21. Secret Passage

Yesterday, the Seventh Prince and the Ninth Prince were punished until they were too tired to get up from the ground, and Qin Su let them go. Today, they didn't want to come to the Wende Hall to study, but they were afraid of upsetting the emperor, so they dared not not come, and could only drag their exhausted bodies to study.

  The punishment yesterday was too severe, and the two of them didn't even have the strength to speak, let alone bicker. In the past few days, the Ninth Prince kept showing off the victory of the King of Dai in Liangzhou. Today, he was so tired that he didn't say a word, which made Zhao Yao and the others feel the long-lost silence.

  After school at noon, the eunuchs around the Seventh Prince and the Ninth Prince carried them out of the Wende Hall. Not only were they too tired to speak, they didn't even have the strength to walk or write.

  Zhao Yao didn't run away after school today, but waited until the Seventh Prince and the Ninth Prince left before leaving. Seeing that the Seventh Prince and the others were punished so badly, Zhao Yao's anger at being punished to copy the Analects of Confucius a hundred times was reduced a lot.

  "Hehehe..."

  The Eighth Prince saw Zhao Yao laughing so happily, and couldn't help teasing him, "Are you so happy?"

  Zhao Yao put his hands on his waist and said with a smile, "Of course I'm happy. I feel much more balanced in my heart instantly."

  "You..."

  "My dear brother, don't you think it's particularly quiet today?" Zhao Yao said with an exaggerated expression, "Don't you think the air is particularly fresh today?"

  The Eighth Prince raised his hand and gently patted the back of Zhao Yao's head, "Aren't you hungry? Aren't you in a hurry to go back for lunch?"

  "My dear brother, come back with me for lunch."

  "No, I have to go to my brother the Crown Prince." The Eighth Prince patted Zhao Yao's shoulder and said with a smile, "You should go back for lunch quickly."

  "Okay, then I'll go back for lunch first." After Zhao Yao finished speaking, he waved to the Eighth Prince, and then left the Wende Hall with joy. The

  Fourth Prince walked beside the Eighth Prince, and suddenly stopped, looking down at the Eighth Prince. The Fourth Prince was much taller than the Eighth Prince, and the Eighth Prince was only as tall as his shoulders.

  The Eighth Prince did not like the Fourth Prince's condescending look. He frowned slightly in dissatisfaction, but did not show it on his face.

  "Fourth brother, is there something wrong?"

  The Fourth Prince looked at the Eighth Prince deeply, and said in a cold and warning tone: "Tenth brother is simple, you should not get too close to him."

  The Eighth Prince narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard it. He pretended not to understand, "Fourth brother, what do you mean?"

  The Fourth Prince said: "You will bring him danger." After saying that, he turned and left the Wende Hall.

  The Eighth Prince stood where he was, looking at the Fourth Prince with cold eyes.

  Yu Hai walked to the side of the Eighth Prince and looked at the Fourth Prince's leaving back with him, "Your Highness, what does the Fourth Prince mean?"

  The Eighth Prince said with a sullen face, "He is warning me."

  "You and the Fourth Prince usually have nothing to do with each other, why did he warn you?" Yu Hai asked puzzledly, "Besides, you have a good relationship with the Tenth Prince, how can you bring danger to the Tenth Prince?"

  The Eighth Prince said as he walked, "Because I am close to the

  Crown Prince." "Is there anything wrong with you being close to the Crown Prince?" Yu Hai suddenly thought of something and said with a look of enlightenment on his face, "Does the Fourth Prince also want to compete for that position?" The

  Eighth Prince sneered, "Except for the Tenth Brother, who doesn't want to compete for that position."

  "But what right does the Fourth Prince have to warn you?" Yu Hai said indignantly, "Do you think you are easy to bully?"

  "He doesn't want me to implicate the Tenth Brother." The Eighth Prince said in a gloomy voice, "Although I don't like Zhao Xi's pretentious look, he really cares about the Tenth Brother."

  "Then you really listen to the Fourth Prince and stay away from the Tenth Prince in the future?"

  The Eighth Prince sneered, "Why should I listen to him, Zhao Xi?"

  "That's right, the Fourth Prince is nothing."

  "Go to the East Palace."

  On the way to the East Palace, Yu Hai reported to the Eighth Prince everything that happened in the morning court today.

  After hearing this, the Eighth Prince smiled meaningfully and said, "It's true!"

  "Your Highness, the Crown Prince is in a bad mood. Are you really going to the East Palace?"

  "The more it's at this time, the more I want to go." The Eighth Prince said, "Besides, the Crown Prince won't take it out on me." The

  Eighth Prince just walked to the door of the East Palace, and a teacup flew towards him, almost hitting his head. Fortunately, he dodged quickly and it hit his feet.

  He looked up and saw that the Crown Prince looked furious, and he understood. He walked forward and saluted respectfully to the crown prince: "Greetings, Your Highness."

  When the crown prince saw that the visitor was the eighth prince, he quickly put away the anger on his face, "Eighth brother, you are here."

  "Big brother, you are..." The eighth prince hesitated and said, "Is it because of second brother?"

  "At the morning court today, the ministers all agreed to give the King of Dai a pearl."

  "Could it be that Marquis Xuanping has bribed the Wang and Yuan families?"

  The crown prince said coldly: "Marquis Xuanping does not have such a great ability."

  "Then the Wang and Yuan families want to get a piece of the pie, so they agree to give the second brother a pearl?"

