The villain prince is three and a half years old

"Of course!" Xia Jing held his head high and chest out.

"Jingyixuan is so far away from Cining Palace, how can you support her?" Empress Dowager You narrowed her eyes.

"I come here every day." Xia Jing said.

After getting the answer she wanted, Empress Dowager You nodded and agreed.

Xia Jing thought that after the Eighth Princess arrived at the Cining Palace, Empress Dowager You would be eager to raise her. It was like those parents who dislike cats and dogs, who initially dislike them in various ways, but as soon as the cats and dogs arrive home, they immediately become cat slaves and dog slaves.

What's more, raising the Eighth Princess is not only for the Eighth Princess, but also for Empress Dowager You.

In total, Xia Jing brought three princesses, Ning Xuenian, Ning Yitao, and Ning Peixiang, to the Cining Palace. The three girls were very afraid of Empress Dowager You and never came to visit again.

Ning Shouxu came here often. He would greet Empress Dowager You after entering the house and go straight to Sun Jingzhu. Ning Yuanzhong also came here often. He would not greet Empress Dowager You after entering the house and would go straight to the back garden and fields. He would leave after finishing his work. He was called by Ning Shouxu to do hard labor.

As for Ning Zhixing and Ning Wenhuan, they rarely came.

In the Cining Palace, the only people who could really talk to Empress Dowager You were two concubines of the previous emperor. They were very old, and whether they were doing things or chatting, they were full of the decadence unique to that age, which was not conducive to Empress Dowager You's health.

After much thought, the Eighth Princess is the most suitable candidate.

"When the matter in the western border is over, I will bring her here." Queen Mother You held the boy in her arms.

The old lady also had her own thoughts. Princess or something was not important, as long as the boy could come to the Cining Palace every day, that would be enough.

……

Things in the western border ended quickly, and we had to act quickly. We had to stabilize the situation before Ge Hongsheng could react.

The affairs in the harem were slow to come to an end. When Emperor Kangning heard the news from the western border, he first reprimanded Concubine Duan for her poor personal ethics. The concubines got the signal and complained to the empress about Concubine Duan's previous crimes. The empress told Emperor Kangning, who then ordered an investigation and finally convicted Concubine Duan.

Although it was just the harem, Emperor Kangning still handled it the same way as in the court.

Concubine Duan was demoted to a concubine and sent to guard the imperial mausoleum. This was the best outcome, much better than being sent to the cold palace.

After the turmoil in the harem settled, Prince Jing also returned to the capital.

After skillfully capturing the Ninth Prince in Jingyixuan, Prince Jing sent him to the Southern Study.

Xia Jing was dejected as he followed behind King Jing, complaining, "Uncle Wang came back, but instead of going to see Father, he came to arrest me!"

He thought he could have a happy day today.

"This is for your own good," Prince Jing stroked his beard. "Your uncle played a great role in this incident in the Western Territory. I'll tell the Emperor about this. If the Emperor gets excited and goes to the Southern Study to see you, and doesn't see you, what do you say we should do?"

"Did my uncle make great contributions?" Xia Jing was not clear about the specific matters in the Western Territory.

"If you calculate carefully, it can be ranked first with my own merit."

The two men passed by the Imperial Garden. Prince Jing walked across the arch bridge and saw the koi in the pond.

His hands were itching so badly that he rolled up his sleeves and dipped his hands into the pond to try to catch one.

I don’t know if the previous batch of koi left a message, but this batch of new koi ran away as quickly as they saw King Jing’s finger.

Xia Jing took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and spread it out, revealing two pieces of osmanthus cakes inside.

He pinched a piece of cake, rolled it into crumbs, and scattered them on the water.

A koi fish was fooled and chased the cakes. King Jing saw the opportunity and reached out his hand.

The koi fish broke through the sunlight on the pond water, and light splashed everywhere and landed on King Jing.

King Jing held up the koi, laughed heartily, and said to Xia Jing, "You are the first to achieve this."

"Uncle Wang, please don't harm me. I have to take responsibility for the first credit, so you should take it." Xia Jing didn't want the first credit.

"You are quite modest." King Jing patted the boy on the back. "How do you cook this fish?"

He was going to the Yangxin Palace and had no time to wait for fish.

He was not there, and Xia Jing was too lazy to eat: "Go and give the gift."

In this palace, there is only one person to whom King Jing can send gifts.

In the Yangxin Palace, Emperor Kangning heard the noise outside the door and stood up to greet them. Before he saw Prince Jing, he saw the golden koi carp sticking out of the door frame.

"Why did you catch this again?" Emperor Kangning said helplessly, "How did the Queen's koi offend you?"

