Chapter 465 The Two Exceptions
"It's time to get up."
"Sleep a little longer."
"Didn't my husband say to get up and dance when he heard the cock crow? The cock has already crowed several times."
"This chicken is not that chicken."
"No, it's so early in the morning..."
"Let's change our morning exercise method."
"What method?"
"Dual Cultivation Method!"
Later, Jiang Qingzhi appeared on the martial arts field looking refreshed.
The sword skills were extremely sharp, and no one dared to approach amid the howling wind.
"What kind of swordsmanship is this, young master?" Sun Chonglou asked with some envy.
"Chaotic cloak!" Jiang Qingzhi put away his knife.
"Let me try." Sun Chonglou had complete faith in his young master, so he practiced it.
"This brat." Jiang Qingzhi's so-called swordsmanship was just a mess, but in Sun Chonglou's hands it changed, becoming methodical and even more fierce.
"Shi Tou has talent." Fu Cheng looked like an old father who was pleased to see his child succeed.
Jiang Qingzhi believes that people with simple minds are talented in everything they do.
The two princes came to eat and complained that the food in the palace was getting worse and worse.
During the meal, Jiang Qingzhi saw Prince Jing and Prince Yu occasionally look at each other, but they avoided each other unnaturally.
He smiled, drank a sip of mung bean soup, and ate a piece of braised pork with fermented bean curd. He immediately felt that this morning was complete.
After dinner, he called the two princes to the study.
"Are you having a quarrel?" Jiang Qingzhi asked as he lit up the cigarette.
"No." King Jing felt a little uncomfortable.
Prince Yu said honestly, "The day before yesterday, my people...had a fight with the people on the Fourth Brother's side."
"Let me guess, the conflict that caused you two to quarrel is either about women or the third brother is lustful." Jiang Qingzhi said. Seeing Prince Yu's tangled face, he let him go. "But the fourth brother is not interested in this, so there is only one possibility."
Jiang Qingzhi sighed, "Now that the crown prince is gone, the imperial succession will inevitably be between you two. The third brother is the oldest, and the fourth brother is smart, and they are favored by His Majesty. You two are loyal, but the people around you can't wait to accomplish the feat of following the emperor."
The worst thing is that the Taoist priest has always refused to appoint a crown prince.
"Do you know why Your Majesty does not appoint a crown prince?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
The two shook their heads.
"It's because Your Majesty is worried that if you establish a crown prince, there will be a second dragon." Jiang Qingzhi said.
When two dragons fight, one of them will be injured.
Two dragons never meet...
What do you mean you don’t know? It would be fucking weird if two smart people didn’t know.
Jiang Qingzhi said: "Being an emperor is a tough job. Some people say that one must eliminate family ties to be a qualified emperor. When you open your eyes, your mind is full of calculations. When you close your eyes, you see fame and wealth. Power can drive people crazy. But when you wake up in the middle of the night, don't you feel desolate?"
"The friendship you two have discarded now will become an invaluable treasure that you will never get. People are like this. They hold the invaluable treasure in their hands, but they throw it away for a pile of garbage."
But who can remain indifferent when facing the throne?
After Prince Yu and his two companions left, Xu Wei came to see Jiang Qingzhi.
"Now some people say that Prince Yu looks old but is actually stupid. Your Majesty is worried that if you hand over the Ming Dynasty to him, Prince Yu will be eaten alive by the literati."
These words gave a very thorough analysis of the Taoist's mentality. Jiang Qingzhi dared to bet that the Taoist had definitely had this thought.
Prince Yu sat on the steps at the old place. "I am the elder, so I should take the responsibility. But I know that my father is not satisfied with me. I have thought about not fighting for it."
"Why are you saying this?" King Jing said calmly, "I don't care about being humble. If you have the ability, then ..."
"What's the point of having the ability?" Prince Yu said angrily, "Do we have to fight to the death?"
"But that is the throne. It is supreme, like a god. I don't believe you are not tempted." King Jing sneered.
"I am tempted, but I never thought of turning against you for this." Prince Yu turned around and looked at Prince Jing who was crossing his arms and said, "But you have been so aggressive."
“When am I aggressive?”
"You said the other day that the article I wrote was dry and weak..."
"Is not it?"
"My cousin once said that writing and poetry are just entertainment, but you want to use them for entertainment."
"When will I do it?"
"You recently……"
At some point, the two of them started to talk more and more heatedly.
No one knew who started the fight first, but the two princes started fighting each other.
Yang Xi and others were standing by anxiously, but no one dared to help.
Just as Yang Xi was about to ask Jiang Qingzhi, the prince's guardian, to help him, he turned around and was punched.
"The son of a bitch has started!" Yang Xi covered his eyes and shouted, "What are you waiting for?"
……
"Your Majesty, the two princes are fighting."
Dao Ye was furious when he heard the news, "Why did you do it?"
Huang Jin shook his head, "I don't know."
"Call those two little bastards."
The two princes and the eunuchs around them were taken to the Yongshou Palace. The Taoist priest was inside the palace, and the two of them knelt down across a door.
"The two princes look... bruised and battered." Huang Jin said in a low voice.
"Why do you take action?" asked Emperor Jiajing.
King Jing said, "It was just a quarrel."
"Did I ask you?" Emperor Jiajing said coldly, "The third brother said."
It would be more reliable to ask Prince Yu at this time.
Prince Jing winked at Prince Yu, but as he did so, the wound at the corner of his eye hurt so much that he couldn't help but gasp.
"Are you winking at each other?" The Taoist's voice came from afar.
Prince Jing was startled, and Prince Yu quickly said, "Father, it's because... because..."
"For the position of crown prince?" Emperor Jiajing asked calmly.
It was quiet outside.
