Prison Dragon

Chapter 14

The emperor summoned the princes to ask questions, as usual, it should be to assess the homework needed in daily life, and then listen to the princes' opinions on the affairs of the court.

Prince Yang Jian fluently expressed his thoughts according to the answers prepared in advance, Zhang Taifu looked at the prince and nodded with satisfaction.

Although at first glance, he recited the answers written by others, but seeing that his performance was quite serious, Taifu Zhang just turned a blind eye.

The person who wrote the answer was quite capable, I didn't expect that there was such a visionary person in Qian Taishi's residence.

Yang Jian followed Zhang Taifu's gratified gaze upwards, only to see the emperor on the high platform staring down at Yang You.

As for Yang You, who was kneeling and sitting on the spot, staring intently at the Persian carpet, his lips moved slightly, as if he was talking to himself, but he didn't know what he was talking about.

Yang Jian's good mood because of his smooth answer was completely ruined, and he sat on the futon with a sullen expression.

The second prince Yang Ti then replied.

Yang Ti's literary talents are excellent, and he uttered a gorgeous parallel essay eloquently, which made all the princes daunted.

Yang You's eyes were sleepy, and his head dropped bit by bit.

"Fifth brother." The sixth prince Yang Xiu called him in a low voice, and put his hand on his chin.

Yang You woke up suddenly, wiped the corners of his mouth, the eighth prince suddenly babbled and called his brother, and was led out by the eunuch with a very winking look.

Only the voices of the princes were left in the Shang Study Room.

When it was Yang You's turn, he stared blankly at the crowd. Zhang Taifu asked three questions in a row, but Yang You didn't even answer, and directly said that he didn't know, he hadn't heard of it, and he couldn't.

Zhang Taifu had never seen someone who was so perfunctory and perfunctory. He raised his beard and almost threw a book and cursed. He looked at the emperor and suddenly lost his heart.

Just perfunctory, the fifth prince is not an important role.

It doesn't matter if he has no ambitions, maybe he can get a good result in the future.

The sixth prince Yang Xiu stood up and said a lot of nonsense.

Yang You picked out his ears. Generally speaking, what Yang Xiu meant was that ministers could not be loyal and chaste all the time, and would be blinded by power and do things that would endanger the monarch.The king should have his own ears and eyeliner. Outside the court, he should set up a team that belongs only to the king, who only obeys the emperor's orders and is not under the jurisdiction of others, and supervises all officials for the emperor.

The emperor didn't speak, but he seemed quite satisfied with his expression.

Yang Xiu had already caught the eyes of his older brothers. The core of his proposal was to limit the power of the ministers and make the emperor's power more centralized.

The older princes and relatives in the family are all high-ranking officials, so naturally they don't like to hear what he said.

Yang Xiu also knew that he wanted to make his brothers hate him.

But so what?He just needs to please the emperor.

The Seventh Prince Yang Lun answered quite well.

Yang Youan sat there with peace of mind and asked three questions.

For those who should not show their talents, it is a huge risk to show themselves rashly.

The emperor is obviously not a person who only uses his talents.

Rather than showing off your talent, it's better to have a good face.

Yang You could feel the emperor's sticky eyes without looking, and smiled self-deprecatingly.

Finally, the Eighth Prince was also invited in.A three-year-old baby couldn't even speak clearly. Zhang Taifu put on a show, asked him a few questions gently, and got a lot of babbling and incomprehensible words.

Wait for Yang Ni to answer and play, and the questioning strategy will be considered complete.

The emperor was woken up by his male pet, and after hearing Zhang Taifu's summary, he stopped Yang You.

"Old Five, your homework is too bad."

After everyone left, the emperor said to him.

"I am born unable to read books," Yang You said with a smile, showing a shy expression, "Father, please don't force me."

"Hmph!" The emperor touched the male pet's hand, "Everyone else wants to stay in the capital, but you only want to go out and enjoy yourself every day."

Yang You chuckled.

