Chapter 12
Prince Jing is the younger brother of the current emperor. He is a dozen years younger than the emperor and is exactly twenty-two years old this year. Among the many princes of the late emperor, he is both talented in civil and military affairs, and his appearance is outstanding.
Although she was in good health and was loved by the late emperor, her mother was only the daughter of a county magistrate. Her family background was too weak and she had no power to rely on in the court.
Even if there is someone, they have bad intentions. As a prince, if Prince Jing gets too close to the powerful minister, it will definitely make the late emperor displeased. If he is secretly tripped up by other princes, it will be a loss.
Prince Jing thought about it and decided to keep silent and behave himself until the right opportunity.
Unexpectedly, the opportunity did not come, but instead the news of the late emperor's death came.
Not long after the previous emperor passed away, the new emperor ascended the throne. This emperor was arrogant, extravagant, tyrannical, and lacked the talent of an emperor. Making him emperor only harmed the people of the world.
However, although he did not have the talent to be emperor, his uncle was an important official of the dynasty who held military power and protected him all the way to becoming emperor.
Originally, if such a person became the emperor, the first ones to suffer would be the remaining princes. Although they were enfeoffed as kings on the surface, they secretly resorted to all kinds of fratricidal tactics.
Those princes who used to be in the limelight are now dead, disabled, or crazy.
Fortunately, although Prince Jing was appreciated by the late emperor when he was still alive, he never took pride in it, but was extremely restrained and never showed his edge.
Moreover, when he had many contacts with the current emperor, the other party was arrogant and rude every time, but Prince Jing always humbled himself and never confronted him.
It was because of his tolerance at the beginning that the emperor had some favor towards him. Although Prince Jing studied the art of being an emperor in private, he appeared to have no interest and was not interested in competing with the world.
This made the emperor less wary.
In addition, the emperor had killed his own brothers, which had caused criticism in the court, so Prince Jing was left behind to silence the people.
Over the years, Prince Jing has been living in seclusion in the palace garden, but he has been secretly planning a rebellion. In addition, the emperor is incompetent and the people are suffering, so he is unwilling to be inferior to others and feels even stronger.
Prince Jing secretly recruited soldiers and almost exhausted all the wealth of the palace to prepare a well-equipped team.
In the original plot, after Prince Jing prepared the team, he fled the palace with his mother, and naturally there were pursuers blocking them along the way.
In order to protect his mother's safety, Prince Jing divided the fleeing team into two groups, and he himself led the pursuers away. Unfortunately, he was ambushed, seriously injured and almost captured. Fortunately, he was rescued by Wen Xiaoqiu who lived in the manor.
In fact, according to the original plot, after Wen Xiaoqiu saved Prince Jing, the two often came into contact during the period when Prince Jing was recuperating. Prince Jing was touched by Wen Xiaoqiu's innocence and developed a liking for her.
Later, after Prince Jing left, he wanted to take Wen Xiaoqiu with him, but for various reasons, he was unable to do so.
Prince Jing knew that based on his current strength, even if he was lucky enough to seize the world and inherit the throne, he still did not have enough strength to maintain his rule.
If you want to sit firmly on the emperor's chair, you must have a powerful force to support you.
The simplest and most stable way to gain this power is through marriage!
It’s best for him not to have any involvement with any woman before he gets married!
So, Prince Jing hardened his heart and left Wen Xiaoqiu's manor. Unexpectedly, the truth was revealed in the end, and the original master wanted to use Wen Xiaoqiu to check and balance Prince Jing.
Prince Jing actually knew that this was a trap, and he could have simply not come.
However, Prince Jing finally came!
Because Prince Jing, who had left Wen Xiaoqiu, had actually come into contact with many women. Most of those women were born into powerful and wealthy families, and their looks far surpassed Wen Xiaoqiu, but Prince Jing could not forget Wen Xiaoqiu.
There are many beautiful women around him, but this is the first time he has seen a woman like Wen Xiaoqiu.
