Ancient people were very superstitious. Whenever they encountered a disaster, they would open an altar to offer sacrifices to the heavens, praying for rain, praying for sunshine, and praying for gods. They would offer sacrifices all year round. It can be seen that they had a deep fear of ghosts and gods.
On the day when Qin Daoyan was executed, blood splattered three feet, and he said that he would turn into a fierce ghost and haunt him. Although the Emperor of Yan appeared indifferent, he heard from the Crown Prince that he secretly invited a monk to chant sutras in the palace to exorcise the evil spirit for three days.
Even the emperor and his father were like this, so the King of Jin, as a minister, was no exception. He was a true ancient man, and it was natural for him to believe in gods and Buddhas. Especially on that day when he was traveling incognito, the Taoist priest named Xuan Yeping read his face and fortune, and his comments revealed the most secret things in his heart.
True Dragon's Fate...
True Dragon's Fate...
These four words made the King of Jin toss and turn, unable to sleep at night. He always felt that he was better than the Crown Prince, whether in terms of civil and military strategy or the way of employing people. However, no matter what he did over the years, no matter how well he did, the Emperor of Yan had no intention of deposing the Crown Prince.
As time went by, King Jin's patience had begun to wear thin. He urgently needed someone to help him determine something, and Xuan Yeping's appearance was just in time.
The only person who held an opposing opinion was probably Chu Jiaoping. He had recruited many talents for the King of Jin in recent days. After the rebellion in Shuofang was quelled, he had also been secretly fanning the flames and raising the reputation of the King of Jin among the people. He did not approve of the King of Jin bringing a quack into the palace, especially the comment "the fate of a true dragon", which would surely cause great trouble if it got out.
"Jiao Ping, you have always been cautious, I know that. He is just a Taoist priest, there is nothing wrong with keeping him in the palace. If he is a fraud, it will only cost him a lot of money. But if he is really a Taoist master, how can I drive him out?"
The King of Jin sat behind his desk, not paying attention to Chu Jiaoping's advice. He had been doing well for too long, and had made great achievements in Shuofang, so it was inevitable that he had forgotten his usual caution.
According to the development of the original plot, the prince had already frequently attacked the King of Jin at this time, and the King of Jin, with the assistance of Chu Jiaoping, the think tank, solved the problems one by one and became more and more watertight.
But now the plot has changed. Not only has the prince not made any moves, but he has become silent for the first time. The Prince of Jin is the most popular person in the court, and rumors about the replacement of the crown prince are spreading like wildfire.
The officials praised the Prince of Jin as a role model for the other princes, and the people speculated whether the Emperor of Yan would reappoint the crown prince. The rumors spread so much that even the Prince of Jin almost believed them, but there was no movement from above.
Chu Jiaoping always felt a sense of uneasiness in his heart. He frowned when he heard this and said, "Your Highness, how can you believe the Taoist's lies? He is just a sly liar. Keeping him around will only do harm and no good."
Upon hearing this, King Jin suddenly looked at him and asked meaningfully, "Lie? That Taoist priest said I have the fate of a real dragon, do you also think this is a lie?"
Chu Jiaoping was stunned when he heard this, knowing that he had said something wrong: "Jiaoping did not mean that. It's just that your highness's reputation has been growing in recent days and has attracted the attention of many people. It's better to be cautious and not give others a handle."
Prince Jin slowly leaned back in his chair, thinking, "I have already checked Taoist Xuan's background, and he is clean. You don't have to worry. But I have done everything I have done neatly and beautifully recently, so why is Father still unwilling to depose the Crown Prince?"
After lying dormant for many years, he began to get anxious.
Chu Jiaoping was quick to sense that something was wrong with the Emperor of Yan. He thought for a moment before speaking, "It was my fault. Sometimes being in the limelight is not necessarily a good thing. There has been no movement from the East Palace, which makes us seem a little anxious. Your Highness should just stay calm and accompany the Imperial Concubine to worship Buddha for a while. It will also make you famous for your filial piety if it gets out."
Upon hearing this, the King of Jin frowned slightly, but soon relaxed his brows without letting Chu Jiaoping notice: "You mean to ask me to follow the example of the Crown Prince?"
Chu Jiaoping said: "Grand plans cannot be rushed. Now that Your Highness has become famous, it is nothing more than a competition of who is more patient. It is okay to concentrate on recuperating for a period of time."
Prince Jin did not agree with Chu Xinian's idea of staying quiet, but he did not show it on his face. He said ambiguously, "Let's see what the emperor's attitude is."
He stood up and walked to Chu Jiaoping, patted him on the shoulder, and looked approachable: "Jiaoping, I have you as my right-hand man, so I can win against that idiot prince."
You can say that the King of Jin was sure to win, or you can say that he underestimated his enemy and was arrogant.
Chu Jiaoping didn't want it to be the latter. He smiled when he heard it, but didn't say anything. He lowered his eyes to hide the barely perceptible worry in his eyes: "I heard that there is a locust plague in the north, affecting 24 neighboring counties. The emperor will issue an order to send people to provide disaster relief soon. Will you take up this mission, Your Highness?"
The King of Jin slowly exhaled, "Raising grain for disaster relief is a thankless task. The officials usually spend money like water, but when the time comes, they start to cry poor one by one. I don't even want to talk about the merchants. They value profit over loyalty and are stingy. I want to take it, but I'm afraid that this hot potato will hurt me."
He waved his hand slightly: "That's it, don't mention it again. I will follow your wishes and pray to Buddha in peace. I will not accept the matter of disaster relief and grain collection. If you can throw it to the prince, it will be the best."
