Chapter 150 Mission 014

After Xiao Ying left the Eastern Palace, the emperor granted him the Chengjing Palace. Perhaps the emperor thought that he went to the Eastern Palace to live in the residence of the princes in the past. In order to appease him, he granted him the Chengjing Palace.

Although Chengjing Palace was not the exclusive palace where the princes lived in the past, it was also of great significance, because Chengjing Palace was the palace where the emperor lived before he ascended the throne.

The prince who lived in the Eastern Palace might not ascend the throne to become the emperor, but the prince who lived in Chengjing Palace did ascend the throne. Everyone knew the hidden meaning of this, so no one dared to underestimate Xiao Ying, the new prince.

However, this originally clear situation became confusing again after the former prince Su Youhao regained his sight.

The queen wanted the emperor to depose the crown prince and let the youngest son ascend the throne, but the emperor was in poor health and could die at any time. He finally cleared his mind before his death. Considering the physical condition of his eldest and second sons and the fact that the country was not suitable for changing the crown prince again, he firmly supported Xiao Yan and handed him the power to review memorials without any concealment. He also named Su Youhao as Prince An, meaning that he hoped he would be quiet.

In this way, Su Youhao was embarrassed.

He had been the crown prince for so many years, but was suddenly deposed because of his blindness. Although he was still suppressed by the queen and did not move out of the East Palace, he could live a stable life even if the new emperor ascended the throne because of his blindness. After all, no one would be suspicious of a blind brother all day long.

But at this critical moment, his eyes were healed! As a result, his close friends and supporters like the queen and some followers whose wealth and future were tied to him were all jumping up and down and hoping that he would be the crown prince.

And those staunch princelings, after the prince was replaced, naturally expressed their loyalty to the new prince. These princelings who had just changed their masters did not want Su Youhao to be appointed as the prince again. First, they felt that Su Youhao was weak and might have to follow Su Chenghao to live his life after he died one day. Second, they felt that even if they were loyal to the position of the prince, it would be easy to give people the impression of being fence-sitters if they always changed their loyal objects, which was not conducive to their future development.

Although the emperor expressed his position and firmly supported Xiao Yan's succession, those who were backed by the queen were still jumping up and down, wanting to depose the prince again and want Su Youhao, who they supported, to ascend the throne.

At this time, Su Youhao had been silent. When the queen was arranging things for him, he kept silent. He did not express his position and jumped around, but he did not refuse.

Xiao Yan could see clearly that perhaps Su Youhao felt a little guilty about his brother Su Chenghao, but he was absolutely unwilling to give in on the throne. He just didn't want to look too bad when he ate, so he quietly hid behind the scenes and waited for the queen to come out to help him. If he failed, he would say that he knew nothing and it was all his mother's own decision. If he succeeded, it meant that his mother's will could not be violated and he had no choice but to ascend the throne.

At this time, Zuo Xiang, who was once one of the most powerful supporters of Su Youhao and was now sitting on the fence, held a birthday banquet for his mother's sixtieth birthday and invited many people, even the two princes.

In ancient times, people had a short life span, and the sixtieth birthday was a very important birthday. Therefore, even those who did not get along with Zuo Xiang would send people to congratulate him after receiving the invitation.

Xiao Yan received the invitation. It stands to reason that as a prince, he did not need to give face to Zuo Xiang's mother, but the heroine Shan Ruxuan was the daughter of Zuo Xiang.

******

Xiao Yan used a method to let the emperor find out that Su Youhao was going to celebrate the birthday of Zuo Xiang's mother, and then the emperor really ordered him to go with him.

Xiao Ying could see through the emperor's thoughts. The emperor was a little confused about the queen, but he was still a wise ruler. At least he would not watch the remaining son continue to jump around and win over the court officials after confirming the heir.

Xiao Ying picked the right time. When Su Youhao was sitting in a carriage and leaving the palace, he rode his horse and caught up with him.

Su Youhao lifted the curtain and was about to get off the carriage. Xiao Ying raised his head slightly to stop him: "Second brother, don't be polite. Are you going to the Shan Xiang residence to celebrate the birthday? The emperor sent me to comfort the old lady Shan. Why don't you go with me?"

This sounded quite normal, but it sounded a bit harsh to Su Youhao's ears.

So if I go, it's to celebrate the birthday, and if you go, it's to comfort. You call yourself "I" all the time. It's amazing. I used to call myself "I"!

Su Youhao's psychological activities were almost like this, and he felt very uncomfortable.

At the birthday banquet at the Left Prime Minister's residence, there were many guests. When they were happily gathering together, someone suddenly came to report that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness Prince An had come.

So a large group of people, including the old birthday man, all went out to greet the Crown Prince and Prince An.

Originally, the Left Prime Minister handed the invitations to the two princes just to be polite. After all, you invited all the ministers but not the princes. Do you look down on them?

