Love Lock

Chapter 97 Just what you want
"No, haha, I was just laughing at those guys for choosing to kidnap Miss Han of all people. In the end, they kidnapped a young lady instead, haha..."

Hearing Pingchuan say this, everyone laughed.

"This is truly ridiculous and utterly absurd."

"Look at how delicate Miss Han is, how does she manage to do that?"

"..."

The tense atmosphere in the courtyard instantly relaxed. Even the usually aloof Zhao Zun subtly curled a smile at the corner of his mouth.

As expected, it was the same girl he knew. When she made a move, the opponent was bound to fall.

The worries of the past few days have finally dissipated, and Zhao Zun can finally relax and get some rest.

He told everyone to go back and rest before turning around and going back into the house.

Sitting at the table, Zhao Zun opened the crumpled letter and began to read it carefully by the dim candlelight...

……

The next day, when Prefect Sun Wenyuan sobered up and rushed to the county magistrate's office to inquire about the construction of the Prince's Mansion, Prince Zhao Zun of Cangzhou appeared before him in a refreshed and cheerful manner, completely different from his indifferent and gloomy demeanor the day before.

"This humble official greets Your Highness." Sun Wenyuan still wore a fawning smile.

To his surprise, Zhao Zun, who had been indifferent to him yesterday, gave him a warm and welcoming smile today.

"Prefect Sun, please have a seat. I appreciate your help in overseeing the construction of the Prince's Mansion."

"Not at all, not at all, this is all within my duties. The imperial edict states that Your Highness may recruit five hundred soldiers according to regulations. I wonder if I may be of service to Your Highness in this matter?"

Zhao Zun's smile remained unchanged, and his tone was very polite. "Thank you for your trouble, Prefect Sun. I have already entrusted the matter of recruiting soldiers to my personal guards. Prefect Sun, you can focus on the construction of the Prince's Palace."

Although the prince was the highest ruler of the domain, before his arrival, all the officials, big and small, were appointed by the imperial court.

Moreover, the Sun family was Emperor Jing's maternal family.

Zhao Zun was perfectly clear about Sun Wenyuan's purpose. Once he was allowed to help recruit soldiers, countless people around him would become Sun Wenyuan's spies in the future.

The guards were his personal security force, and he would not tolerate any informants among them.

Upon hearing Sun Wenyuan's words, Zhao Zun instantly understood that even if Emperor Jing granted him a fiefdom, he would still not trust him.

Seeing that Zhao Zun refused directly, Sun Wenyuan didn't say much and could only chuckle awkwardly.

"Hehe, yes. I almost forgot. Your Highness has personal guards who can serve you. Then I will diligently oversee the construction of the Prince's residence. If Your Highness has no further instructions, I will take my leave now."

After saying this, Sun Wenyuan stood up, bowed, and turned to leave, but Zhao Zun called him back.

"Prefect Sun, wait a moment!" Zhao Zun stood up from his seat, walked to Sun Wenyuan's side, and patted him on the shoulder in a seemingly friendly manner. "The matter of overseeing the construction of the Prince's Palace is not urgent. Let's put it aside for now. I have other matters I would like to trouble Prefect Sun with."

"Your Majesty, please give your orders."

A prince, yet he wasn't in a hurry to build his own palace. Sun Wenyuan was surprised, but Zhao Zun's friendly attitude still flattered him. Zhao Zun continued patting his shoulder, "Prefect Sun knows that I am but a warrior. Now, I have nowhere to use my martial skills. Therefore, I wish to purchase a large tract of wasteland in your county to build a hunting ground for archery and hunting. Is this feasible?"

Zhao Zun is right, he really is a warrior!
Sun Zhizhou's lips twitched violently. "Your Highness, why are you building the hunting grounds instead of the Prince's Mansion? Isn't that... uh, putting the cart before the horse?"

"No, no, no, I just want to stretch my muscles first. I feel uncomfortable if I don't exercise for a few days. As for the palace, as long as it's habitable, it's fine. I don't care when it's repaired."

After saying that, Zhao Zun deliberately stretched out a big yawn, as if he was loosening his muscles.

He read Han Lei's letter yesterday, in which she said that a large area of ​​wasteland was needed to build a factory.

Qingshui County is building a royal palace, and has already constructed a pig farm and reclaimed land for farming.

If he still needs to build factories on large tracts of wasteland, he has to do it openly under Sun Wenyuan's nose.

Wasn't Emperor Jing still wary of him? Didn't he send Sun Wenyuan to plant spies among his guards?

He wanted Emperor Jing to know that the first thing he did after arriving in Cangzhou was to buy wasteland to build a hunting ground for hunting and recreation.

Sun Wenyuan was speechless.

Once other princes arrived in their fiefdoms, they were busy cultivating relationships, building their own power, or squandering the court's money to build their palaces.

Prince Zhao Zun, however, was busy building hunting grounds in his fiefdom, practicing archery, hunting, and enjoying himself.

From this perspective, this prince seems easy to deal with.

Anyway, Cangzhou is a poor and desolate place with plenty of wasteland. As long as Zhao Zun doesn't harbor any disloyal intentions and cross His Majesty's bottom line, he can build and play however he wants.

If we can appease this fiefdom king, his rule here will be smoother, won't it?
Thinking this, Sun Wenyuan put on a fawning smile again.

"Very well! Since Your Highness enjoys archery and hunting, then we will proceed as Your Highness wishes and build a hunting ground first. But I wonder... where Your Highness would like to build it?"

Seeing that Sun Wenyuan agreed so easily, Zhao Zun slightly curled his lips and stroked his chin as if he was thinking.

"Hmm... the land in Qingshui County is relatively fertile and suitable for growing crops. No matter how much I like it, I can't exactly hunt in farmland. How about... we build the hunting grounds in Huachang County, under Governor Sun's jurisdiction?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wenyuan, who was wearing an official hat, immediately shook his head like a rattle drum.

"Uh, no, no, Your Highness, you are unaware that only Qingshui County and Huachang County in the entire Cangzhou have relatively fertile land, which must be used for growing crops. Perhaps... Your Highness could choose another location?"

Are you kidding me?
The land in Huachang County is even more fertile than that in Qingshui County. Otherwise, why would he have chosen Huachang County as the location for the prefectural government?
If he hadn't acquired enough land in Huachang County and registered it under the Sun family's name, how could the Sun family have become so powerful and influential today? How could they have joined the ranks of the four great families? If Zhao Zun had gone to Huachang County, how could he still act as the prefect and run rampant in the countryside, seizing land at will?
Besides, before Zhao Zun arrived, he was the local tyrant of Cangzhou, and his word was law in Cangzhou.

Now that Zhao Zun has become the king of Cangzhou, he only needs to show respect on the surface. Why does he need to make him appear before him and worship him every day?
Besides, those fertile lands in Huachang County have already fallen into the Sun family's name. Why should they give them up to Zhao Zun to build a hunting ground? Wouldn't that be like cutting off the Sun family's flesh?

What Sun Wenyuan didn't know was that his excuse was exactly what Zhao Zun wanted to hear; Zhao Zun was just waiting for him to say those words.

Zhao Zun had been stationed at Beiguan for many years. Although he was a military general, he was well-informed about the affairs of the entire Cangzhou. His suggestion to build the hunting grounds in Huachang County was merely a feint; his purpose was to keep them out of Sun Wenyuan's sight.

Zhao Zun's goal was simple: to let you know that he was openly building a hunting ground, but also to keep it out of your sight so you wouldn't know how he was building it or what it would look like.

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(End of this chapter)