  The crown prince nodded slightly: "My third brother will come of age and be crowned king next year. The Wang family supports the King of Dai to add a pearl, and they want to let my third brother also have a pearl when he is crowned king next year."   

  "Brother, it's not a bad thing for the third and fifth brothers to be crowned as kings and given a pearl." The Eighth Prince analyzed for the Crown Prince, "The Wang, Yuan, and Xun families are slightly inferior to the century-old families of the Xie family, and they have more foundation than the Xuanping Marquisate. The crowning of the third brother and his family as kings and the addition of a pearl is also a threat to the second brother."

  "The Wang, Yuan, and Xun families are more powerful than the Xuanping Marquisate, but even if the third brother and his family add a pearl in the future, they can't match the King of Dai." The Crown Prince said, "The third brother and his family combined can't match the King of Dai."

  "That's right."

  "We must not allow the addition of a pearl to pass, otherwise there will be endless troubles." As the Crown Prince spoke, he let out a heavy sigh, "Father..."

  "Brother, I have an idea, but I don't know if it's feasible?" When the Crown

  Prince heard this, his eyes lit up immediately, and he asked hurriedly, "What idea?" The

  Eighth Prince walked to the Crown Prince and whispered a few words in his ear.

  After hearing this, the Crown Prince's expression was a little complicated.

  "Brother, do you think it will work?" The Eighth Prince asked carefully.

  "It should be of some use." The prince chuckled, "When the time comes, I really have no other choice, so I will use your method."

  "Brother, I always feel that father loves you, but you are the eldest son and the prince, so father is very strict with you." The eighth prince comforted the prince, "Besides, father and your mother have a deep relationship. Apart from anything else, for the sake of the late queen, father will not let the second brother replace you."

  This sentence touched the prince's heart, and it was what he loved to hear.

  "If it is really like you said." The prince's face became much better, and he said gently, "You are hungry, let's go to eat." The

  eighth prince smiled a little embarrassedly, and then asked curiously: "What delicious food is there today?"

  "Today we have your favorite pickled goose feet and duck intestines." The eighth prince often ate in the East Palace, so the prince remembered what dishes the eighth prince liked and what he didn't like.

  "That's great." The Eighth Prince suddenly asked, "Big brother, do you have more of this dish? I want to bring some for my tenth brother."

  The Crown Prince was a little surprised: "For my tenth brother?"

  "Yes, my tenth brother loves this dish. Last time at the dinner, he secretly ate a lot by himself."

  "Thank you for remembering it." The Crown Prince was very pleased to see that the Eighth Prince cared so much about his younger brother, "Then bring some for my tenth brother later."

  "Then I will thank my tenth brother on behalf of my tenth brother."

  "Thank you for what." The Crown Prince thought of what happened after he left the martial arts arena yesterday, and asked with concern, "Father punished my tenth brother to copy the Analects 100 times. I'm afraid my tenth brother will cry in anxiety."

  "Big brother, you got it right." The Eighth Prince vividly described to the Crown Prince Zhao Yao's reaction when he learned that he was punished to write the Analects 100 times, and the Crown Prince laughed non-stop.

  "This tenth brother..." The Crown Prince shook his head and smiled helplessly, "Except for not being smart in studying, he is very smart in other things."

  "Especially in eating."

  The two brothers walked to the dining hall, talking and laughing.

  After being interrupted by the Eighth Prince, the Crown Prince's mood improved a lot, and his appetite naturally improved a lot.

  In Kunde Hall, Zhao Yao, who was having lunch, sneezed unexpectedly, which scared Yu Meiren and the others, thinking that he had caught a cold.

  A few months ago, Zhao Yao caught a cold and had a fever. He lay in bed for a month or two, which scared Liang Zhaoyi and the others, so they were so nervous about Zhao Yao's sneezing.

  Liang Zhaoyi knew a little bit about taking pulses, and she was relieved to see that her son's pulse was normal.

  Zhao Yao rubbed his itchy nose and said that someone was saying bad things about him behind his back. He guessed it must be his ninth brother. Among so many royal brothers, only the ninth brother liked to say bad things about him the most.

  After lunch, Zhao Yao took Tongxi to the secret base. As soon as

  he arrived, Lai Lu and Lai Wang rushed towards him.

  [Yaoyao, it's bad, something happened in Pei Mansion.]

  Zhao Yao's heart tightened, and he frowned and asked, "What happened in Pei Mansion?"

  Lai Wang said: [Someone was wandering around Pei Mansion last night. Zhao

  Yao asked, "How many people? Did they enter Pei Mansion?"

  Several people, but they didn't enter Pei Mansion. Lai Wang said, "They must have been scared by our brothers.

  Pei Mansion has long been a deserted house, and all the Pei family members have died long ago. Why do people still want to go to Pei Mansion?"

  Pei Mansion was the maiden home of Concubine Pei of the previous dynasty Emperor Xia Ling, and it was once a famous noble family of the previous dynasty. Back then, when Concubine Pei was favored by the six palaces, the Pei family was also at its peak. Later, Concubine Pei was banished to the cold palace, and then the entire Pei family was executed, leaving no one alive.

  The secret base of Zhao Yao and his friends was actually the cold palace where Concubine Pei was.

  When exploring the cold palace, Zhao Yao and his friends discovered that there was a secret passage in the cold palace, and the end of this secret passage was Pei Mansion.

  Because of the existence of this secret passage, Zhao Yao was able to leave the palace. Otherwise, with his identity, it would be impossible for him to leave the palace at will.

  (End of this chapter)