The ministers begged me to ascend the throne

During this period, news about the north was sent to the Han Palace one after another.

At this time, in the study room of Prince Han's Mansion, Zhao Yao was reading the news he had just received. After reading it, he frowned at first, then showed a puzzled expression on his face, and finally his expression became solemn.

He Lianfang noticed the change in his face and asked with concern: "What happened?"

Zhao Yao did not speak, but handed a secret letter in his hand to He Lianfang.

He Lianfang took the letter and read it. When he finished reading, his face showed the same expression as Zhao Yao.

"What is King Han planning?"

Zhao Yao pondered: "Perhaps he did it on purpose to fool us into thinking that he doesn't care about his reputation at all, and that he has no interest in the throne at all." After that, he added another sentence , "The most important thing is that he wants his father to think that he is obedient. Without his father's order, he dare not open Youzhou's granary for disaster relief."

"Don't care about reputation?" He Lianfang raised her eyebrows slightly, "Now King Han's reputation in the north has been completely ruined, right? Does he really not mind at all?"

"Second uncle, reputation is not important. Even if King Han has become infamous and disliked by the people in the north, when he becomes emperor, his bad reputation in the past will disappear, and the people in the north will not dare to do it again. Dissatisfied with him." In the face of absolute power, reputation means nothing. As long as you have the power of life and death in your hands, a bad reputation will turn into a good one. "Do you think my father cares about reputation?" Fame is sometimes a good thing, but more often it is a bad thing. If you care too much about reputation, you will be limited in doing many things. Also, if reputation is considered before doing anything, then the nature of the matter changes.

He Lianfang felt that Zhao Yao's words made some sense, "You mean that King Han deliberately ruined his reputation so that you will no longer worry about him?"

Zhao Yao nodded gently and said, "Yes. Also, King Han always does whatever he wants and never cares about other people's opinions."

He Lianfang raised her eyes and looked deeply at Zhao Yao: "In the north, King Han's reputation has been ruined, but your reputation has spread throughout the north. The people in the north are full of gratitude to you, so you are not afraid of being criticized. Are you trying to gain a good reputation, so you are not afraid of being feared by King Dai and others?"

Zhao Yao asked back: "Second uncle, if I don't do anything, wouldn't Dai Wang and the others be on guard against me?" If the grain reaches the north, then I will beat the gongs and drums all the way to tell the world that I, Zhao Yao, spent my own money and money to get a thousand kilograms of grain and sent it to the north, which will definitely make them grateful. If I am afraid of being the king of them, then what should I do? I don't know how to do it. I send food to the north just to help the people in the north. As for other things, I don't care what others think." He always does things with a clear conscience and does not worry about other things.

"You are doing it for the people, but King Dai and others don't think so."

"Whatever they think." Zhao Yao said with a sneer in his mouth, "Even if I try to gain a good reputation, so what, the ministers in the court still look down on me as the King of Han, they will only think that what I do is It's all in vain. As for Dai Wang, they have never regarded me as a rival. They covet my money and food. They are trying their best to get rid of me. It's not that I pose a fatal threat to them, but they are worried about the fourth brother because of my help. , became so powerful that they could no longer compete with Fourth Brother." There was one thing that He Lianfang never knew about. Zhao Yao secretly gave a lot of money to King Chu.

Zhao Yao made up his mind to stay away from the throne, and also made up his mind to help King Chu ascend the throne. He didn't know why the emperor and He Lianfang thought he was suitable to be emperor, but he felt that King Chu was more suitable to be emperor than him.

He only gave some money to the King of Chu, but nothing else was helpful. Although he had a very powerful intelligence agency, he never sent information to the King of Chu. Otherwise, I would be very sorry to King Wei.

He Lianfang glanced at Zhao Yao, who looked unconcerned, and mocked, "You can see clearly."

Zhao Yao smiled and said: "I can always see clearly." He always knew how much he weighed, and he also knew that he was not made to be an emperor.

He Lianfang asked: "What are you going to do next?"

"Nothing to do. I've done everything I should do. I don't have to do anything else."

He Lianfang asked in slight shock: "You don't care about King Han?"

"I don't care what King Han does." Zhao Yao found He Lianfang's words funny. "The King Dai and Fourth Brother are both in the north. With them watching over King Han, what else do you need me to do."

"Aren't you afraid that King Chu and others can't do anything to King Han?" He Lianfang emphasized, "King Han has always hidden himself very deeply. King Chu and others may not be his opponents."

Zhao Yao chuckled and said, "Second uncle, you think too highly of me, and you underestimate my fourth brother too much."

He Lianfang frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhao Yao did not answer, but asked: "Second uncle, do you really believe that I can dig out the true face of King Han?"

He Lianfang did not speak, but gave Zhao Yao a look.

