novelhk Chapter 105 Sibling Conversation
Chapter 105 Sibling Conversation
Chapter 105 Sibling Conversation
"Brother Zhao!" Wang You bowed respectfully.
"Ziqian".
Zhao Sheng stood up, pulled Wang You aside, and said with a smile, "Sit down and let's talk."
As soon as Wang You sat down, he saw Princess Jiacheng take out a jade lock and was about to hang it around Mu Jie'er's neck.
Locks symbolize peace, protection, longevity, and good health.
Generally, when a child is born, if the family is well-off, the parents will have a silver, gold, or jade lock specially made.
Some elders give locks as gifts when they meet children.
Wang You couldn't discern the jade lock's true value, but judging by the quality of the jade, he knew it wasn't cheap. He quickly said, "Thank you, Ninth Miss, but this jade lock is too precious; we cannot accept it!"
Although Mu Jie'er was still young, she was very sensible. Upon hearing this, she immediately took two steps back and said, "Sister Jiacheng, I can't accept this jade lock."
Jia Cheng glanced at Wang You with displeasure and said, "This is a gift for Sister Mu. She clearly liked it just now."
"Ziqian, my sister wants to give it to you, so don't refuse. It's just a jade lock."
Zhao Sheng stopped Wang You and tried to persuade him.
"Here, Sister Mu, let me put this on for you," Princess Jiacheng said with a smile.
Mu Jie'er didn't say anything upon hearing this, but looked at Wang You.
Wang You had no choice but to nod.
Seeing this, Mu Jie'er stepped forward and let Princess Jiacheng put it on for her.
"Ziqian, let them talk here, we'll go to the outer room to talk," Zhao Sheng said.
Wang You nodded upon hearing this and followed Zhao Sheng to the outer room.
"You all go outside and keep watch."
Zhao Sheng waved his hand and spoke to the attendants waiting outside.
Seeing Wang You nod, Shi Tou followed Zhao Sheng's attendants out.
"Ziqian, a few days ago the Emperor chose the Prince of Yong and the Prince of Yan as candidates for Crown Prince. Now everyone in Bianjing is discussing which of the two princes is more suitable to be the Crown Prince. What do you think about this?" Zhao Sheng asked.
"How can we discuss matters of the court, especially one involving the selection of an heir? Brother Zhao, you've really put me in a difficult position," Wang You said, shaking his head.
Although the emperor did not compromise in the face of pressure from his officials, it is an undeniable fact that he had no son and the court was in turmoil.
Even if the emperor was unwilling, he knew that if the matter did not come to a conclusion, the court officials would not give up.
Therefore, a few days after the officials forced the emperor to abdicate, the emperor issued an edict ordering the Imperial Clan Court and several ministers to jointly select a suitable candidate from among the imperial clan members.
If it were handled by one or two people, it would be fine.
Even if opinions differ, it is possible to reach a consensus after discussion.
However, problems arose when the emperor assigned the Imperial Clan Court and several prime ministers to take charge of the matter together.
Choosing an adoptee is actually quite simple; it's based on blood relation.
The current emperor has no sons and is the youngest among his brothers, whose older brothers have all died. Therefore, the throne has fallen to the emperor.
In other words, the emperor not only had no sons, but also no nephews.
In terms of blood relation, the only option is to choose from the descendants of the late emperor's brothers.
Whether driven by public or private motives, it becomes difficult to reach a consensus once the number of participants becomes large.
After a selection process, three candidates were chosen.
These three men were all grandsons of officials, and it's not necessarily true that they were particularly virtuous.
After all, the Song Dynasty's imperial family members were not allowed to hold real power, so it was difficult to judge their abilities.
These three people are simply close by blood.
The debate raged on and on, and no consensus was reached. In the end, they simply reported all three candidates to the emperor.
The original intention was to have the emperor choose one of them to be adopted.
However, after seeing the three candidates selected, the Emperor considered the matter and eliminated one of them, leaving him undecided between the Prince of Yong and the Prince of Yan.
Ultimately, the emperor announced that both men would be included as candidates, allowing them to participate in government affairs, and selecting the best candidates.
The officials naturally disagreed.
Even if these two were just princes, or even the sons of the emperor, they shouldn't do this.
Since ancient times, if an emperor has not established an heir for a long time, all the officials will keep submitting memorials to request that an heir be established.
The main purpose of doing this was to establish official status as soon as possible, so that the princes and ministers would not have any improper thoughts.
This is more conducive to the stability of the imperial court.
The Emperor allowed the two candidates to participate in court affairs. Wasn't this forcing them to win over officials in the court?
If this were to be done, many officials in the court would inevitably take sides and support one of them.
After all, this means there's a 50% chance of winning, which is a very high probability.
Han Zhang and others immediately objected, believing that this was a path to chaos.
But the Emperor's attitude was firm, saying that he had already asked them to screen the candidates, and it was they who could not make a decision.
