The women present were all intelligent and immediately noticed something amiss in the conversation between the two. It seemed that the Grand Master of Ceremonies was not there to help the Emperor, but rather... to deal with him?
The younger generation, such as Xie Daoyun and Qiu Honglei, were completely lost, while only Yan Xuehen seemed to be deep in thought.
Zhao Hao frowned and looked at the Chief Priest: "Is it still about the previous dynasty?"
Zu An's heart skipped a beat; it was just as he had imagined.
The chief priest remained silent, but Zhao Hao couldn't help but say, "Back in the Meng Dynasty, you were also suppressed and ostracized, just a marginalized and idle prince. Your treatment was even worse than in this dynasty. Now you are revered by thousands, isn't that many times better than in the Meng Dynasty?"
With the exception of a few, all the women in the room stared wide-eyed. The chief priest was actually a prince from the previous dynasty?
I've never heard of it before, and there's no record of it whatsoever.
Once this news gets out, it will definitely cause a huge uproar.
The chief priest shook his head slightly: "Do you think I'm the kind of person who cares about these things?"
"So it seems you're still unwilling to accept that your Chen family's empire has been replaced by this dynasty," Zhao Hao sneered. "You really are an ungrateful wretch; no matter how good I am to you, it's useless."
"But I'm very curious, you're already so old and don't have any descendants, why would you risk doing something like this rebellion? What's the point?" This was also what Zhao Hao couldn't understand the most. He wasn't stupid; he knew the position of the Grand Master of Ceremonies was sensitive, yet he still gave him a position of great respect.
Besides his truly high level of cultivation, it is also related to the fact that he never married and had no offspring, making it hard for people not to feel at ease with such a person.
The chief priest remained calm: "It's just a mere empire, why would I care? But you shouldn't have done anything to harm her descendants."
"Her?" Zhao Hao was taken aback, but quickly realized who he was referring to and couldn't help but burst into laughter. "I've heard rumors about you two from years ago, but I never imagined you were such a romantic."
"A romantic?" The women couldn't help but glance at the chief priest, finding it impossible to reconcile the image of this highly respected elder with those two words.
Zu An's heart stirred. He remembered that when he went to the back mountain of the academy, there seemed to be a painting of a lady hanging in the priest's room. Could it be her?
"What is love in this world..." The chief priest did not deny it, but instead sighed deeply, his expression full of sorrow.
Zu An's expression was strange; he was afraid that Zu An would say something like Li Mochou, "It makes people willing to die for each other..."
"That sounds beautiful," Zhao Hao sneered, "but unfortunately, you love your sister-in-law!"
Upon hearing this explosive news, the people nearby widened their eyes. Although they knew this was not the time to be gossiping, the chief priest's status was extraordinary, and his gossip was irresistible.
"It stems from emotion but is restrained by propriety. I don't see anything wrong with it. I only regret that I met her a step too late back then." Whether it's because he's getting old or because so many years have passed, the chief priest has become more open-minded about this matter. Although the other party's words were sharp, he didn't show any emotional fluctuation.
"Never even slept with her?" Zhao Hao frowned, his tone laced with sarcasm. "If you like a woman, you should naturally get her. Your words are nothing but the sour, self-comforting ramblings of a loser."
The chief priest frowned slightly, clearly finding the other person's words rather harsh: "Someone like you naturally doesn't know what love is."
Zhao Hao gave him a disdainful look: "I think you're the one who doesn't know what love is."
The chief priest: "..."
Zuan almost couldn't help but laugh. Several women stood by, their faces flushed. They never expected that the two people with the highest status and cultivation in the world would be arguing like street thugs. However, it seemed that the Chief Priest was at a disadvantage.
The chief minister took a deep breath: "Back then, it was one thing for your father and grandfather to usurp the Chen family's throne, but they also used treacherous schemes to cause the Chen family's royal descendants to die mysteriously one after another, and those young princes died one after another. At first, I thought it was the Chen family's immorality and the will of Heaven, but later I learned that it was all the work of your Zhao family."
"I'm a lazy person by nature, and back then I was considered a good-for-nothing playboy. But I am surnamed Chen after all, and now that I know the truth, I will settle this score."
"
Zhao Hao laughed and said, "In the end, isn't it all because that woman's offspring got into trouble? But I don't understand, they're not your offspring, they're the offspring of your enemy, yet you still want to stand up for them?"
"The feud between my elder brother and me is from the previous generation; the child is innocent." The chief minister composed himself. Although he said it was only for his lover from back then, as a member of the former royal family, how could he possibly let go of the fact that his country was usurped in such a despicable way?
Zhao Hao sneered, "You were a loser back then, and you're destined to be a loser now. I'm standing right here, what can you do to me?"
The chief priest frowned: "Not bad. I didn't expect that Prince Qi and the others didn't weaken your strength much. In terms of cultivation, I'm still a notch below you in a one-on-one fight."
"Since that's the case, why force it?" Zhao Hao said. "So much time has passed. You now hold a prestigious position in our Great Zhou Dynasty, something you couldn't have achieved in the Meng Dynasty. It was our Great Zhou Dynasty that gave you the opportunity to showcase your talents, allowing you to have students all over the world. Why dwell on the past?"
"I am not a petty person. I can pretend that today's events never happened. You will continue to serve as the Chancellor of the National Academy, an object of reverence for cultivators throughout the land. If you are still dissatisfied, I will bestow upon you concubines and beautiful maids, and allow you to continue the Chen family bloodline. How about that?"
Zuan was somewhat surprised. When did Zhao Hao become so easy to talk to?
However, he quickly realized that the Grand Master was too strong. Even if he was slightly inferior to Zhao Hao, the difference shouldn't be too great. After a real battle, he would definitely have to pay a heavy price.
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