Chapter 125 Peaceful Coexistence
"wrong!"
On the way to Renming Palace, Zhao Xing suddenly reacted.
Even if things had developed as they had originally planned, my father would have still been able to live for another one or two years.
His existence gave my father hope. At least he would live a few more years than before.
But the way my father behaved just now was as if he was about to die.
Could it be that the emperor was deliberately performing this for him?
Thinking of this, Zhao Xing quickened his pace.
When I arrived at Renming Palace and saw Empress Cao, I couldn't help but be nagged by her.
Zhao Xing didn't dare to refute and just listened obediently.
When Empress Cao was tired of talking, she said, "Mother, I just saw that my father looked a little unwell. Is he sick?"
Empress Cao was stunned and said, "Your Majesty has been in good health these days. Have you asked the imperial physician to see him?"
"Father said he was fine, otherwise we should call the imperial physician. He must be tired. Mother should advise father to have a good rest more often." Zhao Xing said.
Zhao Xing breathed a sigh of relief. Putting aside the feelings, he also wanted his father to live a few more years.
If his father had died at the same time as before, he would have been at most sixteen or seventeen years old.
At his age, he would not be able to hold real power even if he ascended the throne.
Either choose a few ministers to remonstrate with him, or let Empress Cao rule the country from behind the curtain.
No matter which possibility it is, it is not what Zhao Xing wants to see.
In history, there have been too many cases of ministers of state being too powerful. If such a situation occurs, he will have to compete with the ministers in wits and courage.
As for Queen Cao, Zhao Xing was also a little worried.
Although it seems that Queen Cao treats him well now, power is too tempting.
In the original drama, after Zhao Zongquan ascended the throne, Empress Cao ruled the country from behind the scenes, but later she was unwilling to give up power.
Judging from the situation, it seemed that Empress Cao was dissatisfied with Zhao Zongquan for not following the previous emperor's rules and maintaining the attitude towards Liao and Xia.
But who can tell whether there is a factor of reluctance to give up power?
After all, he was not Empress Cao's biological son. Even if he was, Wu Zetian still deposed her own son for power.
Moreover, if he comes to power in the future, it will be impossible for him to maintain his father's attitude towards Liao and Xia.
If Empress Cao really were to rule the country from behind the scenes, conflicts might arise between the two of them.
Queen Cao's words undoubtedly confirmed that my father was just pretending.
It is also possible that it is not all fake, and the emperor may have some understanding of his own body.
However, judging from the current situation, my father's health should be fine in the short term.
……
A few days after the imperial examination ended, it was time for Madam Wu to hold a polo match.
Early that morning, Zhao Xing took Yu Yanran on a carriage to the polo field.
Yu Yanran has been eating and living with Zhao Xing these days. After a few days of getting along, Yu Yanran feels more and more comfortable when facing Zhao Xing.
Perhaps because she would be able to see her grandmother soon, Yu Yanran's eyes were filled with excitement.
Zhao Xing took Yu Yanran's hand, played with it in his hand, and said, "Didn't I tell you that if you want to go back, you can always go back and have a look."
"I just feel that it's not a good idea to go back after being away from home for only a few days." Yu Yanran said.
Her current status is not suitable for going back.
Zhao Xing shook his head slightly and said, "The polo field is not interesting. We will be there soon. Go and talk to Old Madam Yu. We will have lunch at Jinming Lake and play at Jinming Lake in the afternoon. I have someone build a polo field and I will go there to play polo occasionally."
Given his status, it was not appropriate for him to play polo at the polo club, so someone built one for him in the Jinmingchi Royal Villa.
When I am bored, I will take Gu Tingye and others there to play polo.
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Yu Yanran said happily.
……
When they arrived at the polo field, Zhao Xing asked Yu Yanran to go find her grandmother.
I came to his special tent.
The Lady of the Duke of England and Zhang Guifen had already arrived, and their tent was right next to his. Zhao Xing asked Sanshui to go over and invite Zhang Guifen over.
