"Father always favors the Crown Prince. What's so good about that weak and incompetent boy?"
As soon as he stepped outside, Prince Jing couldn't help but complain.
Prince Lin glanced at him, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said, "The Crown Prince is the eldest son of the legitimate wife, so it's normal for Father to favor him."
Because the old emperor was also the eldest son of the emperor, but the late emperor did not value him, and he obtained the throne through some means.
For this reason, the old emperor treated the crown prince very differently. He was directly named crown prince from birth. Over the years, the crown prince had never achieved anything and had even made mistakes in his work. However, the old emperor never blamed him and even frequently encouraged him.
Prince Jing scoffed disdainfully, "He was just born into a good family!"
Even so, the two obediently knelt down outside the door, craning their necks to listen to what was happening inside.
Inside the hall, the old emperor coughed twice, and the crown prince asked timidly, "Father, what are your instructions?"
"Jun'er, you know that your father favors you the most."
The old emperor looked at the crown prince kneeling by the bed, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
Why is this son so unlike himself when he was young, so lacking in courage and decisiveness? He's always so timid and submissive, it's so annoying to look at.
However, it was precisely because of the Crown Prince's behavior that he felt this son posed no threat to him, which is why he was willing to continue to favor him in this way.
"Your subject understands."
The crown prince knelt on the ground, not daring to look at the old emperor's face. For some reason, he was just very afraid of his father.
"The third brother has been getting increasingly powerful lately. Aren't you afraid he'll threaten you?"
The old emperor was exasperated, feeling that the crown prince he had personally groomed was no match for his third son in anything, and he was immediately filled with resentment.
"Your subject is terrified!"
The crown prince hung his head, looking utterly cowardly. The emperor was so angry with him that he grabbed a teacup and threw it at the prince's head.
"Fear, fear, all you do is fear. I've nurtured you for so many years, and you've become so useless?"
The prince didn't dare to dodge, letting the teacup smash his forehead, and blood slowly flowed down.
Consort Liu hurriedly stopped him: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is just like that, why force him? He is still young, perhaps he will become sensible in a couple of years!"
As he spoke, he took out a golden pill from the drawer next to the table and made him swallow it, and then thoughtfully fed him some tea.
The old emperor felt a little better, then looked at the crown prince and said, "Do you want to live your whole life like this, doing nothing? Do you know what will happen to you if you don't get this position? It rains every time the third prince goes to Changzhou. What will the people think of that? Who will still support you then?"
"Please enlighten me, Father."
The crown prince spoke tremblingly, saying that he also wanted to become excellent, but he just couldn't compare to the third prince. What could he do?
The old emperor gasped in anger, wondering how he could have raised such a stupid son.
"Now is the time for Changzhou to win back the hearts of the people, don't you want to get a share of the spoils? How can you be so stupid!"
The Crown Prince suddenly realized: "Thank you for your guidance, Father. I will lead my men to Changzhou immediately!"
The old emperor finally felt a little better and waved for him to leave.
After the Crown Prince left, Prince Lin and Prince Jing were summoned back in to continue kneeling. Prince Jing was somewhat displeased and asked, "Father, why did the Crown Prince leave? Father is ill; how can he not be by your side to serve you?"
The old emperor glanced at him and naturally knew what he was thinking. He didn't want to pay attention to him at first, but then a thought suddenly occurred to him, and he said leisurely, "The situation in Changzhou is dire. I have ordered him to go to Changzhou to provide disaster relief."
"Disaster relief?" Prince Jing's eyes lit up. "Your subject can also go to provide disaster relief. Please grant me permission, Father!"
"You really want to go?"
The old emperor glanced at him, knowing that this son had always been restless, and began to plot in his mind.
Even if the Crown Prince went, he might not be as clever as the Third Prince. Of course, if the Sixth Prince also went, the Crown Prince, as the fisherman, could benefit from the conflict between the two.
"Of course I want to. As the emperor's son, I also care about the world and have compassion for the people of our dynasty. If I can help them, I will feel much better."
These words made the old emperor scoff: "When the situation was dire, why didn't you step forward?"
Prince Jing's words were reasonable and well-founded: "At that time, Father had already sent my third elder brother, so I dared not claim credit for him."
The old emperor twitched the corner of his mouth, ignoring him, and turned to Prince Lin, asking, "Fifth Prince, what about you?"
“Your Majesty, all my brothers have gone to provide disaster relief. Your Majesty cannot be without someone to care for you. Your son is willing to stay by your side to serve you.”
The old emperor was quite fond of his fifth son. From childhood to adulthood, he was never competitive or greedy, had a gentle attitude, and was well-liked. The emperor nodded in satisfaction.
"Since that's the case, you can stay here. Sixth Prince can go if he wants. The Crown Prince is honest and kind, so please take good care of him."
With a wave of his hand, the matter was settled.
Prince Jing was overjoyed, not expecting the emperor to agree so easily. He immediately kowtowed and said, "Thank you, Father. Your son accepts the decree!"
At this moment, the Crown Prince was also thinking that his third son was so lucky. After three years of drought, it started to rain as soon as he arrived. How could such a thing be so miraculous?
The Crown Prince didn't believe in the so-called "Chosen One." He thought the Third Prince might have fallen for some cult. So he returned to his residence, bandaged his wounds, and sent people to pack their belongings to head to Changzhou. He secretly brought a lot of people with him, determined to find evidence that the Third Prince was colluding with a cult.
Although he was cowardly, he did not want to give up the throne that was within his grasp. He was born to be the crown prince, and that position should have been his. He could not let someone else take it away from him.
After leaving the palace, Prince Jing hurriedly went to find Lin Yiping, hoping to take him to Changzhou to lend him a hand, but was told that Lin Yiping was still not at the residence.
"Your Highness Prince Jing, please don't be offended. My master is always elusive, and I don't know where he is now."
Prince Jing was somewhat annoyed. Why was Brother Yiping always absent?
To be honest, he still doesn't know Lin Yiping's true identity. Although he sent people to investigate, they couldn't find anything. Moreover, even though they have known each other for many years, he still doesn't know what Lin Yiping looks like.
Fortunately, he trusted Lin Yiping, because he often listened to Lin Yiping's advice and accomplished a lot.
"Very well, if Brother Yiping returns, tell him that I have gone to Changzhou."
"Yes, I will certainly pass on the message."
As he turned to leave, the steward immediately closed the door and summoned a servant, instructing him, "Remember to inform the master tonight."
"yes."
While the old emperor was asleep, Consort Liu returned to her palace, wrote an urgent letter, and handed it to her most trusted maid, instructing her: "Send it out immediately, the sooner the better."
The palace maid acknowledged and left. Consort Liu lowered her head, playing with her nails painted with red nail polish, a cold smile playing on her lips. The situation was becoming more and more interesting.
P.S.: Happy holidays, everyone! Here's a chapter for now, more to come later.
Also, I should mention that this book is set up so that there's no romantic pairing in the early stages. The male and female leads each have their own missions, so they can't meet so quickly. For example, the male lead is currently working for Prince Chen in Nantai, and after returning, he'll need to find his family. It's a gradual process, so please don't rush it, everyone!
Just a little spoiler: Didn't anyone have any doubts about Lin Yiping's identity? He clearly returned to the capital, so why was he unwilling to see Prince Jing?
I'll try to update more during my holiday these few days, thank you all!
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