't help but feel curious, "Lang'er, why are you smiling so happily?"
"Nothing." Zhao Lang put away the smile on his face and still had a faint expression.
But Prince Ding could sense the emotional shifts in his legitimate son. Who could have made this wooden son blossom? Suddenly, he felt a surge of curiosity and glanced back, only to see his eldest son and the young Lord Lu following behind them.
Seeing Prince Ding looking back at them, Lu Mingfei looked stern and serious.
At this time, Zhao Rui was looking at the girls in Kyoto Prefecture and did not notice that his father in front of him was looking back at him.
[Could he have been mistaken?] Prince Ding turned around, full of doubts.
Prince Ding hadn't forgotten that his eldest son was still unmarried. Taking advantage of their meeting today, he mentioned this to his son: "You're not young anymore. If there's a girl in Kyoto you like, tell your father and he'll send someone to propose marriage for you. Let's get the marriage settled as soon as possible. Your brother already had several children when he was your age."
"It's just right. I also want to talk to my father about this matter." This time, Zhao Lang did not deny that he had someone he liked.
It's time for the father and son to have a good talk.
The father and son looked at each other with a peaceful expression, without any tension, as if they were just like an ordinary father and son.
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