pdf-ebookys Chapter 541 Back to the Beginning
Chapter 541 Back to the Beginning
Zhao Yizhi looked at the gradually clearing gate, took a deep breath, and said, "Open the door! Father, come with me to the General's Mansion!"
Zhao Dequan looked at the carriage in front of him and hesitated for a long time. "Son, do you really want to go? General Wang's change of expression is quite frightening!"
“I’m going, Father. Don’t worry, with me here, our family won’t fall apart!” Zhao Yizhi firmly led his father to the General’s Mansion, taking only two servants with him.
As Zhao Yizhi stepped into the ancient general's mansion, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This General Wang was indeed as the world said: pragmatic and kind-hearted. Have you ever seen a general's mansion without a single flower or plant? The courtyard was full of vegetables! There were also old servants weeding, and they were obviously retired veterans, some of whom had some disabilities.
"Greetings, General Wang." The father and son bowed respectfully.
Wang Erniu smiled and stood up to return the greeting, "Greetings, Prince Ping, you've sent me a very generous gift."
He spoke sincerely. Although he didn't know who sent the letter to Lin Er's men, since Prince Ping could hire someone to kill him, only his confidants would know about these things and send out the message. If there were no surprises, it should have been this only person who knew the truth, Zhao Yizhi, who did it.
Zhao Dequan looked confused, thinking that Wang Erniu was bothered by the assassins. He immediately bowed and explained, "General Wang, please don't mind. This was just a moment of confusion on my part. I really didn't expect them to dare to come to our door. I am willing to take full responsibility. I hope the general will spare the rest of your family."
Zhao Yizhi looked at his elderly father, his heart warmed. This was the reason why he had never given up on them. No matter what, although his father was not very reliable, he was always the first to rush to the front and protect him when something happened.
“Not at all,” Wang Erniu said with a smile, helping him up. “Prince Ping, you have a fine son.”
After saying that, he winked at Zhao Yizhi, who smiled frankly and said, "You guessed right, General, it was me who delivered the letter!"
Wang Erniu patted him on the shoulder with a sigh. "You're quite good. It's rare to find someone who understands."
That's actually quite true. Even if Wang Erniu dares to fight, if he really targets a prince, the officials above him will probably become suspicious.
“General Wang, we have come to apologize. Although I informed you in advance, my father’s actions were still wrong. Therefore, I am willing to offer you some compensation, and I hope you will not blame us,” Zhao Yizhi said respectfully.
It wasn't until this moment that Zhao Dequan realized that his own son had betrayed him. No wonder the mission failed. Then he thought, "Oh no, it's fortunate that it didn't succeed. Otherwise, if I had murdered the commander of these tens of thousands of people, and something really happened, with tens of thousands of people coming to attack, the few hundred people in my mansion would probably all be in grave danger."
Zhao Dequan broke out in a cold sweat and quickly echoed his son's words, "Yi Zhi is right, it is we who are wrong. General, please feel free to bring it up, I will definitely satisfy you."
This is no boast. Although the Zhao family is a remote and unloved family, their ancestors were once wealthy. They had no military power or territory, only money—money they could never spend, money that everyone wanted a piece of.
Wang Erniu smiled somewhat embarrassedly. Yesterday, Lin Er told him that the Zhao family would definitely give him money as compensation today, and he should remember to ask for more than he should ask for, otherwise he would feel bad for his wife's hard work in saving money!
However, he wasn't the type to ask people for money. He had done plenty of things like killing bandits with knives and forcing them to pay him back in Hubei Road. He couldn't be polite enough to ask for money like this. So he smiled and said, "If Prince Zhao insists on giving me money, then so be it. Nothing has happened to our manor anyway. But please don't do such things again next time."
"The general is right." Zhao Dequan deeply agreed, wondering why he had acted so impulsively at the time. He looked at his son.
Zhao Yizhi didn't even look at him, and tricked his father again, saying, "Then let's compensate him according to the money my father spent on hiring assassins. Each assassin cost five thousand taels, and he hired five. I heard that your mansion had over a hundred corpses removed, so I'll compensate you with five hundred thousand taels. I hope the general will take good care of us in the future!"
Zhao Dequan was dumbfounded, staring blankly at his son. The sky had fallen; he was about to give away all the money he had! And so much of it!
"No, Yi Zhi, this, this..." He didn't finish his sentence. Zhao Dequan's face turned as red as a pig's liver. He pulled his son over, feeling embarrassed and ashamed, and said to Wang Erniu with a sheepish smile, "General Wang, this, um, let's discuss this."
Wang Erniu suppressed a laugh, "Please, go ahead!"
With sweaty hands, Zhao Dequan pulled Zhao Yizhi into the courtyard and said earnestly, "Son, it's not that I think you're wasteful, but you can't be so careless with money. What will you spend when I get old?"
Zhao Yizhi grasped his chubby hand and looked at him intently. "Father, do you know why my horse suddenly spooked?"
"Huh? Wasn't it an accident?" Zhao Dequan asked, puzzled. Although the Zhao family had many relatives, they were all quite harmonious.
"Of course not. Blackback is someone I raised myself. It's been almost five years, and I've never seen it go crazy. The other day, I touched it; there was a long silver needle stuck in its rear end. I touched it when I fell off the horse. Although it's not poisonous, it will startle the horse. Father, think about it again. If I really went crazy like you and whipped that Lady Chen, what would happen to me?" Zhao Yizhi looked at him deeply, his eyes growing darker, without a trace of boyish naiveté.
Zhao Dequan suddenly realized that although he was confused, he was not stupid. Now he only had this extremely smart and sensible child. If he were to lose him, he was afraid that he would not be able to handle this vast fortune.
"Alright, alright, my poor son. Money is a good thing, but it's also a burden. We can't keep it, so it's better to give it away. It will ensure your safety. It's all up to you." Zhao Dequan held his hand, tears streaming down his face.
Zhao Yizhi's eyes also reddened. "Dad, don't worry, I will support our family."
"Alright, my son, you've had a hard time. Anyway, we're rich, so let's just consider it money spent to avoid trouble." Even if they squandered all their wealth, they would only be back to where they started, Zhao Dequan comforted himself.
The two returned to the house and reiterated their wishes to Wang Erniu.
Five hundred thousand taels! Wang Erniu was somewhat shocked. He really didn't know how his wife would react when she heard this news.
But the Zhao family got such a large sum of money way too easily.
For the sake of the money, Wang Erniu asked Zhao Yizhi with a friendly smile, "Young Prince Zhao is willing to take such a large sum of money, so you must have some requests, right? You can tell me, and if it's alright, I can agree to them."
Zhao Yizhi had been waiting for these words, so he quickly bowed and said, "Thank you very much, Your Highness!"
Wang Erniu's lips twitched. Hmm, could this young man be hiding something from him?