"Second uncle, I'm really happy to be trusted by you so much." Zhao Yao winked playfully at He Lianfang, "Fourth brother will definitely be able to detect things that I can detect. Now that fourth brother is in front of King Han, are you really Do you think he can’t find out anything?”

"It was you who discovered that King Han was hiding something deeply, not King Chu."

"It is indeed me, but that doesn't mean that the fourth brother can't do anything to King Han." Zhao Yao was full of confidence in the King of Chu. "Back then, the fourth brother single-handedly found the place where the former prince and the former Duke of Zhen had hidden their copper."

After hearing this, He Lianfang didn't speak for a long time.

"King Han can deceive King Dai, but he can never deceive the fourth brother." Zhao Yao said with confidence, "The most important thing is that the fourth brother discovered the real secret of King Han, but King Han had no idea."

"You are stupid to think that King Han is the king."

"Of course King Han is not stupid, but he is conceited. I'm afraid he still thinks that his secret has not been discovered." Zhao Yao added, "King Han will be wary of the fourth brother, but the fourth brother has his own way to find out. Everything he wants to know, and he does it quietly, so that King Han won’t notice.”

"You really believe in King Chu." He Lianfang didn't think so.

"I have believed in Fourth Brother since I was a child." Zhao Yao had long seen that He Lianfang looked down on his royal brothers and felt that his royal brothers were not as good as him. "Second uncle, just wait and see."

"I'll wait and see." He Lianfang didn't believe that King Chu could find out King Han's secret. "It's King Chu's business to find out, and it's your business to find out."

"Second uncle, it's enough for my fourth brother to investigate King Han. I don't need to investigate anymore." He still has a lot of things to do and doesn't have much free time to keep an eye on King Han.

"Don't forget that the King of Han and the Xiongnu are unclear. Do you really not want to continue to investigate?"

Zhao Yao shook his head and said, "Fourth brother will find out, so I won't interfere."

Seeing that Zhao Yao trusted King Chu so much, He Lianfang felt helpless. He knew that Zhao Yao had made up his mind, so he stopped trying to persuade him and changed the subject to something else. After finishing talking, He Lianfang returned to her yard.

The figure of someone who had been secretly following He Lianfang appeared in the shadows and said softly: "Are you worried?" His voice was very low. If you didn't listen carefully, you wouldn't notice that there was another person in the room.

He Lianfang didn't speak, but there was a killing intent in his eyes.

Someone in the shadows felt his murderous intent and asked, "Who do you want to kill?"

He Lianfang waved her hand to the person in the shadow, and someone hidden in the darkness disappeared from the room in an instant.

Just now, He Lianfang had murderous intentions towards King Chu, but he quickly recovered his senses because he knew that King Dai, King Jing, King Han and King Wei would not let King Chu go without him taking action. When the King of Chu fought with them and both sides suffered losses, it would not be too late for him to take action to get rid of the King of Chu.

He Lianfang pushed the wheelchair to the desk, picked up a pen and began to write a letter to the emperor in the capital.

Zhao Yao was not worried about what He Lianfang would do to the King of Chu, because he knew that He Lianfang would not get rid of the King of Chu at this time. With He Lianfang's temperament, he would kill King Chu in the end. However, when that time comes, he will definitely stop it.

At this time, Tongxi came in and reported to Zhao Yao: "Your Highness, Mr. Pei would like to see you."

"Dingyuan?" Zhao Yao was a little surprised. What surprised him was not that Pei Dingyuan came to see him, but that it was already very late at this time. "Let him come in." Dingyuan came to him at this time, there must be something urgent.

A moment later, Tongxi led Pei Dingyuan in.

Zhao Yao glanced at Tongxi, who respectfully withdrew and stood guard at the door to prevent others from approaching.

After Pei Dingyuan finished his salute, he said guiltily: Your Highness, I'm sorry to bother you at this time. "

"It's okay. If you come to me at this time, something must be wrong." Zhao Yao said warmly, "What happened to make you come to me in such a hurry?" Did something happen to the staff?
Pei Dingyuan did not hesitate and asked straight to the point: "Your Highness, do you know the people of the Southern Wei Dynasty?"

Hearing Pei Dingyuan's question, Zhao Yao had a look of surprise on his face.

Seeing Zhao Yao's expression, Pei Dingyuan knew that he knew.

"Your Highness, you know the people of Southern Wei."

Zhao Yao nodded slightly and said, "I've always known it, but how did you know about the people of the Southern Wei Dynasty?" As he said that, he narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Have you ever defeated the people of the Southern Wei Dynasty with a sword?"

"To be honest with you, Your Highness, someone came to me some time ago and said that he was someone related to the Pei family. He also said that he knew the truth about the Pei family's annihilation." Over the years, Pei Dingyuan has successively remembered the forgotten part of his childhood. Memories, but not completely remembered. The memories he recalled had nothing to do with the Pei family's extermination. He only remembered that he was indeed a member of the Pei family, and knew that his grandfather had narrowly escaped the destruction of the Pei family.

