However, Duan Tingxuan also understood that when it comes to the throne, it is hard to predict how much brotherhood will play a role under this premise. Do you think that the emperors in history had no brotherhood? Li Shimin was a wise ruler for all ages, and he also had the Xuanwu Gate Incident; after Zhao Kuangyin was crowned with the yellow robe, the first thing he did was to remove the military power of the brothers who had put on the yellow robe for him; Zhu Yuanzhang was even more cruel, killing and demoting the brothers who had lived and died together, leaving almost no one. Aren't these emperors not loyal? But when it comes to the throne, their choices are almost the same, cruel and ruthless.
So the young marquis seemed confident on the surface, but he actually had seven or eight rabbits in his mind. It was not until this moment, when he saw that the prince could still smile in the face of his jokes, and it was obvious that he did not let this potential threat occupy his whole mind, that he was really relieved.
This shows that the Crown Prince does have some concerns for the Fourth Prince. His first reaction after hearing about this was not to get rid of his younger brother quietly. Otherwise, it would be like Duan Tingxuan performing the bear dance in front of him. Do you think he would be able to laugh?
"According to you, what should we do about this?" His Royal Highness the Crown Prince panted heavily, thought for a moment, and asked with a gloomy face, "Does the Emperor know about this?"
"If I didn't want to hide it from the emperor, I wouldn't tell the truth to His Highness in this study." Duan Tingxuan smiled bitterly, but saw the prince looking at him thoughtfully, and whispered: "So, do you want to protect the longevity?"
"Whether I want to protect him or not is not important. What's important is whether the Crown Prince wants to protect him or not?" Duan Tingxuan spoke in a deep voice. After he paused, he thought for a while, as if he had made up his mind. He gritted his teeth and said, "Your Highness, the Queen is my aunt. We are close cousins. No matter what decision you make, I will naturally support you unconditionally. Although I am also good friends with the Fourth Prince, however... let alone this is a matter of the royal family. No personal feelings are allowed. Even if there are, we still have to... distinguish between close and distant relatives."
"Bah! You're just saying it nicely. Do you think I don't know? If I really made up my mind to get rid of Chang Jing, you wouldn't say it, but you would be scared inside." The Crown Prince snorted coldly. Without this ability to see through people's hearts, how could he become the most respected Crown Prince by the Emperor even though he was so fat?
Duan Tingxuan remained silent. The prince had said so much, and if you were to quibble and say no, it would be impossible. It would be foolish to distance yourself from the crown prince and future emperor. It would also be suspected of disrespecting the prince's intelligence, so he kept silent, which was equivalent to acquiescence.
"You are unwilling to let go, do you think I am willing to let go? You only treat him as your cousin. But I regard him as my own brother." His Royal Highness the Crown Prince pounded the bed, showing his true feelings, and then suddenly took a few deep breaths, and then said in a deep voice: "Empress Jing... did you have feelings for the Prince of Xiangyang... that day?"
"According to the information revealed by Lu Fengyu, Concubine Jing was raped by Prince Xiangyang that day..." Duan Tingxuan said without hesitation. This was indeed the information sold to him by Lu Fengyu.
"This beast. A bastard who is worse than an animal. I... I must not let him go." The prince was so angry that his face turned purple and he pounded the couch desperately.
Duan Tingxuan said hurriedly: "Your Highness, please calm down. This matter must not be discovered by anyone. Forgive me for being frank, but if the Emperor finds out, even if you want to... let the Fourth Prince go, I'm afraid the Emperor... won't be able to say anything..."
The prince also knew that what Duan Tingxuan said made sense. After all, he was the crown prince of the Eastern Palace. He took a few deep breaths and barely suppressed his anger. When he saw Duan Tingxuan looking out the window, he knew that he should leave.
"Then I'll go back." As a prince, sneaking out was already out of line, and if he stayed outside for a night, it would be even more serious. The prince was not an unreasonable person. Seeing Duan Tingxuan's hint, he stood up, straightened his clothes, and then walked out with a serious face.
"Your Highness."
Duan Tingxuan hurriedly called him, then walked a few steps to the front and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness came here excitedly, but now he is leaving in anger, with a gloomy face as if I owe you a million taels of silver. I'm afraid this kind of abnormal behavior is not appropriate in the eyes of others, especially the emperor who is very perceptive... that... you know..."
"I understand, of course I understand." The prince nodded, but soon continued in a low voice: "But how the hell do you want me to walk out with a happy face? After I know such news?"
Duan Tingxuan: ...How strange, it turns out the prince can also swear?
"I don't care. Just tell me something that will make me happy and let me walk out of here happily." The prince started to make trouble unreasonably, and the young marquis frowned: "How can I do anything that will make the prince happy? Your Highness, please don't force me."
"Now you remember to ask me not to force others, but when you told me this difficult matter just now, why didn't you think that you were also forcing me?" Keep playing rogue, hum! Who let Tingxuan, this bastard, make me unhappy? If I am unhappy, he can't be happy either.
