EBE Chapter 194: Having Supporters
Chapter 194: Having Supporters
The eldest prince Xiao Yuzhe was invited in.
He had a distinguished status and was arranged to sit at the main table, just opposite Jing Qishan.
As soon as he came in, everyone inside greeted him, but he just responded indifferently without saying much.
After greeting each other, everyone went back to chatting about their own things.
Although Xiao Yuzhe was the eldest prince, all the ministers knew that he was not favored and was dull. He always did thankless work. The emperor assigned him work in remote places, which was equivalent to putting out fires. He was sent wherever there was an emergency.
He just came back from the northwest recently, reportedly escorting the protons from the north back.
If it weren't for the remoteness and danger, such a job would not have been his turn.
Now that he was attending the Grand Tutor's birthday banquet, it must have been because other princes were too lazy to come, and he happened to be in the palace, so the old emperor asked him to come on behalf of the royal family.
There are so many old ministers in the court. Today one of them is holding a birthday banquet, tomorrow another one is celebrating his grandson's full moon, and the day after tomorrow his son is getting married. The royal family has to be notified of all of them. The emperor has only a few sons, and he doesn't have time to attend all of them.
Before the banquet started, Jing Qishan on the opposite side was eating snacks while observing Xiao Yuzhe.
Xiao Yuzhe just sat there quietly, occasionally chatting with the person next to him. He seemed very distant and difficult to approach.
On the contrary, there are many people surrounding Jing Qishan, and each of them wants to get close to him.
Jing Qishan doesn't want to offend anyone, but no one can expect to get any useful information from him.
Halfway through, Xiao Yuzhe wanted to go to the bathroom. When Jing Qishan saw him, he also put down the wine glass in his hand and said, "You've drunk too much. Go get some water!"
The Grand Tutor's house has a public toilet for guests to use, which has compartments inside.
After Xiao Yuzhe came in, Jing Qishan arrived soon after.
The two were in adjacent cubicles.
Xiao Yuzhe saw Jing Qishan come in and nodded at him.
Jing Qishan also nodded at him, and then asked indifferently: "Did the eldest prince drink too much?"
"Not much." Xiao Yuzhe thought he was here with a mission, so how could he drink too much?
Jing Qishan said, "I heard that the eldest prince is an excellent chess player. I would like to learn from him. Can you invite your highness to play a game of chess in the garden behind?"
Xiao Yuzhe was stunned for a moment, then said, "Okay."
The two of them relieved themselves, washed their hands outside, and then went to a pavilion in the back garden.
Upon seeing this, the servants inside quickly served them tea and snacks.
Jing Qishan ordered the servants: "Stay away. I will call you over if I need you."
The servant moved away.
Jing Qishan set up the chessboard and said to the eldest prince, "Eldest Prince, please!"
Xiao Yuzhe started to play chess.
When they heard that Jing Qishan and the eldest prince were playing chess in the back garden, the guests who came to the banquet all smelled a strange atmosphere.
Nowadays, factional struggles are fierce. Although the eldest prince is not favored, he is the eldest son after all. Many ministers believe that the eldest son should be the heir, so the eldest prince also has a small group of supporters.
So many people sent people over to observe secretly.
However, the two people in the pavilion just played chess quietly and rarely communicated with each other.
Besides, they were too far away to hear clearly what they were communicating.
However, there is one person among them who can read lips, and it is said that everything he saw was about chess pieces.
Jing Qishan said to the eldest prince: "Your Highness, why don't you make this move? This move may seem insignificant, but it is crucial and is the key to success or failure."
The eldest prince said calmly: "This is a risky move. I am worried that you will block me and I will lose everything."
Jing Qishan said with a smile: "How dare I? I am here to learn chess from the eldest prince. Even if I block him, I can only block one side."
"..."
Watching people play chess is a very boring thing, especially when the board is full of black and white pieces. They are far away and cannot see the layout of the black and white pieces clearly. Even if someone knows how to read lips, the listeners will still find it boring.
After a while, the listeners dispersed.
Only the eldest prince stared at the chess pieces on the chessboard, and then looked at Jing Qishan in disbelief.
Jing Qishan nodded solemnly at him.
The eldest prince said, "I don't understand the chess moves of Minister Jing."
Jing Qishan smiled and said, "The eldest prince does not need to understand. If the eldest prince follows the official's route, he will definitely win!"
……
After coming out of the Grand Tutor's Mansion, Xiao Yuzhe was completely confused.
Jing Qishan actually wants to support him to take the throne!
It's not that he doesn't have such ambitions, but he has been out of favor over the years. His mother asked him to hide his shortcomings. His mother was also bullied by other concubines in the harem for many years, and she only protected him by pretending to be weak.
He was even listed under the name of Concubine Shu.
Such an unpopular person actually dreams of getting to the top?
Jing Qishan is so brave and ambitious!
With his support, can he take the throne?
……
At night, after Li Yujiao and her husband coaxed little Huaning to sleep, they turned on the lights and looked at little Huaning's cute little face under the light while whispering to each other.
"My husband wants to support the eldest prince?"
"Yes."
"Why is that?" Li Yujiao asked.
Jing Qishan held her hand and explained, "The Queen is too ambitious. Once something happens to the Emperor, she will do anything to get to the top. People like us who don't cling to her will either bow down and become her minions or be kicked out. In short, there will be no good ending."
Li Yujiao couldn't help but say in her heart: Jing Qishan can see the situation clearly.
In the original book, he was the current queen's minion, and he killed many ministers who opposed her ruling from behind the scenes, so he became a treacherous minister.
She couldn't help but hold his hand excitedly: "Husband, then you must not support the queen."
Jing Qishan seemed to have sensed something, and he asked, "Does my wife feel the same way?"
Li Yujiao said: "I have read some history books recently, and I think the superior must have the ability of the superior. The son of the queen is only a few years old. What future does he have for becoming the emperor at such a young age?
Besides, since ancient times, when the Queen Mother was in charge of government, the situation in the court was unstable. If the Queen really came to power, all the ministers in the court would have to listen to her. The ministers are all men, so they naturally don’t want a woman to rule. Besides, I have seen the Queen, and she is not like the Emperor Wu, and she does not have the courage to take charge of government affairs.”
Anyway, I just don't want Jing Qishan to go through the same journey of his previous life again.
Jing Qishan hugged her and said, "I think so too."
He also didn't want to retrace his past life's path.
Although the couple have their own concerns, they have the same goal.
……
Court.
Today's topic is that there are many bandits blocking the road in the northwest. After the northwest garrison was dispatched to intervene, it was discovered that a large cult had formed there.
Because there are so many people and many civilians are involved, the general over there hopes that the court will send a minister or prince to take charge.
In this way, the candidates are limited to a few people: Jing Qishan, the eldest prince, the second prince, and several other marquises and grand tutors.