Qianping Palace.
Zhao Hongming came to the palace gate, bowed and shouted loudly: "My dearest minister, I respectfully wish you holy peace."
After a while, Feng Dabao walked out of the palace as usual and said humbly: "Your Majesty, Fifth Highness, Your Majesty is discussing political matters with ministers. It is inconvenient to summon His Highness. You can go back!"
Zhao Hongming had become accustomed to this. He shouted "My dearest minister, please retire" towards the palace and turned around to leave.
As an unpopular prince, he could see Emperor Jian'an only a handful of times a year.
Except for Emperor Jian'an's birthday or major festivals, Emperor Jian'an basically would not summon him.
Especially for a period of time after the death of the mother-in-law, the number of summons became visible to the naked eye.
Maybe three months ago, the original person still had some complaints, but now Zhao Hongming really doesn't care at all.
After coming out of Qianping Palace, Zhao Hongming went to Cining Palace and Kun'an Palace to pay respects to the empress and empress dowager.
Since there was no mother-in-law, the queen became his nominal and de facto mother.
However, in addition to paying attention to the princes and princesses born to her, the current empress does not care much about the princes and princesses who are not legitimate children.
By marrying into the royal family, you will receive the resources of the Wei State and at the same time be burdened by the fate of the country, and your martial arts will be constantly worn away.
The queen used to be an innate warrior, but now her third-level innate cultivation level is only at the ninth-level level of Tongqiao.
It also showed a downward trend, and Qi and blood also began to decline.
It is almost a consensus that the royal family will not live long, and it is insurmountable.
Therefore, the queen spends a lot of time practicing every day to maintain her own cultivation, and does not have much time to talk to him.
"Your Highness, the Queen is practicing today. It is not convenient to see Your Highness. You can go back."
"My son, please retire."
Zhao Hongming didn't say much, bowed and retreated.
Whether he was paying greetings to His Majesty or the Queen, Zhao Hongming never saw them in person.
Only the Empress Dowager is old and feels sorry for her grandchildren. Today she met them and rewarded them with some cakes and money.
But this cannot change the fact that Zhao Hongming's sense of presence is gradually diminishing.
Chang Wubing and Wang Bao, who were behind him, were quite unwilling and powerless to see Zhao Hongming alone like this every day.
On the way back, Zhao Hongming met many princes and princesses who came to pay their respects.
He doesn't have a close relationship with these brothers and sisters, and has only an average relationship with them.
Therefore, when everyone met, they greeted each other according to royal etiquette, and at most exchanged greetings without much conversation.
Since Zhao Hongming did not have a concubine, he went directly to have a meal after paying his respects to the queen.
The other princes and princesses had to go to their respective mothers and concubines to pay their respects, sit for a while, lose their temper, act coquettishly, and enjoy the little royal affection.
At the same time, Chen Mansion, the backyard martial arts field.
collapse!
A crack ripped through the air.
The silver arrow hit the red bullseye a hundred steps away like a shooting star.
Under the powerful force, the arrow directly punched a small hole as thick as a wrist in the center of the target.
The smaller half of the arrow body sank into the stone wall outside the target, and the tail of the arrow kept shaking and making a buzzing sound.
"Sister, you can even pull a three-stone bow (about 150 pounds). Have you made another breakthrough recently?"
The speaker was a young man in brocade clothes, about twelve or thirteen years old, with a handsome appearance.
Next to him stood a woman wearing a black outfit.
She holds a bow in both hands and is calm and composed. She looks to be fifteen or sixteen years old, with a slender figure and a pair of eyes as dazzling as stars.
This woman is none other than Chen Xuerong, the daughter of Chen Mou, Minister of Industry.
"It's still a little bit worse. It's still at the seventh level of Tongqiao."
The young man took a breath of cold air: "Sister, you have reached the seventh level of opening the orifice at the age of sixteen. You may have to break through the innateness before you turn twenty. I am still at the fifth level of opening the pulse."
"So I want you to work hard and practice martial arts on weekdays, and don't play around. Now that all the countries are standing side by side, no one knows when a war will break out. When many small countries were destroyed, those princes and nobles who had no power to restrain the chickens were killed and killed. They were killed, and even the female family members were taken into the military camps and turned into playthings. There is nothing wrong with working harder now."