So, although it was a trap, Prince Jing came without hesitation, and in the end he could only shed blood on the execution ground.
To be honest, the original owner really deserved to die. If he had not killed Prince Jing, he would have been able to sit on the throne based on Prince Jing's strength. If he had become the emperor, the people would have lived a good life.
However, this life is different. When Song Zhehao comes, he will do Prince Jing a favor.
When Prince Jing was in the capital, Song Zhehao sent spies to keep a close eye on him day and night. Later, when Prince Jing escaped from the capital and was chased by pursuers, Song Zhehao had already sent people to pick him up.
Prince Jing has now arrived in a big city, and his mother, the old concubine, has also been settled in a safe place.
When Song Zhehao heard the servant’s message that Prince Jing had arrived, he immediately went to see Prince Jing.
Song Zhehao knew that although Prince Jing was both talented and virtuous, and had been recruited for a long time, his strength was far from enough to wipe out all the heroes in the world and stabilize the country in one fell swoop.
With Song Zhehao's help, this matter would be a sure thing.
As expected, children who grew up in the inner palace are more suspicious than ordinary people.
Song Zhehao saved him, but instead of being grateful, he asked Song Zhehao why he tied him up?
Song Zhehao felt a little aggrieved and said, "I have long admired your outstanding talent, and today I invited you to come and seek your advice."
Prince Jing didn't believe it at all. He smiled coldly, put his hands behind his back, and said, "Oh, I'm afraid you already know my identity. You brought me here not to learn from me, but to threaten me, right?"
Song Zhehao thought, he was indeed the wolf cub who won the battle in the wolf's den. In the original plot, Wen Xiaoqiu was a positive character, and Prince Jing eventually died because of her, so her image was somewhat decent.
Therefore, Prince Jing in the original plot was beautified, but now after the plot has taken a big turn, Prince Jing's true appearance has surfaced, especially his suspicious personality.
Song Zhehao knew that it seemed that this prince did not believe that there was such a thing as a free lunch.
Well, Song Zhehao said: "Your Highness is overthinking. I am in control of this ironclad empire of the metropolis. Let alone the chaotic times now, even if it were prosperous outside, I wouldn't be so despicable as to kidnap someone and threaten them."
"It's just a coincidence that I was able to save the prince! Since the prince doesn't believe it, he can leave on his own. My city will never stop him!"
After saying this, Song Zhehao turned away and ignored Prince Jing.
Prince Jing had originally intended to strike first, but now Song Zhehao's attitude had made him somewhat bored. He forced a smile onto his handsome face and said, "Don't be offended, sir. When you're in the underworld, you have to be careful. I wonder what advice you have for me?"
Seeing that he was no longer acting like a prince, Song Zhehao said calmly, "It's not a big deal! I know that the prince cares about the world and has the lofty ambition of saving the people from disaster. Seeing the world in such a mess, it both annoys me and hinders my business. I just want someone to come out and put this mess in order!"
Upon hearing this, Prince Jing was immediately shocked, and then a look of suspicion gradually appeared on his face. He asked suspiciously, "Your Excellency, you want to help me conquer the world, but I'm afraid there is no such good thing?"
That's it! Song Zhehao sighed inwardly. This guy's suspicious nature is back!
Song Zhehao simply said, "I was just joking. Now that the prince has escaped danger, please go back to where you came from. I won't stay any longer!"
"Someone, come! Show him out!"
Song Zhehao shouted loudly.
Prince Jing was shocked and thought that the mayor of this metropolis was too unbelievable. Shouldn't he explain it slowly?
Baha was trying so hard to save me just now, how come he turned against me in the blink of an eye!
This kind of person is so difficult to deal with!
Prince Jing quickly bowed and said sincerely, "Wait a minute! Since the City Lord is willing to help me conquer the world, I will naturally never forget his kindness!"
This 180-degree reversal of attitude made Song Zhehao feel a little strange, and he continued, "You don't need to thank me! When you become emperor, just stop attacking my city. Oh, right! Let me make it clear to you, when you conquer the world, I will not be your vassal, I will not pay tribute, and I will not kneel down and shout "Long live the emperor!"
