My father Zhao Kuangyin

"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, the Prince is a man of great talent for governing the world."

These words were clearly a roundabout way of refuting the Emperor's praise of his fourth son, Defang, for his benevolent governance in front of Prefect Zhao a few days earlier.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin was neither pleased nor angry. Instead, he looked at Feng Bing, which made the latter somewhat apprehensive.

Not long after he began to intend to rebuild the Censorate, Feng Bing became a completely different person, jumping around and eager to show off, his ambition was obvious.

"Governing the world requires more than just words..."

"Grandpa is right."

Zhao Kuangyin glanced at him and asked, "How did you learn of the tyranny in Wu?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Zhao Dezhao immediately replied, "To be honest, Father, it was Imperial Censor Feng who told me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Feng Bing felt a chill run down his spine and almost trembled.

Erlang, is this... a push-type technique?

It should be understood that in the current Censorate, the title of Grand Master is an honorary title, while the title of Vice Minister is the principal official.

Feng Bing's full title was Attendant Censor in charge of miscellaneous affairs, serving as the deputy head of the Censorate. He assisted the Censor-in-Chief in handling the affairs of the Censorate and was in charge of investigating the discipline of all officials. He was known as "Miscellaneous Affairs Officer".

Now, the position of Censor-in-Chief has been vacant for a long time. This vice-ministerial level official has been stuck in miscellaneous positions for many years without any promotion, remaining at this "mere" half-step mark for so long. And now...

At this moment, Emperor Zhao disregarded whose merit it was and concluded: "Minister Feng has made a contribution, and I should promote him."

"God bless you."

"Your Majesty."

"Go and inform Zeping and the Secretariat to draft an imperial edict."

"only."

After speaking, Feng Bing first looked at Zhao Erlang with burning eyes, and then stepped forward from the ranks to kowtow in greeting.

"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty!"

"Why thank me instead of your second son?"

"Your Majesty...this..."

Seeing his embarrassed expression, Zhao Kuangyin chuckled lightly, said nothing more, and left with his hands behind his back.

After the Emperor left, only two people remained in the hall.

Zhao Dezhao and Feng Bing were initially embarrassed by being caught in the act, but after a moment, they remained silent, their expressions shifting unpredictably.

In the end, they could only exchange a knowing smile.

But this smile, with its corners of the mouth slowly opening like a bowstring, is reminiscent of the "grace" of Zhou Yu when he encountered Xiang Yu.

………………

Zhao Xiangfu (Prime Minister Zhao's Residence).

Upon learning that Zhao Erlang had taken up the Censorate and attributed the credit to the newly appointed Censor-in-Chief Feng Bing, Prime Minister Zhao did not hesitate and immediately agreed to the Emperor's request to leave the capital.

At this moment, he was radiant.

When Zhao Pu returned home, he was surprised to see carriages and horses parked at the gate.

Who stops at the gate?

The servants rushed to the carriage, helping it up and responding as they did so.

"My lord, these are Lord Sun's carriages and horses."

"Which Master Sun?"

"It's Grand Tutor Sun."

"snort."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Pu chuckled for no apparent reason.

When did the Inspector General of the Imperial Household Department start taking things seriously?

It should be noted that the title of Inspector General originated during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, and its conferment as an official post was extremely common after the establishment of the Song Dynasty.

It was mainly used for military personnel, especially generals who were stationed in border prefectures. They were basically given honorary titles as a sign of honor.

To put it bluntly, it was all in name only; Sun Chengyou's official position was merely that of a military commander in the Zhenhai and Zhendong armies.

Having the title of one of the Three Dukes does not mean one is a true Three Duke, or even a half-step Three Duke. The difference in weight is too great. At least in front of him, Sun Chengyou is not worthy of being called a "Duke".

Of course, Zhao Pu had no interest in explaining things to the illiterate servant.

Where is he?

"He went back to the official residence."

"And what are these?"

"It is said to be... a gift from the King of Wu."

"馈" is often a nice-sounding word, but if you're not careful, it can easily turn into "贿" (bribe).

The sixteen-character mantra was still posted on the walls of various government offices. At such a taboo time, what did it mean that this fellow would openly send gifts?

"Have you seen them? What kind of things are they?"

"Just some bottles and jars," the servant replied knowingly.

"Take it in."

"Here you are."

When faced with the seafood brought by Xiao Sun, Zhao Xiangong's old habit resurfaced, and he had no choice but to accept it into the storeroom.

