Chapter 91 The fake prince ascends the throne as emperor!
It was because of this that the eldest prince was able to tolerate Zhou Jing's various faults and be kind to him, and humble himself to be on good terms with Zhou Jing.
Anyway, even if he couldn't win over the Duke of England by trying to win over Zhou Jing, he would at least disgust the Crown Prince.
The eldest prince was filled with resentment when he thought about how his power in the court had been hit by the crown prince and had to be reduced. Most of his resentment was directed at the crown prince, and a small part was directed at his father.
Doesn’t the emperor dote on the prince too much? Could it be that these other princes were just picked up? Moreover, it would be fine if the emperor favored the crown prince, but he actually favored Zhou Jing, the son of an outsider!
The eldest prince suppressed his resentment and said to his cousin Chen Qi who was sitting next to him: "Go and invite Zhou Jing over."
The eldest prince certainly wanted to be courteous and humble in order to win over Zhou Jing, but he still had the arrogance of a prince after all, and it was impossible for him to condescend to invite Zhou Jing in person. However, he sent his own cousin Chen Qi from his mother's family to invite Zhou Jing, which was considered a great honor for Zhou Jing.
Chen Qi was the eldest son of Duke Cheng'en, the eldest prince's study companion, the great-nephew of Empress Dowager Chen, and the nephew of Concubine Chen Guifei.
This status is indeed distinguished, but the Duke Cheng'en's Mansion is an in-law, and it can be so glorious because of the emperor and the eldest prince. In terms of real power, how can it compare with the Duke Ying's Mansion which has military power.
As the prince of Duke Cheng'en, Chen Qi follows the eldest prince and most of the time plays a representative role. For example, it is not easy for the eldest prince to do things like inviting people in person, but asking others to do it would make it seem that the eldest prince does not take it seriously enough. So it is appropriate to let Chen Qi, who has a high enough status and is a cousin of the eldest prince, do it.
Zhou Jing, who was enjoying the delicious food and listening to the music, was in a good mood. When he saw that the person who invited him was Chen Qi, he was also satisfied with the courtesy of the eldest prince. He stood up happily and said, "Since the eldest prince has invited me, I would be disrespectful to refuse."
Zhou Jing followed Chen Qi to the eldest prince's exclusive box. This box was specially reserved for the eldest prince by Qianqi Pavilion. Naturally, it was the largest, most luxurious and best one, even better than the box that Zhou Jing had spent a huge amount of money to open.
It was not the first time that Zhou Jing came to the eldest prince's exclusive box. Without even glancing at the surrounding decorations, he stepped forward and bowed slightly to the eldest prince: "Greetings, Your Highness." Then he found an empty seat and sat down in a very familiar manner.
Zhou Jing's salute to the eldest prince was not as respectful and thoughtful as the one to the crown prince, because he knew that if he was not courteous enough to the crown prince, the crown prince would get angry with him, while the eldest prince would not.
He felt that he was already very familiar with the eldest prince and that they had a very good relationship, so he subconsciously treated the eldest prince with the same casual attitude that he used when he was with the emperor.
The emperor knew that Zhou Jing was the biological son of the woman he loved most. The more casual and relaxed Zhou Jing was in front of him, the closer he was to him. He was so happy that he didn't have time to blame Zhou Jing for being impolite.
Zhou Jing was so casual in front of the emperor, so it was natural that he couldn't be polite in front of the eldest prince who had always been friendly to him.
But the eldest prince saw this casualness as rudeness and arrogance, and thought that he, the prince, was not taken seriously.
The eldest prince suppressed his anger, thinking about Zhou Jing's status as the legitimate son of the Duke of England, and did not argue with him. He even smiled and asked, "Why didn't Prince Zhou come directly to this box when he came to Qianqi Pavilion today? Didn't I tell you that I will cover all of Prince Zhou's expenses in Qianqi Pavilion in the future..."
Actually, Zhou Jing has not yet been asked by Si Yuan to be named the Crown Prince of the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion. However, because he is the only legitimate son of the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion, many people regard him as the Crown Prince by right. Even though he has not been asked to be named, many people directly call him "Little Crown Prince" or "Crown Prince Zhou". Zhou Jing likes this title very much.
So the eldest prince also called Zhou Jing that to please him.
Zhou Jing could not detect the dissatisfaction hidden under the eldest prince's smiling face. He said in surprise: "Do you really want to treat me every time? I thought you were just talking."
The eldest prince who was actually just talking: "..."
The eldest prince had used this kind of rhetoric to win people's hearts and minds before, but everyone was too embarrassed to really let the eldest prince cover all of their expenses at Qianqi Pavilion, and those people also appreciated the eldest prince's good intentions in saying this.
Now that the eldest prince saw Zhou Jing's look, he didn't dare to continue talking, otherwise he was really afraid that Zhou Jing would agree to it and keep a record of it every time he came to Qianqi Pavilion in the future.
Although Qianqi Pavilion was opened by his subordinates and could be considered his property, Zhou Jing's expenses were very high every time he came. The cost of Qianqi Pavilion was not low either, and it had always been free for Zhou Jing. If Zhou Jing came to Qianqi Pavilion a few more times, he would suffer a huge loss.
The eldest prince's momentary embarrassment was quickly noticed by the sharp-minded Chen Qi, who quickly spoke up to help the eldest prince out: "Brother Zhou, what are you talking about? But I saw that Brother Zhou was drinking alone, all alone, is there something that makes you unhappy?"
Chen Qi changed the subject, and Zhou Jing's attention was also diverted by him.
