Zhao Huan rarely takes the initiative to contact Zhao Cheng, especially not in such urgent situations.

Zhao Cheng knew it must be something extremely important, so he rushed back to the Right Prime Minister's residence without saying a word.

He went to Zhao Huan's study but found no one there. After searching around, he saw Zhao Huan under a tree in the yard... cutting fish.

To be precise, Zhao Huan was patiently slicing the fish.

Although Zhao Huan is over fifty years old, he usually wears loose long robes and has flowing long hair except when he wears armor in the army. He has a lazy appearance and doesn't care much about his appearance. However, he is extremely capable when he makes fish slices, and can even do it at a professional level.

He sliced ​​the fish very thinly and laid them out on the lotus leaf, with small dishes of condiments and the immortal wine that Zhao Cheng had given him as a tribute.

"Come on, try some sashimi." Zhao Huan didn't even look up, continuing his 'work'.

Zhao Cheng was somewhat puzzled.

Is this what Zhao Wu meant by "very urgent"?

If you're in such a hurry, why are you so relaxed?

Still eating sashimi?

Zhao Cheng seriously suspected that Zhao Wu might have some misunderstanding about the word "anxious". He walked over, picked up a slice of sashimi, dipped it in sauce, and put it in his mouth.

It melts in your mouth, and the lingering flavor of the seasonings stimulates your taste buds, leaving a fragrant aftertaste in your stomach.

"Ah..." Zhao Cheng couldn't help but exclaim.

"Did you enjoy it?" Zhao Huan smiled at Zhao Cheng.

Zhao Cheng moved a chair over and sat down, saying frankly, "This fish is really good! Where did you get it, old man?"

Zhao Huan said proudly, "An old friend of mine named Qi Nian resigned from his official post and has been fishing by the sea every day lately, enjoying his retirement. These Jingbian spotted fish are rare, and he was lucky enough to catch two, so he sent one to me by fast horse."

The key point Zhao Cheng heard wasn't about the Jingbian spotted fish, but rather the name Qi Nian.

He asked, "The Qinian you mentioned, could it be the former prefect of Jingdong County?"

"yes."

"Old man, you really have a wide network of connections. The old prefect is much older than you, isn't he?"

"He's more than twenty years older than me, so we're kind of friends despite the age gap!"

Zhao Huan raised his head, seemingly recalling the past, and said, "I saved his life on the battlefield back then. He is a grateful person and has taken good care of me for decades."

Zhao Cheng suddenly seemed to remember something and tentatively asked, "I heard that when he resigned, he strongly recommended Huang Zhen to succeed him. He's so close to you, he should also know about my relationship with Huang Zhen, could it be...?"

"Don't overthink things. Don't dwell on things that aren't your concern."

Zhao Huan cut half of the fish into pieces, washed his hands, poured wine for Zhao Cheng, sat down and said, "Eat and drink first, I'll cut more fish slices if there aren't enough."

Zhao Cheng asked, "What does Father want with me?"

"Let's eat fish and drink!" Zhao Huan glanced at the darkening sky and smiled. "It's been a long time since we've had a private chat. Just keep me company."

The more Zhao Huan acted this way, the more Zhao Cheng knew that Zhao Huan must have something important to say. Since he wasn't in a hurry, Zhao Cheng didn't urge him. Thinking that he really hadn't had a proper drink with his father, he diligently served his father fish slices.

The more he thought about the change of positions between Qi Nian and Huang Zhen, the more he felt that it wasn't so simple.

Thinking about it more deeply, he even felt that Li Lu's appointment as the governor of Shangyang County was probably related to Zhao Huan.

I need to find an opportunity to test my father and see how familiar he is with the previous governor of Shangyang County...

It was getting dark.

As night falls, a gentle night breeze caresses the body.

As expected, the father and son didn't talk about anything serious; they just talked about old stories and funny anecdotes from their lives.

Only after Zhao Huan continued slicing the fish did he bring up the topic, saying, "You know that when you were in the Southern Zhou army camp, I put the fourth brother in solitary confinement?"

Zhao Cheng said, "I know. I've talked to him about this before, telling him to be more sensible and not hold a grudge against you."

Zhao Huan said, "Whether you hold a grudge against me or not, I don't care. As for your three younger brothers, let's not talk about the second one. The third one is straightforward and a martial arts fanatic with no ulterior motives. The fourth one is all grown up now, and he's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve and is prone to causing trouble. We've been keeping a low profile for so many years, we can't afford to break down with him, so you have to keep an eye on him."

Zhao Cheng asked, "Are you afraid that the fourth brother will have some ideas?"

Zhao Huan said, "Having ideas is not a bad thing, but he is too young, not mature enough, and not cautious enough, so he is not worthy of having ideas."

"I see."

"Do you really understand?"

Zhao Cheng thought quickly, then suddenly put down his chopsticks and said, "Does Father think I've been too prominent lately?"

"What do you think?" Zhao Huan paused and looked at Zhao Cheng.

Zhao Cheng said seriously, "Compared to a few years ago, I have indeed developed too fast in the past two years, but I have my reasons."

"Eliminating spies in Yanchuan was a last resort. You made great contributions on the northern battlefield, and I had to draw some attention away from you. But I didn't expect you to disappear when you came back without informing me beforehand. I had no choice but to target Su Wansan to provoke Wen Tai."

"Later, the eldest princess took a liking to me and even took the initiative to marry into our Right Prime Minister's residence. The court also appointed me as the Victorious General, which has already put me in the spotlight for many people. At this time, I can no longer pretend to be stupid like before. That would be too fake and would only arouse the emperor's suspicion."

Zhao Huan said, "So you deliberately put on an act of relying on Yuan Yun to get ahead and living off her, while you expand your business on a large scale?"

Zhao Cheng nodded and said, "This is the most reasonable method I can think of."

After a pause, Zhao Cheng continued, "It turns out that I was on the right track. This time, Yu Changsi came and found out everything he could about us. He is a very smart man and is completely on Wen Tai's side. I don't know what he will say to Wen Tai when he goes back. But I am sure of one thing: he will definitely become more and more wary of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!