BHBF Chapter 89.1

Boss, He’s Becoming a Father (Arc 4) Chapter 89.1: Playful Son (70)

When the Seventh Prince left the Shao Mansion, his steps were unsteady.

He didn’t deliver the gift, nor did he see the person. Instead, he was confused by the questions.

Even when he came out, he was still thinking about the answers to the questions and wondering if he was really that bad.

When the seventh prince returned to the palace, he met the fifth prince head-on.

The Fifth Prince glanced at him and asked casually, “Seventh Brother, where are you from?”

The Seventh Prince was still a little dazed and said, “From outside.”

The Fifth Prince thought that he was unwilling to speak, so he did not continue to ask. Seeing that his condition was not right, he paid more attention to him.

When he was about to leave, the Seventh Prince suddenly called him again: “Fifth Brother.”

The Fifth prince stopped.

The Seventh Prince thought of the Fifth Prince, who had entered politics two years before him and had been dispatched to provide disaster relief, so he asked, “Fifth Brother, do you know how to deal with droughts? How to deal with floods? How to deal with famines?”

Fifth Prince:?

“Seventh brother, are you very concerned about this?” asked the fifth prince.

The Seventh Prince thought that he would die at this point after entering the Shao family, so he nodded.

The Fifth Prince said, “When faced with droughts, floods, and famines, the court officials will formulate regulations.”

The Seventh Prince said, “Fifth Brother, don’t you know either?”

When the Fifth Prince heard this, he felt his brother’s words were a bit irritating, so he said, “Seventh Brother, if you really want to know, you should ask the leaders of the various departments.”

The Seventh Prince nodded.

The Fifth Prince seemed to have thought of something and asked, “Who asked you this? Father?”

If the old emperor asked about it, the Fifth prince thought he would take it to heart.

The Seventh Prince shook his head and said, “No one, I just want to know.”

The fifth prince didn’t quite believe it. After seeing his people, he immediately urged them to find out who the Seventh prince met.

When he learned that it was Shao Yu, the Fifth Prince frowned.

“Shao Yu has just returned to the capital. Now my father has entrusted him with an important task and summons him every few days.” said the Fifth prince.

Upon hearing this, the staff member said, “Your Highness, wasn’t there a rumor before that His Majesty was planning to marry Lord Shao’s daughter to His Highness the Seventh Prince as his princess?”

The fifth prince also knew about this rumor, and Shao Jiashu even served as Princess Rongjia’s study partner. This matter was almost a foregone conclusion, but the old emperor had never issued an official decree to arrange the marriage, which made things seem a little strange.
Shao Yu is now the Minister of Revenue, an important position. The Fifth Prince does not want the Seventh Prince to have such a powerful relative.

“Your Highness, there is another rumor that the reason His Majesty did not arrange a marriage was because Lord Shao was unwilling.” said the aide.

The Fifth Prince frowned and said, “The position of the principal wife is vacant, and the Seventh Brother is courting him every day. Why would he be unwilling?”

The staff member smiled awkwardly and said, “I don’t know about that.”

“Maybe this old guy is deliberately trying to be a spoiled brat. Just wait and see. When the emperor’s order comes down, he will definitely be happier than anyone else.” The Fifth prince guessed.

Thinking of this, the Fifth Prince brought up the questions the Seventh Prince had asked him today and said, “Shao Yu is deeply trusted by our father. Were the things that Seventh Brother suddenly said today revealed to him by Shao Yu?”

The Fifth prince continued to think deeply and felt that Shao Yu’s words must be a test from the old emperor, and Shao Yu was hinting at the questions to his future son-in-law.

The Fifth Prince looked at his staff, his eyes sparkling, and asked, “Do you know how to deal with droughts? How to deal with floods? How to deal with famines?”

Staff: …

Each staff member is responsible for a different area. The staff member in front of him is actually mainly responsible for the struggle. He is calculating the old emperor’s thoughts and the thoughts of the Seventh prince’s competitors every day.

Therefore, he really doesn’t understand this kind of practice well enough.

When the Fifth Prince saw that his aide was stumped by the question, he felt that the other party looked too ignorant at the moment. The Fifth Prince thought that if he was asked the same question by the old emperor later, would he have the same expression?

The Fifth prince couldn’t help but think that if he looked so stupid, his father would definitely dislike him.

The old emperor is old, and news has come from the Imperial Hospital that his health is very poor.

Therefore, the struggle for the throne in the capital is becoming more and more intense. Everyone wants to perform well at such a critical juncture, and the Fifth prince does not want to miss out on such a good opportunity due to his negligence.

“Go and find out about the Seventh Prince’s actions over the past two days, and by the way, reveal a little about the conspiracy between the Seventh Prince and Shao Yu.” The Fifth Prince ordered.

Although the staff did not know what the Seventh Prince and Shao Yu were plotting, it did not stop him from spreading rumors.

The Fifth prince also seized this opportunity to seek advice from the leaders of various departments.

Although these ministers each had their own factions, they would not refuse to answer the Fifth Prince’s questions.

The Fifth prince and the Seventh prince took turns to ask the ministers of various departments.

