Read Novel Full Chapter 732 - 359: Those Who Believe Will Believe_3
Chapter 732: Chapter 359: Those Who Believe Will Believe_3
Prince Jing glanced at Song Qingyun and suddenly asked, "When you think of the Crown Prince, who comes to your mind first?"
Song Qingyun hesitated slightly and replied, "Duke Zhen."
"Do you understand now?"
Song Qingyun’s eyes first showed confusion, but soon his confusion was replaced by shock.
"Because of Duke Zhen?"
"To be precise, because of the Xie family." Prince Jing said with sarcasm, "That foolish Crown Prince relies on my good uncle for everything. Rather than being the Crown Prince of Great Zhou, he is more like the Crown Prince of the Duke Zhen Country Mansion. Do you think my father would allow the entire Great Zhou to be controlled by the Duke Mansion in the future? Would you, if it were you?"
"Of course not." Song Qingyun sighed, "No wonder His Majesty is so antagonistic towards the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen." After speaking, he thought of the relationship between Prince Jing and the Duke Zhen Country Mansion, his expression couldn’t help but become strange. "Then Your Highness, you..."
"I am not like that foolish Crown Prince; I would never depend on Duke Zhen for everything, nor would I listen to him for everything." Thinking of how Duke Zhen only helped the Crown Prince and not his own nephew, Prince Jing couldn’t help but feel a surge of hatred, a dark gleam passing through his eyes. "Moreover, I am not close to the Duke Zhen Country Mansion."
"This is probably why His Majesty favors you." Song Qingyun dared not say what was on his mind; His Majesty was clearly trying to drive a wedge between the Crown Prince and Prince Jing. However, even if His Majesty didn’t, the relationship between Prince Jing and the Crown Prince wouldn’t be good.
"I know my father is using me to deal with the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen, but I don’t care." Prince Jing was very clear in his mind, "Even if my father didn’t want me to do so, I would still confront the Crown Prince and them. To take the position of Crown Prince, I must remove the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen."
"Your Highness, I have something to say but don’t know if I should."
"Go ahead."
"Your Highness, our Song family can only assist you in Jinling, but we cannot help you in the capital." In Jinling, their Song family could be said to be extremely powerful, but in the capital, they were nothing. "If you want to sit on that position, you need the support of the powerful families in the capital, and the Duke Zhen Country Mansion is your best backing."
"I said I would remove the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen but didn’t say I would eliminate the Duke Zhen Country Mansion." Prince Jing knew very well that he would ultimately need the support of the Duke Zhen Country Mansion, "As long as the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen are gone, the Duke Zhen Country Mansion will be at my disposal."
Seeing that Prince Jing understood, Song Qingyun did not speak further.
"Your Highness is wise."
"We don’t need to worry about Prince Chu." Prince Jing deliberately spread the news of Prince Chu’s assassination back to the capital to create chaos there, so the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen would temporarily have no time to focus on Jinling. "Although the county examination has ended, we can’t be complacent. We must ensure those people honestly review the examination papers and not leak any information before the results are posted, understand?"
Song Qingyun felt a chill in his heart and solemnly said, "I understand." Just after saying that, he remembered something, "Your Highness, after the county examination results are announced, do you plan to return to the capital?"
"I don’t plan to return to the capital."
"You don’t plan to return to the capital?"
"I plan to return after the provincial examination concludes." Prince Jing understood clearly that returning to the capital after the county examination would be dangerous. With the tactics of the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen, he might meet an unexpected death on the way back. "The county examination is the first examination of the imperial examinations. I successfully held the county examination in Jinling, starting the imperial exams here on a good note, and I don’t want to let this credit go to others, so I intend to conduct the next two exams as well."
"I was originally going to persuade Your Highness to stay, but it seems unnecessary now." Song Qingyun agreed with Prince Jing’s perspective; returning now would be too wasteful.
"I have written to my father, pleading to let me stay in Jinling to continue overseeing the upcoming provincial and metropolitan examinations." During this period, Prince Jing not only diligently conducted the imperial exams but also secretly dealt with people from the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen’s sides. Of course, the most important thing was that he had befriended quite a number of students from humble backgrounds. Previously, he looked down on these students. Although many of them were talented, their low status made it hard for them to have opportunities to enter service, so he didn’t pay them much attention.
Now, however, it’s different. Students from humble families can participate in the imperial examinations. As long as they truly have talent, they can stand out through the exams and be appointed to official positions. Therefore, he must get to know them now, to have them at his disposal in the future.