Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 958: Chapter 66: Prince Han Is Very Clean (2)

"Then you should give something related to Buddhism."

"Uncle, if I can think of it, wouldn’t my royal brothers as well?" Zhao Yao shrugged and said, "I won’t compete with them, I’ll think of something else."

He Lianfang had no better suggestions for Zhao Yao, so he remained silent.

Zhao Yao thought for a while and finally came up with a good idea.

"I have an idea."

He Lianfang curiously asked, "What are you planning to give?"

"Hehe..." Zhao Yao chuckled mysteriously, "You’ll find out tomorrow, Uncle."

Seeing Zhao Yao being secretive, He Lianfang didn’t bother to inquire further.

At that moment, news from Prince Han arrived from the Dark Guard Camp.

After reading it, Zhao Yao’s expression was one of shock.

He Lianfang, seeing his incredulous expression, asked with concern, "What happened?"

"Uncle, see for yourself." Zhao Yao handed the message about Prince Han to He Lianfang.

After reading it, He Lianfang was equally incredulous.

"The Dark Guard Camp’s findings match those of the Hidden Guards sent by the Emperor to protect you, it seems Prince Han is indeed clean."

"How... how is that possible?" Zhao Yao was skeptical of the findings of the Hidden Guards, but he did not doubt the Dark Guard Camp’s report. "How could Fifth Brother not have any ambitions for the throne? How could he have done nothing?"

"The Dark Guard Camp can’t be wrong." Although Prince Han’s cleanliness was indeed suspicious, the facts were as they were.

"The Dark Guard Camp indeed can’t be wrong, but that doesn’t mean Fifth Brother is really that clean." Zhao Yao intuitively felt that the findings of the Hidden Guards and the Dark Guard Camp were superficial and not the full picture. "Fifth Brother is hiding something deeply."

"Perhaps Prince Han is just as the investigation indicates."

"I don’t believe it." Zhao Yao frowned slightly and said, "If we can’t find the truth from Fifth Brother, then we’ll investigate elsewhere."

"Where do you plan to investigate?" He Lianfang asked, "If Prince Han is indeed as you suspect, deeply hidden, you won’t find anything useful from the people around him."

"I know, I don’t plan to start with the people around Fifth Brother, I intend to send people to investigate from the Xiongnu side."

"The Xiongnu?" He Lianfang quickly thought of Prince Han in Youzhou and immediately understood Zhao Yao’s purpose for investigating the Xiongnu, "You suspect Prince Han of colluding with the Xiongnu?"

"It’s not impossible."

"Since the Emperor stationed Prince Han in Youzhou, he would guard against Prince Han colluding with the Xiongnu." He Lianfang believed Prince Han wouldn’t be so foolish, "Prince Han surely knows the fate of the Yuan Family and wouldn’t be so foolish as to collude with the Xiongnu under the Emperor’s watchful eyes."

"Uncle, you make a good point, but it doesn’t guarantee that Fifth Brother wouldn’t take the risk." Fifth Brother might think he could cooperate with the Xiongnu without being discovered.

"Do you think Zhao Zheng’s Dragon Guards are just for show?" Although He Lianfang held a grudge against the Emperor, he acknowledged the Dragon Guards’ capabilities. Moreover, the Dragon Guards initially served as spies for Prince Yi Yong. They were excellent scouts carefully nurtured by Prince Yi Yong. "Every crucial border area in Great Zhou is watched by Dragon Guards’ spies, it’s absolutely forbidden for anyone to collude with foreign tribes or betray Great Zhou."

"Let’s investigate first and see what’s what."

"If investigating the Xiongnu doesn’t reveal anything suspicious about Prince Han, what will you do?"

"I’ll do nothing and leave it to Fourth Brother and Eighth Brother to worry about, I won’t care anymore." The reason he’s investigating Fifth Brother now is because Fifth Brother wants to cooperate with him in business, and he’s curious. If investigating the Xiongnu doesn’t reveal any issues with Fifth Brother, then he’s done with it; after all, he’s not competing for the throne with Fifth Brother. "If I don’t check whether the Xiongnu are colluding with Fifth Brother, I can’t rest easy." Youzhou is right next to the Xiongnu’s grasslands; it’s hard not to suspect Prince Han of secretly colluding with the Xiongnu.

"Go ahead and investigate." He Lianfang thought Zhao Yao would not find anything.

The next day, Zhao Yao went outside the city early in the morning, dug up several stalks of rice seedlings from the fields, and planted them in pots.

He Lianfang saw Zhao Yao bringing back several stalks of rice seedlings and planting them in pots, and asked with a face full of surprise, "What are you doing with these?"

"It’s a gift for the Imperial Grandmother." Zhao Yao proudly said, "When she was alive, she always hoped that everyone in the world would have enough to eat. By giving her these rice seedlings, I’m letting her know that most people in Great Zhou now have enough to eat and won’t go without food like she did back then."

"This gift is quite ingenious." Little Tenth, this cheeky boy, didn’t want to compete with other princes in giving something related to Buddhism, for fear of stealing their thunder. However, his gift of these rice seedlings would overshadow what the other princes gave, because these rice seedlings are more precious than anything else. Since this cheeky boy didn’t realize it himself, He Lianfang kept quiet about it.

"I originally wanted to give a bountiful rice plant, but unfortunately, in this season, I can only give rice seedlings." Zhao Yao pointed at the rice seedlings he specially dug up and introduced to He Lianfang, "These pots have double-cropping rice seedlings, and these have tri-cropping rice seedlings."

"Once you bring these to the capital, I fear the fields there won’t be able to sustain these rice seedlings." He Lianfang pointed out the problem, "Even if they survive by luck, they’ll turn into single-cropping rice, not double-cropping or tri-cropping rice."

"I know, I just want Grandmother to know that Great Zhou now has double-cropping and tri-cropping rice and lets her see what the seedlings of double-cropping and tri-cropping rice look like." If the capital could grow double-cropping and tri-cropping rice, that would be surprising. "Oh, and I’ve also prepared seeds for double-cropping and tri-cropping rice."

After speaking, Zhao Yao called over Tong Xi and had him arrange for someone to send these pots of rice seedlings to the capital.

The day after sending off the pots of rice seedlings, representatives from Prince Chu and Prince Wei’s sides arrived in Swamp Prefecture for the trade summit. When they arrived, they also brought with them the failed scholars Zhao Yao had requested from Prince Chu and others.

With the sudden influx of so many outsiders, Swamp Prefecture immediately became lively.