The prince was looking at the dinner in front of him with a sad expression, with no intention of swallowing it.
During the day at the court, the sixth brother Tang Xin performed well and was praised by his father, which made him very satisfied. In his opinion, this was what he, the prince, should do, especially in front of the Japanese envoys. In order to save the group's face, he should have performed better, but he couldn't do anything and became a passerby. It was really a failure.
The prince didn't need to eat, he just stared at the food in a daze. The Crown Princess Ji Rong, who was sitting opposite, showed an anxious look in her eyes. "Your Highness, you have to do things little by little, and you have to eat the food in bites. Your health is the most important!"
Ji Rong, Crown Princess. The daughter of the Ji family in Daliang City, her father Ji Cai is currently the right minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. She is considered one of the powerful ministers, in charge of the money bag, and is also one of the spokespersons of the Prince's Office in the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Ji Rong was very beautiful. After the age of fourteen, there was an endless stream of people coming to visit her, including some powerful and talented people. But in the end, she married the prince, which made her very satisfied. In her eyes, she was the one who would work hard in the future. The queen gave birth to a son, Tang Man, who would be the future Emperor Daqian. At that time, she would be the mother of the country.
Now that I live in the East Palace, I have everything I want. I just need to keep it as it is, and eventually the throne will fall on my family. This is such a good thing. I really don’t know what else I need to worry about.
This princess is very satisfied with the status quo and has a bright future allotted to her. The most important thing is the health of the prince, her son and herself. She hopes to live longer so that she can enjoy a better life more.
The prince, who had known the princess's nature for a long time, was too lazy to tell her. She was simply a stupid woman. Did she really think that she would be the emperor in the future without having to do anything? Even if his father was determined to teach him great things, If you are not strong enough, even if you become the emperor, who will listen to you? Will it last long?
The prince had said these words to the princess more than once, but the other party still looked indifferent and even thought that he was unfounded.
He simply didn't want to talk to the Crown Princess about anything. He had already thought about calling several staff members to come over tomorrow to discuss countermeasures. He wanted to find a way to perform well, prove his existence, and prove that the only way to prove that the great power was to be handed over to him. It is the wisest choice and the only choice in your hands.
The prince had an idea, but King Xiang was completely different from him. After the court meeting, he called his staff to the palace to discuss countermeasures.
Several of his staff gave the opinion that they were on good terms with Shen Ao. They had already found out clearly that the reason why the Sixth Prince knew how to solve the Nine Links was not that he came up with it himself, but was taught by Duke Zhongguo. In other words, it was originally It should be Shen Ao's work, but he didn't care at all, so it was transferred to the Sixth Prince.
Han Ce, the chief staff officer, was very happy when he learned about this. He offered advice to King Xiang: "Your Highness, King Xiang, it turns out that Duke Zhongguo has no intention of getting involved in power. He doesn't even want credit. I'm afraid he just wants to do something." If you want to make money in your own business, you should not be afraid of such people. As for the Sixth Prince, he is still young and has only made this contribution, so there is nothing to fear. Now our opponent will not be the Sixth Prince, but Prince, in order to strengthen our strength, it is best to join forces with Duke Zhongguo. He can give advice, and His Highness can also give him some financial benefits. Wouldn't this complement each other?"
"Cooperate with Duke Zhongguo?" After hearing this, King Xiang showed emotion on his face.
Facts have proved that Duke Zhongguo is a capable person, both in poetry and business. He is talented. And such a person has no idea of holding power, so he is not the best collaborator. At least. When joining forces with Duke Zhongguo, there is no need to worry about him decentralizing or seizing power.
Thinking that with Shen Ao's help, not only could he make more money using his business methods, but if there were any difficult problems to solve, he would have an extra helper, which might play an unexpected role. Prince Xiang was moved. "Well, Mr. Han's proposal is very good, but I don't know how to express my friendly attitude?"
"This is simple. Guochanglong is now in charge of Duke Zhong. Isn't he applying for a membership card? As long as Prince Xiang is willing to spend money to apply for one, he is giving face to the other party. Returning favors in return must be so smart for Duke Zhong. You must know how to repay His Highness." Han Ce said confidently.
"That's right. This plan is very clever, and it suits my king's wishes. Let Shi Zitong handle this matter. Hasn't his body been recuperated long ago? He always said that he would do something for me, and now he has shown it. It's time." King Xiang approved Han Ce's proposal, but when it came to who should be sent to see Shen Ao, the two people had different opinions.
When he heard that Shi Zitong was to be sent, Han Ce disagreed, "Your Highness, Shi Zitong had a conflict with Duke Zhongguo before, and the two have not fully reconciled until now. For things like showing goodwill, it is better not to let him take action. Okay."
