Chapter 10

"Isn't he getting angry at all? Is this for real?"

Looking at the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty, whose expression remained unchanged, Prince Eighth, Zhao Hongrun, couldn't help but be somewhat dazed.

After all, his goal was to make this father so angry that he would be fuming, yet find no excuse to punish him. For this, Zhao Hongrun not only ruined many of his father's favorite toys but also secretly picked a flower that his father had personally tended.

But he never expected that his father, the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty, would actually calm down.

"This isn't good..."

Feeling the strange aura emanating from that calm, Zhao Hongrun, who was usually fearless, felt a sense of unease for the first time.

The three Secretaries of the Zhongshu Province all noticed the expression on the Eighth Prince's face.

It couldn't be denied that the Eighth Prince Zhao Hongrun's courage, spirit, and his sharp words and flawless sophistry left the three Secretaries in awe.

"But the problem is, Your Highness, you are facing the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty!"

Secretary of the Zhongshu Province, He Xiangxu, stroked his beard calmly.

Behind him, the Left Secretary of the Zhongshu Province, Lin Yuyang, and the Right Secretary, Yu Ziqi, exchanged glances and shook their heads.

They were very familiar with the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty, Zhao Yuansi. When they saw the increasingly intense smile on Zhao Yuansi's face, they knew: the Emperor was about to counterattack!

As the three ministers had predicted, Zhao Yuansi handed the peony in his hand to the chief eunuch, Tong Xian, without showing any emotion, and then said to his son Zhao Hongrun in a kind and gentle manner, "My son, as a prince, you do not wish to live a life of luxury. This resolve, I greatly appreciate! ... Prince, rest assured, I will support you! From today on, the clothes you wear and the food you eat will be as you said, self-sufficient!" Without giving Zhao Hongrun time to react, he turned to Tong Xian and said, "Tong Xian, inform the Zongfu that from today on, there is no need to allocate a monthly salary to the Eighth Prince. My son... will be self-sufficient!"

As he spoke, he deliberately glanced at Zhao Hongrun with a meaningful look.

Zhao Hongrun's heart skipped a beat.

"Monthly salary cut? This... so harsh?!"

He felt like a child whose allowance had been taken away, seeing stars in his eyes.

Seeing the stiff expression on Zhao Hongrun's face, Zhao Yuansi inwardly sneered with satisfaction but pretended to be puzzled and said, "Prince, are you going to give up halfway?"

"Adding insult to injury?"

Zhao Hongrun gritted his teeth. Facing his father's provocation, the stubborn him would never back down: "Father, you jest. I am only worried about making a mess of your garden."

"Threatening me even now?"

Zhao Yuansi was amused and chuckled, "No problem! To support you, even if it means sacrificing the entire imperial garden, so what?"

With that, he slowly stood up, glanced at Zhao Hongrun with a mocking look, and actually left.

"Is he... really leaving?"

Zhao Hongrun was dumbfounded. At this moment, a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Your Highness, what should we do?"

As they watched the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty leave with the eunuch Tong Xian and the three Secretaries of the Zhongshu Province, the ten Zongwei hurriedly gathered around their prince, their expressions somewhat panicked.

After all, to avoid the princes' extravagant spending, the Great Wei Dynasty's ancestral rules stipulated that the Zongfu would allocate a certain amount of silver to the princes each month as a monthly salary, and the princes would use this money to support themselves and the Zongwei around them. This system was to control the expenses within the palace and prevent the princes from developing bad habits of extravagance.

Now, the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty, Zhao Yuansi, had directly ordered the Zongfu to cut off the monthly salary of the Wenzhao Pavilion, which meant that Zhao Hongrun's future would not be easy.

Of course, starving to death was impossible. No matter how difficult it was, Zhao Yuansi could still go to the palace of his foster mother, Consort Shen Shufei, for meals, and the always doting Consort Shen Shufei would likely secretly support him.

The problem was with the ten Zongwei around him. He couldn't possibly take them to Consort Shen Shufei for meals, and if this news got out, the people in the palace would really laugh their heads off.

Moreover, without a monthly salary, it would be difficult for Zhao Hongrun to command the eunuchs or the palace guards in the future. It wasn't that they were unwilling to serve the prince, but after they completed the tasks, the prince would have to give some rewards, right?

Without silver, what rewards could he give?!

Of course, the most fundamental issue was that his counterattack not only failed to catch his father off guard but was instead used against him by his father, the current Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty. This was what Zhao Hongrun could not accept.

"Tsk! Underestimated him!"

Zhao Hongrun angrily waved his fist, feeling frustrated at the loss of his efforts.

"Your Highness, are we still going to catch fish?" Chu Heng, one of the Zongwei with a more gentle personality, scratched his head and couldn't help but ask.

After all, he had been drooling over the roasted fish made from the golden-scaled red-tailed carp for a long time. Previously, he had only refrained from tasting it out of fear of being scolded by the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty. Now, the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty, Zhao Yuansi, had clearly stated that the entire imperial garden was at Zhao Hongrun's disposal, even if it meant turning it upside down.

