Chapter 13

Just as the Left Chancellor of the Secretariat, Lin Yuyang, had guessed, in the following days, the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, still moved freely in the Chonggong Hall, rendering the imperial edict issued by Emperor Da Wei Zhao Yuansi, which stated "Zhao Hongrun shall not enter," virtually ineffective.

Despite the guards stationed outside the Chonggong Hall doing their duty to stop the Eighth Prince, they were no match for Zhao Hongrun. Each time, the Eighth Prince's sophistry, which the Secretariat ministers inside the hall could only listen to with a mix of amusement and exasperation, always managed to get him through.

For instance, he argued that "the 'inner' does not necessarily refer to the Chonggong Hall," "even with the addition of 'Zhao' as a formality, it could refer to someone with the same name and surname," and "unless my portrait is added, I will not acknowledge that it refers to me." In the end, the edict outside the Chonggong Hall had to be revised multiple times, becoming extremely detailed.

First, the text of the edict was changed to: "Imperial Edict of the Eighth Emperor of Da Wei, written by his own hand: My eighth son, the Ninth Prince Zhao Hongrun, residing in the Wenzhao Pavilion, shall not step into the Chonggong Hall. Furthermore, he is forbidden from standing on the steps, peering into the hall, making loud noises outside the hall, and roasting fish on the steps... Note: This applies to his guards as well."

Subsequently, a whole series of prohibitions were added.

In addition, a portrait of Zhao Hongrun was added to the edict, much like a wanted poster, which made the guards unable to hold back their laughter.

"The Eighth Prince will probably be at a loss this time."

"I don't think so."

Even the guards outside the Chonggong Hall couldn't help but discuss privately who would win in the battle between Emperor Da Wei Zhao Yuansi and the Eighth Prince Zhao Hongrun.

After all, standing guard in the palace was a tedious task, where they had to stand straight and endure until their shift ended.

However, these days, the guards didn't feel the slightest bit of hardship. They often couldn't help but speculate about what excuse the Eighth Prince would find to slip in after being driven out today.

It must be said that Zhao Hongrun's actions over these days had truly broadened the guards' horizons. Despite being forbidden from entering the Chonggong Hall, the Eighth Prince would stand in the corridor, talking through the windows to the three Secretariat ministers, or rather, only to Chancellor He Xiangxu and Left Chancellor Lin Yuyang, causing the two ministers no end of trouble.

Later, when the emperor learned of this, he ordered the Eighth Prince not to stand in the corridor. In response, the Eighth Prince simply had his guards enter the Chonggong Hall to cause trouble.

Then, even his guards were forbidden from approaching the Chonggong Hall by the emperor. Undeterred, they borrowed gongs and drums from somewhere and performed music and songs outside the Chonggong Hall, claiming it was to praise the emperor.

After that, when even the gongs and drums were banned, they started roasting fish outside the Chonggong Hall. The guards still remembered the emperor's pained and angry expression when he passed by.

Finally, the Eighth Prince and his guards were forbidden from approaching the Chonggong Hall...

"It seems the Eighth Prince won't come today."

After waiting for a long time, until around the hour of Si, one of the guards couldn't help but sigh and mutter.

"Are you crazy? Which side are you on?"

His companion glared and quickly reminded him. After all, they were loyal to Emperor Da Wei, and naturally, they should be on the emperor's side, even though he secretly admired the Eighth Prince's ability to outmaneuver the emperor for so long.

"Thump, thump, thump—"

With the sound of light footsteps, Emperor Da Wei Zhao Yuansi and the Grand Eunuch Tong Xian arrived.

"Your Majesty." The guards all bowed in salute.

"Rise." Emperor Da Wei waved his hand and then turned to look around, asking, "Has that rascal come to cause trouble today?"

The guards naturally knew who Zhao Yuansi was referring to: "Your Majesty, the Eighth Prince did not come to the Chonggong Hall today."

"Hmph! I knew he wouldn't last long."

Zhao Yuansi proudly entered the Chonggong Hall.

Inside, Chancellor He Xiangxu and Left Chancellor Lin Yuyang had been on edge, but now they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally, finally, we've made it through..."

At this moment, Chancellor He Xiangxu almost shed tears of joy.

And Left Chancellor Lin Yuyang was also filled with excitement.

Who knew what kind of life they had been living these past days? Every day, they would anxiously predict and think about what methods the Eighth Prince would use to trick them.

Today, the Eighth Prince Zhao Hongrun did not come to the Chonggong Hall to cause trouble as usual. Did this mean he had run out of ideas?

This was truly a cause for celebration!

Emperor Da Wei Zhao Yuansi and the two Secretariat ministers, He Xiangxu and Lin Yuyang, celebrated, which made the Right Chancellor Yu Ziqi, who was watching from the side, find it quite amusing.

"Perhaps the Eighth Prince is short on funds..." Grand Eunuch Tong Xian said meaningfully, "I sent someone to investigate, and it seems the Eighth Prince only has a few dozen silver taels left..."

