Chapter 43: Changing Hearts (4)
"In the chaos of the Grey Valley, some assassins took Ling Qianjin hostage. I was so eager to save her that I risked my life. In the end, although I saved her, I was also seriously injured. I was forced to jump off the cliff with her because those assassins obviously wanted to kill us. Rather than fall into their hands, we might as well risk everything. Fortunately, God took pity on us and let us survive. We were rescued by the fishermen on Fish Island. During that time of recuperation, Ling Qianjin and I fell in love with each other, as if we were a couple in our previous life. As for later, someone found Fish Island to take Ling Qianjin back, and the islanders on Fish Island were brutally annihilated. I was lucky to save my life from the evil hands, and Ling Qianjin was taken back to Zhou by the person who caused the tragedy. I don't know how much the Prime Minister knows about what happened later, but he must be aware of it, right?"
Zhang Ren and Zhou Cheng were stunned by Zhao Ziheng's words. Is this the truth? Is this why Zhou Yan wanted to kill all the islanders, just to keep them quiet? Zhou Yan dared to attack the king of the allied country. In order to prevent the news from leaking out, he did not hesitate to kill all the people on the island to keep them quiet, because at that time Zhao State also sent many people to find Zhao Ziheng's whereabouts, and they would find him sooner or later. If they heard that someone similar to him was killed on the island, they would quickly find out who did it with the power of one country. At that time, the two countries would definitely go to war because of this, and many people would be involved in this dispute. With Zhou Yan's personality, doing this is indeed in line with his character. He said he would not care about the consequences, but he also knew how to prioritize. In any case, if the news of attacking the king of another country spread, the war between the two countries would be inevitable.
"Why should I believe that what you say is true?"
Zhou Cheng suppressed the feeling that he knew Zhou Yan's behavior very well, and asked the question from the proper standpoint.
"Believe it or not, no matter what, I had just ascended the throne not long ago, and there were frequent civil unrests in Zhao before and after. It was impossible for me to ignore my position. I recovered from my injuries first, and I also admit that after the princess and I fell in love, I had some desire to give up power. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. The evil man came to my door and seriously injured me, almost to death. Although I know who the murderer is, if I make it public, the severity , I think you two should know better than me, right? I suppressed my self-esteem and buried this matter in my heart. I was one of the survivors at that time. As long as I don't say it, no one will know the truth at that time. As long as the truth is not revealed, Zhao and Zhou will still be allies on the surface, and the murderer can continue to go unpunished-"
When Zhao Ziheng said this, Zhou Cheng knew that he was the one who gave Zhou Yan the opportunity. If this matter were to get out, the impact on Zhou Yan would be enough to make the people who have always been dissatisfied with him rise up in resistance, and the situation would definitely be difficult to control at that time. Before, Zhou Yan had used the excuse that he did this in order to encircle and suppress the rebels, but Zhou Cheng certainly would not believe it, and he acquiesced just to protect him. Therefore, he felt deeply sorry for those people who died in vain. In fact, he did not do this only to protect them, but also because he did not want to expand the sacrifice. If someone was really dissatisfied with what Zhou Yan had done and led an uprising, then it would not only be the people of one island who would die, but the Zhou Kingdom would also fall into civil strife and be out of control.
"To be honest, I don't care about the life and death of Zhou State at all. I just don't want more innocent people to die or have a scene of bloodshed. Of course, the most important thing is because of Princess Zhaoren. She is in Zhou State and is the princess of Zhou State. She will definitely be involved in it. These are not what I want to see. Now that I have experienced it myself, I know very well the consequences of this kind of war. I don't want this kind of war that will only make people lose important things to happen. If possible, I hope that all unnecessary wars will not exist."
At this time, Zhou Cheng finally saw Zhao Ziheng's true character. Zhao Ziheng's existence had long exceeded his imagination. This was why he suddenly returned to Zhao State, why he lent Zhao State's national treasure, the 'Fire Soul Jade', why he had never come to Zhou State after the war, why he came to Zhou State as soon as everything was over to propose to marry Yin Yin, and why he repeatedly tolerated Zhou Yan's actions. It turned out that everything had a reason, and the position of these reasons was very clear. It can be said that he had achieved the most perfect degree. For the sake of the country and for the personal feelings of his children, he had achieved the greatest tolerance...
Zhang Ren couldn't help but be shocked. With such a broad mind, there was no falsehood in his eyes. His magnanimity, tolerance and tolerance were enough to make him the most wise monarch in the world. Compared with him, Zhou Cheng might be lacking in some aspects, but he believed that if Zhou Cheng was willing, he would not lose to him. If the two major countries that had always maintained world peace could have two such monarchs, even if the balance had been disrupted, it would be restored sooner or later, and their countries would be able to become outstanding and prosperous. In this way, there was no need to wait for Zhao Ziheng to tell all the truth. Zhang Ren also felt that Zhao Ziheng was sincere.
"In other words, for my daughter's sake, you are willing to abandon the people of your entire country who desperately need you and come to my country just to propose marriage to my daughter?"
"In fact, I should have done this as soon as I returned to Zhao. However, I was away from home for a long time, and there were many political affairs waiting for me to deal with. In addition, wars continued, so I really had no time to spare. That's why I came to visit you now. Of course, I didn't abandon Zhao and its people, but I knew that I needed your company to walk better on the road ahead—"
Zhang Ren knew everything that Zhao Ziheng said, and he could understand his approach of sacrificing his own interests for the greater good. There was no pure rhetoric in his words. Zhang Ren was an experienced person, and he could see that Zhao Ziheng was sincere.
"What if I don't agree?"
"Why?"
"No reason!"
Zhang Ren's intention was probably to test Zhao Ziheng, and he was waiting to see Zhao Ziheng's answer.
