Chapter 273 Forced
"Do you want to try it?" Zhao Xing asked jokingly.
“Your concubine…your concubine…” Jiang Liangdi blushed, stammered and lowered her head.
Zhao Xing stroked her face and said, "You can continue to paint, but you can't let others see it. Next time when you serve me, remember to bring the album with you. I want to see it, understand?"
"I...I understand!" Jiang Liangdi nodded.
"I'm leaving first."
Zhao Xing patted Jiang Liangdi on the back. Jiang Liangdi understood and quickly got down from Zhao Xing's arms, standing aside at a loss.
"Haha."
Zhao Xing walked out laughing.
"Your Highness, the cloak!"
Jiang Liangdi shouted, ran over to get the cloak and put it on Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing looked at Jiang Liangdi who was tying his cloak for him.
Jiang Liangdi's dull expression before was more like a disguise.
Now I don’t know if her true colors have been exposed, she is no longer pretending to be dull, and seems a little naive.
After she fastened her cloak, Zhao Xing reached out, held her chin, and bent down to kiss her.
As soon as their lips touched, Jiang Liangdi seemed like a different person. She put her arms around Zhao Xing's neck and took the initiative.
She kissed Zhao Xing until he was breathless, then let go of him with a look of reluctance on her face.
Zhao Xing: "..."
"hehe."
Jiang Liangdi looked at Zhao Xing who was fleeing in panic and laughed with her hands covering her mouth.
…………
"Oh my god, this woman is such a fujoshi." Zhao Xing thought angrily in his heart.
Although Jiang Liangdi had been proactive before, she was not as proactive as she was just now.
Could it be that Jiang Liangdi had been restrained before, and I just revealed her true face and also unsealed her?
Thinking about how he had just escaped and seemed to have vaguely heard Jiang Liangdi's laughter, Zhao Xing felt a little depressed.
But I can't say I'm angry. It's very rare to find a top-notch person like Jiang Liangdi.
The concubines in the Eastern Palace, even the carefree Ruolan, were very shy in bed.
Although the shy and timid looks of Yu Yanran and Shulan are also very attractive, people like Jiang Liangdi can give him a different experience.
"Your Highness, where are we going next?"
Sanshui saw Zhao Xing coming out of Jiang Liangdi's yard, and he was absent-minded and walked forward aimlessly. They were almost at the garden, so he had to ask.
Zhao Xing came back to his senses and said, "Let's go to Xia Pavilion."
"Your Highness, Xia Ge is over there." Sanshui pointed to the left side behind.
"Why didn't you remind me earlier!" Zhao Xing glared at him and turned around immediately.
Sanshui: “…”
…………
When he arrived outside Xia Pavilion, Zhao Xing hesitated.
After hesitating for a long time, he gritted his teeth and walked in.
The palace maids who were busy in the courtyard bowed hurriedly and ran into the house to report.
However, when Zhao Xing walked to the door, Li Yunchu did not come out to greet him.
The palace maid at the door lifted the thick curtain, stood with her back bent, and waited for Zhao Xing to enter before lowering the curtain.
Zhao Xing walked around the screen and saw Li Yunchu sitting on the couch, reading a book in his hands, as if he was unaware that he was coming.
Instead, the maids who came with her as a dowry looked at Zhao Xing with caution.
"Greetings, Your Highness!" Mother Qian hurried forward and saluted.
"Yes." Zhao Xing nodded slightly and said, "Madame Qian, the maidservant that the concubine brought with her as a dowry is young and ignorant. You will have to take care of her in the future."
"Don't worry, Your Highness. The Crown Princess has already told me when I came here. I will serve you carefully." Mother Qian said hurriedly.
When Zhang Guifen sent her here, she was actually very reluctant to come.
It’s not that I’m jealous of Zhang Guifen for Li Yunchu’s pregnancy.
However, if a woman is pregnant, it is very common to have a miscarriage or a premature ejaculation.
She is Zhang Guifen's person. If something happens to the baby in Li Yunchu's belly, who knows what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will think.
This obviously had no benefit and might even cause trouble, so she naturally advised Zhang Guifen against it.
But Zhang Guifen insisted that she come, so she had no choice but to come.
Even if Zhao Xing didn't say it, she would be extremely careful.
Zhao Xing glanced at Li Yunchu who was still reading and said, "All of you, please leave!"
"Yes!"
Mother Qian and several Han palace maids in the room bowed and saluted, but the ones from Western Xia did not move.
"You guys go down."
Zhao Xing was about to get angry when Li Yunchu spoke.
"Princess!" Zhihua was anxious.
What a torture the princess was in after they left last time.
In fact, Zhao Xing did not torture Li Yunchu at all. It was just that Li Yunchu did not cooperate at the beginning, and inevitably had some bruises on his body during the struggle.
Zhihua asked Li Yunchu, but Li Yunchu said nothing.
So she imagined many scenes of Zhao Xing torturing his own princess inhumanely. If Li Yunchu hadn't told her not to do anything reckless, she would have been ready to fight Zhao Xing to the death when she saw him.
"Get out!" Li Yunchu's tone became a little colder.
"Yes!" Seeing Li Yunchu getting angry, Zhihua had no choice but to agree and retreat with a few Xixia palace maids.
When there were only two people left in the room, Zhao Xing touched his nose awkwardly.
Seeing that Li Yunchu was reading a book and had no intention of talking to him, he could only find words to talk about himself.
"You also know Chinese characters?" Zhao Xing came and sat next to Li Yunchu, took a look at the book in her hand and said.
