The prince is more stable

Chapter 629 The Living Father Intercepts
The ambush was a foregone conclusion; everything that needed to be resolved was resolved, and those who were meant to live survived.

Life is mostly about following a set routine, and the chances of unexpected events happening are actually far less than we imagine.

Huang Chenxiang stood blankly at the edge of the cliff, staring in horror at the black-clad men lying on the ground.

More than a dozen men in black were not all dead; some were only wounded, lying on the ground groaning in pain.

A long rope suddenly flew out of the grass, like a herdsman lassoing a wild horse, and landed squarely around Huang Chenxiang's neck.

Then the rope suddenly tightened, strangling him tightly around the neck. Regardless of Huang Chenxiang's rolled eyes, the rope pulled and dragged him away from the edge of the cliff.

Then Chen Shou and more than a hundred imperial guards finally appeared. The men were cold-blooded and quickly searched Huang Chenxiang's body. After confirming that he was not carrying any weapons, they tied Huang Chenxiang up tightly. Finally, Chen Shou personally stepped forward, grabbed his jaw, and forcibly pried open his mouth to check if there was any poison hidden in his teeth.

All movements were fluid and professional.

Only then did Zhao Xiaoqian appear.

This is the perfect time for the protagonist to make their appearance. Before the villains have a chance to fight back, the protagonist rushes out to unleash their taunting skills, often only to end up in a mess and cause unexpected trouble. They are either taken hostage by the villains or forced to commit suicide by them. Ha, it's ridiculous.

As soon as Zhao Xiaoqian appeared, Huang Chenxiang's expression immediately turned ugly.

He knew Zhao Xiaoqian, of course, since he was working in the Palace Secretariat.

To everyone's surprise, even though he had already escaped from Bianjing, Zhao Xiaoqian was still able to track him down here and set up a perfect ambush to capture him alive.

“You, you…” Huang Chenxiang looked at him, his face pale.

"What do you mean, 'you'? Do you think you've covered your tracks perfectly? Do you really think the Imperial City Guard is just sitting around doing nothing?" Zhao Xiaoqian unleashed his taunting skills with disdain.

That's right, this is the perfect time for the protagonist to unleash their taunts, because the villain is completely immobilized.

Zhao Xiaoqian raised his hand and patted Huang Chenxiang's extremely distorted face, and smiled and said, "Huang Chenxiang, I have to say, you are quite capable. You almost made a fool of yourself in the case of the young prince. If you hadn't run away first because you couldn't withstand the pressure, it would have taken about three to five days to dig you out."

Huang Chenxiang's face was ashen; he knew that falling into Zhao Xiaoqian's hands meant his fate was sealed.

"How did you find this place?" Huang Chenxiang asked in a hoarse voice, unwilling to give up.

"Are you stupid or am I stupid? At no time should the side of justice reveal its trump card to the evil villain, understand? You can guess for yourself."

Zhao Xiaoqian looked him up and down with a smile, as if he were examining a priceless treasure.

If we can get some dirt out of this guy, will we be able to bring down Emperor Huizong this time? Keeping Emperor Huizong around is like having a thorn in our side.

"Take him away, Chen Shou. You personally escort him to Bingjingwu. Tell Liu Dan to take good care of him and scoop out everything from his stomach," Zhao Xiaoqian ordered.

Zhao Xiaoqian then looked at the black-clad men lying all over the ground and said, "There's no need to save the living ones. Most of these people are suicide soldiers and won't reveal anything of value. Send a few people to ask them casually, and kill them all if they refuse to talk."

The group, having successfully completed their mission, headed towards the foot of the mountain.

Zhang Xiaoyi followed Zhao Xiaoqian with a look of astonishment, saying incredulously, "It's over just like that? So easily?"

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at him in astonishment: "Otherwise what? A bloody battle where both sides fought to the death, you stabbed me, I slashed you, and in the end, only the righteous side survived and won a crushing victory? It was just a one-sided, crushing ambush, was it really necessary to make such a big fuss?"

Zhang Xiaoyi had never experienced a scene of killing, and he still found it somewhat difficult to accept.

The ending came too easily; I feel a bit unsatisfied...

Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't take care of Zhang Xiaoyi's feelings; he was silently planning his next move.

After Huang Chenxiang was sent to Bingjingwu, Zhao Xiaoqian felt it would be better to interrogate him personally, with Liu Dan assisting him. Moreover, no outsiders should be present during the interrogation, since all the charges against Zhao Ji were too shocking, and the interrogation process should not be complicated.

Like Emperor Huizong of Song, Emperor Xiaoqian of Zhao was also cautious; he was determined not to let a prize slip away.

The group escorted Huang Chenxiang down the mountain. Zhao Xiaoqian walked and pondered in silence. When they reached the foot of the mountain, they encountered a group of people.

The group was still dressed in black and masked, the standard villain attire.

Chen Shou, with his sharp eyes, was the first to notice something was wrong. He immediately ordered the troops to stop and raised his right arm, shouting for alert.

Just as the Imperial Guards raised their guns, they saw the crowd in front of them disperse, and a large, fat man slowly walked to the front.

Zhao Xiaoqian stared in disbelief: "Father?"

Zhao Hao guessed that he hadn't exercised in a long time, and he was covered in sweat from climbing the mountain, wiping his sweat and sighing.

When Zhao Hao walked up to Zhao Xiaoqian, he didn't look at him, but instead sized up Huang Chenxiang, who was tied up like a crab in the middle of the group. His usually kind and honest fat face suddenly flashed with a hint of ferocity.

