"No, Your Highness, you can actually do these?"
Inside the Qin Prince's mansion, Shen Qingping looked as if he had seen a ghost, holding in his hand several policy essay questions he had specifically asked Shen Mingwen to devise.
Watching Song Yu scribble away with his answers, Shen Qingping completely lost his composure.
"This is but a trifling matter for this prince."
Half an hour later, Shen Qingping looked at the policy essay written by Song Yu, rubbed his eyes in disbelief, and after confirming something, he abruptly took several steps back.
"Your Highness truly wishes to appoint me, Shen Qingping, as your strategist?"
"And one day... appoint me as your Chancellor?"
"Absolutely true." Song Yu raised an eyebrow. "If one day I become the Son of Heaven, besides you, I will appoint no other as Chancellor."
"But Your Highness has bided your time for so many years; you must have your own plans and calculations. What could I possibly do for you?" Shen Qingping felt as if a pie had fallen from the sky.
Who would have thought!
He, Shen the Third, by sheer luck, had actually picked the most formidable one!
"You have already done a great deal for me."
Through the present Shen Qingping, Song Yu seemed to see the young Master Shen of before, who had fallen ill in bed. A pang of sorrow surfaced in Song Yu's heart.
This time, while protecting Ah Huan, he would just conveniently protect Shen the Third as well.
"Right now, there's an even more important matter to entrust to you."
"What is it?"
"Teach Ah Huan to play the zither."
Song Yu chuckled softly. "Him calling you Uncle Shen the Third doesn't sit right with me; it sounds more proper for him to call you Tutor Shen."
Shen Qingping was stunned. Why did the prince's words sound so strange?
"Uncle Shen the Third is here again?"
Song Shihuan came skipping over. Song Yu's eyes immediately softened. "Ah Huan, from now on, you must call him Tutor."
"Tutor."
Song Shihuan obediently spoke.
Shen Qingping felt he must have gone mad. Upon hearing this address of 'Tutor,' he actually felt a sense of perfect fulfillment, as if this was how it was always meant to be.
......
The policy essay answered by Song Yu was delivered by Shen Qingping to Shen Mingwen.
"Father, take a look at how these answers are."
Shen Mingwen took it and, the more he read, the brighter his eyes became. "Who answered these? I, this old man, declare this person has the talent of a top scholar!"
It's just that the answering style somewhat resembled that old stubborn rock, Ye Shijie?
"It was Prince Qin who answered them."
Shen Mingwen nearly became the first Grand Tutor to choke to death on his own saliva.
"It's absolutely true." Shen Qingping grabbed Shen Mingwen's hand. "The prince's reputation as a wastrel is false. He is far more suitable to be Crown Prince than Song Ling. The prince promised me that one day he would appoint me as Chancellor."
"Appoint you as Chancellor?"
Shen Mingwen made the same choice as Emperor Yuanyou, thinking Shen Qingping had lost his mind.
Shen Qingping was driven out of the study, nearly getting his nose pinched in the door just like Song Yu had.
"You've followed the prince since childhood, cockfighting, chasing dogs, drinking, and listening to tunes. If you became Chancellor, the entire Great Qi would be doomed."
Shen Mingwen's roar made Shen Qingping cover his ears.
"Just remember to present this policy essay to His Majesty." A deep-seated intensity, like a long-dormant volcano erupting, flashed in Shen Qingping's eyes. "Your son, me, I have great things to do."
If the prince is determined to challenge the Crown Prince, I, Shen Qingping, will stake my entire fortune on the prince's victory.
......
Shen Mingwen did indeed present the policy essay to Emperor Yuanyou.
Only then did Emperor Yuanyou believe Song Yu's words. His eldest legitimate son had been using the guise of a wastrel to protect himself all along.
How utterly absurd.
Zichen Palace.
"Why?"
Emperor Yuanyou asked, though what he wanted to ask was far more than just these three words.
Hearing this, a shadow of complexity flashed in Song Yu's eyes. When he looked up again, his expression was one of deep melancholy.
"Because my birth mother died early, and my stepmother is unkind."
"Father, do you truly believe that the son of you and mother would do something like secretly meeting with a palace maid? After that false accusation, I was utterly disheartened, my reputation in ruins. If I hadn't pretended otherwise, would I even be alive today?"
Song Yu was getting rather addicted to acting, driving the knife forcefully into Emperor Yuanyou's heart.
In his past life, Ah Huan had said the rift between him and his father was mainly due to not understanding the power of words. Well then, this time he would use his mouth more.
He was best at emotional scenes! He'd act Song Ling and his family to death!
Emperor Yuanyou was as if struck by lightning.
Seeing this, Song Yu familiarly walked towards a certain spot, took out a portrait of Empress Yuan, and knelt down:
"I swear in the name of my departed mother, the events of that year were all plots by the step-empress and Song Ling. I never had any intention of a secret meeting."
Emperor Yuanyou let out a sharp, almost shrill cry. "The step-empress! The Crown Prince! They dare scheme against the child of Zhen and Fen'er!"
Was evidence even needed?
The child was swearing before Fen'er's portrait; this was the most irrefutable proof!
"Zhen will go and demand an explanation for you right now."
"Father, I will demand the explanation myself. I will also prove to you that I am the most suitable heir." Song Yu straightened his expression. At the beginning of his struggle with Song Ling in his past life, he hadn't known the suffering Ah Huan endured, so he had let Song Ling die too easily.
This time, he wanted Song Ling to beg for death but find it impossible.
"Father, if you truly wish to do something for me, then give Shen the Third an official post. Your son stands alone in court now; it's not a fair fight against Song Ling."
"Very well."
After Song Yu left, Emperor Yuanyou slumped weakly into his chair and wiped his face.
All these years, what had he, as a father, been doing......
......
Several more days of calm passed before the East Palace could no longer hold back, suggesting a family banquet together at Kunning Palace.
"A family banquet is excellent. This prince loves family banquets the most."
Song Yu dismissed the little eunuch who had delivered the message and then began with extreme patience to dress up Song Shihuan.
Kunning Palace.
The table was full, with only Song Yu and Song Shihuan missing.
"Yu'er is really... he must be playing wildly at the Yingchun Pavilion again. It's fine for me, but how can he keep His Majesty waiting like this?" The step-empress spoke gently and softly, confidently awaiting Emperor Yuanyou's outburst.
But Emperor Yuanyou merely took a sip of tea. "Does the Empress have eyes that see a thousand miles, able to see the Yingchun Pavilion from Kunning Palace?"
The step-empress's face paled.
The Crown Princess nearly laughed out loud. Now she finally knew from whom Prince Qin had inherited his sharp tongue.
Song Yu and Song Shihuan arrived late.
Seeing the two seats deliberately left open, the farthest from Emperor Yuanyou, Song Yu spoke directly, "Wu Qi, move the chairs next to Father. This prince and Ah Huan will sit one on the left and one on the right."
The step-empress instinctively looked at Emperor Yuanyou, only to see he showed no displeasure whatsoever. Instead, he even beckoned to Song Shihuan with a doting expression.
"Yu'er, it's fine for a family banquet, but you mustn't be like this outside, lest people say you lack refinement."
"Who are you saying lacks refinement?" Emperor Yuanyou was like a mother hen protecting her chicks.
"Who are you saying lacks refinement?" Song Shihuan, for once, pulled a long face, his usual smile gone.
"Pfft—" Song Yu snorted with derision.
"Empress, this prince is the legitimate eldest son. At a family banquet, I should sit in the very last seat?"
"You have so many schemes in your heart, you might as well dive into the lake in the imperial garden and become a section of lotus root."