If so many of you are hesitant, then I am even more hesitant.
If I had a son, I would naturally choose the eldest son of the legitimate wife. But since this is an adoption, for the sake of the Song Dynasty, I must choose a virtuous person to adopt.
It's hard to say who is more virtuous between the two; we can only judge who is more suitable by observing their performance.
If you disagree, then you might as well choose one for me.
Upon hearing this, Han Zhang and the others immediately fell silent.
In fact, the reason they did not directly select a specific candidate was not only due to disagreements, but also because they had concerns.
Previously, the emperor questioned them in court whether they intended to force the emperor to abdicate. Now, they are being asked to choose a successor, and if they decide on the choice directly, what will the people say about them?
The most appropriate course of action would be to select a few candidates and let the officials choose.
Although the emperor kept saying that it was difficult to make a decision, Han Zhang and the others were not stupid and naturally understood that the emperor was trying to delay the process.
If they had known from the beginning that the emperor would do this, they would have put aside their concerns, decided on the candidates directly, and then reported to the emperor.
But they had already reported the three men to the emperor, who said he couldn't make a decision, and kept saying it was for the sake of the country.
If we were to discuss who is more suitable now, what would the world think of them if word got out?
Others would only think they were trying to force the emperor to abdicate, and that the selection of three people for the emperor to choose from was just a pretext.
The officials did not choose according to their wishes, which led to their dissatisfaction.
Considering that the government has already yielded and is unwilling to push too hard,
Although having two candidates for crown prince could easily lead to infighting in the court, officials are unlikely to take sides easily in the short term.
Therefore, they had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
Their thinking was simple: didn't the government say that it was difficult to make a decision?
Once the two individuals have engaged in court affairs and demonstrated their abilities, they can submit a memorial for the emperor to choose from.
And so, the strange thing about the two candidates for crown prince began.
The news did not cause much of a stir after it spread.
There is a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, and an order of seniority.
If the official had a son, this would definitely not be allowed.
Since neither of them are the sons of the emperor, it is not appropriate to consider them as legitimate sons or eldest sons.
Testing their abilities and character before making a decision is not a problem for many people.
Although there is no opposition from the common people, the debate over whether the Prince of Yong or the Prince of Yan is more suitable to be the crown prince has become the hottest topic in Bianjing.
Wang You knew very well that the Prince of Yong and the Prince of Yan had played a significant role in this.
To be honest, it's very difficult to tell who is virtuous and who is not.
People are good at pretending, and in order to secure the position of crown prince, the two of them naturally had to do their best to show their virtuous side.
Therefore, whether they are virtuous or not is no longer related to their performance.
As long as no one does anything reckless, whether the two are virtuous or not depends on public opinion.
If most people praise the Prince of Yong as more virtuous than the Prince of Chong, then even if he is not virtuous, he is still virtuous.
vice versa.
"Brother Zhao, serving the country with utmost loyalty is a subject's duty. Whoever His Majesty chooses as the crown prince, we will serve him. We should prioritize His Majesty's choice and not consider anything else," Wang You said, shaking his head.
"Ziqian is absolutely right, but what if this matter concerns me?" Zhao Sheng countered.
"Is it related to Brother Zhao?"
Wang You feigned surprise and asked, "Could it be that Brother Zhao is a member of the imperial family, a son of the two princes?"
"That's right!"
Zhao Sheng nodded and said, "My father is the Prince of Yong!"
"impossible!"
Wang You asked incredulously, "If you are the son of the Prince of Yong, why would you participate in the prodigy examination?"
"Members of the imperial family are not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations or the examinations for child prodigies, including those established by the imperial court."
I can't even hold a substantive position. I don't want to just coast along and wait to die, but as a member of the imperial family, I have no choice.
Participating in the prodigy exam was also a way to experience the atmosphere of the imperial examination system.
"It's only because the imperial examination system was so rigorous that I would have liked to try taking it myself," Zhao Sheng said with a self-deprecating laugh.
Wang You still looked incredulous upon hearing this.
"I don't have many friends, but I get along very well with you. I didn't want to tell you my real identity, but if I keep lying to you like this, you might find out in the future and we won't even be able to be friends anymore."
Zhao Sheng stood up and bowed respectfully: "I did not intend to conceal this before, and I hope Ziqian will forgive me!"
"Your Highness is too kind!"
Wang You snapped out of his daze and quickly stood up to return the greeting.
"Now that Ziqian knows my identity, will he keep his distance from me?" Zhao Sheng asked.
"this--"
Wang You hesitated upon hearing this.
"Never mind, I know my identity is sensitive."
Zhao Sheng looked disappointed, but pretended to be nonchalant and said, "I will remember this rare friendship."
"I don't know any Prince Yong's heir, I only know Brother Zhao!" Wang You suddenly said.
