Song Xiu

Chapter 3 The Night of the Mutiny
Zhao Dexiu is currently unaware of what happened inside the tent.

While he was still waiting for the results, he suddenly noticed that the curtain of the main tent had been lifted, and one by one, his father's confidants were walking out of the tent.

Is the grand show about to begin?
Despite having these thoughts in mind, Zhao Dexiu did not show them outwardly.

Whenever an uncle or elder passed by him, he would always maintain a humble attitude and bow, until Zhao Kuangyi walked up to him.

"You know how important today is to your father and to our Zhao family. I hope you will be careful what you say later."

Zhao Kuangyi whispered these words in Zhao Dexiu's ear.

From Zhao Kuangyi's words, we can see that even if the time travel hadn't happened, the original owner of this body probably knew about the major events that were going to happen tonight.

Zhao Kuangyi's words caused Zhao Dexiu to pause slightly, but he did not refute Zhao Kuangyi.

Having inherited the original owner's memories, Zhao Dexiu knew that Zhao Kuangyi's sudden words to him were not intentionally aimed at him.

Perhaps in the future there will be a fierce struggle between him and his uncle, but at least until the Chenqiao Mutiny occurs, and as long as the Zhao family is still a subject of the Great Zhou, Zhao Kuangyi has no reason to deliberately target him.

Now he and his crew are all in the same boat.

Judging from his previous actions, Zhao Kuangyi's concerns were not without reason.

After hearing Zhao Kuangyi's reminder, Zhao Dexiu simply bowed slightly to him again, without arguing or defending himself.

However, Zhao Dexiu's silence was once again seen by Zhao Kuangyi as a sign of cowardice. After a cold snort, Zhao Kuangyi turned and left.

Walking at the back was Zhao Pu, dressed in a blue robe. It seemed that Zhao Pu wanted to wait until everyone had left before slowly approaching Zhao Dexiu.

Looking at Zhao Dexiu, whose appearance bore a striking resemblance to Zhao Kuangyin, and recalling the deep affection between Zhao Kuangyin and his late wife, Lady He, Zhao Pu softly offered Zhao Dexiu some advice:
"That incident has greatly disappointed the lord in the young master."

"But our lord values ​​relationships, and a father and son are still a father and son."

After saying something meaningful, Zhao Pu saw Zhao Kuangyin's personal guards approaching, so he smoothed his sleeves and left Zhao Dexiu's side.

Zhao Dexiu naturally knew Zhao Pu, and he certainly wouldn't miss the subtle hints in Zhao Pu's words.

Zhao Dexiu vaguely remembered that in the original history, Zhao Pu seemed to favor Zhao Kuangyin making his son the heir apparent.

While Zhao Dexiu was still pondering this relationship, Zhao Kuangyin's personal guards had already arrived in front of him and led him toward the main tent.

Inside the tent, Zhao Kuangyin stroked the jade belt on the table as he waited for Zhao Dexiu to enter.

When Zhao Dexiu entered the tent and saw this scene, he noticed a hint of tenderness on Zhao Kuangyin's face.

Everyone knows that Zhao Kuangyin, a famous general of the Great Zhou Dynasty, was an incomparably brave and fierce general who killed countless people on the battlefield. Who would have seen him with such a tender side?

Only the father and son knew the true meaning of this jade belt—it was a relic of Zhao Kuangyin's first wife, Lady He!
The sound of Zhao Dexiu entering caused Zhao Kuangyin to suppress the rare emotion on his face.

Soon, the stern face of a father, which he used to have, reappeared in Zhao Dexiu's eyes.

What is this urgent matter you mentioned?
Could it be that you're trying to persuade me to abandon the uprising again?

If you listen carefully, you can easily hear that Zhao Kuangyin's words contained a hint of severity, and even more so, a hint of resentment at not being understood.

Because the imperial lineage of the Northern Song Dynasty was that of Zhao Kuangyi, there are very few records of Zhao Kuangyin's eldest son in historical books.

"Early death" is the most striking record of this prince with an important status.

