We'll have you impersonate the Crown Prince and create a prosperous era for the Great Qian Dyna

After a brief silence, Zheng Ye'er's eyes welled up with tears, which fell without warning.

Bing'er was both angry and anxious, and she punched Zhou Tiancheng twice.

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

"My lady heard that His Highness the Third Prince had bought warhorses to prepare for war, and guessed that you would also buy warhorses. She heard from Xinhua that you were short of money, so this gold was specially obtained by my lady from her home!"

"How dare you insult my young lady like this! What kind of prince do you think you are! Do you really think my young lady is someone so easily dismissed?"

Zheng Ye'er remained silent and turned to walk towards her tent.

The more silent they are, the more terrifying they become.

She's planning to leave the military!

Zhou Tiancheng quickly caught up and followed closely behind her.

"Miss Zheng, I apologize. I was just teasing you. I really didn't mean to flirt with you."

"I just thought you looked especially cute when you were angry, and I got greedy and said the wrong thing."

"I admit that I am not calm enough, but I really have no bad intentions. If I have offended you, please forgive me, Miss Zheng."

Zheng Ye'er moved her feet even faster.

What kind of apology is this? One minute they're saying she's cute, the next they're talking about greed. It's obviously just trying to appease a child!

Would she be so easily fooled?

Zheng Ye'er pouted angrily, completely unaware that the tips of her ears had turned red.

Zhou Tiancheng noticed it, but didn't point it out, and deliberately changed his way of speaking.

"Miss Zheng, if you don't speak to me properly, don't blame me!"

Zheng Ye'er stopped in her tracks, her eyes fixed on Zhou Tiancheng.

She wanted to see how the Crown Prince planned to threaten her.

Zhou Tiancheng didn't pause at all, and his shameless words came out in one go.

"If you keep doing that, I'm going to lie down on the ground and hug your legs!"

"Let me tell you, have you thought this through? If I do this, you're finished..."

Lying on the ground hugging his legs?

What kind of threat is this?

Isn't this the kind of trick a three-year-old would use?

Zheng Ye'er glanced at the tall and imposing Crown Prince, her mind completely thrown off balance by his words.

"Your Highness, you have absolutely no shame!"

She said this through gritted teeth, sounding just like a new mother who was at her wit's end with her child.

Zhou Tiancheng immediately understood that he had succeeded!

He chuckled and leaned closer to argue.

"What's the point of having a face? If you had a face, your wife would have run away."

"I already said I could explain about the horses. That woman's father is a horse trader, and I wanted to..."

Zhou Tiancheng started by talking about buying horses yesterday, mentioning that Xiao Shi likes beauties from Jiangnan, and that he got confused after drinking two bowls of wine. Everything happened in a daze.

He neither concealed the sordid events nor denied his filthy thoughts.

Because he knew in his heart that if Zheng Ye'er really became the Crown Princess, she would need to be of one mind with him, and some things would be revealed sooner or later.

Besides, Zheng Ye'er, being so love-struck, probably wouldn't get angry.

As expected, after listening, Zheng Ye'er only complained angrily.

"These Hu women are utterly shameless! How could they behave so promiscuously?"

Zhou Tiancheng looked desolate and uneasy.

"I'm the one who's suffering the most. If she finds another man, I, the Crown Prince, will lose all face."

Zheng Ye'er glared at him again.

"That's what you deserve!"

Even after being scolded, Zhou Tiancheng didn't get angry; he just deliberately stood next to Zheng Ye'er.

In front of Zheng Ye'er, he took out the purse and took a deep sniff.

"It smells so good, Miss Zheng."

"Bing'er said that you went back to retrieve this gold specifically for me. I am very touched and will gladly accept it."

As he spoke, he made a look of rapture.

Zheng Ye'er was both ashamed and angry.

"Give it back! I'm not giving it to you anymore!"

Can this be repaid?

Zhou Tiancheng simply hung the purse on his waist.

"I'm not returning it to you. Not only will I not return the gold, but I won't return the purse either, and I don't intend to return you to the Duke either."

Zheng Ye'er's ears turned bright red, but she still looked angry. She lunged forward to grab Zhou Tiancheng, but how could Zhou Tiancheng let her have her way?

One ran and the other chased, their hearts pounding, just like a young couple experiencing their first love.

……

Qin Mansion.

Qin Zhiang narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Now that Zhou Qingyang is dead, the assassination of the Crown Prince cannot be stopped."

"The warhorses have just arrived, Tianze. I'll arrange some more help for you. With the momentum of the warhorses, we can crush the Crown Prince into mincemeat during the battle!"

Zhou Tianze shook his head.

"Grandfather, how could a mere double, a coarse and lowly person, die as the crown prince?"

"Wouldn't that be letting him off easy?"

Qin Zhiang rubbed his temples, looking helpless.

"I told you before, you don't need to do anything, the position of crown prince will naturally be yours."

"But you were provoked by Zhou Qingyang and lost your composure. Now look what happened, Zhou Qingyang is dead, we've cut off a finger ourselves, and I've also been resented by the Emperor. It's a losing proposition."

"Are you still hesitating about whether to carry out this assassination, or whether to let a crude substitute benefit you? Do you know that His Majesty's resolve to replace the Crown Prince is no longer as firm as it once was?"

"Or are you going to wait until the Emperor hands over the empire to you before you regret it?"

Zhou Tianze lowered his head.

He was indeed resentful.

What is a vulgar and base person?

In his eyes, people without power are vulgar and lowly, and should fawn over him.

The fake prince was the first oddball he encountered!

He wanted to take down the fake crown prince, but who would have thought that even the Minister of Works would lose his life in the process.

What he found even more unacceptable was that Zheng Ye'er, his fiancée, looked down on him but was unusually close to the fake crown prince.

Each and every one of these incidents felt like a knife cutting into his heart!

Finally, he confessed.

"Grandson, listen to your maternal grandfather."

Qin Zhiang breathed a sigh of relief and leaned closer to speak in a low voice.

"Xue Fan from the Ministry of Rites is an excellent horseman and will find a way to help you. After the Crown Prince dies, you should pretend that you know nothing. Even if there are any oversights, Xue Fan will take the blame for you."

"Tianze, remember this: only the victor has the chance to settle scores later. When you become emperor, whether you become the real crown prince or the fake crown prince will be up to you."

"But if you lose, the fake crown prince can become the real one, and you, the real prince, can become the fake one. The victor is king and the loser is villain; it has always been so. You must not sacrifice the big picture for some trivial matters."

Zhou Tianze nodded, stood up dejectedly, and walked out.

As Qin Zhiang watched his retreating figure, his disappointment grew even stronger.

This Zhou Tianze is too young, yet he's full of arrogance, even when he's killing someone he seems to be dragging his feet.

If he hadn't already aroused Zhou Rui's suspicion, making it inconvenient to directly send his own confidants to assassinate him, there would have been no need for Zhou Tianze!