Professional Ethics of a Concubine

East Palace.

The Crown Princess felt flustered.

Yesterday the Emperor came to the East Palace to visit the Crown Prince, and she thought it was fine at first.

However, the Emperor and the Crown Prince talked for a long time and no one was allowed to listen, so something was not right.

After the emperor left, the prince kept sleeping. When he woke up and ate something, he went back to sleep without saying a word.

The Crown Princess thought that the Crown Prince had lost all hope because of his broken leg and had completely laid down and become a lazy person.

So, after her son finished his homework in the evening, she planned to take her son into the room to visit the prince and then come out quickly, so as not to stay there and become the target of the prince's anger and beatings.

However, the prince had an extremely good temper. Not only did he not get angry, he also examined his son's academic performance calmly. Finally, he said sorry for having implicated his son.

The Crown Princess felt that something was increasingly wrong.

This is not like what the prince would say in his daily life, but more like words of end-of-life care.

When a man is about to die, his words are good!

Because his leg was broken and he had no chance of becoming emperor, the prince didn't want to live anymore? !

The more the Crown Princess thought about it, the more she felt that this was the case.

On the one hand, the Crown Princess felt sad, heartbroken and sorry for the Crown Prince, lamenting how unlucky he was to have broken his leg.

On the other hand, she felt that this was also good. As long as the prince was alive, her aunt would still focus on him and force the Chen family to help him. It would be better if the prince died and she could support her son wholeheartedly.

"Mother, my father was in a really good mood today. He didn't get angry or call me stupid." The Crown Prince said happily to the Crown Princess.

"Besides, my father actually knows a lot. The anecdotes he just told me are better than those taught by the teacher in Wenhua Palace!"

"When your father was your age, he was also very smart and well-educated." The Crown Princess smiled and patted her son's head.

"Then why do people say that father is not smart now?" asked the Crown Prince.

"Not only does my mother say this, my grandmother and grandfather also say that my father is not smart, but I think he is still very smart."

The Crown Princess opened her mouth but didn't answer. Her brows furrowed even tighter as she asked in confusion,

"Why do you think your father is so smart now? He scolds you all the time, aren't you afraid of him?"

"I feel now that my father still likes me and values ​​me." The Crown Prince scratched his head a little embarrassedly.

"Just a while ago, I wanted to take advantage of my birthday to teach Xie Mingyu and Xie Niankang a lesson and make them suffer a great loss.

I was planning to make them fall into the pool, but my father discovered my plan in advance.

My father said that my plan was both straightforward and stupid, and I couldn't get away with it afterwards, and I always succeeded.

He told me to give up the idea and told me how to use other people's hands to achieve my goals and then become perfectly invisible afterwards.

Then my father demonstrated to me how he used words to induce Xie Zirui, the eldest son of Uncle Duan Prince's family, to arouse his competitive spirit and jealousy, and make him cause trouble for Mingyu and others.

I watched helplessly as Xie Zirui did not gain any advantage from Mingyu and Xie Niankang, and was severely scolded, forced to kneel down, and made to copy books.

Afterwards, my father told me that Xie Niankang was more cunning and resourceful than me, and asked me not to be stupid enough to cause trouble for Xie Niankang and others and invite humiliation.

My father also said that when facing such a strong person, we should not release our hostility, but think about how to learn from them. Even if we cannot become friends, we should not become mortal enemies.

So, mother, I think father is really smart. No one else tells me the truths he talks about. "

The Crown Princess was also shocked after hearing this. She thought carefully about the Crown Prince's recent words and deeds. He has indeed become different since his mother was placed under house arrest.

"Mother, did father voluntarily give up the position of crown prince?" the Crown Prince asked again.

"Why do you ask?" The Crown Princess asked back nervously.

"You said that the Royal Grandfather came over this afternoon and talked to Father for a long time. I felt that Father was a little different today. He seemed... much calmer and more relaxed."

The Crown Prince frowned and said.

The Crown Princess thought to herself, I think the Crown Prince wants to commit suicide!

The more she thought about it, the more panicked she became. Finally, she decided to write a letter to her father, briefly describing what had happened today and asking for his opinion.

-

After Minister Chen received the letter from the Crown Princess and read it, a new guess came to his mind, and he was so frightened that he couldn't sleep all night again.

Ever since he learned that the prince had 30,000 private soldiers and wanted to drag him into a rebellion, Minister Chen lost his appetite and could not sleep at night.

Looking at my family, I feel like there is a knife hanging over each of their heads, ready to chop off their heads at any time.

Even when I fell asleep at night, I would have nightmares. In my dreams, I would either be shot to death by arrows or be called a traitor.

Otherwise, the whole family would be tied up in a long line, and then made to kneel in a row, with their heads rolling down one after another.

No one ever dreamed of successfully forcing the emperor to abdicate.

In just a few days, Minister Chen was tortured to the point of losing several pounds, and a large area of ​​his hair turned white, making him look several years older.

If they really followed the prince to this step, the lives of thousands of people in the entire clan would be in danger.

How could he not be worried and heavy-hearted?

After carefully analyzing various situations, Minister Chen became increasingly unsure and even felt that he would definitely fail.

Minister Chen was already shaken, and today's letter from his daughter was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

After a night of thinking, Minister Chen decided to inform the emperor.

After making this decision, Minister Chen felt relieved instantly.

Although he would be dismissed from office, exiled, or even beheaded afterwards, his crime could be attenuated by his merit in informing on others, which should prevent the entire clan from being beheaded.

After Minister Chen felt relieved, he felt sleepy and slept for more than two hours without attending the morning court.

After waking up, he cleaned himself up, took a sedan chair to the palace, and asked to see the emperor.

When Minister Chen was summoned in, he saw Prince Jing was also there, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

If it weren't for Prince Jing, the Crown Prince and the Chen family wouldn't have been forced to this point.

"Father, I'll take my leave now." Prince Jing said goodbye to the emperor, turned around and saw Minister Chen, and smiled at him.

Minister Chen also tried hard to force a smile and bowed to Prince Jing.

"What do you want to report, Lord Chen?" the emperor asked coldly.

"Your Majesty, I deserve to die!" Minister Chen knelt down with a plop, and said with tears in his eyes,

"I want to sue the crown prince for raising 30,000 private soldiers with the intention of forcing him to revolt. The crown prince wants me to help him rebel, but I dare not commit such a heinous crime of treason..."

Prince Jing had just stepped out of the door when he heard Minister Chen's words. He turned his head and looked at him, thinking that he was not stupid.

There is no such thing as a fool who can reach this position.

What they are best at is analyzing the pros and cons, cutting off the tail to survive, and protecting themselves.

One of the principles is family first.

-

East Palace.

The prince was surprised to see King Jing coming, "What are you doing here? Are you here to make fun of me and beat a fallen dog?"

"I'm not that free yet." King Jing said.

The prince looked at him again, but did not speak again, waiting for Prince Jing to speak.

Based on his understanding of Prince Jing, this man was always straightforward except for saying some soft words to his father.

"I was the one who sent people to find your 30,000 private soldiers. I also told my father about this." Prince Jing spoke, revealing his own hard power first.

Prove to the prince that he has the ability to control the opponent.

The prince did raise his eyebrows in surprise, "You are really capable to find it in such a short time."

He thought it was Chen Xiu De who reported the secret.

"You hid those private soldiers very well. The quarry was a good idea and the location was well chosen. If it weren't for some good luck, it would be really hard to find them."

Seeing that the other party recognized his ability, King Jing also sat down and began to affirm the prince's ability. He first praised him and then began to empathize with him.

"You have been pretending to be ambitious but incompetent, and have a bad temper, and have successfully deceived everyone. This shows that you are very cunning, calculating, and good at acting.

I couldn't understand why you did this before. I thought you were just looking for trouble as you were a prince. But today, after hearing my father explain the reason, I finally understood your sadness and helplessness.

Just now, my father came to me and said that he felt sorry for you and knew that you would not accept confinement, so he wanted to let you fake your death and get out of the palace to live a free life."

The prince was stunned with surprise when he heard this.

He didn't expect his father to be so tolerant of him. It was hard for the prince not to be touched. He turned his head slightly to prevent Prince Jing from seeing his slightly red eyes.

"I think your father's idea is not a good one. It's such a waste." Prince Jing said again.

"What do you mean? Can't you accommodate me?" The prince frowned, turned his head to look at him, and a hint of madness began to reveal in his eyes.

If the prince could leave the palace and have a second chance to live, he would not give up.

When King Jing blocked him, it triggered his defensive attack mode.

"Not only can I accommodate you, I also want to discuss cooperation with you. I say it's a waste because I think you are a smart person with talent. If you spend the rest of your life doing nothing, it would be a waste of your talent!"

Prince, "???"

The prince was surprised and confused, wondering if he had heard it wrongly.

King Jing actually said that he wanted to cooperate with him and gave him things to do because he was afraid of wasting his talent!

The prince felt that he was still sleepy and was hallucinating.

“Believe me, civilian life may make you feel relaxed and comfortable at first, but after a while, you will get bored because it is too boring and too simple, and you can see the end of the day at a glance.

If you try to do something big and force me to send troops to attack you, and our brothers fall out completely, I will be so sorry for the kindness of my father."

Prince Jing spoke with sincerity and the Crown Prince listened with a look of disbelief.

"Are you serious?" The prince, regardless of his leg injury, sat up straight and said to him,

"Even if I fake my death, I am still a deposed prince. Do you believe that I have no ambitions or rebellious intentions? Do you believe that I will listen to you and do my job obediently?"

