Chapter 110: The Schemer and Father (Part 1)

  Those who like to scheme and plot are miserable, for they are always thinking of how to set traps for others and are always on guard against others' revenge, such as Zhu Youxiao. Those who like to scheme and plot are happy, for the joy of competing with others is endless, especially when watching their opponents knowingly jump into a trap, that sense of accomplishment is unparalleled, such as Jiang Xia.

  There are only three days left before the imperial examination, and Jiang Xia has tried several times to get some information about the exam questions from Zhu Houzhao's mouth, but ultimately failed. Zhu Houzhao had long been on guard against Jiang Xia's move, and it was clear that he had a very low opinion of Jiang Xia's character.

  Helpless, Jiang Xia had no choice but to study harder, since he had already boasted to Ru Shuang and Nian Nu that he would become a high school champion and make them proud.

  Jiang Xia could still read a book with peace of mind on this night, while Zhu Youxiao stood by the window facing the bright moon in the sky with a worried brow and an unspoken decision in her heart. This decision was to admit defeat and beg for mercy.

  Since He Jiang's encounter with Xia, Zhu Youxiao gradually began to understand this person. First, Li Yun's death and rebirth proved that this person had a unique perspective, could see the key to things at a glance, and acted without being bound by trivial matters, even to the point of being unconventional, and actually came up with such an extraordinary move. Then, there was the conversation at the Temple of Great Wisdom, which turned around previous arguments, making all his previous arrangements useless, and even gave Zhu Houzhao and himself a reputation for benevolence. This proved that this person was very good at turning adversity into opportunity, and even had the ability to turn disadvantage into advantage by following the trend.

  Right after that, Jiang Xia counterattacked. With a total of two moves, Zhu Youxian couldn't help but praise the cleverness of the tactic. Using the same trick as himself, Jiang Xia also employed a feint. He released Zhu Houxi and He Qizhen, telling them his whereabouts. Regardless of whether they saw through this ploy or not, they would definitely come looking for him, because he was their only hope for survival.

  Just as Fu Bo saw, as long as Zhu Houxi and He Qizheng came to find him, no matter what choice Jiang Xia made, he would win. This is the terrible thing about Yang Mou, where every move is a killing blow and there's no way out.

  Then came the second move, releasing He Qiutu and Siying, letting them come to assassinate himself. This was also a situation where both advance and retreat would lead to death. If he could kill himself, then everything would be over. If he couldn't kill himself, then the poison that He Qiutu and Siying had taken earlier would also frame him for their murder, leading the Tianji Society's people to come after him later.

  Two counterattacks, each one more fierce than the last.

  To be honest, Zhu Youxiao was afraid. What he feared was not Jiang Xia, but everything that Jiang Xia represented behind him. If today was just a fight between Jiang Xia and Zhu Youxiao, then with the resources in his hands now, Zhu Youxiao had a hundred ways to play Jiang Xia to death.

  But behind Jiang Xia stood Zhu Houzhao, a Zhu Houzhao who held up his butcher knife, waiting for him to make a slight mistake before striking. As long as Zhu Houzhao was behind Jiang Xia as his solid backing, then Zhu Youxiao would forever only have the share of passive counterattack, and never had the opportunity to counterattack Jiang Xia.

  In this way, Jiang Xia is already standing on invincible ground. Then how can Zhu Youxiao play this game with him?

  So Zhu Youxiao decided to surrender, this is not cowardice, but a kind of wisdom, a great wisdom. Knowing that one cannot win and yet fighting on is the act of a fool. Knowing when to retreat and waiting for an opportunity to counterattack is the act of a wise person.

  Zhu Youhao let out a long sigh, and suddenly seemed to have aged several years. He began to cough violently, covering his mouth with a handkerchief, suppressing the sound of his coughing for a while before finally calming down and stopping the coughing fit.

  Drop the handkerchief, under the moonlight, a patch of deep red can be seen on it.

  The next morning, the sky was overcast with a hint of gloom. The capital, which had been sunny for three consecutive months, finally showed some signs of rain, which seemed to bring more joy than watching the sunrise.

  Jiang Xia slept until he woke up naturally, then opened his mouth and shouted: "Ru Shuang, Nian Nu. Your handsome and elegant husband with a talent as high as eight dou has woken up."

  "Ugh...... The door creaked open. Ruo Xue, carrying clothes and shoes, and Nian Nu, holding washing tools, walked into the room. Ruo Xue handed Jiang Xia the slippers she had asked her to make and put them on his feet, then muttered: "Now Xiao Yu and Xiao Cao can be dismissed, which will also save a portion of labor costs. The two of us sisters have already done most of the tasks that they were supposed to do."

  Jiang Xia raised his right hand and lifted up the chin of Xue Yu, who was as delicate as frost. He lowered his head and kissed her soft pink lips, then smiled and said: "If I let Xiao Yu and Xiao Cao serve me, and they touch me all over every morning, would you be willing?"

