Princess of the auxiliary country

I have to say that Hou Xiaolong really understands his father's thoughts.

Just now, Hou Fan really thought that if his son is gone, he can have another son, or at worst, he can just buy more concubines in the future.

There is always a chance to have another child. Even if you still can't do it in the end, the worst case scenario is that you can secretly adopt a baby from outside and raise it from childhood to adulthood, so that when you die, you will have someone to help you with funeral arrangements and sacrifices.

If you choose first, even if Hou Xiaolong's life is saved now, what about the future?

When facing those enemies from the past, both father and son would probably risk their lives.

If you choose second, the other will die. If you choose first, both father and son may be ruined.

But when he heard Hou Xiaolong's request for help, he felt a little hesitant.

After all, he is the son he has loved since childhood. Even if he is cold-hearted, he still has feelings.

Tiger poison doesn't even eat its own children, let alone his only son.

"Your Majesty, is there a third way?"

After hesitating for a long time, Hou Fan still held on to his last glimmer of hope.

Emperor Zhaowu felt a little complicated when he saw this scene. He actually looked down upon Duke Wu.

Of course, this is just for his character. If you really want to say it, Wu Guogong is indeed a talented general and a great general.

It is also because of his outstanding ability that he is more tolerant.

But Wu Guogong has repeatedly done these bad things. The first time he took sides, he was taught a lesson by those guys at Yushitai for a long time, especially the old troll Meng Xuancheng, who trolled him for more than a month.

It took a lot of effort to get it over with, but now something happened again.

Although no vicious incident occurred, who was the other party?

That was Princess Zhaode, and standing behind her were Duke Ji's Mansion, Princess Ningyang, and the Supreme Emperor.

Originally, he owed a lot to his niece because of the prince's affairs, but she was his son and the prince. Although the people in Duke Ji's palace were dissatisfied, they chose to swallow their anger for the sake of the general situation.

What about this time?

If Wu Guogong's son repays the dividends, then the relationship between him and Duke Ji's mansion will be completely broken, and it will never be possible to return to the past.

Especially from Princess Zhaode, I am afraid that I will never get anything good from her in the future.

The potatoes are still in someone else's hands now. If she doesn't get them anymore, wouldn't it be a big loss?

For the sake of Hou Xiaolong, if you push away Ji Guogong's mansion, you may not get potatoes, which is not possible no matter what.

So Hou Xiaolong has to deal with this, and even when it comes time to make a choice, Wu Guogong is not unable to give up.

After all, he has more than just one general, Duke Wu, but he only has one, Huo Junyao, and only one sister.

Emperor Zhaowu silently tapped the table and did not answer Hou Fan. He was also weighing the consequences of the two choices in his mind.

In fact, he hoped that Hou Fan would choose the first one, which was considered the best result.

Seizing the title and dismissing him from office gave an explanation to Huo Junyao and Duke Ji's government, and also gave an explanation to those heroes who followed him.

After all, if it goes too far, these heroes will be disappointed, right?

So, even if he makes a big mistake, as an emperor, he is still willing to give him a chance so that everyone can get together and disperse.

As for the second one, the reason why he opened it was, to put it bluntly, to force Wu Guogong to choose the first one.

After all, he still knew something about Duke Wu's virtues.

But at that moment, Wu Guogong hesitated and was about to make a choice. As soon as Hou Xiaolong's cry came out, he was a little shaken.

This gave him a headache. At this time, Hou Fan asked about the third way, and he was also considering whether there was any way to get the best of both worlds.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Hou Fan started to struggle again. Hou Xiaolong next to him was uneasy and kept pulling at his father, for fear that he would give up on him.

About a quarter of an hour later, Emperor Zhaowu stopped tapping on the table.

There was no sound, and Hou Fan and his son quickly raised their heads.

"That's it, that's all."

"In that case, I'm giving you a third option."

"The title will be retained, but you have to resign from all official positions. How about you become an idle prince from now on?"

Hearing this, Hou Fan nodded quickly.

"I am willing, thank you"

"Don't worry, I haven't finished speaking yet."

After that, he looked at Hou Xiaolong and continued with cold eyes: "Your son has committed a heinous crime and is unforgivable. Considering your merits back then, I can spare his life."

"However, death penalty can be avoided, but living crime cannot be avoided. People like him cannot stay in the capital."

"Yes, yes, I will send him to the border immediately to continue his training."

Hou Fan was extremely happy at this time. He kept his title and his son. Although he could not return to the capital, he still had many people in the army. He threw his son to the border and asked those old brothers to help take care of him. No problem.

Besides, he was rich, so he would buy some properties for his son there, and then find some women for him to try to give birth to children as soon as possible. In this way, the Hou family's bloodline would be continued, and he would no longer have to worry about whether this bastard died or not.

However, although his idea was good, Emperor Zhaowu smiled.

"He also went to the border to practice. For more than a year, his virtue is enough to show that it is of no use to him there."

"Besides, do you think if it's just this easy, the Duke Ji's mansion can justify it?"

His words were like a basin of cold water that directly extinguished the fire in Wu Guogong's heart.

Yes, if we just drive out of the capital, it would be a bit too easy. It's strange that Duke Ji's mansion would be happy with it.

"Don't think about continuing to the border. It's not a punishment. I'm not satisfied with it, and the Duke's Mansion in the Second Age can't justify it."

"I can spare his life, but he must be sent to Lingnan. Although the conditions there are a bit more difficult, I believe that with your means, it shouldn't be a problem for him to live a stable life there, how about it?"

Hou Fan was silent. He could survive being sent to Lingnan, but it was not a place for people to live. If he went there, he would never be able to come back.

He was still a little reluctant.

Hou Xiaolong beside him was also frightened and cried.

"Dad, save your son, he doesn't want to go to Lingnan."

"Your Majesty, I know I made a mistake, and I will definitely correct it in the future. I am willing to kowtow to Princess Zhaode angrily and apologize. I beg you to show mercy beyond the law."

Seeing Hou Fan's silence, Emperor Zhaowu's expression darkened again, and he said coldly, "The road is given to you. If you don't choose, then I will help you choose."

"Or you can go to the Supreme Emperor to plead for mercy, but I would like to remind you that he loves Zhao De more than I do."

"I'm afraid that as soon as you go over there and speak, the old man will directly order your son to be killed."

"Oh, by the way, one more thing. Princess Zhaode has a gold medal awarded by the Emperor. If you can't satisfy him, he will target your family. If anything happens, I can't do anything."