Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 721: Chapter 354: The Emperor Mocked by He Lianfang

That night, in He Lianfang’s residence in the capital, the Emperor chatted with He Lianfang while eating melon.

Sitting opposite the Emperor, He Lianfang had a face full of disdain. He glared at the Emperor, who showed no imperial demeanor. Just now, he had been cursing at the Emperor to leave, but the Emperor remained unmoved, still smiling cheekily and refusing to go.

When the Emperor saw He Lianfang turn his head away, deliberately avoiding eye contact, he intentionally spat melon seeds at He Lianfang, hitting him in the face.

Infuriated, He Lianfang threw the book in his hand directly at the Emperor’s face, but the Emperor, reacting swiftly, dodged it. Yet, He Lianfang threw a second book at him.

The Emperor managed to avoid three of He Lianfang’s books, but couldn’t dodge the fourth. The fourth book hit him hard in the face.

"Fang Fang, why are you so ruthless..." Before he could finish his sentence, another book hit his face.

He Lianfang glared at the Emperor with cold fury, his voice sinister: "Zhao Zheng, if you want to die, I can send you on your way right now!"

Instead of being angry, the Emperor chuckled and said, "Lao He, don’t be so serious. Calling you Fang Fang sounds so intimate and pleasant..."

Before he could finish, another book came flying towards the Emperor, but this time he was prepared and dodged it in time. Not only that, but he also caught it.

"I was just joking with you, why do you get angry so easily." The Emperor advised earnestly, "Lao He, you’re not young anymore, getting angry easily can harm your body. You must take good care of yourself."

He Lianfang, extremely angry, sneered coldly: "If you show up in front of me less, I could live a few more years." He was very annoyed by the Emperor’s frequent appearances but couldn’t chase him away.

The Emperor said tenderly: "That won’t do, not seeing you for one day feels like three years..."

He Lianfang, further enraged, picked up another book to throw at the Emperor, but the Emperor caught it again.

Next, the two continued their back-and-forth of throwing and catching books, playfully tussling for quite a while before stopping.

Faced with such a rogue and shameless person, He Lianfang really had no way to deal with the Emperor. If his legs weren’t crippled, he would have driven the Emperor away, but now he couldn’t.

Seeing He Lianfang becoming lively, the Emperor stopped teasing him. If he continued tormenting Lianfang, Fang Fang might really go mad, and he wouldn’t have a good outcome.

The Emperor picked up a teacup, leisurely sipping the tea.

"Did that troublemaker write to you?"

He Lianfang did not respond to the Emperor.

The Emperor put down his cup and laughed: "Looks like that troublemaker did write to you."

He Lianfang still ignored the Emperor.

The Emperor’s tone was full of acidity: "The troublemaker wrote to you, but not to me!"

Hearing this, He Lianfang finally acknowledged him.

"By the way, your younger son said he wants to satisfy you and sever father-son ties."

"Impossible!" The Emperor refused to believe He Lianfang’s words, "Lao He, stop trying to sow discord between us father and son!"

He Lianfang glanced at the Emperor, his face full of mockery: "Does your father-son relationship still need me to sow discord?"

The Emperor, pointing angrily at He Lianfang, said: "Don’t think I don’t know, you’ve been badmouthing me in front of the little ten."

Seeing the Emperor’s indignant expression, He Lianfang smiled happily with raised corners of his mouth: "I did say it. What can you do to me?"

"Lao He, you’re indeed jealous of the relationship between me and little ten."

"Jealous?!" He Lianfang laughed mockingly, "Just because you left your younger son in Jinling, ignoring him, allowing the group in Jinling to bully him. Now he’s far away in Jinling, unable to come back and settle accounts with you. Let’s see how you explain when he returns from Jiangnan."

"I’m doing it for his good." The Emperor said this without much confidence, "The people in Jinling are not a match for little ten anyway."

He Lianfang said nothing, but looked at the Emperor with an odd expression.

The Emperor was utterly baffled by He Lianfang’s gaze. He asked with a puzzled look: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He Lianfang looked deeply at the Emperor, then said with a face full of pity: "Maybe little ten won’t come back to settle accounts with you."

The Emperor, full of self-pride, said: "Not settling accounts with me shows that little ten understands my painstaking intentions."

He Lianfang looked at the self-satisfied Emperor with a "fool" gaze.

"Lao He, what kind of look is that..." The Emperor suddenly realized, his smile froze, then disappeared completely, and his expression became somewhat heavy.

