After praising Erniu, Emperor Jingming looked at the Crown Prince and said calmly, "The Crown Prince is not bad either."
The prince almost burst into tears.
He received less praise than Erniu!
After everyone left and there were no outsiders in the room, Emperor Jingming looked at the prince deeply.
The prince was frightened by the look and laughed dryly: "Father——"
"How do you feel about this trip, Prince?" Emperor Jingming asked calmly.
The prince was stunned for a moment, and said hurriedly: "The people affected by the disaster are so pitiful, my son can't bear to see them..."
It's good to know how to cherish the people.
Emperor Jingming nodded secretly, and said calmly: "These people who suffered from the disaster are all citizens of the Great Zhou. Their suffering is the same as ours. Do you remember this?"
The prince nodded repeatedly: "Son, I'll remember it."
Emperor Jingming changed the subject: "But you must remember that there is no order without rules. The people affected by the disaster are indeed pitiful, but there are rules for how to resettle them and how much relief money to give them. You must not increase or decrease them at will based on your momentary mood, otherwise it will cause unnecessary trouble..."
The prince was furious when he heard this and muttered, "That old bastard, Minister Zhao, actually filed a complaint!"
"What did you say?" The prince complained in his throat, and Emperor Jingming did not hear clearly for a moment.
"There is one thing that I don't know whether I should say or not——"
Emperor Jingming was not so satisfied with the prince's trip. Hearing this, he said unhappily: "If you have something to say, just say it. Don't learn those petty bad habits!"
The prince choked and felt very aggrieved.
It turns out that the emperor doesn't like him. Everything he says is wrong.
Although he was depressed, he did not dare to hesitate any longer. The prince said solemnly, "Father, Minister Zhao is deceiving you!"
Emperor Jingming's eyelids twitched, and he stared at the prince with a serious look.
The prince said angrily, "There was no god who warned Lao Qi in his dream. It was Lao Qi's dog who predicted the earthquake in Jinli Town. But everyone was worried that the people of Jinli Town would not believe it, so they pretended that a god warned Lao Qi in his dream..."
Watching the prince talking incessantly with cold eyes, Emperor Jingming became more and more angry.
"Father, Minister Zhao knew the truth, but he used the excuse that the gods had given the seventh son a warning in his dream to the Supervisory Officer Yu Shi. This is clearly deceiving the emperor—"
"Enough!" Emperor Jingming slammed the table.
The prince paused and looked at Emperor Jingming in surprise.
Emperor Jingming was furious, pointing at the crown prince and scolding him, "You fool! You didn't take the hard work and contributions of your subjects to heart during your trip, but you learned to complain behind their backs. Do you still have the tolerance of a crown prince? If your behavior gets out, won't it make the civil and military officials feel disheartened?"
If the civil and military officials become disheartened, who will suffer in the end?
The hardship of the Crown Prince going out immediately disappeared in Emperor Jingming's mind, leaving only disappointment.
Thinking about the praises for Yu Jin in the three thick memorials, and then looking at the prince who complained behind closed doors, a thought suddenly flashed through Emperor Jingming's mind: Was it wrong to reinstate the prince?
He immediately suppressed this thought.
The crown prince has been restored, so there is no need to bother with him any more. Even more so - the seventh brother has performed so brilliantly, and he has also taken the warning of the god entering the dream with him. Is it for no purpose?
The heart of an emperor is always full of suspicion, and Emperor Jingming is no exception.
In fact, it was because Yu Jin's performance on this trip was too outstanding, far beyond his expectations, as well as the expectations of the civil and military officials and even the people of the world, that he could not help but be suspicious.
After severely reprimanding the crown prince, Emperor Jingming relaxed his breath and waved his hand, saying, "Go back to your East Palace and reflect on your behavior!"
The prince left Yu's study in disgrace, cursing Minister Zhao in his heart: You old bastard, there will be a day of reckoning in the future!
There was no sound in the study for a while. After a long while, Emperor Jingming opened his eyes and said to Pan Hai, "Call your apprentice."
Pan Hai walked out, called Xiao Lezi forward, and whispered, "The Emperor wants to ask you about the warning from the divine man who came into the King of Yan's dream."
"Master..." Xiao Lezi hesitated and looked at Pan Hai for his opinion.
Of course, he was of the same mind as his master, and his master's opinion of King Yan directly influenced what he said after entering.
For example, these people are well versed in speaking skills. Even though the great contributions made by the Prince of Yan cannot be erased, a slight change in the wording on certain details can subtly change the impression of the people who hear these words on the Prince of Yan.
Pan Hai said softly: "The King of Yan is a sincere man."
Xiao Lezi immediately understood what Pan Hai meant and whispered, "I understand, kid."
"Well, come in."
Soon, Xiao Lezi appeared in front of Emperor Jingming.
"This servant pays respects to His Majesty."
"Tell me what you saw in Qianhe County." Emperor Jingming said expressionlessly.
Xiao Lezi started talking.
Emperor Jingming listened carefully, and at the end he asked, "How did the Prince of Yan mention the divine man appearing in dreams to warn people in the beginning?"
Xiao Lezi hesitated for a moment.
"It's alright, I just want to know the truth."
The report was written by a person, and he could only treat other people's eyes and ears as his own, which was very helpless.
In comparison, the eunuchs around him are undoubtedly more trustworthy to the emperor.
Xiao Lezi then said, "I have inquired about it. In fact, at the beginning, the King of Yan suggested that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince should take on this responsibility..."
"The prince—"
"Your Highness thought it was nonsense for General Xiaotian to predict earthquakes, and he rejected it."
Emperor Jingming twitched the corners of his mouth.
He could fully understand why the prince refused. He was afraid of being held responsible if the earthquake did not occur.
Xiao Lezi lowered his head and continued, "At that time, the adults also felt that it was risky, and the King of Yan insisted, so -"
"That's enough, you can leave now."
Xiao Lezi quickly glanced at Pan Hai, said yes, and retreated quietly.
Emperor Jingming had a gloomy face and was in a very bad mood.
Pan Hai advised: "Your Majesty, this is not the Crown Prince's fault... Others do not have your keen eyes and insight, and they discovered General Xiaotian's magical powers early on, so naturally they did not dare to believe that General Xiaotian could predict the earthquake. If the Crown Prince had taken this matter into consideration and the earthquake did not occur, wouldn't it be a joke..."
Emperor Jingming shook his head and whispered: "The Crown Prince has less responsibility——"
Compared with the lives of the people in a town, what does being laughed at mean?
In this world, there are always some things that you would rather do than make a fool of yourself, because they are worth it.
Even if there is only a one in ten chance that an earthquake will occur, we should still do it.
If it is done, once an earthquake occurs, it will save the people of the town. If the earthquake does not occur, it will just make people laugh.
If a king is unwilling to take the risk of being laughed at for the sake of the people of a town, how can he devote himself to the country and the people in the future?
Emperor Jingming took a sip of the teacup and felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
Yu Jin left the palace with Erniu, and hurriedly bowed to Minister Zhao who had stayed behind to chat with him, then almost ran back to Prince Yan's Mansion.