"It's your mouth that makes me feel at ease. Other children are too thoughtful, so only you two can make me happy. I will see what you do and think. When you should be there, I won't Without you. Go back."

Yang You saluted, took Yang Niu from the hand of the eunuch, turned and left.

Many palace people's eyes fell on him, Yang You knew that these people were the eyeliner of each palace.

Habitually ignoring other people's eyes, he walked out with Yang Ni in his arms.

The sixth prince, Yang Xiu, was waiting for him outside the door.

Yang Xiu's mother, like Yang You's mother and concubine, was born as a prostitute and was brought to the palace.However, Yang Xiu's mother was a little inferior psychologically, she had not had a concubine in the palace for many years.

Yang You has been bullied badly enough, he is even worse than Yang You.

With the birth of Yang Niu, Concubine Li was considered a figure in the palace, and the emperor came to the harem less and less often, and once or twice a month he rested in Concubine Li's Palace.

Seeing that Yang Xiu was really sad, Yang You asked Yang Xiu to play with him.

For the sake of Concubine Li, others didn't make things difficult for Yang Xiu.

The two have been together for more than two years now.

Yang Xiu also became one of the few friends and brothers of Yang You in the palace.

Yang Xiu was also an idler on weekdays, so he leaned over to him and asked, "When we were answering the questions, why were you in a daze all the time? What were you thinking?"

"what?"

Yang Xiudao: "It was when the Second Emperor was reciting poems and composing Fu, what were you looking down at, and talking to yourself, I noticed it all."

"Why do you keep looking at me when you're fine?" Yang You punched him, tilted his head and thought for a while, his fair neck tensed into a curve.

Yang Xiu stared closely at his neck, and his Adam's apple moved slightly.

Yang You thought about it for a long time, but he didn't remember what he was looking at. He just got used to being distracted. He said, "I was counting how many silk threads were used in the pattern of the Persian carpet."

Yang Xiu frowned, "How many?"

Yang You said: "Well, about 150 seven."

Yang Xiu was puzzled: "Can you see clearly with your naked eyes?"

Yang Youdao: "I can't see clearly, so I'll just say a few."

Yang Xiu put his arms around his shoulders and took him into his arms. The two were about the same height. Yang Xiu smelled Yang You's vague fragrance from the side of his face, and said with a smile: "Fifth brother, your mouth But it's getting more slippery. How honest you were before. But since you entered the Shang Study Room, you've become more slippery. Zhang Taifu taught you?"

"Teacher Zhang can't teach me to be glib," Yang You shook his head, "I usually like fried food even when I eat. A little oil tastes better and I'm hungry."

Yang Xiu chuckled, raised his finger and touched his earlobe unintentionally, and Yang You shrank his neck.

Yang Xiu said: "I heard that General Di Xiao brought a sea dongqing from outside the Great Wall, do you want to see it?"

"Why do you always like to join in the fun? People from the third brother's family, you are not afraid to go and make you look good!" Yang You looked at the sky, smashed his mouth, "I won't go, I'm afraid my little lady will be killed. Terrified."

The little lady is a red-billed jade raised by him. Although it is a male, but she is good-looking, she is called the little lady.

Yang Xiu hated iron for being weak: "You don't get tired of watching those chirping birds all day long, so go live with your little lady. Haidongqing is so majestic."

Yang You smiled lightly: "I'm going back to feed the birds."

Yang Ni slapped his hands like a starling and repeatedly called: "Little lady, little lady..."

He speaks with a bit of a tongue, and he is slow in learning to speak, and often cannot express himself.But there are only two words that are extremely standard.

One is the elder brother, and the other is the elder brother's little lady.

It's strange to say that children generally like to be called mother, but the first one Yang Ni will call is brother, and he will call him brother for everything.

Yang Xiu didn't force it either, he knew that Yang You usually walked around with a bird, so he went to get close to the third prince by himself.

The third prince Yang Ren and General Di Xiao are two aunt brothers who are showing off that they can go out of the palace to watch birds.

