Chapter 12

"Your Majesty, this old minister humbly requests to retire. I hope Your Majesty will consider my advanced age and grant my request."

As Emperor Zhao Yuansi of the Great Wei Dynasty stepped into the Chui Gong Hall, he saw Chancellor He Xiangxu kneeling before him, begging to retire and return to his hometown.

‘What’s going on here?’

Emperor Zhao Yuansi was somewhat taken aback, thinking to himself, why would he suddenly want to retire? Could it be that I have offended this old minister in some way?

He scanned the hall and saw Prince Eighth, Zhao Hongrun, smiling and welcoming him. Then, he noticed the enigmatic expressions of the Left Chancellor, Lin Yuyang, and the Right Chancellor, Yu Ziqi. Emperor Zhao Yuansi immediately understood the situation.

‘What a rascal! Still不服气 after losing yesterday, and now he’s come to cause trouble for my chancellors today?’

Emperor Zhao Yuansi bent down to help Chancellor He Xiangxu up, soothing him with kind words, and then had the eunuch Tong Xian assist the old minister to his seat.

"Hongrun, why have you come to the Chui Gong Hall?"

As he walked toward the imperial desk, Emperor Zhao Yuansi asked nonchalantly.

"Your Majesty, I have come today to seek guidance from the three chancellors."

‘He’s here to cause trouble, isn’t he?’

Emperor Zhao Yuansi inwardly huffed but did not show it on his face. He asked, feigning confusion, "What kind of guidance?"

"Of course, it’s about how to manage state affairs," Zhao Hongrun said with a grin.

"Hmph! I doubt that. If you truly wanted to learn about state affairs, why not go to the imperial academy?"

"Your Majesty, that’s not the same. Studying at the imperial academy is just theoretical and lacks practical experience. How can it compare to learning from the three chancellors?" As Lin Yuyang had guessed, the Eighth Prince had already prepared his words.

Hearing this, Emperor Zhao Yuansi found it hard to find fault, even though he knew the prince’s intentions were not good. He couldn’t think of a way to drive the annoying young man away, but unexpectedly, Zhao Hongrun offered to leave on his own.

"Since Your Majesty has arrived, I will not disturb Your Majesty and the three chancellors as they handle important state affairs. I will take my leave first."

‘Is this prince leaving?’

Lin Yuyang felt puzzled but then realized that Zhao Hongrun’s move was quite clever. After all, with Emperor Zhao Yuansi present, the prince wouldn’t dare to play tricks on the three chancellors in front of his father.

"I will come again tomorrow to seek guidance from the three chancellors."

Zhao Hongrun left a message and respectfully took his leave, but his words made Chancellor He Xiangxu and Left Chancellor Lin Yuyang shudder.

‘He’s coming again tomorrow?’

He Xiangxu’s old eyes widened, and he hurriedly petitioned the emperor, "Your Majesty, I am old and request to retire."

Emperor Zhao Yuansi rubbed his forehead in frustration, "This disobedient son... what has he done now?"

Thus, Lin Yuyang smiled bitterly and recounted Zhao Hongrun’s actions to the emperor, leaving Zhao Yuansi both amused and exasperated.

"He Xiangxu, you are already quite old. Can’t you handle a young brat? And you two, as the Left and Right Chancellors, can’t you deal with a fourteen-year-old troublemaker?"

Emperor Zhao Yuansi looked at the three chancellors with a scowl.

The three chancellors looked at each other, smiling bitterly.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t handle the Eighth Prince; the problem was that they had a good impression of him, a prince with foresight and talent. They were also moved by his words about being trapped in the palace, so they didn’t find his actions particularly annoying, just somewhat amusing.

However, even if it was a harmless prank, it was still troublesome when it happened to them. For his own future, He Xiangxu, who was already of retirement age, hurriedly petitioned to retire. He had served as the Minister of Personnel for over a decade before being promoted to Chancellor by Emperor Zhao Yuansi, who trusted him.

"You three chancellors, to be at a loss over a young brat!" Emperor Zhao Yuansi shook his head, both amused and exasperated. He ordered Tong Xian to lay out a piece of paper on the imperial desk, and then wrote "Hongrun shall not enter" on it, instructing Tong Xian to post it on the door of the Chui Gong Hall.

"Is this satisfactory, my dear ministers?"

Right Chancellor Yu Ziqi didn’t care much, as he had already made his stance clear and believed that Prince Eighth wouldn’t bother him again. However, Chancellor He Xiangxu and Left Chancellor Lin Yuyang sighed in relief.

But was it really that simple?

The next morning, at the same time, Emperor Zhao Yuansi was still resting in the Wende Hall, while Chancellors He Xiangxu, Lin Yuyang, and Yu Ziqi were reviewing documents in the Chui Gong Hall as usual.

As they were reviewing, they suddenly heard Prince Eighth, Zhao Hongrun, arguing with the guards outside the hall.

"Huh? Why am I not allowed to enter?"

Hearing Zhao Hongrun’s surprised question, He Xiangxu and Lin Yuyang smiled inwardly.

