The Third Prince and Mr. Liu looked at each other, both feeling that they had a sure chance of victory.
Mr. Liu naturally couldn't let his master ask for money, so he asked on his behalf, "Then how does the uncle plan to atone for his sins? Don't talk about the border defense army. Our prince knows that Zhao Anbang wishes he didn't have you, his second uncle! Don't make such a big promise!"
Zhao Chengping lowered his head, gnashing his teeth. If there was even a shred of hope, he wouldn't want to reveal his biggest trump card. But his son was important, and he had to find a prince to rely on. Perhaps this incident was a sign from heaven.
So, he simply said, "Your Highness, Third Prince, you may not know that my eldest brother, Zhao Yiwu, seems to have left behind a treasure before he passed away. I've been searching for it recently, and I should be able to find it soon! I am willing to present this treasure to Your Highness and pledge my loyalty to Your Highness!"
The Third Prince and Mr. Liu were so shocked that their faces changed immediately. They originally wanted to extort an egg, but they never expected that a group of hens would come directly!
The Third Prince took a long while to find his voice and asked, "Is this true? Why hasn't anyone heard of this in all these years? No, if Zhao Yiwu hid it secretly, how did you know about it?"
Zhao Chengping secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the third prince was interested, he would be halfway to success.
"Your Highness, when I was in the army, even though I didn't have my elder brother's trust, I couldn't completely hide what was going on there. It's just that my elder brother was really hiding it. I've been tracking him down for so many years, and only recently have I made some progress.
"I originally thought that after I had thoroughly found it, I would present it to His Highness and help Him to achieve His Highness's goal. I never thought that this rebellious son of mine would actually offend His Highness and cause such a scandal. I had no choice but to come here and explain.
"Your Highness, rest assured. I will definitely deliver the treasure within six months... no, within three months. And please... release my rebellious son. I need his help..."
The third prince felt very anxious when he heard this. Zhao Chengping didn't look like he was lying, but he couldn't believe it completely.
He said, "Since you are so sure, tell me everything. I will send people to look for it."
"No, no!" Zhao Chengping dared not agree. He had found the treasure and presented it to the emperor, so he must have made a greater contribution. And his son had not been rescued yet, so he absolutely could not give up this life-saving measure.
"Your Highness, this matter is very complicated. I have been pondering it for several years and am on the verge of success. If someone else takes over and arouses my nephew's suspicion, I am afraid that all my efforts will be ruined."
The third prince snorted coldly and reluctantly accepted the explanation.
Zhao Chengping took advantage of the victory and pleaded again, "Your Highness, please tell me when you can release my rebellious son..."
Fearing that the Third Prince would do something foolish again, Mr. Liu quickly questioned, "Lord, this treasure story doesn't sound very plausible. If we release them now, and Lord later denies it, or even finds the treasure and gives it to someone else, wouldn't that make a fool of His Highness?"
"No, no!" Zhao Chengping kowtowed quickly, his heart pouring out. "How dare I lie to Your Highness? This is absolutely true. Once I find the treasure, I promise to present it to Your Highness immediately. Your Highness must believe me!"
The Third Prince played the good guy and helped Zhao Chengping up. He said, "Of course I believe what you say, Lord, but empty words are always bad. How about giving me a guarantee, Lord?"
"What guarantee?" Zhao Chengping asked nervously.
Mr. Liu immediately said, "How about you write a letter yourself, addressing it to Emperor Anlie of Luosha State, saying that you intend to be an insider, steal the border defense map and give it to him to help him break through the border? How do you think?"
Zhao Chengping's eyes widened as he heard this, and a chill ran down his neck. If this letter were to be written and leaked, not only would the court officials and the emperor be the first to chop off his head and kick it around like a ball!
Mr. Liu noticed his hesitation and added, "Of course, you don't have to write. But your son will be staying with His Highness for a while longer. Don't worry, His Highness won't treat him harshly. At most, the weather will be a little cold, and the food and drinks won't be delivered on time."
Zhao Chengping thought of his spoiled son and finally gave in.
"Your Highness, I am willing to write a letter. I am truly loyal to Your Highness and will never betray you."
The Third Prince was satisfied and said hypocritically, "That's right. We are all family from now on. Hurry up and get up and have some tea."
Zhao Chengping drank half a cup of tea with trepidation. He prepared the pen, ink, paper and inkstone. He resolutely wrote a hundred words, signed his name and stamped it with his personal seal.
Mr. Liu took it in his hand, examined it carefully and nodded.
The Third Prince said proudly, "My Lord, please remember the three-month deadline. If it exceeds that, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"Don't worry, Your Highness!" Zhao Chengping saluted respectfully.
Soon, guards came over with Zhao Jincheng.
Zhao Jincheng didn't know that his father had rescued him. He had been locked up for so long, tied up tightly, without food or water, and too scared to sleep. Now he looked as miserable as a beggar, and his body was full of foul odor.
As soon as the rag was torn out of his mouth, he began to cry and beg for mercy.
"Have mercy, have mercy! I didn't see anything, wuwu, I just... I just stopped by that room to rest! I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything!"
Zhao Chengping couldn't stand it any longer, so he went up and kicked his son, cursing, "Why are you howling? His Highness has already spared you. Come home with me!"
The guards quickly untied the rope. Zhao Jincheng burst into tears in surprise and wanted to kowtow, but his father pulled him away quickly.
After finally leaving the Third Prince's Mansion and getting on his own carriage, Zhao Jincheng hugged his father's thighs and cried like an abandoned dog.
"Woo woo, Dad, why did you come to save me just now? Where's Zhao Gui'er? Damn it! The master was caught, and he actually ran away! I'm going to beat him to death, useless thing!"
Zhao Anping was so angry that he pulled his son away and slapped him twice.
"You're such a useless thing! Fortunately, Zhao Gui'er ran home to report the news, otherwise you would have rotted to death in the Third Prince's mansion, and your family wouldn't have known what happened! I really should have strangled you to death when you were a child. Why did I raise such a fool like you?"
Zhao Jincheng knew that he was in the wrong. He was definitely the only one in the world who dared to peek at the emperor!
emperor?
Thinking of this, he shuddered and asked in a low voice, "Dad, is the emperor still alive?"
Speaking of this, Zhao Chengping wanted to beat his son to death even more.
He simply didn't say a word. When he got to his house, the first thing he did was to lock his son in the yard, leaving only Zhao Gui'er to serve him, and no one else was allowed to get close. He only gave him food and water on weekdays, not even a charcoal basin. Zhao Jincheng was so cold that he cried out in horror every day.
Of course, this is a story for the future. The current task is to find the treasure as soon as possible, otherwise the entire Zhao family will be doomed!
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