Chapter 713 - 711 Blind Confidence
Tan Weixian didn’t want to say these vague and unbelievable words either, but he had to first calm the Crown Prince down before discussing anything else.
No matter what, Tan Weixian’s persuasion did have some effect. The Crown Prince’s rage didn’t subside, but he also didn’t burst out again, only snorted coldly and angrily sat down on the chair at the head of the table.
Tan Weixian poured another cup of hot tea for the Crown Prince, placed it beside him, and took a seat at the lower end of the table, saying to the Crown Prince, "The court just opened today, and His Majesty hasn’t assigned any tasks yet, has he? According to what was said at the end of last year, His Highness Prince Yu will be in charge of laying the wooden rail tracks, and the Ministry of Works will supply all the necessary tracks, railroad ties, and components. I believe that Prince Fu will never let Prince Yu successfully carry out the project without interference. He will certainly cause trouble in many ways. Regardless of what Prince Fu and Prince Yu are thinking, they are nothing to be afraid of."
The Crown Prince impatiently said, "What I’m talking about now is Lao Liu’s marriage. The Imperial Father suddenly chose three women for him, each from a not insignificant family. Even if Lao Liu has no intention of seeking the position of Crown Prince, I’m afraid others might instigate him, leading him to harbor ulterior motives."
Tan Weixian smiled and advised, "Now that Prince Fu is eyeing the position of Crown Prince, having one more competitor to vie with him isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You are the Crown Prince, but they are only princes. If they wish to advance further, they can only do their utmost to perform their duties and cultivate their support. You, however, need not do so.
As the saying goes, the more one does, the more mistakes one makes; the less one does, the fewer mistakes. If you do nothing, you make no mistakes. You are the Crown Prince, you don’t need to prove yourself with political achievements like they do. Even if Your Highness does nothing and keeps from making mistakes, the future of the realm will still be yours. Let them fight and strive to do their duties; Your Highness just needs to calm down, look for their faults, and seize the opportunity to bring down their ambition."
The Crown Prince glanced at Tan Weixian, with a trace of approval in his expression. These last few words were rather fitting, he sounded like a real registrar of the Crown Prince’s Mansion, not the kind who can only fool a three-year-old child.
Seeing that the Crown Prince had taken his words to heart, Tan Weixian took the opportunity to continue persuading, "Compared to Prince Fu and Prince Yu, the tasks of the Crown Prince are quite stable and less prone to error. The Ministry of Revenue has established routines for all matters, and we just have to follow past precedents in our daily work. If there’s anything uncertain, we can directly refer to the Cabinet and discuss it with the senior officials.