Professional Ethics of a Concubine

“In my previous life, I was not recognized at the beginning. The Crown Prince was the regent and he was in power. He was not forced into a desperate situation like he is now.

Moreover, the Crown Prince has a good relationship with his father, and he has to consider his reputation as a filial and virtuous man, so it is understandable that he does not completely seize power."

Prince Jing was stunned for a moment, then he put himself in the position of the prince in his previous life and tried to explain.

"This does make sense, but what happened next? After the Emperor recognized His Highness, he took power again to pave the way for His Highness and stopped the Crown Prince from being the regent. Can the Crown Prince tolerate this? Can the Queen tolerate this?"

When Ye Qingzhi said this, she frowned slightly, carefully recalled the fragments of her past life in her dream, and discovered a problem.

She just saw in the original owner's dream that the leader's real identity was a prince, knew that he was recognized by the emperor, and knew that the emperor intended to support the leader in fighting for power with the prince.

However, after careful recollection, she did not see in the original owner's dream that the leader finally became the emperor.

She had previously taken it for granted that since the original owner chose to enter the Marquis' Mansion, and her leader was so powerful, it was certain that her leader would eventually ascend the throne and become the emperor.

But, in reality, maybe it’s not the case.

The original owner entered the Marquis' Mansion only with an investment mentality, or perhaps he felt that even if Prince Jing did not ascend the throne, his status as a prince would be enough to deal with Chen Yuankai.

When the original owner died, Chen Yuankai was the Prime Minister of the court. Analyzing from this perspective, he was on the side of the prince, so he would only have the opportunity to become the Prime Minister if the prince ascended the throne.

If the leader of her family ascended the throne, Chen Yuankai, as a member of the prince's party, would have no choice but to die.

Moreover, in her previous life, her family leader only acknowledged his ancestral roots eight or nine years later. At that time, Prince Su had already passed away, Prime Minister Fang had resigned, the emperor was old and in poor health, the prince had been regent for many years, and all the important officials in the court were the prince's party, weren't they?

So, what right did her leader have in his previous life to compete with the prince for the throne?

If the prince only relied on the emperor's favoritism and the emperor's endless supply of resources and connections, could he really endure for four or five years without taking action? The possibility was too small.

Therefore, when the original owner was alive in the previous life, it was more likely that the prince ascended the throne and became the emperor.

It has nothing to do with her leader at all.

"In those dreams of your past lives, did I finally ascend the throne?"

Prince Jing had obviously thought of this question as well and asked her.

"I didn't actually see Your Highness ascend the throne in my dream. Maybe I expressed it incorrectly before, making Your Highness think that I dreamed about it."

Ye Qingzhi shook her head, but was afraid that her leader would feel uncomfortable, so she said,

"Since I knew that Your Highness was a prince, I have always firmly believed that Your Highness would definitely sit on the throne, no matter now or in the previous life."

"It turns out that Qingqing has such confidence in me. I am very happy." King Jing couldn't help but laugh after hearing her words, and said without minding,

“Let’s not discuss what our past lives were like, and we don’t need to worry too much about it, because it’s just our past lives and it can be changed.

Let’s just talk about this life. By my side I have Qingqing, the emperor’s uncle, Prime Minister Fang, Feng Yuxi, Xiaokang, and many other people who support me.

There are so many people standing on my side. If I still cannot take that position, then I will have no face to live.

Before, we all thought that the prince was arrogant, had a bad temper, and had no great talent, so we didn't take him seriously. But now we find that the prince is not weak and is quite good at pretending.

But so what!

No matter how good the prince is at pretending and enduring, we still cut off his hands and feet step by step, forcing him into a desperate situation. Now he has no choice but to abdicate and rebel.

We have already figured out where the prince's private soldiers are hiding, so we have the upper hand this time."

"Your Highness is absolutely right!"

Ye Qingzhi really admired this about her leader: he was rational and confident enough, and he never consumed himself. He always consumed others.

Ye Qingzhi felt that even if the prince ascended the throne in the previous life, as long as her leader was not killed by the prince, he would be able to rebel and take the throne back from the prince.

This is something her leader would do.

"Your Highness, do you want to report the matter of the Crown Prince's private soldiers directly to the Emperor?" Ye Qingzhi asked him again.

"No." Prince Jing shook his head. "I'll tell my uncle, and let him tell my father."

Upon hearing this, Ye Qingzhi nodded immediately and said with a smile, "Your Highness, this is a good decision."

To be honest, the relationship between Prince Jing and Prince Su is indeed closer, not only in terms of emotional relationship, but also in terms of interests.

Prince Su is now Prince Jing's supporter, and Prince Jing is Prince Su's future backer. Both of them can benefit from each other.

But the emperor is different.

When the Emperor heard that the Crown Prince had raised private soldiers and wanted to seize his position in advance, there was no guarantee that Prince Jing would report this to the Emperor. The Emperor would not vent his anger on him, and he did not doubt that Prince Jing would have the same idea.

If Prince Su comes forward, this discomfort can be avoided.

-

The matter was urgent, so Prince Jing immediately went to Prince Su's mansion to find Prince Su. Ye Qingzhi also went there to visit her mother and two younger brothers and sisters.

