If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

The ship slowly came to a stop at the dock.

Because the emperor, empress, and many high-ranking officials of the court were traveling with them, it was necessary to clear the area, leaving only South China Sea soldiers guarding the dock.

However, there was one exception: the fourth prince, Li Zheng.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty and Your Majesty."

The dark-skinned fourth prince's bow immediately broke the empress's guard.

To be honest, Li Zheng used to be quite handsome, after all, he was a prince. But compared to now, he looks like a beggar.

Because he would be at sea for a long time, he took off his long gown and put on a more convenient short outfit.

"My son~~~~"

The ministers also pointed at the fourth prince and whispered among themselves.

"I always thought it was just a rumor, but it seems that the fourth prince really has become a fisherman."

"Sigh, I never expected that the once spirited Fourth Prince would end up like this."

"It seems that the previous setback has really crushed him."

The emperor was initially immersed in feelings of filial piety and parental love, but upon hearing what others said, he felt disgusted, as if he had swallowed a fly. The key issue was that he couldn't refute them because what they said was true.

. . . . . . .

After disembarking, inside the palace, the Empress pulled Li Zheng aside to talk about their children's affairs, while Li Tiancheng had a dark expression on his face.

"Is Your Majesty upset because of the Fourth Prince?"

At this time, only Zhou Wu was present, so there was nothing to hide. Moreover, Li Zheng had been in the South China Sea, and the emperor was dissatisfied with his current performance. Zhou Wu was afraid that this would affect him.

"Humph."

Although Li Tiancheng didn't say anything, his attitude already revealed a lot.

No matter what, Li Zheng was the fourth prince of the Great Dragon Empire, but now he was willing to be a fisherman.

At first, Li Tiancheng thought it was good that Li Zheng didn't compete with the Crown Prince, but over time, Li Tiancheng couldn't stand the gossip from outside.

"Your Majesty has actually misunderstood Li Zheng."

"You don't need to speak well of him; he chose this path himself."

Li Tiancheng is actually quite conflicted right now. He initially hoped to see his brothers get along harmoniously, but later, gossip made him feel that Li Zheng was really not ambitious.

But if you think about it carefully, it's still better than brothers fighting each other.

“Your Majesty, Li Zheng and I are not close enough for me to speak well of him. I am merely stating a fact. In reality, Li Zheng is not self-destructive, nor is he content to be a fisherman as you see him.”

"What? This bastard, is he up to something behind the scenes?"

Li Tiancheng's first reaction was that Li Zheng was up to something again, and Zhou Wu even felt a little sorry for Li Zheng.

"Your Majesty, no, Li Zheng has not done anything improper."

"Really?"

"Yes, Li Zheng did stay on a fishing boat after arriving in the South China Sea, but he didn't just fish."

“I know that he also catches shrimp. A few days ago, I specially sent some to his mother, saying that it was good for her health.”

Zhou Wu rolled his eyes. How come he never noticed before that Li Tiancheng actually had a talent for being a straight man?

"Your Majesty, please look at this."

Zhou Wu clapped his hands, and someone carried in a huge scroll from outside.

Zhou Wu ordered his men to place the object on the ground and then open it. It turned out to be a map, but this map was much more detailed and seemed to be a sea chart of the area around the Great Dragon.

“This is it!!!”

Li Tiancheng was stunned as he stared at the incredibly detailed map. The palace had a map of the Great Dragon, but that map only had some rough markings and couldn't compare to the one before him. Even a city or an island was clearly marked on it.

"This is what Li Zheng did in the South China Sea. He used fishing boats as cover to collect maps of the surrounding waters for Da Long."

"what!"

This truly shocked Li Tiancheng; it turned out that all of this was done by his son, whom he had wrongly accused.

In the past, Li Zheng was ambitious and would exaggerate even the smallest achievements, but now he has quietly accomplished such a great thing all by himself.

It's important to understand that maps were extremely important in this era, especially when deploying forces and attacking empires, particularly nautical charts, which were a blank slate for the Great Dragons.

For the Great Dragon, nautical charts held an extremely important position, whether for coastal defense or maritime trade.

If Zhou Wu hadn't spoken up, Li Tiancheng would never have believed that Li Zheng had done it, or that he had done it secretly, and that he hadn't stood up to defend himself when others questioned him.

Even though he himself, as the father, had wronged him, he still didn't say much.

"Li Zheng just wants to do something practical for the Great Dragon and do what a prince should do."

For a moment, Li Tiancheng fell silent. He hadn't expected that a person could change so much. At the same time, he was also very gratified. Li Zheng was his son, the fourth prince of the Great Dragon Empire. From now on, no one could say anything about him, no one could.

. . . . . . .

When Li Zheng came out of the Empress's place, Li Tiancheng's attitude towards him made a complete 180-degree turn.

"Zheng'er, you've worked hard in the South China Sea. Let your father take a look at you."

Li Tiancheng's attitude made Li Zheng somewhat unaccustomed, and even the Empress was a little surprised. How could her husband, who had always been serious in front of the children, change so much in such a short time?

"Zheng'er, Zhou Wu told me everything."

"So that's how it is," Li Zheng finally realized, but he still glared at Zhou Wu and scolded him for meddling.

"Your father has wronged you. Don't worry, do whatever you want to do in the future. Your father will definitely support you. If anyone dares to gossip, I will tear their mouths off."

Thinking of his son, who had been wronged by outsiders all along, Li Tiancheng was filled with rage.

"Father, it's alright. If others misunderstand, that's their business. As for me, Li Zheng, I only ask that I have a clear conscience."

"Good, as expected of my son Li Tiancheng, you have ambition."

"Tch," Zhou Wu scoffed, seeing this. "It's your son again now. He was just calling someone a little bastard."

"What did Zheng'er do?"

The Empress couldn't help but chime in. The Emperor then recounted what had just happened. Upon hearing this, the Empress, who had just stopped crying, began to shed tears again.

Zhou Wu wisely left, as the family needed some private space at that moment.

Upon returning to the city lord's mansion, Zhou Wu immediately summoned the key figures from the South China Sea.

Everyone knew the emperor had arrived, but they were unsure of his specific purpose, so they waited for Zhou Wu's notification.

"Brother, have His Majesty and the Empress arrived?"

Niu Er was the first to lose his temper.

"Yes, there were also many high-ranking officials from the imperial court who came to see the train."