Li Hua understood why Sima Rui valued offspring so much. As a pitiful wretch who was abandoned at birth, barely surviving, and exploited by his own parents, he naturally knew how much men in this world valued offspring.

After noticing something amiss in Jinchuan, they have been sending people over there recently.

Despite being lectured by Li Hua for so long, Zhongli was not completely convinced. Taking advantage of the time when Li Hua was at home taking care of Gan Qiongying, he actually dared to "rebel".

That day, Gan Qiongying went to the residence of the Grand Princess of Hui'an, and Li Hua took the opportunity to deal with Zhongli Zhengzhen.

Since he dared to release Zhongli Zhengzhen, he must have already thought about how to deal with the situation if Zhongli betrayed him.

Some of Zhongli Zhengzhen's people were replaced by Li Hua, and the remaining people, who seemed loyal, had actually been turned against him by Li Hua long ago.

As the saying goes, money makes the world go round. Who in this world is richer than Li Hua, and who is better at making money than Li Hua?

Even if he uses money to swindle, he can still make those who are loyal to him wealthy for three generations.

During this period, Li Hua focused on buying the loyalty of everyone around Zhongli Zhengzhen, including all the intermediaries he contacted in Jinchuan, and even some officials in Jinchuan whose positions were not very important but who could get information about major events in Jinchuan.

Therefore, even while Zhongli was plotting his comeback, Li Hua was able to deal with Gan Qiongying without leaving the house, even though she was feeding him water while he was unconscious.

The reason for not cleaning up so quickly is that we want to see how far Zhongli Zheng really intends to go, and whether Zhongli Zheng is truly ruthless enough.

The final result satisfied Li Hua, because Zhong Li Zheng Zhen mobilized those people to rebel, and the order given to that group was not to kill Li Hua, but only to arrest him.

Li Hua was particularly pleased with this, but of course, it wasn't because he had developed any brotherly feelings for Zhongli.

The fact that Zhongli was genuinely lenient only proves that the ideas Li Hua had instilled in him during this period had begun to take root.

During her teenage years, Li Hua's body had not fully developed. She was once sold into a theatrical troupe and was forced to learn opera for a long time.

If he wanted to, he could easily feign deep brotherly affection, making it impossible for Zhongli Zhengzhen to tell the difference.

Li Hua subdued everyone, and the silent battle ended in the blink of an eye.

Much faster than Gan Qiongying captured the Regent, Zhongli was forced to kneel there by two men. His gaze as he looked up at Li Hua was complex, filled with resentment and fear, but also with a sense of "just as I thought."

He said, "How come things are going so smoothly? Why did Li Hua suddenly stop coming to me? It turns out she was deliberately trying to entice me to rebel."

"What do you want to do with me..." Zhongli was kneeling on the ground, stubbornly refusing to bend his back. His eyes were misty with tears as he looked at Lihua, and there was a hint of grievance that was hard to detect.

"Brother." He murmured these two words, unable to utter any more words like, "How can you face Father and Mother like this?"

Because Zhongli Zhengzhen had come to know everything about Li Hua during this time, Li Hua told him about all the hardships Li Hua had experienced and the past that Zhongli Zhengzhen could not even imagine, without any embellishment.

Moreover, Li Hua used Zhongli Zhengzhen's name to send messages to the Jinchuan royal family several times.

The letters were written in Li Hua's own name, but without exception, they were all fiercely refuted by Zhongli Zhengzhen's father. Even Zhongli Zhengzhen's mother sent her a poison.

He told Zhongli Zhengzhen to trick Li Hua into drinking it, and then give him the antidote every month. If he didn't get the antidote, Li Hua would die suddenly.

This medicine is not actually uncommon, but Zhongli Zhengzhen could never have imagined why his gentle, kind, and loving mother and father would be so ruthless towards his own brother, who shared the same parents.

Zhongli Zhengzhen could no longer blame Li Hua for anything. Even now, when Li Hua was feeding him medicine, Zhongli Zhengzhen felt that he had no right to refuse.

Abandoned by his father and mother, betrayed by his brothers, Li Hua only spared him because he truly trusted him, yet he actually wanted to capture Li Hua... Zhong Li Zhengzhen saw the pill being offered to his lips and asked Li Hua, "Brother, won't you kill me?"

“We are connected by blood, and I never intended to kill you.” Li Hua lowered her gaze, speaking with a hint of difficulty and restraint. “I originally thought that after this, we would each go our separate ways, but why won’t you listen?”

"Be good, okay?" Li Hua held the pill to Zhongli Zhengzhen's lips. "You know what will happen to me if I'm caught and taken back to Jinchuan. I don't blame you, but you should eat this."

Li Hua patted Zhong Lizheng's head, like a very good older brother.

“I didn’t want this to happen, you know that. I never intended to hurt you. Because you said you would protect me, I always believed you… but you…”

Li Hua paused, a hint of hurt flashing in her eyes.

He half-squatted and half-knelt on the ground, his gaze level with Zhong Lizheng's. The two of them had the exact same face, like another version of themselves in the world.

Zhongli was filled with remorse and guilt, and even shed tears. He reflected on how he had never truly protected Li Hua, while Li Hua had always been tolerant and wanted him to live in peace.

Li Hua just wanted to live, what's wrong with that?

Zhongli opened her mouth and swallowed the pill directly without water, then closed her eyes and tears fell.

She said willingly, "I will never betray my brother."

"If I betray you, just don't give me the antidote anymore, brother."

Li Hua took a deep breath, touched, and reached out to pat Zhong Li Zhengzhen's head. Then he hugged him and said, "Good little brother, I will definitely treat you very well. I will give you as much money as you want in the future."

“When you become emperor, your brother will be your national treasury. Father and Mother are just confused... Although I resent them, I have never thought of doing anything to them.”

"Don't worry." Li Hua whispered, holding Zhong Lizheng's head and easing all his defenses and fear in his ear.

Zhongli cried bitterly, leaning on Lihua's shoulder. He even forgot that his hands were still tied and he couldn't even hug his brother. He already felt free.

Li Hua's chin rested on his shoulder. If Zhong Lizheng had even glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, he would have known that when Li Hua said these emotional words, there was not a trace of affection in his eyes or brows.

Unfortunately, his eyes were red from crying, and he couldn't see anything anymore.

She even imagined that after returning to Jinchuan, she would successfully disrupt Nanzhao, lead troops to Nanzhao, reclaim the dignity of her country and people, and personally persuade her father and mother not to be so heartless to her brother.

During this time, Li Hua not only pretended to be pitiful in front of Zhongli Zhengzhen, letting Zhongli Zhengzhen know about the suffering he had endured, but also sympathized with him and felt his pain.

He also gave Zhongli Zhengzhen many brilliant strategies, making Zhongli Zhengzhen extremely dependent on him. As long as he followed his line of thinking, Zhongli Zhengzhen felt that the world was under his control.

Zhongli Zhengzhen went from being wary of Li Hua and fearing Li Hua to sympathizing with Li Hua... and finally, now, he is relying on Li Hua.

Li Hua taught him how to win over Jingxi, and also how to use the princess of Jingxi to keep other useful people in check.

That was a path that Zhongli had never imagined and dared not believe. However, before his doubts could take shape, Li Hua met with Wen Xueling in his own name. From then on, the way Wen Xueling looked at "him" had completely changed.