Cai Jing thought he had seen through Zhao Ji, but he did not expect that Zhao Ji was as secretive as the crown prince. He had not shown any trace of such an important matter as abdication before, and then suddenly brought it up in court.
Cai Jing was taken aback. After recovering, he hurriedly offered advice, saying that the Crown Prince was young and should gain more experience. He went on and on, but in the end, even he himself didn't believe it.
Since the Crown Prince entered the court, his actions have been evident to all, and no one would deny that he has done better than the Emperor. At the very least, every word and deed of the Crown Prince is for the benefit of the people and the Song Dynasty. Even Cai Jing had to admit that the Crown Prince was more suitable to be emperor than Zhao Ji.
However, Cai Jing was unwilling and would not allow the current crown prince to become emperor. The crown prince had opposed him when he was still the crown prince, and if the crown prince became emperor, he would not have a good end.
Despite Cai Jing's repeated attempts to dissuade him, and the combined efforts of his cronies, Zhao Ji remained resolute in his decision to abdicate in favor of the crown prince.
That morning, the court was noisy and chaotic, with Cai Jing's faction continuously offering advice to Emperor Huizong. The Crown Prince's faction was happy to see this happen, and occasionally someone would make a sarcastic remark to Cai Jing's faction, while the Crown Prince himself stood aside and watched as if nothing was wrong, as if he wasn't the main character in the conversation.
Cai Jing looked at the Crown Prince, who gave him a friendly and amiable smile, while the older man responded with a gritted-teeth expression.
Emperor Huizong, his ears aching from the excited chatter of his ministers, made a final decision, ordering the eunuch beside him to announce the end of the morning court session, and then rushed off to the inner palace.
The matters concerning the abdication were being prepared by others, and Yan Liang, huddled in his residence amidst the heavy snow, was preoccupied with his own thoughts.
Bai Choufei wanted to kick him: "You're about to become emperor, what's there to be unhappy about? Just because you haven't had enough fun?"
Da Xue poked its head out from Yan Liang's arms, meowed at Bai Choufei, and Bai Choufei looked at Da Xue, whose whole body was stuffed into Yan Liang's clothes, and a nameless feeling inexplicably surged into his heart. He took a few steps back and forth to express that nameless feeling, and then heard the Crown Prince say in a low voice: "That's right, there are still many places I haven't been to."
Bai Choufei: "..."
I got even angrier.
As Wang Xiaoshi entered, he saw Bai Choufei striding aggressively towards him, his expression icy and furious. Meanwhile, Yan Liang, sitting on the steps, laughed and called out, "I was just joking, don't take it seriously."
Wang Xiaoshi understood that Yan Liang had said something that angered Bai Choufei.
Bai Choufei nodded to Wang Xiaoshi and left the courtyard unhappily.
Wang Xiaoshi squatted down beside Yan Liang, looking into the eyes of the snow in Yan Liang's arms, without rushing to speak.
He still finds it unbelievable; he never even imagined becoming friends with the Crown Prince. Wang Xiaoshi initially went to Bianliang City with the intention of trying his luck. After meeting Bai Choufei at the Yellow Crane Tower, they traveled together. After half a year of setbacks, he met Pang Jin, was recruited by Yan Liang, and met many important figures.
Even though he knew Yan Liang was the crown prince, he always easily forgot his true identity when he associated with him. Now that Yan Liang was about to become emperor, Wang Xiaoshi suddenly remembered that his friend was the crown prince of the Song Dynasty.
Wang Xiaoshi was sentimental and emotional, and he hesitated a bit after learning that Yan Liang was going to become emperor.
The difference between the emperor and the crown prince is only one character, but they are quite different.
Yan Liang and Wang Xiaoshi watched the heavy snow together. The snow wasn't afraid of being stared at by the two of them and continued to roll around, act cute, and meow.
Wang Xiaoshi said, "You will be a good emperor."
His tone was very confident.
Yan Liang smiled lazily, not denying it: "Thank you for your kind words."
He thought for a moment, then continued, "I can't be a good emperor by myself; I need your help."
"Whether it's you, Little Stone, or Master Su, Bai Choufei, Gu Xichao, or Grand Tutor Zhuge, you will all be my helpers." The young man spoke with sincerity and earnestness, "Before I become the Crown Prince or the Emperor, I am your friend."
Wang Xiaoshi felt a warmth in his heart, and lowered his head shyly, a little embarrassed.
"So, I'm going to talk to Pang Jin about my desire to become emperor. I'll leave the official business to you."
Yan Liang stood up, smiled and said something irresponsible, then quickly grabbed a handful of snow, climbed over the wall and jumped down. Wang Xiaoshi could only hear the boy's laughter carrying further and further away across the wall.
Bai Choufei, who was standing outside the courtyard gate, strode into the courtyard and saw that it was empty except for Wang Xiaoshi. His face turned extremely dark.
Wang Xiaoshi looked at Bai Choufei. The young man noticed his gaze, his expression stiffened, and he explained, "I'm not like him. I just went to get a drink of water."
Unlike Yan Liang, he didn't just run away; even if he left in anger, he would still come back.
Who would have thought that after returning, Bai Choufei would hear Yan Liang say those words to Wang Xiaoshi. Feeling strange, Bai Choufei stopped outside the courtyard to wait for the two of them to finish talking... but Yan Liang ran away as soon as he finished speaking.
Wang Xiaoshi nodded seriously: "I see."
Bai Choufei: "..."
He strongly suspected that Xiao Shitou had been corrupted by Yan Liang.
＊
Pang Jin returned from a stroll outside, having heard the gist of what happened at the morning court session. He was still somewhat incredulous when he got home.