"That's not the case. Our country, Wei, is also a first-class powerful country."
"Can you predict the future?"
"Let's not talk about it anymore. Yesterday, His Majesty called you into the palace to teach His Highness the Fifth Highness in martial arts. His Highness seems to have little status in the palace. Are you going, sister? How about we deal with it casually?"
"Why not go? Can we refuse His Majesty's decree?"
Chen Xuerong put down the long bow in his hand and said: "In addition, Cheng'an, I will tell you a truth. In the future, you must be modest and prudent in dealing with others, and you must have your own principles. We do not flatter others when they are at their peak, and we do not flatter others when they are at their lowest. Go and add insult to injury. Do not use the hidden dragon, or jump into the abyss. How can you be sure that the fifth prince is not accumulating strength for when he will use it?"
The young man was speechless for a moment.
"Rong'er is right, don't use the hidden dragon, or jump into the abyss, don't underestimate the people around you."
When the two saw the speaker, they said in unison: "Dad!"
The speaker was none other than Chen Mou, Minister of Industry.
He was wearing official uniform and had just returned from the imperial court.
"I asked you to teach His Majesty the Fifth Prince this time, not only because you have some research in martial arts, but also partly because I am afraid that His Majesty is trying to beat me."
Chen Xuerong frowned and said, "Because of the prince?"
"Um."
"Dad, it is not a wise move for you to get involved in the fight between the crown princes too early."
"There is nothing we can do about it. There is a severe drought in the south this year and the water conservancy is in disrepair. The Empress Dowager's Zhou family is quite powerful in the south. Without the help of their Ziyun Sword Sect, some policies cannot be implemented. I'm worried about the Chu Congress in the future. Seizing the opportunity to use this opportunity to send troops will be detrimental to Wei."
"Should Dad clarify the stakes in this matter with His Majesty?"
"That means letting your relatives get involved in politics." Chen Mou did not extend the topic further: "When do you plan to enter the palace?"
"I'll go in the afternoon."
"Well, since His Majesty wants to beat me, don't go empty-handed. Take a treasure bow from my study and give it to His Highness the Fifth Prince."
"I see."
"Cheng'an!" Chen Mou said seriously: "Have you finished your homework for today?"
The young man Chen Chengan trembled and muttered: "Is it probably done?"
"What do you mean probably! I don't think you did it at all. You're such a jerk!" Chen Mou slapped him in the face, making Chen Chengan scream and scream.
"If you were as hard-working as your sister, I wouldn't be mad at you every day."
On the martial arts field, there was a flurry of excitement.
Chen Mou is also a martial artist of the eighth level of Qiao Qiao. When he moves his hands, he is very powerful.
After a few breaths, Chen Chengan became bruised and swollen, looking like a pig's head. No one could recognize that he was the eldest young master of the Chen family.
…
After finishing the art of war teaching, Zhao Hongming returned to his Qingfeng Pavilion.
At the door, he saw Zhou Zhanshi from the East Palace.
Zhan Shi is not a name, but an official name. He is responsible for the affairs of the queen and the prince's family. He is the chief of the prince's officials and is a third-grade official.
Zhou Zhanshi's real name is Zhou Bochuan. He comes from a sword sect family and is a man of both civil and military skills.
After seeing Zhao Hongming's figure, he stood up and paid his respects calmly: "I have met His Highness Fifth Highness, Your Highness Jin An."
"No need to be polite, I wonder what happened to Zhou Zhan this time?"
"Back to the Fifth Highness, I heard today that His Highness wants to practice martial arts. I specially ordered my subordinates to come here to advise me. I also brought several famous Confucian masterpieces with me. I hope Your Highness will not neglect his royal studies for the sake of small things."
From what he said, it seems that the prince heard about going to the academy and worked with the people below him to come up with a countermeasure against the fourth prince.
What the fourth prince wants is to gain fame and win people's hearts.
What the prince wanted was to manage upwards, figure out the thoughts of Emperor Jian'an, and stabilize his position.
Both have their own needs.
But when it comes to Zhao Hongming, things are a little different.
The prince clearly doesn't want to give any substantial benefits.
