Chapter 94 The fake prince ascends the throne as emperor!
After the morning court session ended, the emperor deliberately kept Si Yuan and asked him to go to the imperial study for a talk.
"My dear Lord Zhou, your legitimate son seems to be the same age as the crown prince?" The emperor looked at Si Yuan meaningfully and asked.
Si Yuan nodded calmly: "Yes, Your Majesty."
The emperor asked again: "Zhou Jing is sixteen this year, have you ever thought about what kind of wife you want for him?"
Si Yuan knew that no matter how he answered, the emperor would take charge of Zhou Jing's marriage and marry Zhou Jing off to a wife whose family background was suitable for becoming a crown princess. On the surface, he would even say that the emperor granted the marriage because he valued the Duke of Yingguo's mansion.
Si Yuan certainly would not let the emperor be so happy to grant his own son a marriage. He smiled and said, "My son's character and ability are far inferior to the prince's. He is still like a child who has not grown up. So I plan to marry him off after he has achieved some success in two years."
Si Yuan liked to praise the prince in front of the emperor by belittling his own son. After all, in the eyes of the emperor, he didn't know that Zhou Jing and Zhou Xi had swapped identities. He belittled his own son to elevate the emperor's prince, which was to flatter the emperor and kiss up to the emperor.
The emperor knew very well whose biological son Zhou Jing and Zhou Xi were. Whenever he heard Si Yuan belittle his beloved son and praise the fake prince in front of him, he felt so aggrieved in his heart, but he couldn't show it. He had to pretend in front of Si Yuan that "your praise is so good and wonderful that it touches my heart."
Si Yuan liked to see the emperor looking frustrated.
Doesn’t the emperor like to play with other people’s fate and change their lives at will? Then you have to bear the consequences of changing your destiny.
The emperor was very dissatisfied with Si Yuan's statement that he was not in a hurry to find a wife for Zhou Jing. In his heart, Zhou Jing was much better than the prince. It didn't matter that the child was not mature yet, he would be mature after getting married.
However, the emperor also knew that Zhou Jing had no achievements and no titles, so it would be difficult for him to find a wife, especially since the wife he wanted to marry should have an extraordinary family background worthy of being the crown princess, so that Zhou Jing would not be held back by his wife's family after he returned to the position of crown prince.
But women of that background would not only consider family background but also ability when choosing a husband. Zhou Jing's current status is merely the legitimate son of Duke Ying, not the crown prince. There is no way for women of that background to ignore his mediocre ability.
Of course, the emperor would not think that his son's ability was mediocre. He just felt that his son had not matured yet and had not worked hard enough. Once Zhou Jing worked hard enough, he would definitely be better than the fake prince.
The emperor now has the mentality that "even dung beetles think their own cubs are delicious."
Since Zhou Jing is still immature in his character and hasn't shown any special abilities, we can only make use of his identity.
The emperor said to Si Yuan, "Jing'er is a kind and virtuous child. You don't have to be too harsh on him. He is already this old. It's time to make him a crown prince."
Between the legitimate son of the Duke of England and the eldest son of the Duke of England, of course the latter has a higher status. After all, the latter represents a 100% inheritance of a super-grade duke or marquisate.
In this way, even if Zhou Jing is uneducated and has no ability, he has a title, which makes him a thousand times better than ordinary people.
Especially, the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion is not a Duke's Mansion without real power. The Duke of Yingguo holds the military power of hundreds of thousands of troops. This military power has never been handed over to the emperor, and will most likely be inherited by the crown prince. Even if the crown prince has no ability, being able to maintain his achievements is enough to make him a top dignitary in the capital.
The emperor felt that by allowing his son to obtain the status of the Prince of England, not only would he be able to marry a wife with an outstanding family background and good looks, but he would also be able to transfer the military power in Si Yuan's hands to his son, thus achieving the best of both worlds.
The emperor's abacus beads were clattering so much that they almost fell on Si Yuan's face. For so many years, he had refused to ask for Zhou Jing to be named the Prince of England. Was it because he didn't want to?
That’s right, it was because he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to ask for Zhou Jing to be named the Prince of England.
How can a ungrateful person who is neither the original owner's biological son nor grateful for the original owner's upbringing become the heir to the Duke of England's Mansion when he has no ability now?
When Si Yuan heard the emperor mention the topic of making Zhou Jing the crown prince, he knew that the emperor was up to no good.
He sighed in embarrassment and said, "Your Majesty, you don't know that I only have this one legitimate son. If I don't ask him to be the crown prince, who else can I ask to be the crown prince? It's just that I haven't asked him to be the crown prince for so many years because I hope to put some pressure on him, let him think that if he studies hard but is not good enough, he can't become the crown prince, and want to motivate him to study hard..."
The emperor originally thought that Si Yuan had other ulterior motives for not requesting Zhou Jing to be the crown prince, but after hearing Si Yuan's words, he felt relieved.
As it concerns Zhou Jing's academic performance, the emperor, his biological father, also cares a lot. Although he seems to think that Zhou Jing is unlearned now because he is still immature and therefore not working hard enough, the emperor is actually worried in his heart. After all, when Zhou Jing's life experience is revealed in the future, he will become the crown prince, and the requirements of being a crown prince are much higher than those of being the heir of a duke's mansion.
