Chapter 799: Unswerving and indecisive
If you asked about Uncle Zhao in Beijing two years ago, most people would probably find it difficult to accurately describe who this Uncle Zhao was.
Because the former uncle Zhao was a typical nobody. Although he was not a recluse, he rarely appeared in public.
As a result, people's impression of him at that time was far less clear than that of "Uncle Jia".
If we have to give him a label, it would definitely be "low-key".
However, in the past two years, his style of doing things has changed drastically. Not only has he become much more high-profile, but he is also often surrounded by people and patrons whenever he goes out, and his home attracts hundreds of diners.
Although there were good and bad people among them, even some of Hong Jiu's colleagues had sneaked in, but the momentum had already been created, with the momentum of "Three thousand guests under the Chunshen Gate, and a five-foot sky in the south of Xiaozhao City".
However, in Sun Shaozong's opinion, Uncle Zhao's personality has not changed much, only current events have changed.
The reason why he suddenly became high-profile was because the prince's "foundation" was not solid.
At that time, the crown prince had not yet lost his foundation and the throne was within his grasp. As the king's uncle, he could rest easy and just wait quietly for the new emperor to ascend the throne.
However, the current situation gave him a strong sense of crisis, and he had to bite the bullet and stand up to cheer for the prince and create momentum.
But in the final analysis, Uncle Zhao is still a cautious person.
This can be seen from the fact that among the retainers he recruited, there were few who were capable of climbing walls and flying over rooftops, and even those who were slightly known for their bravery were turned away.
Stop talking nonsense.
But that evening, Sun Shaozong drove to Uncle Zhao's house. After handing in his visiting card, he was invited to wait in the living room.
However, no matter how long he waited, there was no sign of Uncle Zhao.
However, Sun Shaozong was not in a hurry. From Uncle Zhao's attitude towards him at the birthday banquet and later at the celebration at the Prince's Mansion, he had already seen that Uncle Zhao was dissatisfied with him.
As for the reason...
I'm afraid it comes from the close relationship between the Sun family and the Rongguo Mansion.
There are many examples of people trying to play both sides and have the best of both worlds in all dynasties. Some people take it for granted, and naturally some people cannot stand it.
Uncle Zhao undoubtedly belongs to the latter.
This was also the biggest reason why Sun Shaozong was unwilling to get involved in this matter - the other party was already dissatisfied with his closeness to the Rongguo Mansion, and he came to plead for Jia She, wasn't he walking into trouble?
With this self-knowledge, Sun Shaozong's mentality is naturally very good.
Anyway, the tea and snacks in the prince's house tasted pretty good, so he was content and at ease.
Seeing that the sixth plate of snacks had been eaten up, Sun Shaozong was about to ask the servants to bring in more, when he suddenly heard a sarcastic sneer outside:
"Master Sun is really not shy."
The real owner finally arrived.
Sun Shaozong calmly brushed off the residue from his fingertips, stood up, and said, "It is said that the king's uncle is the Mengchang Lord of our Zhou Dynasty. I think he is the one who is most afraid of guests being restrained. Naturally, I can only follow the host's wishes."
"snort!"
Uncle Zhao walked into the living room and just happened to hear what Sun Shaozong said. He sneered and sat down in the main seat. He squinted his eyes and looked at Sun Shaozong's face with obvious doubt.
Sun Shaozong was quite frank. He restrained his smile and met his gaze calmly.
The two looked at each other for a long while, but Uncle Zhao finally lost his temper and asked, "Shaoqing Sun, are you here today to plead for Jia She?"
Sun Shaozong nodded: "My uncle, you hit the nail on the head."
"ha!"
Uncle Zhao let out a long breath of anger, and the doubt in his eyes turned into a strong disdain: "What a 'hit the mark', you didn't hide it! In this case, I have to ask you a question!"
As he spoke, he leaned forward slightly, resting his elbow on the sour pear wood handle, which made a slight creaking sound.
Obviously, he attached great importance to the following question.
Although Sun Shaozong had already guessed what he was going to ask, he still pretended to listen attentively.
Then, Uncle Zhao asked, "Sun Shaoqing, the Crown Prince considers you as his confidant, but I don't know how you can treat the Crown Prince? Will you be unswerving, or..."
At this point, he hesitated for a moment before speaking word by word: "Or is it playing both sides and trying to please both sides?! "
Sun Shaozong still underestimated the determination of Uncle Zhao. He did not expect that he would ask so directly and leave no room for maneuver.
It’s so nice to have a sister who is a queen!
If he said the same thing, he might not even let his cousin, the Crown Princess' biological father, say it in front of him.
As he complained in his heart, the seriousness on Sun Shaozong's face faded a little.
He met Uncle Zhao's suddenly wide eyes, and after a while he suddenly laughed and shook his head: "Since Uncle Zhao asked so directly, then Sun will also give you a definite message: What I can guarantee is that I will never betray His Royal Highness the Crown Prince as long as it does not implicate my family and the Crown Prince still has the possibility of ascending the throne."
Hearing that Sun Shaozong shamelessly added two prefixes to his "loyalty", Zhao Guojiu's face was full of solemnity, and suddenly turned into a raging rage.
"Haha, from what Sun Shaoqing said, isn't he trying to be bothered?!"
He sneered with gnashed teeth, propped himself up with his elbows and stood up from the chair, pointing outside and shouting: "In this case, there is no need for you and me to say anything more, please go ahead!"
The attitude of sending the guest away due to a disagreement made Sun Shaozong feel quite embarrassed - not because of his attitude, but because of his previous inference.
Originally, he believed that Uncle Zhao was still a cautious person at heart - who would have thought that when it came to the prince, he would become so aggressive and passionate .
It can be seen that the complexity of human nature is far from being easily understood.
However, no matter how embarrassing it was, Sun Shaozong dared to tell the truth, so he naturally had a backup plan and would not leave in such a disgrace.
He shook his head and laughed again. Just when Uncle Zhao was about to explode, he said slowly, "Uncle Zhao, let's talk from the bottom of our hearts. Do you think that if the situation forces us to do so, will His Royal Highness the Crown Prince disregard the father-son relationship and fight to the death?"
Uncle Zhao frowned slightly. According to the prince's character, he would certainly disregard family relationships, but as for fighting to the death... the prince might not have the courage to do so.
Of course, what he said was the exact opposite of the truth: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is a loyal, filial, benevolent and righteous heir. How could he disregard the ethics of father and son!"
Sun Shaozong's smile deepened, and he spread his hands and said, "Since there is no life-and-death fight or fratricide between the ruler and his subjects, then isn't my promise enough?"
Uncle Zhao stared at him in a daze. After a long while, he finally let out a breath and slumped back into his chair, mumbling in a delirious voice, "Enough, enough."
As he spoke, his face revealed a bitter look, as if he was disappointed in his friend.
But Sun Shaozong naturally forgot about this expression of disrespect for the king and father, and pretended not to understand what he regretted.