"I came in a hurry and forgot to bring any gifts with me," said King Jing.

"You are good at offering gifts to Buddha." Emperor Kangning summoned Xu Zhongde and accepted the koi.

Eunuch Xu had cared for Emperor Kangning for many years and had done everything, but catching fish was new to him, and he was a bit flustered. The koi fish swung its tail and almost slapped him in the face.

After finally subduing the koi, Xu Zhongde breathed a sigh of relief: "I will take it back to the Imperial Garden right away."

"Prince Jing worked so hard to capture him for me, and you're going to release him?" Emperor Kangning patted Xu Zhongde's head. "Go roast him. Prince Jing and I will have a drink!"

"I deserve to die, Your Highness, please forgive me!" Xu Zhongde immediately confessed his guilt.

"It's nothing, just do it." King Jing said with a smile.

Xu Zhongde went downstairs holding the fish.

Emperor Kangning first drank some tea with Prince Jing, and Prince Jing repeated to Emperor Kangning the process of suppressing the rebellion that he had reported in the memorial.

Emperor Kangning would occasionally interrupt and ask questions about details. This was a necessary procedure; only by asking for details could the truth of the matter be determined.

Halfway through the conversation, the grilled fish arrived, along with a few side dishes, and was placed on the small table above the Arhat bed.

Emperor Kangning poured wine for King Jing, who thanked him and continued to talk about the western border.

He hid his whereabouts and after arriving at the western border, he quickly contacted the garrison, took control of the imperial guard camp, and won over a group of garrison commanders. He then launched an attack and captured Ge Hongsheng.

It was not until he arrived at the compound surrounded by the imperial guards that Ge Hongsheng realized that something had changed.

After Ge Hongsheng surrendered, he identified the unstable elements in the tribes in the western border, and peace returned to the western border.

Emperor Kangning drank the wine, pondered for a moment, reviewed the whole process, and nodded.

"Okay!" He put down his wine glass and took a bite of the roasted koi. "In your opinion, who gets all the credit for this achievement?"

After the war, the most important thing is to reward people according to their merits.

"Your Majesty, the victory in the western border is due to three major contributions." King Jing said frankly without any doubt.

"Oh? Besides you, who are the other two?" Emperor Kang Ning asked calmly.

The King of Jing was about to speak when he saw the koi on the table and suddenly remembered what the Ninth Prince had said. The boy didn't want the credit for catching the koi, saying he was harming him.

The Prince of Jing glanced at Xu Zhongde again. He hadn't expected Emperor Kangning to actually roast the koi. Xu Zhongde's suggestion to release them was a reflection of Emperor Kangning's previous behavior. Why had Emperor Kangning changed his ways? The reason had already been given: the koi, he said, had been painstakingly caught, so they deserved to be roasted. In other words, Emperor Kangning was accommodating him.

Then he thought about how Ge Hongsheng, who relied on his merits and had a large army, had just suffered a disaster. The King of Jing began to sweat.

This achievement is not worth it.

"I dare not call myself a great hero. I am not one of these three people." He shook his head.

Emperor Kangning became interested: "If you are not included, who are those three people?"

"The smooth passage of events in the Western Territory was entirely due to a quick and decisive decision. Speed ​​is paramount, so the first credit must go to the Emperor for his decisiveness!"

Emperor Kangning smiled and said, "You, you've actually learned to flatter!"

"What about the second great achievement?" Emperor Kangning asked again.

"In the Western Territory, both officials and local tribes are confused and disorganized. A quick sword is crucial to cut through the Gordian knot. Therefore, the second greatest achievement, of course, is to dispatch General Xiao and others to win over the Emperor's entire available forces."

"This second great achievement actually belongs to me?" Emperor Kangning smiled even more happily.

King Jing continued, "Even if you have a knife, you still need to know where to strike. Therefore, this third great achievement is also for the emperor, who explored the situation in the western border and exposed Ge Hongsheng's conspiracy."

Emperor Kangning raised his wine glass and clinked it with Prince Jing's.

"We've talked about the great achievements, what about the medium achievements?" he asked.

"Two people were primarily responsible for the moderate contributions: Xiao Jida and the Fifth Prince." The King of Jing omitted his own identity. "The Fifth Prince's letter not only persuaded Ge Hongsheng to give up his resistance, but also enabled me to persuade Ge Hongsheng's generals to surrender before I could take action."

"Where is Xiao Jida?" Emperor Kangning asked again.

"Speaking of General Xiao, that's truly remarkable. When I arrived in the Western Territory, the first person I sought out was General Xiao. I had originally planned to have him host a small banquet to secretly recruit a group of available forces. Unexpectedly, after General Xiao sent out the invitations, not only did half of the guards from Laogu Pass show up, but many from the three neighboring passes as well, and even the leaders of several Western Territory tribes..."

