Chapter 261 The Prince's Request
Sitting in the East Palace, he tried to remain calm, but thinking about that bastard just now, he really couldn't calm down.
He picked up the pen and ink again, wrote a letter, and then instructed his confidant.
"Send a letter to Prince An and tell him that if I get pissed off by Prince Qi one day, I'll let him wait and see if he can become the crown prince again!"
"……yes."
Li Bai's mouth twitched.
Lately, he has been frequently traveling back and forth as a carrier pigeon for the royal brothers, often delivering life-threatening messages to the two gentlemen.
After pouring out all the nagging complaints in his heart to Prince An, the prince finally felt a little better. He then got up and went to the harem to pay his respects to the queen and have lunch there.
Those who had been quicker than him had already sat down at the dining table in Fengming Palace, waiting for dinner to begin. The emperor, who had been laughing just now, immediately became displeased when he saw the crown prince approach.
"Is the Eastern Palace short of food and drink for you? I wish I could run to your mother's palace eight times a day to get food and drink! Have you finished processing all those memorials? Can't you let your parents worry less?"
He started by accusing the prince of all sorts of things. The prince had gotten used to it. If his father hadn't been so shady and cheerful, he himself would have been a little uncomfortable with it.
"Your son pays his respects to his father, the emperor, and his mother, the empress!"
"Get up, cough cough cough..."
The queen coughed several times, covering her mouth with a handkerchief. Perhaps it was because she was so happy to see her youngest son and daughter-in-law yesterday that she forced herself to laugh and chat for a long time. Today, her spirits and complexion were noticeably weaker.
"Has the fourth one left the palace?"
"yes."
The prince stood up and walked to the queen, gently patting her back to soothe her breath. He looked at the emperor and replied respectfully.
"I've almost finished processing the memorials from the day before yesterday, with only a few left. However, it seems quite a few have piled up over the past two days, and I haven't touched them yet."
"Why don't you hurry up, what are you waiting for?"
The emperor glared at him unhappily.
"Are you trying to order your father to work?"
"No, I dare not."
The prince spoke in a calm tone, with a smile on his face.
"Father, I'm looking for help. There are so many memorials, and it's really hard for me to handle them all by myself.
Look at how haggard I am now! I haven't had a good night's sleep in two months!
Even a donkey pulling a millstone needs time to catch its breath and drink some water, don't you think? "
"What is it? You are the crown prince, the heir apparent. Reviewing memorials and handling state affairs are your responsibilities. If you don't do it, who will? I'm still doing it at my age, so why should you be able to rest? You're dreaming!"
The emperor was not pleased and flatly rejected the prince's unreasonable request. So the child, whose father had rejected him, could only seek help from his mother.
"Mom, please plead for your son! I really can't hold on any longer. I need a good sleep. Mom~~"
Li Laosan learned Li Laosi's tricks and rubbed against his mother's shoulders, acting like a spoiled child and making the queen laugh out loud.
"Third brother, stand up straight quickly. Don't be like the fourth brother, who makes me worried just looking at him."
"You agree, then?"
"Ahem, what did I agree to? Well, tell me, what do you want to do?"
The Queen's voice was weak, but her tone was firm. She knew her eldest son very well. The third son wasn't as erratic as the fourth son, so how could he easily let go of his shamelessness and act like a rogue?
The emperor also looked over and snorted coldly.
"Go ahead."
The prince smiled casually.
"Isn't the fourth brother back? He's just sitting around at home with nothing to do, so let him come and help me. He still has to stay in the capital for a few months anyway, so I can't just keep him around like this for nothing, right?
Besides, since the court officials have already expressed their opinions today, they must be somewhat dissatisfied with him as the King of Qi. Why not make use of this waste and let all the civil and military officials in the court know that the King of Qi's salary is not a white-collar salary, and he also works in the capital."
As soon as the prince started to speak, the emperor and the empress's expressions changed slightly.
The emperor stared at the prince fiercely, and the queen's breathing became a little rapid.
"Prince!"
"Third brother, fourth brother is your biological brother!"
"I know."
The prince knelt down at his parents' knees in an elegant manner, pointing at his haggard and sleepy eyes with a bitter look on his face, which were full of true feelings.
"Mom and Dad, I really don't mean any other things! I'm just too tired to bear it anymore, so I want you to help me out so I can catch my breath first. Otherwise, I'm worried that I'll die young. I haven't lived enough!"
"The fourth brother is already the King of Qi. What are your intentions in letting him interfere in government affairs?"
The emperor held a higher position than the crown prince, so he wouldn't easily believe the crown prince's lies. After all, the power of supremacy was like poison; who would be willing to be easily contaminated?
"Father, you also said that the fourth brother is the King of Qi. So, if I, the Crown Prince, am too busy to handle everything, what's wrong with ordering him around?
So Li Lao Si is your biological son, and I, Li Lao San, am not? You know how to care for him, why can't you care for me? Do I deserve to be the grandson who is exhausted to death?"
"Bah, didn't you fight for this? Now you're blaming your father? Then when your eldest brother was the crown prince, why didn't he just complain about being tired every day like you do?"
"Why don't you say that he wasn't as busy as I am back then? When he was the crown prince, you taught him step by step, but when it comes to me, you're just like a hands-off boss. I'm almost dying of exhaustion, and I can't complain?"
"I'm your father, and as a son, you deserve to be tired!"
"Well, I'm the fourth brother, so as a younger brother, he should come out and help me with the work!"
"You little bastard, you haven't even become emperor yet, and you've already learned to be lazy?"
"I'm not being lazy, I'm cherishing my life. You wouldn't want to see your young one die before your old one, would you? I finally won the fight against my big brother, but I ended up dying before him. How humiliated would my life be?"
"Why don't you try to make up another nonsense?"
“The truth may not sound good, but it is the truth!”
The father and son argued back and forth, each claiming his own opinion. The queen became furious and banged her hands on the table.
"Both of you shut up! Cough cough cough... cough cough... cough..."
A series of coughs brought out the familiar smell of blood. The queen hurriedly picked up a handkerchief to cover her mouth and swallowed several times before she calmed down.
The emperor was instantly panicked.
"Shu'er, don't be angry. I won't say anything more! Qingliu, bring the medicine over quickly!"
"Mom, please don't be angry, I won't say anything..."
The prince's eyes were bloodshot with pain, and his voice was full of panic and guilt.
Qing Liu brought the prepared medicine over, and the Queen took it and drank it skillfully. The tacit understanding between the master and servant made people feel a little sad. However, the Queen no longer felt sad. She waved her hand and sent Qing Liu away again.
He stared at his eldest son kneeling on the ground, looking straight into his eyes.
"You swear that you will never lay a hand on your brother in this lifetime. Otherwise, I will send your mother to the eighteen levels of hell after her death, and she will never be able to be reborn!"
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