Chapter 24: Meeting of Two Heroes (2)
"…Indeed, what Prince Jing said is true. I did fall off the cliff with her. Although I was rescued, there is no news about that woman. Under that circumstance, I was definitely dead. Regardless of whether the woman Prince Jing mentioned was the murderer who assassinated Wei'er, this matter has nothing to do with Prince Jing or the State of Zhao—"
Zhao Ziheng accepted the task of covering up for Zhou Yan, because this was also the best opportunity to clear Yin Yin from the charge of assassination, so no matter how unwilling he was, he had to cooperate with Zhou Yan. If possible, he really wanted to clear Yin Yin's name personally. He knew Yin Yin's innocence better than anyone else, and he believed in Yin Yin more than anyone else.
Since Zhao Ziheng no longer wanted to pursue the matter, the ministers dared not raise any objections. What's more, if the Zhou army had not arrived in time when Huigu was assassinated, Zhao Shu and others would not have been able to escape unscathed. Given the situation at the time, Zhou had been kind to Zhao, but it was only because of Zhao Ziheng's incident that Zhao had never been able to let go of Zhou.
"In that case, since Prince Jing has come all the way to congratulate us, we should do our best to entertain him. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Wang Xu seized the opportunity to make the proposal. If it had not been accepted, Zhou Yan would have been thrown into jail.
"...Let's do as the Prime Minister says."
"Yes, then, Lord Jing, would you be willing to let us receive you?"
"How can I refuse? However, I have something I want to discuss with the King of Zhao alone. What do you think?"
Zhou Yan's words immediately aroused the vigilance of all the ministers. No one would feel at ease if he dared to propose to be alone with Zhao Ziheng before all the grudges were resolved.
"I'm afraid——"
Wang Xu was no exception to his worries. He didn't even look at Zhao Ziheng to seek his opinion. Fortunately, Zhao Shu was not here today, otherwise it might not be so easy to resolve the grudge.
"...It doesn't matter. I believe that Prince Jing will not do anything unexpected, right? Especially since he is in the palace of my Great Zhao——"
How could Zhou Yan not know what Zhao Ziheng meant? On the contrary, Zhao Ziheng knew very well that Zhou Yan would never do anything dangerous. He could imagine the reason why Zhou Yan, who was known as the 'cold-blooded king', put aside his dignity and came to him. That was why he accepted Zhou Yan's proposal.
"Then I and the others will take our leave first—"
"Um!"
Led by Wang Xu, the ministers left, and soon only Zhao Ziheng and Zhou Yan were left in the huge imperial study.
"Okay, you can say whatever you want."
"Then I'll get straight to the point. I hope you can lend me the 'Fire Soul Jade'."
"Humph, what a shocking request. You should know that the 'Fire Soul Jade' is the treasure of the Zhao Kingdom? How dare you say such a bold statement."
Now that they were alone, Zhou Yan stopped beating around the bush and directly made his request to Zhao Ziheng. Zhao Ziheng did not act like he was unaware of the situation and pretended to be indifferent.
"I know, that's why I'm asking you to lend it to me. As long as you're willing to lend me the 'Fire Soul Jade', I can let you handle whatever happened on the island that day—"
"Let me deal with you? Why does Prince Jing say that?"
Zhao Ziheng pretended to be unaware, picked up the cup in front of him and started drinking tea. Zhou Yan immediately felt embarrassed and clenched his fists.
"What I mean is that I am willing to exchange my life for the 'Fire Soul Jade'. As long as you are willing to lend it to me, then you can do whatever you want with my life—"
If no one hadn't heard it with their own ears, I'm afraid no one would believe that Zhou Yan was so humble at this moment?
"...Prince Jing really loves to joke. If I really want to take your life, Zhao and Zhou will definitely go to war. As the ruler of a country, there is no reason for me to do this, right?"
"what on earth do you want?"
"Your Highness, what you said is wrong. This is what I should ask. Why do you rashly want to borrow our country's national treasure? Can you just borrow a national treasure just because you want to?"
"I know this request is a bit excessive, but I have no other choice-"
Zhou Yan tried hard to suppress the anger in his heart, his expression was so helpless.
"Oh? What do you mean, Prince Jing?"
"I hope to borrow the 'Fire Soul Jade' to save people——"
"Save people? Did I hear correctly? The Prince Jing, who is said to kill people without blinking an eye, actually saves people?"
Be it irony or mockery, Zhou Yan had already prepared himself mentally before he came to see Zhao Ziheng. Not to mention Zhao Ziheng, no one would believe this reason after hearing it.
"Whether you believe it or not, I really need the 'Fire Soul Jade' right now."
Zhou Yan endured Zhao Ziheng's ridicule and tried hard to suppress his emotions. His sincere attitude and firm belief made Zhao Ziheng put down the teacup in his hand and become serious.
