Huo Ling looked expectantly at Li Gongming, hoping to hear some "gossip"... no, a synopsis of the situation before.
Facing Huo Ling, who was casually lounging and looking at him, Li Gongming, despite being a very cunning fox, felt a bit overwhelmed. After calming himself for a moment, he explained the situation to Huo Ling.
After listening, Huo Ling regretted not being able to witness the spectacle of the ministers' argument, but fortunately, he did not say these words out loud.
Li Gongming: "...However, Your Highness, your expression has already given you away."
Pretending as if nothing had happened, Huo Ling casually put his elbow on Li Gongming's shoulder, nonchalantly tilting his head and asking, "So, after arguing for so long, did you ask for my opinion?"
Huo Ling, just like Huo Jian, had a similar perspective on the matter. However, compared to the Emperor, his actions always seemed unpredictable and whimsical, leaving people unable to keep up with his pace.
At this moment, without waiting for anyone to answer, Huo Ling confidently asked a rhetorical question that left the ministers speechless.
"If you want me to go, I'll go. If you don't want me to go, I won't go. As the Crown Prince, am I shameless?"
As the one facing Huo Ling directly, Li Gongming was the first to react. He looked at Huo Ling, who seemed self-satisfied, and asked tentatively, "So, Your Highness, does that mean...?"
"Do you want me to go?" Huo Ling raised his head, eyebrows raised, and smiled happily. "Beg me."
As Huo Ling's words fell, the hall fell into silence. Many people couldn't help but ask themselves why they had wasted their time and effort arguing with each other.
Completely unaware of the awkward atmosphere, Huo Ling didn't see any problem with his argument. As for the sorrowful gazes of some elderly ministers... he didn't care.
The Emperor at the head of the hall noticed everyone's changing expressions and suddenly chuckled, breaking the silence, "The Crown Prince is right."
"You all should think about it."
Leaving this meaningful sentence behind, the Emperor withdrew from the court for further discussion.
Unconcerned about the gazes around him, Huo Ling followed the crowd out. As he absentmindedly yawned, he wondered how Li Zhuang would try to please him today. Then, once again, he was stopped by a chuckling An De on his way to the study room.
"Your Highness, His Majesty requests your presence."
Huo Ling, mid-yawn, mumbled, "Oh."
Accustomed to being accosted from time to time and always staying alert against An De’s friendly but vigilant gaze, Huo Ling showed no emotional fluctuations, not even bothering to resist.
Huo Ling, led by An De, walked through the concourse of courtiers and into Ganqing Palace. The Emperor stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the hanging map, and upon seeing Huo Ling enter, he did not turn around.
Looking at the map, the Emperor asked, to himself or to Huo Ling, "Have you seen the territories of Da Zhou?"
Before Huo Ling could respond, the Emperor answered his own question, "What a pity, I haven't"
Seated on the throne, he made countless decisions every day affecting the fates of his subjects, yet Huo Jian had not seen many common people, nor had he traversed the lands under his rule. His understanding of the streets and alleys of the capital was even less than Huo Ling's, who always enjoyed stirring up trouble.
"What a pity."
Closing his eyes, then opening them again, Huo Jian concealed all his complex emotions and turned to look at Huo Ling, who was idly playing with his fingers. He lightly tugged at his lip and said, "You are lucky." Luckier than me.
Feigning modesty, Huo Ling replied, "I think so too."
Having the atmosphere easily disrupted by Huo Ling, the Emperor chuckled silently, then walked over to Huo Ling and carefully scrutinized him.
His features were exquisite and his eyes and eyebrows were like a painting.
It was only then that Huo Jian realized that Huo Ling not only had a pair of eyes without any trace of femininity but also lips that seemed to be smiling no matter when.
Huo Ling was the most handsome among all his sons.
Over the years, he had truly overlooked much.
Feeling the repressive gaze of Huo Jian, Huo Ling subconsciously took a step back, trying to keep a safe distance from his father.
"Don't look at me like that, it's nerve-wracking."
All the complex emotions retreated in the face of Huo Ling's talent for ruining the atmosphere.
The Emperor laughed, grabbed Huo Ling's shoulder to prevent him from escaping, and playfully ruffled his youngest son's hair.
Sensing the overwhelming fatherly love, Huo Ling considered the likelihood of retaliating and surviving, but before he could make a move, the Emperor, oblivious to Huo Ling's thoughts, made him a promise.
"I won't force you. You can decide whether to go to Yanchi County or not."
"If you do go, take a look at the territories while you're at it..."
