Bastard's Counterattack [Rebirth]

"Your Highness! Stop!" Taifu Han was startled, and hurried forward to dissuade his grandson:

"Calm down, are you planning to give up now?"

"how is this possible?!"

The eldest prince categorically refuted, panting like a cow, standing in the mess like a trapped animal, closing his eyes and looking up, trembling in extreme pain: "For the position of crown prince, I have never slackened since I was sensible for more than 20 years, worked diligently and did my best ,Father obviously values ​​me very much, and has always favored and trusted me, even brother Xiang, who occupies the title of the first son in the middle palace, is not as good as me, but the third child is stubborn and irritable, and he was reprimanded by his father since he was a child, second only to Xiao Qi! , he actually became the prince? He trampled all the brothers under his feet?"

Taifu Han was also full of doubts, with a long face, allowing his grandson to lose his composure and pour out his anger.

"How do I accept this? How will I behave in the future?" The eldest prince grinned miserably, embarrassed and lost, and said with a sob: "Now that I think about it, it turns out that my father treated me the most! Of the nine princes, except for the eighth son who committed evil, Xiangdi sealed me. The king of Guangping, the third child is the prince, the fourth child is the king Rui, the fifth child is exquisite, the sixth child and the seventh child stay out of the way, and the ninth child is young and ignorant - only me! I am the only one who is stupid, working hard, trying to make progress, but ended up in a bamboo basket Shui’s end in vain is like a joke!”

"I, I'm just a joke right now!" The eldest prince felt so humiliated that his face was distorted and his resentment burst into the sky.

"Your Highness, please sit down, sit down, come, have a cup of tea and calm down." Taifu Han gently persuaded, always restraining his temper.

The eldest prince sat down weakly and raised his hand to cover his forehead. After the madness erupted, the pain remained the same without any reduction.

"It's just the prince. Before he ascended the throne, he can only be regarded as the prince." Taifu Han said lightly.

The eldest prince raised his head suddenly, full of expectation: "You mean...?"

"King Qing is by no means weak and incompetent. He is used to blood on the battlefield. Once he succeeds to the throne, we can imagine our days." Taifu Han's eyebrows trembled, and he analyzed carefully: "If you wait to die with nothing, then there is only one way. : We will lose all power and behave with our tails tucked between our legs. Especially since you have not yet been crowned king, with the personality of King Qing, there is a high probability that he will lock you up in the capital and not give you any land."

Thinking of the humble and desolate situation, the eldest prince who thinks highly of himself clenched his teeth, was terrified, shook his head and said: "No, no, I will never live that kind of life!"

"Since you don't want to, why don't you seize the last chance and give it a go?" Taifu Han said earnestly. He planned for most of his life, and his disappointment was never inferior to that of his grandson. Defeat, please think carefully."

"What else are you thinking about? I will never admit defeat until the last moment!"

"Okay!" Taifu Han praised him greatly, leaned over and probed, and taught carefully: "King Qing was canonized as the prince, and we are not the only ones who are not convinced. King Guangping must also have trouble sleeping and eating. For the time being, we can try to join forces. I'm sure, Your Majesty will definitely Seriously ill, and losing another battle in the Northwest, the above two things can be fully utilized."

"Hmph, retreating to pray for blessings is just an excuse, and it's true that the father concealed his illness and tried to ensure that the third child can ascend the throne smoothly." The eldest prince couldn't help sneering, and he went all out, urging with high spirits:

"It's about time, you always talk straight, think of a way as soon as possible, I will never rely on the breath of the third child to get by!"

"Don't worry, the old man has countermeasures."

The grandparents and grandchildren's spirits were high, and at the same time they turned their grief and anger into unwillingness, and they met and whispered to discuss.

Another two days, the eve of the Lantern Festival.

The house on Tai'an Street was bought, but it hasn't been renovated yet, and Rong's mansion is still in Dongcheng Lane.

"You just came back to eat and went out again?" Rong Kaiji couldn't help frowning.

"Well, I have to report the matter of food and grass to Your Highness in time." Rong Youtang put down his chopsticks, drank a cup of tea in a hurry, grabbed his cloak, shook it off and put it on, bowed his head and tied it, and said, "You should rest early, I will go to celebrate Prince's Mansion, oh no, it's the Prince's Mansion now."

"Fortunately, His Highness is an adult and left the palace to open the palace, otherwise you would have to enter the palace."

Rong Youtang forced a smile, much thinner.

"Hey, Tang'er..." Rong Kaiji hesitated to speak, feeling very embarrassed.

"Huh?" Rong Youtang raised his eyes: "Father, what's wrong?"

"After thinking about it, I think I should tell you!" Rong Kaiji made up his mind, closed the door, and whispered:

"You are busy with official business all day long, maybe you haven't heard of it, but we have listened to it with both ears. The rumors about the prince have become more and more outrageous recently!"

"Can you tell me?" Rong Youtang's expression darkened.

"Well, I don't know who made the rumor. There are mainly two kinds of theories. One is to accuse the prince of the country's unreliable fortune and disasters after he was established as the crown prince; the other is to simply question that His Majesty is seriously ill, and that King Qing is plotting to usurp the position of crown prince."

"It's all nonsense!" Rong Youtang couldn't hide his anger.

Rong Kaiji was very worried, and reminded: "In the past few days, I have been walking around the streets, listening to books and watching plays in restaurants and teahouses, especially teahouses. About four or five people gossip about every ten people. We know King Qing, oh No, prince! We know the prince well and believe that he is upright, but outsiders don’t know about it and spread rumors, which seriously damages the prince’s reputation. In the long run, it will be very bad.”

"okay, I get it."

