The prince is very cruel

The so-called Hongwenguan is a place to recruit talents. Generally speaking, only the prince has this privilege. When this privilege was revoked, Li Si felt like he was thrown into hell!

Although it seemed that there was no punishment, the signal it carried was huge. Everyone was discussing privately that the Third Prince might have to withdraw from the fight for the throne this time. He was punished so severely as soon as he came back.

In addition, the fact that many bigwigs such as the Minister of Justice took the initiative to retire and return to their hometowns made some people wonder if something big had happened.

But the news was strictly blocked, and almost no one knew the truth except for some people with connections.

After breakfast, Guan Ning turned a deaf ear to what was happening outside and wrote a letter to Shen Lei who was far away in Shu to urge him to train the troops. Then he wrote another letter to Hai Mei to ask about the progress of the transportation of supplies.

Now that the final window is only two months away, he must speed up.

Just after doing all this, he planned to continue making some more black powder, but just as he walked out, Shengqi came towards him and bowed quickly.

"Sir!"

"What's wrong?" Guan Ning raised his eyebrows.

Shengqi held up two letters in his hands and said, "My lord, just now the King of Wu and the King of Yue sent people to deliver these."

King of Wu, King of Yue?

Guan Ning was surprised. Isn't this the second or eleventh prince, the strongest contender for the throne?

He took it, opened it and took a look.

"Brother Guan, I am Li Jing, the King of Wu. I have long heard of your great name and the righteousness of the Guan family. I recall the days when Duke Guan led Your Majesty in battle, achieving unparalleled feats. But now, times have changed and the old man is no longer with us. We, the younger generation, should follow in our ancestors' footsteps and complement each other."

"I would like to invite Brother Guan to a gathering at the Prince of Wu's mansion to drink and sing. There will be heroes from all walks of life, as well as famous ladies."

"The day Brother Guan knocks on my door, I'll go out to greet him!"

Guan Ning grinned after reading it, thinking that this was someone who was trying to win him over.

Then, he read the second letter from the King of Yue. There was almost no difference between the two letters. Both were invitations to him to attend a banquet. The letter was full of flattery, solicitation, and attempts to get close to him.

This also indirectly shows how fierce the competition among the kings for the throne is.

Sadly, the Wu Dynasty is now in turmoil, but these princes are not thinking about how to save the country, but fighting among themselves.

"Prince, what did they say?" Shengqi was curious.

Guan Ning handed it to him: "Look."

Shengqi took it with both hands and was shocked after reading it!

"Oh my god, two strong contenders for the Eastern Palace actually invited the Crown Prince like this!"

"Such a big thing just happened, and they don't know how to restrain themselves. By holding a banquet, aren't they afraid of causing His Majesty's displeasure?"

Guan Ning laughed and said, "You're overthinking it. Li Si won't be able to jump around these days. For them, it's too late to be happy."

"Then Prince, what should we do? There are two of them, both coming today. Which one are you going to?" Shengqi asked seriously.

"Neither of us will go." Guan Ning blurted out.

"Ah?" Sheng Qi was shocked. "Prince, these are the Second and Eleventh Princes. They are His Majesty's favorite princes, and they have the powerful support of their mother's family and the group behind them."

"Even if you don't want to associate with them, you should at least save your face, right?"

"And...it's a good thing."

Guan Ning shook his head calmly: "This is not a good thing. Participating in the battle for the throne among the kings is an extremely dangerous thing. Moreover, at this critical juncture, no matter where we go, we will offend the other party."

"Instead of this, it's better not to go anywhere. It's best to be prudent and protect yourself."

"Have Butler Bai send someone to reject these two invitations. Tell them that His Majesty has given me some tasks to complete and I can't go."

A hint of regret flashed across Shengqi's eyes. After all, many officials would try their best to squeeze into such a banquet, but Guan Ning said he would not go.

"Ok."

"Then my lord, I will do it now."

Guan Ning nodded and turned to go to the backyard.

He knew better than anyone that each and every one of these princes was unreliable, and they only wanted to win him over because of their current status and the honeymoon period with the old emperor.