Chapter 22

As the birth mother of the Sixth Prince, Zhao Hongzhao, Lady Wu’s words were clearly more effective than those of the other concubines, even though these concubines were also the mothers of certain princesses or princes.

Now, the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty was gradually beginning to feel a headache.

To be honest, if it were just a concubine complaining about the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, the Emperor could easily ignore it. At worst, he could simply avoid visiting her palace for a few days. However, the problem was that when most of the concubines in the palace began to complain to the Emperor about the Eighth Prince’s numerous misdeeds, it made the Emperor’s head ache.

Even for the sake of peace and quiet, he couldn’t sleep in the Chui Gong Hall, could he?

"That rebellious son... his heart is truly wicked!"

In the Chui Gong Hall, the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty could not help but express his anger in front of the three Secretaries of the Zhongshu Province.

"Wicked... is it?"

The three Secretaries of the Zhongshu Province looked at each other, all finding it somewhat absurd.

Leaving aside the fact that the first victim, Lady Chen, had brought it upon herself, the other concubines who were innocently implicated and argued with the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, one by one, made them feel that the matter was quite suspicious from the beginning.

Now, hearing the Emperor’s words, they immediately understood.

'The father directly cut off his son’s source of wealth, a strategy that could be called cutting off the fuel at the source. The son, on the other hand, directly incited a group of his father’s women to whisper in his ear, making his father’s life unbearable. This strategy could also be called a desperate move. ...It’s really hard to judge who is more skilled.'

Since it didn’t concern them, the three Secretaries of the Zhongshu Province felt a bit amused, as no prince had ever used such methods to harass his father, the Emperor, which was simply "mad."

"What do you think I should do?"

The Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty seemed somewhat worried, as if he would not have a peaceful night from now on.

Could he really sleep in the Chui Gong Hall?

Although the Fragrant Palace of Lady Shen was always a good place to go, the problem was that Lady Shen’s health was not good enough to handle intimate matters. It wouldn’t be practical to just chat with the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, for a while each night and then sleep separately, would it?

The Emperor also had physiological needs!

"Why not summon the Eighth Prince and reprimand him?" Lin Yuyang said, trying to hide his laughter, as if he were offering advice to the Emperor.

In fact, his words were just a test of the Emperor’s current mood and attitude towards the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun.

"Not appropriate," the Emperor shook his head and said angrily, "Summoning him to reprimand him at this time would indicate that I have lost. ...That rebellious son is truly thorough, using Lady Chen’s name to make it impossible for me to catch him. Otherwise, for such misconduct, I would definitely have him confined in the Imperial Clan’s Temple to reflect on his actions."

"What about Lady Wu?"

Lin Yuyang still couldn’t understand why even the mother of the Sixth Prince, Zhao Hongzhao, would criticize the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun. In theory, this concubine’s status was almost on par with the Empress, and the Eighth Prince should not be foolish enough to offend her.

"Lady Wu’s attitude..."

Recalling Lady Wu’s attitude, the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty also felt a bit strange. Lady Wu only insisted that "even if Lady Chen had faults, the Sixth Prince should not have overstepped his bounds and destroyed the Youzhi Palace."

This seemed to be a criticism of Zhao Hongrun, but the matter had already been resolved, and the Emperor had decided not to blame either party. Lady Wu bringing up the old matter again, though unpleasant for the Emperor to hear, did not give him any leverage against Zhao Hongrun.

'Is it my illusion? I always feel that last night, Lady Wu seemed to deliberately make me leave in a bad mood... It can’t be, can it?'

The Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty muttered to himself.

Seeing his troubled and thoughtful expression, the Grand Eunuch Tong Xian actually wanted to remind him: yesterday, the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, visited the Sixth Prince, Zhao Hongzhao, at the Yafeng Pavilion, and coincidentally, that same night, the mother of the Sixth Prince began to criticize the Eighth Prince.

If there were no hidden reasons, Tong Xian wouldn’t believe it.

However, even so, Tong Xian chose to remain silent. In his interactions with the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, he realized that this was a prince with strong will and cunning, who would not give up until he achieved his goal.

If he couldn’t achieve his goal, the Eighth Prince would not give up easily. Even if this matter was resolved, he might create other issues.

Rather than that, it would be better to let him have his way early, so the palace could return to peace.

Thinking of this, Tong Xian boldly interjected for the first time, "Your Majesty, why not grant the Eighth Prince’s request?"

"What?" The Emperor was surprised that Tong Xian would speak out so boldly at this moment, and he coldly snorted, "Do you think I have lost?"

"Old servant dares not. Old servant just feels that the Eighth Prince is stubborn and never compromises. Yesterday, he deliberately offended Lady Wu, and tomorrow, he will deliberately anger the Empress. At that time, the palace will truly be in chaos..."

"He dares!" The Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty angrily shouted.

"But what if the Prince really does that?" Tong Xian said, bracing himself: "That day at Lady Chen’s Youzhi Palace, the Eighth Prince said in front of everyone..."

"What did that rebellious son say?"

