BHBF Chapter 90.2

Boss, He’s Becoming a Father (Arc 4) Chapter 90.2: Playful Son (74)

“Or do you think that the princes are so fragile that they can’t withstand even the slightest wind and rain? If the princes are really so fragile, then there’s no need to expect them to become the crown prince in the future.”

“You want the throne, but you don’t want to put in the effort. Are you all just waiting to get it without any effort?”

Shao Yu refuted each point one by one, and he was not at all inferior to almost the entire court.

“Gentlemen present, every civil official has gone through years of arduous study, and every military commander has endured rigorous training in the hottest days of summer and the coldest days of winter. You all know very well what it takes to succeed. You can be so ruthless towards yourselves and your children, yet you change your attitude towards the prince. What’s going on? Do you want to prevent the prince from achieving success?”

Shao Yu looked at all the court officials present.

Finally, a minister couldn’t help but say, “According to what Lord Shao is saying, the princes have failed to achieve anything. If you say that, where does that leave your Majesty?”

Regardless of what talents the prince actually has, when people mention him on a daily basis, they must say that he is gifted and talented. Only in this way will they avoid offending the emperor and the princes.

But Shao Yu was not at all afraid of such words. He simply said, “Have they become talented? I would like to ask the adults present here. Many of you have served as tutors for the princes in both literature and martial arts. Why is it that after so many years of instruction, your Highnesses have not been able to learn from your Majesty’s natural talent?”

Shao Yu used the old emperor as a benchmark for success, and no one present dared to respond.

Only Sun Yuan stood up and said, “Well said! I’ve been wanting to say this for a long time! What was His Majesty like back then? Have these princes learned anything? Why don’t they hone their skills while they’re still young? Do they have to wait until they are old to gain experience?”

Sun Yuan has a straightforward temper. Three years ago, he mistakenly thought that Shao Yu wanted to curry favor with him, but then he saw Shao Yu expose his family scandal and was demoted to Lingnan.

Sun Yuan originally thought that Shao Yu would be like this for the rest of his life, but he didn’t expect Shao Yu to come back again, and even his temperament became more straightforward, which made him more to his liking.

Sun Yuan had long been fed up with those princes. None of them thought about serving the country and the people, but instead fought for power and profit like a cross-eyed man. Now Shao Yu finally got them out to do some real work, but the ministers stopped him.

Duke Pei also stood up at this time and made his attitude clear.

The Duke of Pei’s family was full of loyal and brave men, and four of his five sons had died in battle. His first words were murderous and heartbreaking: “I simply feel that there is no danger outside the battlefield.”

After a commotion, the matter was settled. The princes who were suffering in various places had hoped that their own people could bring good news, but they received a message that this matter might be carried out for a long time, and everyone felt dizzy.

Some princes could not hold on any longer and ignored the eyes following them. They ran back to the capital at night and cried to the old emperor about their hardships, but they were only met with the old emperor’s cold eyes.

“As a king, you must endure suffering that ordinary people cannot endure. Your Majesty went through the same thing in the past. Why can’t Your Highness endure it a little?” Shao Yu added fuel to the fire.

The Fourth Prince looked at Shao Yu, the culprit, with his eyes that seemed to be able to spit fire. He had been living a stable life in the capital. His mother’s family was prominent and the possibility of him competing for the throne was very high. But after Shao Yu’s grumbling to the emperor, he no longer had a good life.

Even though the Fourth Prince was angry, he did not dare to vent it to Shao Yu in front of the old emperor. He could only turn to the old emperor and beg for mercy.

The old emperor looked at him and said, “Go ask your mother. If she really can’t endure hardship, then you can become a rich and virtuous king in the future.”

When the Fourth Prince met his mother, he wanted to tell her about the hardships he had endured during this period, but unexpectedly, his mother did not give him the slightest bit of a good look.

“My father, my uncle, my brother… the glory of our entire family, the efforts of most of my life, all depend on you. Who allows you to give up?” The imperial concubine asked at the top of her lungs.

The Fourth Prince did not expect his mother to have such a big reaction. He felt that the woman in front of him was very unfamiliar. This was not the mother who loved him to the core.

“Mother, you don’t know, that place in Shu City…”

Before the Fourth Prince could finish his words, the Imperial Concubine interrupted him harshly: “I don’t want to know what’s going on in Shu City!” Seeing his mother like this, the Fourth Prince couldn’t help but feel a little sad. He said, “Does mother think that I am just a tool to fight for the throne? If I don’t fight for it, then I am not your child, am I?”

The imperial concubine loved her son very much, but she knew very well that now that they were in their current position, there was no way out.

“You must fight. If you don’t, I will die, your grandfather will die, your uncle will die, and you will not have a good life.” The imperial concubine said in a cold voice. She and her family had made too many enemies over the years. If they didn’t succeed, they would die.