When Prince Su saw them, he first pulled them aside and showed off his children, praising them again and again.

Ye Qingzhi smiled and supported her with all her might, praising her younger brother and sister again and again. She praised the babies, who were only three months old, as if they were the reincarnations of child prodigies and gods who had come down to earth.

Anyway, no one’s kids are cuter than theirs.

Prince Jing also praised her, but compared to Ye Qingzhi, his praise was much more reserved, and Prince Su was not satisfied even after listening to it.

Therefore, Prince Su was very satisfied with Ye Qingzhi's words and smiled from ear to ear. It can be said that this little girl is very caring.

"Qingzhi, you talk to your mother. Prince Jing, please follow me to the study." After showing off the baby, Prince Su spoke.

Ye Qingzhi smiled and nodded, and King Jing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

-

In the study room.

"This concerns the crown prince, please help me, uncle." As soon as he arrived at the study, Prince Jing bowed to Prince Su and pleaded respectfully.

"The prince's leg is already disabled. Your royal brother will depose him from the crown prince position sooner or later. What's so serious about you?" Prince Su frowned slightly and asked Prince Jing.

"I found out that the prince has private soldiers, and there are at least 20,000 of them!" Prince Jing said word by word with a tense face.

When Prince Su heard this, his face suddenly darkened, and a murderous aura emanated from his body. He asked directly,

"Where are the private soldiers hiding?"

After asking, and before Prince Jing could answer, Prince Su walked to the east wall of the study, where a map of the Great Zhao was hung.

"Point it out to me." Prince Su said to Prince Jing again.

King Jing also walked over, looked at the map, found the location, pointed his finger at a place representing a mountain range, and said,

"In the Yuhuan Mountains, they opened a large quarry to conceal their whereabouts. A rough estimate of the number of people working in it is over 10,000.

This quarry only started to expand last year. People in the surrounding towns and villages all know about this place. There are also young and middle-aged people working there. They are paid well but have strict requirements, and they cannot leave and go home easily.

Therefore, I judge that these workers are actually private soldiers.

Uncle, look carefully. Although this place is surrounded by mountains for more than ten miles, the quarry they chose has convenient transportation and the surrounding area is not desolate.

There are villages and towns on all sides within a radius of 20 miles. Xiangyun County is more than 30 miles away. This county also has a port for shipping, so even if there is a great demand for transportation and supplies, it is very convenient.

I sent people to stake out near the quarry for a few days and found that there were a lot of horse-drawn carriages, ox-drawn carts, mule-drawn carts, etc. coming and going both day and night.

When I asked the surrounding towns and villages, they said they were used to this situation. They didn’t find it strange that they wanted to transport stones. I guess the county magistrate and officials of Xiangyun County are also the prince’s men.”

The more Prince Su listened, the more his brows furrowed. He analyzed Prince Jing's words in conjunction with the map and was already thinking in his mind how to encircle and suppress these private soldiers.

Cut off supplies? Disorganize the soldiers? Encircle but not kill?

It would be better to capture the king first and deal with the prince directly. These soldiers should not be a problem anymore.

Prince Su put these thoughts aside for the time being and said to Prince Jing, "Don't worry about this matter for now. I'm going to the palace to find my brother."

"Uncle, please let me know what to do next." Prince Jing said.

Prince Su nodded and patted Prince Jing on the shoulder vigorously, "Well done!"

Fortunately, my brother has a good son like Prince Jing. Otherwise, alas...

Judging from the problems that have emerged now, they really underestimated the prince.

The prince can be smart and patient, he can be scheming, and it’s okay for him to have a dark mind.

However, he supported the smuggling of salt and took the initiative to sell official positions and titles. It was obvious that he did not care about the suffering of the people and did not care about the long-term stability of the country.

If the throne is really passed on to the crown prince, given his narrow-mindedness, immorality, and dark thoughts, who knows how he will treat the important officials who hold military power.

If the Zhao Kingdom is left to be messed around by the Crown Prince, how can it resist invasions from countries like Chu and Dayan!

-

royal palace.

The emperor was in a very bad mood because of the prince's trouble. The harem was not at peace, the court was not at peace, and he was not at peace either.

Ugh.

As a member of the royal family, he shoulders the heavy responsibility of supporting the country and the people. Family affection has to be put aside, and sometimes it is inevitable to feel heartbroken.

At this time, Prince Su came. He didn't ask the eunuch to announce him, but just walked in casually.

The emperor was in a good mood when he saw Prince Su.

Because his younger brother, Prince Su, represents family affection and warmth, he can feel free to complain to his younger brother like a normal old man, not like the emperor.

"Didn't your Royal Brother take a nap?" Prince Su asked him.

"When you're upset, you sleep less." The emperor looked at him, "Why did you come here at this time?"

"Of course I have something urgent to discuss with my brother, otherwise I wouldn't come here to disturb your lunch break." Prince Su said.

"...Finally, my love for you is not in vain." The emperor held it in for a long time, and was too lazy to bring up the past with him, so he asked directly,

"What's the matter?"