"Of course, I'm telling you, if you really attack me, I'm not afraid. I just think the common people are quite pitiful. Those rebel kings out there are all cowards, none of them I like. But since you look like a decent human being, I might as well sponsor you to become emperor!"
"Enough of the nonsense! Just go wherever you want to go. If you need anything, just tell me and the sponsorship will be there in due time!"
"Okay, that's all. If you need anything in the future, just send a carrier pigeon to contact me!"
"I'm leaving!"
After Song Zhehao finished speaking, he left immediately, ignoring Prince Jing's attempts to keep him at the back door.
As Song Zhehao expected, with Song Zhehao's strong support, it didn't take long for Prince Jing's army to sweep across a group of rebel kings. In just one year, it became the most powerful team.
Three years later, Prince Jing finally overthrew the corrupt old court and ascended the throne he had longed for.
After Prince Jing proclaimed himself emperor, he also fulfilled his promise. He did not send troops to the big cities, did not collect taxes, and did not attack them. He simply declared them as his vassal states.
Song Zhehao also understood this point. As such a great emperor, he should at least have some face, right?
If you really want Song Zhehao to surrender, then you should send troops! I make money just to be free, how can I be your little brother?
However, Prince Jing did make three incognito visits, each time to a big city, and even got drunk with Song Zhehao. Song Zhehao always said that Prince Jing had a bad drinking habit. As the ruler of a country, he refused to drink after losing a fight. So he would never drink with him again.
Every time Prince Jing came, he would say, "Brother, as long as I'm here, I, the emperor, can't even dream peacefully."
Song Zhehao felt very aggrieved. I am doing my business and I don’t envy your throne. What do you have to worry about?
Prince Jing said, "Just focus on your business. Can you please stop developing □□ artillery? If you invent a new bomb, I'll have sleepless nights."
After hearing this, Song Zhehao smiled and said, "The city's largest pharmacy has recently developed a new kind of sleeping pills that specifically treat insomnia. Would you like a few pills?"
After hearing this, Prince Jing knew that there was no hope this time.
Every time Prince Jing left, he would visit Song Zhehao's family, but Wen Xiaoqiu was the only one he didn't see.
Prince Jing always asked in confusion, "My sister-in-law is ugly, so why don't you agree to this?"
After hearing this, Song Zhehao immediately scolded her, "Nonsense! Your sister-in-law is as beautiful as a fairy. I'm just worried that others will have evil intentions!"
Prince Jing smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Haha! Don't worry, brother. I have my own harem and courtyards, and I've seen many beautiful women. I definitely wouldn't have that kind of evil intention."
After hearing this, Song Zhehao advised Prince Jing, "My dear brother, do you know that only monogamy is allowed in my city? This was proposed by your sister-in-law. She has always hated men who are fickle. If she saw you, she would kill you with a knife, wouldn't she?"
"Listen to me, take your money, mount your steed, and for your own safety, go as far as you can and never come back!"
After hearing this, Prince Jing nodded as if he understood, then left the city in a daze.
Song Zhehao continues to serve as the city lord, doing business every day and going home to spend time with his wife and children. I wonder how happy he is?
Those days passed like a fairy's. The son and daughter grew up, and Song Zhehao and Wen Xiaoqiu also grew old.
After his daughter turned eighteen, she showed outstanding management skills, so Song Zhehao simply passed the position of city lord to her.
Song Zhehao knew very well that his daughter was much better than Prince Jing's son, and she would live a peaceful life in the future.
Song Zhehao stayed with Wen Xiaoqiu wholeheartedly until the old man's temples turned gray.
When Wen Xiaoqiu passed away, the whole country was in mourning and the entire city was covered in white.
On the day of Wen Xiaoqiu's funeral, Song Zhehao, who was sitting in the sedan chair, slowly closed his eyes and left this world peacefully.
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