Ch. 44 - Old Emperor: Those eyes...

Zhong Yansheng was really a little angry.

Xiao Nong secretly handed him something in front of so many people, and he thought that the note contained some very important instructions.

Last night he had a stomachache and didn't sleep much. He was worried about whether Xiao Nong would hate him, whether he would have to stay in the palace from now on, and the old emperor's strange attitude...

And just now, he was led by the old emperor to say something bad to Xiao Nong. When Xiao Nong came in, he was really scared.

As a result, Xiao Nong wrote a note calling him stupid!

He was still angry for a while. Feng Ji, who was waiting outside, had been waiting for a long time, but he didn't hear any sound from inside. Worried that something had happened, he knocked on the door and asked carefully, "Young Prince?"

Zhong Yansheng was not very happy: "I am having bad stomach."

[T/L NOTE:- Here he said something about yang-knotted, which means urinating problem.]

"……oh, oh!"

He suddenly realized.

[T/L NOTE:- I too don't know what he has realized.]

Zhong Yansheng didn't care what Feng Ji had realized. He sullenly opened the bulging brocade bag again, thinking that if it was still something to make fun of him, he would be furious.

Something round and hard rolled into the palm of his hand, and Zhong Yansheng saw clearly what it was.

It was the clay xun that he had hidden in the bed curtains in Xiao Nong's room.

Zhong Yansheng was stunned.

He developed the habit of hiding things when he was a child, because he was always sick and stayed in bed most of the time. Sometimes his mother brought snacks that he was not allowed to eat too much, or when the Marquis of Huai'an came to check if he had stayed up late and read books secretly, he would hide the things he liked under the bed curtains.

Normally no one would dig into this place, but over time, he got used to hiding his precious things in it.

The clay xun was hidden inside Xiao Nong's bed curtain. He didn't have time to take it with him when he went out and almost forgot about it.

It was hidden so secretly, how did Xiao Nong find it?

Zhong Yansheng thought about it and suddenly his scalp went numb.

Could it be, could it be that when Xiao Nong was resting at night, the clay flute fell from above and hit Xiao Nong?

Zhong Yansheng was dispirited.

...Xiao Nong was probably scolding him for being stupid for hiding in such a place.

But he really felt that the place was very hidden, and ordinary people would never think of looking for things there.

In addition to the clay xun, the sachet also contained some medicinal herbs such as angelica dahurica, orchid and mint, which emitted a faint medicinal fragrance that was somewhat similar to the bitter and cold scent on Xiao Nong's body, and one felt at ease just by smelling it.

Zhong Yansheng moved closer, moved his nose and sniffed a few times. His beautiful gloomy eyebrows slowly relaxed as if encountering the warm sun.

The heavy feeling in my heart, which had been fluctuating with anxiety since yesterday, suddenly calmed down a lot.

After carefully hiding the sachet and clay xun into his sleeves, Zhong Yansheng looked at the note again with confusion.

The big word "stupid" is very eye-catching.

No, I'm still so angry.

Zhong Yansheng folded the note, put it into the brocade bag, straightened his clothes and walked out.

Feng Ji waited outside for a long time before seeing Zhong Yansheng come out. Seeing that he looked much more relaxed than when he went in, he believed that Zhong Yansheng went in, to change clothes. He brought a basin of hot water and lowered his voice: "Your Highness, there are many people with bad stomachs in the palace. The Shenyou Pills developed by the Imperial Hospital are very effective. Do you want me to get some for you?"

Zhong Yansheng thanked him sincerely: "...No, no, thank you."

"Then, Your Majesty, let's go back." Feng Ji felt that the young prince was too shy, so he tactfully stopped talking about this matter, "His Highness asked you to go back to the study."

Zhong Yansheng followed him, pinched the things in his sleeves, blinked and asked, "Is His Royal Highness Prince Ding still here?"

Before Feng Ji could wonder, Zhong Yansheng suddenly remembered the old emperor's old, cloudy, deep-pocketed eyes staring at him. He shuddered silently and added hastily, "I, I'm afraid of him."

