Li Hua did not respond immediately, but Zhong Li Zhengzhen finished speaking with righteous indignation, knowing that his words were untenable.
But he cannot back down now. He is already at a disadvantage. If he shows any sign of wavering, who knows what Li Hua will do to him.
Moreover, many things cannot be determined by Li Hua's one-sided account. Zhongli Zhengzhen will definitely find an opportunity to properly ask his father and mother what really happened back then!
"You have the people of the world in your heart, but what have you done for them since you were a child?"
Li Hua looked at Zhongli Zhengzhen and asked, "During the Fuhu era, there were floods and plagues; during the Fengli era, there was a snow disaster; and during the Taihe era, there were frequent wars and a severe drought for five whole years."
"You live a life of luxury in the palace, where you are indoctrinated with ideas about national righteousness and hostility towards another country."
"Your father taught you how to nibble away at others, how to enjoy the people's love, and how to disrupt the internal affairs of another country. Did he ever teach you how much silver a pound of rice costs?"
"Have you been taught how to store food so it won't rot or get damp?"
"Have you ever been taught that food is the most important thing for people? Have you ever been given a single penny to help, even the people in the Jinchuan Imperial City?"
"But Jinchuan is not just about the imperial city. When the disaster struck, the victims were not allowed to enter the imperial city at all. Have you ever seen a mass grave?"
Do you know how much grain a family of three needs to dig up from the ground to survive for a year?
"Did you truly care about the people of Jinchuan when they suffered these disasters, and did you do anything for them?"
Zhongli was truly speechless after being asked by Li Hua.
Li Hua looked at him sharply and said, "I have it."
“I have traveled all over the country, and I know the prices of all the items sold in shops around the world. I have given away my money countless times to help disaster victims get through their difficulties.”
"I don't understand your talk of patriotism and benevolence."
"All I know is that during times of war, blood flows like rivers and corpses lie for miles. There is no time to bury those bodies, and after they rot, they will cause all sorts of diseases, and the people who are infected have no cure."
"I also know that if a country falls into chaos, then the neighboring countries will also be affected. The prices of rice, grain, salt, and all the necessities of life will skyrocket."
"And those who had worked hard in the fields for a year, thinking they could eat for a whole year, starved to death because of this sudden price surge."
"What you know about this world is just the tip of the iceberg. What your father told you was just opportunistic tricks."
"He didn't even want you to actually cause trouble in Nanzhao. He just wanted you to be absent when he took action to clear the name of the traitors under the Jin Chuan imperial court."
"He sent you here, but he only wanted to train you so that when you go back to take over Jinchuan, you can be respected by the people as a benevolent emperor."
"You know all this?" Li Hua looked at Zhongli Zhengzhen and said, "You have several close clan lords in Jinchuan, and you haven't exchanged letters with them for quite some time, have you?"
Do you want to know how many of them are still alive?
Zhong Li's expression went completely blank. Apart from shaking his head and his eyes getting redder and redder, it was as if someone had suddenly torn off the curtain that had covered the sky, and he realized that even the sunlight that had shone on him since childhood was fake.
“Your father truly loves you very much, and so does your mother, but they are not my father and mother.”
"I'm just a businessman." After a long pause, Li Hua finally spoke. "I just want to live a good life, and I just want a real family."
“The day I came to beg you, I only hoped that you would lend me some people temporarily to help me hold off the Regent, but you were unwilling to do even that.”
"You call me brother, but have you ever respected me?"
"You resent me for giving all my money to Duanrong, but when have you ever considered my situation? When your father proposed that I marry Duanrong to spy on the situation in Nanzhao, did you ever voice your objections?"
Zhongli's face turned deathly pale.
Li Hua continued, "You didn't."
“You never treated me like a brother, nor did you care about my life or death. All you cared about was whether you could ascend the throne and become an emperor revered by all after you’ve messed things up.”
"Don't give me that nonsense! To put it bluntly, you betrayed Jinchuan and the country that raised you for a woman!"
Now, the only reason Zhongli Zhengzhen can still cling to is Jinchuan, and the fact that Li Hua is from Jinchuan.
Li Hua simply watched Zhongli Zhengzhen quietly. He didn't need to say anything more to make Zhongli Zhengzhen feel so ashamed that she wanted to disappear.
“Song Ci is not dead. He ran away and somehow notified Jin Chuan. Now people from Jin Chuan have come specifically to see you and do not believe that you are bedridden.”