  Like frost, she was silent for two minutes. That gentle kiss made her expression a bit dazed. She remained silent for two seconds before answering very honestly: "Unwilling."

  "That's settled then. Xiaoyu and Xiaocao will be assigned to serve you two from now on, let them attend to the both of you." Jiang Xia said as he walked over, took the towel from Nianslave's hand, put it in the copper basin, wetted it and started washing his face.

  Nian Nu Dao said: "After you've finished washing up, go to the waiting room first. There's someone who has been waiting for you since Chen Shi and is still waiting now."

  "Huh? Is someone waiting for me? A man or a woman?"

  Man.

  "Oh, let him wait then." Jiang Xia said casually.

  Nian Nu was taken aback for a moment, and just as she pouted her mouth to pinch Jiang Xia's ear, Jiang Xia immediately realized that his previous words were somewhat inappropriate. He immediately raised his head and laughed: "Just kidding, just kidding. But since he has been waiting for me since Chen time, why didn't you come to wake me up? Let him wait for so long."

  "It was he who told us not to disturb you," said Rusong.

  "Oh?" Jiang Xia's eyes rolled slightly, and he suddenly asked: "Is the man you're talking about very tall and thin, with a sickly look as if he's going to meet King Yan soon?"

  "Yeah." Like frost subconsciously nodded in response, but soon she felt that this was somewhat wrong: "Why die, why curse people for no reason?"

  "For no reason?" Jiang Xia sneered and said: "This son of a bitch almost killed your husband, I'm being lenient by saying this. If it weren't for the fact that your husband is a gentleman who values virtue, I would have spat in his face long ago."

  "Was he almost killed by you? Is he the mastermind behind your framing?" Nian Nu asked in a shocked tone.

  Jiang Xia nodded slightly, and like a frost, he put the clothes in his hand on the bed. Then, from Jiang Xia's bedside, he picked up the long sword hanging there, with a face full of murderous intent, saying: "I'll go kill him!"

  Jiang Xia pulled her back, shaking his head and saying: "Forget it, since he came here to wait for me for so long today, he must be asking for mercy. I'll go see what he has to say and then decide how to deal with him."

  After finishing speaking, Jiang Xia gestured for Ru Xue to help him change his clothes. Ru Xue slammed the long sword in her hand onto the round table and coldly said: "He got off easy, that son of a bitch!"

  Jiang Xia shook his head and corrected: "No, he's not a turtle egg, he's a turtle. His son is the turtle egg."

  Jiang Xia walked out of the room and into the living room after getting dressed, where he saw Zhu Youhao sitting upright in a chair. Jiang Xia didn't bother with any polite small talk, but instead got straight to the point and said: "Speak, what brings you here today?"

  Zhu Youxiao looked at Jiang Xia and got up, bowing to him: "Can we just leave it at that?"

  Jiang Xia raised an eyebrow and chuckled: "What? This is considered a request for reconciliation, indeed the prince. Reconciliation also requires elegance."

  Zhu Youxiao took a slight breath, and the corners of his mouth still held a hint of a smile. The two locked eyes for about five breaths, then Zhu Youxiao suddenly slowly bent his knees and knelt on the ground, still smiling as he said: "Please spare me, Jiang Gongzi."

  Jiang Xia originally had a playful smile at the corner of his mouth, but now that smile was gone, replaced by a cold and stern expression. Jiang Xia looked into Zhu Youxiao's eyes and said: "Do you know? If you refused to kneel and came to me for reconciliation, I would have agreed. Because right now I have nothing, if it weren't for the current emperor, I wouldn't even have the qualifications to compete with you. But now that you've actually knelt down, then I must play this game with you until... until I've played you to death."

  "Why?" Zhu Youxiao remained kneeling on the ground, showing no intention of getting up. In fact, he didn't even feel a hint of anger.

  A fierce glint flashed in Jiang Xia's eyes again and again, as he said calmly: "Because if you don't kneel, it proves that there is still a lingering attachment in your heart, and you are a person with flaws. Such a person, I have nothing to fear. But since you knelt, this proves that you are a ruthless person, such a person is extremely terrifying, and if I don't take advantage of the current situation to kill you, one day I will surely die in front of you."

  Zhu Youxiao smiled, stood up and gently patted the dust off his knees. As he patted, he said: "In the past, I didn't understand why a young servant in a brothel could grow into someone who can exchange blows with me, a dignified prince, in just a few short months. But now I understand."

  "I can guarantee that your identity is absolutely not just a simple prostitute in the Qinglou, before you entered the Qunfang Pavilion, what kind of identity you were, until now no one knows, but I am sure it must be an extraordinary past. I covet the throne, perhaps posing a threat to Zhu Houzhao. But I dare say that your future threat to Zhu Houzhao will be even greater."