Rong Youtang calmed down, took a deep breath, and said solemnly: "Father, don't go out alone, I don't worry."

"No, I usually take Lao Li and Dongzi with me." Rong Kaiji shook his head anxiously, and asked tentatively, "What? Is the capital city very uneasy recently? Are you... all okay?"

"It's good." Rong Youtang comforted vaguely: "I'm just worried that the streets will be crowded during the New Year's Eve. You should stay at home and be quiet."

"Be careful yourself, I'm a bad old man, I'll be fine."

"Besides, if someone from the Zhou family disturbs you, don't open the door, lest they mess around." Rong Youtang warned again.

"Don't worry about getting down to business, I'll take care of the housework." Rong Kaiji urged with a wave of his hand.

Only then did Rong Youtang feel relieved to go out: "Father, then I'm leaving."

in two quarters of an hour

"stop!"

"Master, what's the matter?" Zhang Dong hurriedly called the coachman to rein in his horse, and opened the curtain to ask.

Rong Youtang jumped off his robe, stood at the corner of the bustling city, and greeted his confidantes: "It's boring to drive, let's go, let's go shopping and see if there are any Xinqiao lanterns."

"Okay!" Zhang Dong didn't ask a word, calling for his companions to follow quickly and be vigilant for the guards.

After wandering around for more than half an hour, Rong's carriage stopped at the gate of Prince Qing's Mansion.

"Master, the Prince's Mansion is here." Zhang Dong told briskly, he carefully opened the curtain, looked at Rong Youtang who was hanging his head in thought, thought for a while, bowed in, and lowered his voice to comfort: "It's just a rumor in the market. , we ordinary people don’t pay attention, at most we eat and chew our tongues, and forget about it when we wake up from sleep. His Royal Highness is a noble man with great achievements in battle and a great reputation, and no one can shake his status. "

The head of the family has always supported King Qing, so Zhang Dong naturally had a clear stand. He was outraged and blurted out: "Tomorrow, you will send someone to the teahouse and restaurant to arrest those who maliciously slander the crown prince, and make an example of them, and see who dares to talk nonsense!"

That will only be distorted by the people behind the scenes to cover up, and the description will become darker and darker.

Rong Youtang sighed, and said with a wry smile: "This matter is not that simple." He cheered up, jumped off the carriage, climbed up the stairs, handed over the sign, and strode towards Prince Qing's study.

When he hurried to the corridor, he bumped into the three of Dingbeihou, his father and his son.

Rong Youtang paused, stepped forward quickly, cupped his hands neither humble nor overbearing, and said, "I pay my respects to the three adults."

"Please get up." Dingbeihou politely raised his hand to help.

"Thank you sir."

Guo Da scratched his head, restrained his anxiety and asked, "Why did you come to see Your Highness so late?"

Without waiting for his subordinate to explain, Guo Yuan asked, "How is your talk with Fu Wei?"

"The 70 stone grains that are scheduled to be allocated to the Northwest will be assigned to Jiangnan to raise 50. Fu Wei is responsible for escorting them. Currently, the grain team is resting near the capital. Mr. Fu said that the road is blocked by snow in the middle of winter, and it is difficult to move forward. I may not be able to deliver it at the end of the month. Arrive in the northwest, and ask the imperial court for mercy." Rong Youtang spoke quickly, he hesitated to speak, but he pondered for a while, and finally said nothing.

"Fu Wei is Taifu Han's favorite student." Guo Yuan pointed out calmly.

"But it's a fact that snowy roads are difficult, and it all depends on one's hard work." Dingbeihou said objectively.

"Food and grass are the guarantee for war. In my opinion—hey, forget it. You should go and report to His Highness so that he can have a better idea. We will discuss it tomorrow morning." Guo Da couldn't help but push Rong Youtang two steps forward. Whisper reveals:

"His Highness intends to go out in person!"

what?

Rong Youtang suddenly opened his eyes wide.

in no time

Zhao Zeyong, who was meditating alone in the study, heard two "Knock Knock~", followed by a familiar clear voice:

"Your Highness, Rong Youtang asks to see you."

Zhao Zeyong smiled: "Please."

With a "creak", Rong Youtang pushed the door open and entered, holding a tray in his hand.

"What is that?" Zhao Zeyong stood up, kneading his brows tiredly.

"Candles and wax scissors." Rong Youtang put the tray on the table, replaced the candles that were about to burn out, and cut off the wicks.

"Why did you take this job?" Zhao Zeyong raised his eyebrows in doubt.

"I met it by chance, so I just took it. I want to share the worry for His Highness." Rong Youtang turned his head to explain, and informed Fu Wei about the grain transportation.

"The mountain is blocked by heavy snow?" Zhao Zeyong stepped closer to the other party with a cold expression, and said in a low voice, "As soon as the news of the second defeat in the Northwest was reported, the imperial court ordered the delivery of food and grass to be delayed. What do the soldiers think? The consequences are unimaginable. In fact, the Beiman took advantage of the situation this time, and they probably knew that their father was seriously ill."

"It is indeed a problem."

Rong Youtang put down the wax scissors, and asked intently: "So, you decided to go out in person?"

Zhao Zeyong nodded slowly.

"Must go?"

"After many years of recuperation, the four tribes of the northern barbarians have joined forces to invade the south. It is difficult to resist. The soldiers in the northwest have tried their best, but they are still showing signs of defeat. The border cities are very critical. Moreover, the situation in the capital does not allow the situation to be stalemate, and a quick battle must be resolved." Zhao Ze Yong raised his hand to hold the opponent's shoulder, gently exerted force, and firmly said:

"This king can ignore his reputation for the time being, but he can't let his father's reputation be damaged. How can his appointed prince be irresponsible?"