Zhou Jing thought about what happened before he left, sighed deeply, and said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came to my house again today."
The eldest prince's brows jumped and he stared at Zhou Jing closely. It was difficult for him to grasp the whereabouts of the prince. He didn't know why it was difficult to bribe the people around the prince. Even if he managed to bribe a few of them, they would soon be discovered.
So he really didn't know that the prince was going to the Duke of England's mansion today.
Chen Qi noticed the eldest prince's expression and immediately took over as his mouthpiece, asking the question the eldest prince wanted to ask the most: "What did the prince go to your house for? Is he going to see the Duke of England?"
Zhou Jing drank a glass of wine and sighed, "What else can the prince do when he comes to my house except to look for my father? I don't know what they talked about in the study, but they won't let me hear it. After the prince left, I went to find my father and asked him to support His Highness..."
Before Zhou Jing finished speaking, the eldest prince was already filled with excitement and anticipation.
Will the British Convention abandon the prince and support him?
Even if the Duke of England is unwilling, he should at least be a little shaken, right?
Zhou Jing continued, "...but I don't know what kind of magic potion the prince had given my father. Not only did my father not agree to my request, he also scolded me and told me to study and not to get involved in these matters. I was not convinced. How could the prince compare to the eldest prince? The eldest prince is such a good person, isn't he better than the prince who has his eyes on the top of his head? I ran out of my rage to relax..."
Zhou Jing was certainly not stupid and knew how to package what he said. He certainly did not think the eldest prince was as good as he said, but he deliberately exaggerated this attitude in front of the eldest prince.
The eldest prince was very pleased with his flattery, and he promised Zhou Jing something he had not promised before: "Thank you, Prince Zhou, for speaking for me. Prince Zhou can come to Qianqi Pavilion anytime he wants. It will be put on my account, and you don't have to spend any money."
The eldest prince was in a good mood and was not so disappointed. He didn't have much hope that the Duke of England would change his ways so quickly. He was mentally prepared for Zhou Jing's persuasion to be fruitless this time.
The eldest prince likes to hear others say that the crown prince is not as good as him. In his heart, the crown prince is not as good as him. What qualifications does a fifth-ranked brother, several years younger than him and born in the cold palace have to surpass him, the son of a noble concubine, to become the crown prince?
The eldest prince, who had been indoctrinated by the imperial concubine to become the crown prince since childhood and was recognized as the crown prince by his grandmother, the empress dowager, became full of hostility towards Zhou Xi when he learned that the emperor, despite pressure from all sides, had appointed his fifth younger brother as the crown prince and refused to let his eldest son be the crown prince.
This hostility has reached the point where as long as you speak ill of the Crown Prince, you are welcome in the First Prince's camp.
The words of Zhou Jing, the legitimate son of the Duke of England, saying that the Crown Prince was not as good as him made the eldest prince even happier. After all, the Duke of England was a supporter of the Crown Prince. What could be happier than hearing the son of the opponent's supporter boast that he was better than the opponent?
Seeing that the eldest prince's mood did not seem to get worse because of his failure to persuade his father, but seemed very happy, Zhou Jing immediately got something, so he became more excited to belittle the crown prince and praise the eldest prince: "My father must have been deceived by the crown prince, otherwise why would he be willing to support the crown prince? It is obvious that the eldest prince is more likely to be the crown prince! Father may have chosen the crown prince because of his status, otherwise, considering that the crown prince's talent is far inferior to that of the eldest prince, how could father support him? His Majesty may have impulsively appointed the crown prince because of his guilt towards the crown prince. I will have a chance to talk to His Majesty. The eldest prince is much better than the crown prince..."
The eldest prince thought that Zhou Jing was the son of a foreign minister favored by his father, and was often invited by his father to the palace to accompany him. Although this favor was more because of his appreciation of the Duke of England, Zhou Jing was also a favorite of his father. It would be great to have Zhou Jing speak well of him in front of his father.
As a result, the eldest prince's attitude towards Zhou Jing became better, and he even raised his glass to toast Zhou Jing himself.
It was a rare opportunity for Zhou Jing to speak ill of the prince without being stopped. After all, he spoke ill of the prince in private in the Duke of England's mansion, and the servants around him all knelt down and begged him to stop, otherwise he would be discovered and scolded by his father.
It felt boring for him to talk bad about the prince to himself. Of course, it would be more interesting to say bad things about someone behind his back if you said it to others.
Only in front of the eldest prince could he openly speak ill of the crown prince, and many people would agree with him. After all, in the eldest prince's camp, being hostile to the crown prince is politically correct.
So Zhou Jing continued to belittle the prince with great enthusiasm, and even went further and further.
The eldest prince's aide who was sitting at the table frowned as he listened. Although he helped the eldest prince to win the throne, he also knew that the crown prince was a powerful rival and was definitely not as incompetent as Zhou Jing belittled him.
However, the aide also knew that the eldest prince disliked the crown prince, and he certainly would not jump out to speak for the crown prince at this time, but he was also worried that the eldest prince would really look down on the crown prince because of Zhou Jing's exaggerated words.
The aide drank a glass of wine worriedly, and looked at Zhou Jing with a hint of displeasure.
The legitimate son of the Duke of England is not at all like his father. Compared with the outstanding Duke of England, Zhou Jing has been raised to be a good-for-nothing.
If he hadn't been born into a good family and had a good father, he would never have taken a playboy like Zhou Jing seriously. Why would he be trying to show kindness to him and win him over now?
The aide thought of his own previous frustration and became even more displeased with Zhou Jing.
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