The substitute prince: Reported the emperor's brother at the beginning

Zeng Zhizhong's words moved Zeng Rou so much that her delicate body trembled. How could she not want to have a father who loved her?

I don’t want to be without any relatives in this world.

But Ning Yi didn't believe him and said calmly, "Zeng Rou was brought up by this prince, even though you claim to want to make amends with her because of regret and self-blame."

"But is it appropriate to take people away like this?"

Zeng Rou looked at Ning Yi with an expressionless face, biting her lips without daring to say a word.

She also knew that what His Royal Highness the Prince said was right. It was the Prince who rescued her personally. If she had done it herself, she would not have been able to leave Wangyue Tower without a few hundred taels of silver.

Even a few hundred taels of silver were not enough. She heard from some women in Wangyue Tower that when someone wanted to be redeemed by their family, Wangyue Tower would not let them go.

If it weren't for His Highness's status as a prince, the owner of Wangyue Tower would have been so frightened that he wouldn't dare to stop her and would have begged His Highness to take her away.

Zeng Rou will never be able to leave in this life.

Zeng Zhizhong frowned slightly, and the middle-aged man's face was full of seriousness.

He gritted his teeth slightly and said, "Zeng has come here to bother Your Highness. The second thing is that I hope Your Highness will allow me to exchange someone else for Rou'er's freedom."

This surprised Ning Yi. Using someone else to exchange for Rou'er's freedom?

Zeng Rou was also surprised. She didn't know who the other person her father was talking about was.

But in the whole world, apart from their family of three, who else can replace them?

Could it be?

Zeng Rou suddenly realized something. Could it be that she wanted her brother to be her slave in exchange for her leaving?

Zeng Rou's innocent little face suddenly became excited.

If her father really did this, she didn't know what to do.

No matter how moved she was, she knew that in this era, leaving behind a man was the continuation of the family, and only a man could continue the Zeng family's bloodline.

Even Zeng Rou herself thought so, which is why she would rather be sold to a wealthy family as a maid than save her brother.

Zeng Rou now really wants to say that she has not signed a contract to sell herself at all.

And His Highness can let her go at any time.

His Highness also said that if one day she no longer wanted to stay in the Prince's Mansion, he would never force her to stay.

But Zeng Rou swallowed the words back when they reached her lips.

After arriving at the prince's mansion, she was not only troubled by the maids in the backyard, but was also almost beaten up by the prince's wife.

This taught Zeng Rou a lesson: at any time, she was not allowed to speak carelessly without her master's permission.

Ning Yi was puzzled. "Who replaced Zeng Rou as a slave? Could it be your son?"

Zeng Zhizhong immediately shook his head and said, "Your Highness, my son is young and sickly. Naturally, he cannot continue to serve you."

This made Zeng Rou breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it wasn't her younger brother, otherwise the Zeng family's bloodline would have been cut off.

She was also curious about who her father wanted to use.

Who knew that Zeng Zhizhong would say straight out, "Your Highness, I am thirty-five years old this year, in good health, and I already passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty. If there had been no major disaster in Jiangdong this time, I would have taken the imperial examination and passed, and I would have been sure to win."

"Zeng is willing to serve Your Highness as a lifelong slave. I will do any rough or strenuous work you ask of me. Even if I'm beaten to death, I won't complain. I only ask Your Highness to set my daughter free."

"Father." Zeng Rou's two beautiful big eyes couldn't help but turn red.

Her father was using himself as a replacement to give her freedom.

You have to know that my father is a real scholar with great knowledge, and he even has a chance to become a juren.

Once you pass the imperial examination, you will become famous in your hometown and the surrounding area.

Now, she has been helping His Highness sort out official documents for a few days and has learned that the disaster relief efforts in Jiangdong are very effective.

Once my father returned to his hometown and took the imperial examination again, he would be very confident that he would pass the examination.

Even if he returned as a scholar, he could still marry again, but he was willing to be a slave at this time.

Zeng Rou was so moved that she couldn't help but shout out loud.

This made Ning Yi look at her coldly, and Zeng Rou immediately shut up.

His face turned pale with fear.

But she knew that this prince could take the lives of both her and her daughter at any time.

Ning Yi said calmly, "Zeng Zhizhong, you signed a contract to sell yourself as a scholar, just to exchange for your daughter's freedom."

"What are you doing? Selling yourself for a girl?"

Zeng Zhizhong said bitterly, "Although I'm not a perfect gentleman, I promised my late wife that I would take good care of them."

"Now, because of Zeng's momentary confusion, my daughter has suffered. If possible, Zeng would naturally want to exchange her for her freedom."

"I just hope my daughter can bring my son back home and take good care of him."

"Also, I've heard that Your Highness has made great efforts in disaster relief in Jiangdong, saving countless lives for the people of Jiangdong. I believe that my brother and I will have a chance to survive if we return to our hometown."

The words were beautiful, but Ning Yi shook his head slightly: "How chaotic the roads are right now. I believe you know better than this prince. A weak and fragile woman with a frail and sickly brother, let alone returning home safely, it will be difficult for her to survive on the road."

They all knew this. Zeng Zhizhong had come all the way from Jiangdong and had experienced it firsthand.

But Zeng Zhizhong had already thought it through: "Your Highness, I have also thought it through."

"Every time the capital sends a grain relief convoy to Jiangdong, there are always many people willing to follow it back home. It's relatively safe, so we can let the siblings return home together. It's enough for Zeng's ancestors to burn incense on behalf of his deceased wife. I hope Your Highness will grant this."

Zeng Rou looked at Ning Yi expectantly, and she seemed to be hesitant to speak several times.

But I didn't dare to speak carelessly.

Ning Yi just kept staring at Zeng Zhizhong, wanting to see whether this man was telling the truth or had other intentions.

Ning Yi couldn't tell what was going on, so he finally said calmly, "It's not impossible if you want to change."

Zeng Zhizhong immediately knelt down and said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your help. I am deeply grateful."

"Don't be so anxious to thank me." Ning Yi interrupted him: "Although this prince can let Rou'er leave, you can only sell yourself into slavery."

Zeng Zhizhong agreed without thinking, as he had already made plans.

But Ning Yi said: "This prince is not an unreasonable person, nor is he a person who coerces others."

"This prince currently has an iron mine outside his business and is in urgent need of manpower. After signing the contract, you can go there to mine."

"Most of the people working in the mines are imperial prisoners, as well as some refugees who volunteered to go there. Think carefully, the danger level is quite high, with casualties reaching over ten people per day."

His words made Zeng Zhizhong's face darken rapidly, and he was thinking about it.

Zeng Rou was extremely worried, especially when he saw the indenture contract placed in front of him by the servant.

He was very afraid that once his father signed, His Highness would really let him go to the mine.

But she knew from the look Ning Yi gave her just now that it was a serious warning.