Drunk Bamboo

Chapter 257: King Feng Meets the Crown Prince

"Your Highness, do you think I won't come? So you're surprised?"

Hua Qinfeng got off his horse in a hurry and stepped into a puddle, splashing his trouser legs. As he strode over the steps of the Ministry of Justice, his hat that was protecting him from the rain shook askew, and his left temple was directly soaked.

When he arrived, he happened to hear the conversation between Hua Qinyu and Zhang Xinghe and was extremely angry.

"Third brother has never been concerned about the affairs of the court. I thought that third brother didn't know that I had entered Zhongdu. According to the original schedule, I will arrive tomorrow." Hua Qinyu smiled gently, "I didn't expect that third brother would get the news so quickly."

"It's not that my news is fast, but that the commotion in the palace is too loud." Hua Qinfeng threw his raincoat and hat to the clerk who was waiting for him as he entered the Ministry of Justice. At this moment, except for his trouser legs and temples, his body was relatively dry.

He walked into the cell with ease and said angrily, "All the ministers know it, all the people know it, isn't that what Your Highness wants?"

Hua Qinyu raised his eyes, looked into his eyes carefully, and asked doubtfully: "I haven't seen you for a few days, third brother seems to have changed a lot?"

"After hearing what His Highness and Zhang Xinghe said, I don't know His Highness anymore."

Straightforward, nothing has changed.

Hua Qinyu stood in the center, his face expressionless, "Third brother, have you admitted that you have changed? Why did you change? Did you want to change?"

Every word was clear, "Or do we have to change even if we are in this situation?"

"People always change. Who can resist the ruthlessness of time? I am just learning to grow up, but my original intention remains unchanged. Your Highness, do you still have your original intention?"

Hua Qinfeng questioned loudly without mercy.

Zhang Xinghe hurriedly stopped him and reminded him, "Your Majesty, please be careful with your words. He is His Royal Highness."

"Watch your words? I've already been careful enough tonight!"

Hua Qinfeng was suddenly ignited and started to explode like a firecracker.

"For him, I pretended to be a flatterer and said all kinds of nice things to my father! I smiled until the corners of my mouth were stiff, just to please my father!"

"For the sake of the country's justice and the people's safety that he always talks about, I have put in so much effort. I have to keep the emperor's face, protect the ministers, and even come to the Ministry of Justice to be a lobbyist!"

"And so? This is all he wanted! Zhang Xinghe, we are meddling in his business!"

They fought hard and were extremely cautious, but in the end they realized that this was all a planned play, and the person involved, who had suffered so much, was actually willing to participate in it.

Then what he did the whole night was undoubtedly not that of a fool.

Hua Qinfeng opened his eyes wide with anger, staring at this gentle prince who was praised and supported by millions of people, but he was talking to Zhang Xinghe.

"The emperor and the prince don't care about the chaos in the court or the lives of the people. What do we, the pawns, care about? What qualifications do we have to care?"

When he got angry, his true colors were revealed.

He is rude and dares to say and do anything.

Zhang Xinghe had seen it before, and he also knew that Hua Qinfeng had suffered a lot in this matter, and he couldn't stop it unless Hua Qinfeng shut up himself.

Even though he was angry, he just kept his voice down and said slowly, "Prince, please stop talking. Your Highness has his responsibilities, and a subject has his duties."

Hua Qinyu had a cold face and pursed his lips without saying a word.

Hua Qinfeng turned his back to him and said, "When the emperor and the crown prince quarrel, it really turns the world upside down and affects innocent people. I have seen it all."

Zhang Xinghe sighed secretly in his heart.

The cell was not small, it could be said to be spacious, with a clean floor, a neatly made bed, a coffee table and chairs, and was better than the rooms in an ordinary inn.

But at this moment it was so small that it was not even enough for three people to breathe.

"Third brother really hasn't changed at all. Every word he says is straight to the point, and hits the heart directly. He is so upright that I feel ashamed of myself."

Hua Qinyu was the oldest and had the highest status among the three. He was the first to calm down and regain his composure.

"Your Highness, you should not feel ashamed of me." Hua Qinfeng lowered his voice, "You should feel guilty towards your mother and those old ministers who are still kneeling in the rain outside the Golden Steps Palace!"

"Getting caught in the rain?" Hua Qinyu was surprised.

Hua Qinfeng snorted coldly.

"Your Highness, you have made a thousand and one plans, but have you ever expected that it would rain? Since you entered the Ministry of Justice, the sky was clear, but suddenly it started to rain heavily and it has not stopped yet."

Hua Qinyu then noticed that the boots of Hua Qinfeng and Zhang Xinghe were wet, and there was a drop of water on Hua Qinfeng's temple.

"The Grand Tutor dragged his sick body into the palace in the rain, the Prime Minister, who was nearly 70 years old, knelt in the rain, the Queen Mother argued with the King for you, and the Crown Princess was worried about you every day... These people who treated you the best, they all suffered for you!"

"Yet you are hiding in this prison, safe and sound, watching them struggle and suffer for you. You are just using them to embarrass your father so that he will have to compromise in the end, right?"

Hua Qinfeng's question hit Hua Qinyu's heart and made him collapse instantly.

He looked up to the sky and laughed a sad smile.

"I know my father's suspicions and the ambitions of the imperial concubine and her son. I trust my father and I don't bother to fight with them. Grandfather and mother take the overall situation into consideration and never take the initiative to provoke disputes or deliberately target them. This is how the court has maintained stability over the years."

"I believe in my father. As long as I am loyal and dedicated to my duties, serve the country and the people, and do practical things wholeheartedly, my father will eventually see my true heart and see through the weak disguise of the imperial concubine and her son."

He walked up to Hua Qinfeng with a lost look in his eyes, "But my father's suspicion is getting worse and worse, and the distance between us is getting farther and farther."

Having said this, he paused again.

These words, hidden in his heart, were like a huge rock, suppressing him, binding him, leaving him no relief, no peace.

Hua Qinfeng and Zhang Xinghe stood silently aside, their brows furrowed.

"Later I understood that the better I did and the higher my reputation, the less my father liked me. But I didn't believe it. They didn't believe it either."

His voice became softer and softer.

His eyes were hazy and filled with sadness.

Suddenly, Hua Qinyu raised his head, looked at Hua Qinfeng, and asked: "Third brother, do you believe it? Father is actually afraid of me. Is he afraid that I will take his throne?"

Zhang Xinghe was stunned.

It was too late to stop it.

Hua Qinfeng said, "I believe it."

Hua Qinyu was stunned.

He didn't expect anyone would respond to his question and dare to answer his question.

He saw Hua Qinfeng's fearless pupils, shining as firmly as obsidian, and as clear and transparent as a spring in a deep mountain.

I think only the person in front of me dares to do that.

Then he laughed frankly again.

“Recently, I believe it, too.”

Hua Qinyu walked to the coffee table, picked up the teapot and added tea.

Picking up a cup and handing it to Hua Qinfeng, "He hopes that I am not perfect and that I make mistakes, so I follow his wishes."

The other cup was handed to Zhang Xinghe.

Hua Qinfeng gripped the teacup tightly and asked, "Your Highness, do you want to admit the crime of embezzling the silver for the dam construction? Or do you want to admit the responsibility of delaying your return to the city in disregard of the Holy Will?"

He took the last sip and said, "He was awake the whole time, just pretending to be asleep."