Feng Ji agreed. Thinking of Xiao Nong's deep blue and cold eyes, he shuddered. "Everyone in the capital is afraid of His Highness Prince Ding... Your Highness must have suffered a lot in Prince Ding's mansion, right? Now that you are back in the palace and living near the Yangxin Palace, you don't have to be afraid anymore. No matter how arrogant Prince Ding is, he wouldn't dare to set foot around His Majesty's bedroom."

When Zhong Yansheng heard Feng Ji's words, he became nervous.

...That's right. The area around the Emperor's bedroom is closely patrolled by palace guards and royal guards. The royal family has a very bad relationship with the Xiao family. Seeing that Tian Xi didn't dare to say much, maybe there was another hidden story behind the incident in Mobei that year. The old emperor must be very afraid of Xiao Nong and is on high alert against him. It's impossible for Xiao Nong to come here casually.

The more Zhong Yansheng thought about it, the more depressed he became. He sighed, and when he entered the Yangxin Palace again, he suddenly noticed a few people kneeling outside the threshold, with their backs straight and their faces full of righteousness, as if they were ready to die.

He glanced over there and couldn't help but poke Feng Ji: "Feng Ji, who are those people?"

Feng Ji also took a look and replied in a low voice: "Your Highness, these are the imperial censors of the Metropolitan Censorate."

Yesterday, Tian Xi brought people to welcome Zhong Yansheng back to the palace. Xiao Nong followed him into the palace without receiving an imperial edict. This behavior once again greatly angered everyone in the Censorate, who called it a heinous crime and said that his evil intentions were obvious.

Today, memorials impeaching Xiao Nong flew in like snowflakes. Several censors knelt outside the Yangxin Palace, begging Your Majesty to severely punish Xiao Nong.

When Xiao Nong came in just now, he probably passed by these people.

As the saying goes, people's words are scary, and these censors are even more eloquent than each other. When the literati start to scold people, even the emperor will give them some face and try to appease them.

Zhong Yansheng immediately lost the desire to ask Xiao Nong to take him back to Prince Ding's Mansion, or to visit the palace more often to see him.

After entering the study, Zhong Yansheng discovered that after a while, there were a few more people in the study. They were all the people he had seen at the old emperor's bedside yesterday, including Prince De, Pei Yong; Prince An, Pei Shen, and the familiar Prince Jing, Pei Hong.

The three people sitting in the lower seats had subtly different expressions on their faces when they saw him.

However, Zhong Yansheng was not in the mood to look at them. His gaze was like a nimble little fish, lightly glancing over and landing on Xiao Nong.

Then he glared at him.

When the old emperor saw Zhong Yansheng coming back, he waved at him with a smile and said, "Come here, Little Eleven, sit next to me."

As soon as these words came out, Prince De's eyebrows moved immediately, and he almost jumped up, but then he seemed to have thought of something and stopped himself, but he still sneered and said in a gloomy way: "Little Eleventh Brother is really loved by the Emperor. I have never sat there before."

His speech was really stupid and over the top, especially the last sentence.

Prince An's forehead twitched, and he quickly made an excuse for him, "The Fifth brother is already an adult, and there are already more than eleven brothers, big and small. Why are you still jealous of the eleventh brother and begging for father's favor?"

The other courtiers who were given seats in the study all laughed. No matter what they thought in their hearts, they all congratulated His Majesty on the harmony in his family, the peace among the princes, and now the found missing eleventh prince. They were blessed by heaven and the Great Yong would be prosperous and blessed.

Zhong Yansheng originally wanted to hide quietly in a corner where no one would notice him, but when the old emperor called his name, he froze for a moment and had no choice but to sit down next to the old emperor's desk.

Xiao Nong was standing in front of the old emperor, seemingly reporting on the defense of the border. His handsome face showed indifference. He was not concerned about the congratulations from all over the room, and he didn't even look at Zhong Yansheng.

The old emperor was right next to them, so Zhong Yansheng didn't dare to stare at Xiao Nong all the time. He just glanced at him secretly, and then glanced at him quickly.

It was not until the old emperor coughed and lowered his head and Tian Xi hurried over to serve him tea that Zhong Yansheng had the chance to look at Xiao Nong again. Only then did he realize that Xiao Nong's eyes were also on him.