With Chen Shou and Zhang Xiaoyi in front of him, Zhao Hao couldn't say much. He simply pulled Zhao Xiaoqian aside, keeping a distance from Chen Shou and the others, and then pointed at Huang Chenxiang, who looked like a large crab, and asked, "Is he Huang Chenxiang?"

Zhao Xiaoqian was taken aback: "Father knows him?" Zhao Hao clicked his tongue: "Do you think your father is a nobody?"

"You're not just some nobody, you're on a diet... Why is Father here? Why do you know Prime Minister Huang Chen? Why..."

Before Zhao Xiaoqian could finish asking his questions, Zhao Hao waved his hand and said, "Enough nonsense. I'm taking Huang Chenxiang with me. Don't let this get out of the way. It's not time to bring down Zhao Ji yet. Keep this trump card; it might come in handy at a crucial moment."

Zhao Xiaoqian immediately said, "No, this man is the murderer who plotted to kill the young prince. If Father takes him away, I will not be able to explain myself."

Zhao Hao scoffed and said, "You'll have to figure out how to finish this yourself. With the methods of Bingjingwu, it won't be difficult to get a few confessions. But Huang Chenxiang is very useful to us, so I have to take him with me."

Zhao Xiaoqian said with a wry smile, "Father, please don't say that. This is the result of my hard work all day..."

Zhao Hao, however, did not joke with him. He said seriously, "Qian'er! I only have one thing to tell you: the Emperor vomited blood in the Funing Palace the other day!"

Zhao Xiaoqian was startled: "Father, do you mean..."

Zhao Hao said coldly, "Don't you understand? The young prince is dead, and the Emperor's health is deteriorating after this upheaval. The future heir of the Song Dynasty is destined to be chosen from among the Emperor's brothers. I have been planning this for many years, just waiting for this final blow!"

"Huang Chenxiang is our trump card, but we can't play it too early. We have to wait until the last moment to deliver a fatal blow to Zhao Ji!"

Zhao Xiaoqian lowered his eyelids and said in a low voice, "Father, even if there is a struggle for the crown prince, it shouldn't be our lineage of the King of Chu, right? The Emperor has his own brothers, and we are just relatives. It's not our turn."

Zhao Hao sneered: "How do you know it won't work if you don't try? Qian'er, I know you are loyal to the Emperor and don't want to betray him. I have never forced you."

"But what if the Emperor's lifespan is coming to an end? Will you still uphold the duty of a subject to the Emperor? Dynasties change, and a new emperor brings a new court. Are you sure the future Emperor of the Song Dynasty will still trust you as much as before? Can you afford to gamble?"

"Rather than waiting for a new emperor to ascend the throne, take away your military power, imprison your family, and put a steel knife to your throat, it is better to fight for it and gamble on the future. At worst, with my son's abilities, he can retreat calmly, hold his troops and retreat to the northern frontier, becoming a regional lord whom the imperial court dares not rashly use force against."

As Zhao Hao spoke, he became more and more excited, his chubby face turning bright red.

Zhao Xiaoqian remained silent.

He was not an ambitious person. Since his transmigration, he had been busy doing too many things, but none of them were from his own heart. What he wanted more was to live a simple, prosperous, and carefree life with his wife, children, and elderly parents after he had established his rule over the world.

So-called power, like wealth, is something you can't take with you when you die; it will eventually be left to someone else.

Only a life free from worries, with family by your side and wives and concubines in your arms, truly belongs to you.

These simple truths are often overlooked by those blinded by the lust for power.

Seeing Zhao Xiaoqian remain silent, Zhao Hao did not urge him, but simply looked at him quietly, with a hint of a smile in his eyes for some reason.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly said, "Father, I can entrust Prime Minister Huang Chen to you. I will pretend that I know nothing today. As for other matters, let's wait and see. My most important task now is to recover Yan and Yun and wipe out the Liao Kingdom."

Zhao Hao smiled: "Very well, I'll say it again, my son, you can lead your troops in the northern frontier, and I'll take care of things in Bianjing."

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed.

Zhao Xu vomited blood, which didn't surprise him.

Zhao Xu in history did indeed die young, in his early twenties. History may have changed course, but the life trajectories of many people remain the same.

Zhao Xiaoqian did not want to comment on the future, but he had indeed taken Zhao Hao's words to heart.

A thought involuntarily popped into his mind: if Zhao Xu really died young, how would he and Zhao Hao choose in the face of the turbulent court situation to come?

We can't really let Zhao Ji ascend the throne smoothly, just like in the original history, continue to be Emperor Huizong of Song, and then easily lose the country and repeat the humiliation of Jingkang in history, can we?

So, when the time comes, should Zhao Xiaoqian himself fight for it?
No member of the royal family is qualified to compete for the crown prince position, but nothing is absolute, especially since... Zhao Xiaoqian holds military power!

Furthermore, considering the secretive machinations and hidden agendas that Bianjing's "living father" has orchestrated over the years, the odds of winning might not be so bad...

His head was throbbing from thinking so much that Zhao Xiaoqian shook his head vigorously to banish these inappropriate thoughts from his mind.

Another thought arose in my mind and became increasingly firm.

In this life, in all our actions, regardless of good or evil, right or wrong, we should only act according to our conscience.

If circumstances and his own heart tell him that he must fight desperately when the time comes, he will not resist.

Zhao Xiaoqian has not yet developed any ambition, nor has he done anything rebellious, because he does not want to betray Zhao Xu.

He's not kind, he just has principles.

But if Zhao Xu is destined to die young, then there is no one left in this world that Zhao Xiaoqian is unwilling to let down.

(End of this chapter)