Yang You watched them flirt and pretend for a while, the palace was boring, so he could only watch everyone play around, until Yang Yu pulled his hair to urge him, and he hurried back.

Zhan Fang, the eldest maid of Qingfang Palace, was already waiting at the gate of Qingfang Palace, hurriedly urging people to inform Concubine Li.

She took Yang Niu and asked Yang You, "Your Highness, what's your question today?"

Yang You thought about it, no matter what he did, with his face, the emperor would like him, and he had no intention of taking the throne, the emperor liked him even more.

Zhan Fang asked if he had left a good impression on the emperor.

Then he can answer that he is a good prince in the emperor's heart.

Yang You nodded and said, "It's okay."

Zhan Fang smiled and welcomed him in.

Concubine Li was sitting on the rocking chair, flipping through some booklets, three maids fanned her, and one beat her leg.There is an ice sculpture carved into the shape of a tiger and leopard in the room, and the water vapor and coolness hit the face together, which is a bit abrupt compared with the hot outside.

She saw Yang Niu from afar and beckoned. Zhan Fang hugged Yang Niu and walked in front of her. birthday, the gift will be as we said before."

Zhan Fang said yes.

However, everyone in the harem knows about the male favorites that the emperor favors a little bit. Yang You had never heard of another male favorite in the Qingliang Palace, so he asked, "When did the Qingliang Palace get another one?"

Concubine Li looked at him in surprise, her son, who has never heard of the world, would care about these things one day?But she still said: "You should see today."

It was the man standing behind the emperor.

Now in the harem, men are the most favored, but it is still a few noble concubines who control the power, and women disdain to deal with male favorites.

Concubine Li didn't seem to have so many scruples, she would get along well with the emperor's male favorite every time.

This is why the emperor likes her.

Sometimes the emperor would bring his male favorite to spend the night with Concubine Li.

Yes, it was a sleepover together.

At that time, Yang You would go outside alone for the night.

The bigger he got, the more he couldn't face Concubine Li.

Concubine Li was in the south of the Yangtze River, she would swear a few words when she met an unsatisfactory guest, but now in the palace, she didn't have a single complaint.

Be it male favorites or emperors, they are all men, and what she is best at is dealing with men.

Concubine Li said: "He was sent by Concubine Wu Hui's family. It is said that he is Concubine Wu Hui's nephew, named Wu Yizhi, who has been named Junyang Jun."

She said, with an unknown smile on her face.

Concubine Wu Hui is the mother and concubine of the Seventh Prince Yang Lun.If you compare carefully, the fifth prince Yang You and his two younger brothers - the sixth prince Yang Xiu and the seventh prince Yang Lun are both born in one year, and they are separated by only two or three months.

This year they are all 15 years old.

If he can't become the prince, according to the regulations of this dynasty, the prince has to be proclaimed king and is not allowed to stay in the capital.

This is a rule formulated to prevent the prince from making trouble.

But there are exceptions. If the emperor loves a certain prince, he can indeed let them stay in the capital. However, when he becomes king in this way, there will only be taxation and no actual fiefdom.

For ambitious people, the two options have their own advantages and disadvantages. Staying in other places has their own room for development, while staying in the capital is closer to the center of the power vortex.

In a few months, it will be time for the Ministry of Rites to draw up titles and fiefdoms for them.At this juncture, when Concubine Wu Hui sent her nephew, anyone with a discerning eye could see what she was planning, it was nothing more than wanting to regain the emperor's favor.

She chose to stay in the center of the vortex, hoping to keep the Seventh Prince in the capital.

Speaking of the Seventh Prince, Yang You didn't remember what he looked like.

He could only attribute it to the fact that this brother was too low-key and concealed himself well.

Concubine Li looked at Yang You, hesitated whether to speak, thought for a long time, and finally said: "Your, if you don't want to leave Concubine Mu, then stay."

