Chapter 104
The next morning, a small eunuch came to the prince's residence to convey the emperor's decree, summoning him to the palace.

Ji Chengjue didn't rush into the palace early in the morning. Instead, he slept soundly, then leisurely ate two bowls of meat porridge cooked by the He family's little girl. Only then was he satisfied and got into the carriage driven by Eunuch Zhang to head for the palace.

It wasn't that he was presumptuous, but simply because he didn't attend the morning court. Going early would only mean waiting in the palace. He would have to wait until his father finished the court session anyway. Since he had to wait, it was naturally more comfortable to wait at home.

As for the most important attitude before the emperor,

between him and his father,

there was really no need for excessive pretense.

Sitting in the imperial study, he took the initiative to drink two cups of tea. Footsteps came from outside.

Ji Chengjue put down his teacup and immediately stood up.

Immediately,

the Yan Emperor entered the imperial study. He glanced at Ji Chengjue standing in the corner, said nothing, and instead stretched out his arms. Wei Zhonghe personally stepped forward to help the Yan Emperor take off his dragon robe.

After the dragon robe was taken off and fresh tea was served, Wei Zhonghe knowingly walked out of the imperial study and stood guard at the door.

Ever since that Grandfather in the palace passed away on Tianhu Mountain, Wei Gonggong was, in name and in reality, the helmsman of the Great Yan's secret service.

Some things, others might not be able to smell anything, but if he couldn't smell them, he would really have no face to continue staying in this position.

Most importantly, after you send those officials from the jinshi background to do things, you can't kill them to silence them. The difficulty of investigating the mastermind behind the scenes is really not that great.

But Wei Zhonghe only dabbled in it and stopped after finding out about the Sixth Prince's involvement.

Without the Yan Emperor's order, it was inconvenient for him to continue digging.

Standing at the door, Wei Gonggong couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

He used to be used to seeing the Emperor being harsh on the Sixth Prince,

but now it seems,

this Sixth Prince is by no means an easy person to deal with. You think you've already removed his wings, but he can always give you some "surprises."

This kind of skill and feeling made Wei Gonggong involuntarily recall the time when he first entered the Prince's mansion to serve the current Emperor. Back then, the Emperor was also young, but in his actions, he had already revealed a kind of "knowing everything" aura.

However, what's different from the Emperor is that the Emperor has always been excellent. Although the late Emperor was absurd in various ways and sought gods and asked questions, he never wavered or equivocated on the matter of establishing an heir.

Wei Gonggong subconsciously narrowed his eyes, with a Maitreya-like smile still on his face.

As a servant, he can only think about these rebellious things in his heart. He can't interfere in the affairs of the royal family.

Inside the imperial study,

the Yan Emperor sat down.

Ji Chengjue stepped forward to salute:

"Your son pays respects to Father Emperor."

"Spare the formalities."

"Thank you, Father Emperor."

"Tell me about the Ministry of Revenue."

"Reporting to Father Emperor, your son was originally planning to enter the palace to see you tomorrow."

As he spoke,

Ji Chengjue took out a thick memorial from his chest. He didn't call Wei Gonggong in, but took the initiative to deliver it to the Yan Emperor's desk.

"Father Emperor, this is what your son has gained from observing the Ministry of Revenue these days, as well as thirteen strategies for improving the financial, grain, and merchant policies of Great Yan. Please take a look, Father Emperor."

The Yan Emperor put his palm on the memorial and patted it gently.

He had asked about the Ministry of Revenue,

and his son had also answered about the Ministry of Revenue.

As for the former Minister of Revenue, Xu Guanghuai, he didn't count as someone from the Ministry of Revenue at this time,

no,

he didn't even count as a person.

The Yan Emperor reached out tiredly and rubbed his brow. He had many things to do in a day, so sometimes when he wanted to play mind games with his son, he would often feel a little overwhelmed.

In fact, he himself knew clearly that it wasn't that he was too tired, but that this son was truly extraordinary.

"I will read it later."

"Yes, Father Emperor."

"What do you think about the alliance with the Chu Kingdom?" the Yan Emperor asked.

Ji Chengjue remained silent.

The Yan Emperor was waiting, thinking that his son was thinking.

After all, this was a major matter, and he couldn't and wouldn't dare to answer rashly.

Emperors often test their princes, and princes must answer solemnly.

But after drinking two cups of tea, the Yan Emperor found that his son was still just standing there, with a calm expression, not a look of thinking.

"Speak."

The Yan Emperor asked again.

Ji Chengjue bowed his head and said:

"Reporting to Father Emperor, your son, your son has already finished reporting."

"Finished reporting?"

"Yes, Father Emperor."

The Yan Emperor sighed. Then, he adjusted his sitting position, leaned to the right side of the chair, pointed at Ji Chengjue,

and said:

"You're getting more and more presumptuous."