Li Yunchu didn't react at all. Instead, he turned the page and continued reading, completely ignoring Zhao Xing's non-existence.
"You should know now that the last time you came to the Song Dynasty, the Emperor of Western Xia had already expressed his intention to marry his daughter to the Song Dynasty," said Zhao Xing.
Li Yunchu still didn't react, but Zhao Xing saw that her hand holding the book trembled slightly.
Zhao Xing continued to provoke: "When the Song Dynasty destroys Xixia in the future, it will be a way for you to vent your anger."
"Dream on!" Li Yunchu could no longer hold back after hearing that, and said coldly: "The Song Dynasty is no match for the Xia Dynasty. When my father proclaimed himself emperor, the Song Dynasty sent troops to stop him, and in the end, not only did they lose soldiers and generals, but they also lost cities and territory."
"I admit that Western Xia is indeed not that simple. But don't worry, the Song Dynasty will definitely be able to destroy Western Xia in the future." Zhao Xing said confidently.
He was not worried that Li Yunchu would inform Xixia after hearing what he said.
The Song Dynasty said that it would either destroy the Western Xia or the Liao Dynasty, and the Liao Dynasty did the same for the Western Xia.
In Li Yunchu's opinion, he was just talking nonsense.
Even if Li Yunchu sent a message back, the Xixia people would not believe it.
Sure enough, when Li Yunchu heard this, he just looked at him with contempt and then looked away.
Zhao Xing was very angry at this look, but fortunately he still had his reason. Li Yunchu was pregnant now, so Zhao Xing didn't dare to do anything to her.
"One day you will beg me for help." Zhao Xing sneered, "You'd better take good care of your pregnancy. If anything happens to my child, I will stop the trade with Xixia and send you back to Xixia to see what happens to you!"
After saying this, Zhao Xing turned away.
"pat~"
Listening to Zhao Xing's footsteps fading away, Li Yunchu dropped the book in his hand and shed silent tears.
…………
In the next few days, Zhao Xing and Zhang Guifen were very busy.
Zhao Xing needed to receive some officials who came to visit him every day, while Zhang Guifen needed to receive some officials' families.
Although Zhao Xing did some things that displeased the civil officials, he was the crown prince after all, and his position was very stable.
Naturally, there were officials who wanted to curry his favor.
No matter what Zhao Xing thinks in his heart, he will need support to do some things after he ascends the throne in the future.
Although these people are not very useful, they can still wave flags and make slogans.
Therefore, Zhao Xing not only met with them, but also held a special banquet to entertain these officials on the eighth day of the first lunar month.
After three rounds of wine and five dishes, the dancer in the hall finished her dance and left with a sigh of relief.
Zhao Xing looked at Sanshui, and Sanshui understood and left.
After a while, the music stopped.
Seeing this, a group of drunken officials knew that Zhao Xing must have something to say, and the hall gradually became quiet.
"Everyone!"
Zhao Xing smiled and said, "The policy of measuring the land is beneficial to the country and the people, but it is hindered by many obstacles at the local level. Master Hai only took down a few officials in Jiangnan, but so many people impeached him. In order to check the land, Yu Xianggong and Hai Xianggong could not reunite with their families during the New Year, but these people impeached them for their own selfish reasons. It's really hateful!"
When everyone heard this, they knew that the banquet was not going to be a good one. Facing Zhao Xing's gaze, they dodged and dared not talk to him.
"What? You think these people are not hateful?" Zhao Xing said indifferently.
"hateful!"
“It’s really hateful.”
There were scattered voices of agreement in the hall.
"Haha, I knew that you are all people who dare to speak up for justice. As far as I know, the officials who impeached Master Hai were all headed by the Minister of Personnel Hu Zhongyan, because the prefect of Jiangning Prefecture who was removed by Mr. Hai was the younger brother of Minister Hu.
As the Minister of Personnel, he is in charge of the assessment and promotion of officials and is respected as the Heavenly Official. But he openly bends the law for personal gain and impeaches for his own selfish reasons, which is even more hateful!" Zhao Xing said.
Everyone fell silent again after hearing this. Although the six ministers were of equal rank, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue were divided up by the Privy Council and the Three Departments respectively, and they were almost in name only.
Among the remaining ministers, the most powerful ones are the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel.
One is in charge of all county and state schools in the country, and is also responsible for the imperial examinations.
The other is in charge of the appointment and promotion of officials.
The Shangshu of these two ministries were also respectfully called Xianggong, and their status was not low among the Xianggongs.
Zhao Xing obviously wanted to use them to deal with Hu Zhongyan.
Although Zhao Xing is the crown prince, can he touch Hu Zhongyan now?
If he can't do anything, and Hu Zhongyan doesn't dare to retaliate against Zhao Xing, does he dare not retaliate against them?
Among them, the highest rank is only the fourth rank, and there are not many of them. The rest are mostly officials of the fifth or sixth rank.
"You are all people who dare to speak up for justice. I believe that you will not let this matter go. I will attend the morning court after the New Year. I believe that in the first morning court after the Lantern Festival, I will be able to see your demeanor of not fearing power." Zhao Xing said with a smile.
When they heard this, their faces looked more miserable than if their father had died.
Zhao Xing was obviously forcing them to impeach Hu Zhongyan.
They were afraid of Hu Zhongyan's revenge, but they were also afraid of Zhao Xing's revenge.
Now they even wish their father would die so that they can return home to mourn.
(End of this chapter)