Chapter 70
According to the system...
Chu Huan thought of a familiar plot: [Did Prince Fu Rui replace the princess's child with a son born to another woman?]
In order to ensure that the son born to the beloved can naturally inherit the throne of the crown prince, this method is often seen in novels and TV dramas.
Everyone who heard it subconsciously thought of this reason, but Dasheng did not practice the system of inheritance by the eldest son, and inheritance could be achieved without changing the son, so... was it necessary?
But the system said: [No. ]
Just deny it if you want, but this guy had to use a cocky tone of "Hey, hey, I knew you couldn't guess it!", which made everyone feel a little unhappy.
Normally the system wouldn't keep things in suspense like this. It would usually tell Chu Huan when she couldn't guess, like a child who couldn't wait to show off a secret.
He's acting so abnormally today, is he trying to help her divert everyone's attention?
——The more shocking and convoluted Prince Furui’s melons are, the less attention the melon-babies will pay to Chu Shu and Liu Yue.
A warm feeling passed through Chu Huan's heart. Little Shatong had taken the initiative to protect her, so she had to cooperate and not let it down.
Chu Huan: [Does Prince Fu Rui know about this?]
System: [I know.]
Chu Hua: [Who changed it?]
System: [Princess.]
After only three questions and three answers, a lot of information came out, but everyone became more confused.
Prince Furui knew that the princess had exchanged her son, and he recognized this son. In the end, he asked for the son to be named the crown prince?
What kind of magical and confusing operation is this?
Chu Huan felt her curiosity had been piqued enough, so she could start eating melons: [Expand your discussion.]
The system couldn't wait to share this information, so it quickly cut the melon: [When Prince Fu Rui was still a prince, just like the current Crown Prince, he was stationed at the border year-round, but he was stationed at the border between Dasheng and Xirong.]
The previous Xirong emperor was a rather rabid warmonger. When he had money and food, he attacked his neighbors. When he had no money and food, he attacked his neighbors even more. You should know the latter strategy: using war to support war and deflect conflict.
Chu Huan knew for sure: [Well, go on.]
Everyone: ???
Why don't you two elaborate on the idea of using war to support war and deflecting conflict? Is there anything we can't hear?!
The old master seemed to be thinking about something and would discuss this strategy in detail with his colleagues later.
System: [At that time, Dasheng and Xirong were constantly at war. The Xirong were particularly aggressive, occasionally engaging in actual combat, and occasionally harassing them. They would wait for Dasheng to send troops before fleeing, and if they didn't, they would actually engage. In any case, all sorts of strategies and intrigues were employed. Prince Furui's combat awareness and skills were cultivated during that time.]
Everyone knew the Dasheng treasury was poor, with limited funds for military pay, weapons, and rations. Life was hard for soldiers on the frontier. The military was physically demanding, requiring large meals. Training was impossible without energy, and food was often delivered to the soldiers on the battlefield. Simply put, the army was becoming increasingly unsustainable.
Prince Furui was young and hot-headed at the time. Seeing that his successive memorials and letters to his family had failed to gain much from the Emperor, he could not bear to see his brothers, who had been with him through thick and thin, fall one by one, so he decided to find another way.
"You won't give me weapons and food, and you won't allow me to find a way to get them myself? There's nothing we can do here in Dasheng, we're all from the same hometown. But it's different with the Western Rong and Northern Di."
Chu Hua understood immediately, and her smile gradually became distorted: [This is like my neighbor hoarding food and I hoarding guns. My neighbor is my granary.]
Everyone: ???
Everyone:!!!
Isn't this Xirong's usual style? What a brilliant summary!
The old master silently kept these words in mind. The national treasury has money now, but no one can say for how long the money will last, so it is better to make plans early.
The system clapped excitedly, its silent understanding with the host: [Yes, yes, the Western Rong love war so much, they must have weapons and food, even if they don't have them! This is the compensation the Western Rong must pay for their repeated border incursions, causing physical and psychological harm to the soldiers and civilians!]
