good season

Zhao Shiqing had always known that not all parents would love their children.

Let alone the emperor.

There is no kinship in the royal family.

Zhao Xingzhou had a fatherly love for the former crown prince Zhao Xian, but not much. Or rather, their relationship changed from the moment Zhao Xian became crown prince. They were father and son, but more importantly, they were ruler and subject.

And the already limited amount of fatherly love becomes insignificant.

Zhao Xingzhou also had paternal love for Emperor Yongjia, but not much. When Zhao Xingzhou was forced to abdicate the throne, this paternal love disappeared.

As for Zhao Xingzhou's feelings for Wan Ruyi, whom he had never met, it was more a sense of guilt than fatherly love.

Moreover, this guilt is time-limited, and this time limit will not be very long. Once he calms down, this guilt will gradually fade.

He had several daughters, and he watched them grow from adorable little dumplings into charming young girls, and then into elegant and noble princesses. These unique experiences between father and daughters were something that Wan Ruyi, who returned halfway through her life, could not compare to.

Fatherly love is already scarce and is divided among several people. Now that another one has come, how much of Wan Ruyi's share will she receive?
Zhao Xingzhou was still pondering the posthumous title to Shi's father, who was just a commoner, so the rank that could be posthumously conferred was limited.

Zhao Shiqing couldn't help but ask, "Will this posthumous title be useful in the underworld? For example, will it allow me to be reincarnated first? To be reborn into a better life?"

Zhao Xingzhou was taken aback; it was the first time someone had asked him such a question.

Does posthumous conferment in the mortal realm have any effect in the underworld?

How could I know?
Seeing his stunned expression, Zhao Shiqing shrugged: "It seems that this posthumous title is useless in the underworld. It's useless in the underworld and useless in the mortal world. My family fled here, and now I'm the only living person left. So, the imperial favor is useless to me. I don't even have the surname Shi anymore."

Zhao is the imperial surname. Although she is an adopted daughter, she is registered in the Imperial Clan Court. Unless she commits a serious crime and the emperor strips her of the Zhao surname and bestows upon her a surname like Dog or Pig, she will still have the Zhao surname even if she finds her own relatives.

Zhao Xingzhou thought about it and agreed. Posthumous conferment was definitely necessary, and posthumous conferment would require special favors. However, the Shi family only had one orphaned daughter and no male heirs. Who would receive these favors?

"Although your family fled here, you must still have relatives, just not in Wu. We can send someone to look for them. Even if we can't find someone of the same clan, we can find someone with the same surname. Among those with the same surname, we can find a male to inherit your father's mantle."

Or, you could go to a charity and adopt a younger brother for yourself, registering him under your father's name. That way, your father would have a heir, wouldn't he?

Zhao Shiqing scoffed, "Why should the favor I earned with my life be given to some complete stranger? Does my father even know who they are? They're raising someone else's son even after they're dead. Aren't they afraid my father will crawl out of his coffin and scare him to death?"

Zhao Xingzhou was somewhat bewildered by Zhao Shiqing's input, and Zhao Shiqing's blatant phrase "raising someone else's son" struck a nerve. Was this ever going to end? Every sentence had to include those words.

He wanted to talk to Zhao Shiqing about the importance of passing on traditions, but the young girl seemed ready to challenge him to a duel at any moment, which made him a little hesitant.

The main problem is that the waves of impact today have been too great; his old heart is already weary, and he doesn't want to be affected by the war any further.

“Oh, right, there’s another way. You can find a son-in-law!” As soon as he said that, Zhao Xingzhou shook his head again. “No, you’re surnamed Zhao now. If you find a son-in-law, the children you have will also have the surname Zhao.”

Upon hearing about the idea of ​​finding a son-in-law, Zhao Shiqing blinked. "Hmm, that's a good idea!"

"Aren't you the retired emperor? Why don't you just talk to the Imperial Clan Court and let my child take the surname Shi?"

Zhao Xingzhou grinned. Don't young girls these days have any shame? They're not even married yet, and they keep calling her "my child."

But he only dared to grumble in his heart and didn't dare to say it out loud, because it would cause trouble. This girl could not only curse, but also cry. If she cried and argued with him like just now, he couldn't afford to offend her.

"Yes, that's not a bad idea. There are precedents for choosing a surname from among your sons."

Now that a solution has been devised, Zhao Shiqing waved her hand and said, "Go ahead and posthumously confer titles if you want."

Zhao Xingzhou thought for a moment. Shi's father was just a commoner, and even if he were posthumously granted a high rank, it wouldn't be high. But if he was only granted a seventh or eighth rank, this little girl would definitely have a lot of sarcastic remarks waiting for him.

But if you were to bestow a high-ranking title, that would be against the rules.

By the way, I have it!
"Your account hasn't been banned, has it?"

When the old King Liang reported Zhao Shiqing's name to the Imperial Clan Court, Zhao Xingzhou was already cultivating immortality at the Longevity Palace. He was unaware that the old King Liang had an adopted daughter.

