From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 215 Drag Everyone Down
Xiangfan, Baoqin Tower
Baoqinlou, built by the water, is one of the best restaurants in the city.

Inside the No. 1 private room on the third floor, there was a great deal of noise.

Today, several of the most powerful second-generation rich kids in Qingzhou met unexpectedly on the outskirts of the city, which led to this banquet.

"Your Highness, it's truly an unexpected honor to encounter you at the foot of the city when I casually decided to go out!"

The speaker was a young master from the Lu family of Qingzhou, and the son of Lu Dongjiang, the newly appointed governor of Taixi County. The Lu family is one of the three prominent families in Qingzhou, and one of the most prestigious families in the city. In Xiangfan today, apart from Zhao Xun, the Lu family is the only other powerful family.

Besides this Young Master Lu, there was also Wei Wei, who would soon be called the Evil Dragon by the people of Qingzhou. His father was Wei Dong, the naval commander. Although Wei Dong's official position was not very high, he truly held military power. Even local officials such as governors and prefects treated him with great respect. Therefore, Wei Wei had a high status among this group of second-generation rich kids. In addition to these two, he also met an unexpected person, Lin Yu.

Well, this Lin Yu is not yet the third-ranked scholar, he is only fifteen or sixteen years old. He comes from the Lin family of Qiao State in Hedong. He is full of vigor and has a brilliant literary talent. He is indeed a person who will become the third-ranked scholar in a few years. Unfortunately, he ruined his promising future because of greed.

Aside from these three, the rest were all second-generation members of prominent families in Qingzhou, and their ages ranged from thirteen to sixteen...

Therefore, Zhao Xun did not believe that this young master Lu had said that they had met by chance.

"Young Master Lu is joking. We live in the same city and see each other all the time. What's there to talk about being so lucky?"

Zhao Xun raised his glass with a smile and took a sip.

Compared to his original body, this projection of his still has a certain alcohol tolerance; at least he's a decent drinker.

After finishing his drink, Zhao Xun, beaming with joy, blended into the group of second-generation rich kids.

They complimented Zhao Xun on his unparalleled painting skills, to which Zhao Xun replied that he was lucky and that Qingzhou had good feng shui.

They said that the Jing'an Prince's Mansion was the pillar of Qingzhou, and Zhao Xun praised Lu Laozhuguo as the true ancestor behind Qingzhou, and Wei Dudu's naval force as the mainstay of Qingzhou...

The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely until dusk, when the banquet finally came to an end.

Of course, this group of second-generation rich kids originally wanted to arrange activities for the evening, but as soon as Wei Wei brought it up, Yu Xuanji, who had been standing next to Zhao Xun, glared at him and stopped them.

Her sharp, sword-like gaze sent a shiver down his spine. When he looked up at Yu Xuanji again, a feeling of fear welled up deep within him.

An eleven-year-old third-rank master, that's terrifying!

"Hmph, he said he'd take me out for a stroll, but all he did was drink."

Throughout the journey, Yu Xuanji kept muttering complaints.

"You did well today too. Standing there, you looked like a proper guard. Keep that up in the future," Zhao Xun said with a smile.

"You know I'm your guard. Today I sensed several men with ill intentions. If I weren't worried about you, I would have taken action already!"

“It’s not surprising that someone might harbor ill will towards me outside the manor; I don’t need to deal with it the way I would inside,” Zhao Xun shook his head. “How were those people today? Are any of them people I might become close to?”

"Hmph, no." Mentioning these second-generation rich kids today, Yu Xuanji snorted coldly again, "They're all no good, especially that guy surnamed Wei. He's been giving me disgusting looks several times. If I wasn't worried about making things difficult for you, I would have blinded him long ago."

"He's definitely not a good person, and his father is a good-for-nothing too," Zhao Xun nodded. "Aside from Wei Wei, who among the people here today do you think is even remotely normal?!" "Hmm, Lin Yu, I suppose. He's quite talented, and he doesn't have that repulsive aura about him!"

“Him? Forget about it.” Zhao Xun shook his head repeatedly. “I’m afraid he’ll splatter blood all over me.”

A scion of a noble family, after passing the imperial examination with top honors, became arrogant and dared to bring a woman of unknown origin when visiting a place like the Northern Liang King's Mansion. The most ridiculous thing is that in the end, he ruined himself and his family, while the woman, because of her beauty, got away scot-free and later even joined the Sword-Sinking Cave and the Northern Liang. With such behavior and such luck, even if Zhao Xun was talented, he wouldn't dare to use her!
Back at the mansion, unable to resist Yu Xuanji's insistence, he gave her some more pointers on swordsmanship, then kindly saw her out of the study before things finally calmed down.

Looking at the large stack of documents on the table, he closed his eyes slightly. After a moment, he opened his eyes again, gently stroking the pile of documents. His lips twitched twice. Damn it, the second primordial spirit has become arrogant. It won't help with even the smallest thing, only giving me some hints. What use are you to me?

He cursed under his breath, then looked up and said, "Someone come here!"

"His Royal Highness!"

The study door opened, and the old butler walked in. "Have Sun Chengli come to see me tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

The old steward was slightly taken aback, then responded. Seeing that Zhao Xun had no further instructions, he closed the door and left.

"Qingzhou, the Jing'an Prince's Mansion, are they trying to drag everyone down with them?!"

The second primordial spirit didn't want to help; it only gave him a hint to drag everyone down with it.

All of these people refer to the prominent families and powerful clans of Qingzhou.

In Qingzhou, there is a strong tendency to form cliques. Because the people here are not very martial, but they are very cultured, they have sent a lot of talents to the court, whether it was during the Western Chu period or the current Li Yang Dynasty. Even after the Li Yang Dynasty unified the Central Plains, this situation did not change. A large number of officials from Qingzhou entered the Li Yang Dynasty court through the imperial examination, and many of them became important ministers.

It even formed the Green Party in the imperial court, with officials protecting each other and uniting against external forces, making it very difficult to deal with.

The Prince of Jing'an's fiefdom is in Qingzhou, and Zhao Heng is somewhat reminiscent of Liu Biao from the Three Kingdoms period.

However, there are differences.

Liu Biao was the governor of Jingzhou. He entered Jingzhou by white horse and became the ruler of Jingzhou. In this world, Zhao Heng is the Prince of Jing'an. Qingzhou is his fiefdom. In name, he controls all military and political power in Qingzhou, but in reality, this is not the case.

Qingzhou has a governor, who is a member of the imperial court, and the navy has a commander, who is Gu Jiantang's subordinate.

Each prefecture also has a prefect, and most importantly, this is the stronghold of the Green Party, where many powerful and influential families are not to be trifled with.

Most people watched Zhao Heng's arrival with indifference and were only superficially polite. After failing to seize the throne, Zhao Heng knew he should keep a low profile and never competed for power or profit. He adopted a laissez-faire approach to governing Qingzhou, only taking what he was entitled to. Gradually, he became one with the powerful families of Qingzhou, at least on the surface.

However, this situation did not satisfy Zhao Xun. As the prince of Qingzhou, he could not even control or integrate his own fiefdom. Even if the throne could be inherited, his position would not be secure. Zhao Xun in the original work is a good example.

He needed the aristocratic families of Qingzhou to support the Jing'an Prince's Mansion and stand on its side, but he couldn't make any big moves. Therefore, according to the deduction of his second primordial spirit, the best way was to start with interests, tie all the aristocratic families of Qingzhou to the Jing'an Prince's Mansion in terms of interests, and drag everyone down with him.

(End of this chapter)