"I really want to know who can make the revered Prince Jing bow his head and even let go of his usual self-esteem?"
When asked this, Zhou Yan was slightly shaken. Come to think of it, he never mentioned from the beginning to the end that the person to be rescued was Yin Yin. Why was that?
"What? Don't you want to say it? Or can't you say it?"
Zhao Ziheng was well aware of Zhou Yan's visit, but he made things difficult for Zhou Yan at every turn.
Can't say it? How could Zhou Yan say it? He had not forgotten how he took Yin Yin away from Zhao Ziheng that day. Zhou Yan's self-esteem would never allow him to beg a man whom he had regarded as his enemy all his life and who was also his beloved. But in order to save Yin Yin, he could even sacrifice his life...
"Let's stop here. Since Prince Jing doesn't want to talk, I won't force him. I still have government affairs to deal with, so please go and rest first."
After all, he didn't want to reveal the inside story. Zhao Ziheng could see it, so he didn't need to listen to what Zhou Yan said. He picked up the memorial and started reading it...
Zhou Yan also knew that Zhao Ziheng still couldn't let go of the fact that he was not resentful towards him. After all, it was he who snatched Yin Yin away and almost put him to death. Zhou Yan would never believe that Zhao Ziheng did not bear a grudge against him.
"I can only say that you know this person, and only you can save her. If you still have feelings for her, please save her—"
"Oh? If it's someone I know, why didn't Prince Jing just tell me the name? If you did, maybe I would consider it--"
Zhao Ziheng answered indifferently while flipping through the memorials. After all, Zhao Ziheng just wanted to hear from Zhou Yan who the person he was talking about was. Zhou Yan had clearly sensed this.
"Shouldn't you know? Shouldn't you know her current situation better than anyone else? Why are you pretending to know nothing? Do you want to watch her die without helping her?"
The urgency of time caused Zhou Yan, who had been suppressing his emotions, to explode.
"I don't understand what Lord Jing is referring to."
Zhao Ziheng faced Zhou Yan's anger indifferently and calmly, and his emotions remained calm.
"Don't play dumb anymore. It's impossible that you don't know about Yinyin's situation. She is on the verge of life and death. Do you want to stand by and watch?"
As soon as Zhou Yan finished speaking, Zhao Ziheng slammed the memorial in his hand, and then slammed it heavily on the table. Zhao Ziheng then walked from the dragon chair to Zhou Yan, holding Zhou Yan's collar tightly with both hands. At this time, Zhao Ziheng's courage was so overwhelming that his expression, which had been surprisingly calm just now, became very angry...
"What a joke! Who do you think caused her to be on the brink of life and death? How dare you blame me ? If you hadn't knocked her off the cliff and snatched her away from me, would she have become like this?"
Zhao Ziheng yelled at Zhou Yan in great anger. His momentum and courage made Zhou Yan a little stunned. Perhaps in his impression, Zhao Ziheng had always been calm and steady. He never expected that Zhao Ziheng was a completely different person at this moment, as if he wanted to cut him into pieces...
"You are the cause of all this—"
Just as he finished speaking, Zhao Ziheng punched Zhou Yan in the face. Zhou Yan fell to the side, but before he could stand firm, Zhao Ziheng grabbed him again...
"Do you know whose fault it is that made her suffer so much? You don't understand anything at all, and yet you dare to say that you love her shamelessly. What right do you have to say that you love her——"
After that, he threw another heavy punch, which was even heavier than the previous one. Zhou Yan was knocked back several steps by the punch before he could stand. If it was normal, he might have opened his mouth and fought back, but Zhao Ziheng's words gave him an unintentional deterrent force that made him unable to do as usual and could only let him attack...
Just when Zhou Yan was deeply shaken by Zhao Ziheng's words, Zhao Ziheng stepped forward again and pulled him into his collar...
"Since you love her, you shouldn't make her suffer, or even make her live a life worse than death. If you can pursue her in an upright manner, perhaps I will regard you as a strong rival in fair competition. However, you actually killed hundreds of innocent lives just to get her, and even made her live a life worse than death. Forget about loving her, you are not even qualified to be my competitor."
This time, Zhao Ziheng did not punch, but pushed Zhou Yan away. Zhao Ziheng was very clear and knew everything about Yin Yin. When he thought about how he wanted to kill him with his own hands after learning that Yin Yin was violated by Zhou Yan, and Yin Yin was now on the verge of life and death, Zhao Ziheng should have wanted to tear Zhou Yan into pieces for whatever reason. But why could he endure all this?
"Humph, what right do you have to say that I have no qualifications? Aren't you the same? You clearly have another woman, but you still married her. What do you think of her? A toy?"
"Who are you playing with?"
Zhou Yan's words once again angered Zhao Ziheng, who turned around without hesitation and punched Zhou Yan in the face, and then punched him again before he left the attack range, until Zhou Yan fell to the ground with blood spurting from his mouth...
