The Demon-Slaying Grandmaster

Chapter 49: Showing kindness to others requires asking for something in return

The Emperor continued, "That woman said you were your father Li Huaiyi's child, but she couldn't produce any proof.

She even refused to say who she was.

Your great-uncle, the current heir to the title of Earl of Xing'an and the father of the third-class general Li Huaili, naturally doesn't believe it.

Finally, the woman left you outside the Earl's Mansion and disappeared. Your great uncle finally ordered your uncle to send you to the Zhenwu Temple for foster care.

No one knows whether the woman died or returned to southern Xinjiang.

Even now, no one knows whether she is your mother or not."

Li Jingxiao was completely stunned, and his first thought was that he didn't believe it at all.

He even felt that the old emperor was telling such nonsense to fool him in order to win him over.

But he remembered again what Jia Lian had said before, that the Jia family had investigated those ruffians and found out who was the mastermind behind the theft of the prescription from him.

After finding out that it was related to the Xing'an Earl's Mansion, they stopped investigating further.

I couldn't help but believe it again.

I just remembered that Jia Lian also said that the current Earl of Xing'an, that is, his cousin, the third-class general Li Huaili, seemed to have been ill for many years.

The emperor's tone was filled with a hint of tentativeness, and he smiled and said, "Father, do you mean to let Li Aiqing inherit the title of Earl of Xing'an?"

Regardless of whether there was a conflict between the emperor and the retired emperor, the two generations of emperors had basically the same attitude towards Li Jingxiao.

It would be best to win over a master like Li Jingxiao.

Once Li Jingxiao becomes the heir to the Xing'an Earl's Mansion, he will belong to the noble class who shares weal and woe with the Great Zhou.

So for the emperor, he didn't care whether Li Jingxiao was the heir of the eldest branch of the Li family in Jiangzhou.

As long as both the emperor and the retired emperor say yes, then it must be.

As for the current generation's Earl of Xing'an, he only has the rank of third-class general. If it is passed on to Li Jingxiao, the title will automatically be lost.

Li Jingxiao made great contributions in handling the affairs of the imperial mausoleum, so he deserved a reward.

Not to mention letting Li Jingxiao inherit the title of third-class general, even giving him the title of first-class general would be no problem.

"That's right," the emperor nodded and said to Li Jingxiao with a smile, "Your uncle is now seriously ill and has no children, so he has asked the court to adopt the sons and nephews of other families in Jiangzhou as his sons.

Now that it has been found out, you are the heir of the Li family's eldest branch in the capital.

The branches in Jiangzhou and the two branches in the capital are all five generations away.

You are the most qualified person to inherit the title of Xing'an Earl.

And since your uncle is seriously ill, I will simply pass the title to you so that Lord Li can take good care of his health."

Li Jingxiao couldn't help but mutter in his heart, he knew very well what the emperor and his son were planning.

As long as you trace your roots back to your ancestral home, you are a descendant of noble families and will live and die with the country.

When one prospers, all prosper; when one suffers, all suffer.

Under normal circumstances, nobles rarely rebelled, and they would obey whoever was the emperor.

Li Jingxiao thought about it and realized that it would be inappropriate to agree or refuse, so he simply bowed and said, "I will leave it to the Holy Saint, Your Majesty, to decide."

The retired emperor and the emperor couldn't help but smile. The nobles didn't care who inherited the title of Xing'an Earl.

And if they have no offspring, what they hope most is that the inheritance of their own title will not be broken, and that there will be descendants to worship their ancestors.

Therefore, it did not matter to them whether Li Jingxiao or the heir from the concubine's house in Jiangzhou inherited the title.

Even the civil and military officials in the court had to support the old emperor and the emperor.

After all, they couldn't guarantee that the wife their heir married wouldn't be able to give birth to a son.

Then you can only choose from the closest blood relatives.

The question now is whether Li Jingxiao will save his cheap cousin.

This was probably the Emperor Retired, testing Li Jingxiao's character and tolerance. When the old emperor saw that Li Jingxiao said that he and his son would make the decision, he actually accepted his origins.

He couldn't help but nodded with satisfaction.

Only then did he begin to ask about the imperial mausoleum.

Li Jingxiao naturally wouldn't say everything.

Some chose to report to the retired emperor and the emperor.

He first talked about how he was attacked by a group of assassins the night before, and also talked about how he arranged for Lu Erfu to guard outside the imperial mausoleum.

After hearing this, the retired emperor showed his anger, and the emperor said, "Father, the factory guards have tortured the thief that Li Aiqing handed over to Xia Shouzhong.

I've confirmed they are indeed the remnants of what happened back then, and I'm about to report to my father. Should we arrest them based on the list of people he confessed to? "

The emperor did not say much about the deposed crown prince's rebellion. After that, he took out a list and handed it to the retired emperor.

The emperor was stunned after reading it, and then became furious.

Not only were there ministers in the court who were in collusion, but officials from the imperial mausoleum were also involved.

"Catch them all, leaving no one behind."

Upon hearing this, Li Jingxiao bowed slightly, trying to reduce his presence.

Sometimes, house raiding is indeed an opportunity to make a fortune.

But he was still young, and although it might seem impressive to lead a team to raid houses, in reality, there was no benefit at all except taking the opportunity to make a fortune.

It would be most appropriate to let a trusted eunuch do this kind of thing.

Then the retired emperor felt that he had to ask first what the heavenly fire and the brilliant light were that appeared in the mountain behind the imperial mausoleum last night.

Therefore, the task of raiding houses and arresting people was led by Dai Quan and Xia Shouzhong.

For a time, large groups of militiamen and Jinyiwei were dispatched to arrest people and search their homes inside and outside the capital.

The emperor naturally had to take the opportunity to suppress those who were disobedient and then arrange for some of his own people to take power.

Even the Beijing camp has undergone many personnel changes.

It can be said that Li Jingxiao indirectly helped the emperor a lot this time.

The emperor liked Li Jingxiao more and more.

Especially after capturing the traitor, Li Jingxiao did not try him himself, but handed him over to Xia Shouzhong first, rather than Dai Quan who was beside the retired emperor.

This actually explains Li Jingxiao's attitude.

The retired emperor realized that someone wanted to shake the foundation of the Zhou Dynasty's national destiny, so he allowed the emperor to take action and make some small moves.

Li Jingxiao handed the person over to Xia Shouzhong, which might be one of the main reasons why the retired emperor specifically mentioned his life experience.

Allowing you to inherit the title belonging to the second branch and become one of the nobles is a great favor.

After all, when Li Jingxiao's cousin reported to the court, he did not mention the matter of adopting him as a son from a wealthy family in the capital.

Instead, he chose a nephew from the branch of his hometown in Jiangzhou to adopt as his son.

Perhaps in the eyes of others, Li Jingxiao was not only an illegitimate child, but no one even knew whether he was the heir of the main house.

From now on, you can't just be loyal to the emperor, right?
Those young new civil and military officials like Li Jingxiao would not only know the emperor, but also think that he, the retired emperor, would not live for many more years and began to ignore him, the old emperor.

To win people's hearts, to put it bluntly, the best way is to show kindness to them.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many emperors throughout the dynasties who died when they were about to die.

He liked to find some excuses to demote the officials reserved for the prince.

The purpose was to allow these people to return to their posts after the crown prince ascended the throne.

With this relationship, these people are considered the new emperor's people.

It will be easier for him to control the government in the future, so that he won't be without any confidants just after ascending the throne.
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(End of this chapter)