After all, the emperor’s words were like gold, and even a casual note like "Hongrun shall not enter" had the power of an imperial edict. The guards outside the Chui Gong Hall would not dare to disobey the emperor’s order and let the prince in.

"Finally, we can have some peace today."

Lin Yuyang sipped his tea with a smile.

Seeing his calm demeanor, Yu Ziqi laughed and said, "Not necessarily!"

He Xiangxu and Lin Yuyang felt a bit uneasy.

Although the emperor had forbidden the prince from entering, the prince was resourceful and might have a way.

Thus, they lost their focus on the documents and listened intently to the argument outside, carefully hearing Zhao Hongrun’s debate with the guards.

"Prince Eighth, please don’t make things difficult for us. The emperor clearly wrote, ‘Hongrun shall not enter.’ If we let you in, it would be a dereliction of duty."

"Look, the emperor wrote ‘Hongrun shall not enter,’ not ‘Zhao Hongrun shall not enter.’”

"But... isn’t there a difference?"

"There is a big difference. Think about it, ‘Hongrun’ doesn’t necessarily refer to me, ‘Zhao Hongrun.’ There might be other officials named ‘Zhang Hongrun’ or ‘Li Hongrun.’ Oh, right, I heard there’s an official in the Ministry of Rites named ‘Li Hongchen,’ just one character different."

"Uh..."

"So, I think it’s likely that some official has offended the emperor, and the emperor, in anger, forbade him from entering the Chui Gong Hall. This official happens to have the same name as me, so I’m being implicated... Think about it, the emperor and I are father and son, how can a father forbid his son from entering?"

"..."

‘This is bad!’

Hearing the guards being stumped, Lin Yuyang inwardly knew it was not good.

Sure enough, after a moment, Prince Eighth, Zhao Hongrun, appeared before them with a smile, as if silently reminding the three chancellors: I’m here!

‘We’ll just have to endure it until the emperor comes...’

Glancing at the indifferent Yu Ziqi, He Xiangxu and Lin Yuyang exchanged a look of frustration.

They endured for a full hour. Yu Ziqi, who had already made his stance clear, continued to review documents, occasionally sipping tea and watching the two chancellors struggle. He Xiangxu and Lin Yuyang were almost driven to distraction by the prince’s harassment.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

Around the ninth hour, the announcement by the chief eunuch, Tong Xian, almost made He Xiangxu and Lin Yuyang jump with excitement.

"Huh?"

Emperor Zhao Yuansi entered the Chui Gong Hall and was surprised to see his son, Zhao Hongrun, still inside.

"Didn’t I forbid you from entering?"

"Eh?" Zhao Hongrun feigned surprise, "Did the emperor forbid me from entering? I thought it was some official with the same name who had offended the emperor, and the emperor forbade him from entering."

Emperor Zhao Yuansi rolled his eyes and waved his hand, "Nonsense! I have no patience for your sophistry today... Get out!"

"Oh." Zhao Hongrun pouted and bent down.

Emperor Zhao Yuansi asked in alarm, "What are you doing?"

Zhao Hongrun looked surprised, "The emperor said to ‘get out.’ The emperor’s words are golden, and if the emperor says to ‘get out,’ I have to roll out."

"You!" Emperor Zhao Yuansi was furious, thinking, in front of the three chancellors and the guards, you’re playing this trick? You’re only fourteen, but what about my dignity?

"Out, out, out!" Emperor Zhao Yuansi pointed to the door.

"Roll out or walk out?" Zhao Hongrun asked, feigning confusion.

Emperor Zhao Yuansi was both amused and angry. He wanted to drive this troublesome son away but didn’t dare to say the word "roll." He feared that if he said it, this shameless brat might really roll out, disgracing the Zhao family.

"Walk... out! Out!" Emperor Zhao Yuansi pointed to the door, his face red with anger.

"Don’t get angry, Your Majesty, it’s bad for your liver... Alright, I’ll go."

Zhao Hongrun left with a grin.

The people in the hall watched this scene with a mix of amusement and exasperation. Lin Yuyang smiled bitterly and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, this can’t go on."

Emperor Zhao Yuansi walked to the imperial desk and sat down, calming himself, "My dear ministers, don’t worry. In a few days, that disobedient son won’t have the leisure to do this!... Don’t think he’s jumping around now, but in a few days, hah!"

He meant that once Zhao Hongrun ran out of money, he wouldn’t be able to cause trouble anymore. Then, the emperor would have the chance to discipline him.

‘It seems the emperor plans to wait out the Eighth Prince... This is going to be tough for us.’

He Xiangxu and Lin Yuyang exchanged a look, wanting to say something but holding back.

"Tong Xian." Emperor Zhao Yuansi handed a brush dipped in ink to Tong Xian.

Tong Xian understood and respectfully took the brush, walked outside, and added the character "Zhao" before "Hongrun shall not enter."

"Zhao Hongrun shall not enter!"

However, after today’s events, Chancellor He Xiangxu and Left Chancellor Lin Yuyang had little hope that this note would be effective.

‘PS: New book, hope readers who are following this book can take a minute to vote. Thank you very much! Also, the author is experiencing a backlog of chapters, and the number of updates will increase based on the number of votes received.’

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