Chapter 3 Inviting Several Young Masters to the Palace
In the princess's residence, Zhou She ate a melon, his face showing complete indifference, and even had the mood to mock his father: "It seems the Third Prince will never become emperor."
Father Zhou: "..." This unfilial son.
Zhou She left the last piece of melon for his father, patted his sleeves, and stood up: "Father, I think His Majesty's four sons all met with bad ends, but the Sixth Prince has great potential. Why don't I go and become the Sixth Prince's tutor?"
The sixth prince was still an infant and would not begin formal schooling until he was six years old, so he could enjoy five more years of carefree life.
Mr. Zhou chuckled: "Don't even think about it."
He had come to terms with it. Since he couldn't resist, he would observe the battle situation and then make a plan.
I wonder how things will change after this new sky falls?
Then Emperor Zhongzong probably won't be able to sit on the throne.
“Zhou She, I remember you have a pretty good relationship with several princes’ heirs. You should go and get in touch with them more often…”
As Mr. Zhou spoke, he turned his head and saw that there was no one around him. There was only a table full of melon rinds, with only one melon swaying back and forth.
Zhou She had already slipped out of the princess's residence and headed straight for the place he had arranged to meet his friends the day before: the teahouse "Hui Qian Chuan" in the capital.
...
The palace was deathly silent. The emperor looked around, momentarily at a loss for who to lash out at first.
The second son who forced the emperor to abdicate? The fourth son who was imprisoned? Or the fifth son whose actions remain unknown?
The third son was the smarter one. He thought to himself, "I neither forced you to abdicate nor slapped you, Father." So he took the lead in prostrating himself and begging for forgiveness: "Your subject does not know what he has done in the future that has caused Father to worry about my affairs. Your subject begs Father to punish me!"
Emperor Hong'an remained silent, lost in thought. The struggle for the throne had always been fierce, and he could roughly foresee what would happen in the future, but this sudden turn of events still left him speechless for a moment.
The fifth prince noticed his father's dazed state and quickly kowtowed, saying, "Father, even if you gave me a hundred lives, I would never dare to disrespect you!"
My father is both a father and an emperor. If he truly harbors any resentment, I might lose my life, let alone the throne.
The second prince remained silent. Although he was foolish, he wasn't unaware of the principle; he simply couldn't figure out how to distance himself from the situation.
However, under the Emperor Hong'an's deep gaze, he suddenly realized something and swore to the heavens: "Father, you are wise enough to know, how could your son have the ability to rebel?! All under heaven are subjects of the king, your son has neither the courage to defy the emperor nor the ability to force the emperor to abdicate!"
Emperor Hong'an: "..." Yes, my son is so useless that it makes me proud.
Amidst the threat to their lives, the three voices rose and fell. Emperor Hong'an's vision went black, and he slumped back into his rocking chair, staring blankly at the sky.
If it were just one of his three sons, he would have imprisoned them, if not killed. But all three were like this… even he, how could he possibly be so heartless?
The sky paused considerately, with only a strange ring spinning continuously, and there was no sound for a long time.
Seeing that things were going badly, the Third Prince quickly resorted to flattery and instigation, saying, "Second Brother admires Father Emperor, so how could he do something as foolish as forcing the emperor to abdicate? Father Emperor must investigate this thoroughly."
As soon as he finished speaking, Emperor Hong'an's gaze turned to him instead.
Having long held a high position, the emperor's emotionless gaze sent chills down the spine of the third prince.
"You really want me to find out the truth?" Emperor Hong'an laughed angrily and asked in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, I am only worried that Second Brother has been wronged..." the Third Prince hurriedly said.
Emperor Hong'an sneered: "Of course I would not wrong anyone."
The Third Prince lowered his head tightly, inwardly screaming: It's all over!
The celestial screen finally finished rotating, and the sound slowly drifted out:
Emperor Hong'an was nicknamed the "Crown Prince Killer" because almost every one of his sons ascended to the throne, only to be tragically killed shortly after. Later, some people suspected that he was actually trying to secretly kill off some of his sons, a very imaginative theory, but the uploader thinks it's still a bit too far-fetched.
However, the renowned fanfiction writer Xuegao wrote a classic fanfiction about a certain most cunning crown prince of the Li Dynasty who transmigrates into the body of the crown prince of the Hong'an Emperor, to see who can outlive whom... I would call it the new century's contradictory literature.
Emperor Hong'an, still burdened with pent-up emotions, froze upon hearing these words.
What is this new century's contradictory literature?
He did know about the Crown Prince of the Le Dynasty. After being made Crown Prince, all of his dozen or so brothers and sisters died, but he remained steadfast and eventually ascended the throne smoothly.
But what does that have to do with him!
Under the sky, many people familiar with history couldn't help but chuckle. Although they didn't know what happened to Emperor Hong'an's crown prince later, it seemed that he really did have a knack for bringing misfortune to his sons.
As for the rumor that he deliberately killed his son, few people believed it. Why bother? If his own son wasn't going to be emperor, was he going to pass the throne to his brothers?
The Ning Dynasty did not have the concept of succession by brother upon the death of the elder brother.
However, some fools couldn't wait any longer and went to present gifts to the prince they favored.
Fortunately, Emperor Hong'an had a good mindset. He was so angry with his good son that he fainted, but when he woke up, he was still able to say to Emperor Zhongzong: "Although the Crown Prince is dull-witted, he is pure in nature. I hope you will understand my good intentions and support the young emperor. The country is entrusted to you, and I can die in peace."
Therefore, it is clear that the previous statements were all rumors. Emperor Hong'an may have been a bit unlucky in having sons, but he was indeed a good father, a rare type in history, after all, those were all his beloved sons.
