Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 1024: Chapter 98: The Southern Wei People Find Pei Dingyuan

Lately, news from the north has been trickling into the Prince Han Mansion.

At this moment, in the study of the Prince Han Mansion, Zhao Yao was reading the newly received information. After reading it, he first frowned, then showed a puzzled expression, and finally his expression became serious.

He Lianfang noticed the change in his expression and asked with concern, "What happened?"

Zhao Yao did not speak but handed a secret letter to He Lianfang.

He Lianfang took the letter and looked at it. After finishing, he showed the same expression as Zhao Yao.

"What is Prince Han up to?"

Zhao Yao pondered, "Perhaps he’s doing it on purpose, to mislead us into thinking that he doesn’t care about his reputation, and to make us feel that he has no interest in the throne." He added, "Most importantly, he wants Father to think he is obedient, and without Father’s orders, he wouldn’t dare to open Youzhou’s grain warehouses to aid the disaster relief on his own accord."

"Not care about reputation?" He Lianfang raised an eyebrow slightly, "Now Prince Han’s reputation in the north is completely ruined, does he truly not mind at all?"

"Uncle, reputation isn’t important. Even if Prince Han becomes notorious and disliked by the northern people now, once he becomes emperor, his past bad reputation will disappear, and the northern people won’t dare to be displeased with him." In the face of absolute power, reputation means nothing. As long as he holds the power over life and death, a bad reputation will turn into a good one. "Do you think my father cares about his reputation?" Reputation can be a good thing sometimes, but more often, it’s a hindrance. If you care too much about reputation, you’ll be restricted in doing many things. Moreover, if you consider reputation before doing anything, it changes the essence of the matter.

He Lianfang found Zhao Yao’s words somewhat reasonable, "You mean Prince Han is deliberately ruining his reputation so you all won’t worry about him?"

Zhao Yao nodded slightly and said, "Yes. Besides, Prince Han has always acted according to his whims, never caring about others’ opinions."

He Lianfang raised his eyes, his gaze deeply fixated on Zhao Yao: "In the north, Prince Han’s reputation is ruined, but your reputation has spread throughout the north. The northern people are full of gratitude towards you. Aren’t you afraid of being accused of seeking fame, or being feared by Prince Dai and the others?"

Zhao Yao retorted, "Uncle, even if I do nothing, won’t Prince Dai and the others still be on guard against me?" He had long ceased to care about Prince Dai’s vigilance, "If I were seeking fame by sending grain to the north, I would beat the drums to let the world know that I, Zhao Yao, took from my own resources and pocket to send a thousand catties of grain to the north, ensuring their gratitude. If I feared Prince Dai and the others, I would do nothing at all. I sent grain to the north just to help the northern people, and as for the rest, I couldn’t care less about what others think." He always acted with a clear conscience and didn’t worry about other matters.

"You act for the people, but Prince Dai and others won’t think so."

"Let them think what they wish." Zhao Yao chuckled with a snort, "Even if I were seeking fame, what then? The ministers in the court still look down on me as the Prince Han; they would only think my actions wasted effort. As for Prince Dai and the others, they have never regarded me as a rival. They covet my wealth and grain. They try every possible means to remove me, not because I pose a deadly threat to them, but because they fear that with my assistance, Fourth Brother will become strong and make it impossible for them to compete with him." There was something He Lianfang never knew; Zhao Yao secretly sent a lot of money and resources to Prince Chu.

Zhao Yao was determined to stay away from the throne and determined to assist Prince Chu in ascending to the throne. He didn’t know why the emperor and He Lianfang thought he was fit to be emperor, but he believed Prince Chu was more suited to be emperor.

He only sent some money and resources to Prince Chu, nothing more. Although he had very powerful intelligence agencies, he never sent intelligence to Prince Chu. Otherwise, he would be doing Prince Wei a great disservice.

He Lianfang glanced at the unconcerned Zhao Yao, sarcastically saying, "You see things clearly."

Zhao Yao smiled and said, "I’ve always seen things clearly." He always knew just how capable he was and understood well that he wasn’t meant to be emperor.

He Lianfang asked, "What do you plan to do next?"