Liu Mingzhi listened to the sound of the palace maid outside the screen asking the eunuch to pour hot water into the bathtub. He calmly picked up the teapot and poured a cup of fragrant tea for Song Qing, who had just been called in by him.
“The best Jinshan Yunwu, this year’s new tribute tea.
Normally, I am reluctant to open the bottle and drink it. Only occasionally when I am in a good mood will I make a pot and taste it carefully.
Today is the day, big brother, you’re here, I’m giving you an advantage, sit down and have a try!”
Song Qing leaned forward and glanced outside the screen, watching the eunuchs and maids busy with their own affairs. No one paid attention to what was going on behind the screen. Then he sat down opposite Liu Mingzhi and took the fragrant tea with peace of mind.
Putting the tea under the tip of his nose and sniffing it, Song Qing looked relaxed and happy.
"The court has now dispersed, and we have eaten the food prepared by the imperial cook.
You sent someone to invite me to the harem alone again, I'm afraid it's not just as simple as tasting tea, right?
Since you have nothing to do to show your courtesy, it is either an adulterer or a thief. Tell me, what else do you need to do for me?
Let’s just say it first, I won’t do anything that makes people angry.
You should tell your second son to do this kind of thing, it would be more suitable for him to live in the dark."
Liu Mingzhi savored the aroma of tea on his tongue, looked at Song Qing's wary look, and shook his head with a few clicks of his tongue.
“What do you mean by that? Is this the kind of person I am?
I asked you to come here this time because I just want to discuss some small things with you. I will never let you do anything that goes against your conscience."
General Song Qing looked at Young Master Liu with suspicion, obviously very doubtful about Young Master Liu's character: "Really?"
Liu Mingzhi stood up and tried to grab the tea in Song Qing's hand: "Fuck, brother, after all these years, I am so miserable in your heart?
Bring over my young master’s Jinshan Yunwu. If you like to drink it, please bring it over.”
“Drink! Drink! I drink!
Tell me, you are undecided about something and you want to discuss it with me."
Looking at Song Qing who was savoring the tea, Liu Mingzhi turned the jasper finger on his thumb and pondered for a long time. He turned his eyes and glanced at the maids outside the screen who were scattering flower petals in the bathtub. He looked at Song Qing and lowered his voice.
“Boss, you have had a lot of contact with Chengfeng, Chengzhi and their children. Time is not forgiving! These children are growing up day by day.
Including Yue'er, among their children, who do you think is more suitable for the position of crown prince? Who is the most suitable candidate?"
Song Qing's leisurely look suddenly stiffened as he was savoring the fragrance of tea, and his face changed several colors in a row.
Several muffled coughs made Song Qing feel tea overflowing from his nostrils under the corner of Song Qing's mouth.
He wiped the tea off his body with trembling lips. Song Qing put the tea cup on the table with trembling arms. He looked at the tea and tea leaves on Young Master Liu's face and breathed out heavily.
“Lao San... Your Majesty, if you want to kill me, just tell me, can we not do this?
My little heart can’t handle your question!
You'd better let me kill people, set fires, and do something that will make people angry."
Song Qing seemed to say this in a joking manner, but could not hide the uneasiness in his eyes.
How can the position of the Crown Prince be interfered with or suggested by one of my own ministers?
I have been with the brother of the third brother for decades.
After all, in addition to being his own brother, the third brother is also the king of today's country.
As the saying goes, accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger. No matter how close you are to some things, you should never get involved with them.
For example, the matter of establishing a reserve is one of the most irrelevant things.
Liu Mingzhi looked at the uneasiness in Song Qing's eyes and nodded disappointedly: "I know, I should consider this matter myself!
Have tea!”
“Yes, yes, thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty!”
“Brother, I called you here alone to ask about this matter, because I don’t want to discuss this matter with you as a monarch and a minister, but to ask your opinion frankly as a brother.
