Princess Promotion

Chapter 213: Instead of watching the show, I was watched

Yao Chuguang asked calmly, "Yu Zhijian, have you ever heard of a thousand-mile dam being breached by an ant hole?"

Yu Zhijian understood immediately and was able to draw inferences: "Your Majesty means that the Duke is like this dam, and Cao Shijin is the termite that sucks the Duke's blood."

Yao Chuguang looked into the distance and said, "My uncle is the dam of Qi. If he falls, half of Qi will collapse."

"Cao Shijin doesn't have much brains, but he has ambitions that don't match his intelligence. This is his most fatal point."

Yao Chuguang pointed to the chair next to him and motioned for Yu Zhijian to sit down as well. "You and I both know that Cao Shijin is not up to the task. My uncle is a reasonable man and will not allow him to abuse his power for personal gain. Cao Shijin can only watch helplessly as he gets so close to power, yet is unable to take any further steps."

This is how people are. If something is out of reach from beginning to end, or even never seen, they will not have too many desires.

Yao Chuguang gave Yu Zhijian an example and said, "Imagine this: if Cao Shijin watched year after year as any of his uncle's attendants, whom he once looked down upon, became fifth-rank generals, while he himself achieved nothing, it would be enough for his uncle to just give him a little bit of what he had."

Yao Chuguang looked at Yu Zhijian calmly and asked, "Do you think that if this continues for a long time, Cao Shijin will resent his uncle for being so unkind to him, and will he harbor resentment?"

Yu Zhijian really wanted to say that we cannot make a final conclusion on something that has not happened.

But at the same time, he has seen too many cases of gratitude and resentment.

Yu Zhijian once handled a case like this. The two families were originally neighbors. One family met with misfortune and the man died, leaving behind an orphan and a widow.

The neighbor was kind-hearted and took care of the mother and child next door with food for many years. Year after year, the child next door grew up.

The neighbor's new daughter-in-law said that the people next door had hands and feet and he refused to help his neighbors anymore.

No one is well off these days. Even if your neighbors are doing well, they cannot always help you unconditionally.

The neighbor agreed and stopped helping his neighbor next door.

Unexpectedly, this directly cost the life of the daughter-in-law.

The murderer was the child who had been taken care of by the neighbors for many years. The child killed people just because the neighbors no longer supported them.

Yu Zhijian still remembers asking the murderer why he killed people.

The murderer said as if it was a matter of course: "They can eat meat every day, but our family is so poor that we can't even afford to eat. Now we are even running out of the two bags of food we get every month. Isn't this going to make us starve to death?"

"Two bags of food are a drop in the bucket for their family, but they are life-saving food for our family."

Although this case is a very extreme example among the many cases handled by Yu Zhijian.

But we have to admit that there are many similar things.

Yao Chuguang looked at Yu Zhijian who was lost in thought, slowly stood up and poured two cups of tea.

She gently handed one of the cups to Yu Zhijian and said, "Let's assume that if someone with ulterior motives realized that Cao Shijin harbored resentment towards my uncle, would they take advantage of him?"

Yao Chuguang paused and said, "These people may have been on good terms with Cao Shijin, offering him help from time to time to earn his trust. And when the critical moment arrives, they promise Cao Shijin high positions and generous salaries. Do you think Cao Shijin will choose to betray him?"

Yu Zhijian hesitated for a moment, then asked in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I'm sure you spoke frankly to me about Cao Shijin's situation not just to eliminate potential dangers for the Duke. Could it be that Your Majesty suspects there's someone else behind Cao Shijin's scheme?"

Yao Chuguang said slowly, "You react quite quickly."

Yu Zhijian curled his lips. If you want him to investigate, just tell him directly. Why go through so much preparation?

Yao Chuguang pointed at the list in Yu Zhijian's hand and said, "Before the rumor spread, the secret guards didn't even get a whistle on it, and they couldn't find the source of the rumor. Cao Shijin certainly doesn't have the ability to do it so perfectly."

"This shows that those in the dark are very wary of the secret guards. I don't want to alert them, so I can't use the secret guards. You have to investigate."

Yao Chuguang paused for two seconds, then added slowly, "Just check who's been close to Cao Shijin, but whose names aren't listed here."

Yu Zhijian stood up to accept the order and was about to leave.

Eunuch Feng hurried in and said, "Your Majesty, something bad has happened!"

Yao Chuguang asked concisely, "What's the matter?"

Eunuch Feng: "The clan members have surrounded the palace gate, crying and wailing."

Yu Zhijian slowly retracted his left foot, which had been stretched out. It seemed that he would not be able to leave the palace for a while.

Yao Chuguang sneered, "You've come here to mourn my death. Go get my brothers."

Eunuch Feng quickly agreed: "I will go and summon the princes to the palace."