In front of a room full of royal relatives and ministers, and even the old emperor, their eyes met for a few moments.

Xiao Nong had already noticed that Zhong Yansheng was secretly glancing at him.

The old emperor was very wary of him. The Jinyiwei and the palace guards took turns twice a day and kept close watch on him. It was difficult for the spies in the palace to get close to the Yangxin Palace.

Only this morning when Zhong Yansheng came out, they saw him from afar and gave him the news that Zhong Yansheng did not sleep well.

He could only take a close look at Zhong Yansheng's expression during the brief moment of absence.

He looked listless and pale, with red circles under his eyes and obvious dark circles under them. Not only did he not sleep well last night, but he also probably didn't eat well.

It's only been one night and I feel like he has lost a lot of weight.

Xiao was very unhappy.

The useless royal family is indeed a bunch of trash, they can't even support a single person.

But Zhong Yansheng was the eleventh prince who was found by the old emperor with good reason, and the old man had a hold on the unknown poison in his brain, so he could not act rashly.

Besides, Zhong Yansheng is from the Pei family.

After a while, Xiao Nong remembered this and turned his eyes away indifferently.

Last night, Xiao Nong came back without bringing Zhong Yansheng. Taxue didn't wait for the sweet-smelling Xiao Yuan'er to come back, and started making a fuss in the house, rummaging around everywhere to find Zhong Yansheng. Finally, he ran back to the room and ripped off the bed curtain with a roar.

Xiao Nong was originally planning to pick up Taxue by the scruff of its neck and put it in a cage, but when he lowered his head, he discovered the clay xun hidden by Zhong Yansheng in the messy bed.

He treasured the gift from Xiao Nong so much that he hid it carefully. Under the bed there were also the purchased paints, some sheets of rice paper and purple-hair brushes that he secretly took from the study.

Xiao Nong realized that he shouldn't be soft-hearted towards the people of the Pei family.

But... Zhong Yansheng is a little different.

He stroked the clay xun, thinking of the pair of bright and clear eyes looking at him when the magnificent iron flowers were flying on the city wall. The feeling was indescribable.

Zhong Yansheng didn't think too much about it. He just simply wanted to glare at Xiao Nong and then look at him twice more to feel at ease. It seemed like a long time had passed, but in fact their eyes only met for three seconds. The old emperor raised his head, and the others looked over, and the two of them looked away again.

Zhong Yansheng hid his fingers under the table, tangled them together and pinched them, feeling uneasy.

He was so focused on glaring at Xiao Nong that he forgot to check his expression and whether he was still angry.

He remembered very clearly that Xiao Nong hated people from the royal family.

The old emperor recovered a little under Tian Xi's care, and said in a hoarse voice: "Xianwei, continue."

Xiao Nong often smiled with his lips curled in front of Zhong Yansheng, and the smile would weaken and soften the sharp aggressiveness between his eyebrows.

But in front of the old emperor, he rarely smiled. When he was not smiling, his face was expressionless and full of oppression. Zhong Yansheng looked at him and probably understood why so many people were so afraid of Xiao Nong.

This is indeed a bit scary.

Maybe he noticed Zhong Yansheng's timid expression, but when Xiao Nong turned sideways and pointed out the name of a court official, he suddenly raised his lips and said, "Master Zhang, what do you think?"

Although he smiled very kindly, the Minister of Revenue who was named by him still felt a chill down his spine instantly. Thinking of the tragic situation in the Duke of Pei's Mansion that had spread throughout the capital overnight, he seemed to see Yama waving at him.

As he stood up hurriedly, Minister Zhang thought rapidly in his mind, was this person unhappy because of his reduction in military spending?

Yes or no, please approve more next time.

Minister Zhang wiped the sweat off his forehead as Xiao Nong looked at him, answering respectfully: "I think that since the border town is the most important line of defense for Yong to resist foreign enemies, the high military expenditure is understandable. Only when the border is stable and people's livelihood is stable can the economy last long..."

Although the old emperor was dissatisfied, he still nodded calmly.