When Zhao Yao heard this, he sat up straight and asked, "What did he say to you?"

"He said that the Pei family was wrongly accused, and it was the Yuan family that caused the Pei family to be executed. This is the same as what you told me at the beginning." Pei Dingyuan learned about the murder from Zhao Yao a few years ago. The main culprit of the Pei family is the Yuan family. "He also said that Mrs. Pei, the grandmother of Concubine Pei, was from the Southern Wei Dynasty. The Yuan family framed the Pei family for one thing, and only the Pei family knows where it is."

When Zhao Yao heard this, there was no look of surprise on his face, because he had known it for a long time.

Pei Dingyuan and Zhao Yao's face were calm, as if they had known about this for a long time, and there was a look of shock on their faces: "Your Highness, do you know?!"

"I know more things than you." Zhao Yao didn't say much, but brought the topic back, "What else did he say to you?"

"He also said that the Pei family was just an ordinary family at first, not an aristocratic family. It was because of the help of the people of the Southern Wei Dynasty that the Pei family slowly became an aristocratic family in the previous dynasty, and the Pei family was able to hold important positions in the court. At that time, Concubine Pei was able to enter the palace It was also their work to gain favor." Pei Dingyuan continued, "He also said that nothing happened to the Pei family back then, and it was Concubine Pei's son who sat on the throne. Unfortunately, Emperor Xia Ling believed the slander and beat up Concubine Pei and the prince she gave birth to. Into the cold palace. Not long after the mother and son of Concubine Pei were imprisoned in the cold palace, the Pei family was accused of collaborating with the enemy and treason, and everyone was executed. Then Concubine Pei's son died of illness, but Concubine Pei was still alive. The people of the Southern Wei Dynasty kept trying to save her, but they didn't. success."

Zhao Yao thought that the secret passage in the cold palace where Concubine Pei lived was probably dug by the people of the Southern Wei Dynasty. The secret tunnel was dug and led directly to the cold palace where Concubine Pei was. Why didn't the Southern Wei people successfully take Concubine Pei away? Could it be that Concubine Pei is unwilling to escape?
"Did he tell you the location of the Pei family's treasure?"

"No, he doesn't know where the treasure is, but he said that the Pei family must know." For so many years, Pei Dingyuan has not thought about the Pei family's treasure. "He thought I should know, but I told him that my brain burned out because of a fever when I was a child. I don't remember what happened when I was a child, so I don't know where the Pei family's treasure is."

"He believed it?"

"I think he should believe it. He said he would find a way to remind me of my childhood." Pei Dingyuan did not think that the Southern Wei people could restore his childhood memories. "He also said that the Pei family's treasures belonged to the Southern Wei people. , he must find it, and he said that there is a very important thing in the treasure, which is related to the fate of the people of the Southern Wei Dynasty, so I must try hard to remember what happened when I was a child."

Zhao Yao heard this and said calmly, "It's pretty much what I guessed."

"I asked him what that thing was, but he wouldn't tell me. Your Highness, do you know what it is?"

Zhao Yao shook his head slightly and said, "I don't know." However, he did have a few guesses.

"Actually, I think it's useless even if I think about what happened when I was a child." Pei Dingyuan said, "If I hadn't guessed, my grandfather should be a humble member of the Pei family, or a bastard who was in poor health and was sent to a Taoist temple. . How could you tell him such an important thing about the Pei family's treasure?" Precisely because his grandfather was sent to the Taoist temple by the Pei family since childhood, few people knew that there was such a person as his grandfather in the Pei family. Back then, the entire Pei family was slaughtered, but his grandfather was left out.

"If the people of the Southern Wei Dynasty know that you don't know the location of the Pei family's treasure, then you will be in danger." Over the years, Zhao Yao has been secretly investigating the people of the Southern Wei Dynasty, and he still has some understanding of the temperament of the people of the Southern Wei Dynasty. "The people of the Southern Wei Dynasty will not be exposed to others easily. They come to you mainly because they want to find the Pei family's treasure through you. If you don't know, then they will think you are useless. Furthermore, you know their If you exist, then I can’t keep you in this world.”

Pei Dingyuan looked horrified: "Will they kill me?"

"Yes, but maybe not. After all, you also have the blood of Southern Wei people in your body."

"Your Highness, who are the people of the Southern Wei Dynasty?" Pei Dingyuan intuitively felt that the people of the Southern Wei Dynasty were not good people.

"They are not good people." Zhao Yao said with disgust on his face, "A group of lunatics who want to restore the Southern Wei Dynasty. They will do whatever it takes and they can do anything."

"As expected." Pei Dingyuan was very smart and inferred a lot of things from the Southern Wei people's words, "Your Highness, the Southern Wei people are eager to find the Pei family's treasure mainly because of that thing. Is that thing related to the revival of the Southern Wei Dynasty? "