In Xingde Palace, Zhao Yao looked surprised after hearing Sun Doudou's words. He pointed at himself and asked again in disbelief: "Are you sure Mr. Meng wants to see me?"
Seeing that Zhao Yao still looked unbelievable, Sun Doudou told Zhao Yao again in a very confident tone.
"Your Highness, Mr. Meng really wants to see you, and he wants to see you by name. This servant did not tell you the wrong thing."
Zhao Yao looked shocked and said: "Why does Mr. Meng want to see me? What can I see?"
"Your Highness, I just told you that Mr. Meng wants to thank you for benefiting the people and scholars..." Sun Doudou had no choice but to tell Zhao Yao again what he had just said.
Zhao Yao didn't listen carefully to Sun Doudou's words before. He was confused when Sun Doudou said that Mr. Meng wanted to see him. He didn't listen to what Sun Doudou said next. Now, after listening to Sun Doudou's words, he was still very surprised.
"Just because I made printing, new paper, and Quyuanli, Mr. Meng wants to see me and thank me in person?" Zhao Yao's mood was a bit complicated.
"Yes, Your Highness." Sun Doudou continued, "The Emperor said that after the morning court tomorrow, he asked you to follow him to see Mr. Meng."
"I see."
Congratulations to send Sun Doudou away.
Sun Doudou knew that he would go to Lingnan with Zhao Yao in the future. He was now half of Zhao Yao, so he was very concerned about Zhao Yao's affairs. He was very polite to Tongxi.
Tongxi originally liked Sun Doudou. As Sun Kui's apprentice, he served in Chengguang Hall and was considered a popular person around the emperor. However, he never bullied others. On the contrary, he was kind and humorous. Most of the eunuchs in the palace liked Sun Doudou very much.
"Brother Doudou, is it really because of the things His Highness made that Mr. Meng met His Highness?"
"Really." Sun Doudou knew what Tong Xi was worried about and smiled at him reassuringly, "Don't worry, Your Highness will be fine."
Hearing Sun Doudou say this, Tongxi felt relieved. He suddenly thought of something and asked hurriedly: "Besides Your Highness, are there any other Highnesses going? Are His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King of Dai going?"
"No, Mr. Meng only wants to see His Highness the Tenth Highness, and does not want to see His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King." Sun Doudou said with a smile, "Mr. Meng wants to see His Highness the Tenth Highness because our Tenth Highness is so powerful and has done so much to benefit the country and the people. A good thing. The emperor praised Mr. Meng for his unique insight."
"My Highness is already very powerful."
Tongxi and Sun Doudou laughed at each other as they spoke.
Sun Doudou had to go back to Chengguang Hall and did not chat with Tong Xi for a long time. Before leaving, let Tong Xi and Zhao Yao rest assured.
After Tongxi returned to the house, he told Zhao Yao exactly what Sun Doudou said to him.
"I'm afraid that the prince brother and the king will be jealous of me." This is what Zhao Yao is most worried about. Mr. Meng didn't want to see His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King, but he wanted to see him, the unpopular tenth prince.
"Ah, then your Highness, aren't you in danger?" Tongxi said with a worried look on his face, "What should I do? Why don't you just not go?"
"I can just disappear without thinking. My father will definitely not agree." Zhao Yao thought for a while, and most of the worries in his heart disappeared instantly, "The prince brother and the king may not necessarily hate me. If it were changed, If it is the fourth brother or the seventh brother who is named by Mr. Meng, the prince and the acting king will definitely be very dissatisfied."
"Your Highness, are you saying that nothing will happen if you go to see Mr. Meng?"
"Well, it shouldn't be anything. After all, I'm still a child, and I'm still an unpopular, powerless prince. If the prince brother and the others really hate me, then they would have lost their status."
"Your Highness, you are right to say that." Tong Xi's worries immediately dissipated.
"It's just that I really didn't expect that Mr. Meng would want to see me." Zhao Yao said with a flattered look.
"As expected of Mr. Meng, he is different from ordinary people. I can tell at a glance that everything you make is good."