Yao Chuguang raised an eyebrow and said, "They don't need to come into the palace. Just let them discuss it among themselves and take turns to accompany the clan members at the palace gate. They will stay with them for as long as the clan members are making a fuss."

Eunuch Feng was stunned as to what this meant and was somewhat unsure of Yao Chuguang's intention.

But he still stepped back and followed Yao Chuguang's advice.

Eunuch Feng walked out of the imperial study quickly. After a few steps, he turned back and found that Yu Zhijian was following him.

Eunuch Feng asked doubtfully, "Master Yu, what are you doing following us?"

Yu Zhijian said frankly, "Eunuch Feng, didn't you just say that the clan members have surrounded the palace gate? If I still go through the main gate, won't they catch me red-handed?"

Eunuch Feng: …………

He thought Yu Zhijian would confront him head-on without any fear.

After a stick of incense, two eunuchs in formal attire came pushing a cart carrying food.

He slowly left from the side door of the palace, passing right under the eyes of his clan members.

It is no exaggeration to say that there is chaos at the palace gate right now.

From the elderly in their seventies and eighties to children of five or six years old.

They were all dressed in mourning and stood there crying and wailing.

Those who knew were causing trouble, while those who didn’t thought the empress had passed away and were mourning.

Only after making sure he was completely out of the sight of the clan members did Yu Zhijian breathe a sigh of relief and change out of his eunuch's clothes.

Eunuch Feng also changed out of his eunuch clothes and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

I never dreamed that one day I would leave the palace sneaking around like a thief.

Yu Zhijian returned the clothes to Eunuch Feng and bowed to say goodbye: "Thank you for your help, Eunuch Feng. I have some official business to attend to, so I will leave first."

So the two of them began to act separately.

The Second Prince's Residence

A breeze blew by. The Second Prince sat in the courtyard, holding a handful of millet in his hand, leisurely playing with his newly acquired thrush.

The thrush hops lightly around, occasionally making clear and melodious calls.

The staff member beside him complimented him, "Your Highness, this thrush has bright feathers and a clear song. It is truly a rare and exquisite bird."

After hearing this, the Second Prince raised his lips slightly, a smug look flashed in his eyes as he said, "Hahaha, you have good taste."

Seeing that the Second Prince was in a good mood, the staff took the opportunity to ask, "Your Highness seems to be in a very good mood today. I wonder if something happy happened to you?"

The Second Prince chuckled and said, "There's no happy event, but there's some fun to watch."

The staff pricked up their ears and asked, "What kind of fun is this?"

The Second Prince looked around and whispered, "I heard that just now, even the Emperor's uncle, who has been indifferent to worldly affairs for many years, was invited over and is blocking the palace gate to plead for mercy."

"Tsk, I heard that the clan members were crying, making a fuss, and even threatening to hang themselves at the palace gate. It was such a mess that the whole world was laughing at them." The second prince looked a little gloating.

He no longer has any hope of becoming emperor, but that doesn't stop him from feeling bad when he sees Yao Chuguang being humiliated.

The staff cooperated by pretending to be surprised, and even said that this was making a fool of His Majesty.

As the saying goes, family disgrace should not be made public, and now the royal family members' misdeeds are known to the whole world.

Yao Chuguang has a heart as hard as stone, cold and ruthless, and even indifferent to blood relatives.

"If I wasn't afraid of my sister's anger, I would really like to move a stool over to watch the fun." The second prince expressed regret.

As soon as he finished speaking, a servant from the mansion hurried in to report: "Your Highness, someone has arrived from the palace."

The Second Prince's hands began to tremble involuntarily, and the grains in his hands fell to the ground.

The grains of millet fell to the ground, making a crisp sound in the silent air.

The staff saw the Second Prince's body begin to stagger, and hurried forward to support him, crying out in pain, "Prince! Prince, are you okay?"

The Second Prince's eyes widened, he turned his head stiffly and met the eyes of his aide, and instantly understood something.

His eyes rolled back and his body fell backwards.

The staff was just about to shout, "Call the imperial physician quickly, the prince has fainted."

As a result, the staff just opened his voice and shouted: "Oh no! Your Majesty..."

"Stop pretending, Second Brother!" A clear young voice interrupted the staff's crying.

An eighteen-year-old boy, wearing Fang Shengwen's round-necked robe, a hair crown, and a black headband.

The third prince walked in on his own and pushed the second prince who was leaning on his staff and pretending to be unconscious.

Seeing that the Second Prince still had his eyes closed, he remained unmoved.

The Third Prince sighed helplessly and said, "Second Brother, I just used this trick. Eunuch Feng said that His Majesty has ordered that your body must be carried over even if you are dead."