However, it is likely that she did not have a title. The imperial court was very strict in granting titles to the Eighth Prince. Generally, only the legitimate daughters enjoyed the title of Princess, while the illegitimate daughters did not, and adopted daughters like Zhao Shiqing were even less likely to receive one.

Zhao Shiqing nodded: "No."

Zhao Xingzhou grinned, his face crinkling with wrinkles: "How about this, I'll take you in as my goddaughter on behalf of Ruyi, and also bestow upon you the title of Princess."

Zhao Shiqing was stunned. Had she heard correctly? The old emperor wanted to take her in as his goddaughter on behalf of Aunt Ruyi?
It seems that they thought Aunt Ruyi was too old and might not have any biological children, so they took her in as their adopted daughter.
This way, the daughter's offspring problem can be solved, and she, the person in the know, can also be dealt with—killing two birds with one stone.
No wonder he could become emperor; his mind was definitely different from that of a normal person.

"I have a mother, I don't want a godmother."

"Alas, hasn't your mother already passed away? Since I'm posthumously honoring your father, I will naturally do the same for your mother. Besides, I've heard about your relationship with the former Princess Consort of the Liang Prince's Mansion."

Zhao Shiqing rolled her eyes. Sure enough, they had investigated her and even knew that she had a bad relationship with the Nie family.

“That’s right, she kicked me out. Even if she dies, I will never kowtow to her.”

Zhao Xingzhou beamed. He couldn't blame the little girl for being heartless. The old princess was from the Nie family. He had met the head of the Nie family when he was a child. He was so fake that his mother disliked him. Therefore, he never promoted any members of the Nie family. Later, when he learned that the Liang Prince's Mansion was engaged to the Nie family, he was very happy. He wished that all of the Eighth Prince's in-laws would be such families that were all show and no substance.

The young girl is very sentimental and will definitely not get along with that Nie family. Now that the old Liang King is dead and the young girl is alone outside, her relationship with the Liang King's mansion will gradually become distant in the future.

Thinking about it this way, it would be most appropriate for her to become the goddaughter of my poor daughter.

Moreover, my daughter has been isolated from the world since childhood and is ignorant of human relationships, while this little girl is clever and mischievous with a belly full of bad intentions. She and Ruyi have known each other for a long time and have been together for a long time. Although they have no relationship, she is willing to stand up for Ruyi. In the future, when she becomes Ruyi's daughter, she will definitely protect Ruyi's side.

Zhao Xingzhou thought about it more and more and felt that this was a good idea: "I want to bestow upon you the title of Princess, a princess with a title and a fief."

Zhao Xingzhou felt he was being very generous. The Dayong Dynasty had never had a princess of a different surname; at most, a princess's daughter would be granted the title of county princess.

But the little girl is not only the princess's adopted daughter, but she also has the surname Zhao. Just that surname Zhao is enough to shut up those old fogies in the Imperial Clan Court.

Unexpectedly, she even managed to snag a princess today. Zhao Shiqing was surprised, but not opposed to it.

Thinking about it this way, becoming Aunt Wan's goddaughter isn't entirely unacceptable.

She originally liked Aunt Wan very much, and Aunt Wan was very kind to her.

"Okay, let's put it in writing, so you won't regret it later."

Zhao Shiqing ground the ink with great speed, panting heavily. Zhao Xingzhou had already lost count of how many written agreements he had made today. Including that letter, the old man had finished writing all the documents for the month.

Zhao Shiqing watched him finish writing the document and then asked, "What about the posthumous titles of my father and mother, and my grandmother? My grandmother was such a kind person." Zhao Xingzhou had no choice but to continue writing. After he finished, Zhao Shiqing picked it up and looked at it. Her father was posthumously awarded the title of Zhengwubuzheng Shuyin (a minor official rank) and her mother and grandmother were both posthumously awarded the title of Gaoming (a high-ranking official title).

Although Zhao Shiqing didn't know what kind of official the posthumous title of Xiuzheng Shuyin was, the posthumous conferment of a fifth-rank official title was quite proper, and Zhao Shiqing was generally satisfied.

She dried the note, put it in her bosom, and put it away for now; it wasn't time to cash it in.

Seeing that Zhao Shiqing was finally satisfied, Zhao Xingzhou breathed a sigh of relief.

That night, I was extremely tired.

Zhao Shiqing finally let him go to sleep, but when they got to his sleeping place, Zhao Xingzhou ran back.

"I have never slept with so many people before. No, you must find me a new place to live."

But here, everyone sleeps in a large dormitory, except for Xiao Zhen, of course.

Although Zhao Shiqing wanted to teach the old man a lesson, he was, after all, the retired emperor. Although his character wasn't great, there would still be many things she needed him for in the future.

Yes, if we want to avenge the Shi family and Old Liang Wang, we can't do it without this old man.

“I have a friend who and his entourage didn’t come back tonight, so you can stay with them.”

Zhao Xingzhou didn't think much of it and followed Xia Dachuan to Xiao Zhen's room.

Accommodation on the mountain is limited. Even Zhao Shiqing shares a room with Xiuxiu and Lingbo. Xiao Zhen's so-called single room is actually a small room partitioned off from Dazhuang and Jiang Ping's room.