“My father wants me to find a way to curb the hidden households in the mountains in Shu City, but Shu City is under the rule of a chieftain, and the hidden households are tacitly allowed by the chieftain. In such a place with all kinds of people, not to mention the prince, even if my father goes there, his words may not be effective. Maybe a random accident will cost me my life.” said the fourth prince.

The imperial concubine, however, acted as if she hadn’t heard him and emphasized, “You must go back.”

The Fourth Prince looked at the Imperial Concubine in disbelief.

The imperial concubine was also filled with grief, and she was very worried about her son’s safety outside, but at this point, either he died alone, or everyone died, she had to make a choice.

The Fourth Prince suddenly felt relieved and said, “My mother doesn’t care whether I live or die, so why should I fight for you?”

The imperial concubine opened her eyes wide.

The Fourth Prince, as if he had succeeded in his revenge, said with a malicious smile, “Mother, I will be a rich and idle prince.”

The Fourth Prince stayed peacefully in the capital, indulging himself in sensual pleasures every day and was quite happy.

When the old emperor received the news, he was stunned for a moment, but soon said: “I still have several good sons.”

The Fourth Prince said that Shu was dangerous and he was afraid that the chieftain would take his life. However, he did not know that when the old emperor sent his son out, he had already made sufficient preparations and even prepared reinforcements early, just waiting for the Fourth Prince to create a dispute, and then he would join forces inside and outside to completely put an end to the rebellious chieftain.

But the Fourth Prince did not even set foot in Shu. He turned back to the capital after seeing the difficult Shu Road.

Although the Fourth Prince was no longer a clue, the chaos in Shu City was still exposed. When the good news from Shu arrived, the old emperor specially ordered someone to find the drunk Fourth Prince.

The Fourth Prince reeked of alcohol and continued to accuse the old emperor of partiality: “Other brothers have found safe and secure places, yet you insist on sending me to my own death?”

“Did you see it clearly?” The old emperor threw the victory news from Shu at him.

The Fourth Prince picked it up and after reading it, his lips trembled and he couldn’t utter a complete sentence for a long time.

This victory report clearly stated the whole process and consequences. The Fourth Prince was not stupid. He immediately understood that his entry into Shu was just a deception and the real net had been laid long ago.

“The places your other brothers have gone to may not be as dangerous as yours, but the credit they have received will not be greater than yours,” said the old emperor.

The Fourth Prince immediately understood that his official business trip was actually more like a gilding of his skills. Unfortunately, he had not been tested and was frightened by the dangers of Shu.

The old emperor now felt more and more that Shao Yu was right. A monarch who could take on the responsibility of a country must have both courage and wisdom. He had known long ago that the fourth son lacked courage, so he deliberately used Shu to test him.

And the Fourth Prince indeed failed the test.

The Fourth Prince burst into tears and begged, “Father, I was wrong. Please give me another chance.”

The old emperor shook his head slightly and completely crossed out his fourth son from the list of crown princes.

He had ten years during which he stopped making choices and instead used the process of elimination to completely eliminate those who were certain they could not take responsibility.

Soon, the Fourth Prince was named Prince of Idleness. The old emperor also commented in front of many people that the Fourth Prince was “not fit for important tasks” and suppressed the Fourth Prince’s faction.

In just one month, the whole capital knew that the Fourth Prince had lost the emperor’s favor and had no chance of becoming the emperor. The officials who had originally tried to curry favor with him also turned against him one after another.

With the fourth prince’s experience as a lesson, the other princes who originally wanted to give up no longer dared to say so. Even though they felt it was too difficult, they still gritted their teeth and persisted, determined to achieve results.

Compared with others, some have prominent maternal families, and some have prominent wives’ families, but only the seventh prince is weak. However, the seventh prince still has his mind set on the throne. He still remembers the humiliation his mother suffered during her lifetime, and the oppression he suffered in his childhood. Therefore, he is the one among the brothers who most wants to make it.

The others were just trying to endure, but the Seventh Prince was actively thinking.

He no longer did things with the intention of completing the task, but began to think about how to do the task as well as possible.

After the Seventh Prince figured it out, he began to ask the people around him for advice. He no longer acted like a prince and even lowered his head to ask the craftsmen for advice.

Therefore, this time, among the several groups, the group led by the Seventh Prince completed the task the fastest. When they returned to the capital to report, the Seventh Prince kept talking in response to the old emperor’s questions. It was obvious that he had fully understood what he was doing.

The old emperor summoned the people who were sent to keep an eye on the seventh prince.

The people who were monitoring the Seventh Prince saw the changes clearly, but they still described it all in an objective tone.

After hearing this, the old emperor couldn’t help but look at Shao Yu beside him.

Shao Yu said: “Congratulations, Your Majesty, the Seventh Prince has grown up.”