Chapter 246 The Prince Returns to Beijing
The third day of May.
Crown Prince Rong Jinyou returned to Beijing.
Also returning to Beijing at the same time was Li Sui, the commander of the Jinyiwei who had gone to investigate.
Crown Prince Rong Jinyou was so exhausted from the journey that he had no time to care about the praise from the people along the coast.
His brows were furrowed at this moment, and he felt like he was facing the calm before the storm.
When he arrived at the Weiyang Palace, he saw Yu Fuhai, who was more serious than usual. Yu Fuhai looked at him without a smile, but just gestured to him with a bitter face.
Crown Prince Rong Jinyou lowered his eyes, nodded, and said, "Please inform Eunuch Yu that I request to see the Emperor." Yu Fuhai grimaced, "Your Highness, the Imperial Guard Commander, Lord Li, is inside." He could only say, "Your Highness, please wait a moment. I will go and inform you later."
He was slightly stunned, "In that case, I'll trouble you, father-in-law." Darkness surged in his eyes, his lips were tightly pursed, his posture remained straight, with a natural noble character.
Not long after, Li Sui, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, came out, silently saluted Crown Prince Rong Jinyou and left. He watched Yu Fuhai go in, and soon came out with palace maids and eunuchs.
He took a deep breath, his back still as straight as a pine tree, and looked at the Weiyang Palace, which he had been familiar with since childhood, with a little emotion.
In the hall, Yue Zheng was silently watching the chess game he was playing, holding the black jade chess piece in his hand. When he heard the footsteps of Crown Prince Rong Jinyou, he just said lightly: "The Crown Prince is back?" He lowered his eyes, saluted in a low voice and said: "Your son pays homage to His Majesty. Father, Your Majesty, I am wrong." His tone was full of guilt.
Rong Yue, who was wearing a black robe with a golden dragon pattern, crossed his legs. His eyes moved slightly as he looked at the prince who was kneeling on the ground, "What's wrong?" His voice couldn't tell whether he was happy or angry.
The "Gold Brick" was very cold, giving people the illusion of a cold winter in the early summer. The Crown Prince Rong Jinyou's throat rolled slightly, "It is my fault that refugees rebelled in my name." His voice was filled with self-blame and guilt, and he did not dare to look up at his father.
Rong Yue paused in his chess game, his phoenix eyes raised lightly, "I know about this matter, it's not your fault." Prince Rong Jinyou did not say anything, nor did he get up from the ground.
The air was very quiet and he could only hear his father's breathing and his own.
Suddenly, the crisp sound of chess pieces touching the chessboard fell, with a hint of dullness.
Crown Prince Rong Jinyou felt a sinking feeling in his heart. The cold "gold brick" penetrated through his clothes and reached his knees, but he was completely unaware.
Rong Yue raised his eyelids lightly and said nonchalantly: "Why are you still kneeling? Get up quickly." However, his hands did not stop moving, but continued to place the white chess piece.
He bowed and said, "Thank you, father." Then he stood up, neither slow nor fast, and stood aside.
Outside the hall, the sun gradually moved to mid-sky, and the ambergris burning in the copper Boshan furnace silently emitted fragrance.
"Prince, please tell me about your experience providing disaster relief." Rong Yue's voice was unremarkable, seemingly casual. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I'm traveling to Luoyang to provide disaster relief. Many merchants took advantage of the natural disaster to inflate grain prices..." The scene of the merciless river and the displaced and homeless people was still vivid in his mind.
The black chess piece in Rong Yue's hand fell, his expression remained calm. After listening to the prince's words, he was silent for a moment.
The air suddenly fell silent, the stillness oppressive. Suddenly, he said, "Prince, do you know what the Jinyiwei commander has discovered?" The man's eyes were dignified, and his voice was calm.
Crown Prince Rong Jinyou, dusty and exhausted in his casual attire, hadn't even had time to change. He lowered his eyes and said, "I don't know." The Imperial Guards were an elite unit dedicated to his father; he had no right to spy on them. Rong Yue scoffed, "I don't believe it." How could the Crown Prince be so incompetent? What Li Sui could uncover, how could the Crown Prince not know?
The other party did not reply. Rong Yue glanced at the dusty Crown Prince Rong Jinyou and said, "It has not been easy for you along the way. Crown Prince, please sit down." He looked at him meaningfully and his voice became gentler.
Crown Prince Rong Jinyou, who dared not relax at all, lowered his eyebrows, bowed, and whispered, "Thank you, father." Rong Yue silently looked at Crown Prince Rong Jinyou and said, "Prince, please play a game of chess with me. It's boring to play alone."
"Your son obeys your order." Crown Prince Rong Jinyou's heart moved. Looking at the chess game that was disrupted by his father, the black piece was already imprisoned and unable to turn the situation around.
The father and son played chess silently. In this game, Rong Yue played with white pieces, and the crown prince Rong Jinyou played with black pieces, with the black pieces going first.
"Li Sui told me that while the Yellow River's breach was a devastating flood, unseen in decades, there were issues with the quality of the construction. Crown Prince, are you aware of this?" Rong Yue's voice was calm, yet a sense of impending danger loomed. The handsome young man sitting across from him pursed his lips. His father's aggressive style of play pressed him forward, leaving him with no way to retreat.
"I know." He was in Luoyang providing disaster relief, but he had also sent people to investigate the construction work. His father's intentions were obvious, and he didn't intend to refute them.
Rong Yue suddenly stopped what he was doing. His slender hands, which were inevitably stained with the traces of time, knocked on the golden nanmu kang table with dragon pattern and cloud carvings. A thought flashed in his eyes, "In this case, the Crown Prince also knows that the person who cut corners is the Crown Princess's second uncle?" Rong Yue was not against nepotism, but the premise was that the person was capable, knew the limits, and knew when to advance and retreat.
Crown Prince Rong Jinyou felt his father's scrutiny and his heart sank. He stood up and replied, "Your son knows." He was also thinking that the Crown Princess's biological father was the Minister of Personnel, who was given the title of Marquis of Cheng'en, and her second uncle was Luo Qingyuan, the Minister of Henan Province, a legitimate second-rank frontier official.
According to what he found out, the Crown Princess's second uncle did not commit corruption intentionally, but was lax in his administration and was deceived by others.
He was indeed a good official who loved his people like his own children, but he thought that by changing to cheaper materials, the quality would remain the same and he could save the budget and save the court a lot of expenses.
Unexpectedly, we encountered a major flood that occurs once in decades, and the accident happened.
Otherwise, according to the plan of Liang Gong, the Minister of Works, and with the use of high-quality materials, the scope of the Yellow River breach would not have been so serious.
Rong Yue looked up at him nonchalantly, "Does the prince know how to deal with it?" He looked at Prince Rong Jinyou steadily, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's, penetrating deep into his heart.
His breathing quickened a little, and he bowed and said, "I have not been strict with my subordinates. Please punish me, father, and deal with Lord Luo according to the laws of the Qin Dynasty." He knelt down before he finished speaking, his back still straight.
Rong Jinyou knew that his father had always been ruthless towards corrupt officials, but the Crown Princess's second uncle was not a corrupt official, and he had not engaged in corruption or bribery.
My father must have had murderous intent in doing this.
silence.
The air was silent, and only the breathing of the two people could be heard. Crown Prince Rong Jinyou did not dare to look up, just waiting for his father to speak.
He knew that if he followed his father's wishes, everyone would be happy. However, as the crown prince, he needed to follow the laws of the Qin Dynasty and could not act arbitrarily.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
