Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne-Chapter 164 - 140: It’s Fun

It is night.

The Emperor appeared at the residence Zhao Yao had climbed over the wall into during the day.

The middle-aged man ignored the uninvited Emperor and continued reading the book in his hands.

The Emperor did not mind the middle-aged man’s rudeness. He sat across from the middle-aged man, smiling, "How is my youngest son? Isn’t he adorable and charming, especially when he smiles and reveals his dimples?"

Upon hearing the word "dimples," the middle-aged man no longer remained indifferent and raised his icy gaze to look at the Emperor.

"Is this your purpose?"

The Emperor did not answer the middle-aged man’s question but instead asked, "My youngest son doesn’t look much like me, though he somewhat resembles my elder brother, don’t you think?"

The middle-aged man’s face instantly turned cold and angry, "What right do you have to mention the master?"

"He was my elder brother, why can’t I mention him?"

"If it weren’t for you back then..." The middle-aged man exuded a terrifying aura, as if he was about to devour the Emperor alive at any moment.

Sun Kui, standing in the corner, trembled with fear at the sight of the middle-aged man, while the Emperor looked calmly at him, who resembled a ferocious beast.

"I wish it was I who died back then."

"Stop pretending in front of me." The middle-aged man’s eyes were filled with hatred.

"I don’t have the time to pretend in front of you," said the Emperor as he played with the teacup in his hands, his expression unfathomable, "Why didn’t you kill the little tenth today? With your hatred for me, you wouldn’t spare my son."

The middle-aged man remained silent.

"The little tenth is the only person in the world who resembles my elder brother, and you can’t bear to kill him."

The middle-aged man’s gaze at the Emperor grew even more venomous.

The Emperor leaned back against the chair and said, "The little tenth is somewhat like my elder brother in temperament. He, like my elder brother, loves sweets, beef, and enjoys hiding his favorite foods..."

The middle-aged man’s face remained cold, yet he earnestly listened to the Emperor talk about Zhao Yao.

As the Emperor spoke about Zhao Yao, a gentle, spoiling smile lingered on his lips.

After the Emperor finished speaking, the middle-aged man said coldly with sarcasm, "Indeed, not like you."

"No, not like me."

The middle-aged man understood the Emperor’s intention, his eyes full of ridicule, "I can bear it." This was his response to the Emperor’s previous statement, "The little tenth is the only person in the world who resembles my elder brother, and you can’t bear to kill him." "As long as it’s someone related to you, I won’t spare them."

"I see, then I can no longer let the little tenth appear before you."

The middle-aged man glared coldly at the Emperor without speaking.

The Emperor stood up, looked smilingly at the middle-aged man, and said, "I will come to see you again when I have time." After speaking, he left with Sun Kui.

After the Emperor left, the middle-aged man angrily threw the book in his hand onto the table.

Once out of the residence, Sun Kui dared to ask, "Your Majesty, do you really intend not to let His Highness the Tenth Prince near that person anymore?"

"I can’t bear for the little tenth to be killed by him," the Emperor said meaningfully, "The little tenth will go to Hulong Temple tomorrow. You will go to Hulong Temple in the afternoon to bring him back to the palace."

"Yes, Your Majesty." It’s right that the Emperor no longer allows the Tenth Prince to approach that person. That person’s temperament is unpredictable, and he could harm the Tenth Prince.

"Things are going to get interesting."

Interesting?

How so?

What mischief are you planning now, Your Majesty?

At this time, Zhao Yao had just returned to Liang Run’s residence.

Seeing him return, Liang Run quickly told him about the afternoon’s cooperation with the Hu and Wusun merchants, An Ren.

After listening, Zhao Yao suggested to Liang Run, "Second Uncle, I think you could form a caravan to travel between the capital and Wusun."

Liang Run nodded, "I have the same idea. I also plan to open a store in both the capital and Wusun. The capital’s store will sell frontier goods, while Wusun’s store sells items from the Central Plains."

"That’s a great idea," Zhao Yao said, "Second Uncle, the person in charge of the caravan, and the people at the shop in Wusun should be folks you trust."

"I plan to write to your grandfather, asking him to select some outstanding people from the clan to come to the capital to help me." Before discussing cooperation with An Ren, Liang Run had thought everything through, "When the time comes, I’ll take some clan members to Wusun to arrange the store opening."

"I want to go to Wusun too, to see the frontier landscape."