"How fresh! If I don't tell His Highness about this, will I tell the Emperor? Or should I keep it a secret so that only Donglou and I know about it? I told Your Highness that I went to Jiangnan just to vindicate my father-in-law. If I really said that, could you resist the urge to kick me to death?"
Duan Tingxuan rolled his eyes and ruthlessly exposed the truth, but the prince was still relying on him and said angrily, "I don't care about these. Anyway, if you don't want to give a reason, I won't leave. You have to explain to my father, the emperor, and my mother."
"Why are you here, Your Highness?"
The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace was acting like a rogue, and even a powerful man like the young marquis was helpless. Fortunately, he understood his cousin's preferences, so after a little thought, he came up with a funny question and asked it casually.
"Why did I come here?"
The prince was stunned for a moment, then said with great joy: "Isn't it because you and your sister-in-law came back from Liaodong? Now everyone in the capital says that the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall in Anle Tower, Linqing is the best delicacy in the world. Those who are kind and rich have eaten it two or three times and praised it highly. There are also literati who are foodies at heart, and even wrote poems such as "Fu on Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" and "Linqing Tastes Buddha Jumps Over the Wall". The two lines of my sister-in-law's "The fragrance of meat spreads to the neighbors when the altar is opened, and the Buddha jumps over the wall when he hears the Buddha's Zen" are even more popular all over the world. Even this palace, who has great concentration, can't help but yearn for it. I have been looking forward to your return home for a long time. I thought you could eat it at noon today, so I rushed here, but I didn't expect that you have to wait until tomorrow. I can't come tomorrow. If you don't send me a jar, I will send people to attack Anping Marquis's Mansion. Humph! As the crown prince, I still have this power. You kid can do whatever you want."
Duan Tingxuan laughed and said, "How dare I miss your Highness? Don't worry, Nuannuan said that tomorrow we will not only make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, but also boiled fish. That one is to be eaten with chili peppers. I think your Highness will definitely like that taste, which is much better than mustard and peppercorns. In Nuannuan's words, that is the authentic spicy taste."
"Oh? There is such a good thing? Yes, there is indeed such a dish that is often mentioned together with Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, but it is quite controversial. Some people love it like their life, while others hate it like a thorn in their eyes, and even say it is the most terrible taste in the world. It seems that whether it is good or bad, I have to taste it carefully before I can say."
"That's right, so Your Highness can just wait patiently in the East Palace tomorrow." Duan Tingxuan smiled slightly. Seeing the prince stand up and walk out of the study with satisfaction, he hurriedly saw him off, all the way to the gate. Seeing the fat guy getting on the carriage with a smile on his face, the young marquis finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that foodies are easy to fool. Fortunately, Your Highness is a foodie.
Looking up at the setting sun in the sky, it had already reached the top of the mountain. The young marquis turned around and went to his mother. As expected, he saw his father there too, so he told him the purpose of the prince's visit. Hearing that the prince came for Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and boiled fish, the old marquis and his wife couldn't help but smile knowingly. Duan Ni twisted his beard and said, "Don't say that the prince is thinking about it. Even I am very curious now. I wonder what Buddha Jumps Over the Wall tastes like. I also like the kelp shreds today. I just wonder if I have never eaten this before."
Duan Tingxuan smiled and said, "This is really a coincidence. We were in Liaodong at that time. The victims were starving, but there was little food left in the warehouse. We didn't know when the relief money would arrive. We had no choice but to give it a try. Unexpectedly, it was delicious when we tried it. Nuannuan especially liked it, so we brought it back. Sure enough, the old lady also liked it. I wonder how mother liked it?" Of course, it couldn't be said at this time that it was the kelp that Su Nuannuan found. Fortunately, her parents would not send anyone to Liaodong to inquire about what happened.
Madam Yang smiled and said, "It tastes good to me, but I heard that your second mother doesn't like it, but your second brother and his wife said it's delicious. People's tastes are really ever-changing and there is no fixed formula."
The family chatted for a few words, and as the sun set, Duan Tingxuan returned to Chunfeng Garden, but saw that Su Nuannuan was not in the house, so he asked Honglian, "Where is your grandma?"
Honglian smiled and said, "She went to the kitchen. The Xue family's daughter-in-law sent someone to say that the farm had delivered a lot of food ingredients. She said that Grandpa and Grandma had asked for them, so Grandma went to take a look. She should be back soon."
Duan Tingxuan slapped his head and said, "But I actually forgot about this. When I passed by Liuzhuang, I remembered that the old lady might want to eat this Buddha Jumps Over the Wall when I came back, so I asked Siping to tell them to pick up the ingredients and send them over today. I didn't expect it to be delayed until now. Fortunately, it was delivered. Otherwise, the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Fourth Prince would be so happy tomorrow. Would I still be alive?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Nuannuan came in, and he asked with a smile: "How is it? Have you looked at the ingredients? How do you think?"
Su Nuannuan said with great joy, "No wonder you said that Liu Guan was amazing. It's hard to imagine how he could prepare everything in just three days. The ingredients were exactly the same as those we had in Linqing, and even better. Other things would be fine, but how did he get the seafood?"
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