Zhao Yao pouted and said, "I hope he is just like everyone else." Before going to Lingnan as an adult, he didn't want to be too famous. As the saying goes, people are afraid of being famous and pigs are afraid of being strong. If he is too famous, he may be coveted by someone with ulterior motives before he reaches adulthood and becomes king.
"Your Highness, do you think Mr. Meng will accept you as his student?" Tongxi said, his expression became excited, "Your Highness, if you become Mr. Meng's student, then you will make a fortune... "
Before he could finish his words, Zhao Yao hit him hard on the head.
"What are you talking about? If I become Mr. Meng's student, I will be finished."
"Your Highness, that's not the case." Tong Xi felt that Zhao Yao was overly worried, "I think there is nothing wrong with you becoming Mr. Meng's student."
Zhao Yao shook his head and said, "You don't understand. However, Mr. Meng is unlikely to accept me as his disciple. After all, I don't have any literary talent." He has never written famous articles or poems. "Besides, I don't like reading, let alone learning. You might as well spare me if you accept me as your disciple."
"Yes, Your Highness, you hate people who write articles and poems the most." After Tong Xi finished speaking, he thought of Sun Doudou and hurriedly asked Zhao Yao, "Your Highness, when you make the king, little Eunuch Sun really wants to go to Lingnan with us."
When Zhao Yao heard Tong Xi's words, he narrowed his eyes slightly, and a light of unknown meaning flashed across his eyes.
"Your Highness, why did the Emperor send Young Eunuch Sun to follow you to Lingnan?" Tong Xi was not worried that Sun Doudou would steal his position as his personal eunuch in the future, he just felt strange. Sun Doudou is Sun Kui's apprentice, and he is the only apprentice. Sun Doudou will definitely inherit Sun Kui's mantle in the future. He didn't understand why the emperor sent Sun Doudou to follow Zhao Yao? To be honest, if you go to Lingnan with your highness, there is no future in staying in the palace.
"Who knows." Zhao Yao had several thoughts in his mind, but he didn't have that one. "Sun Doudou is very clever in doing things. If he really goes to Lingnan with us in the future, he might be very useful."
"That's true." Tongxi didn't think much about it.
"I'm going to visit Bage." Zhao Yao was a little worried about the Eighth Prince's health.
When Zhao Yao arrived, the eighth prince had just finished drinking the medicine.
"Myna, how do you feel?"
"I'm fine. The imperial doctor said that if you drink two more medicines, you won't cough anymore." The Eighth Prince asked, "Why does Sun Doudou want you?"
"Oh, he came to tell me that my father will take me to see Mr. Meng after he goes to court tomorrow."
"What?" The eighth prince looked shocked, "Father wants to take you to see Mr. Meng, what's going on?"
Zhao Yao told the eighth prince what Sun Doudou said to him.
After hearing this, the Eighth Prince felt relieved.
"So that's it." Mr. Meng is indeed a great scholar in the world, and he is well aware of the impact of the things made by his tenth brother on the country and the country. "Mr. Meng is worthy of being Mr. Meng."
Zhao Yao showed fear on his face and asked: "Brother Bage, Mr. Meng only sees me. Will this make Brother Prince and the others unhappy?"
The eighth prince smiled tenderly at Zhao Yao and comforted him gently: "No. You can go with your father to see Mr. Meng with peace of mind."
"Really not?" Zhao Yao scratched his face and said, "I am not good at studying. Mr. Meng only saw me, but not the prince brother and the king."
"No, Mr. Meng meets you because of the things you have made, not because you are good at studying." The Eighth Prince added, "Besides, you are still a child, so it is most appropriate to meet Mr. Meng." Among their group of brothers, except for the tenth brother who would be fine if he went to see Mr. Meng, the others would definitely cause quite a commotion if they went to see Mr. Meng.
Zhao Yao pretended to be comforted by the eighth prince's last words, and the fear and anxiety on his face disappeared instantly.
"Then I'm not afraid anymore."
