393, Negotiations between Father and Son
393, Negotiations between Father and Son
After welcoming Prince Ding into the city, they could disband on the spot and return to the yamen to report for duty.
Lu Mingfei thought that he had nothing to do anymore, so he prepared to go back to the Ministry of Revenue to deal with the pile of things that he had not finished yesterday, but he did not expect Zhao Lang to stop him.
Then he followed Zhao Lang back to Prince Ding's Mansion, and then followed the Zhao father and son to the study.
"Please take a seat, father." Zhao Lang gestured to his father to sit in the upper seat.
Prince Ding glanced at his legitimate son, not fearing that his son would plot anything against him. He walked to the main seat and sat down, then raised his hand to signal his legitimate son and Lu Mingfei to sit down as well.
Zhao Lang took the second seat below.
Lu Mingfei bowed to Prince Ding and sat down next to Zhao Lang.
The servant from the palace brought tea and snacks, then left, closing the study door behind him.
There were guards outside the door, and there was no one else in the room except the three of them. Even when Zhao Rui wanted to follow them to the study, Zhao Lang called the housekeeper to take him away.
"Tell me, which girl have you taken a fancy to? You didn't even give me time to catch my breath and you dragged me to the study to discuss this matter in such a hurry? Do you want me to send someone to propose marriage to you today?" Prince Ding took a sip of the tea at hand and asked his eldest son who was sitting below.
"..." When Lu Mingfei heard this, he immediately looked towards Zhao Lang, and happened to meet Zhao Lang's gaze.
Let Prince Ding go to his house to propose marriage?
The scene was so beautiful that he couldn't even imagine it.
Seeing the young man's shocked and frightened expression, Zhao Lang couldn't help laughing.
"What are you looking at when Lord Lu is laughing?" This was the second time he saw his legitimate son laugh today. Prince Ding almost didn't recognize his son who could laugh.
If he remembered correctly, he had never seen more smiles on this legitimate son's face in all these years.
Zhao Lang put away the smile on his face, turned to look at his father, and said seriously: "Father, I'm afraid Ming Fei won't agree, so I went to his house to propose marriage."
What does this have to do with Lu Mingfei? Prince Ding was a little confused about what his son was saying and suspected that there was something wrong with his ears.
"Father, you heard it right." As if he had guessed what his father was thinking, Zhao Lang said frankly: "The person I like is Ming Fei, not some girl." Having said that, he gave the young man a look that said, "Leave it to me."
Seeing the look in Zhao Lang's eyes, Lu Mingfei immediately knew what method Zhao Lang would choose to announce his relationship with his father, and to negotiate about the throne and power.
What? My good son is actually a homosexual? This time it was Prince Ding's turn to be in disbelief. These two dared to flirt with each other in front of him! Were they pretending he didn't exist?
Why do I suddenly feel a little angry?
Prince Ding looked at his good son and Lu Mingfei in front of him angrily, and he already had murderous intentions towards Lu Mingfei in his heart.
Zhao Lang sensed a slight unfriendly look from his father towards the person next to him. He blocked his father's gaze with his body and brought up the matter at hand. "Father, I know why you've returned to Kyoto Prefecture. Let's have a frank discussion here today."
"Oh, how do you want to talk to me?" Prince Ding looked at his legitimate son leisurely, wanting to hear what he had to say.
"Father, you are a great general who excels in leading troops in battle. On the battlefield, you are undefeated. But when it comes to governing a country and manipulating political strategies, I believe I am better than you."
This is equivalent to telling his father that I am more suitable to be the emperor than you.
Zhao Lang knew that his father also understood the meaning of his words.
Looking at his father, whose temples were already showing a few white hairs, he continued, "So, Father, why don't we work together to stabilize the current situation and usher in a peaceful and prosperous era? In the future, our names will be recorded in history books together, and we will both be famous for eternity."
"I like men, and I will definitely not marry or have children in the future."
"I can promise you that when I ascend the throne, I will make Hu'er the crown prince. Everything I have will be passed on to Hu'er. He is also your child. By passing the throne to him, you are also passing it on to your descendants."
"This way, I can avoid a situation where my brothers and I would kill each other. Father, isn't this exactly what you want to see?"
The "Hu'er" Zhao Lang mentioned was his biological brother, born from the same mother. As he himself had said, he preferred men and would definitely not have children of his own. If he became emperor, the throne would not be passed on to his descendants.
When it came to choosing the crown prince, he would definitely consider his own younger brother. Both brothers were from the Dingwang Palace, and when the throne was passed to his younger brother, it would also be in the hands of their own family.
