At the tender age of eight, he was hastily dragged out and made emperor!

"Changshou, that princess from the Northern Barbarians seems to still have feelings for you."

Inside the Tai Chi Hall.

Chu Ling flicked his sleeve, picked up the wine cup beside him, glanced at a certain spot with a half-smile, and then teased Chu Hui beside him, "Why don't I take this opportunity to arrange this marriage for you?"

"Cough cough~"

Chu Hui, who was eating in small bites, coughed without realizing it upon hearing this.

"hehe…"

Seeing Chu Hui's reaction, Chu Ling smiled and shook his head.

"Your Majesty! You can't push your younger brother into a fire pit!"

Chu Hui glanced around, leaned forward slightly, and whispered to his elder brother, "Is that what she means by 'unforgettable'? Look at her eyes, she seems to want to devour me alive."

"Hey... you can't say it like that."

Chu Ling raised his wine cup, took a small sip, and said with a slight smile, "As the old saying goes, extreme love turns to hate, and extreme hate turns to love. Perhaps you two can become the latter?"

"Where did this old saying come from? Why haven't I heard it before?"

Chu Hui said, “Your Majesty, please don’t tease me. I was exhausted trying to fool her. I had to pretend I didn’t understand and also act like I was very considerate. Your Majesty, you have no idea how awkward I felt when I was with her that day.”

"This is what they call being too clever for your own good."

The smile on Chu Ling's face disappeared, and his cold eyes swept over where Murong Tianxiang and Xia Ji were. "There is no shortage of smart people in this world. Those who are truly smart and wise have a sense of awe, a peaceful mind, and a willingness to reflect on themselves. They are not arrogant in good times and not discouraged in bad times."

Chu Hui's expression changed as he pondered what he had just heard.

'I really have to thank you all this time.'

On the other hand, Chu Ling thought to himself.

Chu Ling understood better than anyone else that with his grandmother's passing and Xu Zhen's deposition, his claim to the throne was indisputable, whether from a moral standpoint or from any other perspective.

But this does not mean that he can smoothly take charge of the entire Dayu.

The problems and challenges that Emperors Taizu, Taizong, and Xuanzong faced during their lifetimes were all silently presented to him.

The situation in the past few years has made the problems and challenges even more complicated.

Putting aside everything else, just consider the matter of reducing the power of the regional military governors.

If Chu Ling doesn't handle things properly, things could get out of control again. So, a bomb or a series of bombs were quietly planted behind Chu Hui.

Even without the visits of delegations from the Northern Barbarians and Western Sichuan, Chu Hui's coming-of-age ceremony would still take place, and at that time, the ceremony would conclude.

Whether it's the central government or a local government.

Multiple schools of thought will inevitably emerge.

They could either support Chu Hui's enfeoffment, which would change the central power structure.

Either oppose Chu Hui's enfeoffment, in which case the local structure will not change.

There are supporters and opponents, and there must also be those who neither support nor oppose.

With these various ideologies at play, it was inevitable that the Great Yu Dynasty would experience turmoil, but in Chu Ling's view, this turmoil was completely unnecessary.

Because he is determined to weaken the power of the regional military governors!

But how to do it, and what to do, will inevitably involve many groups. The key is that if the storm blows up, it may not only be Chu Hui who gets dragged down, but even he may be dragged down.

However, for the emperor who holds supreme power, the most taboo thing is to personally get involved. If he wins, it is a victory he deserves, but if he loses, his authority will be shaken.

And now? The turmoil that was bound to happen in the future was caused by the visit of delegations from two major enemy countries with a long-standing feud with Dayu, and many things had happened before that, so Chu Ling silently resolved the situation.

Chu Hui was conferred the title of Prince and given the name Rui. He was put in charge of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs. After his coming-of-age ceremony, Chu Ling kept him in Yudu with the righteousness of the nation, so that he would not have to go to his fief. The implication was that the princes of Great Yu would no longer go to their fiefs in the future. This indirectly clarified Chu Ling's attitude towards the princes.

