The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Royal funerals are tedious and boring.

Princess Zhaoyang accompanied the Empress Dowager to Weiyang Palace. When she came out, she saw the Fourth Prince standing outside the palace gate waiting for her.

She subconsciously slowed her pace, and one hand unconsciously went to her stomach.

"Royal sister~"

Seeing the Fourth Prince running over, Princess Zhaoyang put on a stern face and said coldly, "What are you doing here?"

When the Fourth Prince noticed Princess Zhaoyang clutching her stomach, his face showed even more shame.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I was wrong. I shouldn't have questioned your decision."

I've already sent Wei Yan back to the Imperial Clan Court, and I promise I'll never listen to a word he says again!

Upon hearing what the Fourth Prince said, Princess Zhaoyang's eyes flickered.

In fact, her anger towards the Fourth Prince had long since dissipated.

After all, she knew that as a monarch, she certainly didn't like anyone pointing fingers at her.

The Fourth Prince's actions could be considered somewhat understandable.

At this point, hearing him admit defeat, I naturally forgave him and also noticed that he looked unwell.

"What...what did you do last night? Your eyes are so dark."

"Uh, is there?"

The fourth prince subconsciously rubbed his eyes, then said nonchalantly, "Perhaps it's because I had a bit of insomnia last night and didn't sleep well."

Okay, none of that matters.

If Your Highness is free, you may attend today's meeting of the Prime Ministers.

This meeting is very important; the main topics are the characterization of the King's brother's role in the war to rescue Korea, and the rewards and honors bestowed upon the soldiers involved.

When Princess Zhaoyang heard the Fourth Prince say that he had insomnia, her eyes finally softened.

As his older sister, Princess Zhaoyang knew that her younger brother was a bit dim-witted from a young age, very optimistic, and didn't take anything to heart.

Given his personality, the fact that he could suffer from insomnia shows how much Jia Lian's act of cutting off Wei Yan's arm yesterday must have affected him.

He probably didn't sleep all night.

I have no idea what he was thinking.

Unable to maintain his feigned indifference, he nodded and said gently, "Let's go."

As the main place for Emperor Ningkang to handle state affairs, the Southern Study became the venue for prime ministers to discuss important matters after Emperor Ningkang established the system of prime ministers and began to recuperate.

The reason for not choosing another location was actually to make things easier for Emperor Ningkang.

Although Emperor Ningkang was recuperating in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he would occasionally go to the inner chamber of the Southern Study to listen to his ministers discuss state affairs.

At this time, under the chairmanship of Prince Bei Jing, Shui Rong, and Grand Secretary Zhao Dongsheng, the other members of the cabinet and the officials of the six ministries were basically present and had begun to discuss the main topics of the day.

Even though they already knew all of Jia Lian's detailed battle reports and the terms of the various treaties signed with Korea.

But they still couldn't quite believe it was true.

It's no surprise that Jia Lian, leading 50,000 elite troops, was able to repel the Japanese army and save Korea.

However, the time spent was too short and the losses were too small.

What they found most unbelievable was the payment of 50 million taels of silver for military expenses.

As the saying goes, even highway robbers have to be selective in their targets.

Can North Korea, such a small country, really come up with so much money?

As a result, many people were surprised.

However, amidst the surprise, some held different opinions.

Kong Si, the Minister of Rites, felt that it was excessive for Jia Lian to force Korea to sign such a treaty.

"Since its submission during the reign of King Taejo of the Joseon Dynasty, Korea has always been docile and has never committed any act of insubordination."

Now that they are being invaded by the Japanese invaders, our superior nation has sent troops to their aid. This is in accordance with the will of Heaven and the people, and will subdue the world.

However, although the King of Pingliao was skilled in commanding troops, his actions were inevitably too domineering and tyrannical.

The Korean state is said to have a population of no more than ten million, and its territory is less than a single province of my country.

For such a small and narrow-minded country to demand that they pay 50 million taels of silver for military expenses, how is this any different from robbery?
If word gets out, wouldn't it make us, the superior nation, appear to be relying on our military might to wantonly oppress and exploit our vassal states?

Although the actions of the King of Pingliao brought temporary benefits to our dynasty, they damaged our dynasty's reputation among all nations.

That would be unwise.

Kong Si's words, to a large extent, represented the thoughts of some noble and scholar-official officials.

After all, we are a great nation, a land of etiquette. How can we be like those uncivilized barbarians who only know how to plunder other countries by brute force?

Moreover, it was one of its own vassal states.

If word gets out, we'll lose face big time.

What would the other vassal states think?
"What Grand Secretary Kong said makes sense."

Everyone turned around and saw that it was the Fourth Prince and Princess Zhaoyang who had entered, so they all bowed.

"See His Highness the Crown Prince."

"See the eldest princess."

