The crown prince was overly confident, so much so that people were at a loss for words.
At first glance, his words seemed reasonable, even somewhat logical, but upon closer examination, something felt off.
—Your Highness is far too arrogant.
Zhuge Zhengwo paused for a moment and said, "...Your Highness is right, but this is not a long-term solution...The Emperor is easily swayed, so Your Highness should make plans as soon as possible."
Yan Liang understood Zhuge Zhengwo's concerns. Now he had broken ties with Cai Jing's faction, while Zhao Ji was still naively unaware of the undercurrents in the court. Sometimes he would even invite Cai Jing and Yan Liang to appreciate paintings and write calligraphy together.
“I know,” Yan Liang said with a smile. “I’m glad that the Grand Tutor trusts me, but some things can’t be forced.”
Emperor Huizong now trusts Yan Liang implicitly and readily agrees to his suggestions, which are not excessive. Apart from having little contact with court officials, Yan Liang handles official business with utmost seriousness and is infallible.
Zhuge Zhengwo sighed helplessly. His Highness the Crown Prince and Emperor Huizong had different personalities, yet they were both equally carefree. Although their carefree attitudes differed, as a subject, Zhuge Zhengwo hoped that this father and son could be a little more serious.
Now, Zhuge Zhengwo no longer needed to say what he wanted to say because of Yan Liang's answer, as both of them understood each other perfectly. Zhuge Zhengwo pondered for a moment and asked, "I wonder why Your Highness wants to recruit Gu Xichao? He should be Fu Zongshu's man."
Yan Liang didn't ask him silly questions like how he knew Gu Xichao was Fu Zongshu's man. Instead, he explained, "I don't have many people I can use. Even the guards I choose are from other people's families. A talent like Gu Xichao is delivered to my door. Recruiting him can both anger Fu Zongshu and give me another capable assistant. Of course I have to recruit him."
Zhuge Zhengwo: "..."
There were many flaws in that statement, and he didn't know where to begin. After a pause, Zhuge Zhengwo decided to pretend he hadn't heard the Crown Prince's words about "being able to anger Fu Zongshu," and instead asked the question that concerned him the most: "Is the guard by Your Highness someone else's? Do you know whose person he is?"
Yan Liang smiled and said, "It's Fang Yingkan, the young Marquis Fang's man."
Wuqing frowned to the side. He had interacted with Marquis Shentong Fang Yingkan before and knew that Fang Yingkan was not as harmless as he appeared, and that he had many connections with people in the court. It was not surprising that the Crown Prince had Fang Yingkan's men by his side.
While Wuqing was deep in thought, Zhuge Zhengwo asked Yan Liang about the current whereabouts of that guard. Yan Liang replied that the guard was still working in his residence, and his guard had been replaced by Gu Xichao.
Zhuge Zhengwo was relieved. He believed the Crown Prince had done the right thing. If the guard had been dealt with directly, it would inevitably have angered Fang Yingkan. However, he was also worried about Yan Liang's direct appointment of Gu Xichao. Gu Xichao had betrayed Fu Zongshu, and there was no guarantee that he wouldn't betray the Crown Prince for something else.
Yan Liang noticed his worry and readily replied, "If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them," exuding a strange and inexplicable confidence.
Zhuge Zhengwo thought to himself that Yan Liang's words were exactly the same as Su Mengzhen's; the two young people actually had similarities in this regard.
He sighed inwardly, completely unaware that Yan Liang was simply being lazy and didn't want to recruit people—to Yan Liang, Gu Xichao was the talent that Fu Zongshu had sent to him.
"Where is Gu Xichao now?" Zhuge Zheng wanted to see Gu Xichao. "Why doesn't Your Highness invite him in?"
Yan Liang scratched the back of his head and said, "He's not with me right now. He set off for the capital a few days ago."
Zhuge Zhengwo: "...Wasn't Gu Xichao the bodyguard you chose?"
Gu Xichao went out, which means that the Crown Prince had no one by his side to protect him. The Crown Prince even had two days of free time to run out and play with his friends, running around the capital.
Yan Liang chuckled: "I just had no one else around me, so I sent Gu Xichao out to do things for me. My father knows about it too."
Zhuge Zhengwo couldn't help but rub his forehead. He found that the Crown Prince always did things and said things that were beyond his expectations. He had never even heard about Gu Xichao leaving the capital, let alone knew about the Emperor and the Crown Prince's communication on this matter. Perhaps the Crown Prince and the Emperor had such a good relationship in private that even he was not clear about it.
Yan Liang continued, "Gu Xichao wanted to make a name for himself, so I sent him to the border to do something practical. I mentioned this to my father, the emperor, and he gave me a decree, telling Gu Xichao to do whatever he wanted."
He summarized the matter in just a few words. Zhuge Zhengwo realized that he had overestimated the Emperor and the Crown Prince's capricious nature: the Emperor casually gave the imperial edict to the advisors the Crown Prince casually recruited, and the Crown Prince casually agreed to Gu Xichao leaving the capital—the father and son were both more unconventional than the other.
After the unconventional prince finished his deep conversation, he got up to take his leave. When Daxue saw him stand up, she quickly abandoned Wuqing, who had just been gazing at her affectionately, and nimbly leaped onto Yan Liang's shoulder, meowing down at the three people below.
The relentless gaze followed the heavy snow, finally settling on Yan Liang's face. The young crown prince smiled brightly, said goodbye, and turned to leave. Zhui Ming glanced at the two people inside the house, then at Yan Liang's retreating figure, and very considerately followed Yan Liang out to see him off back to his residence.