The Left Prime Minister guessed that Su Youhao would come to celebrate his birthday in order to win him over, but he didn't expect that the Crown Prince would also come!

When everyone arrived at the door, they saw His Royal Highness the Crown Prince turn over and get off the horse with a neat and graceful move. Compared with Prince An, who needed someone to help him get off the carriage and looked sick and pale, people were more inclined to the Crown Prince, except for some ambitious people who hoped that the emperor would be weak and they could make decisions on their own.

Everyone knelt down to greet the Crown Prince and Prince An.

Xiao Ying took a few steps forward, raised his hand and said, "No need to be so polite!" Then he came to the left prime minister's mother and said with a smile, "The old lady looks very healthy. I'm sure I can see her celebrate her 80th birthday in the future!"

Old Madam Shan smiled so much that her face was wrinkled: "I will take advantage of the good words of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and work hard to live to 80 years old!"

In ancient times, medical conditions were very poor, and people who lived to 80 years old were considered extremely long-lived, so Xiao Ying's words were really a very pleasant blessing.

After saying that, Xiao Ying said to the left prime minister who was standing by and supporting Old Madam Shan: "Old Madam Shan should not stand at the door to blow the wind, go in."

Who dared not to listen to the Crown Prince's words, so a group of people rushed to the banquet hall with Xiao Ying.

Su Youhao, who was about to come over to greet the left prime minister, stopped in his tracks a little awkwardly. Although there were many followers around him flattering him, he felt particularly weak and embarrassed.

In fact, Su Youhao was not very proficient in the ways of the world at this time, and the emperor was determined to support Xiao Ying only after seeing the gap between him and Xiao Ying in this regard.

The original story begins with the timeline of the heroine entering the palace. Su Youhao had been on the throne for two or three years at that time. Without the emperor's support, he naturally had to learn to grow up on his own.

So when the heroine entered the palace, Su Youhao was still a virtuous king.

But now that he has not fully grown up, Su Youhao is completely left behind by Xiao Yan in interpersonal communication.

******

After sitting down, Xiao Yan didn't say much, but everyone didn't feel that they were being ignored. He had become the focus of the birthday banquet, and Su Youhao, who was sitting next to him, inevitably felt that he had become a foil and was uncomfortable all over.

Xiao Yan didn't deliberately target Su Youhao, but pretended to bring him into the topic without a trace when he was ignored, and tried to take care of him.

This magnanimous behavior of a good brother made many people who saw it nod their heads secretly, and they were more supportive of Xiao Ying sitting on the throne of the crown prince. After all, a tolerant monarch is undoubtedly a good thing for the ministers. Even the people tied to Su Youhao's warship secretly had thoughts...

Xiao Ying looked up at the sky and smiled at Madam Shan: "It's getting late, and it's time to have a banquet. I am not happy sitting here while you eat, but I came to see Madam Shan on behalf of my father, and it's not good to leave now. Why don't the left prime minister send a smart boy to take me to the garden. I have heard that there are many exotic flowers and plants in the garden of the left prime minister's mansion, which is really a scene in the capital."

Praising the garden of the Shan Mansion is purely a courtesy. In fact, Xiao Ying wants to meet the heroine Shan Ruxuan in the Shan Mansion.

The male protagonist Su Youhao in the original novel was also like this. He went to the garden for a stroll, and ended up meeting the female protagonist Shan Ruxuan, who was crying alone in the rockery. The two of them formed an indissoluble bond, which laid a good foundation for the male and female protagonists to fall in love with each other in the future.

But now he is the prince instead of the male protagonist, so he might as well try the plot of the first meeting with the female protagonist.

As for Su Youhao, he was eager for Xiao Rong to leave early, so that these ministers would not care about him, the King of An, with him present. And Su Youhao couldn't do anything to win over the court officials in front of Xiao Rong.

So he looked at Xiao Rong's back as he left, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Su Youhao began to try to talk to the court officials present, and his words were full of hints.

But he didn't need to win over the court officials in the past, because all the court officials took the initiative to show their loyalty to him. Now he took the initiative to show his goodwill, but the court officials either changed the subject with him or found excuses to avoid him, which made him a little blind.

Su Youhao, who had hit a wall, recalled Su Chenghao's ease just now, and sighed in his heart, realizing what it meant to lose the position of the crown prince that was once insignificant to him...

In the past, he was kind to the court officials, which was called respecting the wise and humble, but now he is lowering himself to the court officials, which is called forming a clique for personal gain.

The gap is too big, making Su Youhao feel complicated and unspeakable. His original unwillingness became even heavier. He only wanted to take back his own position as the crown prince, otherwise he really couldn't imagine what would happen if he fell to the point of kneeling at Su Chenghao's feet and paying homage in the future.