The fourth prince raised his hand to indicate that everyone did not need to be so polite, and then took Princess Zhaoyang's arm and led her up.

"Your Highness, you are injured, please sit down."

The South Study Room is actually not very large.

To avoid overstepping his bounds, a separate desk and chair were placed beside Emperor Ningkang's throne for the Crown Prince to use for deliberation and official business.

The seat that the fourth prince offered to sit was his own.

Princess Zhaoyang waved her hand and turned to Kong Si, saying, "I heard everything Grand Secretary Kong said just now."

Like Grand Secretary Kong, I also feel that King Pingliao's demand for 50 million taels of silver from Joseon as military expenses smacks of exploiting a vassal state and is not entirely honorable.

Everyone present knew that Princess Zhaoyang and Jia Lian had a very close relationship. In the past, when the prime ministers discussed matters, Princess Zhaoyang always sided with Jia Lian.

Now that things are going so strangely, even Kong Si was speechless for a moment.

Then, Princess Zhaoyang addressed the assembled officials, saying, "However, now that the treaty between the two countries has been signed and the Joseon Kingdom has already paid the initial ten million taels, it's not reasonable to break the treaty now and send the ten million taels back to the other side, is it?"

Upon hearing this, even those who had previously echoed Kong Si immediately shook their heads.

What a joke! Nobody would complain about having too much money at home.

The reason they echoed Kong Si was twofold: firstly, it was easy for them to talk when they were not in the situation, and secondly, they felt that Jia Lian's achievements were too astonishing and needed to be appropriately suppressed.

Otherwise, who will be able to restrain the King of Pingliao in the future?

Princess Zhaoyang continued, "I had heard that the Prince of Pingliao brought back several million taels of money and goods from Korea this time, in addition to the more than ten million taels he brought back last year..."

He was still making plans in his mind.

Now that the imperial court is financially well-off, when formulating the year-end budget, it is no longer necessary to be as strapped for cash as it was in the previous two years. Instead, some extra funds should be allocated to each department and government office.

Since Lord Kong considers the additional revenue brought to the court by the Prince of Pingliao to be an act of robbery and folly, surely the Ministry of Rites, given Lord Kong's integrity, would disdain requesting this budget?

Kong Si frowned, and at this moment he naturally understood what Princess Zhaoyang meant.

Is she trying to use the budget to blackmail him into changing his mind? "No need for the Princess to trouble herself."

"Our Ministry of Rites is a clean and honest government agency, as everyone knows, and naturally we disdain to solicit such ill-gotten gains."

Although he knew that his answer might incur complaints from his subordinates later.

However, as he said, the Ministry of Rites was indeed a relatively low-budget department compared to the other five ministries, and even if the budget were increased, it wouldn't be much.

Secondly, if he were to go back on his word in public because of this small budget, wouldn't he become a greedy, sycophantic villain?

The Ministry of Rites upholds law, propriety, and justice; how could it bow to money!
Princess Zhaoyang nodded to Kong Si, then exchanged a glance with Shui Rong and Zhao Dongsheng before continuing to address the other senior officials:
"Grand Secretary Kong has made it clear that he will give up this 'ill-gotten gain'."

I imagine there are many other adults present who share the same view as Master Kong.

If that's the case, please speak freely. I will discuss it with Prince Shui and Chief Minister Zhao, and we will ensure that this extra budget is not passed on to you next year, so as to preserve your reputation for integrity.

The officials from various departments looked at each other, none of them daring to respond to Princess Zhaoyang's words.

What a joke! In previous years, various departments would argue fiercely over the budget, sometimes to the point of red-faced and visibly angry.

Now that the imperial court has finally become more prosperous, there is more money to be made.

Don't be a fool!
Many people were already secretly laughing at Kong Si.

No one believed that Princess Zhaoyang was just bluffing Kong Si; it seemed that the Ministry of Rites wouldn't be able to gain any advantage in next year's budget.

This is a good thing.

If one part is less to be divided, they can get more.

At this moment, anyone who dares to respond to Princess Zhaoyang is another complete idiot, following in the footsteps of Kong Si.

Moreover, don't assume that just because the Ministry of Rites is full of upright officials, they are all true gentlemen who are indifferent to fame and fortune.

The Ministry of Rites was relatively indifferent to other departments.

In fact, the intricacies within the Ministry of Rites are no less than those of other ministries!
It is conceivable how many officials in the Ministry of Rites would openly or secretly criticize him if Kong Si's momentary insistence on being too serious caused the Ministry of Rites to have a budget shortfall next year.

Let's see if he can truly be as tough as he claims and withstand all the hardships.

Seeing that no one else would speak up, Shui Rong smoothed things over, saying, "Alright, although what Grand Secretary Kong said makes some sense."