"Keep being proud, why aren’t you proud anymore?" Seeing the Emperor’s reaction, He Lianfang continued to mock mercilessly, "In the letter your younger son wrote to me, there’s not a single mention of you. Do you know what that signifies?"

The Emperor’s heart started to panic, but on the surface, he remained composed: "Don’t try to fool me."

He Lianfang directly took out a letter from a drawer and flung it in front of the Emperor for him to see himself.

The Emperor unhurriedly opened the letter. After reading it, his face darkened.

He Lianfang hadn’t lied to him; the letter didn’t mention him, the father, at all.

In the letter, Zhao Yao assured He Lianfang not to worry about him, saying he could handle himself in Jinling. He also talked about other matters, like the situation over at Lingnan and about the Japanese pirates.

He Lianfang then tossed another letter to the Emperor; this one was also from Zhao Yao, just received today.

Previously, He Lianfang had written back to Zhao Yao, asking how he felt about being ignored by the Emperor. Zhao Yao replied, saying he felt nothing and would cooperate with the Emperor.

The Emperor’s anxiety grew as he read this.

"Little ten is smart; he sees you did it on purpose, so he not only doesn’t blame you but will also cooperate with you." He Lianfang mocked, "Having such an obedient and understanding younger son, you are truly fortunate." The word "fortunate" was filled with sarcasm.

The Emperor looked up at He Lianfang, his face gloomy and said nothing.

"Weren’t you very proud just now? Why aren’t you smiling now?"

The Emperor could no longer smile.

"Before he left, your younger son told me that if possible, he wouldn’t want to return to the capital for several years. He wants to wait until adulthood to come back."

Wrinkles formed on the Emperor’s brow and he said with a grim expression: "That’s wishful thinking!" That troublemaker little ten actually wants to stay in Jiangnan for two or three years, how ambitious!

"Without me causing troubles, your younger son wouldn’t be close to you." He Lianfang chuckled slyly, "I was wrong. He was never close to you in the first place."

This remark was undoubtedly pouring salt on the Emperor’s wound.

"I knew he would be fine, capable of escaping from Li Jue." The Emperor felt extremely wronged, "With his skills, if he couldn’t escape, I’d have to reconsider."

He Lianfang immediately saw through the Emperor’s intention, "Using Li Jue to test little ten, you indeed underestimated your younger son and overestimated Li Jue."

"I think that Li Jue is a great whetstone." The Emperor earnestly said, "I left him specifically for little ten to play with."

He Lianfang shook his head and said: "You underestimate your younger son."

"What do you mean?"

"You still want your younger son to recruit Li Jue, don’t you?"

"Yes, that Li Jue has some brains. I hope he can be used by little ten."

"Your younger son won’t use him."

The Emperor listened to He Lianfang’s decisive tone as if he fully understood his younger son, and felt a bit of jealousy in his heart.

"Why?"

"After knowing what Li Jue did, your younger son would kill him without hesitation, no matter how brilliant he is." He Lianfang said indifferently, "Your younger son seems carefree, but he is very compassionate. He would never employ someone who views human lives as trivial, much less someone who finds joy in manipulating people."

The Emperor hadn’t considered this, "If little ten doesn’t want to use him, then so be it."

"You shouldn’t have let your younger son get involved in the matters of Jinling." He Lianfang was very displeased about this, "He went to Jiangnan for more important tasks, but you had him playing hide and seek with that Li Jue, leaving him no time for significant matters."

The Emperor asked, "What important things does he have to do?"

He Lianfang did not answer the Emperor’s question.

The Emperor raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing He Lianfang: "What are you and little ten up to?"

"Why should I tell you?" He Lianfang pointed at the door, unceremoniously issuing an eviction notice, "You can leave now."

The Emperor did not heed He Lianfang’s dismissal. He furrowed his brows slightly and said: "Did I make a mistake?"

"Acting smart!"

The Emperor glared at He Lianfang, stubbornly saying: "Little ten won’t blame me."

He Lianfang lowered his head and continued reading the book in his hand.

Seeing He Lianfang ignoring him, the Emperor did not linger and soon left.

After leaving He Lianfang’s residence, the Emperor went to Kunde Hall to find Lady Liang upon returning to the palace.

Far away in Jinling, Zhao Yao had gone missing again.

Prince Wei received this news as soon as he returned to Jinling.

Zhao Yao discovered he was locked up in a secret chamber again. This time, Li Jue wasn’t with him.

How unoriginal, being locked in a secret chamber again, making him play escape room?