Chapter 518: Commanding Power
It is true that like uncle, like nephew!
He was just talking about 'my Zifang', but when he heard that I didn't agree to deal with the Niu family, without even asking the cause and effect, his face changed immediately!
With such cunning and such a narrow mind, he is definitely a hopeless person, and this is exactly why Sun Shaozong always wanted to keep a distance from him.
However, now that he is forced by the situation, he can only choose the lesser of two evils - at least compared to Prince Zhongshun, this useless prince is much easier to fool.
"Your Highness, please allow me to report."
Because before coming to the Prince's Mansion, Sun Shaozong had already prepared a response. When faced with the Prince's sudden change of color, he was not panicked at all. He just explained in a dignified manner: "Ever since Prince Beijing wrote a letter, the Niu family has been deserted by everyone in the court and the country. The trend of decline is a foregone conclusion. If we rush to take action now, it may give people a reason to criticize us..."
"Why should I be afraid of being criticized?"
The prince interrupted Sun Shaozong with a stern voice and said angrily: "It was my uncle who took the lead this time, so the blame cannot be put on me!"
Is there any need to blame it on you?
Sun Shaozong rolled his eyes and was about to analyze the current situation to him and make him understand the fact that the royalists would rise and fall together, but suddenly two light coughs were heard from behind the Four Seasons Screen.
“Ahem, ahem!”
It was obvious that the noise was deliberate. Sun Shaozong subconsciously stopped talking and glanced suspiciously behind the screen with the corner of his eye, but he could only vaguely see a graceful figure behind the screen.
When the prince heard the cough, he couldn't help but frown, but he didn't want to pay attention to it. He said in a deep voice: "Repeat your uncle's plan to me, I..."
"Your Highness."
Before the prince could finish his words, there was another noise behind the screen. This time, there was no need to cough. The princess called out directly, "I have something to report to Your Highness. Please excuse me for a moment."
The prince seemed very unhappy, but after hesitating for a while, he still obediently went behind the screen.
All that could be heard was the couple whispering behind the screen . At first, their voices were as rapid as a rat eating millet; I guess the Crown Prince was dissatisfied and was scolding them. Then, their voices became as quiet as a woodworm gnawing at wood; I guess it was the Crown Princess whispering in their ears, giving them instructions.
Not long after, the prince came out from behind the screen again, but his attitude was completely different from before. He took a few steps forward, bowed deeply to Sun Shaozong and said, "I lost my manners in a hurry just now, I hope you can forgive me."
Sun Shaozong dodged quickly and was about to bow and say "terrified" in return, but the crown prince reached out and held his wrist tightly, saying, "My dear, there is no need to say more. If Sixth Uncle dares to force anyone again, you can just blame me. The Niu family is just a dying scabby disease. How can I let my Zifang take the risk!"
This performance...
If you evaluate it individually, it is still above the passing line, but if you look at it in the context, the change is too abrupt.
Needless to say, this must be the result of the Crown Princess's mediation.
Considering the Crown Princess's kindness and virtuous character, it would be a real waste for her to marry him!
Sun Shaozong sighed secretly in his heart, but forced a look of gratitude on his face, and said excitedly: "Your Highness is so considerate, I really... I really have no way to repay you..."
"My dear!"
Although the prince's acting skills were poor, he was quickly brought into the mood. He exerted great strength on Sun Shaozong's wrist and said emotionally: "As long as you live up to my high expectations in the future, I will definitely not let you down!"
“Your Highness!”
Sun Shaozong choked up as he spoke, but what he was thinking was: You're just a eunuch, what future do you have?
I was just about to rack my brains to come up with some sensational words to trick this idiot into being a windproof wall.
The prince suddenly clenched his teeth, turned his head and glanced at the other side of the screen, and said without question: "My dear, it's a bit stuffy here, let's go to the corridor to talk."
As he said this, he walked out of the flower hall hand in hand with Sun Shaozong.
It was obvious that he had something secret to discuss with Sun Shaozong, but he didn't want the Crown Princess to hear it.
As expected, when they arrived outside the flower hall, the prince first dismissed all the servants in the courtyard, and then dragged Sun Shaozong to an open area in the courtyard. He then lowered his voice and said, "Now, I can naturally help you avoid the revenge and troubles of your sixth uncle, but once my position as the prince is no longer secure, what can I do?"
After saying that, he looked at Sun Shaozong eagerly , his eyes full of anticipation.
This is so unlucky, it's like keeping a tiger out of the front door and letting a wolf in from the back door!
