CH 121.2

Chapter 121.2 – Treats Me The Best

After he recovered from his illness, the Emperor regained control of the court in no time. He finally got some free time, and remembered that there was still a big source of worry in the north. He turned to Zhang Jian and asked, “Is there any news from the North recently?”

Zhang Jian misunderstood it for a moment and replied, “A few days ago, there was a message from the north saying that there will be heavy snowfall this winter, and there might be a snowstorm.”

The Emperor turned speechless for a while and didn’t say anything, and just kept staring at Zhang Jian.

Zhang Jian immediately reacted and patted his mouth, then quickly said with a flattering smile, “This Servant misunderstood. Your Majesty is asking about Rong, right? The spies sent two confidential reports, the Crown Prince sealed the first one again after reading it, while the one sent yesterday has not been opened yet.”

While he was speaking, Zhang Jian had already fetched the two confidential reports and placed them respectfully on the Emperor’s desk.

The Emperor gave him a sideways glance, then withdrew his gaze and began to open the letters. The first one he opened was naturally the one that the Crown Prince had read. The content was well written, but did not contain anything impressive. It was just a routine report, and the Emperor threw it aside after reading it.

But as soon as he opened the second confidential report, he was stunned just after reading the beginning. Afterwards, the Emperor who always looked like his expression would not change even if Mt. Tai collapsed, had his expressions change a few times.

Zhang Jian looked at the Emperor’s expression, then at the confidential report in his hand. He couldn’t help being curious about the content of the confidential report – what could’ve been written on it to make the Emperor care about it so much?

Just as he was thinking about it, he heard the Emperor suddenly burst out laughing, and everyone in the palace hall was immediately startled.

Zhang Jian was staring at the back of the confidential report, and couldn’t help being startled when he suddenly heard that sound. Fortunately, he had already developed the ability to conceal his emotions after accompanying the Emperor for so many years. He immediately smiled and said, “Your Majesty is so happy, is there good news?”

When the Emperor was overjoyed, he would not hesitate to share it with others. Zhang Jian’s question was presumptuous, but it was up to the Emperor whether he would say it or not. So, the Emperor never blamed Zhang Jian for saying too much, and was even willing to talk to him about many things.

This was also the case at this moment. The Emperor waved for the others to leave, but he smiled at Zhang Jian and said, “It is a good thing. The Emperor of Rong has fallen out with his Prime Minister. Now, his Left and Right Generals are leading their armies to fight against each other. One side is shouting that they’re punishing rebellious officials, while the other is saying that they’re removing corrupt officials from the Emperor’s side… Counting the days it took for this news to reach my hands, the fight in the Rong Capital should be in full swing by now.”

When he heard this, Zhang Jian also burst into joy and said, “That’s great, we should let those barbarians fight among themselves.”

The Emperor’s smile grew wider. He didn’t know all the details about Xie Yuan – for him, his opponent was the entirety of Rong. His previous plan for sowing discord was not just aimed at Xie Yuan, but also at weakening Rong State’s strength. Xie Yuan was a talented person, and with him assisting the Rong Emperor, it would be like adding wings to a tiger. That was why the Emperor focused on dealing with him first.

It’s just that his major illness before delayed him for too long, and there was no time to continue the follow-up measures. The Emperor thought that his previous plans would be in vain. Unexpectedly, he didn’t know what Xie Yuan was smoking, but the latter had his princess of a wife slashed to death!

It was no different from plotting rebellion. There was no need for the Emperor to do anything else, as it was impossible for the Rong Emperor to let Xie Yuan go.

Now, it was best to let them Emperor and officials fight each other. Not only would it consume Rong’s national strength, it would also completely destroy the cooperation between the Emperor and his Prime Minister. Without Xie Yuan’s planning, the newly established Rong State and the Rong Emperor would be much easier to deal with.

The Emperor put away the confidential report, and vaguely felt that there was something strange behind this matter. But since the situation was favorable for him, he didn’t want to think too much, and turned around to hand the confidential report to Zhang Jian, ordering, “Send it to the Eastern Palace for the Crown Prince to see, so he has something to feel happy about during his sickness.”

Zhang Jian smiled and quickly instructed someone to send the secret report to the Eastern Palace.

In the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince was seriously ill and bedridden. Even so, his diligence was unmatched – during his illness, he would still take time to take care about government affairs. But since he couldn’t read the reports himself, he simply asked the Eldest Grandson to read it to him in front of his bed.

In the past, it was the Crown Prince who would read to the Eldest Grandson and instruct him to write them down, but now, the Crown Prince had more expectations and patience towards his son, and was willing to teach him about governmental affairs in more details.

As the father and son taught and studied together, they grew closer to each other, and the atmosphere in front of the sickbed was actually warm and harmonious.

At this moment, the confidential report delivered by Zhang Jian’s messenger arrived. After receiving the confidential report, the Crown Prince read it over three times, but his expression was not of pure happiness like the Emperor. He knew more things and had more thoughts about it, and his expression became somewhat complicated for a while.

The Eldest Grandson couldn’t help becoming curious when he saw this. Now that his relationship with his father had improved, he carefully asked, “Royal Father, what is written on it?”

The Crown Prince thought for a while when he heard this, then handed over the confidential report to him. The Eldest Grandson still had just a shallow understanding of the national affairs. Right now, he hadn’t even finished studying about Liang’s domestic affairs, so he naturally hadn’t learned about other countries’ affairs. Hence, he was a bit confused after reading it.

He could see that there was internal turmoil in Rong, but he didn’t understand the Crown Prince’s attitude, so he asked even more carefully, “Royal Father, Liang and Rong has a feud. What’s bad if there’s an internal turmoil there?”

Of course, there was nothing bad. But the Crown Prince had a worry in his heart that was not easy to tell his son. He thought for a moment, then ordered for the confidential report to be sent to Qi Yang’s mansion. The Eldest Grandson became even more confused when he saw this.

In the end, the Crown Prince did not explain anything, and only gave a vague advice. “Ah Qi, your aunt Qi Yang is a trustworthy person, and her Prince Consort has unparalleled intelligence. But you should always remember to be cautious about your uncle.”

The Eldest Grandson became increasingly more confused as he listened, but he knew that his father especially instructed him this, so he obediently took note in his heart.

It’s just that in his heart, he always had a good impression of his thin and handsome uncle, who was amazing at archery. Good looking people always left an impression wherever they are, not to mention someone good looking and capable, and she was even praised by the Crown Prince as having unparalleled intelligence.

The Crown Prince might not know, but because of his instruction, the Eldest Grandson grew to pay even more attention to Lu Qipei. He was planning for his son’s future, but some worries were really unnecessary.

Author notes:

The Crown Prince guessed that it might have been Little Lu’s move. After all, he didn’t make a move, and his father didn’t have time to make a move. But he had no evidence, so he could only silently label Little Lu in his heart – as cunning, ruthless, and decisive.

Qi Yang (raising her hand): Royal Brother, you have too few labels. There’s also cute, obedient, and soft…

Lu Qipei (blushing): Your Highness, stop talking. Some things are enough as long as you know it yourself.

Crown Prince (expressionless): Royal Sister, are we talking about the same person? The filter1 is too thick!

Lu Qipei (spreading her hands helplessly): Look, no one would believe it if you say it.

Translator notes: