The prince is more stable

Chapter 402 Uncle-Nephew Feud

Zhao Xiaoqian patted his butt, and took Chen Shou, Jia Shi and other imperial guards and masters, and left the capital in a relaxed and unrestrained manner to take up his post in Zhending Prefecture.

He felt relieved, but all the big and small matters in Bianjing had to be left to Zhao Hao to solve.

Who said he was the biological father? Who said this biological father was not good enough and only had this one precious son in his life?

So after Zhao Xiaoqian left Beijing, Zhao Hao began his series of bold moves.

Visiting the palace has become a daily routine, and giving gifts to the emperor's sister-in-law has also become a daily routine.

With Zhao Hao's thick skin, he doesn't care about the gossip in the palace, he just lives for himself.

This prince sees that the imperial sister-in-law still has some charm, and would like to spend more time with her. What do you think? Everyone in the world knows that this prince still prefers widows. Although the imperial sister-in-law is noble, isn't she also a widow?

When Zhao Hao entered the hall, the first person he saw was Empress Dowager Xiang sitting at the head of the hall.

Empress Dowager Xiang had a smile on her face, but her eyes were somewhat helpless, and her smile seemed forced. In short, she didn't seem very enthusiastic.

The next thing Zhao Hao saw was Zhao Ji sitting next to the Queen Mother, so his small green eyes narrowed and he smiled sinisterly.

After paying his respects to the Queen Mother, Zhao Hao turned to look at Zhao Ji and said with a sinister smile, "My nephew is here too. It's been a long time since we last met."

Zhao Ji had to stand up, force a smile, and greet Zhao Hao as a junior, calling him "Uncle King of Chu."

Zhao Ji was still young, and his facial expression management was really not in place. He thought he had concealed the anger and fear on his face very well, but the cunning Zhao Hao had already seen through it.

Zhao Hao knew very well why Zhao Ji had such an angry and fearful expression, as that was his latest masterpiece.

Zhao Xiaoqian had been assassinated three times before, but since he couldn't find the real culprit, Zhao Hao was so angry that he didn't know who to vent his anger on.

Later it was confirmed that Zhao Ji was the murderer behind the incident, and Zhao Hao finally found his life goal.

From then on, Zhao Hao's goal was to get rid of Zhao Ji. He would use all kinds of means to get rid of him, openly or covertly, legally or illegal, as long as he had the means.

After Zhao Xiaoqian left Beijing to take up his post, the Chu Palace was not idle. First of all, in business, the Chu Palace began a commercial war with the Suining County Prince's Palace.

The means of business warfare are actually not that sophisticated or brain-burning, but very simple and unpretentious.

He ordered people to throw feces and urine at the shop owned by the Suining County Prince in the middle of the night, release snakes during the day, deliberately cause trouble and fights in the shop, and spread rumors that the shop sold fake goods and was haunted, etc.

In other words, Zhao Ji did not have the hobby of planting money trees in his shop, otherwise they would be poured with boiling water.

Not only that, the Chu Palace also poached talents on a large scale, poaching capable managers and clerks from the businesses under the name of the Suining County Prince with high salaries.

By the way, he also bribed a group of business spies to lurk in the shops. If there was any business disturbance in the Prince's Mansion, the Prince of Chu's Mansion would get the news first, and then quickly make arrangements and deployments to cut off Zhao Ji's financial resources in time.

In just one or two months, the Suining Prince's Mansion suffered heavy commercial losses and was even forced to sell several shops in prime locations in Bianjing City.

After all, Zhao Ji was just a young man. Once he was targeted by the cunning Zhao Hao, he would not be able to defeat Zhao Hao in terms of means and tricks.

Of course, Zhao Hao's revenge on Zhao Ji went far beyond business.

In addition to attacking the shops in Suining County Prince's Mansion, Zhao Hao also took action against the warehouses and caravans under his name.

In the past month or two, the warehouse of the Prince's Mansion on the outskirts of the city has inexplicably caught fire several times, the kind that could not be put out. At the same time, the caravans were ordered to leave the capital to do business in Western Xia, but they would inexplicably encounter bandits on the way, who would kill people and rob goods without leaving any trace.

At the same time, Zhao Ji himself has not been having a good time recently.

During these one or two months, Zhao Ji's carriage encountered three assassination attempts, his food was poisoned twice, and many other inexplicable misfortunes happened, which were not sure whether they were premeditated or coincidental.

Zhao Ji was not a fool, so he certainly knew who was behind all this.

Zhao Hao taught his junior Zhao Ji lesson after lesson through his actions, telling him how cruel and ruthless the adult world is. For the purpose of revenge, adults can have no bottom line, no morals, and no so-called gentlemanly manners.

Under a series of blows, the child was about to collapse. Zhao Ji didn't dare to go out recently. Even his daily meals had to be tested for poison first, otherwise he wouldn't dare to eat them.

I can't express the grief and anger in my heart. If the thunder strikes me once, it's enough, right? It's trying to kill me time and again. Am I breaking the law of heaven?

Of course, as another party involved, Zhao Hao was also very sad and angry.

Young people these days are clearly fragile, so why are they so hard to kill? Could it be that I'm not trying hard enough?
At this moment, the two sworn enemies were sitting in the hall, facing each other. Zhao Hao even smiled at him very warmly and kindly, and his eyes and expression looked like a person who loved and appreciated his younger generation.

Seeing the two of them laughing awkwardly at each other, the Queen Mother looked left and right, and asked with a puzzled look on her face, "What's wrong with you? Why are you both laughing so strangely?"

Zhao Hao stood up and said with a chuckle, "Empress Dowager, I haven't seen my nephew Zhao Ji for many days. Seeing him still as charming and elegant as ever, I can't help but feel happy and relieved."

Zhao Ji forced a smile and said respectfully, "Uncle King Chu is also in high spirits and looks blessed with a long and long life."

Zhao Hao said with a forced smile: "Hehe, TOEFL, TOEFL."

Empress Dowager Xiang felt something was amiss, but she couldn't understand its meaning, so she passed over the topic. She looked at Zhao Hao with a look of resignation, "The King of Chu is visiting the palace today. What valuable gift is he planning to give me?" Zhao Hao immediately held out a jade box and said, "The other day I bought a gigantic oriental pearl from a Mingzhou merchant. It's said to be an inlay from the crown of the East China Sea Dragon King, caught by a lucky fisherman..."

"I am not a talented person, but I feel that only this rare oriental pearl is worthy of the Empress's sister-in-law's elegance and dignity, so I spent a large sum of money to purchase it and present it to the Empress."

Zhao Ji listened quietly beside him, his expression becoming increasingly grim.

As expected, the thick skin of an adult is just a decoration. He said such shameless flattery so naturally without changing his expression. After all, he is still young and has a lot to learn.

Empress Dowager Xiang became more helpless after being praised by Zhao Hao without any shame, but she could not hide the joy in her eyes.

"What about the crown of the Dragon King of the East Sea? You actually believe that? That's ridiculous. Is it worth it for you to go to the palace just for this pearl?"

Although there was blame in his words, his tone was joyful. Zhao Ji's face turned ashen, but Zhao Hao smiled in a simple and harmless way.

"Your Majesty knows that I have always been honest and trustworthy, and I tend to believe whatever others say."

"That merchant touted it as miraculous. At the time, I only wanted to give it to the Queen Mother, so I had no time to verify whether it was real or fake. Although the story was untrue, this Oriental Pearl is genuine. If the Queen Mother does not want to part with it, please do not let my kindness go to waste."

The Queen Mother became more and more delighted, but Zhao Ji just wanted to roll his eyes and felt a little nauseous and wanted to vomit.

You are "honest and decent"? You are lying to me! Shameless bastard!
The jade box was handed to Empress Dowager Xiang. She wanted to politely decline it, but Zhao Hao was very determined to give the gift. She had no choice but to accept it reluctantly. The smile on her face deepened, and she liked Zhao Hao more.

When Emperor Shenzong was alive, she had some grudges with her brother-in-law, but so many years had passed and now everyone was old and indifferent. There was no need to dwell on those things.

"The King of Chu is thoughtful, but please give me fewer gifts in the future. I cannot bear to let you spend so much money."

Zhao Hao agreed perfunctorily: "Okay, okay, I'll pay attention next time."

Zhao Hao glanced at Zhao Ji and said with a smile, "My dear nephew, I wonder why you came to the palace today?"

In front of the Queen Mother, Zhao Ji had to say respectfully, "I, like my uncle the King of Chu, would like to offer a small token of my appreciation to the Queen Mother. It's almost New Year's Eve, a time for families to reunite. Thinking of the Queen Mother, who is all alone in the deep palace, I can't help but feel a pity for her. So, I've come to see her today."

Empress Dowager Xiang looked at Zhao Ji, and a loving expression suddenly appeared on her face. Her eyes were moved and red, and she kept saying, "Good boy, good boy..."

Zhao Hao's smile froze slightly. This young man had profound skills and was a formidable opponent.

No wonder even his own smart and capable son almost fell into his trap several times.

"Good, good! It's rare for a royal family member to be rich and yet still be filial to the empress dowager. What a good boy!" Zhao Hao praised him immediately.

The empress dowager looked at Zhao Ji, then at her brother-in-law, feeling the long-lost family affection. The harmonious and peaceful atmosphere of kindness from the elders and filial piety from the younger generations made the empress dowager feel warm in her heart and in a particularly good mood.

After a long while, the uncle and nephew exchanged greetings with the empress dowager, and then they unanimously refused the empress dowager's invitation to dinner. They stood up and said goodbye at the same time in tacit understanding.

They walked out of the Qingshou Hall side by side. There was no one around. The hypocritical smiles on Zhao Hao and Zhao Ji's faces disappeared at the same time, and their eyes became sharp and full of edge.

"Uncle King of Chu, I heard that Brother Zi'an has gone to take up the post of Zhending Prefecture. Unfortunately, I found out too late and was unable to see him off that day. It is really a pity." Zhao Ji sighed regretfully.

Zhao Hao pulled the corners of his mouth together with a forced smile and said, "No need to see me off. I heard that your Prince's Mansion has been a bit restless lately. I will definitely come to offer my condolences someday. By the way, your Mansion has been in trouble lately. Perhaps there's something wrong with your Feng Shui. Would you like me to recommend a few Taoist physiognomists to come to your house and do a divination?"

The muscles on Zhao Ji's cheeks twitched uncontrollably.

Why is there no peace in my Prince's Mansion? Don't you know?

Slapping me in the face, this old man is going too far!
"Thank you, Uncle Chu, for your concern. I'm sorry to have let you down. There's so much trouble in your mansion, but I have my own way to make it go away. It's all about karma, good and evil. I think those who sow evil seeds need a Feng Shui master to look after them, otherwise they'll reap the consequences sooner or later."

Zhao Ji's answer was neither humble nor arrogant, with a gloomy look in his eyes. The anger that had been suppressed for a long time unconsciously revealed a hint of gunpowder in his words.

Zhao Hao raised his eyebrows. "Huh? Are you so stubborn that you dare to threaten me?"

It seems that the efforts these days are still not enough.

Looking back, we must reflect on ourselves, and then work harder and strive for excellence.

As his mind raced, a fierce and vicious look unconsciously flashed across Zhao Hao's face.

The fleeting expression was caught by Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji's heart trembled, secretly realizing that he had made a mistake again. He had been a little breathless recently due to Zhao Hao's various retaliations, and he was actually asking for trouble and provoking him...

Isn't this just asking for death?

It has to be said that Zhao Hao has been very active recently. Although he did not kill Zhao Ji, his various shameless, immoral and unruly acts of revenge still deeply frightened Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji was now exhausted from his troubles and was willing to seek peace.

The adult world is so scary that Zhao Ji, a greenhorn, really can't handle it.

(End of this chapter)