"With me here, what are you afraid of?" The Eighth Prince felt a little distressed. Although the tenth brother is still a child, the tenth brother has learned more or less in the past two years. He still doesn't understand these things, but based on his intuition, he senses some dangers, so he becomes frightened.
Zhao Yao nodded vigorously and said, "I'm not afraid as long as myna is here."
"Don't be rude when you go to see Mr. Meng tomorrow..." The Eighth Prince was afraid that Zhao Yao would be nervous and scared when he saw Mr. Meng, so he seriously told him what to do and what to say when he saw Mr. Meng.
Zhao Yao listened very carefully.
"Remember?"
Zhao Yao nodded and said, "Remember."
Seeing Zhao Yao's strange expression, the Eighth Prince hurriedly asked with concern: "What's wrong?"
"Bago, why does Mr. Meng want to thank me? He is a great scholar?" Zhao Yao said shyly, "Besides, no one has ever thanked me."
The Eighth Prince felt a dull pain in his heart after hearing this.
Just because the tenth brother was not favored and had no power in the mother clan, the ministers of the court ignored the effects of these things he made. Among the people, people are very grateful to the things made by the tenth brother. The tenth brother is very famous among the people, but he has no status in the court.
"Tenth brother, I told you that the things you made are amazing and the people are very grateful to you."
"Yeah?"
"The Quyuan plow you made has greatly increased the grain production in many places, and the people praise you." The Eighth Prince felt very sorry for Zhao Yao, and he deliberately teased Zhao Yao, "The people praise you as a genius."
"Hehehe..." Zhao Yao couldn't help but smile proudly, "I'm not that powerful either."
"Tenth brother, you are not very good at studying, but what you do is very powerful. You should still do more things to benefit the people in the future."
"Bago, I understand." After Zhao Yao finished speaking, he remembered that the eighth prince's birthday would be in a while, and by then the eighth prince would become a king. "Bago, has the prince told his father that he wants you to stay in the capital and not go to the fiefdom?"
"Didn't I tell you this?"
"Ah, myna, when did you tell me?"
The eighth prince apologized and smiled at Zhao Yao: "I forgot to tell you. My eldest brother has already told my father that he agreed to my staying in the capital."
Zhao Yao said happily: "That's great, so I don't have to be separated from you, Bage."
Seeing that Zhao Yao was so happy for him to stay, the eighth prince unconsciously showed a smile on his face.
"What, you don't want me to leave?"
"I'm very reluctant to part with you." Zhao Yao really didn't want to be separated from the eighth prince. Since King Chu went to Liangzhou, the relationship between Zhao Yao and the eighth prince has become better and better. Over the years, the two brothers have been inseparable and have never been apart. "Bago, if you go to the fiefdom, I will really be the only one left." By then, he will become a loner.
"Don't worry, you won't be left alone." The reason why the eighth prince wanted to be in the capital was, on the one hand, so that he could continue to stay with the prince and plan his affairs. On the other hand, he just couldn't bear to leave his younger brother Zhao Yao. If he goes to the fiefdom, there will no longer be anyone in the palace to protect the tenth brother.
"I knew that Brother Ba was the best to me." Zhao Yao stood up and ran to the Eighth Prince, stretched out his arms to hug the Eighth Prince, and rubbed his face with his little face. "My favorite is myna."
The eighth prince raised his hand and patted Zhao Yao's butt, laughing and scolding: "You little flattery."
Zhao Yao sat back again and asked curiously: "Brother Bage, although you stay in the capital, what about your fiefdom? Did the prince brother find out about your fiefdom from your father?"
"Eldest brother asked my father for Qingzhou for me."
"Qingzhou?" Zhao Yao exclaimed, "Isn't that on the seaside?" If Bage goes to Qingzhou, what the uncle does in Qingzhou will be known to Bage, and then Bage will discover what he has done over the years. things, and you will also know that his tenth brother is not an innocent fool.
"Yes, but my father did not agree."
