Chapter 336 If all else fails, let's rebel!

The crown prince paced back and forth, exuding an aura of irritability that kept strangers at bay.

"Let me sort this out..."

Pine and Cypress are not men, but his sister.

The third prince was not his younger brother, but the son of Consort Zhao and Na Jia Canglan, born from their affair.

Yan Jiamu was his cousin, the child of Fufeng Aunt in the Turkic lands whose father was unknown.

...

To be a crown prince, one must not only have the talent to govern the world, but also be able to sort out the complex relationships within the family.

After Zhao Fei switched the crown prince with a cat, she originally wanted to eliminate Song Bai completely, but the palace maid who did it was from the same hometown as Song Bai's mother, so she took pity on her.

When the palace maid was fleeing with Songbai, she encountered the young mistress of the Gongsun family who was faking her pregnancy. The young mistress of the Gongsun family was out of favor and needed a child to maintain her position, so she stole the child.

Unfortunately, the truth eventually came out, and under torture by Madam Gongsun, the palace maid revealed the child's true identity.

The Gongsun family was inexplicably caught up in this undeserved disaster and were so angry they wanted to strangle the young mistress of the Gongsun family. They originally planned to throw the child out to fend for himself before the matter was exposed, but the child from the family that had been friends for generations fell seriously ill and, according to the guidance of a highly virtuous monk, could only survive by exchanging his life with someone else.

Having already done something foolish, the young mistress of the Gongsun family took advantage of the fact that her family was too busy to pay attention to her and went to the Song family to switch the two children.

By the time Old Madam Gongsun realized something was wrong, the Song family's child had already held a full-month celebration and made an appearance in the capital.

The two families were forced to stay together for more than a decade due to the brainless actions of the young mistress of the Gongsun family.

"Songbai is my sister, and Gongsun Zhi is actually the young master of the Song family... No, wait!" The Crown Prince grabbed Gongsun Zhi by the collar. "You're a man!"

This is a guy holding his sister's hand!

Songbai explained, "Although he's a man, he has never taken advantage of other girls!"

The crown prince gritted his teeth: "Is he sure?"

Songbai was about to nod when Gongsun Zhi stopped him, saying, "I'm not sure."

I did offend Princess Jingning a few days ago due to the circumstances, "This humble subject is willing to bear the consequences..."

"I refuse!" The Crown Prince flicked his long sleeves, creating a gust of wind. "I refuse to have either of my younger sisters!"

The Crown Prince now sees Gongsun Zhi as a wild boar that might steal his cabbage at any moment, and he finds her displeasing in every way.

Su Junyao and Lu Wenzheng remained silent, waiting for the Crown Prince's next move. They hadn't expected Songbai and Gongsun Zhi to self-destruct. Their plan was to expose the truth that the Third Prince wasn't of royal blood, and then pin everything on Consort Zhao to exonerate the Song and Gongsun families. Now that the Crown Prince knew about this, things were much more difficult to handle.

The two were deeply worried, unable to understand why Chiu Chiu had suddenly added to their burden.

Qiuqiu went out early in the morning to find Gongsun Zhi. The little dumpling only had one sentence: "If you want to live, seek refuge with the Crown Prince."

Gongsun Zhi: "Your Highness, this secret is our two families' way of showing our sincerity. We have evidence to bring down Consort Zhao."

Sincerity?

What do you want to do?

Songbai tried to stop Gongsun Zhi, but failed.

Gongsun Zhi spoke frankly: "With the border in turmoil, His Majesty has neither sent troops nor distributed provisions, all because he is concerned about the Third Prince's lineage. The best bargaining chip would have been for Queyu and Suotu to remain in the Great Zhou, but His Majesty has not even negotiated with the Turks."

"Whether to make peace or fight, Your Majesty cares nothing. This humble subject believes Your Majesty is muddle-headed!"

"Insolence!" the Crown Prince roared. "Father is the ruler of the country. How dare a commoner like you interfere in the decisions of a monarch!"

Su Junyao and Lu Wenzheng knelt before the Crown Prince, not daring to utter a word. They hadn't expected Gongsun Zhi to be so audacious as to criticize the Emperor in front of the Crown Prince.

Were they here for help or to get themselves killed?!

Faced with the Crown Prince's wrath, Gongsun Zhi decided to go all out and give it a try this time!

"The Crown Prince possesses both literary and military talents, reminiscent of the late Emperor Taizu. This humble subject is willing to follow the Crown Prince's lead!"