The entire study was silent, shrouded in an invisible high pressure. Apart from Xiao Nong and the old emperor talking, no one else had the chance to interrupt unless they were called upon.

Zhong Yansheng didn't feel anything, it was just that it was really boring sitting next to the old emperor. After Xiao Nong finished reporting on the border situation, other people came forward to report. Unlike Xiao Nong's concise and powerful words, these people spoke slower and longer than each other. It was really difficult to pick out a few useful pieces of information from a lot of nonsense.

These lengthy words were really boring to listen to. Zhong Yansheng felt like he was back in the classroom. He wasn't very interested in listening to them. When he was drowsy, he suddenly felt someone was staring at him.

He thought it was Xiao Nong who was looking at him, so he raised his head and followed his line of sight, and met Prince De's gaze.

After seeing Zhong Yansheng's face again, Prince De sneered again.

Last time at the flower-dueling banquet, Zhong Yansheng had begun to dislike Prince De. Now, seeing him sneer non-stop, he felt that he was so weird. Did his face twitch?

Puzzled, he turned his head and saw Pei Hong winking at him.

In the whole room, Xiao Nong and Pei Hong were the only two acquaintances. Zhong Yansheng was happy to see Pei Hong and winked at him secretly.

Xiao Nong sat in the first chair on the left, staring at the two men expressionlessly. When the Minister of Revenue finished his long and trembling speech, he suddenly interrupted, "Prince Jing's wedding is coming soon, right?"

The smile on King Jing's lips disappeared instantly.

Prince De's expression became a little strange again.

The old emperor seemed to have just remembered this and nodded slowly: "Old Eighth is not young anymore, and he has been playing around all day. When you get married, you must learn more from your uncles."

Pei Hong reluctantly replied, "Yes, Father."

Prince De looked away and stopped looking at Zhong Yansheng in a sarcastic manner.

The court officials who came to the study spoke one by one. It was the turn of the Minister of Military Affairs. The Minister of Military Affairs was a middle-aged man who looked very brave. He spoke without hesitation, knelt down and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, it was very cold at the beginning of the year. Countless people in Baoqing Prefecture froze to death. The people had no rice, so there were rebels. The rebels hid in the mountains and forests, often robbed passing merchants, and were extremely difficult to catch. The local garrison had no way to deal with them. I ask Your Majesty to send people to encircle and suppress this group of rebels, to prevent them from taking advantage of the mountains and becoming a hidden danger."

Upon hearing this, not only did Prince De, Prince An and Prince Jing sit up straight, but other court officials also became interested.

Last year, His Majesty summoned the princes to the capital, with the implicit intention of selecting a suitable crown prince from among the princes. The position of crown prince has been vacant for eighteen years since the death of the previous crown prince.

Now the old emperor is ill and unable to handle state affairs. If he suddenly passes away one day without appointing a crown prince, wouldn't the capital be in chaos?

Not only were several princes eager for His Majesty to quickly appoint a crown prince, but the court officials were also anxious.

Especially after Xiao Nong came to Beijing, all the officials were so anxious that they kept losing their hair.

Compared with Xiao Nong, the princes naturally have no outstanding political achievements, but suppressing bandits is a very good achievement!

If any prince could take down this group of traitors and bandits, his prestige would be greatly improved, and the number of people supporting him in the court would certainly increase.

Who will Your Majesty send?

By looking at who His Majesty has appointed now, we can almost guess who His Majesty has in mind as the crown prince.

Everyone held their breath and became tense.

Xiao Nong leaned back in his chair without much interest, with his elbows on the armrests and his head supported by his hands, a very undignified posture. He glanced lazily and coldly at the three princes who were the focus of attention at the moment.

Xiao Nong naturally did not come to the capital out of boredom, nor did he come to the capital to watch this boring drama of fighting for the throne. If he did not stir up trouble, causing headaches, fear, and anxiety for the royal family from top to bottom, and then kill them one by one in the end, how could he be worthy of what the Pei family had done to the Xiao family?

Choose.

Xiao Nong curled his lips indifferently, and a fierce murderous look flashed across his eyes.

Whoever is chosen will die.

Whoever receives the order to suppress the bandits will not have to come back.

Everyone looked at the old emperor, but he did not immediately appoint anyone. He put his fist to his lips and coughed a few times, then looked at Zhong Yansheng with a friendly expression: "Xiao Shiyi, who do you think is better to send to suppress the bandits?"

Zhong Yansheng was watching the excitement, but he was suddenly hit by the old emperor's excitement and was stunned.

It was the same thing last time at the flower-duel banquet. He was watching the fun, and Prince De suddenly directed the fun to him and threw a question at him that would offend people no matter how he answered.

Zhong Yansheng thought dully that whether he was the eleventh prince might still be debatable, but the old emperor and Prince De were definitely father and son.

Zhong Yansheng felt like everyone was looking at him. His scalp tightened a little. His toes, which had been swaying gently on the chair, stopped moving. He stared at his toes and opened his mouth.

How would he know who to send? !

Don't these princes know how to make an effort and take the initiative to ask for it?

The old emperor's tone was particularly kind: "Hmm? Don't be nervous, father is just asking for your opinion."

The gazes fixed on Zhong Yansheng's head were as real as if they were piercing through him, especially Prince De's eyes, which seemed to be spitting fire.

It would be fine if Zhong Yansheng was an unrelated outsider, but he was recognized as the eleventh prince by the old emperor yesterday and brought into the palace. He was also allowed to live in the Minghui Palace where only the former crown prince had lived!

When Prince De thought of Zhong Yansheng's face and eyes, he was shocked and angry, and felt extremely strange.

Zhong Yansheng's current status makes him eligible to compete for the throne.

What does the old 'thing' mean?

Finding a 'thing' that comes from nowhere and has an unclear identity and looks like a son, are you really going to treat him as your son and train him like you did in the past?

Zhong Yansheng gritted his teeth and said, "I think that the rebels are hiding in the mountains and forests, and even the local military officers are helpless. This shows that the rebels are very familiar with the terrain of the mountains and forests. If we underestimate them and rush to suppress them, we will definitely suffer a great loss. Therefore, the people sent to suppress the bandits must at least know how to use troops. Well, it would be best if they have experience. It is better to ask who has a strategy to deal with the forest bandits first, and then decide on the candidate..."

He finished speaking in a low voice, feeling uneasy, but the old emperor clapped his hands in delight and said with a smile: "My son is thoughtful, not eager for quick success, and considers things carefully. What do you think? Do you have any ideas?"

The old emperor's words "my son" made Prince De's face darken again, and he immediately spoke first: "How difficult is this? If we set a fire in, how can these monkeys hiding in the mountains not come out? They are just a bunch of rabbles, and I have wiped out the rebels in my fiefdom no less than three times. Humph, Eleventh Brother is still too young and shallow, and overestimates them."

Zhong Yansheng told him that he was too young and inexperienced, but he couldn't help but retort: "It's the height of summer now. If the mountain is burned, how can the fire be contained? The mountain is completely devastated, which is against the harmony of nature."

Prince De didn't care: "Isn't man-made disaster much more important than natural peace? Let it burn."

"But the people living nearby depend on the mountains for their livelihood. What will they do if the forest is hit by a fire?"

Prince De choked and said unhappily: "The government will naturally arrange compensation for them."

"The mountains around Baoqing Prefecture are continuous. If a fire breaks out, several mountaintops will be burned down." Zhong Yansheng looked at Prince De seriously and said slowly, "There are tens of thousands of people in that area. Can the government support them forever? What if the mountain fire spreads to the foot of the mountain and hurts innocent people?"

Prince De was furious: "You... Fine! Then tell me, what solution do you have?!"

Zhong Yansheng shrank back and said honestly: "I didn't."

King De began to sneer again: "Since there is no solution, why are you still talking so much? What's wrong with setting fire to the mountain? Duke Wen of Jin also set fire to the mountain to invite Jie Zitui! Who dares to say anything more?"

Zhong Yansheng couldn't help but raise his head again when he heard this, and whispered: "But there is actually no record of setting fire to the mountain in the "Records of the Grand Historian" and "Zuo Zhuan"..."

"you!"

