Chapter 140: The Prince Wants to Revolt
Shen Shuwei held Zhao Yun's hand in return, looking at him with clear almond eyes, "Zhao Yun, are you hiding something from me?"
Zhao Yun twisted his slender fingers in the way she held his hand, and kissed the fingertips lightly with his lips. "Didn't Ah Yuan know the only thing I kept secret?"
Shen Shuwei looked at him for a moment, then pulled his hand back. "No, that's not the best."
-
In the dim dormitory, two figures sat opposite each other. One of them was wearing gorgeous clothes and a jade crown. His eyes looked tired and there was anger between his brows. It was Xiao Chengming.
He threw the letter in his hand and stood up suddenly. "Have those people in the Dali Temple gone crazy?! I've offered them a huge sum of money, but they won't give in. They're determined to keep harping on the iron ore issue!"
"If they continue to investigate this matter, all my years of hard work will be wasted!"
The old man sitting on the other side of the desk calmly picked up the letter that had fallen to the ground and said, "Your Highness, please be patient. There is still room for improvement."
"What room is there left? Teacher, do you expect me to replace everyone in the Dali Temple with my own people overnight?" Xiao Chengming said gritting his teeth.
Jiang Heng, he really underestimated this person. He was really a dog that bites but doesn't bark. He thought that after staying in a hellhole like the Northern Frontier for more than ten years, he had worn down his character. Unexpectedly, he started biting people indiscriminately like a mad dog as soon as he entered Beijing.
The old man flattened the letter and sorted it out, then lowered his eyes and said slowly, "You can't get a tiger cub without learning from the tiger. Your Highness has been planning for years, and some things should be brought forward."
Xiao Chengming was startled and looked at the old man in disbelief, "Teacher, what are you saying?"
The old man looked up at Xiao Chengming, his cloudy eyes gleaming with determination. "The matter behind the iron mine has far-reaching implications. If the Dali Temple really digs it out, not only will I be waiting for death, but your highness's time as crown prince will also be over."
"For the sake of Your Highness's grand plan and the guests of the Prince's Mansion, I request Your Highness to make a decision as soon as possible." The old man stood up with the help of the desk and bowed deeply to Xiao Chengming.
Xiao Chengming was momentarily confused. He looked at the old man and opened his mouth. After a long while, he squeezed out a word from his dry throat, "I understand. Teacher, do you have any good ideas?"
The old man dipped his fingertips in tea and wrote two words on the table.
"If Your Highness wishes to accomplish this, he will need the assistance of troops from Liang Province or Northern Xinjiang. I know Your Highness has won over Zhao Yue from Liang Province, but he is far less capable than his brother." The old man took a breath and continued, "Furthermore, Zhao Yun is both good and evil, and his actions are unpredictable. Your Highness may have already made a grudge against him. You can't count on the over 100,000 troops from Liang Province."
Xiao Chengming gritted his teeth, his face turning pale and blue.
On the day of the winter hunt, Zhao Yue was shot in the shoulder by Zhao Yun. After he was carried back, the imperial physician said that the bones in his right arm were shattered, and even if he recovered, he would not be able to bend the bow or lift the sword in the future.
There was no way Liangzhou would recognize a useless guy who couldn't even lift a hand as King Jing. He lost this round.
Although Zhao Yun still holds the title of crown prince, all the troops in Liang Province are actually under his control.
"Liangzhou won't work. Could it be that Teacher wants me to win over the people in Northern Xinjiang?" Xiao Chengming asked, "Teacher, have you forgotten who put me in this predicament?"
The old man shook his head and sighed, "If Your Highness wishes to accomplish great things, he must endure things that ordinary people cannot. Although Jiang Heng acts recklessly, he does have weaknesses that Your Highness can exploit."
Xiao Chengming's mind raced upon hearing this, recalling the rumors circulating in Luojing these days. "Teacher, are you talking about the young lady Princess Lin Zhao gave birth to?"
The old man stroked his beard, his eyes half closed, and said, "That's right."
Xiao Chengming was still worried. "The news that Chu Shuwei from the Marquis of Jingning's mansion was Princess Linzhao's lost daughter has been circulating for several days, and many senior officials from the royal family have gone to visit her. But Jiang Heng hasn't reacted at all, and it's not as if he's bringing her back to the Marquis of Huaiyuan's mansion to recognize her ancestral roots."
"Will it really work to threaten Chu Xinrou?"
"Not all the troops in the Northern Frontier obey Jiang Heng. Above him is Princess Linzhao. Princess Linzhao had a deep friendship with Marquis Huaiyuan in the past. Since she and Marquis Huaiyuan are their own flesh and blood who have been separated for many years, she will definitely not ignore them." The old man said calmly.
Xiao Chengming's eyes lit up slightly. After turning around a few times, he lifted his robe and sat back on the futon. "Just do as you say, teacher."
-
Hall of Mental Cultivation
White smoke as light as mist swirled above the Boshan furnace, but the man kneeling in the hall had no intention of appreciating this priceless ambergris. He stood with his legs folded, his head lowered very low, and his temples were wet with cold sweat.
At this moment, a majestic voice came from above, "The Crown Prince has been deploying personnel in the Northern Frontier and mining large quantities of iron ore since five years ago. How come you, the Crown Prince's Palace Secretary, haven't heard of this at all?"
Liu Zhanshi was the emperor's spy placed next to the crown prince. When the emperor was young, he was not at ease with his sons, so he had spies around the three adult princes.
Now that he was older and in worse health, his suspicions were multiplied. It was revealed that the Crown Prince had been illegally operating an iron mine for five years, yet he, the Crown Prince's Chamberlain, hadn't received a single whit of information.
Liu Zhanshi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and replied haltingly, "It's...it's my incompetence."
"You are incompetent." The emperor threw a memorial in front of him, his tone becoming more severe. "Take a good look at this memorial. This is the prince's expenses over the years."
"He's both a craftsman and Zhuangzi, yet you don't notice anything unusual about him."
"Liu Hui, are you dead?"
Liu Zhanshi quickly glanced at the memorial and was immediately shocked by the huge expenditure on it. Is the prince going to rebel?
"Your Majesty, please forgive me... Your Majesty, please forgive me." Liu Zhanshi kowtowed repeatedly to apologize.
The emperor had just taken the medicine when his head started to ache again.
First, the third prince Xiao Chengping and Concubine Rou secretly murdered Xiao Fufeng's future son-in-law Sun Mingzong, and caught them red-handed. The incident caused an uproar in the city, and he had to order Concubine Rou to be confined to his house and Xiao Chengping to be imprisoned.
Now there is news that the prince is privately mining iron ore and even secretly smelting ironware.
All of these things were picked out by Jiang Heng.
There was a clear murderous intent in the emperor's eyes. He couldn't let Jiang Heng stay.
"Get out." The emperor held up his temples and shouted coldly.
Liu Hui crawled out, and a figure in black armor passed by him and entered the Yangxin Palace.
Liu Hui didn't dare to look any longer. He quickly withdrew his gaze and walked down the stairs. The door of the Yangxin Palace closed.
The emperor looked at the people below and said, "I have something to entrust to you."
"Get rid of Jiang Heng."
"Yes." The man clasped his fists neatly, with no expression on his ordinary face.
The door of the Hall of Mental Cultivation opened and closed again. The emperor's face, which had aged a lot after his serious illness, faced the plaque with black characters on a yellow background that read "Diligent in Government and Close to the Virtuous."
After a long moment, he closed his eyes and said, "Miss Chuan Yi."
The eunuch responded and was about to leave with his back bent when he heard the emperor add, "Tell her to bring the Sixth Prince along."
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