"It's about the Crown Prince." Prince Su sighed first and looked at the Emperor with sympathy, "Brother, the Crown Prince is really an evil creature. Just beat him to death."

"...What did he do?" The emperor paused and said, "The prince's leg is broken, and he has no chance of becoming the crown prince."

The subtext is that no matter what the prince did, he can be forgiven.

Prince Su looked at him and said, "He has 30,000 private soldiers and they may come to you at any time to kill you and ask you to give him your position."

emperor,……

The emperor was not particularly angry. He was stunned for a moment, then sighed dejectedly.

"When I learned that the prince had plundered so much silver, I thought of this possibility.

I have always been unwilling to think about this, and I have always thought that I understand the prince, but in fact, I was totally wrong and misjudged him."

"So what does your Royal Brother decide to do?" Prince Su asked him again.

"What else can we do? Let's cut the Gordian knot, imprison the prince, and destroy his private soldiers. I'll leave this matter to you. How many troops do you want?"

The emperor frowned and said coldly.

The emperor didn't want to ask Prince Su where the information about the prince's private soldiers came from. He only looked at the results!

"Just give me the Black Feather Army's military token." Prince Su said, "You don't have to worry about the rest."

"Let me talk to the prince first." The emperor was silent for a moment, then spoke in a hoarse voice, "Perhaps we can get rid of those private soldiers without wasting any manpower.

They are all young and strong men of the Great Zhao. I have been fed money and trained. I would feel sad if they were all killed. Even if half of them died, it would be a pity.

It would be better to separate them all and assign them to the vanguards of each army, so that they can atone for their crimes with their merits."

"It's best that my brother can think this way. We are all good men of the Great Zhao. If we have to die, we should die on the battlefield defending our country. It would be so pathetic to die in conspiracy and intrigue to seize power."

Prince Su agreed.

Thirty thousand young and strong men, all of them well-trained elite soldiers, is no small number. I don’t know how much silver the prince has fed them. They cannot be wasted like this.

The best outcome would be to kill the general and recruit all the remaining soldiers.

When we face the State of Chu in the future, we will have an additional 30,000 elite soldiers, which will increase our strength.

-

East Palace.

The emperor could no longer remember when was the last time he came to the Eastern Palace.

After asking his personal eunuch, the emperor learned that when the crown prince was just born, he came to visit his newborn grandson.

It seemed like seven or eight years had passed in the blink of an eye.

When the Crown Princess heard that the Emperor was coming, she hurried out to greet him. She was very happy. This showed that the Emperor still valued the Crown Prince very much.

It also means that the emperor also cares about the crown prince.

The Emperor asked the Crown Princess to excuse herself from the formalities and walked straight to the Crown Prince's bedroom.

"I beg your forgiveness, Father. I am unable to stand up to greet you respectfully." When the prince saw the emperor, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He waved to his personal eunuch, and with the eunuch's help, he stood up with great effort and sat down.

"Lie down and don't move your legs." The emperor looked at him and said.

For a moment, the eunuch serving him didn't know whether to help the prince lie down or get a pillow for him to lean on.

"My legs don't hurt that much anymore, I can sit down and talk." The prince insisted on sitting down and said with a smile.

"I am flattered that Your Majesty is here. I cannot lie down and talk to Your Majesty. That is too disrespectful."

The emperor looked at the prince and his smile, feeling both familiar and unfamiliar. Thinking of what the prince had done, he felt disappointed and angry, but he also wanted to get to the bottom of it.

The Crown Princess wanted to stay by his side, but the Emperor waved his hand and asked her and the others to leave. Only the Emperor's personal eunuch and the secret guards hiding elsewhere were left.

"When did you start to hate me?" The emperor didn't want to beat around the bush and stared at the prince and asked, "When did you start wanting to replace me?"

"Father, how could I possibly hate you? I have always wanted to be a wise ruler like you."

The prince's heart was filled with turmoil, but he still grinned and gave a bitter smile.

"But now that my legs are broken, it's impossible."

"You still have 30,000 private soldiers. You can order them to rush into the palace, chop off my head, and then you can sit on the throne."

The emperor stared at the prince and said.

Prince,...

The prince suddenly calmed down.

He stared at the emperor for a while, then suddenly laughed nervously.

"Hahaha... I never thought that old bastard Chen Xiu De would actually choose to betray me and inform father. Hahaha... How will father reward this loyal old dog and save his entire family's lives..."

The prince laughed arrogantly and wantonly, and the contempt and disdain in his words were completely different from his usual self.

The emperor looked at him, feeling grief-stricken. He did not explain that it was not Chen Xiu De who reported the incident, but just asked,

"Why do you have to do this? You are the crown prince. As long as you are good enough to hold your own, no one can threaten your position. You can give full play to your strengths.

But why do you have to hide it, why do you have to act ambitious but incompetent, and have a bad temper, what is the purpose? !

Don't you know that if you pretend to be like this before, it will only make me disappointed in you and shake your position as the crown prince? ! "

The emperor really doesn’t understand.

Thinking back, the prince was also smart when he was young. He was a good child that he liked and the heir he wanted to train with all his heart.

But the emperor didn't know when he started to change.