The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 67: Heavenly Family Love 1
It was snowing outside. The prince sat in front of a blazing brazier, his eyes unfocused, and he sat there in a daze.

In the firelight, his face looked so pale.

The door curtain was lifted, and Zhao Tong, the eunuch in charge of Yuqing Palace, came in. He was stunned for a moment, then walked over quickly and silently, picked up the tea bowl on the table and said softly: "My lord, my lord, have a cup of hot tea."

The prince still sat there in a daze.

Zhao Tong hesitated for a moment and said, "The Second Prince and his men only relied on the weather to catch the Yik Zhao League off guard. When the other side reacts and finds that the Second Prince is alone in deep, they will definitely counterattack with all their strength! Let me say something taboo. The Second Prince was too complacent. He only led 3,000 cavalry to raid the Yik Zhao League royal court in such bad weather. The main force under the command of the Duke of Shan is the infantry, and they are also carrying food and supplies. In such weather conditions, it is difficult for them to support the Second Prince in an emergency."

The prince came back to his senses and slowly looked at him: "Go on."

Zhao Tong: "The Second Prince only defeated the Ikh Zhao League's royal guards. The main force of the Ikh Zhao League is still there, and together with the surrounding tribes, they can easily defeat the 3,000 elite cavalry of Yulin Town!"

The prince said nothing.

Zhao Tong: "The military report said that the Second Prince braved the snow and wind to hunt down several princes of the Yik Zhao League, which would distance him from the Ministry of the State of Shan Guo. As long as the people of the Yik Zhao League know this news."

The prince looked at him.

Zhao Tong: "Don't worry, Prince. Losing these 3,000 cavalry will not affect the war situation. The court will still retake the Hetao Plain."

The prince looked at him and still said nothing.

Zhao Tong: "How about I ask someone to invite General Li?"

The prince seemed not to understand his hint at all and asked, "Why did you invite General Li here?"

Zhao Tong was stunned: "This... Let General Li send someone to reveal the truth to the people of Yike Zhao League and kill the second prince with a borrowed knife."

The prince slammed the low table and said, "Bullshit! The Second Prince is my brother, how dare you, a slave, instigate me to kill my own brother and be blinded by greed! Who instructed you? Tell me!"

Zhao Tong's legs softened and he knelt down: "I will never dare to do that again! I said this purely for the sake of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and for the sake of Dashun. No, no one ordered me to do that."

The prince looked out the window and said softly, "You are also an old man in the palace, and you know the temper of the emperor. Don't ever say such things again, or I can't protect you. Do you understand?"

Zhao Tong replied: "Yes."

The prince waved his hand and said, "Go away. Let me be alone and have some peace and quiet."

Zhao Tong: "Prince"

The prince closed his eyes and ignored him.

Zhao Tong kowtowed, got up, bowed and walked out.

The prince suddenly opened his eyes, listened to Zhao Tong's footsteps, and heard the sound of the outer hall door closing. Then he stood up, slowly walked to the window, looked at the snowflakes falling outside, and looked at Zhao Tong's back gradually disappearing in the snow, with a cold light in his eyes!
With a "humph", he turned around and walked back to the recliner, then shouted, "Come on!"

A young eunuch came in in response.

The prince: "Get ready, I'm going to Kunning Palace."

The young eunuch was surprised: "It's snowing heavily outside."

The prince looked at him.

Young eunuch: "Yes." He ran out like the wind.

Before the prince's sedan chair arrived at Kunning Palace, the corridor of the main hall of Kunning Palace was already filled with eunuchs and palace maids waiting to welcome him.

In the heavy snow, a warm sedan chair carried by four people came towards this side.

The palace maids and eunuchs knelt down in a mass, "We kowtow to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

The warm sedan chair was carried straight into the hall, and then the prince's voice came: "Get up."

Everyone kowtowed again: "Thank you, Your Highness!" and stood up.

Four large pots of open fire made of sandalwood were burned early in the morning in the main hall, making it as warm as spring.