This was a warning.

But these words, when heard by Ji Chengjue, made him involuntarily recall what the man named Zheng had said, wanting to have your cake and eat it too.

Wanting to use him,

but also suppress him,

very conflicted, right?

I know what you care about. You don't care about family, you don't care about relatives. What you care about is only your empire.

For so many years,

having been weakened and suppressed continuously,

Ji Chengjue had already figured out a set of countermeasures.

I am your son. Your bottom line for your son is that you can trample on me at will, but it's best not to kill me.

That is your mountain-like fatherly love.

Because I can help you manage finances and grain, and allow you to fulfill your long-cherished wish of unifying the Xia Dynasty, that's why I can stand here, standing in front of you.

Because it was those jinshi officials who launched this collective attack, for the sake of your eternal empire, you won't attack them, and instead sacrifice Xu Guanghuai, whom you used fairly smoothly.

The identity of father and son can no longer form a specific bond. People say that even a tiger won't eat its cubs, but in his own father's case, he won't eat his cubs; he just ignores them.

Then he can only hold onto what you're most reluctant to give up, to force you to compromise, to force you to tolerate me.

I'm presumptuous?

Alright,

this time I came to the capital, I've already achieved mental clarity.

That's what he was thinking in his heart, but verbally, Ji Chengjue still said in fear:

"Your son wouldn't dare."

The Yan Emperor stared at his son without saying anything.

He didn't like this kind of "concise" conversation,

where each other could understand each other with just one sentence.

No matter how complex the matter,

it seemed that it could be communicated in just a few sentences.

This was very inconsistent with the normal "communication" and "reporting" model,

but both knew clearly that one or two sentences could point out all the meanings,

plus there were no outsiders present,

could it be that the father and son had to deliberately perform a back-and-forth to waste more saliva?

Putting aside everything else,

as a generation of emperor,

if your thoughts can be completely guessed, that in itself is an extremely sensitive matter.

Just then, Wei Gonggong came in to report:

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has arrived."

"Let him in."

The Crown Prince came in, but when he saw Ji Chengjue also standing in the imperial study, he was slightly surprised, but he immediately showed a warm and gentle smile on his face and said:

"Sixth Brother, you're here too. I haven't seen you in so many days, I've been missing you."

Ji Chengjue stood there without moving, his gaze drifting to the right.

If you were to observe carefully at this time, the Yan Emperor also made a similar action.

Obviously,

this father and son both skipped the Crown Prince's hypocritical "enthusiasm" and "courtesy."

It wasn't that Ji Chengjue was arrogant. In fact, he wasn't usually so sharp, but right now, he hadn't broken away from the previous mode of communication with his father.

The Yan Emperor also had the same feeling. Watching the Crown Prince stand in front of Ji Chengjue, being warm and concerned, looking like brothers in harmony, the Yan Emperor, who had just been uncomfortable with his sixth son for speaking too simply to him, suddenly felt a deeper disgust.

He even had an impulse to ask the Crown Prince,

I'll give you a sword right now,

kill your sixth brother,

are you willing?

Of course, these thoughts could only move in his heart, just like Wei Gonggong standing at the door earlier.

The hardest thing in the world is the belly, because it can separate people's hearts.

It's hard to guess what kind of thoughts that person is thinking under the disguise of the skin.

The Crown Prince, having received a cold reception, was not annoyed, but turned to face the Yan Emperor and said:

"Father Emperor, all the details of the alliance have been finalized."

The Crown Prince had put a lot of effort into completing this alliance. It could be said that this was the first truly significant thing he had done since entering the Eastern Palace. He attached great importance to it and was very cautious.

Xu Guanghuai's incident caused some waves in the alliance, but the problem wasn't too big.

The Yan Emperor nodded and said:

"The Crown Prince has worked hard."

"Your son doesn't dare to accept the word 'hard work'. This is your son's duty."

Wei Zhonghe walked over and handed a stack of memorials to the Yan Emperor.

The Yan Emperor reached out and flipped through them, saying:

"Alright, you may all withdraw. I'm tired."

The Crown Prince was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect it to be this situation.

A simple word of thanks, and his own simple word of politeness, and he was dismissed just like that?

He had worked so hard day and night for so long, and he was dismissed with just a light sentence?

Of course, the Crown Prince didn't want any rewards. As the crown prince of a country, he was already at a level where there was nothing to reward. He couldn't possibly ask the Yan Emperor to abdicate and become the Supreme Emperor and give him the position, right?

Ji Chengjue looked at the Crown Prince's expression and wanted to laugh a little.

What's wrong?

You still want to hear praise from the old man?

Want the old man to hug you, kiss you, and lift you up high?