"The Prince said, according to the ancestral rules of the Great Wei Dynasty, as long as the Prince does not commit treason or rebellion, no matter what he does, the worst outcome would be confinement in the Imperial Clan’s Temple... Even if the Emperor dislikes the Prince and demotes him to a commoner, the Prince can still be a wealthy man. The people of the Imperial Clan would not let a member of the Ji Zhao lineage wander the streets or starve to death in a foreign land. Even if the Prince dies, the Imperial Clan will still send people to retrieve his remains and bury them in the imperial mausoleum... The Prince’s bloodline is of the Great Wei Ji Zhao lineage!"

"..." The Emperor fell silent.

If it were in the past, the Emperor, unfamiliar with this son’s temperament, would have been angry, regretting that the son was so arrogant, relying on his royal bloodline. But now, after understanding Zhao Hongrun’s temperament, the Emperor felt that this speech did not mean the Eighth Prince was relying on his royal bloodline to act recklessly. Instead, it showed that he was indifferent to what he currently had, not caring whether he gained the Emperor’s favor or the throne.

"A wealthy man... perhaps that is what the rebellious son truly desires."

The Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty sighed with emotion.

Who would have thought that among the princes, the two most talented, the Sixth Prince, Zhao Hongzhao, and the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, would both be completely uninterested in the throne.

"From this, it seems he doesn’t care about offending the Empress or whether I will dislike him because of this matter..."

The Emperor felt a strange sense of loss. He had been trying to build a closer relationship with Zhao Hongrun, a son he rarely interacted with, but unfortunately, this kind of familial bond was not something that could be built overnight. The current Zhao Hongrun seemed to not care about his father’s feelings.

As a father, this was a very frustrating defeat.

At this moment, Yu Ziqi timely advised, "Your Majesty, the principle of teaching according to one’s aptitude and guiding according to the situation is the way to make someone successful. Although Your Majesty is concerned about the Eighth Prince’s growth, if this continues, it will not improve the father-son relationship and may instead make the Eighth Prince resentful..."

"Minister Yu’s words are mistaken," Lin Yuyang countered. "The Eighth Prince is indeed exceptionally intelligent, but his character is also rebellious. If he is not disciplined and instead indulged, our Great Wei Dynasty may lose a pillar of support!"

"If teaching is not done well, it’s better not to teach at all."

"How do you know it won’t be done well?"

"Do you, Minister Lin, have the confidence to teach the Eighth Prince?"

"I... I admit I am not as intelligent as the Prince, but having lived for several decades, I have some redeeming qualities."

"Heh!"

Seeing the two Secretaries of the Zhongshu Province argue incessantly, the Emperor became even more annoyed.

To be honest, he did not want to let Zhao Hongrun leave the palace. It wasn’t because he wanted to discipline him, but because the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty was increasingly fond of this lively prince.

He knew very well that once Zhao Hongrun left the palace, this mischievous son would travel all over the country, and seeing him again would be a very difficult task.

Just as the Emperor was troubled, the Grand Eunuch Tong Xian cautiously said, "Your Majesty, there is something that has been bothering old servant..."

"What is it?" The Emperor was in a foul mood.

Tong Xian awkwardly smiled and cautiously said, "Old servant has always found it strange. Since Your Majesty is reluctant to let the Eighth Prince move out of the palace, why not grant him a pass to enter and leave the palace? Old servant thinks that the Eighth Prince just wants to go out and see the world. If Your Majesty grants him the pass, even if you order him to return to the palace before dusk every day, the Eighth Prince would not have any complaints, I believe."

"..."

The words of the Grand Eunuch Tong Xian made the entire Chui Gong Hall fall silent.

The Left Secretary of the Zhongshu Province, Lin Yuyang, and the Right Secretary, Yu Ziqi, looked at each other in shock, speechless, and the Chancellor, He Xiangyu, who had been half-closed his eyes, suddenly opened them wide.

As for the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty, Zhao Yuansi, he was already staring at Tong Xian with a strange expression, several times wanting to speak but holding back.

"Ah... My imperial garden, my fish pond, my golden-scaled fish, my purple bamboo, my tear bamboo, and the funds I allocated to restore the front hall of the Youzhi Palace..."

The Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.

The Emperor suddenly felt that if Tong Xian had suggested this earlier, his cherished ornamental items would not have been destroyed by his mischievous son, and the subsequent incidents, such as Zhao Hongrun’s disturbances in the Chui Gong Hall and his incitement of most of the concubines to disturb his peace, would not have happened.

"Child Xian."

"Your Majesty, what do you need?"

"I have something to say to you. In the future, if you have any good suggestions..." The Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty suddenly slammed the dragon desk and roared in a low voice, "Say it earlier!!"

The Chui Gong Hall echoed with the Emperor’s angry roar.

That day, the Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty issued an edict, firmly rejecting the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun’s, request to leave the palace, but granted him a pass to enter and leave the palace, allowing him to go out of the city, with the condition that he must return to the palace before dusk every day.

The second battle of the father-son war, the son wins!

For now.