The servants in the mansion chatted with him, but Pang Jin was absent-minded. The servants said that they did not expect the emperor to abdicate. They said that the crown prince was a very good person. They wondered what the crown prince would do after becoming emperor.
Pang Jin thought to himself, "The Crown Prince you're talking about is the one who comes to play with your young master whenever he's bored. I don't know how your young master will become emperor."
The two were talking in the courtyard when Yan Liang jumped onto the wall, squatted down, and greeted them with a bright smile: "Hey, I've come to play with you."
Before they saw the cat, they heard its meow; a lingering meow reached their ears first, and then they saw Da Xue peeking out from Yan Liang's arms.
The servant greeted him warmly: "Young Master Yan, you've arrived!"
Yan Liang jumped down from the wall, steadied himself, and replied with a smile, "I'm here."
The servant enthusiastically went to serve tea to Yan Liang. Pang Jin glanced at him but did not stop him. Instead, he took advantage of the servant's absence to ask Yan Liang why he had come to see him.
Yan Liang sat down at the stone table. Da Xue jumped out of his arms, perched on the table, and meowed at Pang Jin in greeting. He rested his chin on his hand and said lazily, "Besides playing with you, what else can I do with you on a daily basis?"
"You know you only came to see me to play around," Pang Jin said, pursing her lips. "But this time it's not just about playing around, is it? Didn't the Emperor say he wanted to abdicate in your favor?"
Yan Liang was surprised: "What does my father abdicating in favor of me have to do with me coming to visit you?"
Pang Jin: "...It's okay?"
Da Xue looked at Pang Jin, then at Yan Liang, and stretched out its head to rub against Yan Liang's hand. Yan Liang glanced at it, then smiled and stroked its fur.
The white cat purred contentedly, its eyes narrowing. Pang Jin blushed, unsure what to say.
“You are my friend, and that has nothing to do with my identity.”
Yan Liang spoke gently, appearing extremely composed at this moment, which gave Pang Jin the illusion that the boy opposite him, who was even younger than him, was his elder.
—In fact, this is not an illusion.
Grandpa Yan looked at his friend's grandson and thought to himself that the silly boy's troubled expression was quite similar to Pang Yu's.
Pang Jin grumbled and remained silent. Just then, a servant brought tea, and the two drank it in silence. Only then did Pang Jin speak, saying, "I also consider you a friend."
Yan Liang smiled slightly at him.
＊
Upon receiving the news, Fang Yingkan deliberately waited for the Crown Prince on the road between the Crown Prince's residence and Pang Jin's house. After waiting for an hour, he finally saw Yan Liang emerge from the direction of Pang Jin's house.
The two looked at each other, and Yan Liang showed a helpless expression. He stood there for a while, then chose to walk towards Fang Yingkan.
He climbed onto the carriage. Da Xue still remembered Fang Yingkan and let out a gentle meow, cheerfully greeting him.
"Isn't Your Highness afraid I'll hurt you?" Fang Yingkan asked innocently.
"Why should I be afraid of you?" Yan Liang's gaze followed the swirling snowflakes in the carriage as he lazily retorted, "Would you hurt me?"
"Of course I wouldn't hurt you," Fang Yingkan replied, feigning respect.
Yan Liang looked up at him: "You've already eaten the fish I grilled, can't you be a little more honest for the sake of the grilled fish?"
Am I not honest?
Fang Yingkan was surprised and puzzled.
Yan Liang looked at him without speaking, his deep eyes gleaming with wisdom.
The carriage moved slowly, and a slightly awkward atmosphere filled the space between the two, with only the constant sound of the wheels and the occasional whistling of the snow.
Fang Yingkan suddenly felt bored, but he still stubbornly refused to take off his naive mask and said innocently, "I came to see Your Highness today to congratulate you."
Yan Liang was filled with respect for Fang Yingkan's strength and said solemnly, "Thank you. Are you happy?"
Fang Yingkan choked for a moment, but remained firm: "Of course I'm happy."
"Really?" Yan Liang grinned slyly. "Since Young Master Fang is happy for me, it means you're on my side. If you're on my side, you must be willing to do things for me, right?"
Fang Yingkan: "..."
Is this an attempt to win him over?
Before he could reply, Yan Liang readily nodded and admitted, "I am trying to win you over. Young Marquis, you are a handsome, brave, and dashing young man. It would be wonderful if you could be of service to me."
"Your Highness is too kind. I am a citizen of the Great Song Dynasty and the Marquis of Divine Power. I am at Your Highness's behest."
Fang Yingkan acted as if he wasn't the one communicating and maintaining friendly relations with the Jurchen royal family.
After wandering around, Da Xue curled up on Yan Liang's lap, snuggled into his arms, and placed its paw on Yan Liang's right hand. Only after Yan Liang started petting it did it close its eyes contentedly and make a gurgling sound in its throat.
As Yan Liang stroked its fur, he responded with a smile, "Since you've said so, young marquis, I'll have to trouble you from now on."
Fang Ying checked and found that the person was serious.
"..."
But he wasn't serious.
Yan Liang made the final decision: "From now on, Young Marquis, you are mine."
Fang Yingkan: "...What if I betray the Song Dynasty?"
Yan Liang: "I'll beat you awake."
Fang Yingkan: "..."
Author's Note: Yan Liang: From now on, you're one of my people.
Fang Yingkan: You wish!
——
Fang Yingkan: What if I betray the Song Dynasty?
Yan Liang: I'll wake you up.
Fang Yingkan: ...You wish! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2020-04-01 22:17:05 and 2020-04-02 19:55:03!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: 20 bottles of "Caught a Live Little Angel"; 10 bottles of "Aba Aba Aba"; 3 bottles of "Broken Wine Poison"; and 1 bottle of "Time Ferryman".
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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