Inside the room, Wuqing and Zhuge Zhengwo exchanged views on the events of the night with mixed feelings. After a moment of silence, Zhuge Zhengwo asked Wuqing, "Do you think the Crown Prince is fit to be the ruler?"
Wuqing hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "I think he can."
However, the current crown prince is young and does not know the way of being a ruler. He is impulsive and acts with a youthful spirit.
The much older young crown prince was escorted back to his residence by imperial decree. After a quick wash, he went to bed and lay there like a corpse. The snowflakes rolled excitedly all over him. Yan Liang lay on the bed for a while, then pressed down the white cat that was bouncing on his head, lifted the blanket beside him, and rolled in.
Big Snow perched on his chest, tilted its head, and stared at him for a while. It then affectionately patted his face with its paw four times, finally giving him a light kiss and a soft meow before lying down beside him.
Yan Liang looked at the increasingly heavy snow under the moonlight and felt worried about his sleep quality tonight.
The next day, Yan Liang attended the morning court session and, noticing his dark circles under his eyes, met Zhuge Zhengwo at the palace gate.
Zhuge Zhengwo's heart stirred slightly: "Your Highness, did you not get enough rest last night?"
Yan Liang covered his face with his sleeve, yawned, and said, "The heavy snow at my house woke me up last night."
Zhuge Zhengwo, who mistakenly believed that the Crown Prince had been contemplating state affairs all night after talking with him, fell silent for a long time before saying, "Your Highness sleeps with your cat."
"Um."
Yan Liang nodded.
After playing in the snow all day, Yan Liang would unconsciously snuggle against him when he slept at night, and he was still getting used to it.
During the morning court session, Yan Liang and Cai Jing had another heated exchange. Yan Liang maintained a smile throughout, appearing gentle and polite, leaving no room for criticism. Zhao Ji, however, was distracted and responded to Yan Liang's words with nothing but agreement. Even with Cai Jing and Fu Zongshu's combined attacks, Zhao Ji remained unmoved—he had no idea what they were talking about, so why should he change anything? In short, the Crown Prince was right.
After the morning court session, Zhao Ji waved to Yan Liang, signaling him to follow him to the inner palace.
Yan Liang ignored Cai Jing's jealous and envious gaze and followed Zhao Ji to the Imperial Garden, where Bai Choufei was sitting in the pavilion painting—he had been kept behind by Zhao Ji yesterday.
Emperor Huizong admired Bai Choufei's talent and had already appointed him as a court painter in the Hanlin Academy. He also wanted to reward him but didn't know how. Emperor Huizong brought Yan Liang over so that Yan Liang could offer him some advice.
Bai Choufei, true to his name, only wanted to soar to great heights; a mere imperial edict could not satisfy him. Moreover, although he was skilled in painting, he hoped even more to distinguish himself and rise above others through his martial arts prowess.
Yan Liang and Bai Choufei exchanged glances and then Yan Liang spoke to Zhao Ji, successfully persuading Zhao Ji to allow Bai Choufei to work under him.
Zhao Ji thought to himself that it was rare for the Crown Prince to ask him for someone, so he might as well give it to him. If he wanted to find Bai Choufei again in the future, he could go directly to the Crown Prince.
He said to Bai Choufei, "The Crown Prince said you have a friend outside. Today you should go out with him to meet your friend. The Crown Prince will arrange everything else for you."
Bai Choufei glanced discreetly at the smiling Crown Prince beside him, then bowed respectfully and replied, "Yes."
Zhao Ji was anxious about practicing the techniques Bai Choufei had taught him. He asked Yan Liang about his studies in a seemingly serious manner, and then sent the two away.
Yan Liang strolled leisurely along the road out of the palace. Bai Choufei frowned slightly as she looked at his lazy demeanor: "What are you thinking about?"
His words were quite blunt, and Yan Liang feigned surprise: "I am the Crown Prince, you know? You're being too rude."
Bai Choufei sneered: "Then look at yourself, do you look like a prince?"
Yan Liang lowered his eyes, looked at his hands tucked into his sleeves, and said honestly, "It doesn't seem like it."
Unlike the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince took Bai Choufei back to the Crown Prince's residence by carriage, changed his clothes, and then took Da Xue with him when he went out again.
Bai Choufei looked at the large white cat and said, "You always bring it with you."
Yan Liang patted Da Xue's two paws and said, "It's so beautiful, I can't bear to leave it behind."
The snowflakes meowed at the two of them.
Wang Xiaoshi was seeing patients at Huichuntang today. He had been worried about Bai Choufei all night, so he was very happy to see him. The two waited for him outside for a while, and then Wang Xiaoshi rushed towards them excitedly.
He first exchanged a few words with Bai Choufei, and then chatted animatedly with Yan Liang. Bai Choufei was a little puzzled to see the two of them acting so familiar. Yan Liang explained in a timely manner, "Yesterday, my friend and I came to visit Wang Xiaoshi."
Bai Choufei criticized him: "He's not doing his proper job."
Yan Liang grinned and said, "Would you like to help me with the chores?"
Bai Choufei glanced at him coldly and ignored him. When facing Yan Liang, he always forgot the man's identity, simply because the man was so approachable that he didn't seem like a crown prince.
Yan Liang wasn't annoyed that he didn't answer. He was speaking from the heart. Bai Choufei was a great talent, just like Gu Xichao, so there was no harm in not using him.
He's not doing his job properly; why doesn't he just let someone else do it for him?
Author's Note: I changed the font on my phone today, and it looks so nice! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2020-03-24 22:49:08 and 2020-03-25 23:21:29!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Poetry and Wine in Youth (1);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Xiaobai (10 bottles); Momo Miaowu and Xiaopengyou (5 bottles each);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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