"Brother, what you said is very narrow-minded." King Jing stood up and sat directly beside the bed. He patted the prince on the shoulder and said earnestly,

"You are not doing things for me, you are doing things for yourself, to realize your life value, to fully display your talents, to enjoy the joy of success, and to repay this ancestral foundation and the kindness of my father.

I just provided you with an idea, and I am here to discuss it with you. If you don't agree, forget it."

Prince, "???"

He claimed to be an expert at fooling people, but Prince Jing was more deceptive than him in his words.

Who else is your brother?

The prince slapped Prince Jing's hand away, looked at him with disdain, asked him to sit on the chair, and kept a distance before talking.

"Haha, that sounds nice, but you just want to enjoy the pleasure of enslaving me." The prince snorted and laughed, indicating that he would not buy into King Jing's promise.

"Listen to my plan first." King Jing glanced at the crown prince and said calmly,

"I plan to have you go to Chu State to take over the intelligence network there, expand your influence, and disrupt Chu State's internal affairs..."

Just this one sentence made the prince take it seriously. He stopped mocking and stared at Prince Jing seriously.

"I have great ambitions. I want to destroy the State of Chu within the next five years and incorporate it into the territory of our Great Zhao.

You are the crown prince of our Great Zhao, and it is your duty to expand our territory. You should do something instead of faking your death and lying in the yard basking in the sun every day."

Prince, "..."

There are so many flaws in this matter that the prince doesn't know how to complain about it.

He wanted to call him a dreamer and arrogant, but his blood began to boil again because of his words.

"Why do you trust me so much? Aren't you afraid that I will have too much power and kick you out?" the prince asked him, fire already burning in his eyes.

"Then let me ask you a few questions. Do you like the palace? Do you like facing the same ministers every day and scheming against them? Do you like having to listen to those people nagging and trying to stop you when you make any decisions or make any changes?"

King Jing spoke.

As the prince listened to his questions, his brows furrowed more and more tightly, and all the anger in his body came out. It was obvious that he hated it.

King Jing saw his character and knew that his guess was correct, and continued,

"Rather than establishing order and maintaining balance, it is obvious that you are more inclined to destroy and break the rules.

If you are asked to manage the intelligence network of the Chu State, you can fully display your strengths, calculations, disguises, rhetoric, and even your identity can be used.

You are the underground monarch of the intelligence network. Those intelligence personnel will only execute your orders unconditionally and will not try to control you like court officials.

Moreover, you can wreak havoc in the State of Chu at will, making their government as chaotic as possible. The better you do, the more beneficial it will be to us.

So, I said at the beginning that the idea I proposed was not to ask you to do something for me, but for yourself and for the great Zhao country."

When the prince heard this, he could not refute a word, and he was even very moved.

Just thinking about what King Jing said made him extremely excited and completely tempted.

"So what do you want from me?" the prince asked King Jing.

"I want you to work with me to bring down the State of Chu first, and then we two brothers will go to deal with Dayan, the Dongyi State, the Gulan State, the small countries in the Western Regions, and the barbarians in the grasslands.

I will be in charge of internal affairs, improving the military, economy and other national strength of Da Zhao, and you will be in charge of external affairs, building intelligence networks everywhere and making trouble everywhere.

Let’s try to unify the mainland first. If we are still alive and can still make trouble, we can make trouble overseas…”

As soon as Prince Jing opened his mouth, he painted a huge pie for the prince.

Prince,...

He swallowed and burped again, choking.

This pancake was too filling, but he thought it tasted really good.

"If I want to quickly develop the situation in Chu, I need my own trusted people to do the work." The prince said.

"Of course, I also accept that your people will monitor me."

“I will only send two people to follow you. One is Feng Yuxi. He will be responsible for curing your leg and providing you with medical assistance.

The other one is Zhang Zhanfeng. He is the junior general of the Zhang family of the Chu State General's Mansion. He survived the massacre of his entire family. He hates the Chu State very much, but he is also very familiar with the Chu State's Shangjing. With him, he can help you a lot. "

The prince listened to his words and looked at his leg again, "Can my leg be cured?"

King Jing nodded, "As long as Feng Yuxi is here, it will be fine."

The prince raised his eyebrows and said nothing more.

"One last thing to remind you."

"what?"

“When you want to cause chaos in the State of Chu, it’s best not to involve innocent people, but to start with corrupt officials or high-ranking officials who have committed many evil deeds.

If you have some money, it is best to donate it and do good deeds for yourself."

"Why? Can this really make your wishes come true and bring you good luck?" The prince sneered and didn't believe it at all.

"Do you know why you broke your leg? Because you are so wicked."

Prince,...

I don't believe it, I don't believe it.

"I'm serious." King Jing emphasized.

Prince,...

The prince's defense is broken!