"Father Emperor, the essays the Crown Prince of Chu presents to you, and all the advice he gives, are actually written by the four chief eunuchs at his side!"
"Are you sure you want to entrust the kingdom of Chu and its people to such a crown prince?!"
Yun Wu, having been punished with house arrest, threw caution to the wind before leaving.
The King of Chu's gaze wavered, eventually turning into a heavy sigh. "You may go back now."
Yun Wu's face was filled with disappointment and dejection.
"Father Emperor, please go and see the literary gathering in Jing Country."
"I truly hope you and..."
Yun Wu trailed off, holding back her words.
But the King of Chu, lying on his sickbed, raised an eyebrow.
Go see the literary gathering in Jing Country?
The King of Chu closed his eyes, signaling refusal.
Yun Wu turned away in despair!
"Father Emperor, my royal sister is falsely accusing me! You saw it, she's loyal to Jing!" The Crown Prince of Chu was still shouting.
The King of Chu weakly opened his eyes, full of disgust and embarrassment.
The Empress of Chu gave her precious son a look, signaling him to be quiet, but it was already too late.
The King of Chu let out a light snort, "Send the Crown Prince to the Jade Pavilion Palace to kneel and copy scriptures as punishment. The Empress is confined to her quarters. From this day forward, no one is allowed to enter the Crown Prince's palace. Anyone who violates this order will be executed!"
The Empress of Chu's face turned pale.
The Crown Prince of Chu trembled.
After they left, the King of Chu turned to Prime Minister Ji Duan, "Prime Minister, what do you think of the Crown Prince?"
The spring warmth was just beginning, but Ji Duan felt a chill down his neck, cold sweat streaming down.
What did he think of the Crown Prince?
He dared not imagine that the future ruler of the country would be as the princess had described.
If state affairs were handed to the Crown Prince, wouldn't it be the same as handing them to four eunuchs?
Throughout history, it was always written that treacherous court eunuchs would ruin the country!
By then, even as the Prime Minister, he wouldn't be able to compete with these four eunuchs trusted by the new emperor!
They... they would be sleeping in the same bed as the new emperor.
They would even be under the new emperor.
Prime Minister Ji Duan shuddered at the thought of this scene.
What could he think of such a Crown Prince? He thought it was terrible!
In any previous dynasty, he would have suggested deposing this Crown Prince and be done with it!
But the King of Chu had only this one legitimate son, so how could he evaluate him?
Ji Duan took a deep breath, "This old minister believes that this matter still needs to be thoroughly investigated. What the princess said today, this old minister is hearing for the first time."
"If what she said is untrue, we must clear the Crown Prince's name."
The King of Chu gave him a long, deep look, understanding that this old fox wouldn't tolerate any impurities. Given any other choice, he wouldn't want to support the Crown Prince in the future.
The King of Chu let out a long sigh, seeming to age ten years, "Very well, tomorrow when my dizzy spell is better, you shall enter the palace and join me in examining the Crown Prince's chambers and his studies."
Ji Duan remained silent, finally bowing in respect.
After years as ruler and minister, they could understand each other's meaning with just one sentence.
[Oh, if they discover that the Crown Prince is really as the princess described, this Prime Minister Ji Duan will probably resign after the Crown Prince ascends to the throne, right?]
Watching the live stream, Xiao Chuchu couldn't help but comment while in Xiao Yunzhou's arms.
[After all, ministers who have seen the new emperor's outrageous behavior would never be able to continue serving in the court.]
Xiao Yunzhou narrowed his eyes. Ji Duan was the grandfather of those Ji sisters.
The characters in the elite album were now connected.
[I wonder how tomorrow's palace search will go, I'm so excited.]
[Oh, the King of Chu is resting now, there's no more drama to watch in the palace. The literary gathering is more fun, I want to go out shopping and eating.]
Hearing this, Xiao Yunzhou couldn't help but smile.
He quickly got up, cleared his throat lightly towards Liu Chaniang who happened to look over, "Well, Chaniang, I'm not tired anymore."
"Shall we go for a walk outside together?"
"..." Liu Chaniang was defeated by this man's mouth!
This was simply what her daughter called an Oscar-worthy actor.
If Xiao Yunzhou wasn't at the Oscars, she wouldn't even watch.
"Your Majesty, it's not suitable to go to the literary gathering today! There's trouble at the gathering!"
