Chapter 242 Partnership

But the matter of Emperor Qianyuan's private treasury was a big deal, so Yan Xing immediately went to the prince's mansion and told the prince about it.

The prince was shocked. He never expected that Emperor Qianyuan would embezzle money from the national treasury and hide it in his own private treasury.

Even though I knew that Emperor Qianyuan had become more and more absurd over the years, I didn't expect him to be so absurd.

"He's trying to shake the foundation of our great cause!" His Royal Highness the Crown Prince gritted his teeth and said, "How could he do that?"

Yan Xing didn't say anything. He was the man's biological father, and it was not his turn to say anything.

However, Yan Xing had a vague guess in his mind that Emperor Qianyuan's move was actually to guard against the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

At the time, the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion held military power, and Emperor Qianyuan did not dare to touch it. He hid the silver, also wanting to build his own army. However, this matter could not be made public, and could only be carried out secretly.

But I don’t know how it went. Emperor Qianyuan won’t tell anyone about it, so the only people who know about it are probably the Zhao family.

Therefore, the surrender of the Zhao family is of vital importance to them. Now the Zhao family has become the key to influencing the situation in Dagan.

Yan Xing was also worried. If this matter wasn't handled properly, it would upset the existing balance. Between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Lu Chenyang, there was also Emperor Qianyuan.

Now that I think about it, how could Emperor Qianyuan be so easy to deal with after being the emperor for so many years? How could he not have any support at all? He had a backup plan, and everything he did now was just a sign of weakness.

He is a dragon lurking in the dark, and even though he is old, he still cannot be underestimated.

Yan Xing came back to his senses and said, "We can't let the Zhao family surrender. All they ask for is a concubine position for Zhao Qingwan. You don't have a Crown Princess yet, so although it's a bit against the rules to take her in, it's a special case and there's nothing we can do about it."

Yan Xing thought for a moment and continued his lobbying: "What we lack most now is money. With this money, your position as crown prince will be more secure."

Yan Xing felt that his explanation was clear and concise, and that His Royal Highness had no reason to refuse. Zhao Qinghui spoke with such conviction that if Zhao Qingwan found a better place to go, they wouldn't object.

Yan Xing boasted that he had solved the problem perfectly, and he felt a little relieved.

Then I heard His Royal Highness the Crown Prince say in a categorical voice: "Impossible! I will never marry her."

Yan Xingdu was already prepared to agree, and subconsciously said, "Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has no objection, then... what?" He was stunned and looked at the Crown Prince with a slightly surprised expression.

Rejected? Why?

His Royal Highness's expression was firm. He said, "Zhao Qingwan's crush is on you, so why did you ask me to marry her? You marry her."

Yan Xing frowned and said, "I won't marry her either."

The two looked at each other and saw the persistence and seriousness in each other's eyes.

They couldn't convince each other, both of them had this consensus.

Yan Xing immediately said: "This is a big deal for Your Highness, and it is Your Highness who should marry her. I will not go as a foreign princess!" He had a righteous look on his face and vowed to never obey.

The prince: "...The person Zhao Qingwan likes is you, not me." He insisted on this point and refused to give in.

Yan Xing finally said shamelessly: "Then let it drag on. I'm not the one who should be anxious anyway."

He is not the one who wants to be the emperor, so why should he sacrifice himself?

If he dared to marry Zhao Qingwan, Lu Chenyang would definitely not accept him.

Yan Xing couldn't help but taunt his cousin, "When Lord Lu was in dire straits, many families wanted to marry him or form an alliance with him. But Lord Lu refused them all and never used his marriages to gain any advantage. If Your Highness the Crown Prince really doesn't want to, then you can find another way."

You can't be inferior to Lu Chenyang, right?

The prince was so angry that if this wasn't his cousin and if it weren't for the friendship they had since childhood, he would definitely turn against him.

The prince said sarcastically, "In Cheng Xiao's heart, is there anything wrong with Lord Lu?"

Still a little bit, Yan Xing answered in his heart, the biggest fault is that he doesn't like him.

