Chapter 24: Meeting of Two Heroes (3)
"What do you know? Do you know how important she is to me? Do you know how much I love her? She was originally mine. For her, I would give up everything, even my life. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have made such a painful and cruel decision. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have come to this point today. It's you who destroyed everything. It's you—"
Zhao Ziheng lost his composure and picked Zhou Yan up from the ground and beat him up again. However, this time Zhou Yan did not obey Zhao Ziheng obediently, but began to resist and fight back. Taking advantage of Zhao Ziheng's loss of composure and attacking randomly, Zhou Yan punched Zhao Ziheng hard, and the weight of the punch made Zhao Ziheng stagger backwards...
"I love her as much as you do. You are just an outsider but you want to take her away from me. If you hadn't appeared, Yinyin would have been mine. Do you know how long I have loved her? Do you know? I have loved her since we first met as children. Do you dare to say that you have loved her longer than me?"
Zhou Yan continued to threaten Zhao Ziheng with another punch, but Zhao Ziheng took it firmly and punched back...
"You are the one who knows nothing. Even if you love her, you will never understand her heart. How can you say you have loved her for so long if you can't get her heart even if you can get her ?"
"you--"
Zhou Yan knew very well that Yin Yin had never loved him, let alone win her heart, but he could not forget the time he spent with Yin Yin, at least Yin Yin's heart was indeed his during that time.
In this way, you punched me and I punched you, and the two sides entered into a protracted battle until both sides were exhausted and fell to the ground. The whole process lasted for more than an hour...
The face was bruised and swollen. On the surface, Zhao Ziheng's injuries were not serious, but there was a sign of blood soaking on the sleeve of his right arm, which showed that the fierce fight had caused his wound to split. On the contrary, Zhou Yan should be fine except for the wound on his face and some minor internal injuries...
After a fierce fight, Zhao Ziheng calmed down a lot...
"I will pick her up after everything is settled."
Zhao Ziheng's sudden words made Zhou Yan wake up instantly. He got up from the ground and looked at Zhao Ziheng who had stood up without him knowing when.
"So you are willing to lend me the 'Fire Soul Jade'?"
Zhou Yan's attitude changed immediately when the Fire Soul Jade was mentioned.
"Lend it, of course I will, but there is a condition——"
Having said that, Zhao Ziheng turned around and faced Zhou Yan.
"…What conditions?"
"I want you to swear an oath that from now on you are not allowed to touch her under any circumstances. If you break your oath... If I lead my troops to destroy your Zhou Kingdom, it will only bring unnecessary disasters to the people. So I will change it to that you can only live in Yin Yin's shadow for the rest of your life--"
What Zhao Ziheng said completely touched Zhou Yan's pain. He didn't want to be hated by Yin Yin, but what if he didn't touch Yin Yin? Is it possible?
"……I promise."
The voice of agreement made Zhao Ziheng sigh with emotion. How much did Zhou Yan love Yinyin? How could the always cold-blooded and arrogant Zhou Yan put aside his self-esteem for her?
"I will arrange for someone to go back to Zhou Kingdom with you. He is a doctor, and his medical skills are definitely not inferior to Xue Han. He will definitely be of great help in treating Yin Yin, and he can also be considered as someone I send to monitor you."
"...What about the 'Fire Soul Jade'?"
"Tomorrow I will ask him to bring the 'Fire Soul Jade' to find you!"
"I hope you can keep your promise."
Zhao Ziheng and Zhou Yan both seemed to have calmed down after the fight, and their conversation also seemed much more stable...
What kind of tests will be waiting for the two of them in the future? The next day.
Zhao Ziheng kept his promise and sent Wang Ye to meet Zhou Yan with the 'Fire Soul Jade'. "Are you the skilled doctor that King Zhao mentioned?"
"That's because King Zhao is too kind to me—"
Zhou Yan carefully observed Wang Ye's gentle appearance and could not tell how capable Wang Ye was.
"In that case, let's set off without further delay. I have already sent people to prepare the best horses along the way. From now on, we have to return to Zhou Kingdom as quickly as possible. Is that okay with you?"
"certainly!"
"Then let's go!"
"Please wait a moment—"
Zhou Yan had only taken a few steps forward when Wang Ye stopped him.
"What's up?"
"I am here on the orders of Prince Zhao. I would like to know how much Prince Jing knows about Miss Yinyin being targeted by criminals?"
Wang Ye’s words made Zhou Yan immediately serious. He didn’t expect that Zhao Ziheng had already known that Yin Yin was being targeted?
"What do you mean, Doctor Wang?"
"Prince Zhao just wants to know how much Prince Jing knows about this matter?"