Just as Xiao Yunzhou was pushing his daughter's stroller out the door, pretending to be cool, he was urgently stopped by the Prefect of Xun City.
"Hmm?" Xiao Yunzhou frowned, immediately displeased, "What's going on? Aren't there constables maintaining order at the gathering?"
[With too many people gathered, it's easy for fights and stampedes to occur!]
Xiao Chuchu, listening, also became worried.
[Oh no, if something goes wrong at our Jing Country's first literary gathering, how will we manage in the future?]
Xiao Yunzhou nodded inwardly, then put on a stern face for the prefect, "How did I instruct you before?"
"Where is the top scholar Zheng Qiru?"
"Where is the Cavalry General?"
"I said earlier that the literary gathering would surely attract crowds of commoners, so we must pay attention to order and safety."
"Eliminate all potential dangers in advance."
Xiao Yunzhou's lecture now was heavily influenced by 'modern' thinking.
The Prefect of Xun City was scolded so badly he couldn't lift his head, but soon looked at Xiao Yunzhou with admiring eyes.
"Your Majesty is right. Fortunately, we followed Your Majesty's arrangements in advance. Now our literary gathering in Jing territory is safe and sound."
"The commotion is on the Chu side across the river."
"?"
"The Chu commoners are causing a disturbance, demanding that the Chu army let them pass. They want to come and enjoy the literary gathering!"
"!"
An incense stick's burning time later, Xiao Yunzhou, disguised as an ordinary commoner, no longer used the stroller but directly carried Xiao Chuchu. He and Liu Chaniang arrived at the riverside of the literary gathering from afar.
The two countries were separated by a river.
At this moment, both banks of the river were surrounded by commoners from both countries.
The King of Chu had decreed that commoners were not allowed to cross the river, and anyone who attended Jing Country's literary gathering without permission would be imprisoned!
This imperial edict had arrived here yesterday.
First, the commoners within Chu territory learned about it, and then the Jing Country commoners who were doing business or sightseeing at the literary gathering also gradually heard about this absurd prohibition from across the river.
"Chu still looks down on our Jing Country!"
"Not allowing participation in our Jing Country's literary gathering? Do you think we care whether you Chu people attend or not? Bah, we won't let you Chu people eat our delicious fried dough sticks!"
"Laughable, go back and gnaw on your sweet potatoes! Hey, this skewer I'm holding is made from the choicest cut of pork back raised by our former Jing Country Prime Minister!"
"Oh my, it's perfectly marbled, sizzling with oil, seasoned with strong, fragrant spices. Every bite in my mouth bursts with the essence of spring turning to summer!"
"This hotpot is really amazing. The lamb that Wu Yun Country sold us because of our good relations melts like snow in your mouth, tender and soft... You Chu people can't taste it, you can't taste it at all!"
On this side of the river, the Prefect of Xun City had just said that the Jing territory was orderly and virtuous, but now, his face was slapped!
On the riverbank, the people of Jing Country were all holding skewers of grilled and fried foods. Some had even hauled their hot pot tables, smoking grills, and deep fryers to the riverside, deliberately taunting the citizens and soldiers of Chu State on the opposite bank who couldn't cross over.
Everyone was fanning the aromatic scents across the river with palm-leaf fans.
"Smells so good! Give me ten more skewers of pork belly!"
"I want fried cabbage! And fried rice cakes!"
"Fried dough sticks and tofu pudding for me!"
"Over here at the hot pot, another plate of lamb!"
"Grilled fish, grilled fish! Make room for my grilled fish. Let's make those Chu people across the river drool to death!"
[!]
Xiao Chuchu's inner voice fell silent as she watched in astonishment.
Xiao Yunzhou and Liu Chaniang were also speechless.
Across the river, the people of Chu State were furious, agitated, and their stomachs were growling.
"Damn it! I won't come over, but I'll throw my money across!"
"You Jing people, if you've got the guts, toss that fried pork belly in your hand over here!"
"Let me taste it. If it's not delicious, I'll destroy you!"
Someone among the Chu people impulsively shouted, and like a spark, it ignited the crowd on the opposite bank.
Countless voices from Chu State rose up.
"That's right, we won't come over. If anything's coming over, it'll be our money!"
"If you're brave enough, throw a hot pot over here!"
"Toss us some grilled fish to try!"
"How much silver? Hey, you big spender at the game table, do you dare to throw it over, Jing person?"
Both sides of the river were in an uproar.