King Jing spoke in detail about Xiao Jida's skill in dancing with long sleeves.

After hearing this, Emperor Kangning narrowed his eyes. After a moment, he remembered something and relaxed again.

Emperor Kangning thought of the farce of a few years ago. If Xiao Jida were thrown into a group of warriors, he would thrive like a fish in water, but if Xiao Jida were placed in the officialdom, he would not only be unable to move forward, but would also be drowned if he was not careful.

This kind of general is the most reassuring one.

Moreover, Xiao Jieda first attempted drowning in the officialdom before joining the army, so there was no possibility of pretending.

After asking some more detailed questions, Emperor Kangning sent King Jing away and made a decision.

Now we know how to reward according to merit.

There is no need to pressure the King of Jing, he can be rewarded handsomely. There is no need to pressure Xiao Jida either, but he cannot stay in the Western Territory either. He should be sent to another place for intensive training.

There is another thing, how to deal with the position of concubine vacated by Concubine Duan.

Emperor Kangning sat back on the Arhat bed and asked Xu Zhongde, "Do you think it's better to give the title of Concubine Yun or Concubine Shu?"

Xu Zhongde's heartbeat quickened upon hearing this. He naturally thought it would be best to give it to Concubine Shu. In this war, Ge Hongsheng, the noble leader, had committed a crime, so Concubine Yun should have been implicated as well. Meanwhile, Xiao Jida had made great contributions, so Concubine Shu should have shared in the merits.

But power does not come from reason, but from fists and the need to maintain stability.

Xiao Jieda could reward them later, but the noble group urgently needed to be appeased.

Xu Zhongde knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I am a useless person and I don't understand this."

"Tell me what you think, and I won't punish you," Emperor Kangning said. He was hesitant, so he wanted to see what others thought.

"I am short-sighted. I only thought that Concubine Yun entered the palace first. I also thought that Concubine Shu had a prince."

Xu Zhongde gave reasons for both sides, and these reasons had nothing to do with the affairs of the western border or the affairs of the court.

Emperor Kang Ning sighed, "It would be great if there were two seats."

Xu Zhongde said at the right moment: "Your Majesty..."

He suddenly stopped speaking and slapped his mouth.

"What are you going to say? Feel free to say it." Emperor Kangning asked.

Xu Zhongde kowtowed and apologized, refusing to speak. Emperor Kangning pressed him a few more times before he finally opened his mouth.

"I think there is still room for a concubine."

This means that the position of imperial concubine is still vacant. By selecting one of the current three concubines to be imperial concubine, one concubine position will be vacant.

Emperor Kangning said nothing.

……

King Jing had a lot to say.

He pulled the Ninth Prince along, wanting to tell him what had happened in the Yangxin Palace. If he hadn't remembered what the boy had said earlier, he would have made a grave mistake and offended Emperor Kangning.

Before Ge Hongsheng was around, there was someone who could compete with him militarily, so he could be more at ease. Now that Ge Hongsheng has fallen, he has become the only one standing out, and if he doesn't perform well, he will be in trouble!

He opened his mouth several times, but in the end said nothing.

The Ninth Prince is too young, and if this matter is made public, it might even turn into a disaster.

This is the disadvantage of children's bodies. They are not easy to be guarded against or trusted.

As the saying goes, a man without hair on his lips cannot do things well. The Ninth Prince still has a long way to go before he grows hair.

"Let's go catch koi!" King Jing mentioned Xia Jing.

"Hey, Your Highness, you——!" Zhang Zanyu's class had not yet finished when he watched Prince Jing take his student away.

"Today is my day, Lord Zhang, please give me some face!" Prince Jing strode out of the Southern Study.

Zhang Zanyu was puzzled. The Prince of Jing was clearly in a bad mood, most likely because of something that had happened in the Yangxin Palace.

He left Xue Zhaoju and went to see Emperor Kangning.

"Master Zhang is here," Emperor Kangning said, still drinking and eating fish. "Sit down and have a few drinks."

His face was beaming, not only because he had pacified the western border, but also because the King of Jing was very sensible. All military generals' rebellions had traces, the biggest of which was arrogance.

The King of Jing is not only not rebellious, but also very humble. As long as he remains humble for a few more years and waits for General Qin and General Xiao to grow up, everything will be fine.

Zhang Zanyu sat opposite Emperor Kangning, picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of fish.

"Huh?" He frowned. "Your Majesty, what kind of fish is this? It's completely different from what I've eaten before."