This matter naturally attracted the attention of other princes. Coupled with the true and false news spread outside, the capital became lively for a while.

Shao Yu had no idea that he was the culprit of all this. He thought that all the princes in the capital had become studious and even cared about civil affairs.

When summoned into the palace by the old emperor, Shao Yu still looked calm.

Seeing him like this, the old emperor felt somewhat puzzled, but his health was in such a bad state at the moment that he felt every day that he might die the next day. Therefore, he was still thinking about the country and hoped that it could be handed over smoothly to the next emperor.

The old emperor was actually not very satisfied with the current princes, but among the short ones, in his eyes, only the seventh prince was decent.

The old emperor was afraid that the news would leak out, so he drove everyone else out. Now, only the two of them were in the room. “Recently, the princes have suddenly become concerned about people’s livelihood.”

“It is a blessing that Your Highnesses are so concerned about state affairs,” said Shao Yu.

The old emperor glanced at Shao Yu with an inquiring gaze before asking, “My dear minister, do you really not know?”

Shao Yu shook his head and said, “Although I don’t know the reason, I think this is a good thing.”

The old emperor loved Shao Yu’s talents, so he was more tolerant of him and never forced him.

Now, after hearing the rumors, he traced the source and found that the cause was actually a private contact between Shao Yu and the Seventh prince.

The old emperor had complicated feelings about this matter. He wanted Shao Yu to help the Seventh prince, but he didn’t want them to collude under his nose.

After a long while, his sense of responsibility finally prevailed. He had to ensure a smooth transition of power to the next ruler. The old emperor asked, “What do you think of the marriage I discussed earlier?”

Shao Yu still refused.

The old emperor’s face instantly darkened, and he was a little confused in his heart about what Shao Yu was trying to do. On the one hand, he disagreed with the marriage, and on the other hand, he had private contact with the Seventh prince.

Shao Yu asked directly, “Your Majesty, are you really interested in the Seventh Prince?”

The old emperor slammed the table and said, “How outrageous!”

Even if he had a preference in his heart, the old emperor could not show it on the outside.

Therefore, until now, in the eyes of others, this marriage was just the old emperor balancing the power of the princes, and did not think that the old emperor had already decided on the Crown prince.

Shao Yu didn’t shy away from the question, but asked again, “Your Majesty, are you really going to hand over the throne to him?”

The old emperor glared and said, “The succession is a family affair of the emperor, how can you interfere?”

The old emperor felt that Shao Yu’s offense made him extremely angry.

But Shao Yu didn’t care at all and just said, “The emperor has no family affairs.”

The old emperor’s eyes were filled with murderous intent as he said, “Shao Yu, don’t think that just because you have some talent, you dare to tell me what to do.”

Shao Yu said, “It is the duty of a minister to give orders to the emperor.”

“You! You!” The old emperor pointed at Shao Yu angrily.

Shao Yu, however, became even more brazen and said, “Since Your Majesty dared to do it, why are you afraid of what others say?”

The old emperor felt a black screen before his eyes, and then he could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood from his throat.

Shao Yu stepped forward and stroked his back with his hand. He didn’t know what method he used, but the old emperor just felt comfortable all over.

“You…” The old emperor vaguely realized something. He had also heard that Shao Yu knew medicine, but he always thought that he was just a mediocre doctor and didn’t take him too seriously.

At this moment, the old emperor still didn’t know what had happened, but his physical feelings were real. He just felt like he was a few years younger. Before, he felt like he was carrying a heavy burden and was unable to breathe, but now he just felt relaxed.

“Your Majesty, you have just spit out this mouthful of blood. You should have a good rest and don’t exert yourself too much.” Shao Yu said gently.

At this moment, Shao Yu no longer had the aggressive look he had before, but looked like a most loyal subject.

But the old emperor still asked: “Are you deliberately trying to anger me?”

Shao Yu nodded. Seeing that he refused to listen and insisted on speaking, he didn’t care and just said, “Your Majesty has been feeling unwell recently and often feels that his end is near. In fact, it’s all an illusion.”

If the old emperor was really weak, he would not have endured for several more years. He just had a temporary problem with his body, and now Shao Yu has helped him solve it. If nothing unexpected happens, the old emperor can conservatively estimate that he can live for another ten years.

Ten years is enough time to wear down the elder prince’s will, and also enough time for the younger prince to grow up.

“Did someone poison me?” The old emperor was obviously more concerned about whether someone was plotting to murder him.

Shao Yu said, “It’s not poison. Your Majesty has been depressed for a long time, and this accident happened.”

Shao Yu originally thought that the old emperor was in poor health due to his old age, but after having more close contact with him recently, he found that it was not the case.

When something goes wrong with a young person’s body, because they have a good foundation and strong self-regulation mechanism, they will slowly adjust themselves without noticing.

Older people really can’t stand even an accident.

“Your Majesty, there is no need to blame the imperial physicians. This symptom is very rare. I had some guesses in my heart, so I took a risk. I didn’t expect that this was really the reason.” Shao Yu said.

The old emperor nodded and asked, “So what you said about the crown prince, is that true?”

How many emperors truly hope to have a crown prince?