"What? Mr. Han, aren't you worried that others will steal your limelight? Haha, don't worry, it is precisely because Shi Zitong and Shen Ao had a problem, this time he can apologize and express my sincerity. Okay, The matter is settled like this, please Mr. Han, please go and call Shi Zitong over." King Xiang chuckled, looking confident.
Someone had reported to King Xiang before that Han Ce was using his position as the chief staff member to suppress other staff members. His original intention was that he wanted King Xiang to rely only on him. If anyone else wanted to come forward, it would be absolutely unacceptable. Allowed.
Although Prince Xiang is impulsive, especially in the court, he will spare no effort to confront the prince. Many times he does it for no reason. He will do anything that can make the prince uncomfortable, even if it does not have any impact on himself. benefits. But this is just a superficial performance.
How could Prince Xiang be such a simple person who could become King Xiang and be kept in the capital by Emperor Qianwen when he came of age without having to go to a fiefdom? On the contrary, he was also very smart, and it was only because of his excellent performance that he let others Just a misunderstanding.
King Xiang is smart and knows very well that eggs cannot be put into a basket. He will not allow someone around him to take over the power and threaten his own existence. On this point, he is the same as his father, Emperor Qianwen, and has the same suspicions. Extremely heavy.
Giving the task to Shi Zitong this time instead of giving it to Han Ce is one of his strategies. He is taking the opportunity to tell Han Ce and others that it is not that he, King Xiang, can't change anyone without him, on the contrary, everything will be changed. It must be decided by him. You can come up with ideas, but the final decision is in his hands.
Although Han Ce was dissatisfied with this decision, he thought that this was King Xiang's intention and he could not raise any doubts. Otherwise, he would be suspected or even abandoned soon.
It was just one less opportunity to make a meritorious service, and Han Ce thought he could always make up for it in the future. As for sending Shi Zitong, although Han Ce thought it was inappropriate, he didn't think it was a big deal. No matter how conceited Shi Zitong was, he didn't think it was a big deal. How dare you make fun of King Xiang's order.
Don't you know that Han Ce still doesn't know Shi Zitong well enough? He is really an extremely selfish person for his personal reputation. Giving him the task of making friends with Shen Ao is doomed to be impossible to implement this plan.
King Xiang met Shi Zitong and expressed what he meant. Shi Zitong originally wanted to deny it. He was just a hereditary prince. He was just a more powerful poet, but he couldn't be used as food. He had no power, so why bother? Why does he value it so much? If so, wouldn't he have no chance of revenge?
But when I turn around and think about it, if the task is handed over to him, doesn't it mean that he can do whatever he wants? Even if that's the case, then the matter will be easier to handle.
Already having his own idea, Shi Zitong patted his chest and made a promise in front of King Xiang. He would distinguish between public and private affairs, apologize to Shen Ao, and said that he would get Guochanglong's membership at the minimum price and serve King Xiang. Strive for maximum benefits.
King Xiang was also very happy about Shi Zitong's statement. He thought he had found the right person, so he began to wait for Shen Ao to become his helper or even subordinate.
That night, apart from the Crown Prince and Prince Xiang, there was one person who was not asleep. He was the Sixth Prince Tang Jia, who had made great achievements in the court today.
Being born into an imperial family is both a blessing and a misfortune.
Fortunately, I have been able to live in fine clothes since I was a child, and I don’t have to worry about food and clothing. If you have greater ability, you can more easily shoulder more responsibilities and control more power; if you have less ability, you can eat and die every day. , you can also become a happy prince.
Unfortunately, there is not much family affection in the imperial family. Sometimes for the sake of profit and power, brothers, even father and son, can draw swords against each other.
Tang Jia was born in an imperial family and has some abilities. At least the teacher who teaches now is very optimistic about him. He has said that he is smart more than once. Sometimes he is even happy and says that if he could have been born a few years earlier, he would have performed better. It will be worse than several royal brothers.
The subtext of this sentence is that if Tang Xin can grow a few years older, he can also compete for the position of prince.
Maybe it was because his husband wanted to encourage him, or maybe he really liked him. But no matter what, these words reached his ears, and his ambition began to grow, and he had the idea of becoming an emperor.
He just had an idea, and Tang Jia didn't tell anyone, not even his dearest mother, Concubine Zhao.
In his eyes, the mother-in-law is a person who is content with the status quo and willing to be ordinary. As long as the family is safe, that is better than anything else. This also makes the mother-in-law deeply favored by the emperor, and she is also quite popular in the harem, even if She has a son and a daughter, and no one has ever targeted her over the years.