"Your Highness," Zhang Guifen said with a salute. "No need to salute, come and sit down," Zhao Xing said with a smile.
Zhang Guifen is more than one year older than him and had reached the age of 15 last year, but because of his age, the two have not yet married.
In the past few years, Zhao Xing would call her over to chat at every polo meeting. She was no longer as reserved as before when facing Zhao Xing. Upon hearing his words, she came over with a gust of fragrance and sat down on the soft stool next to Zhao Xing.
"Did you bring Ruhuo with you?" Zhao Xing asked.
"I brought it!" Zhang Guifen said with bright eyes, "Your Highness, are you going to play polo this afternoon?"
"Yes." Zhao Xing nodded and said, "My riding skills have improved a lot. We must defeat Zhong Huai once this afternoon."
Last year, he took Zhang Guifen to the polo field in Jinmingchi to play polo. At that time, he and Zhang Guifen were in the same group, and opposite them were Gu Tingye and Qi Heng.
At first, the two of them tried to give in, but after being scolded by Zhao Xing, they dared not give in anymore.
The final result was that Zhao Xing and Zhang Guifen lost.
"Okay!" Zhang Guifen said with a smile, "We will definitely win this time."
"By the way, I will call two people over this afternoon and introduce them to you then." Zhao Xing said.
"Your Highness, are you talking about Miss Yu? I already know her. Who is the other one?" Zhang Guifen asked puzzledly.
Zhao Xing said he wanted to introduce someone to her, so naturally it couldn't be a man.
"It's not Yanran. You will know in the afternoon. One of them can also play polo, and he is very good at it." Zhao Xing said with a smile.
"Then I can't wait to get to know you," said Zhang Guifen.
Zhao Xing had called Yu Yanran over to meet him before, and she knew what the purpose was.
It's nothing more than wanting them to get familiar with each other in advance so that they can live in peace in the future.
It is normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines. Even if she marries into a family of equal status, it is impossible for her future husband not to take concubines, let alone a prince.
She was very open-minded about this aspect. As long as Zhao Xing had her in his heart and those concubines were honest and obedient, with her personality, she would not target them.
When she heard Zhao Xing introduce her to someone who could play polo, she became interested.
However, she knew that among the concubines that Zhao Xing had already chosen, none of them seemed to be good at playing polo.
Many women know how to play polo, but few are good at it.
……
"grandmother!"
"Yanran!"
Old Mrs. Yu excitedly pulled her granddaughter to look at her and said, "Why do you look thinner?"
People of Mrs. Yu's age have no interest in the polo club.
This time I came here because I knew Zhao Xing liked to attend the polo club, and I was wondering if he would bring his granddaughter over.
"No way, even my granddaughter feels like she's gained weight." Yu Yanran said with a smile.
"Hurry up and sit down, let grandma take a good look at you."
Old Mrs. Yu pulled Yu Yanran to sit down and looked at her carefully.
"All of you leave!" Old Madam Yu looked for a while, frowned slightly, and said to the servants in the tent.
"Grandma, what's wrong?" Yu Yanran asked puzzledly when she saw that her grandmother looked unwell.
"Yanran, why are you still a virgin? Does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince dislike you?"
With Mrs. Yu's keen eyesight, she could still tell whether a girl was a virgin or not.
At first she was too excited to pay attention, but the more she looked, the more she felt something was wrong.
"Grandma, it's not what you think." Yu Yanran blushed and explained the situation in a low voice.
"So, His Highness felt that you were too young and was afraid of hurting your body, so he didn't favor you?" Old Lady Yu looked at her granddaughter in disbelief.
"Yes." Yu Yanran nodded and said, "If grandma doesn't believe me, you can ask Mother Xu. These days, my granddaughter has been...resting in His Highness's bedroom."
Old Mrs. Yu naturally didn't believe it, so she called Mrs. Xu over and asked her some questions before she had to believe it.
(End of this chapter)