After listening to his son's words, Prince Ding showed a thoughtful expression on his face, but at the same time, he also suspected that what his son said might be a delaying tactic to trick him.
But the legitimate son also said something that touched his heart, that is, if the eldest legitimate son ascended the throne and became emperor, the throne would be passed on to his youngest legitimate son, and the throne would still be in the hands of their own family.
If he became the emperor, with so many sons, they would definitely fight to the death for the throne. Fratricide is the situation he least wants to see.
Not to mention the distant future, let’s talk about the immediate future. If he doesn’t want his legitimate son to be the emperor, the father and son will inevitably kill each other for the throne.
In fact, Prince Ding had considered becoming emperor. However, he had only been emperor for a few short decades, and being emperor in Jingdu Prefecture didn't seem much different from being a local emperor in Beijun.
Just as the eldest son said, if they, father and son, join forces now, they can stabilize the current situation, usher in a peaceful and prosperous era, and become famous for all time. This last point is what excites him the most.
After thinking about it, Prince Ding had already made up his mind. However, he did not trust this legitimate son who had not grown up with him. "How can I believe that what you say is true?"
Facing his father's suspicion, Zhao Lang did not feel sad at all.
"Ming Fei is the one who has been with me from childhood to today. I will definitely not let him down." While saying this, Zhao Lang looked at the young man next to him.
Lu Mingfei had been looking at Zhao Lang, so when this man turned around to look at him, their eyes met.
He was somewhat touched by what Zhao Lang said in front of Prince Ding: "I will definitely not let him down."
In fact, he had never doubted Zhao Lang's sincerity. Was he afraid that Zhao Lang would one day stop loving him and turn his knife to his heart? He now held such great power in his hands. If Zhao Lang tried to take it back from him, he would surely end up dead.
He was not afraid of death, he was just afraid that his parents, relatives, and clansmen would be implicated because of himself.
However, sitting here today, listening to Zhao Lang so sincerely and frankly admitting their relationship to Prince Ding and expressing his love and devotion to him, he was still very moved.
After taking a long, steady look at his young man, Zhao Lang turned back to his father and continued, "If I ever marry and have children, you, my father, will be the first to know. You command hundreds of thousands of troops. You can lead them south and confront me."
"Also, I can write you a decree. Take this decree written by me personally. If I do not do as I say today, you can directly let Hu'er inherit the throne."
"I don't plan to stay in this position forever. I'll spend at most twenty years, or at least ten. When Dayan is peaceful and prosperous, and Hu'er has the ability, I will hand over everything to Hu'er in advance."
"Mingfei also wants to see the beautiful mountains and rivers of Dayan. I want to take Mingfei out for a walk and see the sights after I hand everything over to Hu'er."
"You wish!" For some reason, Prince Ding felt a little angry when he heard what his eldest son said next.
And go see the beautiful mountains and rivers of Dayan! Even he, a prince, doesn't have the time or the opportunity to take his wife and concubines to see it!
Zhao Lang could see that his father was jealous and envious of him, but he didn't care at all. He even gave his father some advice: "Father, when you conquer the Hu people, you will have the opportunity to take mother out for a ride on horseback."
However, he was afraid that by then, his romantic father would take out not only his mother, but also the group of women in the backyard of the palace.
"Father, this is all I have to say to you today. Please think carefully about what I said. As for what I said to you here, please don't tell others for now, so as to avoid unnecessary complications and trouble." Zhao Lang almost reminded his good father not to tell the traitor Zhao Rui what they talked about today.
"Rest well here. The officials will be back for the banquet tonight, and you can catch up with your friends then."
After saying that, Zhao Lang stood up.
Lu Mingfei stood up and saluted Prince Ding who was sitting on the throne together with Zhao Lang.
Seeing Prince Ding waving his hand, the two of them retreated outside.
Standing outside the door, Zhao Lang reached out and held Lu Mingfei's hand, saying to his young man, "Don't worry, I'm here."
Lu Mingfei hummed a "hmm" and tried to pull his hand back, but Zhao Lang held onto it tightly. Worried, he turned his head and glanced back, only to meet Prince Ding's glaring gaze.
"Your father is watching us." He had to remind this overly arrogant man.
"Then let him watch. Anyway, he knows what happened between us now." Zhao Lang curled his lips and smiled, then pulled his young man away, not caring at all about the pair of eyes behind him that were glaring at them with anger.
"..." Lu Mingfei, who was being pulled away, couldn't help but laugh after seeing the smile on Zhao Lang's lips.
Only Prince Ding, who was sitting in the house, looked at the two figures outside who were getting farther and farther away, and he became even more angry! 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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