But soon,

Ji Chengjue frowned slightly,

Heh,

what am I looking down on him for?

We're clearly eggs laid by the same old turtle,

but yours is a dad,

and mine is a turtle?

Of course, we're both so old, there's no point in competing for favor anymore.

And putting aside that outer skin of the Crown Prince's ceremonial robe,

both of our mothers' families have been flattened by the one above. My mother died early, and your mother is also demented. What kind of flavor are we two little turtles tasting here?

At this thought,

Ji Chengjue looked up at the Yan Emperor sitting above,

Hey,

old turtle.

Everyone has their own thoughts. They may be dark, may be rebellious, but they are all cleverly disguised with pretense.

"Your son takes his leave!"

"Your son takes his leave!"

Ji Chengjue and the Crown Prince walked out of the imperial study together. Outside the imperial study was the imperial garden.

The Crown Prince seemed to no longer continue the brotherly harmony act. He stopped first, and Ji Chengjue stopped as well.

"You know about Minister Xu's matter, right?"

Ji Chengjue nodded and replied, "I've heard something about it."

"Aren't you observing the Ministry of Revenue?"

Your Ministry of Revenue boss has been kicked out, and you've only heard something about it?

"You jest, Crown Prince. This younger brother is just clocking in at the Ministry of Revenue. Other than that, there's nothing else to do."

"Sixth Brother, you have talent. This older brother is deeply convinced of that."

"You're too kind, Crown Prince. You are the example for us brothers."

"Do more serious things, for the country, for the family, do more serious things."

"Your subject respectfully obeys the Crown Prince's teachings."

Perhaps feeling that these words were a bit too heavy, the Crown Prince hesitated for a moment, and then spoke:

"Are you free today?"

"Does the Crown Prince have any instructions?"

"A servant at home brought some game. You know I can't get used to eating these things, but the Princess should like it. You take a portion yourself, and send the rest to the West Garden for me."

"This subject understands. Thank you for the Crown Prince's reward."

The wedding date had been interrupted due to the war.

And according to customs and etiquette, the newlyweds cannot meet privately before officially getting married. Therefore, it is not appropriate for the Crown Prince to go to the West Garden now, as it would appear very undignified.

On this point, Ji Chengjue is more free. His marriage with the He family's little girl has not been officially arranged, but he has directly arranged for her to live in his residence.

Well,

because his brother-in-law doesn't dare to swing a knife at him now.

But Li Liangshen, who is beside the Princess,

dares to swing a sword at the Crown Prince.

"Sixth Brother, when the alliance is concluded, on the day of my wedding, come and accompany me to welcome the bride."

The last time the wedding started,

Ji Chengjue was not in the wedding procession.

He was wearing a constable uniform, sitting in Quande Restaurant eating duck.

Now, he has returned, legitimately returned, and it is only natural to invite himself.

Obviously, the Crown Prince has suspected him of being involved in Xu Guanghuai's downfall. But Ji Chengjue didn't even think about hiding it from his own father, so how could he be afraid of the Crown Prince knowing?

"It is this subject's honor."

"Why be so distant between us brothers?"

"Crown Prince, there is a distinction between ruler and subject."

"Ah......"

The Crown Prince let out a sigh, turned around, and left first.

He was going to the side hall; he had his own matters to deal with.

As for Ji Chengjue, he was going out of the palace to return to the Prince's residence, so they weren't going the same way.

Walking to the palace gate, he got into the carriage driven by Eunuch Zhang.

While driving the carriage, Eunuch Zhang spoke:

"Master, the Eastern Palace is starting to buy things again. Perhaps they are preparing for the second wedding."

"Just now, the Crown Prince invited me to accompany him to welcome the bride on the day of the wedding."

"Then should this servant prepare some gifts these days?"

Ji Chengjue shook his head,

and said:

"It won't happen."

……

Inside the imperial study,

the Yan Emperor was holding the memorial that Ji Chengjue had presented earlier, reading it.

Wei Zhonghe came over to refill the tea and reminded softly:

"Your Majesty, shouldn't we have lunch?"

The Yan Emperor put down the memorial in his hand.

Without realizing it, he had been reading the memorial for quite a while. He nodded and said:

"Prepare the meal."

"Yes."

Wei Zhonghe turned to go down to prepare the meal.

"Also......"

Wei Zhonghe immediately turned around to listen to instructions.

The Yan Emperor pointed to the stack of memorials about the alliance that the Crown Prince had sent earlier, placed on the left half of his desk.

Wei Zhonghe knew that His Majesty hadn't even looked at these memorials.

"Tell Zhao Jiulang and the others that I have carefully reviewed these alliance details and there are no problems.

Approve them with the imperial seal,

and have them made into formal state letters and sent to Jade Plate City as soon as possible."