Going to Beijing to save his father, all the powerful officials in the city are vying to be his fath

The emperor's tense expression gradually relaxed, and the terrifying crimson glow in his eyes slowly receded like a tide. He stared fiercely at Zhao Liangchen, who remained silent throughout, and finally broke the dead silence, asking in a deep voice, "In your opinion, is there anything suspicious about Prince Liang?"

Zhao Liangchen's heart tightened, but he remained respectful on his face and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I really know very little about Prince Liang!"

Upon hearing this, the Emperor snorted softly, his tone clearly filled with doubt and dissatisfaction. "Hmph, but this letter clearly states that you have surrendered to Prince Liang. Could it be that you have never met with him privately?"

Zhao Liangchen quickly knelt and kowtowed, explaining with a slightly trembling voice, "Your Majesty, it is true. My father once took me to the Prince of Liang's mansion to see how he was doing. However, the Prince of Liang simply told me to work hard in the future and to seek his help if I encountered any difficulties. He said nothing else. I am stupid and didn't notice anything wrong with the Prince of Liang."

The Prince of Liang always valued his image, presenting himself as gentle, gracious, and benevolent, earning him an excellent reputation among his officials. Especially since he accidentally broke his leg, the number of officials visiting the Prince of Liang's residence has been endless, with most officials in the court paying their respects or presenting generous gifts as expressions of concern. Under these circumstances, the visits of Zhao Jian and his son to the Prince of Liang's residence naturally seemed commonplace, arousing no suspicion at all.

The emperor frowned. Although he could not conclude that Zhao Liangchen was in collusion with Prince Liang based solely on the fact that he had been to Prince Liang's mansion, this matter was like a sharp thorn that pierced deeply into his heart, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

The emperor stared at Zhao Liangchen with a sharp gaze and asked, "Then why did Zhao Liangsi claim that you had defected to King Liang?"

Zhao Liangchen pondered for a moment, then replied, "Perhaps he feels that my position as deputy commander was obtained with the help of King Liang."

Upon hearing this, the emperor asked, "Is this really the case?"

Zhao Liangchen shook his head vigorously without hesitation, his attitude extremely sincere: "Your Majesty, I don't know."

He paused and continued, "Since this position became vacant, many people have supported my promotion to this position. I have also met with some officials privately and presented them with generous gifts.

However, no one can clearly tell me who is responsible for helping me ascend to this high position. I just feel that the process of my promotion to this position was unusually smooth.

As I said before, if the person behind my father intends to use the Zhao family, he will definitely find ways to push me to the position he desires.

However, there are quite a few officials who want to recommend me, but I really can't tell who is the real driving force behind it. After I was promoted, no one asked me to help with anything.

but......"

He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "However, when I first took office, many people in the army were dissatisfied with me. I was restricted in everything I wanted to do. But since I met King Liang, this feeling has disappeared. The army, from top to bottom, has been very cooperative. I...I don't know if this has anything to do with King Liang.

Also, another point is that the Prince of Liang and Zhao Liangsi's mother are related. The Prince of Liang's mother is the aunt of Zhao Liangsi's mother."

After saying this, Zhao Liangchen secretly looked up to observe the emperor's reaction. He saw that the emperor's hands were tightly gripping the armrests of the chair. Because he was gripping too tightly, his fingers were turning white and the veins on the back of his hands were bulging.

Many people know that the current King of Liang is in a high position of power and is the chief minister who assists in the administration. He has great influence in the court and the country, and few people remember his previous experiences.

Prince Liang's mother was a palace maid. In this dynasty, palace maids were not the lowest-ranking servants. Many of them held official positions in the harem. Although they could not be compared with those in the previous dynasty, the positions of female officials were also quite decent.

To be a female official, one must be literate, so many families with low official positions would send their daughters to the palace to be palace maids. Some did it to try their luck, while others wanted to improve their daughters' status so that they would have a chance to marry better.

Prince Liang's mother was the concubine's daughter of Lady Zhao's family. In other words, Prince Liang's mother was the concubine's sister of Lady Zhao's father. She had a very low status in the family and was sent to the palace since she was a child. No one had any hope for her originally because the emperor at that time was already very old and the prince's position was stable.

Mrs. Zhao's family sent a concubine's daughter to the palace because her stepmother didn't want to take the trouble to educate her. However, she didn't expect that this concubine's daughter would be lucky enough to be favored by the old emperor after he drank, and she became pregnant just after that one time.

But she was also very unfortunate. After the old emperor favored her, he not only forgot about her, but she also died of complications during childbirth when giving birth to Prince Liang.

So Prince Liang did not have a good childhood. The father of the then crown prince, who later became the late emperor and the current emperor, felt sorry for his younger brother, who lived worse than a eunuch in the palace, so he raised him under his own name and let him go to school with his own sons. Only then did Prince Liang's life gradually get better.

Later, the late emperor's children died one after another, leaving only the emperor as the only heir. Prince Liang gradually gained a foothold in the court and became the prime minister.

Now no one knows that Prince Liang and Madam Zhao are actually cousins, and the Emperor couldn't remember it either. However, after Zhao Liangchen reminded him, he remembered this relationship. Because when Prince Liang was crowned king, it was he who asked the late Emperor to posthumously confer the title of concubine on Prince Liang's mother. So he knew at that time which family Prince Liang's mother came from, but he didn't care at the time and forgot about it later.

Although the emperor said that he believed in Prince Liang, he had some doubts in his heart. Now when he thought about the relationship between Prince Liang and Madam Zhao, his previous firm trust in Prince Liang began to crack.

Zhao Liangchen lowered his head again and knelt obediently. He waited for a long time before the emperor's somewhat hoarse voice came from above his head: "Don't you want to use the map to expose the person behind this? Then do as you planned. I want to see who has the courage to covet my kingdom."

Zhao Liangchen: "Yes."

He slowly lowered his head, his gaze falling on the blood-stained letter in his hand. After a moment's thought, he respectfully presented the bloody letter to the emperor with both hands. However, the emperor did not reach out to take the bloody letter. Instead, he narrowed his eyes slightly and gazed down at it condescendingly, his face revealing an unreadable expression.

After a while, the Emperor broke the silence and asked in a calm but dignified tone, "How do you think I should deal with your second brother?"

Zhao Liangchen raised his head, his eyes firm and sincere as he replied, "Your Majesty, now is the time for you to recruit talented people. Since Zhao Liangsi has taken the initiative to come to you, I think it would be wise to take him in and employ him for the time being."

This man had studied poetry and literature at the Imperial Academy, where he had developed close friendships with numerous students. Furthermore, these students were all of similar age to the emperor, full of vigor and enthusiasm. Unlike the sophisticated and smooth-talking veterans of the court, they retained a certain innocence and a sincere devotion to the state and its people, harboring lofty ambitions to serve their country with loyalty and the well-being of their people.

If we can win over these students through Zhao Liangsi, and when they take the imperial examinations and enter officialdom, they will become disciples of the emperor, and all of them will be your trusted confidants. Naturally, they will be more loyal, reliable, and easier to control than those cunning ministers. However..."

Zhao Liangchen paused briefly before continuing, "My mentor once mentioned that Zhao Liangsi is narrow-minded and vindictive, and is definitely not someone who can be of great use. Therefore, even if the Emperor decides to employ him, he must not be entrusted with important tasks, lest he end up raising a tiger that will cause trouble later."