"Please, Eunuch Cheng, please count the Crown Prince's prey." Chang'an looked at the Emperor with a smile, "Since my father has asked, then Chang'an can only accept the Crown Prince's courtesy."
"Xiao Chengzi, go and count quickly." The emperor was happy to see Chang'an being so aware of the current situation.
Eunuch Cheng quickly counted the number of arrows. "30 arrows in total. 11 were caught. 19 arrows remaining. All the prey were killed with one arrow."
"Good!" The emperor was happy from the bottom of his heart, "Chang'an, it's obvious that the prince has won."
"Father, I'm wrong." Chang'an curled his lips and looked at the emperor with an unhappy face, "You haven't carefully examined the prince's arrow."
"Oh?" The emperor looked at Chang'an, "Well, today I will make you, a little girl, admit defeat with all your heart."
The Emperor glanced at Eunuch Cheng and asked, "Prince, I ask you to tell the truth. Have you ever missed an arrow and then found it again?"
"No." The prince was confident. Even if he picked it up, it would not matter. All arrows looked the same anyway, so he insisted that there was no one.
"Okay." Chang'an said, "The Crown Prince is the heir to the throne of Shuzhou State. Don't lie. Don't be afraid to admit defeat if you lose."
"Chang'an." Bei Mingxuan stood up and pulled Chang'an back. "How can you talk to your elder brother?"
"How can you say that?" Chang'an's face was unhappy. "Father has already said that the Crown Prince is the heir to your Shu State, so it is only right for me, the heir to the Southern State, to be treated with courtesy.
But as your Bei Mingxuan's concubine, I, Gu Chang'an, can accept your elder brother's favor.
But if I, Gu Chang'an, become the crown prince of the Southern Kingdom, I am unwilling to accept this favor.
Since he has accepted the hunting competition of the Prince of Shuzhou as the crown prince of the Southern Kingdom, he naturally has to consider winning or losing.
Otherwise, if I win, people will say I was given a chance, and if I lose, I’ll be blamed for my incompetence. When I return to the Southland that day, won’t my grandfather chop me to pieces?
Bei Mingxuan of course knew that Chang'an did it on purpose, and how could he bear to let Chang'an suffer any injustice? He asked Chang'an to speak at this time just to let Chang'an say what he wanted to say.
Bei Mingxuan looked at the emperor helplessly, "Father, Chang'an has a childish temper. Don't let Chang'an's words ruin your good mood right now."
"Bei Mingxuan, what do you mean?" Chang An was furious. "I'm just telling the truth."
Then he looked at the emperor and said, "Father, tell me, is this a competition between my elder brother and me, or a competition between the crown princes of the two countries?"
"Is there any difference?" The emperor's face was displeased, and there seemed to be a hidden anger in his eyes.
However, after the emperor finished speaking, Chang'an and Bei Mingxuan were not the only ones who were surprised.
It can be said that everyone present looked at the emperor in surprise, but they couldn't help but sigh in their hearts that the emperor was partial to the prince.
The eldest prince and the left prime minister Feng Zhengmin could not stand it any more because the emperor was favoring the crown prince.
They all hope to bring down the prince.
"Father." Chang'an's eyes were filled with doubt and mockery, "If the Crown Prince is competing with me, his sister-in-law, as the third brother, then I will naturally accept your kindness. Winning or losing is not important.
If the Crown Prince competes with me, Gu Chang'an, as the heir apparent, then I will have to give it my all. The Crown Prince of the Southern Kingdom must also be upright and dignified, and there is no need to owe the favor of the Crown Prince of Shuzhou Kingdom.
After all, it's a competition rule to return within one stick of incense, so I don't need to owe him a favor, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince happened to return just as the incense was burning."
at this time.
The eldest prince suddenly spoke up, "Father, it was the Crown Prince who took the initiative to mention that he wanted to compete with Chang'an as the crown prince, so it is not convenient for me and my ninth brother to leave the arena."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Feng Zhengmin said. "Just now, when Your Majesty and I were in the Imperial Study, didn't you hear that both the Crown Prince and Princess Xuan were going to compete as crown princes?"
"Okay." The emperor looked at everyone, "Then let's compete as the crown prince."
At this time, the atmosphere was no longer as relaxed and cheerful as before.
Eunuch Cheng quickly picked out six arrows from all the arrows and placed them in front of the emperor.
The emperor looked at Eunuch Cheng with dissatisfaction, "What are you doing?"
"Your Majesty," Eunuch Cheng said, "the six arrows are different from the others."
There was no need to check carefully. Everyone could see that there was still dirt on these arrows. It was obvious that Xufa had picked them up from the ground.
Chang'an saw it all and said indifferently, "It turns out that the prince of Shuzhou Kingdom is so stupid that he doesn't even need to lie."
"What do you mean by fake?" the prince was furious. "I didn't do it."
"You dare to say that these arrows weren't dropped on the ground and then picked up?" Chang'an didn't give her a chance to breathe. "Or is it that the dirt on the arrowheads originally grew on your arrows?"
"..." The prince was anxious and blurted out, "No, I have clearly wiped it clean."
"Oh..." Chang'an looked at the prince, "So, the prince had someone pick up the arrow that was shot in vain. You just said that you didn't shoot in vain, you are deceiving the emperor."
"No." The prince immediately knelt down and looked at the emperor, "Father, I... I didn't..."
"Alright." The emperor suppressed his anger and lowered his voice as much as possible. "It's human nature. Just tell the truth, Prince."
“…” Chang’an was completely defeated by this father and son.
Her only feeling now was that this emperor was not the emperor she knew before.
That's what she thinks of Chang'an.
But others have become accustomed to it.
Chang'an frowned, and at this moment she looked down on the emperor from the bottom of her heart.
With such an emperor and such a prince, the Shuzhou Kingdom is not far from being destroyed.
Eunuch Cheng, who was standing by, tried to persuade him kindly, "My Prince, why don't you say something soft to the Emperor and explain yourself properly?"
Eunuch Cheng had never had any feelings for the prince before, but at this moment, he made Chang'an unhappy, so Eunuch Cheng naturally would not let the prince go.
You should know that the dirt on the prince's arrow just now was tampered with by him.
The prince reluctantly said, "Indeed, it is. It came out of nowhere."
The emperor frowned and looked at the prince without saying a word for a long time.
It was Eunuch Cheng who reminded him.
The emperor then asked, "So, who wins and who loses?"
Eunuch Cheng said, "The Crown Prince of the Southern Kingdom, Gu Chang'an, wins."
"That's not right." Gu Shirong, who was standing next to the Crown Prince, looked at Eunuch Cheng angrily and retorted, "The Crown Prince clearly hunted eleven prey, one more than Gu Chang'an. Eunuch Cheng, why are your elbows pointing outward?"
Eunuch Cheng looked at Gu Shirong without saying a word, and cursed in his heart, "Idiot!"
At this time, Bei Mingxuan sent a message to Bei Ming Yulan, "Lan'er, why don't you remind your cousin about the rules of the competition?"
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