Drunk Bamboo

After King Wen left the court, he went directly to Fu'an Palace.

His expression was different than before. There was a strange glow on his snow-white face, as if there was a power and vitality.

After entering the Buddhist temple, he suppressed all his emotions and paid his respects to the Imperial Concubine.

"Did anything happen in the court today?" The imperial concubine slowly stood up and fiddled with the Buddhist beads in her hand as she walked.

"Replying to mother, today my father was furious about the Canglan bandit incident and punished the prefect of Nanfu and revised the procedures for assessing and promoting officials in the Ministry of Personnel."

Hua Qinming stood in front of her, her brows lowered and her expression calm.

After hearing this, he did not get angry.

Instead, he smiled sarcastically.

"The corrupt imperial court, he thought he had brought peace and prosperity to the country of Rao, he thought he was a favored son of heaven. Ridiculous, now we know that he had already made his kingdom a mess."

The "he" that the imperial concubine mentioned was the emperor.

The emperor who has been leaning on her side for twenty years.

But in her heart she felt extremely disgusted and hated this man.

His tone was cold. "The vast mountains and rivers, the peace and prosperity, that's what he wants to see. The emperor wants to see what the ministers show him. It's deceiving oneself."

Hua Qinming had long been accustomed to the Imperial Noble Consort's attitude towards the Emperor.

Her weakness, her obedience, her dependence, are nothing but pretense, just for the sake of survival in the harem, just for the sake of obtaining the highest power.

When he was a child, he often wondered why his mother hated his father so much?

Just because she was sent to the palace to dance by her clansmen?

Just because my father chose me as his concubine?

Then shouldn’t she hate the Nanjiang tribe?

Why is it the father?

But she had also been favored by her father for many years and had a status that all women envied.

Sometimes, he also thought that it would be nice to be a King Wen who does not fight or compete.

But his mother didn't give him this opportunity.

He collected his thoughts and said, "My father is going to select someone to tour the south on his behalf to understand the people's sentiments."

The corner of his mouth curled up, "You really know how to pretend."

"Why investigate when you know they are corrupt officials? Just kill them with a dose of poison. Cleanly and thoroughly, leaving no trace."

When the imperial concubine said this, her eyes were frighteningly cold.

Hua Qinming looked at her and said seriously, "Mother, I want to go on a southern tour."

"Of course you should go. With such a great opportunity and being admired by the people, of course you should go."

But Hua Qinming didn't think so much.

He just wanted to leave Zhongdu and see the outside world.

Perhaps this is his only chance to go out in his life.

"The prince wants to go too." Hua Qinming analyzed rationally, "Now, apart from Feng Xiu from the Ministry of Justice and Li Ce from the Ministry of Personnel, there are only a few minor officials supporting us, and they have no chance to speak in the palace."

"Feng Xiu was ignored by my father because of Feng Ying's matter, and today Li Ce was also reprimanded by my father. It is impossible for him to gain the trust of my father in the near future."

In order to gain the opportunity to tour the south, Hua Qinming really put in a lot of effort this time.

Seeing that he was so motivated, the Imperial Concubine was pleased and her voice became much softer.

"Ming'er, how could you forget? His Majesty's most trusted Prime Minister Luo is your father-in-law."

Hua Qinming said truthfully: "Prime Minister Luo is upright and loyal to the emperor. I'm afraid he won't favor anyone."

She raised her beautiful eyes slightly, "Qier, you haven't visited Luo Xiang for a long time, right? You should accompany Qier back to visit Luo Xiang and have a reunion dinner, so that Luo Xiang can recall the deep love between father and daughter."

Hua Qinming paused for a moment before saying, "Mother, Qi'er is kind and virtuous, and she manages the palace with all her heart. I don't want to take advantage of her."

He did not deliberately hide anything, but spoke his inner thoughts truthfully.

The Imperial Concubine was not angry, but happy instead.

She spoke patiently and carefully, "Madame Li also praised Qi'er. I feel happy every time I see her. She is so good, so you should think about her future."

"She is your legal wife. If you are a prince, she is the princess. If you are a commoner, she is also a commoner. If you go to jail, she goes to jail too."

"If you are the future king, she will be the future queen."

Hua Qinming replied: "I understand, I know what to do."

"Go down, I have more important things to do."

"Yes."

When he turned around, the Imperial Concubine said softly:

"Don't worry, Ming'er, you are the only one who will go on the southern tour."

There was a hint of gloom in her soft voice, "If anyone dares to stop me, I will make that person disappear."

On the other hand, the prince also asked Wang Yan to return to the East Palace to discuss countermeasures.

"Your Highness, what do you think of what His Majesty said and did in the court today?" Wang Yan asked, stroking his beard.

The prince thought for a moment and said, "Father seems to really want to discipline the officials and rectify the government."

Wang Yan did not jump to conclusion.

Instead, he said: "When your majesty was young, he also had lofty ambitions, cared about the world, and was dedicated to the people. That's why all those ministers supported him and helped him sit in that position."

"It was only later that I started to enjoy fighting for power and gain and engaging in intrigue and deception."

The prince was a little surprised, "My mother never told me this."

Wang Yan never told him these things before.

"Because no one knows that after sitting in that position, people's hearts will become so ruthless, cold, vicious, and suspicious..."

On Fang Zheng's face are a pair of eyes that have experienced many vicissitudes of life.

There are some things that the prince should know and do.

The prince looked sincere, "Grandfather, I will not become like that, never."

Wang Yan declined to comment.

He picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then said, "It is not an easy task to crack down on corrupt officials during the southern tour, but it is also something that must be done. Those distant places that we cannot see also need someone to bring light and hope."

"Grandfather, I want to go on the southern tour on behalf of my father," the prince said, "not for my father, nor for myself, but only for the people."

"Bandits are rampant in Canglan County. If there is no help from Nanmi County and no good county magistrate, how long will the people have to suffer?"

The prince spoke sincerely, just like the emperor back then, full of vigor and ambition.

Wang Yan promised: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I will fully support Your Highness."

Speaking of Nanmi, the prince thought of the Wind King.

"I heard that my third brother was not in Zhongdu during the more than one month I was in the Imperial Mausoleum. When he was in Nanmi, the bandits that had plagued Canglan County for many years were wiped out. I don't believe it wasn't for his contribution."

There are no coincidences in the world.

There was approval and affirmation in Wang Yan's eyes.

"The King of Wind is indeed much more stable and upright. He is the only one in the court who is not afraid of the emperor's power, does not worry about his future, is only dedicated to the people, has no selfish motives, and dares to stand up and support Your Highness."

A ray of light flashed across the vicissitudes of life eyes.

"Now, His Majesty also has great trust in King Feng. Perhaps His Majesty will ask King Feng about his selection of candidates for the southern tour."

The meaning is obvious, asking King Feng to help persuade the emperor.

This way the prince will be more confident.

"Third brother..." the prince murmured in a low voice.

Thinking of him, the corners of my mouth couldn't help but rise.

The prince said, "Third brother should just be the third brother."