Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 465 You have to admit it even if you don’t want to!
As soon as Xia Lin arrived, he caused a stir in the city. Not only did he cause trouble for the three provinces, six departments and nine temples, he also caused trouble for the prince himself.

What this guy did was to ask Lao Zhang to paint a portrait of Renzong, and then frame it in a wooden frame. Then when the coffin was moved to the underground palace, the prince had to hold the portrait and kowtow every three steps.

The distance from the imperial palace to the underground palace was thirty miles, and the prince's heart was bleeding.

"Your Highness, you must go."

After listening to His Highness's complaints, Jinlian patiently counseled him, "Master Xia may seem to be making a fuss, but in the common people, only the eldest son and eldest grandson can perform this ceremony. If Jinlian were to say it, even the crown prince would have to follow suit."

"But after this journey, I must be dead. I have to kowtow every three steps..."

"Jinlian will make some preparations for His Highness right away."

Then she began to sew a thick knee pad with cotton cloth. She worked from day to early morning and asked the kitchen to prepare some ginseng slices for His Highness.

Seeing her working all night long, the prince felt deeply touched. He had seen all kinds of flattery over the years, but this kind of subtle consideration made him feel particularly happy.

But tonight is not the time to indulge himself. Tomorrow he will have to walk thirty miles with every three steps. He needs to conserve his energy tonight.

The next day, before dawn, the prince was ready to set off. He held his father's portrait in his hand and walked at the front of the procession. Starting from the Zhengyang Gate of the Imperial Palace, he knelt down and kowtowed every three steps.

Every time he kowtowed, firecrackers would roar through the sky, waking up almost all the citizens in the city. People would come to the sides of the road and kneel to see Renzong off.

This was not arranged by Xia Lin, but the spontaneous behavior of the people. Although Renzong suffered a defeat in the war, he decisively moved the capital and implemented a series of self-cultivation policies, which at least stabilized the country. Anyway, the people did not suffer too much under his rule, and he was also famous for his good temper and easy to talk to, and made many outstanding contributions in curbing killing.

For example, before him, a death sentence was immediate execution. It was not until he established the double review system of the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple. It cannot be said that there were no unjust, false or wrong cases, but at least it was able to curb the scapegoat practice that was prevalent among the people at that time to a large extent.

There were several other times when he provided disaster relief efforts and he even went to the disaster areas in person to inspect the specific relief measures there.

Anyway, as an emperor, he did a pretty good job. It was not his fault that he was mediocre in ability, but at least in terms of morality he was almost flawless.

In terms of his private life, he only had one queen and two concubines. He had not selected concubines for thirty years, nor had he built a proper palace. There were no rumors about his extravagance or debauchery. In addition to entertaining guests, his kitchen never served more than eight dishes per meal...

Anyway, he was not a leader who could revive the country, but he was also a good emperor. He was quite good at self-discipline.

So the people naturally loved him, and the prince who was holding the emperor's portrait and crying and kowtowing in front of them at this moment was naturally remembered by people.

He is the crown prince, the future emperor. Now he is covered in dust, his face is black, and his forehead is red, swollen and bleeding. But who would laugh at a son's grief at this moment?

In fact, the Second Prince was also in the farewell procession, but he was not the eldest son, so he did not have to suffer this punishment. However, no one knew how much he wanted to suffer this punishment, but he was not qualified...

The prince was lazy and didn't steal. He walked from dawn to almost noon. He ate half a pound of ginseng slices and was dirty. His clothes were soaked. He cursed Xia Daosheng all the way in his heart. He also cursed the Ministry of Rites and the Dali Temple. The road chosen by these idiots was too difficult to walk...

After arriving at the place, the prince was sitting in front of the mausoleum when he saw Xia Daosheng directing people to carve the stele. He asked curiously, "Daosheng, isn't this stele already carved? Why do you still call it carving?"

"Oh, there's something missing from it. I asked them to add a paragraph."

"Which part was added?"

Xia Lin pointed at the inscription and said, "Two sons were born in his early years but died young. The third son was named Jing, which is you. Fearing that he would not survive, he sent the son to be raised by his eldest brother. After his eldest brother died, the son returned home. This is the paragraph."

"Ah? This...isn't necessary?"

"No need?" Xia Lin turned around and pointed at the Second Prince who was also resting in the distance: "There is no need here, he is the eldest son."

"Yes, yes, yes... yes, yes!" The prince took the towel and wiped his face: "Daosheng, how did you get here? Why didn't I see you?"

"It's thirty miles away. Of course we came here by carriage."

The prince's hands were shaking at that moment. It would have been better if he didn't say anything. After he said it, the prince was almost mentally collapsed. Thirty miles... That's thirty miles!
But now that people are here, there is no point in complaining, so I should just give my dad the last farewell seriously.

The group ate something in front of the underground palace. Several princes sat together, looking like brothers in a friendly and respectful manner. Even the third prince was here.

"I really didn't expect you to come back."

Xia Lin was sitting beside him, eating a pancake, and the Third Prince was squatting next to him. After all, the two were familiar with each other, while the Third Prince was not even that familiar with his brothers.