Not only did Xiao Zhen not return today, but Da Zhuang and the others also didn't come back.

Zhao Shiqing simply let Zhao Xingzhou stay here. Although it was still a large dormitory, Zhao Xingzhou was all alone, so he could roll around on the bed.

Zhao Xingzhou had lived under the eaves of houses in Wu before, so living here was no problem for him. The reason he didn't want to sleep with others wasn't because he thought it was dirty, but because he was afraid of dying.

He was worried that someone would get up in the middle of the night and kill him.

All emperors are afraid of death, and he was no exception.

Zhao Xingzhou lay on the large bed covered with straw mats, let out a long sigh of relief, and finally could get a good night's sleep.

The rain outside had stopped sometime ago, and the room had a faint fragrance from the mosquito coils inside.

Zhao Xingzhou soon fell asleep.

In his dream, he was just an observer, watching the old Prince Liang die from poisoning. The eldest princess ordered the detention of Princess Jiayi and Prince Consort Xiao. That night, the couple died in the Prince Liang's estate.

The Liang Prince's Mansion and the Xiao Family went to war, resulting in heavy losses for both sides. The imperial court sent troops to quell the rebellion, the Xiao Family was wiped out, and the eldest princess of the Liang Prince's Mansion was married off to the capital.

Then, the heir apparent of the Liang King died, the eldest princess died, and the new Liang King also died. The Liang King's fiefdom was taken back by the court. Emperor Yongjia laughed heartily, and then ordered the pursuit and killing of Xiao Zhen and Xiao Yue.

Zhao Xingzhou saw a middle-aged man surnamed Zhong being brought before Emperor Yongjia by a palace attendant.

"You're Empress Zhong's cousin? Do you know the whereabouts of Xiao Zhen and Xiao Yue?"

"Yes, I am Zhong Ziyang. I not only know where their hideout is, but I am also deeply trusted by them."

"Alright, I'll trust you this once. You may leave."

Zhong Ziyang withdrew, and after a while, the eunuch brought in another man in black. Emperor Yongjia said, "I want Xiao Zhen and Xiao Yue dead, especially Xiao Yue. I want to see his head!"

In his dream, the scene shifted, and he saw a group of men in black, led by Zhong Ziyang, arrive smoothly at the hiding place of Xiao Zhen and Xiao Yue, where both brothers were dead.

The leader of the men in black cut off Xiao Yue's head and put it in a leather bag. Zhong Ziyang was puzzled and asked, "Xiao Yue is just Xiao Zhen's younger brother. He is just a concubine's son who is not worthy of being mentioned in public."

The man in black gave a cold laugh: "His Majesty specifically requested his head."

Zhao Xingzhou suddenly woke up with a start, looked around, and was shocked.

Candles were lit in the room, and several burly men stood by the bed, all watching him.

"You, who are you?"

Dazhuang: "I was just wondering who you are, what are you doing in our bed?"

Zhao Xingzhou sat up, about to explain, when suddenly someone walked in from outside: "What's wrong?"

"An old man is sleeping on the bed. I don't know how, but he ended up sleeping in our room," Dazhuang said.

The man approached and, upon seeing Zhao Xingzhou, frowned slightly: "What brings you here?"

Zhao Xingzhou's mouth was agape. He pointed at the person in front of him, his lips trembling uncontrollably: "You, you, you, you're not dead?"

Xiao Zhen sighed, about to say that he was not dead, but suddenly froze.

The last time he brought Xiao Yue before the Emperor Emeritus, he was still wearing the fake face of Young Master Zhen. The last time he showed his true face to the Emperor Emeritus was more than ten years ago, when he was only seven or eight years old.

Later, when he met the retired emperor in Wu, he was also wearing a human skin mask.

So the question is, how did the Emperor Emeritus recognize him as Xiao Zhen?
He is very different now than he was when he was seven or eight years old.

It should be noted that the retired emperor was not particularly close to his grandchildren, and they rarely saw each other throughout the year. They were not familiar with each other, so much so that when he was in Wu, he only felt that the old Taoist priest looked somewhat familiar.

He couldn't recognize the retired emperor at first glance. How could the retired emperor recognize him when he grew up?
Zhao Xingzhou was equally taken aback; he hadn't yet snapped out of his dream.

Although he was in the Longevity Palace, he still knew about Jiayi's loss of her son.

Although he no longer remembered his grandson, he still felt sorry for Jiayi. Her only son had died, and he didn't know if she would be able to have children in the future.

But just now in his dream, he saw Xiao Zhen die in front of him. Besides Xiao Zhen, there was also Xiao Yue, a concubine's son whom he had never met but had only heard about from others!
Both brothers died; Xiao Yue died first, and Xiao Zhen died later, the two brothers dying together.

But now, Xiao Zhen was standing alive in front of him. Zhao Xingzhou was stunned. Just how many times had this Xiao Zhen died?

Why am I still alive?

Xiao Zhen frowned deeply and asked, "Did you come up the mountain today? Alone? Where are your guards? Didn't they come with you?" (End of Chapter)