This country is like a large family property. Who among your unsatisfactory nephews and nieces is suitable to inherit this family property?
Brother, I just want to hear your opinion as the uncle of the children.
Looking at how secretive you are, I might as well forget it.
But I hope that our private brotherhood will not be separated because of this incident.
Like we said before, two brothers in one life.
It is not related to others.
May I?"
Song Qing smiled bitterly and nodded: "Your Majesty... where is the third child? To be honest, your sudden question just now scared me.
Let us brothers speak from the bottom of our hearts, even if you are not the king of a country, but still the original king of one word, if you ask my brother this question, I still can't answer it.
It’s not that I don’t want to share my worries for you, but that I can’t share my worries with you. In my conscience, I say there are two reasons for this.
First of all, after all, you are no longer the king, but the current emperor. It is a taboo for ministers to interfere with the position of the crown prince.
Even though it was you who took the initiative to inquire about my brother, it was not my brother who privately interfered with the candidate for the throne.
For the sake of self-protection, my brother did not dare to easily get involved in the muddy waters of establishing a reserve.
Secondly, I don’t want my suggestions to mess up the decisions you may have already made in your heart.
After all, my brother is just the uncle of the children, and you are the biological father of the children.
As for who is more suitable to inherit the great cause and who is more suitable to take charge of the country, you know the character of each of these children better than your brother.
Even if today it is not the talk between kings and ministers, but ordinary gossip between brothers.
Your brother's words may shake the decision you have made long ago and change your original general thoughts.
In good conscience, I cannot give you any advice either in public or private matters.
For your own good, it is also for my own good. I hope you can understand my difficulties and difficulties.
But since you asked, I will give you a more appropriate suggestion.
You should decide this matter yourself, rather than letting us ministers decide this matter.
Because the identities of the children's mothers are complicated, leaving the officials to choose would definitely be selfish.
For example, Cheng Qian has the blood of the Li family, the child Yue'er has the blood of the Jin Kingdom, and the child Zheng Wen has the blood of the Turks.
There are many officials and generals in the imperial court who are close to them by blood.
When choosing the identity of the eldest, the youngest, the direct descendant, or the concubine, it is inevitable that there will be some bias.
But you are the father of your children, and they are all your own flesh and blood, and are blood relatives, but you will not have any selfish motives.
When choosing a candidate for the throne, you will only choose a child who is more similar to you and more suitable to inherit the country and the country to be the prince.
You love every child and there is no conflict with appointing a suitable person to inherit the throne.
For the sake of the foundation of your Liu family, Brother Wei suggests that you should not discuss this matter with the courtiers."
Liu Mingzhi nodded thoughtfully: "Drink tea, drink tea.
Brother, you are right, this matter really needs to be carefully weighed by the brothers themselves."
“Drinking tea, please stop scaring me, brother. Otherwise, if one day you become too frightened, your two sisters-in-law will come to you with axes and fight to the death.”
“Don’t frame me here. If you really can’t do it, it’s you who can’t do it. What does it have to do with this young master? Don’t arbitrarily add charges to this young master in order to cover up your own shortcomings.”
“I am only in my early forties, when I am full of energy, how could I fail?
But you, there are so many ladies, and when you reach my age, you will cry.
correct!"
"Um?"
Song Qing looked embarrassed and laughed. He rubbed his hands and looked towards Young Master Liu and whispered: "I heard that the officials in Beifu have put a batch of ginseng into the Ministry of Revenue. You won't need it anyway, so why don't you give it to me?"
Ten branches and eight branches!"
“Ahem, cough, cough… weren’t you quite crazy just now?
Besides, why do you think you are the king of ginseng? A big white radish? Why don’t you go to heaven if you still have ten or eight branches?”
“Hmm, it’s hard to explain. After drinking too much, I unintentionally took care of two otakus behind your sister-in-law’s back. Your two otaku sisters are like wolves and tigers. It’s really too much for my brother.
You won’t use it anyway, so it’s not good to waste it.”