gnovel Chapter 28 Isn't Zhao Kuangyin setting a trap for people?
Chapter 28 Isn't Zhao Kuangyin setting a trap for people?
Zhao Guangmei was wearing a red embroidered satin jacket, with a crane cloak draped over it.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. How could I trouble you to wait so long at the gate? Please forgive me, Your Majesty, come in."
Zhao Guangmei stretched out her hand, revealing the eagle hidden inside her crane cloak.
"It's alright, we came uninvited."
"The Third King took this eagle out of the palace today; presumably, he spoke to the Emperor about it?"
"Yes, my elder brother already knows and gave me a good scolding. I took it to the palace yesterday and asked the people at the Eagle Workshop to take a look, but they didn't have any good solutions, so I came to you again."
"Brother Lu, this eagle is called Da Bao. It's Brother Long's treasure. I only got it from him two days ago, and now it's like this. How am I supposed to explain this to him? He'll be heartbroken."
As she spoke, another layer of mist appeared before Zhao Guangmei's eyes.
"Who is Long Ge'er?"
"He's a close confidant of my elder brother, Li Jilong, the eldest son of Li Chuyun. We grew up together and have a very good relationship."
I... I... My eldest brother and second brother both raise their own eagles, but my eldest brother won't let me have one. Long-ge'er has one, which I've always envied. This year during the Spring Festival, I asked him for one, and he gave it to me.
Li Jilong's Eagle?
Wang Lu was surprised for a moment, but then he thought about it again and it seemed quite normal.
Li Jilong is eleven years old, and Zhao Guangmei is thirteen. They are the same age. Li Chuyun is the chief clerk in Zhao Kuangyin's staff.
Similar to Zhao Kuangyin's three roles of chief steward, chief of staff, and personal guard captain, he was responsible for protecting the family members in the mansion and handling family affairs on Zhao Kuangyin's behalf when Zhao Kuangyin went to war.
In this situation, it's perfectly normal for Zhao Guangmei and Li Jilong, who are the same age, to get along well.
"You asked him for a hawk during the Chinese New Year, and he gave it to you?"
"Well, he actually treasures this eagle. He wouldn't give it to me before when I asked him for it. During the New Year, he probably already knew that my elder brother was going to be crowned emperor, and he didn't want to offend me, so he agreed to give me the eagle."
"What did the people at the eagle shop say? What disease does the eagle have?"
"The people at the eagle shop said that this eagle is already tamed. Whenever such a tamed eagle is transferred, the original owner must cooperate and feed it together with the new owner for a few days until the eagle is tamed before it can be transferred to another owner."
"I took the eagle directly, but I didn't know how to feed it, which caused it to get all pricked up. These past few days have been filled with the Chenqiao Mutiny, and I've been busy with work both at home and outside. Who has time to take care of it?"
I was afraid my older brother would find out I had stolen Long Ge'er's hawk, so I kept it in a cage. And so... that's how it ended up."
"I see."
Wang Lu nodded, then asked, "Are you in such a hurry to save this eagle so as not to upset Long Ge'er?"
"Mm." Zhao Guangmei nodded.
"Actually, he has already given the eagle to you. Besides... you don't raise eagles and don't understand the rules and customs of changing hands when an adult eagle is born. He... didn't tell you either. Even if the eagle dies, why bother?"
"If the government allows you to raise eagles, wouldn't you be able to choose any good eagle in the world?"
There were some things Wang Lu couldn't say, but he felt that Li Jilong had deliberately not told Zhao Guangmei the basics of eagle raising.
On the bright side, it's just a child throwing a tantrum because he doesn't want Zhao Guangmei to take his eagle away. On the dark side, maybe he did it on purpose.
Perhaps even Zhao Guangmei stealing his eagle was part of his plan? Was he deliberately trying to make Zhao Guangmei feel guilty towards him?
Now that they've donned the yellow robe, the Zhao family is a different story. What's the big deal about the death of a pet eagle, given the guilt of being the Third King?
Even if this matter reaches Zhao Kuangyin, it will at least make him feel embarrassed, and that will be of great use.
Zhao Guangmei shook her head and said, "Long Ge'er and I were originally friends. Since it was a friend's beloved possession, it was already wrong of me to ask him for it because of my higher status, let alone the fact that it died."
Regardless of his intentions, I ultimately obtained this eagle through my own efforts. A gentleman doesn't take what others cherish; my actions were hardly gentlemanly.
"Besides, no matter what he thinks, Da Bao is dead, and Long Ge'er will be heartbroken. You were right the other day, although I am the eldest brother's younger brother, I do not hold an official position."
You are not my subordinate, so Long Ge'er is even less so. As a friend, it's wrong of me to cause him sadness because of my own reasons.
"In the end, since I consider Long Ge'er my friend, I shouldn't have asked him for his beloved eagle. And if I considered him my subordinate, then I should have asked him for the eagle even less."
So no matter what, this is all my fault, and if the eagle dies at my hands, it will only compound my mistake.
"So, Brother Lu, please save this eagle. This is also my brother's wish."
"What does the Emperor mean?"
"Yes, my elder brother scolded me and said, 'Whether this eagle is dead or alive, I need to ask you what you think and tell me what to do.'"
"I'll teach you? I...I...ah?"
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you earlier. My elder brother has decreed that you are a child prodigy and that you will accompany me and Zhao'er in our studies starting today."
"Zhao...the First Prince? To accompany you and the First Prince in your studies?"
"Um."
Zhao Guangmei nodded.
Wang Lu was dumbfounded, feeling as if the sky had fallen.
You should know that Zhao Guangyi killed his nephew and brother!
Zhao Guangyi killed even his own sons for power, one after another. He was inhuman; he was a complete beast.
In Wang Lu's view, he would definitely take the civil service route in the future. He was of a certain age, and he would definitely become a high-ranking official during the reign of Emperor Taizong.
But if he came from a family of study companions to Zhao Guangmei and Zhao Dezhao...
Then what kind of high-ranking official was he during Emperor Taizong's reign?
Wasn't Zhao Kuangyin setting people up for failure?!
At this time, he was unaware that Zhao Kuangyin's arrangement was to have Wang Jun follow Zhao Guangyi as a trusted and absolute loyal follower. If he had known, he probably would have been even more unable to hold back.
And this Zhao Guangmei...
"Sigh~"
Wang Lu let out a long sigh.
Judging from the current situation, Zhao Guangmei is actually a pretty good person; at least she's worried about killing Li Jilong's eagle.
Moreover, when he came to see me today, he used a pleading tone the whole time, without any imperiousness. You know, I told him yesterday that he couldn't order me around, but today he can't.
After all, he was Zhao Kuangyin's personal companion.
Moreover, he only brought up the matter of having a study companion at the very end.
He's a kid, and he does have a bit of a spoiled, arrogant air about him, but you can tell he's not a bad person at heart; in fact, you could say he's kind.
It's just bad luck that I ended up with a beast like Zhao Guangyi as my second brother.
"Brother Lu, please, please help me."
"Bring the eagle here first, let me take a look."