As for the Crown Prince dying quickly, that's inherently a high-risk profession. A Crown Prince with little patience dies even faster, so you really can't blame Hong An.
Tears welled in the fifth prince's eyes as he embraced his emperor father and wept bitterly, crying, "Father—"
Although the second prince and the fourth prince were a little far apart, they both felt at the same time that the person entrusted with this task could not be themselves.
Emperor Hong'an felt very uncomfortable.
His only wish was to pass on the Ning Dynasty's empire to his descendants in a safe and intact manner.
What Tianmu is saying is entirely within his capabilities.
But what if the descendants are incompetent? Should we just hand over the throne? Wouldn't all his hard work and struggle for the throne have been in vain?
The third prince was even more frustrated, but seeing that his father was in a bad mood, he didn't dare to provoke him. So he could only shrink to the side and pretend to be docile and obedient.
In fact, Emperor Hong'an had high hopes for all his sons. After the death of his most beloved eldest son, Hong'an became very cautious in choosing the crown prince. In the winter of the twenty-third year of his reign, after a serious illness, he finally decided to observe his sons, and the prelude to the struggle for the throne officially began.
In the twenty-seventh year of the Hong'an era, the Third Prince was the first to pass away. Emperor Hong'an, an old man with white hair, outlived his young son, and fainted several times.
The Third Prince was so surprised he almost jumped for joy!
Oh! Turns out I didn't do anything!
Dad, can you see this?! I am your good son!!
He desperately wanted to shout to the heavens to prove that he was the only candidate for the throne.
Incidentally, this period coincided with intense factional strife, and Emperor Zhongzong, seeing the situation was turning against him, attempted to flee, preparing to take his wife far from the capital. Unfortunately, he failed to escape and was captured by Emperor Hong'an on the way back, where the two had a long and fruitful discussion.
But in reality, this wasn't their first meeting. Back in the twenty-fourth year of the Hong'an era, when Emperor Hong'an was selecting tutors for his princes, Emperor Zhongzong had met him. However, at the time, no one knew that this unassuming young man would one day become the future emperor.
It's here!
The true identity of Emperor Zhongzong has finally been revealed in part.
Everyone's spirits lifted simultaneously. Emperor Hong'an turned slightly and cast a glance at Zhao Wen, the chief eunuch behind him.
Zhao Wen understood, and a list was brought up shortly afterward.
Emperor Hong'an picked it up and began to carefully examine it. The princes' tutors had not yet been selected; at this moment, the list contained only the names of the preliminary candidates.
"Grandson of the Prime Minister, heir to the Prince of Huai, heir to the Marquis of Zhen'an..." Emperor Hong'an slowly flipped through the names, judging them in his mind.
He was the emperor. These young men had seen him more or less at palace banquets, but most of them had only caught a glimpse of him from afar and could not remember his appearance clearly.
In the end, he chose to give up and casually said, "Summon them to the palace."
The main topic of conversation between Emperor Hong'an and Emperor Zhongzong was to have Zhongzong act as a mouthpiece to threaten and intimidate his family, indicating that he had already taken notice of them and that they should behave themselves in the near future.
Whether this message has been conveyed is still unknown. However, Emperor Zhongzong was terrified and fled to the northern frontier overnight, where he lived a life of poverty and destitution from then on.
Zhou She leaned against the second-floor window of Huiqianchuan, pointing and saying, "Asking me to suffer is absolutely impossible."
His cronies, some standing and some sitting, all responded with smiles: "Our young master Zhou would rather lie down than sit, and rather sit than stand. He can't live without money!"
The Crown Prince Huai and Zhou She were old friends. He reached out and hooked his arm around Zhou She's neck: "Stop showing off. I heard you're getting married. May I ask which family's daughter she is?"
"Young Master Zhou, is there anyone who would even look at him?" The heir of the Marquis of Zhen'an, seeing that there was going to be some excitement, quickly stepped forward. "So many noble ladies shake their heads at the mere mention of your name. Who is so blind?"
The Crown Prince of Huai laughed heartily: "Putting everything else aside, Zhou She is rich! Look at all the shops on that street, yours is nothing."
Zhou She turned around and elbowed them: "Get lost."
His cronies burst into laughter.
After being teased like this, Zhou She remembered that the engagement between the two families was a joyous occasion. Although his father was already preparing the betrothal gifts, he himself should also prepare a gift.
The heir of the Marquis of Zhen'an curled his lip and said, "You may have money, but you're not going to give it to me. I bet it all belongs to your brother."
Zhou She rolled his eyes: "What do I need so much money for? Enough for me to live a carefree life is enough."
Amidst their laughter and banter, they suddenly heard the sound of armor being clattered downstairs. Zhou She leaned out and saw a group of soldiers in light armor approaching.
"Who committed a crime?" Zhou She muttered to himself.
The Crown Prince Huai picked his teeth nonchalantly: "What does this have to do with us? We're so law-abiding, is there any more honest playboy in the world than me?"
Zhou She scoffed, "Is it because you don't want to?"
Prince Huai is the emperor's half-brother. Although His Majesty is a recognized benevolent ruler, if the emperor were to find fault with him, stripping him of his title as heir apparent would be a piece of cake.
Zhong Jin: "..." What a nasty mouth, I really want to hit him.
The operation was not carried out because a soft knock soon sounded on the door of the private room.
Zhou She hesitated for a moment, then strode forward and opened the door to the private room.
A thin man stood outside the door, bowed politely to him, then looked up, his face still expressionless: "Commander of the Imperial Guards, by His Majesty's order, invites you gentlemen to enter the palace."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
