"Excuse me, sir." Zhao Xin forced a smile and nodded towards the Minister of Rites.
Zhao Zhongsheng, who was following Zhao Xin, turned a little darker. He raised his hand and gave a perfunctory salute, but the air pressure around his body plummeted.
Only Zhao Zhongru performed the ceremony firmly, raising his hands to his chest and bending his back slightly.
"These two are..."
Zhao Xin turned sideways, mentioned his beloved son, and his smile became more genuine, "This is the king's legitimate son. The king came to Bianzhou this time to invite him to be crowned the crown prince."
"That's it." The Minister of Rites said with a smile: "Then the official is right here. I wish you the best in advance."
Zhao Zhongsheng's expression softened a lot, his eyebrows lowered, and he nodded slightly, "Thank you, Sir."
"That, this one." The Minister of Rites' eyes fell on Zhao Zhongru, who was at the back.
Zhao Xin glanced at Zhao Zhongru and said nonchalantly: "It's my other son. Sir, let's go into the city."
"It makes sense, His Royal Highness is still waiting."
The group of people walked towards the palace.
"Your Majesty, Sir, I wonder what taboos the Crown Prince has?" Zhao Xin lowered his voice and inquired about Zhao Jin with the Minister of Rites.
The Minister of Rites smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you don't need to be too careful and worried. When you meet His Highness, just tell the truth. Your Highness has no taboos."
"But," the Minister of Rites protracted his words, "I have to remind you all."
"In this Bianzhou city, please do not oppress the people or use your power to bully others."
Zhao Xin and others were startled at first, "This is..."
Before Zhao Xin could speak, Zhao Zhongsheng quickly interjected: "This is natural. Don't worry, sir. We are not those who bully others."
Hearing this, Zhao Xincai suddenly realized that he had almost said the wrong thing just now.
"Hahaha, that's naturally the best."
"There's more." The Minister of Rites glanced at Zhao Xin and Zhao Zhongsheng who were approaching, and especially stayed on Zhao Zhongsheng for a moment.
"Your Highness doesn't like people who are too arrogant."
This sentence clearly means something.
Zhao Xin didn't notice and just nodded repeatedly, but Zhao Zhongsheng's eyes darkened.
Zhao Zhongru, who had been following them without saying a word, his eyes flickered slightly.
Zhao Xin asked a few more questions, and some of them were answered by the Minister of Rites, while others were ignored.
Not long after, they arrived at the palace.
Zhao Jin did not receive them in the East Palace, but chose the main hall where Zhao Qian received the prince, and then replaced the dragon chair above.
"Your Highness, they have arrived outside Zhongcheng Gate."
"Let them come in."
Zhongchengmen is the last door to this main hall.
The Minister of Rites, Zhao Xin, Zhao Zhongsheng, and Zhao Zhongru walked into the main hall together, and the rest of the guards and attendants were all taken to other places for resettlement.
"See His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Zhao Zhongsheng saluted while looking at Zhao Jin in a cryptic way.
Starry Eyes narrowed slightly, eyes calm and narrowed, Zhao Jin put his hands on his knees with a gentle expression, "No need to be polite, everyone get up."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
"The King of China has come a long way, and it has been a long and tiring journey. Thank you for your hard work."
"Your Highness is serious." Zhao Xin responded with a smile.
Zhao Jin, Zhao Xin and Zhao Zhongsheng went back and forth for a quarter of an hour, without even asking Zhao Xin and others the purpose of entering Beijing.
He didn't ask, but Zhao Xin couldn't sit still.
"Your Highness, I am going to Bianzhou this time because I am getting older now and am somewhat incapable of doing what I want. It is quite difficult to manage such a large palace."
"I was thinking that it was time to establish the crown prince, so I came to the capital now and wanted to shamelessly ask His Highness to confer the title of crown prince."
"The King, please don't belittle yourself. You are clearly in your prime, so why do you feel so sad about your twilight years?" Zhao Jin interrupted Zhao Xin with a smile.
"Well, when a person reaches a certain age, he cannot accept his old age anymore." The king was not sure what Zhao Jin was thinking, so he carefully thought about it for a while and replied carefully.
Zhao Zhongsheng's hands hanging on his sides were clenched into fists. If Zhao Jin disagreed, he would have to convince Zhao Xin to start an army immediately when he returned.
"The king's words are serious."
Zhao Jin smiled and did not respond at all to the king's invitation to be crowned the crown prince.
It wasn't until Zhao Xin didn't speak anymore and Zhao Zhongsheng couldn't hide his dark expression that he said: "However, it is reasonable for the king to invite the crown prince."
Zhao Jin was obviously relieved as he spoke, and Zhao Xin's eyes brightened slightly, "That's right! Logically, it's time to invite the crown prince."
With that said, Zhao Xin pulled Zhao Zhongsheng to his side and said, "Your Highness, I would like to request a title for Zhong Sheng. He is my legitimate son, and he is both civil and military, so he can stand out."
Zhao Zhongsheng opened his hands, brought them together in front of his forehead, and bent down to bow to Zhao Jin.
"Looking at the handsome appearance, you can see the talent." Zhao Jin raised his right hand slightly, pressed his fingertips on the armrest, and praised him with a smile on his lips.
"Hahahaha." Zhao Xin was so happy that his proud son was praised, he stroked his beard and laughed loudly.
Zhao Zhongsheng smiled and said modestly: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has given you too much praise."
Starry eyes narrowed slightly, and Zhao Jin easily discovered the arrogance that was not fully hidden in Zhao Zhongsheng's eyes. He chuckled and suddenly asked: "I don't know, who is this?"
"Caomin Zhao Zhongru." Zhao Zhongru, who had been silent all this time, heard Zhao Jin nod him, took a step forward, bowed respectfully, and bent his back greatly.
Even the self-identification he uses is "grassroots".
Zhao Zhongru's posture can be said to be extremely humble.
Zhao Xin, who was standing next to him, saw this, his face darkened, and he was a little dissatisfied.
He is a majestic king, no matter how bad Zhao Zhongru is, he is still a prince. Zhao Jin is a prince but not his majesty. Zhao Zhongru's flattering appearance is simply embarrassing to him!
Zhao Zhongsheng snorted lightly, and the disdain on his face flashed away.
Seeing all this in his eyes, Zhao Jin relaxed his fingertips and directly grasped the armrest of the dragon chair with his right hand, rubbing it twice with his fingers without meaning.
Is this Zhao Zhongru cowardly and timid, or is he a rare smart person among the three?
Zhao Xin's tone was much lower, "He is one of my king's sons."
He didn't want to say anything more, and simply said that he was his son.
Zhao Zhongsheng was accustomed to Zhao Xin's attitude, and felt happy because of it. He turned his head and glanced at Zhao Zhongru, proud and arrogant.
Zhao Zhongru seemed not to notice the attitudes of Zhao Xin and Zhao Zhongsheng, and seemed to have become accustomed to them. After saluting, he returned to silence again.
After watching it quietly for a while, Zhao Jin thought to himself: Interesting.
"It seems that this is another legitimate son of the prince." Zhao Jin emphasized the word "legitimate son", which attracted the astonished looks of Zhao Xin and Zhao Zhongsheng.