"I would like to take you, but you can’t go." Liang Run comforted Zhao Yao, "When you grow up and are conferred a title, then you can go. For now, be patient."

"That’s far off." Sigh, what’s the good of being a Prince if you can’t even leave the capital?

"Yao Yao, I don’t know much about Wusun. Could you tell me about it?" Liang Run had never considered doing business on the frontier, so he had not studied the situation there.

"Listen well, Second Uncle. Wusun once was a vassal state of the previous dynasty and the Zheng Dynasty..." Zhao Yao explained in detail about Wusun and the customs of several small countries surrounding it to Liang Run.

Ding Yuan and the others listened from the side.

After listening, Liang Run exclaimed, "Yao Yao, you actually know so much about the various countries in the Western Regions."

"Mother..." Zhao Yao almost said "Mother Consort," but stopped in time, "Mother likes reading local chronicles, and I read many with her. My understanding of the Western Regions comes from books."

Liang Run said, "It seems I need to read more local chronicles in the future."

"Second Uncle, the local chronicles Mother and I read were written many years ago, so they might differ from current conditions. Be cautious when you go to Wusun there." Just after speaking, Zhao Yao suddenly thought of something and became contemplative.

Seeing Zhao Yao deep in thought, Liang Run asked concernedly, "Yao Yao, what’s on your mind?"

"I feel it’s strange for us to suddenly establish close ties with Wusun."

"What’s strange about it?"

Zhao Yao did not answer. The Great Zhou had only been established for over a decade, during which time they were busy quelling rebellions and focusing on recuperation and had not forged close ties with the Western Regions. Moreover, the countries of the Western Regions detached from the Central Plains during the previous dynasty and were occupied by the Xiongnu, becoming vassal states of the Xiongnu.

"Isn’t Wusun a vassal state of the Xiongnu? How can it establish close ties with the Great Zhou?"

"Wusun is actually a vassal state of the Xiongnu?!" At the mention of the Xiongnu, Liang Run’s expression changed immediately.

"It was occupied by the Xiongnu during the previous dynasty, but Wusun now seeking good relations with the Great Zhou suggests they are no longer a vassal state of the Xiongnu." Zhao Yao rubbed his chin and said, "Something must have happened with the Xiongnu. Otherwise, with Wusun’s power, they couldn’t escape Xiongnu’s control."

Hearing this, Liang Run felt much more at ease.

"As long as Wusun isn’t a vassal state of Xiongnu, that’s good."

Zhao Yao slightly frowned and speculated, "Wusun suddenly establishing good ties with the Great Zhou likely means they want to cooperate and resist the Xiongnu together."

"Resist the Xiongnu?" Liang Run said with a drastic change in expression, "You mean the Xiongnu might invade southward?"

Ding Yuan and the others revealed uneasy expressions upon hearing this.

"They probably won’t invade southward just yet," Zhao Yao said, "I’ll look into the Xiongnu situation once I return." He felt there was a deeper reason behind his infuriating father’s sudden ties with Wusun.

"By the way, Second Uncle, do you know about a peculiar house at the intersection of East Market and West Market?"

"I’ve never heard of it. What’s peculiar about this house?"

Zhao Yao recounted the incident at the peculiar house to Liang Run, "I thought Second Uncle might have heard about this."

"Never heard of it," Liang Run said.

"I’ll ask Mother about it when I return to see if she knows anything about it." Zhao Yao thought it unlikely that Liang Zhaoyi knew about this matter.

"Yao Yao, you’re clueless about that house’s owner, yet you let Tong Xi climb over the wall with you. You were truly reckless. If the owner was hostile towards you, wouldn’t you be in danger?" Liang Run began scolding Zhao Yao and Tong Xi, continuing for two hours before stopping.

"Don’t act recklessly just because Tong Xi is skilled in martial arts," Liang Run admonished once more, "There are many people out there who are better than Tong Xi in martial arts. Be cautious in the future."

Zhao Yao obediently accepted the scolding, "I got it, Second Uncle."

"What do you plan to do tomorrow?"

"I plan to visit Eighth Brother tomorrow." Although Eighth Brother mentioned in a letter that his injury had improved significantly, Zhao Yao still felt uneasy and planned to visit Hulong Temple to see Eighth Brother.

Come to think of it, what exactly did Eighth Brother do that made their infuriating father unable to find out he was the mastermind behind the Crown Prince Brother’s assassination attempt?

Given the infuriating father’s methods, how did Eighth Brother manage to prevent him from finding out?

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