In the end, Zhongli Zhengzhen agreed, because he had no other choice.
Li Hua had someone come in and quickly applied makeup to Zhongli Zhengzhen to make her look sickly, so as to match the claim that Zhongli Zhengzhen had been bedridden for some time.
The makeup made Zhongli's face look paler, making her appear as if she had been ill for a long time, and her whole demeanor exuded melancholy.
The main reason was that he felt stifled and on the verge of collapse, and had no one to confide in. He met with the people from Jinchuan, including his father's trusted confidants, and only after confirming that Zhongli was truly alright and had only fallen ill did he finally feel relieved.
"Third Prince, you must be very careful of Li Hua." This trusted confidant of the Jin Chuan Emperor was not young, and he did not hold any official position in the court. He had been doing some shady things for the Jin Chuan Emperor.
His name was Liu Kuan. He stroked his beard and had a pair of beady eyes, but his demeanor was as calm as a mountain, clearly indicating that he was quite capable.
“Your father said that Li Hua has almost completely evacuated those people from Jin Chuan and is likely to rebel. The two maids we brought with us this time have been by Li Hua's side for quite some time. Li Hua has always valued relationships. As long as we keep these two under our control, he will not make any moves, at least for the time being.”
Liu Kuan looked at Zhongli Zhengzhen, whose face was full of unwavering loyalty to the young master: "Your Highness may be able to use these two maids to get Li Hua to hand over some of the business connections he has. That way, as long as Jin Chuan takes over, whether Li Hua has betrayed us or not will not matter to us."
Liu Kuan narrowed his beady eyes, revealing a sinister glint. Although he didn't say it directly, his meaning was clear: he wanted Zhongli to truly betray him after he had served his purpose, to thoroughly investigate all of Li Hua's business connections, and then kill Li Hua on the spot.
Upon hearing Liu Kuan's words, Zhong Li was so shocked that he stood up from the table. He instinctively wanted to look back towards the inner room, but then he remembered what Li Hua had told him: "Don't try to reveal my location, or you won't want to know what price you'll pay."
Therefore, Zhongli's neck was twisted halfway before he twisted it back. He didn't want to reveal Li Hua's location; he was just shocked that Li Hua had guessed Liu Kuan's thoughts perfectly.
Before releasing him, Li Hua said to Zhongli Zhengzhen, "You can also take this opportunity to see what kind of person your father is. After his people confirm that you are safe and sound, they will ask you to take over some of the merchant guilds I manage and then kill me."
Zhongli Zhengzhen vehemently refuted this at the time. Although he had heard so much from Li Hua, he already believed that Li Hua had been abandoned because she was one of the twins.
However, Zhongli still couldn't believe that her father could be so cruel as to kill the child she had managed to survive.
Upon hearing Liu Kuan's words at that moment, Zhong Li felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
He glared at Liu Kuan, slammed his fist on the table, and shouted in a voice that was almost hoarse, "What nonsense are you talking about! He's my brother!"
Liu Kuan seemed not to have expected Zhongli Zhengzhen to react this way. After being stunned for a moment by the shout, he quickly stood up and bowed to Zhongli Zhengzhen.
Then he knelt on the ground and said, "Third Prince, you may not know this, but although Li Hua was born into the royal family, he was raised outside the palace since childhood and could never be of one mind with the royal family."
"He looks so much like the Third Prince. If the Third Prince were to ascend the throne one day... how would he prevent those rebellious ministers from harboring disloyal thoughts because of his brother, Your Highness?"
“Twins have always been the source of calamity, and Li Hua was born with calamity in his name…”
"You're talking nonsense!" Zhong Li took two steps forward and kicked Liu Kuan in the shoulder, sending Liu Kuan flying backward and hitting his forehead on the ground with a thud.
Zhong Li was panting heavily, so angry that his fingers were trembling.
Who does Liu Kuan think he is? How dare he slander me like this...
Zhongli Zhengzhen did not want to acknowledge Li Hua as his brother in his heart anymore, but Li Hua's voice, which was like a demonic sound, rang in Zhongli Zhengzhen's ears once again.
Just before Li Hua let Zhongli Zhengzhen come out of the inner room, she gently straightened Zhongli Zhengzhen's collar and said, "Between you and me, if there is anyone who is the source of the calamity, it will definitely not be me."
Li Hua looked at Zhongli Zhengzhen, and every word she spoke was like a knife to the heart: "I was born first, but because I was weaker, Father Emperor decided that I was the source of the calamity."
“But even when you were in the womb, I didn’t take away your life force. Instead, I let you grow up healthy and plump. If there really is someone who is the source of calamity in this world, an ominous creature, how could it be me?”
Looking at Zhongli Zhengzhen's slightly trembling appearance, Li Hua cruelly said, "The one who is unlucky is you."
“Since ancient times, all those born under the curse of solitude are destined to bring misfortune to their relatives. I was born weak because of your curse in the womb, yet my father chose you. It must be because of the evil aura you were born with that bewitched him.”
Zhong Li's lips trembled as she tried to speak up and vehemently refute him.
But he couldn't say a word, because he thought so too... He was completely entangled by Li Hua.
Li Hua said, "Everything you have now should have been mine. You were not as smart as me by nature. If you had been the one who was thrown to your death, or the one who was picked up and raised by the nanny, you would never have reached where I am today."
Li Hua said, “You will die from a high fever in your childhood, you will die in a cage in adulthood, you will die on a turbulent sea, you will die being captured by bandits and taken to the mountains, you will die in the bushes after being pushed off a cliff.”
"You will die in that inextinguishable fire."
"Cherish everything I've given you, and listen to me."
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