The warm sedan stopped outside the east warm room. Two palace maids opened the curtain and the prince came out wearing a thick fur cloak.

In the east warm room, the queen looked at the prince lovingly. The prince knelt down and said, "Your son pays respects to your mother."

The queen smiled lovingly: "The ground is cold, get up quickly!"

The prince kowtowed again, then stood up with a smile, took the tea bowl handed to him by the palace maid with both hands and presented it to the queen.

"Sit down, sit down."

The queen took the tea and took a sip, then put it down and looked at the prince: "Why are you here?"

The prince smiled and said, "Son, come and eat a bowl of Yuanxiao with your mother."

"well"

The queen looked at the two palace maids and said, "Ask the kitchen to prepare Yuanxiao."

The two maids withdrew.

The prince suppressed his smile and said, "Does the Queen Mother know about this too?"

The queen nodded.

The prince was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Father is testing me."

The queen asked in surprise, "What happened?"

The prince smiled bitterly and said, "I have known for a long time that Zhao Tong is my father's man." Then he told the queen about it.

The queen's expression changed several times, and finally she sighed and said softly: "He is such a person."

A moment of silence.

Queen: "If you win this battle, the Second Prince will win the trust and respect of the soldiers, and his reputation in the army will grow. Aren't you worried?"

The prince did not answer, but just smiled bitterly.

Queen: "Would you like to hear your mother's opinion?"

Prince: "Please enlighten me, mother."

Queen: "Your father is a man who values ​​his reputation very much. He is very reluctant to see the 'Xuanwu Gate Incident' happen again. As long as you don't make any mistakes, he will never take the initiative to depose you from the position of Crown Prince."

As he spoke, he picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, saying, "Your father is very scheming and suspicious. He relied on a coup to seize the throne, so it is impossible for him not to be on guard against the second prince. Just like this palace, the second prince must be surrounded by your father's people. He can be stripped clean with a single oral order! In addition, the troops stationed in the capital and the border troops in Jizhou Town and Shanhaiguan can really affect the change of imperial power. Do you understand?"

The prince nodded.

The Queen continued, "Whether it was letting the Second Prince provide disaster relief or lead the army, your father did not want to hone him or train him, but to correct people's hearts and calm rumors, to prove that he was a good emperor and win people's hearts."

The prince was stunned for a moment, and said, "In an imperial family, is there any affection between father and son?"

Queen: "Your father is not only an emperor, but also a father. His family affection must be balanced with imperial power. He must ensure that his position is not threatened before he will give away his few family affections."

The prince snorted, "He knows that I can't outlast him and can't threaten him, so he uses me to check and balance the other princes and train the future crown prince. But he is worried that I am not strong enough. He sent Li Hu, isn't he worried that Li Hu will rise quickly in a short time?"

The Queen looked at him and asked, "How do you know that there is no one from your father around Li Hu?"

The prince's face changed immediately.

Queen: "I don't know what your plan is, but don't challenge him unless it's absolutely necessary. I know your father too well. He feels not only guilty about you, but also has a father-son relationship. He also has a bottom line: 'What I give you is yours, and you can't take it away from me.'"

At this point, she was silent for a moment, "If your father really doesn't care about the father-son relationship and doesn't want to leave you any chance to survive, mother will help you."

The prince was startled: "Mother."

The Queen stood up and said, "Remember what mother said. You can use any means, but you cannot kill your own flesh and blood. This is your father's bottom line. Also, as soon as the second prince receives the victory report of taking over the Hetao Plain, you must immediately ask for merit for him in the name of the Crown Prince, and make him a king, preferably a royal prince."

The prince's eyes lit up. According to the royal ancestral precepts, a prince cannot leave the capital without reason after being crowned king. Confining him in the capital, allowing him to win over the hearts of the people under the emperor's nose and compete for power with the third and fourth brothers, would make the emperor suspicious and disgusted with him.

(End of this chapter)