Chapter 24: Meeting of Two Heroes (1)
The news that Zhao Ziheng was about to make Lin Wei his queen soon spread all over the country, and even the world . Zhou Yan, who had just entered the capital of Zhao State, was the first to learn about Zhao Ziheng's decision to make Lin Wei his queen. "Although I had expected that Lin Wei was the wife he married when he was the crown prince, and he did not make her his queen before he went to Gray Valley, now that he has returned to the palace, this step must be taken, but it came too quickly. Is he planning to give up Yin Yin?"
Even Zhou Yan couldn't guess what Zhao Ziheng was thinking. He just thought that if he wanted to borrow the 'Fire Soul Jade' at this moment, there would be unexpected obstacles?
"Your Highness, what should we do now? If the King of Zhao has really given up on the Queen, will he hold you responsible for what happened before? If that's the case, it would be too dangerous for you to meet the King of Zhao—"
Zuo Yu talked about the matter at hand and was very worried about Zhou Yan's safety.
"It's not important whether he will pursue the matter of almost killing him. I have stopped thinking about it since I knew he was still alive and returned to Zhao. What's important is whether he is willing to lend the 'Fire Soul Jade'. You know, the longer he stays, the closer Yin Yin will be to death. I will never allow such a thing to happen."
"What if King Zhao is unwilling to lend the 'Fire Soul Jade'?"
"...I want him to lend me the Fire Soul Jade no matter what the cost -"
"Your Majesty——"
Zuo Yu could clearly sense Zhou Yan's awareness and felt very uneasy.
——The next morning——
Zhou Yan brought gifts to the Zhao palace to meet the emperor.
He was the first person in his country to congratulate him quickly, and the rift between Zhao and Zhou had forced everyone to be on high alert...
"I would like to congratulate the King of Zhao on behalf of the King of Zhou. First, I would like to congratulate the King of Zhao on his safe return. Second, I would like to congratulate the King of Zhao on his upcoming establishment of the Queen. Hereby present the Zhou Kingdom's gift—"
"...Prince Zhou and Prince Jing are so polite. I didn't expect Prince Jing to congratulate me so quickly. I am really overjoyed."
It is natural that enemies will be angry when they meet, let alone a love rival. Zhou Yan had to ask for help from him so he put aside his dignity, while Zhao Ziheng had not forgotten that Zhou Yan not only forced him off the cliff on Diaoyu Island, but also took away his most beloved person, so Zhao Ziheng was naturally indifferent to Zhou Yan.
The State of Zhao still harbored a grudge against Zhao Ziheng for falling off a cliff in the Valley of Gray. The cause of the incident was Zhou Yan, so the State of Zhao was naturally hostile to Zhou Yan. Zhou Yan dared to come to the State of Zhao with only a few personal soldiers, which was simply sending lamb to the tiger's mouth. However, no one knew that after the conspiracy in the Valley of Gray, Zhao Ziheng and Zhou Yan had once again quarreled over a woman, and Zhao Ziheng was once again forced to fall off a cliff by Zhou Yan and narrowly escaped death...
"There, a misunderstanding almost caused you, King Zhao, to lose your life. So after hearing that King Zhao was saved by the protection of God, King Zhou felt that he should come and apologize to you in person. Unfortunately, the Zhou Kingdom was busy with state affairs, so he had to let me do it for you. I hope King Zhao will forgive me--"
It is obvious that Zhou Yan did not mention a word about the conflict over Diaoyu Islands and Zhao Ziheng.
"Prince Zhou was thoughtful. The incident in Gray Valley was the result of a conspiracy by a third party, which nearly killed me. It has nothing to do with the Zhou Kingdom. I would like to apologize for putting myself in danger because someone framed me to hold the Zhou Kingdom responsible for Wei'er's incident. However, after the prisoner was kidnapped, Prince Jing left without saying goodbye. For this, I need Prince Jing to give me an explanation—"
Zhao Ziheng's statement was obviously giving Zhou Yan a chance.
"King Zhao misunderstood. I did not kidnap the prisoner. I left without informing you because my beloved concubine was unwell at the time. For this, I would like to apologize to King Zhao. I really shouldn't have left on the day of his wedding—"
Zhou Yan seemed to have prepared his lines long ago and was just waiting for others to ask questions.
"Oh? As far as I know, Prince Jing should only have one princess consort. Could the person Prince Moufei is talking about be her?"
Suddenly Zhou Yan felt that Zhao Ziheng seemed to be embarrassing him on purpose.
"To be honest, I fell in love with a woman long before we got married, and I wanted her to be my princess. Later, she left because of some things, so I couldn't do it. Later, I followed my father's will and married another woman as my princess. I didn't find her until the King of Zhao got married, so I immediately made her my princess. How could I ignore the illness of my beloved concubine?"
Zhao Ziheng knew clearly that Zhou Yan was talking about Yin Yin. When he heard that he had already made Yin Yin his concubine, the anger that had been suppressed in his heart instantly surrounded his whole body. However, due to the occasion, he had to sit on the dragon throne and act indifferent. Zhao Ziheng's expression did not escape Zhou Yan's eyes...
"Then why did Prince Jing also disappear after the assassin who was trying to assassinate the Crown Princess was kidnapped? Could it be that he was guilty of his crime?"
Academician Lin on the side asked a question.
"Lord Lin, you are too suspicious. At that time, I was only concerned about the safety of my beloved concubine, so I neglected to inform others, so that no one knew my whereabouts. And later, didn't I rush to the Grey Valley Council as soon as I learned about it? If I was guilty, why would I go to such an important occasion?"
"Maybe it's just a way to avoid people getting suspicious."
Another minister present gave an explanation. In fact, everyone else had the same idea, but they either did not dare to say it or were too timid to speak out. After all, they were facing the so-called 'cold-blooded' Prince Jing, and who knew if they would be retaliated against in the future .
"Method? If that's the case, why did I bring my beloved concubine with me? The King of Zhao should have seen it, right? My beloved concubine was also involved in the conspiracy, and ended up falling off a cliff with the King of Zhao. Her life or death is still unknown—"
At the end of his words, Zhou Yan stared at Zhao Ziheng indifferently, because he knew that Yinyin had concealed the news of her survival for Zhao Ziheng. He still couldn't accept that the two of them had been married without his knowledge, and he couldn't accept that the person Yinyin loved was Zhao Ziheng, and even more so that Yinyin hated, resented and despised him for him. Thinking of the humiliation he had suffered for this, Zhou Yan's eyes were burning with anger, and thinking of Yinyin's near death for this, he glared at Zhao Ziheng with eyes that seemed to want to cut him into pieces...
Zhao Ziheng noticed the mixed emotions in Zhou Yan's eyes, and knew that Zhou Yan also loved Yin Yin deeply. He was very clear about and understood his hatred for him, so he did not pursue Zhou Yan further when he almost killed him on Diaoyu Island. However, if he knew what Zhou Yan did to Yin Yin, he might want to cut Zhou Yan into pieces!
