Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 1138: Chapter 150: Avoiding Prince Chu and Prince Wei

A few days before the New Year, a heavy snow fell on the capital city, covering it in white and turning the originally bustling city into a place of tranquility.

Luckily, the court had already taken a break a few days ago, otherwise having to attend court daily in such snow, people would freeze.

At this time, Zhao Yao, his hair disheveled, was sitting on the heated bed he had made in his childhood, eating dumplings sent early by Prince Chu. The dumplings were handmade by Princess Consort Chu and were stuffed with pork and sauerkraut, Zhao Yao’s favorite.

After Zhao Yao finished the dumplings, Tong Xi quickly brought a cup of tea for him to rinse his mouth.

After rinsing his mouth, Zhao Yao fell backward, sprawling on the heated bed.

Tong Xi brought some fruit. These fruits were brought from Lingnan.

"Your Highness, you’re not going out today?" Since it snowed, His Highness had been nesting in Prince Han’s mansion every day, not going anywhere, not even to the neighboring Prince Chu Mansion or Prince Wei Mansion.

"It’s cold outside, I don’t want to go out." Zhao Yao leaned against the pillow, with his legs crossed, looking lazy.

"Your Highness, didn’t you promise the Princely Heir to build a snowman?"

"With such heavy snow and cold weather, taking him to build a snowman would make him catch a cold." Zhao Yao said, "New Year is approaching, it’s not the time to let him catch a cold and fall ill."

"Your Highness, didn’t you love snowy days before, building snowmen, having snowball fights, how come you’re not interested this year?"

"It’s cold. Why does the snow in the capital feel so bone-chilling this year?" Zhao Yao felt a bit unwilling to stay in the capital anymore, "I want to go back to Swamp Prefecture, it’s warmer there."

"Your Highness, you stayed in Swamp Prefecture for over a year, and it doesn’t snow there, so you might feel the snow in the capital is especially cold this year." Not just His Highness, even he felt the capital was so cold. "I also want to go back, Your Highness, when can we return?"

"We can’t go back for a while." Originally, I thought I could go back after getting married, but now with Prince Han’s rebellion, the day to return to Swamp Prefecture will surely be delayed.

"Your Highness, we won’t be unable to return, right?" Just after speaking, Tong Xi realized how unfavorable his words sounded, hurriedly raised his hand, and slapped himself twice, "Shame on me for saying that."

"Of course we can return, but we have to wait until Prince Han’s rebellion matter is settled." Thinking about how Prince Han plans to rebel during the New Year with cavalry, Zhao Yao showed an annoyed expression, "So frustrating, choosing to rebel right at the New Year, can’t he let people have a peaceful holiday?"

"Exactly, Your Highness returned to the capital so rarely, and was supposed to spend the New Year with the Empress and His Majesty, but now Prince Han wants to rebel." Tong Xi said with a face full of resentment, "Rebelling on such an important day as the New Year, Prince Han will not die a good death."

Zhao Yao looked out the window, frowning slightly, "It really is the calm before the storm." These days, the capital is extraordinarily quiet.

"Your Highness, are you sure everything will be alright?" Tong Xi couldn’t help but ask worriedly, "Really foolproof?"

"I’m not a deity, I can’t guarantee it’s foolproof, but it’ll definitely be fine." Zhao Yao picked up an orange and threw it at Tong Xi, "With me here, what are you afraid of?"

Tong Xi caught the orange, grinning as he said, "With Your Highness here, I’m not afraid of anything."

"Lu Guang hasn’t returned yet?" After eating his fill, lying on the warm bed, Zhao Yao felt a little sleepy again.

"Not yet." Tong Xi glanced at the heavy snow outside the window, worry written on his face, "Your Highness, with such heavy snow and cold weather, could Lu Guang and the others be frozen? After all, they’ve been in Swamp Prefecture all along, not experiencing such cold winters and heavy snow."

"They definitely weren’t used to it at first, now they should be accustomed."

Shortly after arriving in the capital, Lu Guang was borrowed by the emperor to train the Dragon Guards.

Lu Guang is a sharpshooter and a soldier from the Divine Machine Camp; he’s most suited to train the Dragon Guards.

Firearms can’t be exposed yet, so the emperor first had the Dragon Guards trained to learn to use firearms. Once the Dragon Guards have learned, then the Imperial Army will be trained.

"Your Highness, aren’t you afraid the Emperor won’t return Lu Guang to you?" Lu Guang is a sharpshooter, never missing a shot so far. After seeing his skills, the emperor will surely be fond of him and reluctant to let him leave.

"If Father Emperor really wants Lu Guang, then I’ll give him to him." Zhao Yao said with a smile, "I brought Lu Guang to the capital not really for my protection but to protect Father Emperor." His marksmanship was better than Lu Guang’s so he could protect himself without needing Lu Guang’s protection.

"Ah, you did it for the Emperor?" Tong Xi was surprised, "I thought you were reluctant to part with Lu Guang."

"Somewhat reluctant, after all, Lu Guang is someone I have meticulously trained."

"Then why give him to the Emperor?"

"Father Emperor’s safety is more important."

Hearing Zhao Yao say this, Tong Xi was quite surprised, "Your Highness, I thought you didn’t care about the Emperor. Didn’t expect you to actually care about him."

Zhao Yao glanced sideways at Tong Xi, "What do you think of your Highness? No matter how much I hate Father Emperor deciding things for me, I won’t ignore his safety."