[The Northern Di region has a unique geographical location, boasting incredibly abundant water and grass resources. It's close to Prince Furui's residence. Well... not really, but it's faster than writing to the capital to request fodder, and then having the court circulate it around. And the key is, the fodder is free! The emperor and his officials will definitely not object to something free!]
The Fifth Prince and the Old Grand Tutor lowered their heads in silence. This move hit the nail on the head precisely.
System: [Bei Di horses are better at charging and raiding than Da Sheng horses, and they are all well-fed and strong, making them particularly well-suited to dealing with the disgusting harassment tactics of the Xi Rong. Prince Fu Rui has long coveted Bei Di horses.]
【Then he found a way to get everything back! 】
Chu Huan didn't have much contact with Prince Fu Rui, but he was one of their own. He had been stationed at the border to defend the country and the people for so many years and had made all the contributions and efforts. He must be protected without any reason!
She thought for a moment and said with a smile, "How unpleasant is 'grab'? You should say 'pick up'!"
Prince Furui kindly picked up unwanted items that fell on the ground and reused them, preventing any waste. What a precious virtue this is! It's truly worth promoting!
system:【……】
Everyone: “…”
Wow, you are worthy of being able to describe robbery in such a clear and elegant way!
Chu Shu, who heard it clearly, said: "..."
She suddenly felt that her sister was not as noble as she had imagined - Chu Huan was not greedy for money, but she could confuse right and wrong and even rob people!
Robbery can be called "picking up", and it has to be promoted. The dowry she saved with great difficulty became precarious in an instant!
Chu Shu decided to stay away from Chu Huan from now on, lest one day Chu Huan suddenly lose her mind and "pick up" her unwanted dowry that fell on the ground. The emperor and all the officials were Chu Huan's people, and she would have no one to complain to!
Chu Shu: weak, pitiful, helpless.
This wave of trouble completely messed up the system. I stood there in silence for a long time before I remembered what I was doing.
Oh, yes, eating melons.
[In short, we're going to take all the weapons and food from the Western Rong, and all the fodder and horses from the Northern Di...]
Chu Hua: [Hmm?]
The system quickly changed its tone: [All "picked up" back! ]
Everyone: “…”
Chu Huan nodded, with a teachable expression on her face.
Seeing that she was satisfied, the system continued: [The Western Rong and Northern Di people are extremely angry and have sent people to challenge and curse us, but where is the evidence?]
"It was during the war, and this was on the border. Prince Furui said he bought it from a reseller and confiscated it after the war. There's nothing they can do about it? Besides, they're all enemies, fighting each other every day. Who's going to reason with you?"
If we're being honest, didn't the Western Rong and Northern Di rob Dasheng and seize spoils? Many things are unclear, and they can only bear this loss in frustration.
Chu Huan held her forehead and said dryly, "I suspect that Beidi's strict defense against selling Beidi horses to Dasheng played a role in this matter."
System: [Yes, the Northern Di people are really angry.]
Later, when they heard that the eldest prince was trained by Prince Furui and stationed at the border between Dasheng and Beidi, everyone thought the eldest prince was following Prince Furui's example and stealing horses, and he was keeping a close eye on the Beidi horses.
Chu Huan: “…”
Everyone: “…”
I thought the Northern Di were on guard against Da Sheng having better horses, which would give them an advantage in a war with the Northern Di, but I didn't expect this to happen.
There always seems to be a feeling that there are a few idiots mixed in with the high-end national war, making the national war feel less serious.
Chu Huan tried to redirect the topic, which was already trending towards nonsense: [Prince Fu Rui seized so many Beidi horses back then, but there weren't many left in Dasheng.]
System: [One reason is that they were not used to the new location and the climate and environment were not suitable. The army had no experience in raising Northern Di horses, so a number of them died. Another reason is that the war between Dasheng and Xirong was fierce, and many Northern Di horses were dragged into the battlefield and died before they could leave any bloodline.]