Zhao Sheng was taken aback at first, then a smile appeared on his face.
"This lacquerware looks to be of very ordinary workmanship. Next time we meet, bring a few from home to give to Sister Mu."
Inside the carriage, Zhao Sheng saw his younger sister holding the lacquerware given to him by Mu Jie'er, looking very pleased with it, and said to her.
It wasn't that he was disgusted, but rather that he felt that children would naturally choose things they liked when giving gifts.
Since Sister Mu gave lacquerware to Princess Jiacheng, it means that she herself liked it very much.
"What do you know? This is Mu Jie'er's kind gesture. If I return the gift with lacquerware, wouldn't that be telling her that I dislike her present?" Princess Jiacheng rolled her eyes at him.
Zhao Sheng looked at his sister in surprise upon hearing this.
"What kind of look is that?" Princess Jiacheng said irritably.
"When did you become so concerned about other people's feelings?"
Zhao Sheng said in surprise, "I didn't think of any of those things you just mentioned."
"That's because you're stupid. And how could I not care about other people's feelings?"
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Princess Jiacheng said with embarrassment and annoyance, "You make it sound like I'm being unreasonable and willful."
"Aren't you being spoiled and willful?"
Zhao Sheng muttered to himself, but he didn't dare say it aloud.
"Little sister, I'm curious, why do you like being with Mu-jie so much?"
Zhao Sheng asked doubtfully, "You two are quite far apart in age, so you shouldn't have anything in common to talk about."
"And what about you?"
Princess Jiacheng countered, "That young man from the Wang family is several years younger than you, didn't you have a very pleasant chat with him?"
"That's different."
Zhao Sheng shook his head and said, "Although Ziqian is young, he is very knowledgeable and has interesting views on some things."
"Although Mu Jie'er is young, she is very interesting. I don't know how to describe her, but I like her very much."
Princess Jiacheng was still young and didn't know how to describe that feeling.
Actually, the reason she liked Mu Jie'er was quite simple, largely due to Mu Jie'er's social status.
Although members of the imperial clan are not allowed to have contact with court officials, this restriction is not significant for younger members, especially since she is a woman.
Although the Prince of Yong was only a county prince before, he had no real power, and the officials in the court did not pay much attention to him.
After all, members of the royal family will never gain real power; they only need to maintain superficial formalities.
But the younger generation didn't understand these things; they only knew that their families instructed them to be polite and courteous when facing members of the imperial clan, and to keep their distance.
Therefore, the daughters of noble and official families that Princess Jiacheng came into contact with all kept their distance from her.
Few members of the royal family could get along with her.
Prince Chong was one of the few members of the imperial clan closest to the emperor's bloodline, and held a very high position within the clan.
She had a bad relationship with someone of similar status.
Those of lower status than her were extremely respectful in her presence.
Because Mu Jie'er is young, she doesn't have those complicated thoughts, which is why she likes Mu Jie'er.
She had met some girls around the same age as Mu Jie'er.
Although those people were young, they were well-behaved like little adults due to their upbringing at home, unlike Mu Jie'er who was so lively.
"Did you confront him?" Princess Jiacheng asked.
They are siblings born of the same mother. Despite her harsh tone towards Zhao Sheng, their relationship is actually quite good.
When Zhao Sheng ran into Wang You last time, he gave her a meaningful look, telling her not to reveal her identity.
When she got back, she asked Zhao Sheng, who recounted how they met and told her to keep her identity a secret whenever they met again.
The reason Zhao Sheng is revealing his hand today is because of the reminder from the County Magistrate of Jiacheng.
If their father hadn't become one of the candidates for crown prince, it wouldn't have mattered if their identities had remained hidden.
But now their father has become one of the candidates for crown prince, and countless eyes in the court are watching them.
Rather than waiting until they meet someone who knows them and their identities are exposed when they are with Wang You later, it is better to reveal their identities themselves.
"Um."
Zhao Sheng nodded and said, "He said he doesn't care what my identity is, he only knows the Brother Zhao from back then."
After a moment's thought, the county magistrate of Jiacheng reminded him, "Be careful when you interact with him in the future."
"Um?"
Zhao Sheng frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Literally."
The Princess of Jiacheng said calmly, "Just because he says he doesn't care about your status, does that mean he can really not care?"
The King and his uncle, the Prince of Yan, have not yet clashed, but what will happen later?
You are the Crown Prince of Yong, you must know what that means, right?
If he were truly as intelligent as you say, he couldn't possibly have overlooked these things.
"impossible."
Zhao Sheng shook his head and said, "Ziqian isn't that kind of person."
Princess Jiacheng sighed and said, "I didn't say he was that kind of person. I was just reminding you not to mention the struggle for the throne when you talk to him."
"I'm telling you to be careful, is that all I mean? Do I really have to spell it out?"
"My sister is so smart. If you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have realized it at all," Zhao Sheng said with a smile.