Seeing that Zhong Yansheng had made Prince De speechless, Xiao Nong raised the corner of his mouth and almost laughed.

This little thing seemed to have made some progress after staying with him for a while.

He was very tongue-tied in front of him and would blush with shame if he made a joke. But now he is quite talkative in front of others and his words are quite logical.

"Old Five."

The old emperor watched them argue for a while without saying a word, then interrupted the aggressive Prince De with a smile and sighed, "Your temper is always so impulsive and impatient, not as calm and steady as Little Eleven. How can I trust you to leave things to you?"

Prince De was stunned for a moment, then he realized that the old emperor's tone clearly showed that he was ready to give the important task to him from the beginning, but after he said a lot of words just now, he began to hesitate.

Prince De didn't dare to say anything more. His face turned green and red for a while. He bowed his head and admitted his mistake: "Yes, I am also anxious to share my father's worries. I will definitely think more and learn from my eleventh brother to think twice before acting."

The latter sentence was said with gritted teeth, with great reluctance.

Zhong Yansheng had a strange feeling.

The old emperor had previously led him to say those words in front of Xiao Nong. Could it be that he is now deliberately trying to cause a conflict between him and Prince De?

Why?

Zhong Yansheng was puzzled.

The person to be sent to suppress the bandits had not yet been chosen, but from what the old emperor had just said, he was quite fond of Prince De. Everyone had different thoughts, and when they saw that His Majesty looked tired, they dispersed in twos and threes.

Xiao Nong glanced at Zhong Yansheng who was sitting obediently next to the old emperor, and looked at him quickly before turning back and leaving the emperor's study.

Zhong Yansheng felt lost.

I wonder when I can see Xiao Nong again?

He didn't even have the chance to ask Xiao Nong if he was angry with him or if he would be willing to care about him in the future.

And how is the situation in the palace? How are Uncle Wang, Taxue, Zhan Rong, and the group of secret guards who like to secretly watch him...

It was easy to tell that he was worried. Just as these thoughts came to his mind, the old emperor's voice came over. It was very gentle, as if he was very satisfied with what he had just said: "Little Eleven, what are you thinking about?"

Zhong Yansheng realized that he and the old emperor were the only ones left in the study again, and the discomfort began to creep in again. But when he remembered what he had asked Tian Xi yesterday, he raised his black and white eyes and met the old emperor's deep eyes: "Your Majesty, I want to..."

I want to go see Concubine Zhuang.

Before he could finish his words, Zhong Yansheng suddenly realized something.

Yesterday, when Tian Xi told him where Concubine Zhuang lived, he also revealed that "it's desolate over there, there's no one there on weekdays, it's suitable for the Concubine to recuperate." Was it unintentional or did he say that on purpose?

The old emperor never mentioned Concubine Zhuang, and he certainly didn't want him to mention it. If he asked, he might be asking the old emperor to tighten the supervision of Concubine Zhuang.

If you want to see Concubine Zhuang who is said to be crazy, it would probably be safer to go there secretly.

Zhong Yansheng's heart was beating fast, and he didn't know if what he was thinking was right, but he felt that he was very smart recently.

If Xiao Nong knew that he was so smart now, he would definitely not call him stupid.

Facing the old emperor's gloomy eyes, Zhong Yansheng whispered, "I want to... take a rest for a while."

His beautiful and delicate features seemed a little haggard, his complexion was pale, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He looked very tired indeed.

In fact, Zhong Yansheng was really sleepy. The ministers had just spoken a lot of long and tedious words. If he had not heard the rhythmic sound of Xiao Nong's fingers tapping on the armrest not far away, he would have almost fallen asleep while sitting.

The old emperor stared at him for a while, as if trying to determine whether his words were true or false, but Zhong Yansheng's eyes were clear without any haze, and there was no sign of lying.

These eyes...

It really looks like.....

The old emperor showed a loving smile, reached out to touch Zhong Yansheng's head, and rubbed his skinny fingers across the hairy top of his head. Instead of giving Zhong Yansheng the same sense of security as Xiao Nong did, it made Zhong Yansheng feel creepy.

"Go ahead."

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