"I spoke wrongly." Tong Xi didn’t really think Zhao Yao was an unfilial son who didn’t care about the emperor’s life but was surprised by how straightforwardly he expressed this, as Zhao Yao often complained about the emperor, blaming him, never saying a good word about him.

Zhao Yao knew what Tong Xi was astonished about and snorted coldly at him, "If that stubborn Father Emperor has an accident, Mother Consort would be sad."

Tong Xi laughed, "Your Highness, you’re being tsundere again."

Zhao Yao picked up an orange and threw it at Tong Xi, "Tsundere my foot."

Tong Xi caught the orange, peeled it, and handed it to Zhao Yao.

"Your Highness, it’s almost noon. Aren’t you going to Prince Chu Mansion or Prince Wei Mansion to grab a meal?"

"No, I don’t want to go out." In such cold weather, he only wanted to stay at home.

"Your Highness, are you avoiding Lord Chu and Lord Wei?" Since that day when His Highness returned from Prince Wei Mansion, he seemed to have not gone to Prince Wei Mansion or Prince Chu Mansion anymore. "Did Lord Wei say something to you that day?"

Recalling the day he confessed everything to his eighth brother, Zhao Yao sighed slightly in his heart.

"Alas, I deeply regret returning to the capital now."

"Your Highness, did you have a falling out with Lord Wei?"

"Not really." Zhao Yao sat up with a complicated expression and said, "That day, everything was laid bare by my eighth brother."

"Everything was laid bare?" Tong Xi looked puzzled, "What did Lord Wei reveal to you?"

"Everything." Zhao Yao scratched his head and said, "My actions, eighth brother knows them all."

"What? Really?" Tong Xi looked shocked.

"It’s true." Zhao Yao sighed long, "As expected, I cannot underestimate eighth brother."

"Then..." Tong Xi panicked, "Your Highness, what do you plan to do next?"

"Eighth brother revealed everything to me so that I would not meddle in the struggle for the throne anymore, especially between him and fourth brother."

"Your Highness, you weren’t involved to begin with."

"The matter with Prince Han, eighth brother knows it’s my doing. He thinks my actions are too dangerous."

"Lord Wei knows even about the matter with Prince Han?!" Tong Xi gasped in shock. This matter was known only to His Highness and the emperor, even Prince Chu was unaware, so how did Lord Wei know.

"Eighth brother knows about everything but pretends to be ignorant." Just this means that fourth brother is no match for eighth brother.

Tong Xi was utterly shocked, "Lord Wei is too terrifying."

"I can’t tell fourth brother yet." The timing of eighth brother’s revelation indicates that he has significant moves planned. Could it be that eighth brother intends to use the rebellion incident of Prince Han to capture Prince Dai, Prince Jing, fourth brother, and Prince Han all at once?

"Your Highness, if you inform Prince Chu, not only do you intervene in their matters but also show bias towards Prince Chu, this would hurt Lord Wei’s feelings." Tong Xi advised, "You should pretend as if you know nothing."

"I understand, that’s why I haven’t sought out fourth brother or met with eighth brother these days." Zhao Yao fell back onto the bed with a look of desolation, "I’m not good at acting, I’m afraid I’ll give it away and let fourth brother or eighth brother see through me."

"I told you, you’re avoiding Lord Chu and Lord Wei."

"Eighth brother’s cunning and tactics... fourth brother can’t compete." To be honest, he’s somewhat intimidated by eighth brother.

"Do you think Lord Chu will lose to Lord Wei?"

"Hmm."

After revealing everything that day, Zhao Yao said to Lord Wei, "Eighth brother, be it fourth brother or second brother, neither are your match; you will be the ultimate winner."

Listening to these words, Lord Wei laughed, "Do you think fourth brother can’t beat me?"

"Fourth brother is not a match for you." Zhao Yao hesitated before saying, "Eighth brother, in the end it’s bound to be a struggle between fourth brother and you, and you will definitely win. I request you spare fourth brother’s life."

Lord Wei was not surprised at Zhao Yao’s request at all. He glanced deeply at Zhao Yao and spoke gently, "For your sake, I won’t take his life."

"Thank you, eighth brother." With eighth brother’s promise, that’s enough.

"Your Highness, Lord Wei promised to spare Lord Chu’s life, what are you worried about?"

"I have an ominous feeling, like eighth brother is about to do something big." After talking to eighth brother that day, he sensed a madness beneath eighth brother’s calm demeanor.

"What could Lord Wei be planning..." Tong Xi’s expression suddenly turned horrific, he quickly lowered his voice and said, "Your Highness, is Lord Wei planning a rebellion?"

"No way, eighth brother wouldn’t be so foolish."

"What else could Lord Wei be planning?" To Tong Xi, apart from rebellion, everything else seemed insignificant.

"I really don’t know." In recent days, he has a nagging feeling that Prince Han’s rebellion might slip out of control, beyond their grasp. That exceeding control would be eighth brother’s doing. "I always feel that besides my meddling, eighth brother had a hand in Prince Han’s revolt."

"Your Highness, you forgot, Xiongnu has Southern Wei people, with eighth brother’s handiwork it wouldn’t be abnormal, would it?"

"It’s not that simple." He felt eighth brother was manipulating everything from the shadows.

In the middle of the conversation, the steward from Prince Han Mansion hurriedly entered. He first saluted Zhao Yao and then reported, "Your Highness, it’s bad, the Emperor has fallen ill."