Anyone who dares to have designs on this should first think about how to resolve the matter of the Emperor Taizu's dream. The final interpretation rests with Chu Ling. How to resolve it? How to break it?

If you can't break it, don't mention it!

"Is the princess still angry?"

Xia Ji sat calmly, enjoying the dance and music before him, and said in a peaceful tone to Murong Tianxiang sitting beside him, "Is it because of Emperor Yu? Or because of Prince Rui?"

Murong Tianxiang glanced at Xia Ji, but ignored what Xia Ji said.

"Haha~"

After waiting for a moment, seeing that Murong Tianxiang remained silent, Xia Ji was not annoyed. Instead, he smiled faintly, lifted his robe, and picked up the wine cup beside him. "The Great Yu of today seems to be quite different from what you and I thought before, and even what the high-ranking officials of the two dynasties thought."

"A young emperor and a young prince, the two are inseparable. No, there should be another one. Has the princess not noticed that in the Yu court, much attention is paid to Prince Rui, but the Ninth Prince, who disappeared in the Tenth Prince's Mansion, has been overlooked?"

Murong Tianxiang frowned slightly.

She was pondering what Xia Ji meant by saying those words.

"Who said it disappeared?"

After a moment's hesitation, Murong Tianxiang composed herself and said arrogantly, "Won't I just stay in Shanglin Garden?"

"really?"

Xia Ji raised his wine cup, drank the fine wine, and said with a half-smile, "This prince is also the current emperor's younger brother. His mother, Zheng, died in the Yu Palace two years ago. At that time, the Yu emperor was still staying in the Shanglin Garden."

"What's interesting is that Yu Ting mentioned to the outside world that this prince's birth mother died from excessive grief over Emperor Taizong, but as far as I know, she was poisoned."

Murong Tianxiang slightly opened her eyes.

Did he also have spies and moles planted under the rule of Da Yu?!

This Zheng was the legitimate daughter of a prominent family. Murong Tianxiang knew something about how she died. Xia Ji was right; she was poisoned.

According to an undercover agent from the Phoenix Feather Bureau, the person who did this was Xu Zhen, the deposed empress. As for why she did it, Murong Tianxiang was not clear at the time.

Before coming to Dayu, Murong Tianxiang learned that Xu Zhen had been deposed. She knew that Xu Zhen was planning a grand scheme. Once the Empress Dowager Sun Li died, she would find a way to depose the current emperor of Dayu and let this younger prince succeed him. Unfortunately, not long after Zheng Shi died, the Ninth Prince Chu Mao disappeared from the Tenth Prince's Mansion.

At that time, the Great Yu Dynasty was busy suppressing rebellions, so how many people would have paid attention to these things?

"So, does the princess know how she lost?"

While Murong Tianxiang was pondering, Xia Ji put down his wine cup, flicked his sleeve, and laughed.

"When did I ever lose?"

Feeling offended, Murong Tianxiang frowned and glanced at Xia Ji, "Why can't I understand what you're saying?"

"hehe."

Xia Ji smiled and shook her head slightly. "Liu Chen, you don't really think he's simple, do you? A prince of Dayu mysteriously disappeared, and at the time and afterwards, there was no trouble at all. At that time, Liu Chen was the Grand Master of Ceremonies. Princess, you don't think that the Emperor of Yu returned to the palace from Shanglin Garden without any reason, and then chose to use a member of the royal family as the breakthrough point, do you?"

"Also, you don't really think that the two princes, Hai and Jing, who were captured alive and brought back to the capital by Han Qing, the current Duke of Pingguo of Dayu, committed suicide out of remorse, do you?"

Murong Tianxiang's heart trembled slightly for no reason.

Her phoenix eyes looked in one direction.

The two brothers, who looked very alike, chatted casually.

Only at this moment did Murong Tianxiang understand why all the civil and military officials in the central government of the Great Yu were like this; this was perhaps quite different from what she had initially thought.