The Crown Prince's eyes were dark and unfathomable, and his voice was so soft that only those present could hear it: "Gongsun Zhi, are you inciting me to rebel? You have quite the audacity!"

Su Junyao and Lu Wenzheng were sweating profusely; it was almost summer, but they felt as if they were in an ice cellar.

This is not something they should listen to!

The two tried to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible, but the Crown Prince wouldn't let them have their way: "What do you think of Gongsun Zhi's suggestion, Lord Marquis and Lord Lu?"

Su Junyao remained silent.

Lu Wenzheng said, "Otherwise... Your Highness, please pretend we're dead!"

"What do you think is good!"

Lu Wenzheng: "Oh right, right, Old Su also thinks...what...what thing? is good?!"

"Su Junyao, have you lost your mind?!"

"This is a capital offense! A capital offense!"

Lu Wenzheng was so angry that she jumped up and down. She thought that Su Junyao must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to become sworn brothers with him, because every time he was dragged into doing things like confiscating property and exterminating the clan.

He then advised the Crown Prince: "Your Highness, please think carefully and don't let that brat Gongsun Zhi instigate you!"

The room was deathly silent, as if everyone was answering him with silence.

Lu Wenzheng trembled and retreated, pointing at the people in front of him: "You all have... such thoughts?"

Those two words were stuck in his throat, and he dared not utter them aloud, for fear that if others overheard them, it would cause him great trouble.

Su Junyao: "Old Lu, think about the innocent people of Yuncheng, think about Princess Fufeng, and think about the people and soldiers on the border!"

He took a deep breath and vented his dissatisfaction: "Everyone envies my daughter Qiuqiu's good fortune, getting rich at such a young age. But do you know what she got in return for this wealth?"

"Treasures of the previous dynasty!"

The treasures of the previous dynasty had already been discovered by Emperor Jingming.

Su Junyao overheard Qiuqiu's conversation with the vicious tiger hiding in his house and learned that there was no such thing as a treasure. It was a treasure that Qiuqiu had stolen for her by the black cat that had gone missing from the house, which was originally intended to be given to the Crown Prince to quell the chaos in the world.

However, Emperor Jingming used the money to repair the imperial mausoleum for use a hundred years later.

"Wasting money and manpower, disregarding human lives, and being overly ambitious! Old Lu, he's not the same Xiao Qi he used to be!"

Lu Wenzheng's face turned ashen. Everything had a traceable clue, but the deep affection he had for his youth made him pretend not to see it.

Seeing this, the Crown Prince added, "I obtained half of the tiger tally left by Aunt Fufeng from Huahua Lane, which can mobilize half of the Great Zhou's military power. Gu Qiuheng has already mobilized troops to support the border, and the Jin family's grain supplies arrived at the border half a month ago. Lord Lu, with me here, the women of my Great Zhou will not have to sacrifice themselves, and the people of my Great Zhou will surely be safe!"

Lu Wenzheng opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single syllable. After a long silence, she nodded as if resigned to her fate, "But... he is, after all, your father..."

The Crown Prince smiled faintly: "Being the retired emperor is quite nice, raising fish and growing flowers. It can be considered as fulfilling my father's wish from back then."

"Enough, this isn't the first time I've boarded a pirate ship. It's all for the people of Great Zhou! I only hope the Crown Prince will keep his promise!"

"nature!"

Songbai and Gongsun Zhi, two insignificant figures, were of little use here, so they immediately said goodbye and went home to persuade their families to abandon the darkness and embrace the light.

Just as Su Junyao and Lu Wenzheng were about to leave, the Crown Prince suddenly called out to Lu Wenzheng, "Lord Lu."

Lu Wenzheng turned around: "Does Your Highness have any further instructions?"

Crown Prince: "Qiao Sheng opened her aunt's secret room. Besides half a tiger tally, there were also some of her personal notes."

"Actually, she was originally going to marry you. But Father was afraid of Aunt's power and conspired with the sorcerers of the Southwest to put a love curse on her, so she went to the Turkic Khaganate with Naga Canglan without hesitation."

"She sensed something was wrong and sealed the tiger tally and the secret letter in a secret room."

"I believe you have the right to know."

Lu Wenzheng smiled, already at peace: "Your Majesty, I thank you for informing me. When I was young, I admired the princess's talent. What I did now was simply to feel sorry for the princess. I saved Yan Jiamu because he is the son of an old friend, and I felt guilty for not helping him in his time of need. I had no other intentions."

"I love my wife very much!"