Although it was freezing cold, it was spring after all. It was just that this year's spring seemed to be much harsher than before.
Crown Prince Zhao Hanqing's limbs were turning blue from the cold but he did not seem to notice. He stared at Li Chengfeng without blinking, as if trying to read his true attitude and reaction.
This question stumped him. Based on his current situation, standing on Zhao Feiyue's side was undoubtedly the best choice. However, by doing so … Li Chengfeng would be betraying his own heart. He would be turning into a creature that he hated the most because of benefits!
What was an animal of profit?
Those who liked to play tricks and only cared about profit were animals of profit. In their eyes, as long as there was enough profit, anything could be sacrificed.
However, Li Chengfeng had never been like that. After a moment of silence, he looked up at Zhao Hanqing. "Your Highness, I already have someone I like. I'm sorry to disappoint you."
Zhao Hanqing looked deeply at Li Chengfeng, nodded slightly, and quickly changed the topic. "Come with me for a walk."
The two of them continued to walk forward. After a while, Zhao Hanqing said, "That younger brother of mine has already begun to counterattack. Although your three stratagems are good, Imperial Father has his own concerns. I'm afraid that even the best policy will not be able to achieve its full effect!"
Li Chengfeng thought to himself, 'What concerns?
He's obviously worried that you're too powerful and wants to use the Fourth Prince to restrict you!
With a brother like you dragging me down, it'd be a miracle if you could run fast! '
The enemy was in the city!
Li Chengfeng naturally would not say this out loud. "Do you know what the Fourth Prince is planning, Your Highness?"
Zhao Hanqing replied, "I've heard a little but it's just to challenge me.
As far as I know, he opened a Hundred Opera Square opposite every gambling station … "
Li Chengfeng was shocked. "Huh?
Opposite each of them was a Hundred Opera Theater?
How can there be so many places? "
Zhao Hanqing smiled and said, "There's only one Hundred Opera House that's as he said, and it's on Mystical Street. The others are just stations for betting and buying lottery tickets."
"What other plans does the Fourth Prince have?"
Zhao Hanqing said, "That Spring Orchid Gathering of yours, Old Four is preparing to make a scene. You need to be careful."
Li Chengfeng chuckled. "How do I do that?"
Zhao Hanqing snickered, "It's nothing more than a competition. You have a Spring Orchid Gathering, and he will have an Autumn Chrysanthemum Gathering. You have it in the Jade Spring Garden in the west of the city, and he will have it in the Heavenly Garden right across from you. In any case, he won't stop until he messes you up."
Li Chengfeng chuckled. "If it's a real fight, I'm not afraid of him. I'm just worried that he'll play dirty!"
Zhao Han Qing sternly said, "Although Lao Si's character is surly and stubborn, he has genuine talent. Don't underestimate him. Moreover, his attainments in music and dance are extremely profound, not inferior to any of the great masters of this era."
Li Chengfeng said confidently, "Don't worry, don't worry!
Tonight, I'll go to his Hundred Opera Square and see what kind of tricks he has up his sleeves!
Perfect, I'll show him how we con … ahem, eat, drink, whore … ahem, how we play the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting! "
Zhao Han Qing stared at Li Chengfeng with a half-smile but did not say anything else. After all, to him, Li Chengfeng was his friend, not his subordinate. That was why he did not expect much from him. He patted Li Chengfeng's shoulder and said, "In this world, there are many talkative people like Old Four who just sit around and talk. There are very few practical people like you who put your head down and work hard!
When the world rises and falls, the people suffer. I hope your three strategies can truly bring happiness to the world! "
Li Chengfeng said seriously, "Your Highness, you flatter me. I was just talking. Your Highness is the real practical person. I deeply respect you!"
Zhao Hanqing's face was devoid of pride. He looked at the women transplanting rice seedlings in the fields with a deep gaze and said, "When I was very young, there was an accident when my master took me on a long journey for the first time. It was when I was less than ten years old.
Before that, I was no different from Old Four. We read the books of the saints, spoke the saints' words, and talked about managing the family, ruling the country, and bringing peace to the world.
But how do we manage the family, how do we rule the country, how do we bring peace to the world?
We don't know!
We don't know what the world is either.
The world, it only exists in the books we read, it exists in the imagination of our minds.
It was only when my Master brought me out that I realised that the world is not as simple as the saints said.
The world belongs to everyone. It belongs to all living beings. It belongs to the hardworking people! "
Zhao Hanqing said casually. He did not even use a formal title like 'Gu', instead, he used the usual 'I'. He walked slowly and spoke slowly. Li Chengfeng followed beside him, listening attentively.
Zhao Hanqing continued, "Everyone thinks that the first-class cultivators, the second-class scholars, and the third-class warriors determine and promote the structure and development of our world.
That's ridiculous!
The ones who really push the world and decide the development of the world are the people and the people!
You might think that I'm just saying this because I'm standing and talking!
But the first time my Master brought me on a long journey, we encountered a rolling dragon. The entire entourage broke up and I fell off a cliff. I was separated from the guards and my Master.
I had thirteen broken bones and fell off the cliff, starving and freezing for two days and two nights! "
Li Chengfeng was shocked. He did not expect the Crown Prince to have such a story.
Zhao Hanqing continued, "At that time, I thought I was going to die for sure, until a farmer found me when he went up the mountain to gather herbs. He picked me up and brought me back.
I was dressed plainly and penniless. They didn't know who I was, and they didn't know what they would get out of saving me. But they used the last of their rations to save me … "
Tears welled up in Zhao Han Qing's eyes as he said emotionally, "When they slaughtered the last hen, they didn't even let their hungry children have a sip of the chicken soup. I drank almost all of it. That's when I understood what my Master meant by 'this world'!"
"The people of this world sacrificed their last bit of rations to feed us. That's why we have the status we have today. That's why Daqi has been prosperous for five hundred years!
That's why you cultivators have no distractions!
Without them, would you really be able to abstain from eating? Would we really be able to live in the wilderness? "
Zhao Han Qing sighed. "The most adorable people in this world are the people who feed us without regrets!
Tell me, if I don't let them live a better life, then … am I still human? "
Li Chengfeng had always thought that Zhao Han Qing was a Crown Prince who aspired to be a saint. Everything he did was for him to become a saint. That was an innate sense of justice and mission. But now he knew that was not the case. The Crown Prince had such a secret past. This also explained why the Crown Prince was so determined to change the world and stand on the people's side. He was willing to offend the nobles, the cultivation world, and even the Cosmos God Sect!
Because the Crown Prince knew very well that the people who really fed the world, the cultivators and nobles, were the poor people who stood in the dirty fields, unafraid of the wind and rain, unafraid of the cold and bitter.