Would You Like to Have a Drink

Chapter 44.1

“Your Majesty, the Ninth Prince requests for an audience.”

“What is he doing here?”

Emperor Yuan impatiently drew ring upon ring of circle on the memorial. “Let him in.”

If Zong Luo was here and saw this, he would probably have hallucinated the expression on his face when he corrected students’ graduation thesis in his previous life, it was simply carved out from the same mold.

Yuan Jia bowed his head in response, and slowly exited outside the hall door to notify.

Zong Hongjiu rushed in impatiently.

“Father Emperor!”

He had a big smile on his face and trotted all the way to the desk where the memorials were placed.

“Why be in such a hurry? Reckless.”

Emperor Yuan didn’t lift his head either, and continued to annotate the memorial.

The emperor did not easily express anger and joy on his face.

But the lost and found again third son had returned, and the accumulated congestion in his heart throughout the year was swept away. Emperor Yuan at present was in a very good mood, and he didn’t fuss about Zong Hongjiu interrupting his work.

Seeing Emperor Yuan like this, Zong Hongjiu at long last felt relieved.

He was favored in the palace, a large part of the reason was due to Emperor Yuan’s indulgence in him

As long as it’s what Zong Hongjiu wanted, Emperor Yuan would generally satisfy him. Although Zong Hongjiu said that he was not interested in studying and practicing martial arts, nevertheless, he still hired the best martial arts teacher and school teacher in the study, yet he would skip classes and play around on weekdays. At most, the emperor would only ask one question, and would not interfere anymore, even occasionally calling him over for dinner.

But Emperor Yuan was too busy on weekdays, and almost his daily life was spent inside the Zhang Palace, even Zong Hongjiu didn’t often see him.

But he heard from other servants that when other princes lived in the palace, as long as they didn’t go to school, or didn’t go to the martial arts arena, they would be questioned by Emperor Yuan. As for dining together, that had never happened before. Like this, serving it as a foil in one go, he was no doubt the most favored one.

Zong Hongjiu was curious about this when he was a child, and even asked other eunuchs about it.

“Why does Father Emperor treat me differently from other imperial brothers?”

Faced with this question, the servant also rarely became stunned for a moment.

When Emperor Yuan was young, he was busy fighting on the battlefield. At that time, he was surrounded by wolves in every direction, busy seizing the throne. After the bloody coup d’etat, all neglected tasks inside the country were being undertaken, it was not known how many vacancies needed to be filled, then there were also an aristocratic family conspiring in rebellion, it was a period of time of being overburdened. Later, when the empire was gradually stabilized and Emperor Yuan gradually had someone usable, when there was no such rush, the other princes had grown up again and could now take care of their own.

Zong Hongjiu, who was born at this time, took the biggest advantage.

The servant couldn’t say that–Ninth Highness, to put it bluntly, it’s the advantage of being born late–thus he could only digress from the topic.

“Ninth Highness was very quiet when he was a child, which is completely different from now. When His Highness was just born, he was a small ball, subconsciously pulling on His Majesty’s dragon robe, as if unwilling to let His Majesty go. It’s a pity that His Majesty is incapable of holding a child. He held once before, yet was not being careful and it fell, thus he never held one again. But since then, His Majesty often brings His Highness with him, and lets His Highness sleep on the side while correcting memorials, and specially built a baby carriage in Zhang Palace. “

Zong Hongjiu listened, a little envious of himself when he was a child.

After he grew up, he almost never entered Zhang Palace again.

The Zhang Palace was the place where Emperor Yuan handled his daily affairs, only dealing with official business, and never involving personal matters.

As Zong Hongjiu recalled that event that he had kept to himself, when he clamored afterwards to see his father emperor and asked the eunuch to take him there, but what he got was a cold reprimand by Emperor Yuan instead.

Since then, he never dared to go again.

“Who is that fallen imperial brother?”

The eunuch thought for a while and said, “It seems to be the Third Prince. The Third Highness did not stay by His Majesty’s side for too long, only stayed for a few months before being sent to Wei Country to serve as a hostage.”

“It’s like this.”

Zong Hongjiu was idly playing with the Trojan horse, “really pitiful.”

Indeed. Zong Hongjiu had met many imperial brothers, but he had never seen this Third Imperial Brother.

The Fourth Imperial Brother often took him out to play, and no matter what things Zong Hongjiu asked the Fourth Imperial Brother to bring him outside the palace, he would find a way to get it for him. The Fifth Imperial Brother was a bit fierce. When he saw him, he would say that he would take him to learn martial arts together. Zong Hongjiu had been avoiding him since he was a child. As for the Sixth Imperial Brother, he was also treated well and would often give him some fun things. And the Eighth Imperial Brother, he was the object of his bullying every day.

Zong Hongjiu thought: it should be because the Third Imperial Brother is not favored.

Otherwise, why would he be sent to Wei Country as soon as he was born.

But the secret conversation he overheard in Zhang Palace, and the series of events that happened later, completely overturned his understanding.

But it’s okay. Father Emperor was handling official business, he ran in impulsively, yet he wasn’t even punished–all must just be his misconception.

He is Father Emperor’s favorite prince. Zong Hongjiu told himself so.

After seeing the person not speaking for a long time, Emperor Yuan once again wrote on the memorial.

“If you have something, speak quickly, don’t bother Zhen dealing with government affairs.”

There were too many things that happened today. First, he presided over the La Ri Qingsi, then felt overjoyed in regaining what had been lost. Under the ups and downs of mood, it was difficult to concentrate on reviewing the memorials. (TL: La Ri-8th day of the 12th lunar month )

“Father Emperor, is that really Third Imperial Brother today?” Zong Hongjiu asked anxiously.

The tyrant’s tip of the brush left a deep black spot on the surface of the memorial. “You can’t even recognize your imperial brother?”

“It’s not that this son can’t recognize it, it’s just-“

Zong Hongjiu clenched his fists, lowered his head and said, “This son has met the Third Imperial Brother twice before. Not long ago, first in the palace, and next in the hunting ground.”

“In the palace?” Emperor Yuan was finally willing to look up from the pile of memorials, his gaze scrutinizing.

Previously, he only thought that Zong Hongjiu was lying, thus had forgotten about this matter.

Zong Hongjiu felt his father emperor’s gaze falling on him, even though the gaze didn’t contain much emotion, he couldn’t help but shrink back.

He pretended to be calm. “During the Baijia Banquet last time, this son saw the Third Imperial Brother in the cold palace. That time, when this son accidentally broke into the palace, it was with the intention of wanting to tell Father Emperor of this matter.”

Just now, when Zong Chengsi sent him back to the palace, on the way, he seemed to casually chat with him about many topics related to the Third Imperial Brother, causing Zong Hongjiu to suddenly realize.

Right, if Zong Luo really lost his memory, how could he go to the cold palace to back up Zong Ruichen during the Baijia Banquet?

What’s more, in the hunting ground, he suddenly appeared, and without even asking a word, beat him up violently. It was related to that fool as well.