Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 34 Liu Sanshi Returns

"This is a good thing, why should we dissuade it?" Concubine Zhu asked in confusion.

"Mother, my uncle is corrupt and commits illegal acts in the local area. Many people gave him gifts because of me, and he accepted them all. My father can pretend that he doesn't know when he is harming the area. But if he does the same thing when he arrives in Bianliang, the officials in the court will not care about me and will turn a blind eye." Zhao Xing said.

The Song Dynasty imposed lenient punishments on civil servants, which caused many disadvantages, but was not completely without benefits.

There has never been a shortage of officials in every dynasty who, when they get angry, dare to confront the emperor.

But most people, although upright, have concerns and are not so bold.

However, the punishment imposed on civil servants by the Song Dynasty was very low, which completely dispelled these people's concerns.

If Zhao Xing's uncle came to Bian Jing and still didn't know how to restrain himself, those people would write letters to impeach him regardless of whether he was Zhao Xing's uncle or not.

Not only will his father be caught in the middle, but if his uncle is really punished, Concubine Zhu will be sad.

Although he had no feelings for his uncle, Zhao Xing knew that his mother had deep feelings for this brother.

I don't want my mother to be sad because of this.

"what?"

Concubine Zhu was a little bit incredulous when she heard this and asked, "How could your uncle do such a thing?"

Although she was not isolated from the world in the palace, she was still very isolated from news from the outside world.

Her brother would never mention these things when he wrote to her, so naturally she didn't know what her brother was doing outside.

"Mother, would I lie to you about such a thing? If my uncle comes to Bian Jing, it will be the same as when he is in the countryside. Not only will my father be in trouble, but my reputation will also be affected because of my uncle." Zhao Xing said.

"Then wait until your uncle comes to Bian Jing, and I will try to persuade him then," said Concubine Zhu.

Seeing that his mother still wanted his uncle to come to Bian Jing, Zhao Xing hesitated for a moment and said nothing.

Never mind. It’s only natural for a mother to want to be closer to her family and see them occasionally.

At worst, I can wait for someone to come and think of a way to beat them up.

……

The next morning, Zhao Xing got up before dawn.

After getting up, he did not practice martial arts as usual. Today was New Year's Eve, and he needed to go to the Taimiao to worship with his father.

This has happened every year since Zhao Xing was over two years old.

New Year’s Eve is the last day of the year. People worship their ancestors and tell them about their merits and demerits of the year.

With the help of the palace maids, Zhao Xing put on the imperial prince's robes.

This kind of clothes is very gorgeous, but the sleeves are wide and very inconvenient.

It is only worn on important occasions such as offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestral temples.

Because Zhao Xing was not yet an adult, he did not wear the crown of a prince.

After packing up, he went to reunite with his father, the emperor and his mother, and the three of them walked to the Taimiao.

In ancient times, only men could enter the ancestral temple to worship their ancestors, while women could only wait outside the temple.

The royal family was even more strict. Only the emperor and the crown prince could enter the main hall of the Taimiao to worship. Zhao Xing was still a prince and could not enter, let alone Queen Cao.

When they arrived at the Taimiao, the Imperial Observatory was already prepared. The emperor went into the main hall to pay homage to the emperors of all dynasties, while Zhao Xing and Empress Cao knelt outside the hall and waited.

After the emperor finished paying homage, the two of them stood up and went to the side hall on the east to pay homage to the empresses and royal family members of all dynasties. Then they went to the side hall on the west to pay homage to the heroes of all dynasties.

At first, the Taimiao only enshrined the spirits of successive emperors. Later, fifteen side halls were built on each of its east and west sides. The east side was used to enshrine successive empresses and royal family members, while the west side was used to enshrine successive meritorious officials, which is commonly known as the Taimiao Peixiang.

After the memorial service, it was almost noon. He returned to Renming Hall, changed into casual clothes, and went to Zichen Hall to attend a family dinner.

On this day, all members of the royal family who are closely related to the emperor's family will enter the palace to attend the family banquet.

Although the emperor has only one son, Zhao Xing, he has two daughters and seven or eight nephews, all of whom are now princes.

Among them were Prince Yong and Prince Yan. Zhao Xing didn't take these two idiots seriously at all.

Even if it was Zhao Zongquan who became the emperor in the future, Zhao Xing didn't care.

If he doesn't die, these people will have no chance at all.