"Why?" Zhao Yao breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, and then thought about it, it was impossible for his father to hand over Qingzhou to Bage. Although the father still doesn't know the true identity of his eighth son, due to the relationship between Bage and His Royal Highness, the father will not hand over the "money bag" of Qingzhou to Bage. Once it is handed over to Bage, it is equivalent to being handed over to Duke Zhen Guo. My father will never use Qingzhou to feed Duke Zhen Guo's purse.
The eighth prince couldn't tell Zhao Yao, he could only say: "It's not suitable for me." When the prince wanted to help the eighth prince to ask Qingzhou, the eighth prince knew that the emperor would not agree. Although Qingzhou is a small seaside town, after the sea ban was lifted, Qingzhou became very important and very rich.
Zhao Yao asked: "Then where did your father give you a fiefdom?"
Yu Hai said quickly: "The emperor did not grant any land to His Highness."
"Ah?" Zhao Yaozhen said in shock, "Father didn't grant a fief, is it true?"
The eighth prince glared at the talkative Yu Hai, and then said gently to Zhao Yao: "I will not leave the capital for the time being, so my father will not grant me a fief for the time being."
As soon as this matter was mentioned, Yu Hai felt aggrieved for the eighth prince. He whispered in a low voice: "That's not the case." The emperor deliberately refused to give the fief to His Highness.
"Didn't the second brother leave the capital? Why can't the second brother have a fief while the second brother can't have a fief?" Although I always knew that my father didn't like the son Bage, I didn't expect that the father wouldn't even give him a fief. , this is really too much.
"How can I compare with my second brother?" The eighth prince didn't pay much attention to this matter. "There's nothing wrong with not having a fiefdom for the time being. Besides, with a fiefdom, I can't stay in the capital to help my elder brother with peace of mind."
Yu Hai couldn't stand listening any more and said on behalf of the eighth prince: "Your Highness, all princes will have fiefs when they become queens, but you don't. This is not..." Yu Hai's eyes were red and he did not dare to finish the sentence. However, after thinking about it, he couldn't help but said, "Your Highness, you are the emperor's biological son. Why does the emperor treat you..."
The Eighth Prince interrupted Yu Hai and glared at Yu Hai sternly.
Yu Hai was too scared to speak anymore.
"If Seventh Brother stays in the capital, doesn't he also have a fiefdom? Why doesn't Father give you a fiefdom? Father is going too far." He didn't understand why Father hated Eighth Brother so much. Eighth Brother had done nothing wrong, let alone A heinous thing. Over the years, at least on the surface, Bago is very honest and has been trying his best to assist the prince brother. Even if the father is angry with Bage's mother and concubine, he can't always vent his anger on Bage. This is too unfair to Bage.
"Bago, I will help you ask your father tomorrow why he didn't grant you a fief."
Seeing Zhao Yao's angry look, the eighth prince hurriedly said to him: "Tenth brother, don't ask my father. If you do, your father will be angry. Besides, I don't care whether I have a fief or not." It didn't matter to him that he didn't have a fiefdom.
"But……"
"No buts. Listen to Brother Bagh and leave this matter alone." The Eighth Prince was happy that Zhao Yao was angry and unjust for him, but he didn't want to involve his Tenth Brother. "If you anger Father, you will be punished by copying books."
"Bago, even if the emperor punishes me to copy books ten thousand times, I will still feel unjust for you." Zhao Yao felt a little guilty when he said this, because the emperor was very partial to his youngest son.
"I'm really fine, you don't have to be angry on my behalf." The Eighth Prince comforted him for a long time, and finally Zhao Yao gave up the idea of venting his anger on him.
"Bago, I just feel sorry for you." Bago thought that he was not favored by his father like him. If Bago found out that this was not the case in the future, I wonder if Bago would hate him. "Father is unfair to you."
"I don't care." The eighth prince stretched out his hand and rubbed Zhao Yao's little head, "Eighth brother just has you as his younger brother." He had long since given up on his father's love. For him, having ten brothers is enough for him.