  Jiang Xia also smiled and shook his head, saying: "You guessed wrong, I absolutely won't be a threat to Zhu Houzhao. Because...I truly regard him as a friend."

  "Friend?" Zhu Youxiao was taken aback, he never thought that Jiang Xia would say something like this. Suddenly, he burst out laughing, as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. Zhu Youxiao laughed with his head thrown back, and after a long time, he finally said: "You actually think you can consider the Emperor as a friend? Let me tell you, the way of kings is also the way of loneliness. Zhu Houzhao will eventually understand that in his life, there are only monarchs and ministers, no friends, and you... are no exception."

  Jiang Xia shook his head and said lightly, "You're really pitiful. I guess you've never had friends in your life. I didn't have any before either, but now it seems like I have quite a few. As for me, I consider Lao Er as a friend, that's my business. Whether he considers me as a friend or a subject doesn't matter to me at all. The word 'friend' represents giving, not taking. Whether he's the emperor or a beggar, to me, he's just a friend. I guess you've never experienced such feelings."

  Zhu Youhao looked at Jiang Xia and slightly narrowed his eyes, then he nodded and turned to walk towards the door.

  Jiang Xia first noticed Zhu Youxiao's gait, straight and upright, without any inclination or bias, indeed with a very regal demeanor. Unfortunately, he was not destined to be an emperor.

  Zhu Youxian returned to the Yun Ge Inn and went straight upstairs to his own room. As he entered the house, Zhu Youxian was slightly stunned for a moment. Fu Bo was standing beside the dinner table with a benevolent expression, watching Zhu Houxi devouring food voraciously.

  As soon as he saw Zhu Youxiao return, Zhu Houxi immediately put down his bowl and chopsticks. He knelt on the ground with great anxiety, trembling all over, saying: "Father... father... king, don't send me back. Please, please... I don't want to die, I don't want to die..."

  After finishing speaking, Zhu Houxi burst into loud sobs.

  Zhu Youxiao suddenly felt a surge of emotion in his heart, and his eyes turned slightly red as he walked over to help Zhu Houxi up by the shoulder.

  Zhu Youzhang looked at Zhu Houxi carefully and nodded: "Father King won't see you off, go eat."

  "Really? Father King." Zhu Houxi asked with a mix of surprise and excitement.

  Zhu Youhao nodded and said to Fu Bo, "Fu Bo, go buy some high-quality swallow's nest and gelatin, bring it back and let the kitchen of the inn handle it, and give Hou Xi a good supplement."

  "Good." Old Fu also nodded excitedly and immediately prepared to go out.

  "Wait," Zhu Youdun suddenly cried out.

  Fu Bo stopped for a moment, and Zhu Youxiao walked over to take out a stack of silver bills from his bosom and handed them to him, saying: "Take more money with you, buy the best."

  Fu Bo looked at Zhu Youxiao with a glance, to be honest, he had never thought that Zhu Youxiao was so humane. Fu Bo nodded heavily and said "uh-huh".

  The two of them did not notice that Zhu Houxi took advantage of their conversation to secretly sprinkle a bit of powder from her fingernail into the wine jug.

  After Fu Bo left, Zhu Youxiao walked back and sat down at the table. He picked up the wine jug and poured himself a cup, then raised his cup and said: "Xi Er, you've suffered for this period of time, Father will accompany you in drinking a cup."

  "Ah? Oh oh oh......" Zhu Houxi stared at the cup of wine in Zhu Youxiao's hand, his heart racing wildly. In his mind, only one sentence kept echoing "Get 'Tianji Order', and I'll spare your life."

  Zhu Houxi trembled with both hands and Zhu Youxiao touched cups, then accompanied Zhu Youxiao to drink the wine in one gulp.

  "Thick and bright, from now on, no matter what you do, you must be calm and composed, with the demeanor of Mount Tai collapsing in front of you without changing your expression. Even if you're unsure or afraid in your heart, don't show it. As long as you don't show weakness, nobody will know that you're uncertain in your heart. This way..."

  Zhu Youhao said up to here suddenly eyes blurred, and fell on the table all of a sudden.

  Zhu Houxi took a deep breath and said in a low voice to Zhu Youxiao, "Your Majesty, don't blame me, I don't want to die."

  After finishing, Zhu Houxi patted Zhu Youxiao's body and finally fished out the "Tianji Order" from Zhu Youxiao's arms. After glancing at it twice, Zhu Houxi quickly put the Tianji Order into his own bosom and rushed out of the room.

  Just after Zhu Houxi left, Zhu Youxiao suddenly woke up. He looked at the empty door with tears in his eyes and said hoarsely: "Houxi my son, your father can only help you this far, whether you live or die depends on your fate. I hope that Jiang Xia is a man who keeps his promises."

  After finishing speaking, Zhu Youxiao started coughing again, getting more and more violent, and finally even spat out a mouthful of blood.