Yun Zhuo's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. This truly surprised him; he had once thought that he had to fight for the position of Crown Prince.
But now, his father has actually proposed to reinstate him as crown prince.
There was a time when his father genuinely wanted to get rid of him and Ye Qingxue, so how could he possibly want him to be the crown prince?
Is it a test?
Or a trap?
The emperor didn't seem to be asking for his opinion, but directly told him: "Before I summoned you to the palace, I had already ordered someone to draft an edict, appointing you as the crown prince and Ye as the crown princess. You just need to accept the edict."
If it's not a test, then it's a trap?
Thinking this, Yun Zhuo immediately stood up and knelt down: "Thank you for your great kindness, Father Emperor. Your son will certainly not fail in his mission and will not let you down."
The emperor was very pleased to see him like this, nodding repeatedly and saying, "Good, good, good. You are the person I trust and rely on the most now."
Yun Zhuo politely replied, "Father is only ill, not old. It is your son who needs your father's help."
The emperor told him to get up and sit down again, and said, "The 400,000 shi of grain that was promised to be sent to the Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom in the first half of the year has been reduced to 350,000 shi. 150,000 shi have already been sent. What do you think should be done about the next 200,000 shi of grain?"
“Our Dali suffered a flood in June, resulting in heavy casualties. Fortunately, you and Ye insisted on reducing the grain supply by 50,000 shi. However, at present, 200,000 shi of grain is still a lot.”
Yun Zhuo understood the emperor's unspoken meaning: he didn't want to send the remaining 200,000 shi of grain!
Yun Zhuo didn't understand why his father was so willing to send 400,000 shi of grain before, but now that only 200,000 shi remained, he was unwilling to send any more.
Based on his understanding of his father, his father did not seem to be the kind of emperor who would break his promise to the Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom because of the June floods.
However, for the sake of his country's people, Yun Zhuo never intended to actually send that much grain in the first place.
Now that his father had asked him, he simply said, "Your subject believes that we can send medicinal herbs to replace some of the grain."
“Alright, starting tomorrow, you will do this as the Crown Prince.”
Yun Zhuo said, "Father, last time Ye Cunsi and Lord Wen went to the Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom to transport grain. They completed the mission very well and received many gifts from the Heavenly Eagle King. But so far, Ye Cunsi has not received any reward."
The emperor feigned sudden realization: "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten. There have been just too many things happening lately..."
"This boy is excellent. He has inherited his father's bravery and courage. I appoint him as a fifth-rank military officer in charge of transporting military supplies and suppressing bandits."
“My father will be overjoyed to bestow an official position upon me,” Yun Zhuo said.
"Very well, I will have someone draft an edict immediately."
Surprisingly, the atmosphere between the father and son was quite pleasant.
However, the next moment the emperor said, "Zhuo'er, you should be grateful to your uncle, Prime Minister Ning, for being able to reinstate the crown prince. He told me that you are of good character and outstanding ability, and that you should be reinstated as crown prince! Of course, you are also the only choice for crown prince in my mind."
Mentioning Ning Hongxi fills Yun Zhuo with anger and pain. Before he was deposed, Ning Hongxi had indeed helped him in every way. The Ning family could be considered his strong backing—he had truly believed that.
However, after he was deposed, the Ning family became the most ruthless force in hunting him down.
If anyone were to tell him now that Ning Hongxi genuinely wanted him to be reinstated as crown prince, he wouldn't believe it.
But since Father Emperor brought it up, it must be true.
What is Ning Hongxi trying to do?
The matter of restoring the crown prince to his rightful place is truly fraught with traps.
The Emperor said, "The Prime Minister's daughter, Ning Rong, has been your childhood sweetheart since she was a child. She has always been devoted to you and remains unmarried. I have decided to issue an edict to let her enter your Crown Prince's residence as a concubine, so that she can work with Lady Ye to produce offspring for the royal family as soon as possible."
Yun Zhuo: "!!!"
He immediately stood up and knelt down again: "Father, this is absolutely not allowed."
The emperor narrowed his eyes, and the sigh and gentleness on his face vanished instantly, leaving only the majesty unique to an emperor.
"Is my son defying the imperial decree?"
"...Father, I am to marry a concubine just five days after my wedding with Qingxue. Everyone in the world thinks that I am heartless and unfit to be the crown prince."
"Moreover, all the people of the land will doubt your judgment, Father. How could you have chosen such a cold-hearted and heartless prince as the crown prince?"
Yun Zhuo cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I humbly request that you rescind your decree."
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