Everyone knows that the Song Dynasty valued civil officials over military officials, but few people noticed that the Song Dynasty was more cautious about the royal family. If the emphasis on civil officials over military officials was because the Song Dynasty learned from the Tang Dynasty's lesson of the feudal lords holding their own troops, then the precautions against the royal family were also a lesson learned from the Tang Dynasty.

The succession of thrones in the Tang Dynasty was almost always bloody.

Therefore, throughout the Song Dynasty, there were no military generals who commanded their own troops, nor was there any rebellion by royal family members.

As for Prince Yan's rebellion in the play, it was more because he was forced to do so.

He failed in his competition with Prince Yong for the position of crown prince. If Prince Yong succeeded to the throne, he would definitely not let him go, so he naturally had to give it a try.

Now, because of his existence, these people are no longer a threat, so there is nothing to worry about.

On the day after New Year's Eve, all civil and military officials would enter the palace to attend the grand court meeting and wish the emperor a happy new year, and noble ladies in Bianjing who had imperial edicts would also enter the palace to wish the empress a happy new year.

Lords and civil servants of the third rank and above could bring their children into the palace.

This was not only to show the emperor's grace, but also to examine the ability and character of the officials' children.

A few years ago, when Gu Tingye attended the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet with his father, he demonstrated his martial arts at the request of the emperor and asked for a reward from the emperor. He was awarded the red tassel spear by the emperor.

At noon, the officials and their children were entertained by the emperor at a banquet in the Jiying Hall of the Central Palace, while the female members of the family were entertained by the empress at a banquet in the Renming Hall.

In previous years, Zhao Xing always stayed in the harem with Empress Cao. This year, because the enthronement was not far away, the emperor brought him with him.

During the banquet, the emperor also selected some sons of military generals to present military skills, and sons of civil officials to present poetry.

Anyone who is chosen will be rewarded regardless of their performance.

On the contrary, the relationship between the emperor and his subjects was very harmonious.

……

On the seventh day after the New Year, various court agencies resumed work.

It is naturally impossible for the various government offices of the imperial court to rest until after the Lantern Festival like local officials did.

These had nothing to do with Zhao Xing. During the New Year period, he even asked his father to leave the palace twice and strolled around the city of Bianjing.

There were no accidents during these two times, allowing him to fully appreciate the prosperity of Bianliang.

As the most prosperous city in the world today, the permanent population in Bianjing has exceeded one million, and with the floating population, it has long been maintained at more than one and a half million.

This number is nothing in later generations, but in ancient times when there were no tall buildings, it was already terrifying.

Two days before the Lantern Festival, Liu Sanshi and Sheng Changbai arrived in Bian Jing.

The Sheng family has a house in Bian Jing and does not need Liu Sanshi to settle down there.

After arriving in Bian Jing, Liu Sanshi told Sheng Changbai not to go out for a few days and wait for being summoned, and then went back to the palace to report.

After Liu Sanshi returned to the palace, he first went to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to report his mission, and then went to see Eunuch Liu, presented him with the specialties he brought from Yangzhou, and told him about his trip to Yangzhou.

Then he went to see Zhao Xing.

When Zhao Xing learned that Liu Sanshi had returned, he had someone bring him in and sent everyone away.

"How's the thing I asked you to do going?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Your Highness, I have already reported this to Judge Sheng according to your instructions. Afterwards, I ordered people to closely monitor the Sheng family's movements." Liu Sanshi sounded a little nervous when he said this.

Zhao Xing only asked him to warn Sheng Hong, and did not ask him to monitor the situation of the Sheng family.

However, he felt that Zhao Xing must have some ulterior motive for doing this, so he took the initiative to order people to monitor the situation at the Sheng family.

"Oh?" Zhao Xing smiled and said, "Is there any movement from the Sheng family?"

"After Sheng Tongpan was beaten by my servant, he asked his wife to remove many servants who were serving the favorite concubine the next day." Liu Sanshi said.

"What else?" Zhao Xing asked.

Liu Sanshi was delighted when he heard this. Since Zhao Xing asked about it, it meant that Zhao Xing was indeed interested in these things. He had made the right bet.

Liu Sanshi suppressed his excitement and told everything he knew.

Thanks to Liang Huang for the reward.
Thanks to book friends 2021...0328, book friends 2022...8487, Lu Bu and Jie Tan for their monthly ticket support.

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(End of this chapter)