Little did he know that every gift bestowed by fate had already been secretly priced.

Sure enough, the emperor paid his respects to his minister at an inopportune time, while the jade vase in front of the gate was still being moved.

"Official...the Emperor."

"Then, shall we return to the capital?"

Zhao Kuangyin frowned as he looked at the so-called "bottles and jars".

He had just led his nephew Weiji to have a heart-to-heart talk with his third brother at the parent-teacher meeting, and he was thinking about how Zhao Pu was trying to smooth things over between the two. Little did he expect that this would turn out to be a happy accident.

Naturally, Zhao Pu's actions regarding Wu's etiquette were neither based on power nor bribery, but this move still left him somewhat disheartened.

He promised to turn over a new leaf, but it's only been a few days.

At this moment, Emperor Zhao did not understand why the Prefect had just opened up to him, praising the Prime Minister and recounting his own faults, which had moved him to make an appointment to visit him...

"The Emperor?"

Zhao Pu had barely settled in his seat when he rushed out of the courtyard to greet him.

"Zeping, I've come to see you."

Zhao Pu didn't think much of it at first, but after listening to his tone and seeing the seafood products displayed in the corridor, he was taken aback.

Another coincidence?

This is absolutely outrageous!

Enraged but powerless, Prime Minister Zhao could only curse Sun and Zhao in his heart, and was also distressed that he had been misled by the present situation. He completely forgot that the former had been embarrassed in the palace by Erlang, and even more so, he forgot the character of the Prefect of Kaifeng...

Of course, the main reason was that the speed was too fast, which caught everyone off guard.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Someone who understands people's hearts has now mastered this skill to perfection.

Zhao Pu had no time to argue, so he simply told the truth.

"Your Majesty, these were gifts sent to me by Sun Chengyou, dispatched by Qian Chu. I have not touched a single one."

"Oh?" Zhao Kuangyin smiled and said, "Then I'll do it for you and open it to see what gift it is."

"According to Sun Chengyou, it is a marine product," Zhao Pu replied frankly.

At his instruction, the servant stepped forward slowly, and then several imperial guards took his place and opened the jade bottle.

Before the lid was fully lifted, a glimmer of golden light shone out, as if a bud was about to bloom... a money flower.

"Your Majesty, it's a golden melon seed."

The term "golden melon seeds" is a colloquial term for broken gold.

After that, all nine bottles were consecrated, and without exception, they were all made of broken gold.

One of the bottles also contained a letter.

Zhao Pu was immediately ashamed.

"Your Majesty, I have not opened any of these envelopes, nor dare I open this private letter..."

"I saw it; it's unopened." Zhao Kuangyin offered some reassurance, then sighed, "It's alright if you accept it. After all, important state affairs are decided by you and your fellow scholars; how could I not bear to?"

How could Zhao Pu not hear the strange tone in that voice?

Heaven have mercy, that Prefect Zhao is truly determined to dismiss him from his post... He has to get involved in everything.

"Your Majesty, your subject..."

Zhao Pu was about to explain when Zhao Kuangyin raised his hand to interrupt him.

"I am not a narrow-minded person, please accept this."

"I absolutely cannot accept this..."

Why?

"Since the tyranny in Wu is already real... no matter how greedy I am for money, I should not accept the blood and sweat of the people..."

Having received Zhao Dezhao's three remonstrances, Prime Minister Zhao was no longer arrogant and conceited. He was able to lower himself and speak softly to persuade the emperor, and even said things that would please him.

In the past, the latter often maintained a haughty demeanor, confronting the officials on equal footing and even strongly refuting them.

However, not everything you say will get a positive response, especially when it comes from Zhao Pu.

"The people of Wu are people, but are the people of Song also people?"

"Of course."

"I just want you to know that no one, regardless of where they come from, should be deceived."

"Your Majesty is benevolent..."

"Stop with the flattery. I want you to do it. Can you or can't you?"

Before someone falls from grace, he probably won't be able to get a single penny of wealth; the surveillance is simply too strict...

Whether he felt heartbroken or not, Zhao Pu was certainly devastated, but compared to the position of prime minister, what did this matter?

Therefore, Zhao Pu gritted his teeth and realized his mistake, saying, "Yes."

"it is good."

Zhao Kuangyin laughed it off and did not make a scene. He considered it a lenient forgiveness of Zhao Pu, turned around and led him into the hall, where they sat down for tea and conversation.