Villain: After I died, all the heroines cried themselves to sleep.

The Left Prime Minister's Residence in Xianyang City.

Zhao Wei was leisurely listening to music in his mansion.

A few days ago, Fan Ze tricked him under the pretext of establishing a queen and a crown prince, which led to an attack from various forces.

However, Zhao Wei did not sit idly by and wait for his death.

Just when Fan Ze and the others thought they should stop while they were ahead, he added fuel to the fire, causing them to anger the King of Liang.

In this way, neither the ministers nor the King of Liang could save face.

Zhao Wei, on the other hand, can easily extricate himself, mediate the conflict between the two sides, and remain calm and collected.

Politics, in essence, is like the bargaining and negotiation among merchants, involving mutual compromise and concessions to ultimately reach a deal.

Suddenly, a servant came to report that the attendant Li Tonggu was requesting an audience.

"Li Tonggu's request to see the Prime Minister suggests that news has been leaked from the palace."

Zhao Wei calmly instructed the attendant to invite Li Tonggu inside.

Seeing Li Tonggu walking hurriedly and looking anxious, he couldn't help but shake his head and said calmly.

"Tonggu, you are Benxiang's attendant. You must guard against arrogance and impatience in all things. If you reveal your thoughts in your words, you will only be looked down upon by others."

"What the Prime Minister says is very true."

Li Tonggu respectfully bowed with his hands clasped.

Once he calmed down, Zhao Wei slowly asked him what he wanted to tell him.

"Prime Minister, there is both good and bad news from the palace."

Li Tonggu spoke slowly.

"The good news is that the king seems to intend to make Zhao Ji his queen."

"The King actually intends to appoint a Queen?"

Zhao Wei's eyes widened slightly, both surprised and delighted.

What pleased him was that his daughter Zhao Ji became queen, which naturally secured his position as prime minister.

What's shocking is that King Liang has no reason to make Zhao Ji his queen now. This would be tantamount to completely breaking ties with his ministers, a truly reckless move.

So Zhao Wei frowned and asked again.

"And the bad news?"

"The bad news is that it seems the king intends to send Prince Zheng out to be enfeoffed."

"ah?!!"

Zhao Wei was shocked, and the calm and composure on his face vanished instantly.

……

Soon, both pieces of news were confirmed.

The following day, King Liang announced this decision in court.

Prince Zheng was granted the title of Lord of Hanyang and sent to Hanyang City in Hanzhong to assume his fief. At the same time, Zhao Ji was also granted the title of Queen.

Despite the rumors that had circulated for some time, the ministers were still surprised when the official announcement was made.

They were not fools; they naturally understood the King of Liang's intentions.

Being granted a title of nobility meant losing the chance to become the crown prince, so sending Prince Zheng to be granted a title outside the capital was a concession by the King of Liang to his ministers.

Establishing Zhao Ji as empress would solidify her status, demonstrate the attitude of the King of Liang, and also serve as a warning to the ministers that the emperor's authority was beyond question.

"His Majesty has a highly skilled advisor by his side..."

Fan Ze stroked his beard and sighed inwardly.

The most wonderful thing about these two investitures is...

Making Zhao Ji queen would appease Zhao Wei and only cause Wei Ji to suffer losses, so no one else would object.

By allowing Prince Zheng to be enfeoffed, Wei Ji gained the upper hand in establishing a crown prince.

The situation in the imperial court has returned to equilibrium.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The ministers, who had no intention of opposing King Liang, seized the opportunity to bow and pay their respects to him.

Only Zhao Wei looked rather grim.

The current situation is as if he has arranged everything and is just waiting to negotiate and complete the deal with others.

When he looked back, he discovered that the goods he had carefully prepared had vanished!

But he had nowhere to vent his anger.

Since Zhao Ji has been made queen, any further demands would be considered resentment.

The whole incident was thus resolved.

"It's a pity that Prince Zheng lost his chance to compete for the position of Crown Prince so early."

"Yes, I never expected that Prince Zheng, whom Tang Ju praised as having the appearance of an emperor, would be the first loser in the struggle for the crown prince position."

Many people pretended to lament Luo Zheng's elimination.

……

on the other hand.

After receiving the official investiture, Luo Zheng began preparations to travel to Hanzhong to assume his post.

Contrary to what many people might think, he was not at all frustrated by his departure for a post; on the contrary, he was quite excited.

After all, it was all part of his calculations.

The main strategy is to retreat in order to advance.

Even the fiefdom was chosen by King Liang after he was moved by Luo Zheng's persuasion, allowing Luo Zheng to choose it himself.

"The more humans scheme and plot, the more likely they are to fail due to unexpected circumstances."