If Zhou Jing doesn't work hard now, what will he do when he becomes the crown prince in the future?
Even if Zhou Xi helped him defeat the eldest prince and others, Zhou Jing would return to the throne of crown prince in the future, and his younger brothers would have grown up. If Zhou Jing continued like this, he might not even be as good as his younger brothers.
Thinking of this, the emperor, who was worried about the future of his beloved son, particularly hoped that Zhou Xi and Zhou Jing could exchange their abilities. It would be great if Zhou Jing had Zhou Xi's intelligence and talent.
However, thinking of Zhou Jing's clear and stupid eyes, the emperor felt that if Zhou Xi was like this, he would have died in the cold palace long ago, let alone helping Zhou Jing defeat the eldest prince and others.
The emperor was particularly glad that he had moved Zhou Jing out of the palace early so that his beloved son would not have to suffer.
It is so difficult to educate a son to be successful!
The emperor looked at Si Yuan, who had a distressed look on his face, and sighed inwardly. Fortunately, Zhou Jing had Si Yuan to help him educate him, so he didn't have to come in person.
The emperor consoled her, "Jing'er must understand your good intentions and will study hard."
Si Yuan shook his head and sighed, "This kid knows that His Majesty dotes on him, and he relies on the fact that he is my only legitimate son, so he is fearless and thinks that the position of the Crown Prince is in his pocket. He studies for three days and rests for two days, and often skips classes to go to Qianqi Pavilion to play. I can't bear to beat him, and I can't bear to scold him. I have tried my best to persuade him, but he won't listen. I am powerless..."
The emperor was shocked. He had always known that Zhou Jing was not very interested in studying, but he had never thought that Zhou Jing's attitude towards learning was so negative. Wouldn't that mean he would become a fool?
And there is Qianqi Pavilion... The emperor narrowed his eyes. He knew that Qianqi Pavilion was a den of infatuation secretly controlled by the eldest prince. Could it be that Zhou Jing became so playful and unwilling to study because the eldest prince deliberately induced him to do so?
The emperor temporarily suppressed his dissatisfaction with the eldest prince. What he was more concerned about now was Zhou Jing's study problems, but he was also very troubled and didn't know what to do.
Just like Si Yuan said, I can’t bear to hit him, I can’t bear to scold him, and he won’t listen to my advice. What should I do?
Seeing the emperor's worried and distressed expression, Si Yuan spoke at the right time to test him: "Your Majesty, I have a way that may be able to motivate Jing'er to work hard, but I may need your help."
The emperor quickly asked, "What can I do for you?" He would do his best to help his beloved son study well.
Si Yuan pondered and said, "Your Majesty, can you cooperate with me in a play? I would like to appoint the eldest son Zhou Ming as the crown prince. I hope Your Majesty will agree. In this way, Jing'er will know that the position of the crown prince is not in his pocket. I will tell him that if he is willing to study hard and make progress, I will petition to appoint him as the crown prince. Perhaps this will change Jing'er's attitude towards learning."
After the emperor heard what Si Yuan said, he immediately thought it was a good idea. He should first appoint the eldest son of the Duke of Yingguo as the Crown Prince to encourage Zhou Jing to work hard. After he has corrected his attitude and achieved results in his studies, he can then appoint Zhou Jing as the Crown Prince... Perhaps there is no need to change Zhou Jing to the Crown Prince. At that time, Zhou Jing could directly restore his status as the Crown Prince and enter the East Palace legitimately. The position of the Duke of Yingguo as the Crown Prince would only be used to motivate his beloved son.
The emperor did not suspect that Si Yuan wanted to take the opportunity to ask for the appointment of his eldest son Zhou Ming as the crown prince. After all, appointing a crown prince required his permission as the emperor, and abolishing the crown prince was also a matter of his own volition.
After Zhou Jing's life story is revealed, he plans to wipe out the entire Duke of Ying's Mansion. So what does it matter who becomes the crown prince?
The emperor thought about it and agreed directly: "Yes."
Si Yuan also specifically reminded the emperor: "In order to make Jing'er truly work hard, please don't spoil him anymore. If Jing'er thinks that he has your support, the position of the crown prince will return to him sooner or later, he will definitely slack off in his studies again."
The emperor nodded reluctantly. Alas, in order to let his son study well, he could only reluctantly show that he was not so fond of him.
Fortunately, the emperor was best at pretending to neglect the people he loved the most (for example, he banished his true love Li Zhaoyi to the cold palace), and pretending to favor people he didn't like (for example, he favored those concubines with powerful family backgrounds who he was wary of and disliked, and the prince who he used as a shield).
Seeing that the emperor had agreed sincerely, Si Yuan said goodbye and left with peace of mind.
Then the next day, Si Yuan openly requested at the morning court to appoint his eldest son Zhou Ming as the crown prince.
The emperor asked in a pretentious tone, "You already have a legitimate son, why do you want to establish a concubine's son?"
Si Yuan said in a tone of family misfortune: "The legitimate son is unruly and unfit to be the crown prince. He has no chance to inherit the family business, so we have to appoint the eldest son as the crown prince. Please grant this, Your Majesty."
The emperor pretended to be convinced by Si Yuan, and agreed after a moment's hesitation. In addition, in order to show that he still valued the Duke of England, he also allowed the next Duke of England to inherit the original title without having to downgrade.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com