Chapter 118 The Ninth Prince's Grandfather Qin Yuan

"My dear, what a coincidence, we meet again."

Zhou Shian wanted to move forward, but Zhao Li blocked his way.

Zhou Shian wanted to push him away, but found that Zhao Li didn't seem afraid of hurting him. The original horizontal sword turned into a vertical sword, successfully separating him and Jiang Jiu by a distance.

"Who are you to stand in my way?"

Zhou Shian angrily scolded Zhao Li, waved his hand, and the guards behind him rushed forward.

Zhao Li was very calm and not in a hurry. He beat one at a time and two at a time. His movements were clean and neat, and it was obvious that he was a master.

Zhou Shian is a person who wants something more the more he can't get it.

Seeing how fierce Zhao Li was, he made up his mind.

"Kill him for me. If anything goes wrong, I will take care of it."

He planned to use human wave tactics to deal with Zhao Li.

At this moment, Zhao Zhuoxi and Zhao Zhuoran both jumped off the carriage.

Zhao Zhuoran's face was gloomy, and Zhao Zhuoxi's face was even uglier.

"How dare you! You think you can touch my people?"

He waved his hand, and Lu Ming, with the palace guards, quickly killed all the Zhou family guards. He pointed the long sword at Zhou Shian's neck with a stern look in his eyes.

"Zhou Shian, you are so outrageous..."

Just when Zhao Zhuoxi was about to kill Zhou Shian, suddenly, a deep voice called out to him.

"Prince Qi, I hope you are well."

Following the direction of the voice, I saw an old man in his fifties walking out of a sedan chair. He was dressed in crimson official clothes and had a kind smile on his face.

"Grandfather."

Zhao Zhuoxi bowed to him politely.

It turned out that this was Zhao Zhuoxi's maternal grandfather, Pei Yuan, the Grand Scholar of the imperial court.

Mr. Pei walked with firm steps to Zhao Zhuoxi and stroked his beard.

"I heard that you are weak and the weather is cold, so don't go out casually. Come on, I happen to be in good health today, let's have a drink together to warm ourselves up."

Pei Yuan interrupted them like this, and Zhou Shian and his men quietly slipped away.

Zhao Zhuoran also got on the carriage and went back. Zhao Zhuoxi signaled Zhao Li to send Jiang Jiu back home.

Pei Yuan led him into a small alley before letting go of his hand.

"You have the same temper as your mother, impulsive and intolerant."

A few years ago, Pei Yuan sent his daughter to the harem. Not long after, news of her pregnancy came out. Concubine Pei was beautiful and deeply loved by the late emperor. She was favored for almost the rest of her life.

After the Crown Prince passed away, Concubine Pei also died of illness. The people he valued most left one after another, and the late emperor finally could not bear it and passed away.

Originally, the late emperor left a will, appointing the ninth prince, Zhao Zhuoxi, as emperor.

However, Prime Minister Zhou bribed the leader of the imperial guards and took the emperor's eldest son with him to force Zhao Zhuoxi to burn the edict.

Later, Zhao Zhuoxi left the capital under Pei Yuan's escort.

In those days, the world was changing rapidly and life and death were unpredictable.

Although Zhao Zhuoxi finally escaped from the capital, he still felt resentful.

Pei Yuan was in a high position of power at the time. If he had stood on Zhao Zhuoxi's side, he would not have lost his throne.

However, Pei Yuan actually supported the eldest son to ascend the throne, on the grounds that Zhao Zhuoxi was too young to control the government.

Therefore, Zhao Zhuoxi was deeply impressed and did not feel close to his grandfather.

"Grandfather, if everything is alright, I will go back."

Just as Zhao Zhuoxi was about to get off the carriage, Pei Yuan grabbed his wrist.

"Today in the palace, the emperor wants to arrange a marriage for you. You are old and have been living in Suzhou City. You don't know much about the capital. Do you have a girl you like? Grandma can make the decision for you."

What’s going on today? One by one, two people come to him to propose marriage.

"No need, Grandfather. I already have a favorite girl in my heart. She is not from the capital. Besides... my brother will definitely not like me making friends with officials from the capital."