After an unknown amount of time, Emperor Jiajing inside sighed, "Everyone says that there is no father and son in the royal family, and no family affection in the royal family. I have been wondering, can material desires really make people ignore family affection? Abandon family affection?"
The two of them lowered their heads, and King Jing said, "Father, the resentment has been building for too long..."
"It's probably because of the people around him who have misled him too much!" said Emperor Jiajing.
Prince Jing and Prince Yu looked at each other, both feeling frustrated as if they had been seen through.
"Go!" said Emperor Jiajing.
"Thank you, Father." The two bowed happily.
"Go to your grandmother and kneel there for half a day."
"Father..."
"roll!"
The two princes were taken away and Emperor Jiajing walked out of the hall.
"The people around the two princes have been fighting secretly for several times recently, and Prince Jing has the upper hand." Huang Jin said, "But Prince Yu is not willing to be outdone, and has managed to trick the eunuchs around Prince Jing..."
"The fight between dragons and tigers is very lively."
Emperor Jiajing said calmly: "I have been watching to see whether they will take action or not. Taking action is not a bad thing." Huang Jin was puzzled.
Emperor Jiajing's eyes were bleak. "Back then, I hoped that I could have a brother, someone to talk to every day. But it was difficult to fulfill my wish. I wanted to see them live in harmony, but that position was tempting.
I have also thought about appointing a crown prince, but I am afraid to do so. Two dragons cannot meet, two dragons cannot meet..."
The sound gradually became inaudible.
Prince Yu and his companion were taken to a side hall, which was empty except for a portrait of Empress Dowager Jiang hanging on the wall.
They both knelt down.
There were eunuchs supervising outside.
There was silence in the hall.
The sun shines outside the temple, but the inside seems particularly gloomy.
"Third brother."
"explain."
"When it comes to being an emperor, you are not as good as me."
"There are thousands of emperors, why am I not as good as you?"
"You're so stupid."
"Haha! You're just being clever."
"Look at your father, who has been fighting with his ministers for many years. If you become an emperor with your personality, you will definitely be suppressed by your ministers."
"hehe!"
"Don't just laugh. Don't you understand the current situation? The scholars and the emperor are at loggerheads. The situation will probably be the same for the next emperor. Without the wisdom and skill of the emperor, the Ming Dynasty will be ruined."
"I just like to do it, and you like to talk about it."
The two were silent.
"or……"
"If not, then ..."
"You speak first."
"Or else we can each do our own thing!" King Jing changed his original words.
"Everyone should do what he wants." Prince Yu turned his face away.
Half a day later, the two princes were carried out, still kneeling.
Then the imperial physician came to treat them and relaxed their muscles and promoted blood circulation.
Concubine Lu Jing sent someone to ask King Jing why he was punished.
"I just had a fight with my third brother." King Jing knew that he couldn't hide this from my mother.
After hearing the news, someone around Concubine Lu suggested, "Your Majesty, Prince Yu... can you take some action to suppress him?"
Concubine Lu Jing shook her head, "If I take action, Your Majesty will never set foot here again."
"This... can't be necessary! His Majesty dotes on the queen so much."
Even Chen Yan thought it was impossible.
"That's not love!" Concubine Lu sighed, "That's... affection!"
That is the emperor's friendship.
When the emperor feels that you treat the affection he gives you as a tool, the backlash will make you regret it.
"So will King Jing just sit there and watch?"
Concubine Lu nodded, "Let them quarrel among themselves. Actually... it's not a bad thing if they fight."
……
On the second day, Prince Yu couldn't run, so he took a walk in the palace.
Before he knew it, he found himself at the old place.
He sat on the steps in a daze.
"My mother always said that the palace is a place where humanity is lost."
"Ok!"
"But Father is an exception."
"I know."
"Father also hopes that we can make an exception."
"But the people over there are aggressive."
"I punished them last night."
"I...I also punished Yang Xi and the others. But you said yesterday that everyone should do their own thing."
"Third brother, when did you become so fussy?"
"You have a mother, but I have nothing. I am alone in the palace like a wandering ghost..."
"I have a mother, but she is surrounded by a bunch of idiots who want to follow me to rise to the top. Including those women who see me as a piece of fat meat. Including those so-called maternal relatives...
Everyone smiles when they see me, but behind the smiles are interests. They are all waiting for me to fight with you, so that I can become a dragon and soar to the sky, or a snake and hide in the grass. "
"so what?"
"I hate being taken advantage of."
"Me too."
"Hey! They said that there is a circus troupe from the south performing at the Huguo Temple today. Do you want to go and see it?"
"It costs money, right?"
"Yes, but not much."
"Then... go and take a look."
"Go!"
"Wait for me!"
The two princes gradually approached each other. It was unknown who put his hand on the other's shoulder first, and then the two of them put their arms around each other's shoulders and kicked each other with their feet.
Then, a man walked out from the side of the hall.
He took a look and hurried back to report.
"Your Majesty, the two princes were arm in arm... saying they were going to Huguo Temple to watch some kind of opera troupe."
The Taoist priest who was sitting cross-legged opened his eyes and asked softly, "What did Qingzhi say to them yesterday?"
"Yesterday, Long Wilbur and the two princes said that being an emperor is a hard job... Many people hold the greatest treasure in their hands, but throw it away for a pile of garbage..."
"The emperor is trash?" Emperor Jiajing clenched the jade cone tightly, "You idiot, Huang Ban!"
"His Majesty!"
"There's not much bacon left!"
Huang Jin nodded, "I will go to Xin'an Lane and collect some."
The Taoist sneered, "They were all confiscated, not a single piece was left!"
……
"Let father decide who will be the crown prince, we will remain the same."
"A word is settled!"
Outside the palace, Prince Yu and his two companions high-fived.
(End of this chapter)