Such a great opportunity, how could he resist?

"Eat, eat, all you think about is eating! In a few days, we won't even have meals!" The oldest Zongwei, Shen Yu, scolded Chu Heng irritably, making the other Zongwei who also wanted to taste the golden-scaled red-tailed carp refrain from speaking.

However, seeing the situation, Zhao Hongrun calmed down and waved to Shen Yu, "Shen Yu, this is my fault, not Chu Heng's. Don't blame him. ... Since it's come to this, let's all taste the golden-scaled red-tailed carp."

The Zongwei who had been drooling over the golden-scaled red-tailed carp quickly took the carp out of the basket, skewered them on bamboo sticks, and roasted them over the campfire.

Seeing these carefree fellows still smiling, the more serious Shen Yu, Wei Jiao, and Lu Mu shook their heads helplessly.

"What are your plans next, Your Highness?" Wei Jiao asked in a low voice.

Although opposing the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty was something Wei Jiao and the others had never dared to imagine, since they were assigned to the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, they had to stand by him no matter how mischievous he was.

After all, the relationship between a prince and his Zongwei was like that between a boat and its passengers. If the prince's boat capsized, the Zongwei would have no future.

"Let's discuss it later." As he spoke, Zhao Hongrun glanced at the distance, where several eunuchs were watching them from afar. As expected, these were likely sent by the chief eunuch, Tong Xian, to monitor them, which meant that the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty, Zhao Yuansi, had truly said he would not have anyone stop them.

"Your Highness, why don't you stop sulking with His Majesty?" Zongwei Lu Mu smiled bitterly and advised, "In my humble opinion, this matter can be easily resolved. Just apologize to His Majesty... We can all see that His Majesty likes you more and more. Otherwise, why would he let you off so easily after causing such a big fuss today? ... Your Highness, I heard that when His Majesty was not yet born, the young Crown Prince accidentally broke a flower bud that His Majesty had tended, and was confined to the Zongfu for three days!"

Shen Yu and Wei Jiao nodded in agreement.

"Apologize?" Zhao Hongrun glanced at the three Zongwei with displeasure and frowned, "He broke his word first, and then removed the plaque from my Xiaoyao Pavilion. Now, I have to apologize to him?"

"Shh—"

Seeing that his prince dared to refer to the current Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty as "he," Shen Yu quickly reminded him to be careful with his words.

"Stop talking!" Zhao Hongrun waved to stop the Zongwei's persuasion, "Now that it has come to this, how can I back down? I lost this battle, but... let's see what happens in the future!"

Seeing that their prince had made up his mind, the three Zongwei exchanged glances and could only smile bitterly.

After a while, Zhao Hongrun had his ten Zongwei each eat a golden-scaled red-tailed carp to try it out, then ordered the campfire to be extinguished and returned to the palace.

After all, his actions today were purely to anger the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty, Zhao Yuansi. Since he had failed, there was no need to stay here any longer. He wouldn't really catch all the fish in the pond and eat them, would he? What would they do when they had no food to eat in the future?

Zhao Hongrun didn't think that his father, Zhao Yuansi, was just joking.

Seeing the Eighth Prince and his ten Zongwei leave in a grand procession, the eunuchs watching from a distance quickly reported the news to the Chui Gong Hall.

"He left? Huh, as expected."

Upon hearing that the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, had left the imperial garden with his Zongwei, the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty, Zhao Yuansi, showed no surprise and said calmly, "This boy is indeed clever and has a high level of intelligence, but it's a pity he uses his talents in the wrong way! ... As Secretary He said, if this young sprout of our royal family is not properly disciplined, it will surely grow crooked!"

The chief eunuch, Tong Xian, carefully observed the Emperor and, seeing no anger in his eyes, boldly flattered, "Although the Eighth Prince is quite cunning, the one who ultimately won is still Your Majesty."

"Hmph!" Zhao Yuansi chuckled, feeling quite satisfied. He thought to himself, as his father, how could he not subdue him?!

"Cutting off the monthly salary, the Eighth Prince will have a headache now." He Xiangxu, following the Emperor's mood, stroked his beard and smiled.

Yu Ziqi sighed, "This time, the prince didn't see it clearly. His Majesty is the ruler of the Great Wei Dynasty, with the empire in his hands. A few toys can't sway His Majesty's heart."

'Are you crazy? Whose side are you on?'

The Left Secretary of the Zhongshu Province, Lin Yuyang, gave his colleague a strange look and quickly changed the topic, "Your Majesty, based on my rough understanding of the Eighth Prince, he won't give up easily."

"If he gives up now, I would be disappointed!" The Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty said with enthusiasm, "Let that rebellious son use all his tricks! I want to see what he can do!"

Seeing that the Emperor seemed quite interested in this father-son conflict, the three Secretaries of the Zhongshu Province were somewhat at a loss, and some words of advice were hard to say.

'This palace is going to be in chaos...'

The three exchanged glances and thought to themselves.

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