But Yang You said: "Mother and concubine, I heard from the palace people that my father seems to want to seal me to the seaside, and then I can take you and my brother to watch the sea."

The light in Concubine Li's eyes dimmed a bit, she changed her posture and sat down, put her chin on top of Yang Niu's head, and said, "Didn't you often skip class to see the sea in Jiangnan? Didn't you see enough?"

Yang You nodded: "I haven't seen enough. The sea is the most vast and free. After seeing the sea, you will feel that no matter how big the palace is, it is just a cage."

Concubine Li said: "There is delicious food and drink in the cage, and there are people waiting on it. There is nothing on the sea, and I have to worry about storms and pirates."

Yang You said: "Although the little lady is in the cage every day, if you don't take her out for a walk, she will get angry and get sick."

Concubine Li's tone was a little harsh, "That's why I advised you not to keep that bird. You think about unrealistic things all day long, and you will die sooner or later. A sparrow has a way of living like a sparrow, and a phoenix also has a way of living like a phoenix. You are the prince, Naturally, you have to live like a prince."

Yang You laughed and said, "How can a jade with a red mouth think about Phoenix?"

Once again he rejected his mother's proposal.

Concubine Li remained silent with a sullen face.

Yang Ni seemed to have sensed the displeasure around her, and began to call her brother.

Li Fei lowered her head and scolded him: "Sit down!"

He looked at Yang You tearfully, Yang You smiled apologetically.

Zhan Fang was afraid that they would not stop talking if they continued, so she hurriedly asked someone to pass the meal.

Concubine Li slowly stroked the patterns on Yang Ni's brocade clothes, and said, "You have to know, I'm doing it for your own good, and you think it's a good thing for you to be a prince? As a prince, you stay in this palace. If you grab it, you have to be the fish on someone else's knife."

Yang You smiled, "If you don't want to be a fish, you have to be a knife. I want to be a knife, and others want to be a knife. The chopping board is so big. If other people are my fish, why am I not someone else's fish? Why don't you jump out of this world completely?" Come to the world and find a place where there are no knives or fish. Isn't it good?"

Concubine Li looked at him, she had grown old over the years, but her beautiful face was still the same, and even had a bit of charm of time, but now the emperor is not interested in women anymore.If not, she wouldn't have worked so hard.

As a prostitute, she could enter the imperial palace and transform from a lowly beauty into the concubine Li of today. If she hadn't had ambition and planning, she would have been a victim of the palace struggle long ago.Yang You and Yang Mi may not be able to grow up safely.

But she happened to have a son who had no desires and desires, and the younger one was not yet old enough to make a move, how could she be reconciled to this?

So what if she turned into Concubine Li?Others would still secretly laugh at her as a country prostitute.

The higher her status, the more she understands a truth - she will never be able to get rid of her past.

The only way is to take the highest seat.

Let everyone dare not talk about her anymore, and take the initiative to beautify her.

She couldn't, but her son could.

A child is the continuation of her blood, and must inherit her destiny and ambition.

Concubine Li said: "You and Nei'er are both my children, no one understands you better than me. An idle prince is not the life you really want."

If possible, Yang You would also like to be a wise king, make great achievements, and also want to be a fierce general, guarding all directions for the country.

But he is a prince with an embarrassing position. He is not good enough to fight for the position at the top, and he cannot be an official at the bottom.

Leaving the government is his most suitable choice.

Yang You had a headache. He thought that he had already said this question many times, and his answer was clear and firm enough, but Concubine Li was still very stubborn. He could only say: "Zi Feiyu and Anzhi Yuzhile?"

Yang Ni twisted anxiously in Concubine Li's arms, Yang You hugged him and comforted him.

"Brother will take you to see the little lady!"

Li Fei didn't speak, and watched them leave coldly.

Zhan Fang walked in and asked, "Ma'am, where are the tables set up today?"

Concubine Li was really angry, and said with a sneer, "Whatever you eat, you'll be full after watching the birds!"

Zhan Fang stood aside resentfully.