"I'm not going to be Qin Shi Huang anymore, system!"

Although the system assigned Luo Zheng the script of Qin Shi Huang, it did not say that he had to follow the script exactly.

Ordinary actors simply follow the script, but true movie stars transcend the script.

So Luo Zheng tore up the script.

"You thought this was a script from the Qin Dynasty? Actually, it's a script from my great Han Dynasty!"

The Qin Dynasty, which lasted only two generations, could hardly compare to the Han Dynasty, which lasted for four hundred years.

Of course, this is not the root cause.

The fundamental reason is that, in his predetermined fate, Luo Zheng remained in Xianyang, and although he eventually ascended the throne, he still experienced a long political struggle.

In the following years, he became a puppet ruler, with Zhao Wei seizing power and controlling the government.

It's a tradition in the Zhao family to bully orphans and widows.

It wasn't until he reached adulthood that Luo Zheng seized power by force.

So instead of foolishly staying in Xianyang as a pawn, it's better to jump off the chessboard and develop your own power.

The attacker gains military power first.

I understand everything I understand.

However, Luo Zheng is now facing another major problem.

That is, how to persuade Zhao Ji and Xia Ji.

……

Luo Zheng first went to pay his respects to Xia Ji.

When Xia Ji heard that Luo Zheng was going to travel and that she could not go with him, she was very upset.

She has been locking herself in her room for the past few days and hasn't even eaten.

They finally managed to knock on Xia Ji's door.

Upon closer inspection, Xia Ji glanced in their direction and then abruptly turned her head to the side.

"..."

Luo Zheng couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Xia Ji acting all sulky.

She's a mother now, yet she still acts like a child.

Fortunately, Luo Zheng still has a killer move.

He picked up his rice bowl and came to Xia Ji's side, shamelessly speaking in the same tone he had used three years ago.

"Why isn't Mother eating? And why won't she look over here? Does she dislike Zheng'er?"

"It's clearly Zheng'er who hates his mother!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Ji couldn't help but look over, her eyes red.

"Mother, you're all I have left. If you're not here, what's the point of me living? I might as well just die."

"..."

Is maternal love such a heavy thing?

Luo Zheng's lips twitched slightly as he listened to Xia Ji's speech.

He suppressed his urge to complain, used his years of acting skills, gently took Xia Ji's soft hand, and forced out an innocent smile.

"How could Zheng'er dislike Mother? I love Mother the most!"

Luo Zheng used all his skills, readily employing all sorts of sweet talk, to coax Xia Ji like a child.

Unfortunately, Xia Ji fell for this trick and was soon completely fooled by Luo Zheng.

"Just as my mother misses me, I also miss my mother. When I'm away from home, I always hope that when I return, my mother will care for and look after me."

"If I come back another day and see that you've lost weight, I'll be very sad. So please take good care of yourself, Mother."

"This temporary separation is for a long-term companionship in the future!"

"Mother knows. I will take good care of myself and wait for Zheng'er to come back."

Although Xia Ji loved Luo Zheng deeply, she always listened to his every word.

She knew that the fledglings would eventually leave their mother's embrace and soar alone in the sky. Now, after being comforted by Luo Zheng, her reluctance to part with them gradually subsided.

"Can Mother eat now?"

Luo Zheng smiled and picked up a mouthful of rice.

Xia Ji pursed her lips and rolled her eyes at Luo Zheng, but finally started eating.

……

Having settled things with Xia Ji, Luo Zheng then went to visit Zhao Ji.

"If Your Majesty makes me queen, the price is that you, Zheng'er, will be granted a title as soon as you go out to work. I would rather not be queen."

Zhao Ji looked quite sad.

Luo Zheng had no idea whether Zhao Ji had taken him in as her adopted son for political reasons, as part of her predetermined fate.

At least in the real world, the other party genuinely treated him like their own son.

"The King has given his orders, and I know I cannot disobey. Zheng'er, when you go to your fief, please remember to take good care of yourself. If you encounter any difficulties, you can always ask your mother for help. You will always be my son."

Although Zhao Ji was also reluctant, she was a sensible person.

She didn't try to persuade Luo Zheng to stay, but repeatedly told him to take good care of himself and return to Xianyang as soon as possible.

"Don't worry, Mother, I will definitely return. So before I come back, you must protect yourself and Mother, and never be deceived by villains and make any unnecessary sacrifices."

Luo Zheng solemnly said to Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji didn't know why Luo Zheng was so serious, but she still agreed.

……

A month later, Luo Zheng brought the troops that Liang Wang had specially prepared for him.

He officially went to Hanyang to assume his post.