"I have already sent someone to investigate—"
"So, Prince Jing already knows about this?"
From Wang Ye's tone, it seemed that he was just suspicious and was not sure whether Zhou Yan also knew that Yin Yin was being targeted.
"Nonsense, this is what happened right next to me, how could I not know about it?"
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I am only following your orders—"
"snort!"
Zhou Yan was not an incompetent person. From Wang Ye's words, he knew that it was Zhao Ziheng's intention behind this. He felt very unhappy to be looked down upon by Zhao Ziheng.
"Well, King Zhao, just say whatever you want to say. I don't want to waste unnecessary time."
"Yes, Prince Zhao wants to tell me that he has been secretly investigating clues to frame Miss Yinyin. In order to get Miss Yinyin out of danger as soon as possible, Prince Zhao hopes that Prince Jing can exchange the information he knows with him. He will send the relevant information to me regularly, and I hope to use it to exchange for Prince Jing's information. I believe that this will help us solve the truth behind this case more quickly—"
"What--"
Zhou Yan felt it was absurd and could not say anything for a moment. Should he say that Zhao Ziheng looked down on him or that Zhao Ziheng was deliberately looking for trouble? Either reason made Zhou Yan feel extremely humiliated. He looked at Wang Ye in anger and wanted to execute him on the spot. However, the "Fire Soul Jade" was with him, and because he could help Yin Yin, Zhou Yan suppressed his anger and left without saying a word. Wang Ye followed a little later...
On the road where horses are galloping.
Zhou Yan didn't say a word, but the atmosphere was extremely heavy. His subordinates all felt the strong murderous aura emanating from Zhou Yan, and they were afraid that anyone could lose their life at any time if they were not careful. Wang Ye, on the other hand, seemed relatively relaxed and at ease.
——Da Zhao Palace——
"Your Majesty, are you really not going to pursue this?"
"Uncle, it's all over. Why dwell on it? Unnecessary hatred will only bring unnecessary losses. In addition, our internal troubles have shaken the people's hearts. The most urgent internal troubles are what we need to solve leisurely—"
"makes sense!"
After Zhao Shu learned about what happened between Zhao Ziheng and Zhou Yan, he immediately came to inquire. It seemed that he still did not agree to easily forgive Zhou Yan's actions. How could Zhao Shu, who did not know the inside story, understand Zhao Ziheng's intentions? Zhao Ziheng did not want Zhao Shu and others to care too much about Zhou Yan's affairs, so he had to turn the topic to the domestic situation.
"By the way, regarding the recent flood disaster in the lower reaches of Jiangnan, I intend to allocate 100,000 gold from the national treasury as disaster relief and send it there immediately. I wonder what you think."
"Your Majesty is wise!"
"So who should we choose to escort the disaster silver?"
"I recommend the Prime Minister's eldest son as the most suitable candidate for both civil and military strategy!"
"Ao Shijie?"
"Your Majesty, I think General Wu's only son is more suitable. He has been fighting on the battlefield beside his father for many years. He happens to be in the capital at the moment. Someone with experience on the battlefield like him should be more suitable for this mission—"
"General Wu's son?"
The group actively participated in the discussion of government affairs and expressed their opinions and views.
"The task of escorting the disaster relief funds is of great importance. I think it is necessary to carefully consider the appropriate candidates—"
"Then who is more suitable according to Prime Minister Wang's opinion?"
Zhao Ziheng understood the meaning of Wang Xu's words very well. You know, Zhao Ziheng trusted Wang Xu very much.
"I wonder if the emperor still remembers Zheng Zhongming, who was just selected as the top scholar in civil and military affairs last year?"
"Remember."
"Based on my opinion of Zheng Zhongming over the past year or so, he is a loyal and honest person who handles things decisively and efficiently. In addition, he is also the top scholar in the martial arts class of the same year and has extraordinary skills. He should be the most suitable person to escort the disaster relief silver this time—"
"Yes, indeed. All right, pass the message down and summon Zheng Zhongming to see you immediately!"
"As you wish!"
The eunuch in chief beside Zhao Ziheng left immediately after receiving the order.
"Next——"
With the assistance of the ministers in the court, Zhao Ziheng was busy with all kinds of affairs, working day and night to deal with the long-pile of government affairs in batches. No one knew what Zhao Ziheng was planning in his mind. People only knew that it was a blessing for the people that the monarch could handle government affairs in an orderly manner, and that having a monarch could also stabilize the unrest of the people. The government affairs that no one had been able to handle not long ago were now being reviewed by Zhao Ziheng. The period of peace and prosperity for the Zhao State was gradually approaching...
