"Your Majesty, my father... has passed away."
After Jing Zhe finished speaking, Emperor An remained silent.
Jing Zhe looked up and realized that the sadness in his eyes didn't seem fake, which confirmed his earlier suspicions.
"Alas, I am so sorry, Wenmao!"
Emperor An stood up, looking somewhat dejected, and even changed his form of address.
He then added, "What wrong did Wenmao do in the first place? He shouldn't have left Jingzhou!"
“But even though I know he was framed and ostracized, I cannot stand by his side and can only send him back to Pengzhou.”
"Simply because he offended my imperial brother!"
“I know Prince Jin’s character best. He is vindictive and will hold a grudge. If Wenmao had stayed in Jingzhou, I could not have guaranteed his safety. That is why I had no choice but to take this drastic measure and demote him to Pengzhou!”
"I had hoped to see Wenmao again someday and apologize to him, but I never imagined it would be forever..."
"Wenmao probably harbored resentment towards me even on his deathbed!"
After listening to his long-winded explanation, Jing Zhe had a general understanding of what happened back then.
Jing Wenmao offended the Prince of Jin, but Emperor An could not control his brother's thoughts, so he sent him back to Pengzhou for protection.
Hearing this, Jing Zhe breathed a sigh of relief.
What he feared most was that Emperor An and Prince Jin were in cahoots. Having a prince as an enemy was already terrible, but if even the emperor of a country was his enemy, how could he live like that?
He then bowed and said, “Your Majesty need not blame yourself. Although my father did not hold a high official position in Pengzhou, he lived a comfortable life. Moreover, my father never uttered a single complaint against Your Majesty during his lifetime and often spoke highly of Your Majesty!”
After hearing this, Emperor An felt somewhat relieved.
He glanced at Jing Zhe and said, "No wonder you have such poetic talent; you must have inherited your father's mantle! If your father knew this in the afterlife, he would surely be pleased."
Jing Zhe lowered his head.
"I heard you know Mo Chen?"
"I met Your Highness when I was in Yongzhou, but I didn't know Your Highness's identity at the time."
Jing Zhe answered truthfully.
"You've never told Mo Chen about your background, have you?"
Seeing Jing Zhe shake his head, Emperor An continued to ask, "You came to Jingzhou and continued to use the name A-Kun. Is it because you are afraid of the royal family?"
"Yes."
This time, Jing Zhe was very frank, "After all, my father offended the Prince of Jin back then, so this time when I came to the capital, I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles, and I was extremely apprehensive!"
Hearing this, Su Mochen, who was in the side hall, remembered that when he was a child, there seemed to be an official family surnamed Jing. Someone in the family had made his imperial uncle crippled... So, it was that family!
Then it dawned on her that no wonder he dared not go into the palace with her; he was probably terrified.
Emperor An nodded; Jing Zhe's words were the same as what he had thought.
"When you become famous, you will eventually have to show your face under your real name."
"Your Majesty, I originally intended to reveal my real name during the Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering."
Winning first place at the Mid-Autumn Poetry Competition made the whole city remember the name Jing Zhe. Even if the Prince of Jin had designs on him, he would have to consider his reputation.
This method is indeed good. Emperor An also thought of it. He glanced at Jing Zhe and praised him in his heart.
"Well then, let's have a Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering! Also, you don't need to worry about Prince Jin; he's currently residing in Jinxi."
"But... the Prince of Jin's heir is still in Jingzhou!"
"The things that happened in the previous generation will not be paid for by the next generation, so you don't need to worry."
"But I have to worry..."
Jing Zhe said helplessly, "Because I have already offended the Prince of Jin's heir..."
"..."
So Jing Zhe recounted his past grievances with Su Xinping, which was essentially a complaint. It's best to strike first in these situations to prevent Su Xinping from making any more noise.
Emperor An frowned deeply after hearing this.
In fact, he did not like the Prince of Jin. Before he ascended the throne, the Prince of Jin was stirring up trouble in the court. If he hadn't been stabbed and crippled, his path to the throne would not have been so smooth.
In that case, we should thank the Jing family.
His impression of the Prince of Jin was even worse.
After arriving in Jingzhou, he stayed at the East Palace. Logically, he should have been closer to Crown Prince Su Moyan. However, according to the information he had, Su Xinping often had private interactions with Prince Xiang, Su Mowu.
Emperor An is turning a blind eye for now, but if he finds out that Su Xinping dares to participate in the struggle for the throne between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Xiang, he will not hesitate to take action even if Su Xinping is the son of the Prince of Jin!
"You don't need to be afraid. As long as I am here, he won't dare to do anything to you. Besides, you have done nothing wrong."
Jing Zhe secretly pursed his lips, clearly not believing it.
Once he left the palace, if Su Xinping were to harm him again, Emperor An would be powerless to stop him unless he gave him some kind of token... Thinking of this, Jing Zhe's eyes lit up, and he began to scheme again.
Seeing him in a daze, Emperor An coughed and then said, "You're going to attend this Mid-Autumn Festival poetry gathering, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Very well, I have heard both of your poems. You must win first place in this poetry competition!"
"this…"
So they need my help. That makes things easier!
Jing Zhe looked troubled and stammered, "Your Majesty, this city of Jingzhou is teeming with hidden talents and brilliant minds. I dare not guarantee that I can win first place! Also, writing poetry and lyrics is largely a matter of chance, and I need to drink strong liquor. If I can't get strong liquor..."
If you said this to someone else, it might work, but how could someone as shrewd as Emperor An believe it?
Her gaze was fixed intently on him. "Just now you said that the conflict with the Prince of Jin's heir originated from that Zhang family's winery. If I'm not mistaken, this strong liquor was produced by the Zhang family's winery, wasn't it?"
Seeing Jing Zhe nod, Emperor An continued, "Is your purpose in attending this poetry gathering also to sell strong liquor?"
Jing Zhe blushed and nodded again.
"Alright, then I promise you, you won't have to worry about selling this strong liquor anymore, I'll take it all!"
"Your Majesty, this isn't about who we sell it to..."
"If you don't believe me, then I'll give you this!"
As he spoke, Andi took out a gleaming gold plaque from his clothes and handed it over.
"As long as you produce strong liquor, no one can touch it anymore. If there are any ignorant fools, just bring out your gold medal!"
Jing Zhe's eyes widened in disbelief.
With this plaque, Zhang's winery's business will become a royal business. Not only will it not have to worry about selling, but it also won't have to worry about others causing trouble. If there are any fools, he can just show them the gold plaque and they'll be scared out of their wits!
In particular, with his gold medal, he has nothing to fear if Su Xinping dares to cause him trouble again!
He quickly put away the gold medal and repeatedly said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Andi glanced at him, "You won the gold medal too, so what about first place in the poetry competition..."
"Your Majesty, rest assured, this first place is mine for the taking, and no one can take it away from me!"
"..."
Jing Zhe's tone changed so quickly that Emperor An was caught off guard.
"Your Majesty need not doubt. In truth, I do not care about whether I win a gold medal or not. My main goal is to win first place!"
"..."
————
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