novelraw Chapter 249
Chapter 249
Chapter 249: The One I Admire the Most Is Eldest Brother
Eldest Prince arrived outside the city on the third day.
No one knew where he got the news from, but knowing that Wei Yu and Third Prince were here, Eldest Prince even made a special stop to catch up with his two younger brothers while passing by the city.
The main army was stationed outside the city, so Eldest Prince entered the city with just a small troop.
The three brothers chose the largest tavern in the city to catch up.
Inside the private room, Eldest Prince sat in the center, with Wei Yu and Third Prince sitting on his left and right respectively.
“You did a good job on this disaster relief trip. On my way here, I saw that the people of Huzhou are all doing well, I didn’t see any refugees blocking the roads, which proves that you’ve worked hard in the past few months. Truly, well done.”
Eldest Prince raised his glass and smiled at the two of them, “Come, Eldest Brother toasts to you.”
Third Prince lifted the cup in front of him and said, “Eldest Brother, you’re too kind.”
As a minor, Wei Yu rarely touched alcohol, but now facing his Eldest Brother, feeling a bit guilty, he also lifted his cup to show some goodwill. “Eldest Brother, please.”
“Haha, good, you both!”
Not wanting to lose face, Eldest Prince raised his cup and drank it all down.
After finishing the wine, Eldest Prince put down the cup and looked at Third Prince with a smile, “Third brother, those doctors treating patients outside — you arranged them, right? Not bad. That Merit Stele you planned has eased a lot of burdens on the National Treasury, and court officials all praise this method. In these past few months, you must have collected quite a bit of disaster relief donations, huh? No wonder you managed to arrange free medical treatment.”
Oh.
Hearing this, Wei Yu, sitting on the left, immediately glanced stealthily at Third Prince.
Coincidentally, Third Prince also glanced at him.
Their eyes met for less than half a second, then they both tacitly looked away.
Wei Yu silently chanted a Buddhist prayer in his mind:
Amitabha, amitabha, amitabha.
His Eldest Brother once again was seriously engaged in political scheming, being suspicious here and there, probing and testing. Fortunately, Eldest Brother was asking about Third Brother, not about him…
Third Prince didn’t understand why First Prince would think this way.
After all, when he wrote to Father Emperor, he hadn’t tried to take credit falsely. What belonged to Wei Yu belonged to Wei Yu. He despised deceit. If Father Emperor had made the Merit Stele matter clear in court, Eldest Brother shouldn’t have said such things.
Third Prince calmly said, “Eldest Brother, you misunderstand, these were all Ninth Brother’s ideas, nothing to do with me.”
Wei Yu, who was waiting for him to argue with Eldest Brother for a few rounds, was stunned:
No, that’s too straightforward!
“All Ninth Brother’s idea?”
Eldest Prince turned his gaze to Wei Yu, studying him, “Is it true that the Merit Stele idea really came from you, Ninth Brother?”
When the Huzhou Merit Stele matter was reported back to the capital, it caused quite a stir at court.
Most court officials thought the plan was very clever, with the most vocal being the Ministry of Revenue faction.
Although it wasn’t clear who exactly came up with the idea, even the Emperor himself hadn’t said clearly, Minister Qi had praised both Wei Yu and Third Prince harshly at court; neither was left out.
But as to whether court officials really knew who was behind it, in fact, many had their suspicions.
More than half of them believed it was Ninth Wise King!
As for why, just look at the changes of the past year.
It seemed unrelated to the young and un-crowned Ninth Wise King, but upon careful inspection, almost every detail could be linked to Ninth Wise King!
Third Highness, who was stable and taciturn, was known to avoid meddling in trivial matters. The Merit Stele was a cunning scheme that relied on open strategies to raise funds, with subtle and unspeakable details hidden beneath. Would someone as steady as Third Prince be capable of such?
Obviously not!
Court officials understood this, but for Eldest Prince, who did not want another strong contender for the throne among his brothers, he would rather believe his cautious Third Brother than an unfamiliar Ninth Brother.
Wei Yu smiled and asked back, “Is there anything wrong, Eldest Brother? Younger brother is still young, so whatever ideas I have are actually discussed with Third Brother. Thank goodness Third Brother is now in charge of Qian Commandery. Without Third Brother, younger brother might not even manage his subordinates well.”
Third Prince stared at him expressionlessly for a few seconds.
Hearing Wei Yu’s words, Eldest Prince didn’t say if he believed them or not, but looked suspiciously between the two several times.
Wei Yu just let him look.
There was no desire to explicitly disclose Eldest Brother’s unease. As long as his Eldest Brother didn’t affirm that he was a threat, he wouldn’t expose anything.
As for whether Third Brother would say anything, didn’t it seem like Third Brother had no intention of speaking?
After looking around a few times, Eldest Prince suddenly laughed, “Establishing merits is a good thing. Everyone fights to win merits, but you two, no, no, you even refuse to claim credit yourselves and push it onto each other? Is this showing your deep brotherly affection in front of your Eldest Brother?”
With this smile, he broke the little heavy atmosphere just now.
Wei Yu chuckled and poured wine for his two elder brothers, “Ah, younger brother is still young, there will be many chances to make merits. Elder brothers work hard and have wives and children to support. As for this merit, better let Third Brother ask Father Emperor for more rewards. Consider it as my gift for my nephews.”
Eldest Prince laughed and nodded at Wei Yu, “Then this gift of yours is something else. I never thought Ninth Brother was this generous before.”
Wei Yu shyly waved his hand, “Ah, we are family. Saying generous seems too formal, doesn’t it? Besides, I was poor before. Even if I wanted to give gifts, I would be embarrassed.”
Eldest Prince showed a disapproving expression, “Hey? Ninth Brother, that's too formal. You just said we are family, how come now this? Are you not putting Eldest Brother in your eyes?”
“How could that be! Eldest Brother, you know, over these years, I admire you the most! Just seeing your back makes one feel as if a god has descended, giving a sense of safety. When I was wronged, you were the first among the brothers I thought of. The others can’t compare!”
When Wei Yu cast these admiring innocent eyes, weak and helpless, who wouldn’t be touched?
Anyway, Eldest Prince was stunned and confused by this.
“Cough, is that so?”
It was the first time Eldest Brother realized that his younger brother admired him so much. Although he felt a bit awkward, he couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased and straightened his back, wanting to show Ninth Brother his heroic posture.
Wei Yu nodded firmly, “Of course. If Eldest Brother weren’t capable enough, Father Emperor wouldn’t have sent you to Donghai Commandery! For fighting on the battlefield, among us brothers, it has to be Eldest Brother!”
That made a lot of sense.
Eldest Prince nodded in approval, “Ninth Brother, you have good eyesight.”
“That’s not because of my eyesight, but purely Eldest Brother’s own ability. Anyone can see at a glance you are a born general star!”
“Ahem… Don’t just say these so casually.”
“Oh oh oh, right, humility, I know.”
“Hmm, good that you know.”
Third Prince, who observed the whole scene: …
This scene doesn’t seem quite right?