Chapter 205 The Emperor Wants to Adopt Him as His Son
Zhou Feng nodded and said, "Yes, he was wearing ordinary clothes, but I recognized him at a glance."
The Third Prince said thoughtfully, "He rarely travels incense incense shops, and he rarely goes to incense shops to buy incense. This time he went to the incense shop to find you, probably because of General Han."
Zhou Feng poured him a cup of tea. "I guessed so, but he didn't recognize me."
The Third Prince said with a smile, "When I first met you, I wouldn't have recognized you if it weren't for the mole on your hand."
Because of this incident, Zhou Feng later had all the moles on his hands removed. Fortunately, the person who removed the moles was very skilled, and there were no scars on his hands.
Zhou Feng looked at his hands and slowly said, "It's ironic that my own father can't even recognize his own son."
The Third Prince comforted him, saying, "Just consider that your father-son relationship was severed four years ago."
Zhou Feng took a deep breath, stood up, and smiled, "Third Uncle, I've realized this is a great opportunity."
"Opportunity? What opportunity?" the Third Prince asked.
Zhou Feng replied with a slightly cold gaze, "Since His Majesty feels that we are destined to be together, I might as well take this opportunity to get closer to him. It would be a good chance to gather more information from his side and also protect my mother and elder brother in Changliu Village."
After pondering for a while, the Third Prince said, "That's fine, but you must remember, you absolutely cannot let him recognize you."
Zhou Feng smiled slightly and said, "Third Uncle, don't worry, after this experience, I'm confident."
Since arriving in the capital, Zhou Feng had considered the possibility of encountering his father again, so he had made thorough preparations. When they actually met, he was quite flustered.
Having learned from this experience, he will be able to deal with the emperor with ease in the future.
Three days later, the emperor's men bought fifty taels of silver worth of incense from Zhou's incense shop, which was quite a big deal.
Zhou Feng asked the visitor, "What is this gentleman's surname? If I have any new incense in the future, I will personally deliver it to him."
The young eunuch who came out to buy incense stammered and couldn't give a clear answer.
After the emperor received the incense, he became very interested in Zhou Feng's words and stopped hiding them. The next day, he sent someone to bring Zhou Feng to the palace.
Upon seeing the emperor, Zhou Feng feigned ignorance, then knelt down in shock and said, "This humble servant was unaware that Your Excellency was the emperor; I deserve to die."
The emperor helped him up and laughed, "What do you mean by dead or alive? When I went to your shop that day, I didn't tell you I was the emperor."
Zhou Feng looked flustered and asked, "I wonder what business His Majesty has summoned me to the palace?"
The emperor no longer beat around the bush and said, "I heard that you are going to marry the eldest daughter of the Han family."
Zhou Feng bowed and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, Miss Han does not mind that I come from a farming family and is willing to marry me, a humble merchant."
The emperor suddenly said with a stern face, "Your status is worlds apart from Miss Han's; you are unworthy of her."
Zhou Feng lowered his head and replied, "Yes, it is indeed my honor to be worthy of her, but fortunately General Han does not mind."
"How could he not find it disgusting?! I heard the other day that he hadn't eaten for several days because his daughter was going to marry you." The emperor slowly got up, walked to the table, and stirred the incense burner on the table.
Zhou Feng immediately knelt down and said, "I know my status is lowly. If General Han is unwilling, I can only abandon this marriage."
The emperor turned his gaze to him. "Silly boy, giving up so easily? What if I were to bestow upon you an official title and a noble rank? Wouldn't that be worthy of you?"
Zhou Feng paused, his heart filled with surprise. Before coming to the palace, he had thought of countless reasons why the emperor would seek him out, but he never expected this.
The emperor walked to his side and helped him up. As he looked down, he glanced at his hands and saw no moles, which confirmed Zhou Feng's identity once again. He said earnestly, "Manager Zhou, you look quite like my son. I feel we are destined to be together. Why don't you recognize me as your godfather? I will give you an official title. That way, you and Miss Han will be a perfect match. Besides, with me here, General Han will no longer object to your marriage."
The emperor spoke these words as if he were bestowing a divine favor, recognizing a small merchant as his adopted son.
Actually, it's not that simple.
Zhou Feng lowered his head and did not immediately agree.
The emperor straightened up slightly, turned to the side, and looked down at him, saying, "After you two get married, you can also help me take care of the Han family."
That was his main purpose.
The emperor could have simply killed Zhou Feng and then arranged for Miss Han to marry someone else, but he abandoned the idea because of the face that looked similar to his son.
Zhou Feng roughly guessed what had happened, and couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a feeling of deep emotion or reflection), never expecting that he himself had saved his own life.
After feigning hesitation, he knelt down and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I was just afraid..."
The emperor asked him, "What are you afraid of?"
Zhou Feng lowered his voice, revealing a look of fear, "I'm afraid I can't bear His Majesty's favor."
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