"Myna, if I have a fiefdom in the future, I will give you half of my fiefdom."
"Okay." The Eighth Prince stopped talking about this matter and changed the subject to talk about other things. After talking for a while, he reminded Zhao Yao that it was getting late and he should go to bed.
Zhao Yao originally planned to sleep with the Eighth Prince tonight, but because of his guilty conscience, he did not dare to stay the night.
The Eighth Prince happened to have something to do, so Zhao Yao's decision not to stay was in line with his wishes. He asked Yu Hai to send Zhao Yao out.
"Yu Hai, did the prince brother help Bage fight for the fiefdom?"
"Yes, but the emperor still said that he would give His Highness a fiefdom in the future." Yu Hai felt aggrieved for the eighth prince, "His Royal Highness said that he would give His Highness a good place to fiefdom in the future."
"Fortunately, there is still a brother who is kind to the Eighth Brother."
Zhao Yao said a few more words to Yu Hai to take good care of the eighth prince, and then left.
After returning to his yard, Zhao Yao sighed heavily: "Alas..."
"Your Highness, do you feel sorry for His Highness the Eighth?" Tong Xi is indeed Zhao Yao's personal eunuch.
"A bit." Zhao Yao rubbed his nose guiltily and said, "If Bago knows the truth in the future, I'm afraid Bago will hate me to death."
"No way. Besides, Your Highness, you didn't hide it from His Highness the Eighth Prince on purpose. After all, you didn't know about it before." Tongxi said, "Also, no one can tell. It's impossible for His Highness the Eighth Prince to know."
Zhao Yao thought about it and thought so. If it hadn't been for that assassination, he wouldn't have discovered that his father cared about him.
"Oh, my father is really treating myna...it makes me look like I picked him up."
"It's true." My colleague asked curiously and doubtfully, "Your Highness, what did the Eighth Prince's mother and concubine do to make the Emperor hate her and her son so much?"
"I asked my mother and concubine, and she only knew that the eighth brother's mother and concubine climbed onto the dragon's bed while my father was drunk. She didn't know anything else."
"Your Highness, if this is the case, it won't make the Emperor hate His Highness the Eighth Prince and their mother and son so much."
"There must be other things." Zhao Yao had a guess in his mind that it should be related to the Southern Wei Dynasty. Although Bage's mother-in-law is not from the Southern Wei Dynasty, she must be inextricably related to the Southern Wei Dynasty, otherwise the father would not be so angry.
"Your Highness, although the Eighth Prince is powerful, he is really pitiful." If your father doesn't love you, your mother won't love you.
Zhao Yao sighed again with a melancholy look on his face: "Alas..."
Tongxi said: "Your Highness, if you feel guilty, please be kinder to His Highness the Eighth."
"Do you think I should ask my father tomorrow?" Zhao Yao was confused. He had been pretending not to know anything in the past few years. If he went to ask his father, would he break the layer of paper? To be honest, he felt that it was good to get along with his father as he was now. If that layer of paper was broken, he wouldn't know how to face his father, and he would always feel embarrassed.
"Your Highness, it's not that the Eighth Prince doesn't want you to take care of it. I feel that the Eighth Prince must have his own ideas. You'd better not interfere. You might be doing a disservice to the Eighth Prince."
"You're right, then I won't ask tomorrow." He could see that Ba Ge really didn't care about whether he had a fief or not. With Bage's methods and the power of Southern Wei behind him, Bage might have already had his own "fiefdom".
Speaking of which, what did Starling ask Uwe to do, and was it successful?
At this moment, Xiao Jin flew back from outside and landed on Zhao Yao's arm.
Zhao Yao saw a letter on Xiao Jin's feet and hurriedly took it off and read it.
Tongxi saw that Zhao Yao's expression suddenly became very shocked, and asked with concern: "Your Highness, what happened?"
Zhao Yaochen said solemnly: "Sixth brother's second cousin, the second son of the Yuan family, is dead."
Zhao Yao: I'm afraid that mynas will beat me to death in the future.
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