The situation in the capital has now achieved a delicate balance. The only threat to the crown prince's position is naturally Emperor Guangde's plan to plant seeds.
How could outsiders interfere with such private matters in the imperial palace?
Therefore, Sun Shaozong could only comfort him with empty words: "Your Majesty is old after all, Your Highness doesn't need to worry too much..."
"How can I not be worried?!"
The prince shouted excitedly, then quickly lowered his voice, "I heard that Sixth Uncle bought a prescription that is the best for nourishing yin and tonifying the kidneys. I heard that after using it for just over a year, even that tall and strong Western Region Hu girl was completely subdued by him."
This is absolute bullshit!
Sun Shaozong had seen Prince Zhongshun's potential, so it was understandable that he could make up for it and flirt with a few young girls who were just beginning to fall in love. But Sun Shaozong simply didn't believe that he could be more capable than the well-trained Western Hu girl.
However, Sun Shaozong did not dare to make any random comments on these loopholes in the details, otherwise if they got into the ears of King Zhongshun, he would be asking for trouble.
Therefore, he just randomly analyzed: "This thing may help men to be more virile, but it may not be beneficial to their offspring - otherwise, if the prince was partying every night, wouldn't the good news have spread in the palace long ago?"
"How can this be confused?"
The prince said anxiously, "Sixth uncle has three thousand beauties in his harem, but he has no children. Father doted on my mother in the past, so he only had me..."
What was possible before may not be possible now.
However, seeing that the prince has already gotten himself into a dead end, such empty words of comfort would probably be of no help.
Therefore, Sun Shaozong simply said in a serious tone: "From what Your Highness said, are you trying to interfere in the affairs of the harem?"
"solitary……"
Although this was the intention of pulling Sun Shaozong out at the beginning, now that Sun Shaozong had made it clear, the crown prince became a little timid, avoiding Sun Shaozong's gaze and hesitating, "Of course I dare not interfere in the palace, but... I just want to ask Sun Aiqing to help me come up with a safe idea."
Hehe~
If he dared to speak frankly and express his intention to interfere in the affairs of the imperial palace, Sun Shaozong might have looked upon him with a higher regard. However, his timid and cowardly appearance would only make Sun Shaozong despise him.
Even if this guy could successfully ascend the throne, I'm afraid he would find it difficult to control the powerful officials in the court!
Sun Shaozong made a comment to the Crown Prince with disdain in his heart, but his face became more solemn. He bowed and said, "Your Highness, it is the safest way to not interfere in the affairs of the palace. Why do you still ask this humble minister?"
"you!"
The prince's voice suddenly rose to a high pitch, but he quickly suppressed it, saying with a hint of annoyance, "Are you going to let me just watch and do nothing?!"
"May I ask your Highness?"
Sun Shaozong did not answer but asked: "What kind of person is your Majesty today?"
The question startled the prince, but he was used to flattering his father, so before he could fully react, he blurted out words of praise: "Although father is not as good as Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang, he is also a rare wise and holy ruler in history!"
This is of course an exaggeration.
However, considering Emperor Guangde's overall qualities, he could at least be rated as good among emperors of all dynasties. It was a pity that he met the retired emperor who had been in power for more than 30 years and whose prestige and skills had reached the top. Therefore, most of his abilities were used in internal conflicts.
The fact that he was able to endure hardships for ten years, replacing all the governors outside the capital one by one and being willing to remain in a weak position in the capital is enough to prove Emperor Guangde's courage and shrewdness.
If it weren't for the sudden miracle, in another year or two, Emperor Guangde would probably have been able to completely control the military and political power and get rid of the constraints of the emperor emeritus.
Stop talking nonsense.
However, Sun Shaozong listened to the prince's flattery and immediately put on an expression of deep agreement, saying: "Your Majesty is a wise king. There may be things that you cannot take care of outside the palace walls; but within the palace walls, it is nothing but a fool's dream to want to hide it from your Majesty's eyes and ears!"
"If Your Highness takes the risk and takes chances, you will truly be cutting yourself off from His Majesty and the position of Crown Prince!"
As the prince listened to him speak more and more harshly, he thought of his father's various methods, and immediately felt as if cold water was poured over his head. Like a deflated ball, he staggered back half a step dejectedly, muttering: "In that case, I... I can only hope for the blessing of fate?"
"How can one sit on the throne of the emperor safely without the mandate of heaven?"
