Father can be an enemy country

Chapter 1373 Some are happy and some are sad

In the newly built Dingguo Mansion, there was toasting and clinking of glasses. Guests took turns to toast Duke Dingguo, and Wang Bi accepted all the toasts and drank until he was drunk.

Zhu Zhen watched with a smile on his face and talked in a low voice to Eunuch Wu.

When the wine was half drunk, the third brother asked curiously, "Old Wu, don't you need to go to the other two families to convey the order?"

"No need to reply, Prince Jin." Eunuch Wu said with a smile, "Someone has gone to the Yingguo Mansion."

"What do you mean?" The third brother lowered his voice and asked, "Is there no one going to the Duke of Liang's mansion?"

"Oh, it seems that the iron certificate over there needs to be changed, so it will not be issued together." Eunuch Wu also lowered his voice.

"Is that so..." The third brother tactfully stopped asking. Although Eunuch Wu did not need to pass on the imperial edict, he still had to go back to work, so he sat for a while and then stood up to say goodbye.

After he left, the third brother whispered to the sixth brother, "Things have changed."

"Yeah." Zhu Zhen nodded and said, "Lan Yu is in trouble."

The imperial edict on the iron certificate was first traced with a brush, then engraved by a craftsman, and finally filled in with gold.

If there are any mistakes in writing, they will be discovered in advance, so they will not be seen until the last minute.

So the content of the imperial edict must have been changed... and the imperial edict was personally approved, so naturally only the old thief could change it.

"During the triumphal ceremony the other day, my father still regarded him as his dearest, saying that he was his own Wei Zhongqing and Li Pharmacist." Zhu Gang smiled and said, "How come he fell out of favor in the blink of an eye? Isn't this too fast?"

"It looks like something big has happened." Zhu Zhen wiped his moustache with his thumb.

"What's the matter?" The third brother looked at him.

"How would I know?" Zhu Zhen smiled bitterly, "I just hope that nothing will bother me now so that I can get out of this as soon as possible."

"Hehe, I'm afraid you're going to get the opposite of what you want." Zhu Gang laughed strangely and said, "I have a hunch that this is not a small matter."

"You are just a jinx." Zhu Zhen rolled his eyes at him.

~~
At dusk, the banquet ended and the guests left one after another.

Wang Bi sent all the guests away and then returned to the flower hall.

In the hall, the Princess of Dian, Yang, and several of his sons and daughters-in-law were drinking tea and chatting.

"Princess, where is the prince?" Wang Bi asked.

"The prince is waiting for father in the study." Wang Runer replied.

"Oh. I'll be there right away." Wang Bi responded and hurried to the study in the back house to meet the emperor.

In the study, Zhu Zhen was standing with his hands behind his back admiring the portrait of Prince Kaiping hanging in the central hall.

Hearing him come in, Zhu Zhen said with a smile: "Come, sir, please take a seat."

"Your Majesty, please don't tease me. I don't know how this duke came to be." Wang Bi was much better at drinking than Lan Yu. Although he was also drunk, his mind was still clear. "In fact, it was a reward from the emperor."

"Oh, don't say that. There is no such thing as a 'Duke of the State' based on personal connections. First of all, my father-in-law's contributions are enough." Zhu Zhen smiled and picked up the iron certificate and read:

"Didn't you hear what father said? Cleared the Hunan, Hunan, Fujian and Zhejiang, and pacified You, Henan, Yan and Qin. The victory in southern Yunnan was achieved by opening the Longwei Pass first; the Han River was used to show its power and clear the sea of ​​fish! It is not an exaggeration to make him a Duke for this contribution to the country!"

"Your Majesty, you really give me face." Wang Bi said this, but he was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. "Well, as I said before, face is earned by my father-in-law himself." Zhu Zhen sat down beside him, tapping his fingers on the coffee table and said, "It's time for my father-in-law to start his own business..."

"I don't have that ambition..." Wang Bi waved his hands quickly, but was stunned. He knew that the prince would not say such things for no reason, especially on a day like today. He pinched himself to make his mind clearer, and then asked in a low voice: "What does the prince mean?"

"You and Lan Yu are both dukes now. It's not appropriate to hang around him, right?" Zhu Zhen said softly, "How can a duke follow someone else? Of course, the second generation like Deng Zhen and Li Jinglong don't count."

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with Lan Yu?" Wang Bi's face turned pale, and he was almost sober.

"There is a sign of that." Zhu Zhen sighed: "Even if nothing happens for the time being, with his arrogance after the war, he will harm the people around him sooner or later."

"Yes. I feel the same way." Wang Bi nodded solemnly and said, "Before the victory at Bui'er Lake, he was arrogant but calm. After the victory, especially after he separated from the prince, he changed completely. He became arrogant and reckless, and he refused to listen to advice. I advised him twice, and he almost turned against me."

"Yeah." Zhu Zhen said softly, "I guess what he did has reached the ears of the emperor. That's why the issuance of the iron certificate to him was delayed."

"Ah?" Wang Bi was surprised and asked, "Does the emperor want to dismiss him from his title of Duke?"

"It shouldn't be that serious. After all, he is my father's 'Zhongqing' and 'Pharmacist'. That would be too embarrassing." Zhu Zhen shook his head and said, "But I think my father will definitely warn him."

"I hope he can wake up." Wang Bi said solemnly.

"Do you think you can?" Zhu Zhen asked back.

"..." Wang Bi pondered for a while, then said dejectedly, "That's terrible."

"I understand, Your Highness. I will try to draw a clear line between us and him." Then he expressed his position to Zhu Zhen.

"No need to try. I will go south in the next few days. Before I leave, I will ask my father to bring you here. Are you willing?" Zhu Zhen asked, "There is no war in the world now. Only the southwest has a war to fight. My Lord, please continue to work hard and strive for the hereditary succession."

"Of course, no problem." Wang Bi said with a smile, "It would be great to follow you, Your Majesty."

"Okay. Don't worry about the transfer, I'll take care of it." Zhu Zhen stretched happily and said, "I'm afraid it's too late for you to leave with me, so father-in-law should leave with Run'er and his mother."

"As you command." Wang Bi responded, and couldn't help but laugh: "Your Majesty is really eager to go home."

"Of course not. I left in the seventeenth year of Hongwu. It's already the twentieth year of Hongwu!" Zhu Zhen said with a wry smile, "If I don't go back, the children won't recognize me. Is that reasonable? Is that reasonable?!"

"Yes, but why does this sound familiar?" Wang Bi asked.

"Because I told you the same thing two years ago." Zhu Zhen said depressedly, "If anyone tries to stop me this time, I will definitely turn against him!"

"When does Your Majesty decide to set off?" Wang Bi asked again.

"I am now waiting for fourth brother's amnesty so that we can go south together." Zhu Zhen said.

"Ah? Will the emperor agree?" Wang Bi asked in surprise.

"Big brother has agreed." Zhu Zhen coughed lightly and said, "Father will agree."

"Even if there is no fighting on the northern front, the King of Qin is in Xi'an, the King of Jin is in Taiyuan, and the King of Yan is in Beiping. They are still very important to the stability of the country." Wang Bi said softly, "The emperor may not be willing to release them easily."

"Haha, the emperor thinks so, but the future emperor may not think so." Zhu Zhen smiled faintly and said, "Even if my old man thought so before, he may not think so now."

"I see." Wang Bi shuddered and dared not ask any more questions.

(End of this chapter)