"Premature death" means dying before adulthood. The birth and death years are not recorded in historical books, but Zhao Dexiu, who inherited the original owner's identity after transmigrating to the present day, knows this very well.

Zhao Dexiu was born in the second year of Kaiyun in the Later Jin Dynasty (945 AD). This year, Zhao Dexiu will turn sixteen years old.

The timeline that Zhao Dexiu is currently at is approximately two months ago.

When Zhao Dexiu first arrived in this life, she had not yet fully received the memories of her predecessor. In order not to be discovered, Zhao Dexiu kept a low profile and used the excuse of recuperating from illness to go out.

After merging with all of his predecessor's memories, Zhao Dexiu had no time to rejoice in his upcoming status as the eldest legitimate prince of the Song Dynasty. Instead, he was deeply troubled by a pit that his predecessor had dug for him.

According to his predecessor's memories, when Zhao Kuangyin first began planning the coup, he had high hopes of revealing the matter to his predecessor.

This is not surprising, as the protagonist was already fifteen years old last year. In chaotic times, there were many young people of that age who went out to work for their families.

Moreover, as the de facto eldest son and grandson of the Zhao family, Zhao Dexiu received a very good education from a young age.

Zhao Kuangyin's initial idea was simple. He probably didn't expect his predecessor to be of any great help in this matter; he just wanted to use this experience to train his predecessor.

After all, mutinies are always dangerous, and if successful, those who participated in the event can use the opportunity to build up some reputation.

If all else fails, after this experience, Zhao Dexiu might be able to escape with his family thanks to the backup plan arranged by Zhao Kuangyin.

To Zhao Kuangyin's surprise, his predecessor showed a cowardly side after learning about this, crying and urging him to give up the uprising in order to protect his family.

Because of this incident, the predecessor was severely reprimanded by Zhao Kuangyin.

This directly made Zhao Kuangyin very disappointed with his predecessor.

What Zhao Kuangyin didn't know was that his predecessor was terrified after arguing with him, and coupled with a serious illness at the time, he eventually reached the point of exhaustion.

After learning the whole story, a mystery that had troubled Zhao Dexiu for generations was finally solved.

In the original history, Zhao Dezhao was already an adult, but Zhao Kuangyin did not vigorously cultivate him. One important reason for this was that the tragedy of the eldest son being weak left a deep shadow on Zhao Kuangyin.

After mentally cursing his predecessor, Zhao Dexiu knew that his most urgent task was to regain Zhao Kuangyin's confidence in him. Only by doing so could he maximize his advantage as the eldest son.

Thinking of this, Zhao Dexiu bowed deeply to Zhao Kuangyin and then asked, "Father, do you really think that I cried and begged you to give up the uprising because I was cowardly?"

Today, with a major event imminent, Zhao Kuangyin still chose to meet with Zhao Dexiu, which shows that he is willing to give Zhao Dexiu a chance.

As Zhao Pu said: In the end, they are father and son.

To Zhao Kuangyin's surprise, he did not receive an explanation from Zhao Dexiu, but instead received a question from Zhao Dexiu in return.

This amused Zhao Kuangyin for a moment.

Looking at his eldest son, who resembled him quite a bit but seemed not to have inherited his resolute character, Zhao Kuangyin snorted heavily.

"Just tell me."

Although it was just a cold snort, Zhao Kuangyin made no attempt to hide his doubts.

Having successfully aroused Zhao Kuangyin's curiosity, Zhao Dexiu composed himself. Before he could even speak, his eyes gradually reddened, and when he did speak, his voice was tinged with sobs.

Zhao Kuangyin had always disliked Zhao Dexiu's timid demeanor. Seeing Zhao Dexiu revert to his old ways, Zhao Kuangyin instinctively wanted to reprimand him. However, Zhao Dexiu's next words immediately softened Zhao Kuangyin's attitude.

"Two years ago on this day, my mother passed away in our home."

The mother Zhao Dexiu referred to was not Lady Wang, but Lady He, Zhao Kuangyin's wife of more than ten years.

