Chapter 511: Chapter 275: Prince Jing is an Extremely Selfish Person
In He Lianfang’s residence, Zhao Yao was playing chess with the owner of the house.
Since meeting He Lianfang, Zhao Yao’s chess skills had become increasingly refined. Rather than just playing chess, it was as if he was battling on a chessboard. He seamlessly applied the military strategies taught by He Lianfang into his chess games.
"Your father has appointed Prince Jing as the Minister of Staff. What do you think?" Having said that, He Lianfang placed a piece. Nowadays, playing chess with Zhao Yao was not as relaxed as a few years ago. As Zhao Yao grew older, it became increasingly difficult to win against him on the chessboard.
Zhao Yao, while meticulously observing the situation on the board, replied perfunctorily, "Sowing discord." After speaking, he placed a piece.
He Lianfang saw the piece Zhao Yao had just placed, furrowed his brow slightly, and after thinking for a moment, placed his own piece.
"Do you think it will succeed?"
"It will." Zhao Yao picked up two chess pieces, rubbing them in his hands, "Actually, even if my father didn’t do this, Seventh Brother and the Duke Zhen would have conflicts eventually; it’s only a matter of time."
He Lianfang asked casually, "What do you think Duke Zhen will do?"
"Knowing Duke Zhen’s personality, he would abandon the Empress and Seventh Brother to continue supporting the Crown Prince."
"Are you so sure that Duke Zhen won’t change his mind to support Prince Jing?" He Lianfang deliberately said, "Compared to the Crown Prince, Prince Jing is actually Duke Zhen’s own nephew."
"Second Uncle, the Crown Prince is also Duke Zhen’s own nephew, alright."
"Empress Xie is Duke Zhen’s full sister, while the late Empress was only his half-sister, which is a step removed in terms of relationship." He Lianfang smirked, seeming both like and unlike smiling, "Perhaps Duke Zhen will change his mind to support Prince Jing, abandoning the Crown Prince."
"Second Uncle, Duke Zhen isn’t that foolish. For one thing, look how much effort Duke Zhen has put into the Crown Prince over the years. If he were to suddenly switch to supporting Seventh Brother, it would truly be a great loss." Zhao Yao flicked a chess piece with his thumb and then reached out to catch it. "Besides, Seventh Brother can’t compare to the Crown Prince."
He Lianfang raised his eyebrows with interest and asked, "Why do you say that?"
"Firstly, although Seventh Brother is more closely related to Duke Zhen by blood, when the Crown Prince was born, Great Zhou had not yet been established. Grandfather and my father often fought wars outside, and I’ve heard that the late Empress frequently took the Crown Prince back to the Xie family. The Xie family often visited the late Empress and the Crown Prince,"
Zhao Yao continued, "When the Crown Prince was young, he often visited the Xie family. I’ve heard Duke Zhen personally taught the Crown Prince to read. The Crown Prince and Duke Zhen have a very good relationship, which is one area where Seventh Brother cannot compare to the Crown Prince."
He Lianfang lightly raised his brow and asked, "And the second?"
"Seventh Brother is not as obedient as the Crown Prince." At this point, Zhao Yao sighed lightly. "Sigh, the Crown Prince listens to Duke Zhen very well. Whatever Duke Zhen tells him to do, he does. Whatever Duke Zhen forbids, he doesn’t do. But Seventh Brother, not only is he self-opinionated, he is also arrogant... no, to be precise, obstinately arrogant. He may not necessarily heed Duke Zhen’s words in all matters. He might even think he’s smarter and more cunning than Duke Zhen."
He Lianfang had never paid much attention to Prince Jing and didn’t know much about what kind of person Prince Jing was.
"Is Prince Jing an obstinately arrogant person?"
Zhao Yao nodded slightly, "Yes, Seventh Brother is not only arrogant but always carries an air of superiority." In Seventh Brother’s eyes, all of us brothers were of lower birth than him; we’re not the same kind of people. "Seventh Brother always thinks he’s the smartest among us brothers, but in truth, he’s the dumbest. Honestly, he’s not even as good as Ninth Brother. Ninth Brother appears to be a fool, but he’s not as stupid as he seems on the surface. For one thing, at least Ninth Brother is more self-aware than Seventh Brother is.
"Someone so conceited would never willingly listen to Duke Zhen." Zhao Yao continued, "Seventh Brother might even try to prove he has more strategies than Duke Zhen, potentially doing things beyond Duke Zhen’s expectations. Seventh Brother is harder to control than the Crown Prince."
He Lianfang nodded slightly before asking, "And the third reason?"
"The third reason: Seventh Brother is a legitimate son, but he’s not the eldest legitimate son." There is still a considerable difference between a legitimate son and the eldest legitimate son, "Fourthly: Seventh Brother doesn’t have much prestige among ministers and commoners, nor does he have much reputation. In terms of academics, Seventh Brother cannot compare to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince has some talent, and some articles and poems he has written are very popular and admired among scholars, whereas what Seventh Brother writes are far inferior compared to the Crown Prince’s work."