"Oh, what are you saying? If I don't come back even after my father is gone, how will I be scolded?" The Third Prince suddenly leaned close to Xia Lin's ear and said, "I'm telling you, I met Li Yuanji in Fuliang."

It was not strange for these people to know each other, and Xia Lin had already predicted it, so he asked, "Him? What is he doing there?"

"He changed his name. Now he's called Sanbuzhan or something. He's a musician in the theater."

"Three No-Drinks... Hey! Who would have this name?"

"I don't remember clearly, I just called him Li Yuanji. Did he cause any big trouble?"

Xia Lin shook his head: "I just came back from outside, I don't know shit." "That's right."

The burial in the mausoleum would take two or three days, and they had to eat and live here for the past few days, which was very tiring. In the evening, the prince found Xia Lin again, and the two of them drank a little by the campfire. Because there were so many people, they didn't talk about anything, just sat there and talked about trivial matters.

"Daosheng, how are you going to keep vigil for your father?"

"You're not really going to ask me to live in this whole hut?"

"what?"

"Are you really planning on doing that?" Xia Lin slapped his thigh and said, "Just sentence me to death and let me be buried with His Majesty."

The prince didn't know what to say and just smiled awkwardly.

"I am here to stand guard for the warlords everywhere to see. I want to tell them that I, Xia Daosheng, am different from you. I am still loyal to the Wei Dynasty. Don't mess with me. I have deployed 400,000 troops in Henan Road just to separate Jinling from Chang'an. I have done so much, please don't bother me. Is this place suitable for people to live in?"

Xia Lin was also speaking bluntly at this moment. After all, he was currently a powerful official in the Wei Dynasty. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he would be promoted to a higher level because the older generation would all retire. According to the current trend, Xia Lin would either be free from official duties or take over Lao Zeng's position.

But he actually didn't want to take over Lao Zeng's position. Although he looked very powerful and had done a lot, he was actually only 24 years old this year, which was the age when Xin Qiji led 50 people to attack 50,000 rebels and beheaded the leader of the rebels, and it was also the age when Huo Qubing died.

Isn't it a bit inappropriate for him to be one of the three highest officials at this age?
Therefore, Xia Lin prefers to maintain the status quo, get a high-paying job, and wander around for three years.

"Then when I...I succeed to the throne, what do you want?"

"Me." Xia Lin was silent for a moment, smacked his lips and said, "Do you have any beautiful sisters at home?"

"Sisters... I do have them. But they don't seem very pretty, or they are a little old. Didn't you promise the prettiest one to Chai Shao?"

"That rotten crotch, no." Xia Lin waved his hand: "Since I don't have a sister, forget it. Give me more money. I've been so poor these past few years. I've been eating, drinking and having fun in Beijing for three years, enjoying the life of a dandy boy."

"Okay. And by the way, help me warn the various departments in the court. I'm afraid that after I ascend the throne, things won't be as smooth as they are now."

"Let's ascend the throne smoothly first."

"Hmm?" The prince was stunned: "You mean..."

Xia Lin shook his finger: "No hurry, let's talk about it when we get back."

This threat made the prince anxious. He really had no experience in struggle. Xia Lin's evaluation of him was that he was narrow-minded, had no mature political thinking, and had a strong romantic atmosphere. He was really not suitable to be an emperor. But in other words, it was not a bad thing that he had no political wisdom, because it meant that he would not mess around.

How does the saying go? An incompetent leader is not scary, what is scary is an incompetent leader who still messes around. If he can still maintain such clear stupidity, there is still hope. The most frightening thing is that after two years of being an emperor, he becomes arrogant, and this is the most troublesome thing.

"Why haven't I seen Mr. Zhu recently?"

"Mr. Zhu has been practicing Taoism for a few days. He will be back next year. What's the matter? Do you have something to do?"

"Who is your current staff member?"

"Du Ruhui, have you heard of him? He is not famous, but he is quite capable."

Xia Lin rolled his eyes slightly: "What about Zhao Shiyuan?"

The prince was obviously stunned for a moment, and then his expression turned ugly. He never thought that Xia Lin could know his secrets so clearly.

This made him feel a little embarrassed.

Xia Lin simply lowered his eyes and said, "Your Highness, be careful. If I can understand, then others can understand too."

"I understand."

In fact, Zhao Shiyuan was in the funeral procession at that moment, but Xia Lin had never seen him in person, so he did not recognize him.

After coming out from Xia Lin, the prince found Zhao Shiyuan in a cold sweat: "Daosheng mentioned you."

"Mentioning me?" Zhao Shiyuan was also stunned: "Your Highness, why?"

"He asked me who my current aide was... I said it was Du Ruhui. He then directly said your name."

Zhao Shiyuan was instantly covered in cold sweat, and the mountain evening breeze blew him cold. If he really died of a cold, then he could basically be considered to have died of being frightened by Xia Daosheng...

"Your Highness... He is a demon, a demon..."

(End of this chapter)