"Your Highness, you must not let the Fourth Prince take control of Liangzhou." Yu Hai hurriedly said, "Once Liangzhou belongs to the Fourth Prince, he will bee a significant threat to us in the future." Among so many princes, only the Fourth Prince poses the greatest threat to His Highness. It would be best to eliminate the Fourth Prince before he fully grows his wings.
The Eighth Prince naturally knew this, but he could not move against the Fourth Prince now.
"If we act against the Fourth Prince, we will expose ourselves."
Yu Hai hadn’t thought of this: "Your Highness is right." A hint of unwillingness appeared on his face, "Then, Your Highness, are we just going to watch the Fourth Prince take control of Liangzhou?"
The Eighth Prince said calmly, "The Fourth Prince is not our opponent now."
"Your Highness, Liangzhou is a critical place..."
"Giving Liangzhou to the Fourth Prince is better than giving it to Prince Zheng and them." Although the Eighth Prince had always been secretly vying for that position, it didn’t mean he only cared about power and not the people. On the contrary, he did care about the people.
"Your Highness, the Emperor would never give Liangzhou to Prince Zheng and them." Yu Hai thought, no one could probably stop the Emperor from awarding Liangzhou to the Fourth Prince.
"I and the Fourth Prince are currently minding our own business without interfering with each other; there’s no need to meddle in his affairs." The Eighth Prince spoke sternly, "Before the Crown Prince and Prince Dai have a battle resulting in mutual destruction, we must not expose ourselves."
"It was my negligence, Your Highness." Yu Hai said, "Your Highness is indeed wise."
"Tomorrow morning, deliver an offering to the Prince Dai Mansion on my behalf."
"Yes, Your Highness."
In Kunde Hall, both Liang Zhaoyi and Zhao Yao had also learned of this matter.
Since last year, rumors were going around that the health of Princess Consort Dai was not good. The Imperial Physicians all said Princess Consort Dai could hardly make it past next spring, and now it was indeed as the Imperial Physicians had said.
Liang Zhaoyi sighed softly, her tone filled with pity: "Princess Consort Dai is also a poor soul."
Zhao Yao couldn’t understand: "Is it worth sacrificing your life to have a child?" If it were him, he would never let his princess sacrifice her life to have a child.
"Most women in the world would think it’s worth it." Liang Zhaoyi instructed Zhao Yao, "You should go to the Prince Dai Mansion tomorrow morning for condolences."
"I understand." Zhao Yao sighed, "What’s the point?"
Seeing her son didn’t understand, Liang Zhaoyi gently said to him: "A few years ago, Prince Dai was mocked by court officials and the people because he had no children, and Princess Consort Dai was also criticized by everyone. Moreover, Princess Consort Dai deeply loved Prince Dai; how could she bear to let Prince Dai be ridiculed by the world?"
She continued, "Even if she knew in advance that having a child would lead to her death, she would still do it resolutely for Prince Dai."
"Not being able to have children is not solely Princess Consort Dai’s fault." Zhao Yao shook his head, expressing disapproval, "I don’t agree with such behavior." Once a person is dead, there’s nothing left. If a person is alive, there’s still a chance to have a child in the future.
Liang Zhaoyi smiled faintly and didn’t continue the topic. She shifted the conversation to the matter of the Fourth Prince.
"The Fourth Prince is ing of age this year; have you thought about what birthday gift to give him?"
"Oh, there’s still a few months until Fourth Brother’s birthday, why rush?" Speaking about the Fourth Prince soon ing of age and being ennobled, Zhao Yao’s young face showed reluctance, "After Fourth Brother is ennobled, will he be going to his fief immediately?"
"Probably not." Liang Zhaoyi said, "When Prince Zheng was ennobled, he didn’t go to Jiaozhou, did he?"
"That’s because Third Brother disliked Jiaozhou and didn’t want to go, but Fourth Brother is different. Fourth Brother once said that after he is ennobled, he would go to the fief immediately." Zhao Yao sighed quietly, "I fear Fourth Brother has been preparing to go to the fief since last year. He is eagerly waiting to be ennobled now." It seemed to him that Fourth Brother couldn’t wait to go to his fief.
Liang Zhaoyi asked, "Are you reluctant to part with the Fourth Prince?"
Zhao Yao nodded vigorously, "I am very reluctant."
"If you’re reluctant to part with the Fourth Prince, you can ask your father in the future to let you go to visit the Fourth Prince’s fief for a period." Liang Zhaoyi suggested.
Zhao Yao pouted and said, "Would Father agree?"
Liang Zhaoyi smiled, "Maybe he will."
"Then I’ll try to ask." Zhao Yao scratched his head with a troubled expression, "Mother, I want to grow up, but I also don’t want to grow up. When I grow up, Fourth Brother and Eighth Brother will both leave me. If I don’t grow up, I’ll have to stay in the palace forever." He was truly reluctant for Fourth and Eighth Brothers to leave. Fortunately, after Fourth Brother left the capital, Eighth Brother would still be there. But in a few years, Eighth Brother would also e of age, be ennobled, and go to his fief.
"All good things must e to an end." Liang Zhaoyi gently forted Zhao Yao, "The Fourth Prince is still here. Before he leaves, just spend more time with him."
"That’s all I can do."
"The Fourth Prince treats you well; you should give him a grand gift before he goes to his fief."
"A grand gift?" Zhao Yao was initially stunned, then immediately understood what Liang Zhaoyi meant, "I have to think about it carefully."
Seeing her son understood her meaning, Liang Zhaoyi didn’t say more. She continued to sit at the loom and weave.
The loom Liang Zhaoyi was using now was the new one Zhao Yao had made last year.
The new loom was not only more convenient to use than the old one, but also produced better cloth, wove faster, and made more cloth than the old loom.
The new loom made by Zhao Yao was already in use throughout the Great Zhou, much loved by the people.
The emergence of the new loom made the Tenth Prince Zhao Yao immensely popular among the people.
Now, whenever the people mentioned the Tenth Prince, they would praise him.
Zhao Yao didn’t think much of it. He felt he was simply doing what he ought to do.
Initially, the ministers all regarded Zhao Yao as a foolish prince, but now they didn’t see him that way. Although the Tenth Prince wasn’t intelligent in his studies, he was immensely talented in creating things.
In recent years, each thing the Tenth Prince made was more astonishing than the last, but the ministers still believed he had no future and were unwilling to support or endorse him, at least on the surface.
The ministers admitted that Zhao Yao’s creations were useful to the people, but they still looked down on Zhao Yao because they thought his creations were of no use to them personally.
The majority of the court ministers were selfish, serving in office for their glory and wealth, not for the people’s well-being. The lives and deaths of the people were unimportant to them. So, no matter what Zhao Yao created, they wouldn’t change their minds to support the Tenth Prince.
Zhao Yao didn’t care for the ministers’ support. If they did support him, it would be a bad thing for him.
Most of the current court ministers still supported the Crown Prince and Prince Dai, but a portion also favored the Fourth Prince. Currently, the ministers supporting the Fourth Prince outnumbered those supporting Prince Zheng.
Although the court’s situation hadn’t reached a tripartite state, after the Fourth Prince es of age, it was very likely that such a tripartite situation could emerge.
User Comments
0 comments from readers