Prince Furui saw that Beidi horses were more useful than Dasheng horses and could be obtained for free, so he frequently sent people to stake out Beidi horse farms. He also bribed Beidi children to keep an eye out for the horses, and then, upon receiving a tip, he would go and capture them all.
[After this happened many times, the Northern Di people learned that there was a powerful group of horse thieves. Soon, word spread that Dasheng had a large number of Northern Di horses. The Western Rong also questioned the Northern Di people about why they were selling horses. The Northern Di emperor was so angry that he vomited blood.]
Chu Huan said disdainfully: [Tsk tsk, he's already the emperor, yet he spits blood when he's angry. Isn't that a bit too narrow-minded?]
Everyone nodded repeatedly: That’s right!
Recalling the current emperor's consistent style, they couldn't help but wonder: Are all emperors like this? Can those who are more generous not become emperors?
"A-choo——" The emperor in the palace sneezed unexpectedly.
This time, the system felt like speaking up for the late Emperor of Beidi, so it said weakly, "Well... Sister Huan."
Prince Furui was quite knowledgeable about horses. At first, he would grab any he saw, but later he grabbed more and more. Later, he even managed to steal a warhorse specially trained by the Northern Di people.
In other words, the Northern Di Emperor spent a fortune raising numerous war horses, only to have them stolen by Prince Furui before he could even use them to fight the Western Rong. He suffered such a huge loss, and was even accused by the Western Rong of aiding the enemy and demanded compensation.
In this wave, the former emperor of Beidi was really the one who was taken advantage of.
Chu Huan laughed, her laughter particularly wild: [Serves them right! Let the Northern Di invade our borders all the time!]
The Fifth Prince and the Old Grand Tutor in the study smiled reservedly, but the people outside the study didn't have to worry so much. They either laughed out loud or slapped their thighs with joy.
If the Western Rong and Northern Di had not produced two warlike emperors in succession, and both of them had set their sights on Da Sheng, a piece of fat meat that was not strong enough and was suspected to be easy to chew, Da Sheng would not have sent two generations of princes to garrison the border for decades.
——To show the court’s determination to attach importance to military affairs, vigorously train military generals, and never withhold the soldiers’ salaries.
The system continued: [During the reign of the previous emperor, the national treasury was very poor. The Great Sheng was able to resist the invasion of the Western Rong for more than 20 years, largely due to the method Prince Fu Rui devised and promoted, which was to rob neighboring families of food and weapons.]
[Weapons, armor, food, and horses were all gone. The Western Rong couldn't take them back, and subsequent military supplies weren't coming in. They were either robbed or prepared to be robbed. The Western Rong treasury was running out of money, so a large-scale war couldn't be fought.]
Chu Huan: [Prince Fu Rui is awesome!] Other than that, she had nothing else to say.
Everyone: Prince Fury is awesome!
Officials of the old Grand Tutor's age knew what Prince Furui had done in the past, but revealing the fact that the prince had robbed someone would be somewhat damaging to the reputation of the royal family, so it was concealed.
So many people heard about it for the first time, and lamented that this was the real reason why Xirong and Dasheng rarely went to war later:
Dasheng: Hey, neighbor, are we fighting?
Xirong: Let’s fight!
Dasheng: Okay, then I'll rob you first, and then I'll beat you after I'm done.
Xirong and Beidi: Ahhhh, don’t come over here!!!
Chu Hua: [This is a bit off topic. Aren't we supposed to be eating some melon?]
System: [Oh, yes. Prince Furui was stationed at the border for too many years. At that time, the war between Dasheng and Xirong was quite fierce. It was difficult for him to return to the capital, but he couldn't stay unmarried forever, right?]
The late emperor came up with a plan to arrange a marriage for his son and sent a team of people to escort the princess to the frontier so that they could get married there. This way, they would not be hindered from starting a family and having children.
The border was chaotic, and life was difficult. The princess came from a prominent family, but her health wasn't good, and she had a hard time there. Not only was she not used to the climate, but she was also constantly worried about her husband, who was away on the battlefield. She was worried day and night, and couldn't get pregnant.