But the Prince of Pingliao was, after all, a man who had repeatedly rendered great service to the court.

Even if his actions were flawed, considering his dedication to the court and the nation, the outcome was good, and we should not speak ill of him behind his back.

"Alright, now please let the Crown Prince preside over the meeting."

The Fourth Prince had already had three extra chairs brought in, inviting Princess Zhaoyang and the other two to sit down.

He sat down and was about to speak when Kong Si, seemingly unwilling to give up, said, "Let's leave aside what King Pingliao did in Korea for now."

But can you all just ignore what he did after returning to Beijing yesterday?
He led his troops to break through the capital's gates, stormed into the imperial city, and even forcibly severed the Third Prince's arm in front of the Crown Prince.

Such blatant and audacious behavior—don't you all think it deserves punishment?

The other ministers were somewhat surprised to see that Kong Si was so fixated on Jia Lian.

Within two years, Jia Lian won two foreign wars in succession and gained the favor of the emperor and empress, becoming a prince. His reputation was at its peak and his momentum was unstoppable.

Trying to cause him trouble at this point is, to put it mildly, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

To put it bluntly, that's suicidal.

However, some people who know Kong Si understand why he is so stubborn.

To reiterate, Kong Si was a typical conservative and pedantic person.

Who is the rightful heir, and to whom does he pledge allegiance?

No matter how much the Emperor and Empress favored the Prince of Pingliao, or how capable he was, he was not the legitimate heir.

The current rightful heir is the fourth prince.

In other words, under such circumstances, the more powerful and influential Jia Lian is, the worse it is for him.

It could even be said that it posed a potential threat to the fourth prince, and even to the country and its people.

Therefore, a group of people led by Kong Si spared no effort to suppress him.

Princess Zhaoyang knew from the beginning that someone would use yesterday's events to make a fuss.

Just as he was about to speak, the Fourth Prince preemptively said, "Master Kong is too kind."

Regarding yesterday's events, I am the most qualified to speak on this matter.

When the Fourth Prince, who usually preferred to remain silent, took the initiative to speak, everyone focused their attention, wanting to see how the Fourth Prince himself viewed his increasingly prestigious elder brother.

"The reason why my brother led troops into the capital yesterday was because he heard that my sister had been assassinated. He was worried that there were villains and treacherous officials in the court, so he led troops back to the capital to prevent any unforeseen events."

As for severing Wei Yan's arm, I have already investigated and confirmed that Wei Yan truly deserves to die.

He first ordered someone to poison the Prince of Pingliao's residence, and then, taking advantage of my elder sister's unpreparedness, sent someone to assassinate her.

Fortunately, my elder sister was blessed with good fortune and survived, and he did not succeed.

Otherwise, not only my brother, but even I would tear him to pieces!

As the fourth prince spoke, his eyes revealed a clear mix of resentment and relief.

Seeing this, the others didn't say anything.

Anyone with a modicum of sense would suspect that Wei Yan was responsible for the assassination attempt on Princess Zhaoyang.

Now that even the Fourth Prince, who was protecting Wei Yan, has changed his tune, the evidence must be conclusive.

There's nothing surprising about it. After all, besides that person, there's no one else who would dare to target both the Prince of Pingliao and Princess Zhaoyang at the same time.

Kong Si opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then felt the timing was wrong.

It seems the Fourth Prince isn't afraid of Jia Lian at all, which is unusual...

The fourth prince ignored everyone's expressions and stood up: "Therefore, what my brother has done is neither presumptuous nor arrogant."

In retrospect, he was a model of wisdom, decisiveness, and loyalty to the country.

On the contrary, I was blindly listening to one side and believed it, and actually fell into the trap of the villain Wei Yan, almost harming two pillars of our dynasty.

I hereby offer my apologies to my elder sister and all the ministers.

At the same time, I also have a major decision to announce.

Hearing the Fourth Prince's unhurried speech, many people nodded in approval, feeling that the Fourth Prince finally had some of the demeanor of a ruler.

After all, it is very difficult for a monarch to lose face and admit his mistakes in public.

Based on this alone, the fourth prince has the potential to become a wise ruler.

As for the important decision the Fourth Prince made, no one paid much attention to it.

Everyone knows that since the Fourth Prince became the Crown Prince, major affairs of the court have been decided by the three prime ministers.

In the past, even when the fourth prince sat on the throne, he would do nothing and often daydream or lose focus.

In other words, the big decisions he makes may not actually be decisions.

We'll have to see what the three prime ministers say and whether we can get the support of the one in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The fourth prince knew that no one took his words to heart, so he calmly continued:

"Having experienced this, I deeply believe that my character is only fit to be a carefree and leisurely prince, not a ruler."

Therefore, I hereby announce that I abdicate the position of Crown Prince and pass it on to the Prince of Pingliao. (End of Chapter)