Zhong Mingzheng looked at the glass of wine handed to him, then looked at Zhong Minge who had a faint smile on her face. After a while, he took the glass of wine without saying a word and drank it all.
Zhong Ming'e also drank it all, and then put the glass on the table. He clasped his fists and said to Zhong Mingzheng, "Goodbye!"
Without waiting for Zhong Mingzheng's reaction, Zhong Ming'e picked up the cloak, turned around and left the pavilion, and then went down the mountain along the mountain road.
"Your Highness, you don't look well," Ling Shian came over. Seeing that Zhong Mingzheng's face was very gloomy, he asked worriedly, "Do you feel unwell?"
"What has the Fourth Prince been busy with recently?" Zhong Mingzheng asked slowly as he looked at Zhong Ming'e who was walking slowly down the mountain.
"The Fourth Prince... He has been going to the Imperial Study more often recently." Ling Shi'an was startled, not knowing why Zhong Mingzheng suddenly asked about Zhong Mingrong. After thinking for a while, he continued, "It seems that since the Queen Mother passed away, His Majesty has been in a bad mood. He doesn't like to go to the harem much, but he likes to play chess and chat with the Fourth Prince. Now, apart from Concubine Hui, the Fourth Prince is the only one who goes to the Imperial Study more frequently."
"What else?" Zhong Mingzheng asked again, his expression even uglier than before.
"And...what else?" Ling Shi'an stammered. He really didn't know what Zhong Mingzheng was asking.
"Who does the Fourth Prince usually meet with in private? What do they talk about? Does the Fourth Prince interact frequently with the Zhao family? What does the Emperor talk to the Fourth Prince about?" Zhong Mingzheng asked coldly, "Do you know all this?"
"This... I don't know." Ling Shian whispered. He was very puzzled. Zhong Mingzheng had always loved his younger brother Zhong Mingrong very much. He loved him even more after the death of the Imperial Noble Consort. But from Zhong Mingzheng's tone, it seemed... there was no hint of love. It sounded like Zhong Mingzheng was hostile to Zhong Mingrong.
"Then find out!" Zhong Mingzheng suddenly turned around and looked at Ling Shian coldly, "Find out what time he gets up every day, who he meets, and what he says. Don't miss a single word, or I'll chop off your head. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I obey your command!" Ling Shi'an bowed hurriedly.
…
That night.
Imperial study.
"Father, can't you give me some leeway?" The fourth prince, Zhong Mingrong, looked at Zhong Zhiheng with a wrinkled face, pouting and complaining, "You win so much every time, don't you get tired of it? I'm tired of losing!"
"Hahaha! What else can I do to you? I've allowed you to regret your moves three times! Yet you're still unsatisfied!" Zhong Zhiheng laughed loudly. He threw the chess pieces into the chess jar and pinched Zhong Mingrong's white nose. "You greedy little thing."
"Hehe, I am not greedy. My father is the emperor. The whole world belongs to him. I just want to enjoy the good life with him. What is there for me to be greedy for?" Zhong Mingrong laughed. He crawled from the couch to behind Zhong Zhiheng, rubbed his shoulders and said with an apologetic smile, "Your Majesty has been reviewing memorials all day. He must be exhausted. I will serve you."
"You little thing," Zhong Zhiheng sighed comfortably, patted Zhong Mingrong's hand and said with a smile, "You just enjoy yourself blindly, and don't even think about sharing the worries of your father? Your father is already old."
"Father is in his prime! He will still be as vigorous as ever in another ten years, so he doesn't need me to worry about him. I just hope that father lives forever, and then I can just hide behind him and enjoy the good life, hehe," Zhong Mingrong pinched even harder, and added, "Besides, there are my brothers who are there to share father's worries, so it's not my turn."
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