"What are you trying to say?" Zhao Yuansi glanced at Tong Xian and snorted, "That rascal is cunning. Do you think he will starve? Even if he can't support himself and his guards, he still has his adoptive mother, Consort Shen, and the Ninth Prince Hongxuan. ... I heard he borrowed two hundred silver taels from his younger brother, otherwise, he wouldn't have lasted this long!"

"The Eighth Prince and the Ninth Prince are like brothers..."

"Enough, enough. Do you think I will blame the Ninth Prince Hongxuan? ... Hongrun can temporarily borrow money to support himself and his guards, but this can't go on forever. As an elder brother, I don't believe he will shamelessly ask his younger brother for money. I will inform Consort Shen not to secretly give money to Hongrun. I want to see how long that rebellious son can last!"

'The emperor is not willing to back down even a step.'

The three Secretariat ministers looked at each other, their hearts filled with bitter laughter.

However, despite the increasingly intense conflict between Emperor Da Wei Zhao Yuansi and his son Zhao Hongrun, where neither side was willing to back down, the process was so absurd that neither the emperor nor the three Secretariat ministers felt any hatred towards Zhao Hongrun.

On the contrary, they were even more curious about how the Eighth Prince would make his next move to counter the emperor's strategy of cutting the prince's monthly allowance, which was akin to cutting off the source of his support.

Indeed, the Eighth Prince Zhao Hongrun was now in a dire situation, with his funds nearly depleted.

The Chonggong Hall had already forbidden him from approaching, and even the two hundred silver taels he borrowed from the Ninth Prince Hongxuan had been spent in the past half month.

In such a precarious situation, Zhao Hongrun had no choice but to temporarily stop harassing the Secretariat ministers in the Chonggong Hall and instead focus on the survival of himself and his guards.

In the vast Wenzhao Pavilion, the miscellaneous eunuchs had been temporarily dismissed by Zhao Hongrun. He and his ten guards sat around a candle, brainstorming and thinking of solutions.

"Brothers, we are at a critical juncture. Do any of you have any ideas?"

Seeing their prince speak so seriously, the guards couldn't help but find it amusing. To them, this so-called conflict was just a quarrel between the prince and the emperor. If one of them were willing to back down, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Of course, the problem was that their stubborn prince would never back down, and the other side was the emperor, who could not be made to back down by anyone.

"Your Highness, why don't we declare a truce? After half a month of conflict, the situation hasn't improved, and our funds are dwindling. In my opinion, why don't you apologize to the emperor? I believe that if you admit your mistake, the emperor will revoke his edict and restore the monthly allowance for the Wenzhao Pavilion..." Guard Shen Yu was the first to speak.

"Wenzhao Pavilion?" Zhao Hongrun looked at Shen Yu with displeasure.

"Alright, alright, it's the Xiaoyao Pavilion." Shen Yu said with a wry smile, "At this point, why are you still concerned about such trivial matters?"

"It's a matter of pride, spirit, and willpower. You don't understand anything!"

Shen Yu, who had been influenced by Zhao Hongrun, didn't dare to say anything like "Your Highness, I understand you," which would only fuel the fire. He sighed and said, "Then how long do you plan to continue this conflict?"

"Until we regain what we deserve, of course!" For freedom, Zhao Hongrun was fixated on the idea of leaving the palace.

"What are your plans, Your Highness?" Guard Wei Jiao asked.

"Hmm." Zhao Hongrun thought for a moment and then asked, "How much silver do we have left?"

Guard Lu Mu, who managed the finances, replied in a low voice, "We have seventeen taels, and with some miscellaneous items, about twenty taels."

"Twenty taels?" Zhao Hongrun frowned deeply.

After all, while twenty taels could support a family in the countryside for a long time, for a prince living in the palace, it was a dire situation. The rewards given by the Crown Prince to the eunuchs and guards in the palace were at least twenty to thirty taels.

In other words, the Eighth Prince Zhao Hongrun now had less money than the Crown Prince would give as a reward to the palace staff.

"Tomorrow, I will continue to go to Mother Consort for meals, and you will have to fend for yourselves... Oh, right, this is from Mother Consort." Saying this, Zhao Hongrun took out fifty taels from his pocket and handed them to Lu Mu.

"Has Consort Shen heard about it?"

The guards asked with wide eyes.

Although Consort Shen was not Zhao Hongrun's birth mother, she had always been very fond of him, even more so than her own son, Zhao Hongxuan. Therefore, in the eyes of the guards, Consort Shen was no different from Zhao Hongrun's birth mother.

"I don't know if she knows, but she didn't say anything. ... But she probably does know. There are many gossips in the palace, and after half a month of conflict between me and the emperor, how could anyone in the palace not know?"

At this point, Zhao Hongrun seemed to have an idea, and he narrowed his eyes, touching his chin.

The guards were startled by this.

They knew their prince too well. When Zhao Hongrun made this gesture, it usually meant he had thought of something that would shock everyone, like roasting fish in the fish pond.

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