The Second Prince opened his eyes instantly, stood up calmly, dusted himself off, and asked, "Why are you here?"

The Third Prince pointed behind him and said, "Not only me, but even my Fifth Prince has been brought here."

The Second Prince then saw a young boy of about fifteen or sixteen, wiping his tears pitifully and walking towards him while holding onto Eunuch Feng's sleeve.

As the Fifth Prince walked, his voice trembling, he said, "Eunuch Feng, I'm not even old enough to participate in government affairs. Can you please let me go?"

It's so heartbreaking that it makes people want to cry when watching it.

The last time Yao Chuguang summoned them, he let Li Yinhan beat them up without any explanation.

Since then, Yao Chuguang has left an indelible shadow in their hearts.

This time, they will not be killed to scare the monkeys. Instead, they will be taken to the palace gate and beaten to serve as a warning to others.

Let the clan members see that she can be so cruel even to her own brother, let alone those clan members who are not related to her at all.

When I thought of this possibility, the place where I was hit last time began to ache slightly.

The Third Prince's face also began to turn pale, the Second Prince began to tremble all over, and the Fifth Prince burst into tears.

Eunuch Feng had no idea what these people were thinking, so he could only helplessly appease them, "Your Highnesses, you are worrying too much. His Majesty only said that you should go to the palace gate to accompany the clan members, and you don't have to do anything else."

The Second Prince was about to believe it and asked, "Just wait at the palace gate?"

Eunuch Feng nodded hurriedly and said, "Yes, we can't deceive the princes."

The Second Prince, the Third Prince, the Fifth Prince: It’s hard to say.

Seeing that the princes had calmed down, Eunuch Feng breathed a sigh of relief and said, "His Majesty said that you don't all have to go. You can discuss it among yourselves. Whoever goes first will take over when they get tired."

The Third Prince immediately turned around and looked at the Second Prince affectionately, saying, "Second brother, you know me well. I'm not in good health, and you have always been my role model."

The Fifth Prince blinked his big watery eyes and looked at the Second Prince with admiration, saying, "Second brother, I was still young, and you have always loved me the most."

The Second Prince took a deep breath, held the Third Prince's hand with his left hand, and held the Fifth Prince's hand with his right hand, and said with a look of emotion: "Good brother!"

Then the Second Prince looked at Eunuch Feng with a determined look and said, "The three of us brothers will go together without taking turns."

Then he turned around and looked at the Third Prince and the Fifth Prince with a loving face.

What are brothers used for?

That means we don’t ask to be born on the same day of the same month of the same year, but we ask to die before our brothers.

In this way, the three of them got into the carriage hand in hand.

Being in the royal family, being friendly and respectful to brothers is a joke.

When the retired emperor was in power, we only maintained a superficial friendly relationship in order to please him.

Now that their sister is on the throne, who are they performing for?

Show Yao Chuguang and know that they are united and friendly?

I'm afraid I'll die faster.

The Second Prince absolutely believed that if he agreed to take turns going to the palace gate.

His good third and fifth brothers packed up their bags and ran away.

Anyway, Yao Chuguang only asked one of the three of them to be at the palace gate, but he didn't say that all three of them had to appear at the palace gate.

In other words, as long as you can trick one of them into guarding the palace gate, it doesn't matter whether the other two go or not.

The Second Prince didn't want to trick one of the two into going first.

But now it seems that the three of them know the truth, so they can only go together.

A quarter of an hour later, the carriage slowly stopped at the palace gate.

The original noisy crying and wailing stopped instantly, and without lifting the car curtains, one could hear the subtle sound of the breeze blowing the leaves outside.

The Second Prince, the Third Prince, and the Fifth Prince sat motionless in the carriage, like petrified sculptures.

Eunuch Feng cleared his throat, walked to the side of the carriage and shouted, "The Second Prince, the Third Prince, and the Fifth Prince are here!"

The three people in the carriage closed their eyes in despair at the same time.

The second prince's eyes were empty and dim as he sat on a small stool.

Looking at his third great uncle, the wrinkles on his face were so deep that they could squeeze the tears into several strands.

While leaning on a crutch, she hugged the second prince and cried bitterly.

Third Uncle: "That's my Liu'er's only child. Your Majesty is going to make my Liu'er extinct!"

Second Prince·······

Seventh uncle: "My son is dead, and I don't want to live anymore."

The Third Prince...

Aunt: "That's my son-in-law. If he dies, my daughter will become a widow. But she's your cousin!"

The Fifth Prince said timidly, "How about you, Aunt, go and ask Father to persuade His Majesty?"

As soon as the words came out, the surroundings instantly became dead silent.

The eyes of the Second Prince and the Third Prince instantly lit up.

Yes!

Their father is still alive!

No one present here is more miserable than the emperor!