"Brother, why didn't Brother Mao come?"

At this moment, the two brothers chatting in front of the emperor did not notice Murong Tianxiang's change. After thinking for a while, Chu Hui finally spoke what he had kept in his heart for a long time.

"I sent him on a journey."

Chu Ling touched his nose and said calmly, "Brother Mao's temperament is unstable, and he is born with superhuman strength. If Brother Mao doesn't experience more, he will inevitably be taken advantage of in the future."

"That……"

Chu Hui frowned slightly.

"Do not worry."

Chu Ling calmly said, "I have arranged everything, there will be no problems."

"Ah."

Chu Hui nodded in agreement.

Compared to his younger brother, he was much luckier, having left the Tenth Prince's residence much earlier. But Chu Mao was different. Even now, Chu Hui still remembers that night when Liang Huang, who was serving his grandmother, held Chu Mao, who had a persistent high fever, and spoke those words to his elder brother.

It was around that time that Chu Hui's disgust and rejection of Xu Zhen began to take root in his heart.

Everything has a traceable path.

How many people raised in royalty are simple-minded?

Chu Hui is like this now, but he hasn't always been like this.

That's because he observed, analyzed, and felt a lot, which gradually and imperceptibly changed him.

While Chu Hui couldn't forget that scene, he also couldn't forget another: for more than ten days and nights, his own elder brother personally took care of his poor younger brother. If it weren't for his elder brother, his younger brother might have died.

While Chu Hui was pondering these things, Chu Ling, leaning against the armchair, glanced at Li Zhong without making a sound.

Li Zhong nodded slightly, glanced around the hall, and then quietly withdrew.

'Something's happened?'

However, Li Zhong's move still attracted the attention of a few people.

Liu Chen was one of them.

Holding a wine cup, Liu Chen frowned slightly when he saw Li Zhong leave. His intuition told him that the Emperor must still have something to do at this coming-of-age ceremony related to Chu Hui.

This is a baseless idea.

Because he was all too aware of the current emperor's methods and cunning.

The banquet inside and outside the Taiji Hall continues.

Time passed by minute by minute.

Compared to the warmth inside the palace, it was quite cold outside. Even so, none of the officials attending the celebratory banquet outside dared to leave.

They enjoyed the various songs, dances, and music with their own thoughts, and they also chatted quietly among themselves. The atmosphere was quite intense.

Among them were some sons of noble families who had served in the Southern Army.

"You tell me, with the delegations from the Northern Barbarians and the Western Sichuan Dynasty visiting, which dynasty's princess will His Majesty choose to marry Prince Rui?" Dong Heng, who had drunk some wine, became more talkative. He picked up his wine cup and asked Zong Zhi, Chang Feng, Li Bin, Han Cheng, Shangguan Xiu, and others sitting beside him.

"I don't know."

Li Bin glanced around and said calmly.

"I don't think His Majesty will agree to a marriage alliance."

Changfeng raised his wine cup, downed the fine wine in one gulp, and then sneered, "One is a northern barbarian, the other a Sichuan bandit; both are uncivilized lands. His Majesty values ​​Prince Rui so much, even explicitly stating at this coming-of-age ceremony that Prince Rui will not be enfeoffed anytime soon. Do you think His Majesty would invite some so-called princess, who is not respectable enough, or even a princess from an enemy country with a long-standing feud with our dynasty, to marry Prince Rui?"

"If a marriage alliance is really to be formed, putting aside everything else, how will Prince Rui face those Imperial Guards in the future? Don't forget, there are some Imperial Guards who are willing to leave and become Prince Rui's personal retainers."

"You've had too much to drink, so shut up."

Zongzhi frowned, glanced at Changfeng, and scolded him in a low voice.

"What did I say wrong?"

Chang Feng, however, didn't care at all. Emboldened by the alcohol, he looked at Li Bin and Cao Jing and asked, "Don't you two have anything to say?"