Sun Shaozong pretended to be a charlatan, then slowed down his tone and said, "However, if Your Highness wants to inherit the throne smoothly, it is not enough to just wait for fate to decide. I would like to give Your Highness four words. If Your Highness can do his best, at least you can have a better chance of success."
“Four words?!”
The prince's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Sun Shaozong's wrist, saying excitedly: "My dear, please tell me, what are the four words?!"
"Be filial and cultivate your power!"
"Be filial and cultivate your power?"
The prince murmured and repeated, not quite understanding, "These four words are concise and to the point, but how should I proceed?"
As he spoke, he became frustrated and said, "Besides, my father is now desperate to have a child. No matter how filial I am, I'm afraid it will be of no use."
Sun Shaozong smiled slightly and shook his head, saying, "It is your highness's duty to be filial to your father, but the key to filial piety that I am referring to is not in your majesty's hands."
"Not on your majesty?"
The prince was even more confused and frowned, "You mean the Queen Mother..."
"I am referring to the Emperor!"
Seeing that this fellow had no idea what was going on, Sun Shaozong simply said, "I hope that Your Highness the Crown Prince will spend more time with the Emperor from now on to show his filial piety!"
"Why is that?"
The prince was puzzled and said, "In today's political situation, the emperor will not interfere in the matter of appointing a crown prince. Besides, the children born by those concubines are also the blood of the emperor."
This guy really has no political awareness at all!
"The key point of filial piety is the emperor."
Sun Shaozong had no choice but to continue explaining : "But in the final analysis, it is not to let the emperor interfere in the matter of appointing a crown prince, but to use this to cultivate your highness' power!"
"The forces in the court close to the Emperor Retired have always been led by the Prince of Beijing's Mansion and the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion."
"The Niu family is now irreversibly declining; and Prince Beijing has betrayed his allies by switching sides. Although he may seem to have many followers, he has actually lost the trust of his allies."
"Without these two leaders, the forces close to the emperor are now leaderless and uneasy, fearing that they will follow in the footsteps of the Niu family ."
"Your Highness can take this opportunity to use the Emperor Emeritus as a breakthrough point to show your magnanimity to these noble families and show that you are eager to recruit talented people and forgive past mistakes. Then naturally some people will come closer to Your Highness. And there are already many ministers inside and outside the court who oppose the idea of abolishing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest son. These two combined are enough to form a force that cannot be ignored."
After listening to Sun Shaozong's analysis, the prince was delighted at first, but then he became hesitant as usual, frowning and hesitating for a long time, and said hesitantly: "If it is really as you said, it would be great. But now I am alone in a difficult situation, and those noble families who have always been seeking good fortune and avoiding danger may not be able to..."
"Your Highness."
Sun Shaozong said: "It is precisely because these noble families seek good fortune and avoid disaster that they will choose to support Your Highness."
"The Emperor is old, and His Majesty has the intention of weakening the noble families - therefore, in this world, whether now or in the future, you are the only one who is willing and able to help them continue their prosperity and wealth!"
When the prince heard this, he was overjoyed. He excitedly grabbed Sun Shaozong's wrist and shook it up and down, praising him repeatedly: "My dear Sun, you are indeed worthy of being my son. If I can ascend to the throne in the future, you will be the first to contribute!"
Whether you are the first to make the contribution or not, don't just put away the bow and throw away the bird after it's all dead and the rabbit after it's dead.
Of course, if that day really comes, Sun Shaozong will never sit and wait for death. At most, he will fight to the death!
With the thought of "I'm willing to sacrifice my life to bring down the emperor" in his mind, Sun Shaozong bowed solemnly and said, "I don't seek wealth and glory, I only hope that one day I can see your majesty's power and dominance over the country!"
“Okay, okay, okay!”
The prince shouted "good" three times in excitement. The hot blood that could not leave his crotch rushed to his head, his veins bulged and his face turned red. He opened his mouth towards Sun Shaozong again, but before he could say anything, his eyes rolled back and he fell backwards!
I'll go~
He was so excited that he fainted!
With this pitiful little body, it is probably a question whether he can live to see the death of Emperor Guangde!
"Your Highness? Your Highness!"
Sun Shaozong quickly reached out to support him and called out to him several times, but the useless prince still did not wake up.
He wanted to call the imperial physician, but after looking around, the courtyard was empty and there was not a single person in sight. He couldn't leave the unconscious prince alone, could he?
That’s right!
Isn’t the Crown Princess in the flower hall?
Thinking of this, Sun Shaozong immediately picked up the useless prince like a chicken and strode into the flower hall.