“My men are about to lose control,” Li Hua said to Zhongli Zhengzhen in a gentle tone. “If I release you, can we go our separate ways and not interfere with each other from now on?”
"For the sake of our brotherhood."
Zhongli Zhengzhen heard that Song Ci had run away and that people from Jinchuan had arrived, and thought he was about to be rescued.
"If you release me, I can pretend that you never used me. Since you like Duanrong, I can also protect her life in the future."
"I will continue to keep it a secret for you from Father. I will find out the truth, and we..."
Li Hua suddenly raised her hand, stopping Zhong Li Zhengzhen from continuing.
He knew that Zhongli Zhengzhen would never go her separate ways with him, because Li Hua had inexhaustible wealth in his hands.
And how could one who wanted to ascend the throne and become the ruler of the world do without such a vast amount of gold and silver?
Li Hua tapped his leg lightly with his fingers, and Zhong Li Zhengzhen felt inexplicably nervous. Cold sweat broke out on his back, fearing that Li Hua might impulsively kill him right there.
Because Li Hua's cold expression when she was silent was really terrifying.
"You may not have figured out the current situation yet."
Li Hua only said those long, pointless words of persuasion because Zhong Li had genuinely protected him.
Now that they had finally torn off all pretense, he looked at Zhongli Zhengzhen and said, "I'm not here to discuss anything with you. I'm here to tell you to dress up properly and tonight to send those Jinchuan royals away."
"What if we don't?" Although Zhongli Zhengzhen was already afraid, he was a prince, a person born out of gold and jade, and he would never lower his proud head when he was at a disadvantage.
Li Hua didn't indulge him any longer and said directly, "Otherwise, you will slowly die from the poison."
"What...poison? When did you poison me?!"
During this period, Zhongli was very careful about what he ate and never felt any discomfort, except that he couldn't use his martial arts skills. But that started the day he was imprisoned by Li Hua and took that pill.
There has been nothing unusual lately, and Zhongli Zheng really doesn't know why, but he has never doubted that Li Hua would kill him.
It was precisely because of this inexplicable trust that Zhongli ended up in this predicament.
Li Hua said, "You need to eat and drink every day."
“But I have all been tested…” Zhong Li paused, his expression twisted.
"Yes, you guessed right. It's a compound poison, made from flowers and plants, the clothes you wear every day, and the food you eat."
"Colorless, odorless, and silent."
Li Hua uttered such terrifying words, yet his expression remained serene, like a still lake undisturbed by anyone, only rippling slightly when a gentle breeze blew by.
The ripples transformed into a smile on Li Hua's lips. He looked at Zhongli Zhengzhen and said, "Good brother, don't disobey me anymore."
"Get rid of the Jinchuan royal family properly, and the poison in your body will not harm you."
After a moment of utter despair, Zhong Lizhen's expression hardened, and he stepped forward, as if to say something more.
Li Hua suddenly stood up.
Zhongli Zhengzhen subconsciously took a step back, realizing that he was actually so afraid that he had to back down. He felt as if someone had pinched his heart hard.
Moreover, he discovered that Li Hua was actually a little taller than him...
Because of Li Hua's leg disability, Zhong Li Zhengzhen always felt that her brother was shorter than her.
It was only at this moment that he realized that Li Hua was actually taller than him.
In every sense.
When Li Hua straightened up and looked at Zhong Li Zhengzhen, she had already completely shattered the last shred of pretense of peace.
“I have some shops in the south that specialize in researching various poisonous insects and creatures. They were originally intended to combat a unique type of miasma there, because there is a forest full of top-quality medicinal herbs, but they can only be harvested after passing through that miasma forest.”
"As the finished products developed later became more and more mature, I would use them from time to time."
“These things can poison silently, and they can also neutralize poison silently. I have bribed some people in the royal family and in the harem in Jinchuan.”
Zhongli Zhengzhen's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. He even hoped that Li Hua would stop talking and stop opening his mouth.
Because once Li Hua speaks, everything will be irreversible.
But Li Hua had no intention of trying to salvage the situation.
So he was quite gentle, even coaxing, as he said, "Be a good little brother and listen to me. If you don't listen to me, your father and mother won't live to see you disrupt the situation in Nanzhao."
Zhong Li stared with bloodshot eyes, his mouth agape but not a single word came out.
He seemed... as if he had never known Li Hua.
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