Qin Yuan stroked his beard and looked at Zhao Zhuoxi deeply for a long time, remaining silent.

Zhao Zhuoxi couldn't sit still and prepared to leave.

At this time, Qin Yuan said quietly: "At that time, the court was worried about internal troubles. Our Qin family had no military power and few descendants. Even if you ascended the throne, you might not be able to keep it. It is better to conserve your energy and make a strong move at once."

Zhao Zhuoxi snorted coldly: "Now the court is full of Zhou family members, and my brother is also working hard to govern the country. The world is in turmoil. What virtue and ability do I have to make a breakthrough?"

Qin Yuan sighed: "The Marquis of Zhenbei is going back to the capital. He has a granddaughter..."

Qin Yuan actually wanted him to marry the Marquis of Zhenbei.

But Zhao Zhuoxi refused to listen to him: "I told you, I already have a woman I like..."

After saying that, he jumped off the carriage and left without looking back.

Qin Yuan was left looking at his back worriedly and sighing deeply.

When Jiang Jiu returned home, he found that Zhao Zhuoxi was in a bad mood.

I heated up a pot of peach blossom wine and snuggled up on the couch with him.

"That old man, is he your grandfather?"

Zhao Zhuoxi nodded.

On the way back, Zhao Li had already told Jiang Jiu about Qin Yuan.

Qin Yuan was once the emperor's tutor, the prince's teacher, and a grand scholar. Half of the scholars in the court were his students.

In the court, the only one who could compete with the Zhou family was Qin Yuan.

However, the Qin family was aloof and unwilling to go with the crowd. They always regarded themselves as incorruptible and stayed away from the disputes in the court.

Jiang Jiu suddenly said: "Save your strength, wait for the opportunity, and strike hard."

Zhao Zhuoxi chuckled and pinched Jiang Jiu's face: "Why do you think so? He is old, who can he beat..."

Jiang Jiu raised his eyebrows: "Although I didn't experience the struggle for the throne, I have heard a lot about it over the years. The late emperor liked your mother and you were smart, so he wanted you to be the emperor. But don't forget that you were only seven years old at the time..."

"And I also heard that after the death of the previous emperor, Beining in the north and Li in the south were eyeing Daning covetously. You are just a seven-year-old child, and the only one you can rely on is the Qin family. You are indeed weak and alone."

Zhao Zhuoxi knew very well how serious the situation was at that time, so he burned the late emperor's will in front of the emperor.

No matter who becomes emperor, he must first protect the country.

Suddenly, Jiang Jiu changed the subject: "But now that you are back, the emperor is weak and incompetent, and the court is controlled by the Zhou family. I am afraid that many ministers in the court are dissatisfied."

"There is a technique called flattery... Since Master Qin is the emperor's teacher, how could he not anticipate the emperor's weaknesses..."

When Zhao Zhuoxi heard Jiang Jiu say this, a light suddenly flashed in his mind.

Praising and killing, could it be that the current situation of the Zhou family dominating is exactly what Qin Yuan wants?

He remained silent.

At this time, Lu Ming came in from outside and reported.

"My Lord, the Marquis of Zhenbei has already arrived at Shili Pavilion outside the capital. Tomorrow morning, the Emperor will send the Crown Prince to greet him personally..."

The Marquis of Zhenbei is coming back. This most powerful general of Daning has been guarding the northern border of Daning. He defeated the people of Beining and signed a fifty-year non-aggression treaty.

Jiang Jiu couldn't remember who this Zhenbei Marquis was for a moment, and Nichang beside him quietly reminded him.

The in-laws of Zhou Hengzhi, the Minister of Personnel, and the grandfather of Mrs. Sun’s mother.

Jiang Jiu finally responded: "Zhenbei Hou is the son of Zhenguo Gong, doesn't he have a grudge against the Minister of Personnel Zhou Hengzhi?"

They used to be relatives, but because Zhou Hengzhi's wife died early, his step-wife abused his step-daughter and married her to a merchant family in Jiangnan. He couldn't swallow this humiliation.