After the banquet was over, Yan Song, Yan Shifan and his son took their sedan chairs and marched towards the Yan Mansion.
Because Yan Song was old, he only had a taste of drinking.
At this moment, his thinking was still very sharp, and everything that happened at the banquet kept reappearing in his mind.
Immediately, he opened the sedan curtain and looked at the scenery outside, wondering what he was thinking.
Since it was getting late, there was no one on the road. Looking from Yan Song's perspective, he could vaguely see the stars hanging in the mid-air.
Because Yan Mansion is located on the most prosperous street in the capital, it is very close to the Forbidden City.
Therefore, the sedan chair carried by Yan Song and Yan Shifan quickly reached its destination and returned to Yan Mansion through the side door according to past practice.
Although Yan Shifan had become drunk, he still did not forget his responsibilities.
The moment Yan Song's sedan stopped, he stepped forward and carefully supported Yan Song.
"Father, you...slow down and pay more attention to your steps!"
Upon hearing this, Yan Song looked Yan Shifan up and down and said coldly.
"Yan Shifan, you should take care of yourself first!"
After that, Yan Song refused Yan Shifan's support and walked in the direction of the study.
Seeing this, Yan Shifan quickly took three steps and two steps to keep up with Yan Song, and then explained.
"Father...Father, I don’t know what’s wrong with the kid. The wine today seems to be particularly flavorful. The kid just drank a few glasses and it’s like this!"
"But the stories told by those Rakshasa people are really interesting. They sailed around on the sea and saw the customs and customs of different countries!"
After Yan Shifan finished speaking, he shook his head vigorously, trying to keep himself awake.
Yan Song ignored Yan Shifan's last words and saw him suddenly stop, turn around and say coldly.
"Hmph, don't even look at the wine used at today's banquet. This is the top wine from the Zhengde period!"
"There must be a limit to drinking. Look, among the people attending the banquet today, besides you, who else is so drunk?"
After Yan Shifan heard this, he thought about it for a long time before he reacted. He immediately leaned down and responded respectfully.
"Thank you dad for reminding me. I know I made a mistake and will pay attention next time!"
Yan Song saw that Yan Shifan realized what he meant, turned his gaze away, and ordered in a deep voice.
"Well, let's go, come with me to the study, I have something else to explain to you!"
"Yes, father!"
After that, Yan Shifan followed Yan Song's footsteps and entered Yan's study together.
…
Soon after the father and son entered the study, a maid came forward and brought them two bowls of sobering soup.
Yan Song immediately gave instructions after taking the sobering soup from the maid's hand.
"Well, you have nothing to do here, go down!"
"yes!"
After hearing Yan Song's words, the maid bowed and quickly left the study. However, when the maid left, she also closed the door of the study.
Seeing this situation, Yan Song couldn't help but frown slightly, but he didn't get too entangled in the matter. Instead, he looked at Yan Shifan, who was sitting not far away, and asked.
"Yan Shifan, what do you think of King Yu's performance tonight?"
"To answer my father's question, I think His Highness Prince Yu's performance tonight was outstanding!"
"Do you think His Majesty will take this opportunity to make His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
Although the drunkenness on Yan Shifan's face was very obvious, under the influence of the sobering soup, his thoughts were much clearer than before.
After thinking about it for a long time, he mustered up the courage to ask Yan Song.
Yan Song was not in a hurry to answer Yan Shifan's question, but after giving him a cold glance, he confirmed it.
"So it is out of this consideration that you frequently showed your favor to Prince Yu at the banquet?"
Seeing that his thoughts were revealed by Yan Song, Yan Shifan couldn't help but have a look of embarrassment on his face. After hesitating for a long time, he nodded and responded respectfully.
"Father, this is what I think. If His Royal Highness Prince Yu is officially established as the crown prince..."
However, before Yan Shifan finished speaking, he was coldly interrupted by Yan Song.
"Yan Shifan, you smart fool!"
The more Yan Song thought about it, the angrier he became. He suddenly stood up from his seat, came to Yan Shifan's side, looked at Yan Shifan with a look that hated iron, pointed at his nose and cursed.
"Yan Shifan, have you forgotten what our relationship is with Prince Yu?"
After Yan Song finished speaking, he continued without waiting for Yan Shifan to respond.
"We have an incompatible relationship with Prince Yu. If he succeeds to the throne one day, what awaits us is ruthless liquidation!"
"When the time comes, you, me, and everyone in our Yan family will be dragged to the market entrance to be beheaded by him!"
"And you, you still shamelessly come forward, Yan Shifan, you are really a complete idiot!"
After Yan Song's merciless scolding, Yan Shifan broke into a cold sweat because he was too frightened.
But after that, his thoughts began to become clearer, and the things that happened at the earlier banquet began to appear in his mind.
Only then did Yan Shifan realize how stupid his original behavior was.
Immediately, Yan Shifan looked remorseful, lowered his head, and spoke in shame.
"Father, the child knows that he is wrong!"
Yan Song saw the expression on Yan Shifan's face, and a trace of unbearable color flashed across his face. He sighed and said slowly.
"However, from now on, King Yu will never have the chance to inherit the throne!"
Hearing this, Yan Shifan's face was full of doubts. He looked in the direction of Yan Song and asked.
"Father, what do you mean?"
"You and I have all witnessed King Yu's performance at the banquet. He performed perfectly. There was no glitch in the whole process!"
Yan Song faced Yan Shifan's extremely puzzled gaze, and after sorting out the words in his mind, he explained.
"It is precisely because King Yu's performance was too perfect that he completely missed the opportunity to be crown prince!"
When Yan Song said this, he paused for a moment and then continued.
"I guess the reason why His Majesty asked Prince Yu to host this banquet is because he wanted to take this opportunity to test Prince Yu to see how he should adapt to circumstances and make reasonable responses when he encounters problems!"
"But as you just said, King Yu's performance at this banquet was so perfect that His Majesty could not use this opportunity to get to know King Yu better."
When Yan Song said this, he withdrew his gaze from Yan Shifan, changed the subject, and said to himself.
"Besides, do you think King Yu can perform so perfectly? Who is behind the scenes?"
After Yan Shifan listened to Yan Song's explanation, a look of enlightenment suddenly appeared on his face, and he said excitedly.
"Father, do you mean that Xu Jie is behind all this?"
"Well, yes, that's what I meant!"
Seeing that Yan Shifan had understood what he meant, Yan Song nodded slightly, then returned to his seat and sat down, and continued.
"Originally, His Majesty wanted to see if King Yu could host this banquet well on his own."
"Unexpectedly, King Yu chose a shortcut and ran to Xu Jie for help. In this way, King Yu was able to hand in a perfect answer sheet, but in the eyes of His Majesty, this is an unqualified performance!"
"Because as a prince, if you don't have your own opinions and can only rely on others for everything, you will never achieve great success. Your Majesty will never hand over the Ming Dynasty to Prince Yu!" (End of this chapter)
