Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 757: Chapter 369: Still Underestimated the Imperial Uncle_2

The Prince Chu dared not gamble with Zhao Yao’s safety, so he felt it was better for Zhao Yao to stay temporarily in Yangzhou.

The guest quarters were not far from the capital, and before dawn, Prince Chu’s letter was delivered to the palace.

Tonight, Sun Kui was personally on night duty. Seeing Chang Yuan deliver Prince Chu’s letter, he had no hesitation and went into the Emperor’s sleeping quarters to wake the sleeping Emperor.

The Emperor had said before that if there was a letter from Prince Chu, or news of him, it must be reported to him.

Sun Kui held a lamp in his hand, standing by the bed to provide light for the Emperor.

After reading the letter, the Emperor smiled and said, "Old Fourth did not let me down."

"Your Majesty, is Prince Chu returning?"

"Old Fourth can return to the capital tomorrow." The Emperor looked at Sun Kui and instructed, "Have Mr. Song and Lao Zhang lead troops to bring Old Fourth back."

"Now?"

"Depart immediately, have them go directly from the mansion to pick up Old Fourth."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Wait, have Lao Her and Lao Liu see me before morning court."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Song Weikang and Zhang Gong were awakened from sleep and led their troops out of the capital grandiosely.

The two of them are Great Generals, heavily relied upon by the Emperor. Any of their movements will attract the attention of other ministers in the court.

The servants of the court ministers learned that Song Weikang and Zhang Gong hurriedly left the capital with a group of soldiers overnight, assuming something significant happened, they hurriedly reported to their masters.

A moment later, civil and military officials of the court all knew that Song Weikang and Zhang Gong led troops out of the capital, which greatly shocked and unsettled them.

The ministers, seeing such a big display put on by Song Weikang and Zhang Gong, couldn’t help but speculate whether something serious had happened, or whether the Western Garrison was rebelling?

Xie Shi of the Duke Mansion was at the Western Garrison, which made the civil and military officials suspect whether Xie Shi was leading a rebellion at the Western Garrison?

For a moment, people were in a state of panic.

Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu, however, remained very calm because they knew Prince Chu was returning.

The next day early in the morning, Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu entered the palace an hour earlier. When the other ministers learned of this, they increasingly felt that something big had happened.

In the Imperial Study, while the Emperor was inviting Prime Minister He and others to have breakfast, he conversed with them.

Prime Minister He and the others were not dining with the Emperor for the first time. Moreover, there was still an hour before the morning court, and if they didn’t eat something now, they’d be hungry during court.

"Old Fourth not only brought back the stolen copper but also brought back a witness." The Emperor held a meat bun in one hand and a bowl of porridge in the other, "Do you think I should depose the Crown Prince?"

"Prince Chu is indeed capable," Prime Minister He first praised Prince Chu and then asked, "Where did Prince Chu find the copper?"

The Emperor blinked at Prime Minister He, mischievously saying, "You guess."

Prime Minister He looked disdainfully at the Emperor, "Your Majesty, you are not the Tenth Prince, it’s not suitable for you to blink like that."

Grandmaster Liu sharply agreed, "In the Tenth Prince’s words, greasy!"

The Emperor glared at Prime Minister He and them, "I am handsome and charming, elegant and graceful, where am I greasy?"

Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu said nothing, but they looked at the Emperor with disdain.

The Emperor found it uninteresting and didn’t dwell on the topic. Returning to the main subject, he said, "Old Fourth found the stolen copper in Guihua Village of Wuhua Mountain."

Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu exclaimed in unison, "Wuhua Mountain?"

"Unexpectedly, I didn’t expect my brother-in-law to be so bold, secretly transporting copper right under the nose of the Western Garrison, and quietly forging weapons," the Emperor said, taking a bite of a bun and then a big gulp of porridge. While he drank the porridge, it made loud noises, completely lacking the image of an emperor. "What surprised me most was that my brother-in-law secretly made deals with Han Zhong, who was forging weapons in Shu, including those of my brother-in-law’s."

Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu were very surprised by this news.

"I didn’t learn of this matter during my interrogations in Shu," Grandmaster Liu, whose interrogation skills were exceptional, said. "It seems only Han Zhong knew about this."

"Your Majesty, your brother-in-law’s skills are remarkable, making weapon deals with Han Zhong," said Prime Minister He, quite alarmed, "The most important thing is no one knew about this."

"Your Majesty, how did Prince Chu learn of this?" Grandmaster Liu was curious, as he hadn’t heard of this during his months in Shu.

"Old Fourth guessed," the Emperor took a few large gulps of porridge, "Old Fourth found the weapons forged in Guihua Village were very similar to those secretly made in Shu, and speculated that Shu might be forging weapons for my brother-in-law."

Prime Minister He marveled, "Prince Chu truly is meticulous."

"Your Majesty, wouldn’t your brother-in-law be colluding with Han Zhong?"

"Probably not; my brother-in-law wouldn’t be that foolish," the Emperor said thoughtfully, "I suspect my brother-in-law didn’t reveal his identity to Han Zhong; Han Zhong probably only knows that the person commissioning the weapons is of significant status in the capital, perhaps even thinking it’s one of my sons."

Grandmaster Liu thought about it and felt the Emperor’s words were accurate.

"If Han Zhong knew it was the Duke Zhen making weapon deals with him, he would definitely use that to threaten the Duke Zhen to achieve some goal."

"I really underestimated your brother-in-law." Although the former Duke had been deposed, Prime Minister He and the others avoided calling him by name, as he was still the Emperor’s brother-in-law.

"Do you think I should depose the Crown Prince?" the Emperor asked, "If I deposed the Crown Prince, would my brother-in-law rebel?"

Grandmaster Liu said, "Rebel, he definitely would, but he wouldn’t dare to rebel now." The term ’brother-in-law’ was filled with mockery.

"Brother-in-law wouldn’t be foolish enough to rebel now," said Prime Minister He, "However, the Crown Prince could indeed be deposed."

"And after he’s deposed?"

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince, once deposed, should be made a prince and naturally go to his fiefdom," Prime Minister He said meaningfully, "The fiefdom for the deposed Crown Prince could be near the Western Garrison."

Grandmaster Liu continued from Prime Minister He’s words, "Your brother-in-law and they don’t have enough power to rebel now; give them a few years to build strength, and when the time is ripe, they will definitely rebel, and by then, it will be justified to eradicate the Duke Zhen’s mansion."

The Emperor pointed at Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu, laughingly scolding, "You two are truly malicious."

Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu retorted without ill intent, "Not as much as you are."

"Thank you for your praise," the Emperor said, his tone somewhat sarcastic.

"Your Majesty, after the Crown Prince is deposed, will you appoint Prince Chu as the new Crown Prince?"

The Emperor again deliberately blinked cutely at Prime Minister He and them, "You guess."

Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu: "..." Suddenly feeling a bit nauseous.