Chu Jiaoping thought for a moment and said, "This is not difficult. I can ask a few of my followers to submit a petition and recommend the prince. His Majesty will probably agree. The prince doesn't know how difficult this matter is, so he might take it on himself. But..."
King Jin asked, "Just what?"
Chu Jiaoping frowned slightly: "It's just that someone has to take care of the disaster relief. Otherwise, the famine in the north will spread to the capital sooner or later."
He was worried about the refugees in the north.
The King of Jin always believed that those who achieved great things did not care about trivial matters, let alone the death of a few refugees. He smiled and comforted Chu Jiaoping: "It's okay. When the prince takes on this task and cannot finish it, the emperor will send someone else to clean up the situation."
They decided on this matter in a few words, and the blame fell from the sky and landed directly on the prince. The Emperor of Yan saw that many ministers had submitted memorials to recommend the prince to prepare for the collection of grain for disaster relief, and that the Prince of Jin had been too popular recently and needed to be suppressed, so he approved the matter.
"Chenghao, the task of collecting money and grain in the capital will be left to you. If you do a good job, I will naturally reward you."
The prince stood at the head of the court officials, keeping his head down, looking inconspicuous. The Emperor of Yan probably felt that his son had been very silent recently, so he couldn't help but say a few words of concern: "You are the prince, so you should show the bearing of a crown prince. Don't pay attention to the rumors below. I still have the final say in this world."
He was always like this. If he saw any of his sons floating, he would step on them; if he saw any of them falling, he would lift his hand.
The ministers all heard these words with a different meaning. The King of Jin stood at the bottom, his expression changed slightly.
What did the emperor mean by this? Did he not intend to depose the crown prince? Or was he warning me indirectly
Either of these two results is not good for King Jin.
"Your son obeys your order."
Due to many factors, the prince had no choice but to accept this unfortunate task. For some reason, after receiving the decree, he did not even return home, but went directly to the general's mansion.
Jiuyong saw the prince coming to visit, and hesitated for a moment. He did not let him go as usual, but led him to the front hall for guests: "Your Highness, please wait, the general will be here later."
After saying this, he turned around and went to the inner courtyard to report.
At that time, Chu Xinian and Xie Jingyuan were playing chess in the room. Xie Jingyuan was aggressive, while Chu Xinian was shrewd and calculated. After several rounds of fighting, Chu Xinian narrowly won by half a piece.
Xie Jingyuan stared at the chessboard for a long time, and finally realized that it was a dead end. He threw the few remaining pieces in his hand aside and said, "I lost."
Chu Xinian gently waved away the chessboard, exerted a little force with his fingertips, and pulled Xie Jingyuan into his arms. He said in a low voice with a smile: "General, are you admitting defeat now?"
Xie Jingyuan rested his head on his legs, thinking that he was going to die anyway, so what else could he do but admit defeat? He was not the kind of shameless person who would cheat, so he raised his lips and asked, "Then why didn't you give way to me just now?"
"How did the general know that I didn't give in?"
Chu Xinian touched his face, always cherishing those wounds, and lowered his head to kiss him. However, Xie Jingyuan hooked his neck with his backhand and deepened the kiss directly, never knowing what modesty was.
"Well… "
After a brief moment of surprise, Chu Xinian's deep eyes flashed with a barely perceptible smile. He held Xie Jingyuan tighter with his backhand, and unknowingly fell on the couch during the kiss. His white sleeve accidentally dropped the chess cup, and the ink-colored chess pieces were scattered everywhere.
People who are just beginning to fall in love always like to cling to each other, and these two are no exception.
Chu Xinian placed his palm on Xie Jingyuan's waist, massaging it from time to time, but it was more like some kind of ambiguous and provocative teasing, and his waist softened in an instant.
Xie Jingyuan buried his face in his neck, not even bothering to lift his eyelids: "What time is it now?"
Why does Chu Xinian always like to do this kind of thing in broad daylight
"Bai Day, so what?"
Chu Xinian smiled nonchalantly, not really caring. With a flick of his fingertips, he untied Xie Jingyuan's belt, leaving his clothes half-open, a perfect sight.
Xie Jingyuan was also aroused by him and was about to kiss him back, but at this moment, Jiuyong's voice suddenly came from outside: "General, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived and is waiting in the front hall."
Chu Xinian paused when he heard this and raised his eyebrows slightly.
Xie Jingyuan's answer was straightforward. He frowned and said, "Let him wait!"
The prince had sneaked to the backyard at some point, and when he heard Xie Jingyuan's words, he stood outside the door and shouted, "Xie Jingyuan, you dare to keep me waiting? I'm going to punish you for your negligence!"
Chu Xinian was also a little confused. He pinched Xie Jingyuan's chin and gave him a deep kiss, then said with a slightly disordered breath: "Let's go, the prince is still waiting outside."
Xie Jingyuan clung to his waist and refused to let go, saying nonchalantly: "He has already punished me for neglect. It's a crime if I go out, and it's also a crime if I don't go out. It's much better to lie down comfortably. Let him wait outside."
Chu Xinian knew he was joking, so he pulled Xie Jingyuan up from the ground, tidied his clothes, and then pushed the door open to go out.
The prince stretched his neck and waited. When he saw them finally come out, he immediately stepped forward and said, "I went to court today. The emperor ordered me to collect money and food to save the refugees in the north. What should I do?"
Xie Jingyuan frowned: "You dare to take on such a hot potato?"
The Crown Prince: "I don't want to accept it, but His Majesty clearly wants to use me to suppress the arrogance of the Prince of Jin. I can't avoid this matter anyway. I came to you today to find a solution."
Although he was asking Xie Jingyuan when he spoke, his eyes were on Chu Xinian.