The two parted on bad terms. As for Emperor Qianyuan's private treasury, they still had to take their time to get it.

After Yan Xing returned, the Duke of Zhenguo asked him what he had been doing. Yan Xing did not tell him about the Zhao family. They were both blinded by lust, but the Duke of Zhenguo would definitely not agree.

It is better to have less trouble than more.

Yan Xing was not stupid either. He had already guessed that the prince refused to marry Zhao Qingwan no matter what, and a big reason for that was that he already had someone he liked.

Yan Xing was curious about who that person was, and he had never heard of the Crown Prince being close to any woman. It seemed the Crown Prince was truly moved and was protecting her very well.

Yan Xing replied casually, "It's just that the Zhao family, seeing the Crown Prince's rise to power, are afraid that I will take revenge on them in the future, so they came here to apologize."

The Duke of Zhenguo nodded, and Yan Xing went straight back to the yard.

Yan Xing was worrying about whether he should tell Lu Chenyang about the private vault.

This is the secret weapon of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. With the private treasury, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's strength has been greatly improved, but Lu Chenyang doesn't know about it, so he will underestimate the enemy.

This made Yan Xing very conflicted, and now it was time for him to take sides.

Because of the dilemma, Yan Xing did not dare to appear in front of Lu Chenyang for two days.

Zhao Xi was still mumbling, "Why haven't I seen the prince these past two days?"

Lu Chenyang was looking at the news sent back by the spies in the capital. One of the news was that after Yan Xing met Zhao Qinghui, he went to the Prince's Mansion overnight.

Yan Xing stayed in the Prince's Mansion for more than an hour before leaving. This was the longest time Yan Xing had spent with the Prince since returning to Beijing.

As for what the two people said, Lu Chenyang's spies were not capable enough to find out.

Lu Chenyang seemed to be thinking about something, and then the next day, Yan Xing did not come.

Lu Chenyang's eyes were deep: "It seems that Zhao Qinghui said something..." He couldn't help but frowned.

He said, "Go and give me the details of the Zhao family."

When Lu Chenyang asked someone to investigate the fifth prince, he also investigated the Zhao family.

I didn't think much of it at the time, just wanting to help Yan Xing vent his anger. Lu Chenyang still remembered Zhao Qinghui's arrogant look at the city gate that day. Anyway, I thought it was a training ground for the spies, so I checked it out.

Lu Chenyang just glanced at it casually, but now that he thought about it, he wanted to take a closer look.

Naturally, he also found out about the past when the head of the Zhao family spoke up for the late queen, and Lu Chenyang frowned.

"This Zhao Yanming doesn't seem like such an upright person." Lu Chenyang said to himself.

Zhao Yanming is Zhao Qinghui's father and the current head of the Zhao family. Zhao Yanming is very low-key in the court, a person who is not much more important than others, and basically no one can remember him.

He is steady, low-key and inconspicuous. How could he suddenly speak up for the late queen at the risk of offending Emperor Qianyuan?

There is something abnormal about this matter.

Lu Chenyang thought of what Yan Xing said, that Zhao Qinghui donated 10,000 dan of grain to the prince in order to see him.

Could it be because of this? Lu Chenyang looked thoughtful.

However, Lu Chenyang didn't think much of it. The relationship between Yan Xing and him was just a partnership, and any concealment he made didn't count as deception. He had his own stance, and when he was against the Crown Prince, he never expected him to stand on his side.

As for his confession, Lu Chenyang believed that his feelings were true, but the relationship between them was never that of Yan Xing and Lu Chenyang. It was that of a powerful official and a prince. They were involved in too many interests, the country, and power.

Just like him, hadn't he also concealed his identity from him? Wasn't he also unable to fully trust him? He had reservations about him. His trust in Yan Xing existed only because they were a partnership, and he was a trustworthy partner. As for anything else, it was too much of a luxury.

The only thing Lu Chenyang was curious about was what Zhao Qinghui had said to Yan Xing that caused him to behave so abnormally.

I kind of want to know, but I don’t really need to know.