Chapter 308 Monarch and Minister
Palace? Which palace?
Zhao Yushu knew two kings, Prince of Fu Li Jilian and Prince of Kucha Li Jian.
He had been to Prince Fu's Palace and stole Shen Laoqi who had been captured with great difficulty. As for Li Jian's Prince Qiuci Palace, it is hard to say whether it existed or not.
There are only three characters on the door plaque. In other words, this palace is the residence of a king with only one character. What kind of palace of a king can make the emperor dare not enter?
Zhao Yushu walked inside, bypassed the shattered screen wall, and came to the huge courtyard in front of the main hall.
A gust of wind blew by, and Zhao Yushu couldn't help squinting his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, there was no trace of broken walls or tiles on the ground. The bluestone slabs were flat and clean, and occasionally a few maple leaves blown down by the autumn wind dotted it.
"Hahahaha, you've eaten so much fat that you can't catch up with me." A child of seven or eight years old ran past Zhao Yushu with a laugh, seemingly not seeing him.
A smaller fat boy was trying to catch up from behind: "Brother, you are cheating, you said you would let me run first!"
Several servants followed behind with smiles, holding kettles and towels in their hands, ready to wipe the sweat and quench the thirst of the two young masters at any time.
Zhao Yushu was like a transparent person, watching everything silently. Is one of these two children the emperor?
"Brother, you said that our sister is already three years old, why doesn't mother let her come out to play with us?" Two children, one fat and one thin, sat by the pond, holding small fishing rods.
"Mother said that my sister is not in good health and cannot be exposed to the wind. Besides, I will go to the academy tomorrow and cannot play with you."
"Ah? Didn't father invite a teacher to teach us? Why do we still need to go to the academy?"
The tall and thin man sighed and said, "I am going to the academy in Xijing. The teacher told me quietly that I should hide my incompetence when I get there because I am a hostage."
The fat boy scratched his head: "Proton, what is it?"
The tall and thin man smiled and said, "Take good care of your parents."
"And a younger sister." the fat boy added.
"Yes, and my sister."
The tall and thin man got on the carriage and left. His parents, who were barely in their middle age, seemed to have aged more than ten years overnight, and there was a hint of hatred in their eyes as they looked at the fat boy.
The fat boy is not smart, loves to eat, doesn't study very hard, and is even a little too soft-hearted. He is completely different from his brother.
But he is not the crown prince, so all these little problems are not problems. As a king, he can definitely afford to raise a son without any major shortcomings.
But now the prince has been taken away.
The princess held her daughter in her arms, tears glistening in her eyes. A gust of wind blew, and her daughter shrank her head and began to cough softly.
The fat boy stood in front of the palace gate, watching the carriage slowly go away, and did not move until it completely disappeared. His parents went back early, leaving him standing alone on the long street.
Time flies, spring goes and autumn comes, whether the prince is willing or not, whether the fat boy is happy or not, he must learn how to manage a huge fiefdom, or in other words, how to be a good prince.
The frail sister grew up slowly and became a graceful young lady. With the huge financial resources of the palace, she was no longer as fragile as before, but she still could not stand the cold.
The fat boy is still fat, but he has become much more stable. The eldest brother has been gone for nearly ten years and has never come back except for letters. Everything seems to be moving forward in a dull manner.
Until one day, the eldest brother came back exhausted.
The eldest brother has grown up. The climate and soil of Xijing have nurtured him well. He is handsome and tall, with a broad face and a high jaw, and looks like an emperor.
When the eldest brother came back, the fat boy was playing chess with his sister. He waited until the servant informed him before he hurried over with his sister.
The eldest brother glanced at him, nodded lightly, and followed his father into the study, without lingering on his sister.
The younger sister was a little timid. She was too young at the time and could not remember what her brother looked like.
The dinner was a bit awkward. It should have been a good day for the family to reunite, but it seemed that no one was happy except the fat boy. No one spoke throughout the sumptuous banquet, and the princess even had red eyes.
After dinner, the eldest brother pulled the fat boy aside and wanted to talk to him.
The two of them sat by the small pond they had sat in before. The fat boy thought a lot. Even though he had been privately called the prince by outsiders for the past ten years, now that his elder brother had returned, he was not greedy for this position at all.
No news could upset him, he naively thought.
"The Tibetans said they would support me becoming emperor, but only if they wanted a marriage alliance."
The eldest brother’s first words after ten years directly knocked the fat boy unconscious.
What emperor? The emperor is sitting there quietly, he just ascended the throne not long ago, how could he bring this up with our family?
What is marriage? Who is the marriage?
The fat boy opened his mouth, his face trembling a little, and after a while he finally understood what his elder brother meant.
"No."
For the first time in his life, the fat boy said no to his elder brother.
The eldest brother sighed, patted the fat boy on the shoulder, stood up and left.
What he wants to fight for is the throne. If he succeeds, the brotherhood will turn into the friendship between monarch and subject. The monarch does not need to discuss with his subjects, but only needs to give orders.
"My sister can't stand Tibet. It's so cold and so high there. She will die. Dad! Mom, please say something! She will die!"
The prince turned around, unwilling to even look at his useless son. The princess secretly wiped her tears and said nothing.
The fat man was forcibly dragged into a dungeon that he had never been to in his life. He was locked up in the underground without seeing the sun like a prisoner until one day, after an unknown amount of time, he was released.
He had lost some weight, and his steps were a little unsteady. He pushed away the servants' support and walked in the palace like a wandering ghost. There were still firecrackers and red paper that had not been cleaned up. When he pushed open the door to his sister's boudoir, it was clean and tidy, as if no one had ever lived there.
Several years passed, and an old monk walked into Xijing, started a big fire, and left behind an orphan girl.
"By the order of Heaven and the Mandate of Heaven, I have received the blessing of Heaven and inherited the imperial throne. I have been entrusted with the mandate of Heaven and my descendants will prosper. My brother, Jilong, is endowed with extraordinary talents and a dignified character. He is as tall and majestic as a golden branch and as virtuous as a jade. You deserve to be given a piece of land and have a home and a country. I hereby confer upon you the title of King of Blessing, and grant you the seal and treasure. You should respectfully accept it. You should fear Heaven day and night, be careful in your conduct and cultivate your mind. Always respect my mandate and live a good reputation. Respect you!"
(This paragraph directly quotes the imperial edict that conferred the title of King Jing in the Ming Dynasty. If there are any words that shouldn’t be there, just laugh it off.)
The eunuch who delivered the decree closed the imperial edict and supported the fat Prince Fu with a smile on his face: "My highness, you will be the most honorable prince in our Tang Dynasty from now on. His Majesty has made it clear that he and Prince Fu will divide the two capitals and share the world. Congratulations!"
Prince Fu took the imperial edict with both hands and said word by word: "Your Majesty, I, Li Jilong, thank you for your grace!"
A gust of wind blew by, and the scene in front of me slowly dissipated like sand in the wind.
Zhao Yushu walked into the front hall, looked at the person sitting in the main seat, sighed, but was not surprised at all.
"He really doesn't have the courage to come in by himself."
The fat Prince Fu was riding a horse with a golden sword, holding three spirit tablets in his hands. He looked at Zhao Yushu who came in and sneered.