The princess was extremely distressed. She had consulted many doctors but none of them could cure her. Seeing that all the concubines and other wives in the palace had given birth, she still hadn't. Her family was also urging her to have a baby. She had no other choice but to send her personal maid away.
She wanted a legitimate son who could solidify her position and inherit the throne. What was the point of pushing a maid out as a concubine? So she found a way to get Prince Furui drunk, push the maid out, and then when the maid became pregnant, she faked her own pregnancy and gave birth to the child.
Chu Huan: “…”
I finally understand why the system said that Prince Fury knew about it - if a man is really so drunk that he doesn't even know who he slept with, then he can't complete the crime.
Prince Furui knows that the princess is having trouble giving birth, so he is cooperating with her, right?
System: [Yes, in order to have a child, the princess, who used to be a vegetarian, ate meat for every meal. Even though she felt nauseous, she forced herself to eat. Sometimes she even vomited. She also took medicine twice a day. She was so thin that she was almost pickled by the herbs.]
Prince Furui actually didn't care that much about whether his son was legitimate or not. He had won his throne through fighting for it, so he thought that if his descendants were truly capable, they could also have one themselves. So he told the princess that he could adopt one.
Some mistresses who were unable to give birth to sons or whose sons died young did this. They would adopt the children born to concubines or register them under the mistress's name, giving them the title of legitimate son.
[In Prince Furui's opinion, the princess had suffered too much and it would be better for her to adopt a child. However, the princess felt that the child was not her own and would not be close to her, so she insisted on giving birth to her own child.]
[After the maid gave birth, the princess sent the child away. No one knew the child wasn't hers, so it was her biological child.]
Chu Huan didn't know what to say. She didn't know whether the princess herself had the wrong idea or her family had distorted her education.
Why do you have to make it so difficult to have children?
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a ready-made child instead of having to endure the hardship of ten months of pregnancy?
Nowadays, there are countless girls who love children but are psychologically traumatized by pregnancy and childbirth, and want to be mothers without pain.
After all these years of trouble, didn't you still end up raising a maid's child?
Chu Hua: [Doesn't Prince Fu Rui know about this?]
System: [Prince Furui was also afraid that after this matter was exposed, the princess would come up with other ideas. No matter which woman gave birth to the child, it was still his child. He didn't ask for the title of Crown Prince at birth. It depended on which son was more outstanding. He didn't care and even had the maidservant well settled.]
After all, even if this matter was finally exposed, he was still Prince Fury's biological son. He was outstanding enough to inherit the throne, so there was no need to kill him to silence him.
——The throne no longer requires a legitimate son to inherit it, let alone the throne of a prince.
[In the end, the princess adopted a son who wasn't even a maid, which made things even more awkward. Why go through so much trouble?] The system really couldn't figure it out.
Chu Hua: [People always have a lucky mentality, thinking that they might not be discovered.]
If it was her son, she wouldn't be criticized for not being able to give birth to a son, wouldn't be mocked as a hen that doesn't lay eggs, and wouldn't be constantly urged by her family. She could finally get a break from the suffocating environment.
It can only be said that the various circumstances in ancient times forced the princess to have a child of her own.
Even though Prince Furui himself didn't care and even offered a solution, public opinion and her family were forcing her, so she tried her best to save herself within her ability.
The only thing to be thankful for is that the surrogate maid was treated well and was not killed.
Yes, the whole thing sounds like an ancient version of surrogacy.
Surrogacy is illegal in modern times, but there was no such concept in ancient times, and there were no relevant laws and regulations to protect women's reproductive rights.
The system repeatedly tried, finding it difficult to empathize or understand: [Sister Huan, am I too rational? No matter how I think about it, I don't think this is the optimal solution.]
Chu Huan: [It wasn't a matter of reason or emotion. The princess was in a difficult situation at the time, and this was the only solution she could think of.]
She sighed deeply: [The Crown Prince's Consort wouldn't use the same tricks to give birth to a son, would she?]
System: [That’s not the case.]
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