C78 (1/2)

It was already a quarter to ten when Prince Jin entered the Imperial Study. He raised his head to look at the golden words on the signboard, and couldn't help but narrow his eyes under the intense sunlight. This was the first time Royal Father took the initiative to call him over to the Imperial Study.

When exactly did he want to ascend the throne? He lowered his head and thought, probably when he met Yu Zhu. That day, like the rain, Royal Father invited the crown prince and him to the imperial garden to admire the flowers. As the father and son exchanged cups to chat, a pretty and pretty dancer wearing a watery red dress slowly walked under the cherry tree. She stretched her waist and lightly waved her sleeves.

Afterwards, he had specially found out the identity of the dancer. Her name was actually Yu Zhu, and at the age of sixteen, she had followed the master outside the palace for many years. Unexpectedly, the crown prince had forcefully chosen her to join the Eastern Palace to become his concubine. He was angry at her for going to the Eastern Palace to reason, but was reprimanded by the Royal Father because of his low status.

The crown prince had been toying with Yu Zhu for less than two months before he was tired of playing with him and chased him out of the Eastern Palace. Yu Zhu was ashamed that she was unclean and had no face to see Yue Yang again. In order to prevent this matter from turning into a scandal in the palace, Noble Consort Kang secretly sent people to settle this matter, leaving Yu Zhu's body as a whole and buried him well.

He knew from that time onwards that in order to protect the people he loved, he must have supreme power, and within the palace, other than the Emperor, it was the crown prince who was the ruler. He must become a prince that was even stronger than the crown prince, in order to win the favor of the Royal Father s and replace them with the crown prince of the Eastern Palace.

The so called crown prince was only an ordinary person who did not know anything, relying on the fact that his mother was a Empress Chen to enter the main Eastern Palace. Gradually, he stood out amongst the other princes, displaying a talent that was a hundred times stronger than the Crown Prince.

However, things did not go as smoothly as he had imagined. When he returned to the palace, he knew that Prince Duan was extremely talented, and after a round of study, he became even more powerful. Moreover, his mother was the Mrs. Heyi's most beloved Mrs. Heyi, and this was a much more advantageous backer than the Empress Chen.

As a result, he lost his initial advantage and fought with the Three Tigers, instead of retreating to fight with them in the martial arts world. Thus, he acted as if he had no interest in the throne, and pretended to stand on the side of the Prince Duan to deal with the crown prince together with him.

It was a pity that his scheme had been seen through. His former allies were now going against him.

Prince Jin let out a light sigh, his expression relaxed.

Royal Father sat atop the Dragon Throne, a calm expression on his face, as if he was brewing a storm. A sapphire blue figure stood beside him, awaiting his arrival. He didn't even need to look carefully to know that it was the Prince Duan.

Prince Jin walked to his seat and bowed respectfully: ”This son greets Royal Father.”

”En,” The emperor slightly nodded, ”Stand up.”

Prince Jin stood up, and a trace of a smile appeared on his face. He looked at Chu Zongge and slowly said: ”Hello, Royal Brother.”

Chu Zongge smiled and nodded, ”Prince Jin is really fast, the moment this elder went out to announce the news, your underling arrived.”

Prince Jin lowered his eyelids, ”Royal Father's orders to me to move faster, how is it like Royal Brother is in the palace, is able to accompany Royal Father around the edges.”

The emperor leisurely interrupted their conversation. ”I have something to discuss with you. I've just read about the famine in Subei and have a lot of things to take care of, so I'll cut to the chase.”

Prince Jin was startled, ”The famine in Subei?”

The emperor nodded and shot him a sidelong glance. ”This matter has been a headache for Zhen for a long time. Why don't you know about it?”

Chu Zongge secretly laughed with his mouth covered: ”Prince Jin often goes out of the palace to play, so I'm not very clear about these current affairs.”

Prince Jin was startled: ”If I knew about this, wouldn't this matter have been resolved long ago?”

The emperor looked at him, puzzled. ”This paper just came up, how did you solve it?”

Prince Jin glanced at Chu Zongge indifferently, as if he was at a loss. ”Uncle donated a hundred boxes of gold and a hundred boxes of silver to the Subei, haven't you settled it yet?”

The emperor was stunned for a moment. He still wanted to ask something, but the eunuch serving in front of the imperial palace suddenly delivered a paper roll and said, ”Your majesty, this is the paper slip that the Subei has recently sent over.”

Chu Zongge and Prince Jin looked at each other quickly but he saw a smile hidden in the depths of his eyes.

The emperor flipped open a few pages, and the eunuch replied with a face full of joy: ”The officials sent by the Subei said that the richest man in the capital, Kang Zhiming, had given a lot of money to the victims of the disaster, and also sent many carts of food and fodder to alleviate the disaster and quell the anger of the people.”

Chu Zongge's gaze immediately dimmed. A few days ago, he had all sorts of thoughts, but he had forgotten that the Prince Jin had the backing of the richest man in the capital.

The Emperor threw the imperial report on the table, rubbed his brow, and waved the excited eunuch out.

”Very well,” the Emperor said, taking a deep breath. ”Your uncle has solved a problem for me.”

The Prince Jin said with a smile, ”Uncle has always been a kind and sincere person.

”Your uncle is also very concerned about national affairs,” the emperor said expressionlessly. ”Your mother seems to be more concerned about it.”

”mother often says that the harem is not allowed to interfere, but it is also often controlled by the heart, and hopes to share the worries of Royal Father,” Prince Jin's gentle face did not reveal even the slightest flaw, ”The famine in Subei has already been eliminated, and this is also the little kindness the Kang family of mother holds towards the imperial government.”

”That's right,” the Emperor nodded his head vigorously. ”The Prince Jin truly harbors the world in their hearts.”