Looking at Huo Jian, who showed no change in expression, Huo Ling couldn't help but rub his eyes. In that moment, did he see a glimpse of galaxies in his father's eyes?
Coughing lightly, Huo Ling abandoned his eager desire, took advantage of the Emperor's lack of response, gave him a hug, and then rushed out. "Father, I'm leaving."
Suddenly embraced by the Emperor, Huo Ling remarked, "..."
After a brief moment of daze, Huo Jian slowly lifted the corners of his lips.
...
It didn't take long for Huo Ling's response—he agreed to go.
The reason was simple: the Grand Tutor Wang Ancheng had started teaching Huo Ling how to write poetry. It wasn't until this moment that Huo Ling realized how simple it was to write poems. When Huo Ling, who was about to give up after just one class, returned to the Eastern Palace, his head was still aching, and he was so mentally exhausted that he almost stepped into the lotus pond for a bath.
He had used the justification of refusing to write poetry before to reject Wang Ancheng. However, before he could use his own logic to persuade the other party, Wang Ancheng, shedding tears, completely disregarded his logic.
What was most important was that while shedding tears, he continued to teach Huo Ling how to write poems, assign him homework, and forbid Huo Liang from helping him write.
Who could stand this?
The thought of being dominated by this "poetry" for a long time in the future made Huo Ling, who would rather be away, directly express in the court the next day, "It is my honor to go to Yanchi County to oversee the Yellow River management work."
Huo Jian, sitting on the dragon throne, smiled satisfactorily. He had done well in finding this Grand Tutor, not disappointing him at all.
While thinking about how to reward Wang Ancheng, who had satisfied him, Huo Ling, facing opposition over related interests since he expressed his intention to go to the Yellow River, not only agreed to everything the Emperor would allow, but also granted Huo Ling the power to "act first and report later."
More than just not wanting to be protected by Ye Xiao, Huo Ling was more afraid of death. Without waiting for the Emperor to express himself, he first requested Ye Xiao to accompany him and also sought to acquire the authority to recruit forces in the Yin Nan region.
In addition to this, Huo Ling also obtained many powers that a crown prince should not have, yet the Emperor not only did not consider the dragon throne under him to be unstable, but also unhesitatingly granted all these powers to Huo Ling.
In the face of the questioning of whether too much power had been given to the crown prince by other ministers, Huo Ling arrogantly retorted, "Am I not allowed to be afraid of death, even though I've never been far away?"
"Is this the care of a father for his son? Are you jealous?" he asked.
"What does it have to do with you, the matter between the Emperor and the crown prince?"
In fact, the minister had merely mentioned in passing: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made my presence felt."
Picking up all the powers that should be in hand according to Ye Xiao's advice, while the ministers pondered over whether the crown prince was still good, Huo Ling, suddenly turning to the Minister of Works, Li Gongming, grinned and said, "Minister Li, I remember you haven't seen the Yellow River?"
Li Gongming, feeling his scalp tingling from Huo Ling's smile, couldn't help but have a bad premonition. However, in front of everyone, he could only truthfully answer Huo Ling's question, which had changed but remained the same, "Yes."
"Well, that's great. Come with me and I'll take you to see the Yellow River."
Huo Ling smiled brilliantly, looking at Li Gongming as if to say, "I'm considering your interests," "Just think of it—participating in the management of the Yangtze River and being able to participate in the management of the Yellow River... What a proud achievement."
Li Gongming, subconsciously touching the belly that had grown from multiple stays at the mansion, didn't know how to respond to Huo Ling. He chose to remain silent for the time being.
If he was silent, Huo Ling was standing next to Li Gongming, and the Minister of Revenue, Gong Yi, would not be silent. Gong Yi, forcing a pat on Li Gongming's shoulder, said with a barely contained smile, "Minister Li, this is a good thing."
"For the benefit of the people, it is something you and I should do. You should thank His Highness the Crown Prince."
Under Gong Yi's smugness, even Huo Ling, who was not aware of the enmity between the two, could feel it.
Feeling that he shouldn't show favoritism, before Li Gongming could say anything about Gong Yi's smugness, Huo Ling placed his hand on Gong Yi's shoulder and made what he considered to be a thoughtful suggestion, "Minister Gong seems very concerned about the disaster relief. Why not come with me?"
Gong Yi: "..."
Suspiciously looking at Huo Ling, Gong Yi tried to discern the meaning behind Huo Ling's words. However, judging from the change in Huo Ling's and Li Gongming's expressions, as well as his experience, the scheming Gong Yi couldn't help but feel a little confused—did the Crown Prince's words really only have a literal meaning?