Whether intentional or not, Zhao Kuangyin chose the same day that Lady He died when he staged the coup.

How could Zhao Kuangyin, with his character, forget a bond for over ten years?

What Zhao Dexiu said next further stirred Zhao Kuangyin's affection for him.

"When my mother passed away, I was only thirteen years old. What an excruciating pain it was for my birth mother to die."

I am still in such grief, and I am shocked to hear that my father is about to do something that will endanger his life. I am so concerned about the safety of my dearest relative, how can I not be at a loss for what to do?
My only wish is for my father to live a long and healthy life, and I do not wish to suffer the pain of losing both parents at such a young age!

By the end, Zhao Dexiu was already in tears.

Zhao Dexiu was in tears, and Zhao Kuangyin was no better off, his face filled with sorrow.

Only after Zhao Dexiu reminded him did Zhao Kuangyin realize that his eldest son was a pitiful man who had lost his mother at a young age.

Furthermore, Zhao Dexiu's words, at least logically, perfectly explain why he had previously prevented him from achieving great things.

It wasn't because he was inherently timid, but because he was filial and concerned about his own safety!
The same behavior, given different reasons, often receives drastically different evaluations.

No parent in the world doesn't wish for their child to have the virtue of filial piety.

Feelings of pity and guilt welled up in Zhao Kuangyin's heart. He reached out and beckoned Zhao Dexiu to his side. After Zhao Dexiu sat down, Zhao Kuangyin patted Zhao Dexiu's shoulder heavily to show his approval.

"Why didn't you say so sooner? Why didn't you say so sooner!"

If things had only progressed to this point, Zhao Dexiu could say that he had already largely patched up the mess left by his predecessor.

But Zhao Dexiu came tonight for more than just that.

Taking advantage of Zhao Kuangyin's surge of affection, Zhao Dexiu promptly wiped away his tears, then adopted a resolute expression and bowed respectfully:
"I originally thought that as long as Father was not put in danger, Father would be safe."

But in the past two months, my child has been seriously ill and almost incurable. In the face of life and death, my child has gradually come to understand a truth.

In these chaotic times, everyone is living in constant fear, and people's hearts are as treacherous as ghosts. My Zhao family holds a high position today, but what will become of us in the future?

To have a smooth life, one must turn chaos into order and create peace!
Although I am not particularly talented, as your flesh and blood, I should share your burdens!

After saying this, Zhao Dexiu, who was breathing a little rapidly, raised his head and looked at Zhao Kuangyin with fervent eyes.

As expected, Zhao Dexiu's words changed Zhao Kuangyin's expression—he was gratified.

Zhao Kuangyin now believes that Zhao Dexiu's performance that time was not due to a timid personality. On this basis, Zhao Dexiu's initiative in showing a willingness to share the burden naturally made Zhao Kuangyin believe him.

Zhao Dexiu will be sixteen years old this year. In this chaotic world, there are many sons of military families who are this age to share their fathers' burdens.

Such words are what Zhao Kuangyin's son should say!
Feeling gratified, Zhao Kuangyin once again reached out his kind hand and patted Zhao Dexiu on the shoulder.

"You shall stay in my tent tonight."

Zhao Kuangyin's sudden remark left Zhao Dexiu momentarily unable to grasp its deeper meaning.

Fortunately, Zhao Kuangyin's explanations followed one after another:

"Tonight, I will show you with your own eyes how I can change the world!"

As Zhao Kuangyin said this, an object he was playing with caught Zhao Dexiu's attention.

Upon closer inspection, Zhao Dexiu, who came from a military family, immediately recognized that the object in Zhao Kuangyin's hand was a dark red tiger tally!
The dark red tiger tally, illuminated by candlelight, emitted an eerie glow that seemed to bewitch the mind.

At that moment, a famous saying immediately came to Zhao Dexiu's mind:
"Your Majesty, the one with the strongest army and the most powerful horses should be chosen; is it not a matter of birthright?"

Night has fallen, the grand show begins!
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(End of this chapter)