Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot

Prince Ming: "Second Brother, what's got into you? Your son being granted the title of Qilin shouldn't affect you like this, right?"

Steward Jia whispered to Prince Ming, "He even raised my monthly salary, saying my work is thorough."

"Thorough work my foot!"

"Forget it, even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."

Lu Zhaoyan patted Prince Ming's shoulder and strode off quickly.

Prince Ming, utterly perplexed, asked, "Steward Jia, was he... showing off his son to me just now?"

Steward Jia chuckled awkwardly, "It seems that might be the case."

If not showing off his son, then what?

Lu Zhaoyan sat within the steaming bath barrel and instructed, "Pick out the most appropriate outfit for me."

Behind the screen, Steward Jia was startled, "...Pick?"

Wait a minute, haven't you always just randomly thrown on clothes?

Now you're being choosy?

Your son being granted the title of Qilin caused such a big change?

You're even concerned about your appearance now?

Lu Zhaoyan finished dressing and stared into the copper mirror, examining himself again and again: "Does this attire count as respectful when meeting elders?"

"Elders?"

Steward Jia racked his brain but couldn't think of any elder the Crown Prince might have alive.

Quickly correcting himself:

Your Majesty and Princess Consort Chen have blessings as vast as the East Sea, and longevity as solid as the Southern Mountains!

But the Crown Prince had never gone through such fuss when visiting them in the palace.

Maybe now, wanting to make plans for his son's future, he's preparing to pay respects to some esteemed relatives within the Imperial Family.

"You're appropriately dressed, Your Highness."

Steward Jia said with a smile, "Shall I prepare a gift for you?"

"Already taken care of."

Lu Zhaoyan hugged a box on the table and walked out.

At the sight of the box, Steward Jia was so shocked he nearly did the splits: "Your Highness! Isn't this gift too extravagant?"

This is unique in all Great Liang!

Lu Zhaoyan sighed, "I actually feel it's too meager."

Steward Jia was almost in tears, "Who exactly are you going to meet?"

Lu Zhaoyan didn't answer, but instead held an umbrella and left the courtyard by himself.

In the main hall, the Miao King sat proudly in the seat of honor, leisurely crossing his legs.

Ruan Qing and Ruan Ling pulled a middle-aged man, bound and gagged, out of a sack. Who else could it be but the steward of the Xun Family?

The Miao King had seen him before when he caused a commotion at the Prime Minister's Mansion.

"What's his name?"

The Miao King asked Ruan Qing and Ruan Ling.

Ruan Qing replied, "His name is Cheng Youcheng."

The Miao King commanded, "Wake him up!"

Ruan Ling went to the courtyard to fetch a bucket of water and splashed it right onto Cheng Youcheng's face.

Cheng Youcheng jolted awake and sat upright, shouting, "Spare me! Spare me! Spare... Miao King?"

While struggling, he caught sight of the Miao King sitting above, doubting whether he was dreaming.

He pinched his right hand with his left, wincing with pain.

It was real.

He had been captured by the Miao King?

The Miao King signaled to Ruan Qing with a glance.

Ruan Qing kicked Cheng Youcheng and asked coldly, "Who brought you to Liang Country?"

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Cheng Youcheng knelt before the Miao King and confessed everything without reservation.

It turned out that when the Supreme Emperor ordered the confiscation of the Prime Minister's Mansion, Cheng Youcheng had coincidentally been out procuring goods. On his way, he encountered the Imperial Guards sent to seize the property and fled the Capital City in panic.

As a trusted steward of Prime Minister Xun, the court pursued him across the region.

He hid everywhere, avoiding inns and post stations, disguising himself as a beggar to evade the officials searching for him.

After many days of hiding, someone suddenly located him and promised to take him out of Great Zhou.

"So I just followed them."

Ruan Qing asked, "Do you know who they are? Or why they wanted to take you away?"

"I don't know."

"You didn't know, and you still went along?"

Cheng Youcheng cried miserably, "I... I'd be waiting for death if I stayed behind! Better to follow them, and then try to escape later."

Ruan Qing drew out a scimitar.

Scared out of his wits, Cheng Youcheng stammered, "I-I-I... I actually guessed they might have ties to the Prime Minister... Maybe trying to get something from me... I swear! I told you everything I could! Not a shred of it concealed!"

The Miao King dismissed him with a wave.

Ruan Ling dragged Cheng Youcheng out and locked him in the firewood room.

Ruan Qing remarked, "He doesn't know anything. We won't get a lead on Prince Jin through him."

This was exactly Prince Jin's cunning.

If he had informed Cheng Youcheng beforehand about revealing Lu Yuan, even if he granted Cheng Youcheng a hundred kinds of courage, he wouldn't dare come to Great Liang.

But once he arrived in front of Emperor Liang, fearing the crime of deceiving the emperor, he would have no choice but to expose Lu Yuan.

Prince Jin had calculated this perfectly.

Unfortunately, he hadn't accounted for the Miao King.

Not only did the Miao King defeat the assassins trying to intercept Lu Yuan, but he also sent Ruan Qing and Ruan Ling to abduct Cheng Youcheng.

"Capturing him is good enough."

The Miao King was someone who knew satisfaction.

Besides, if Cheng Youcheng truly did reach Emperor Liang, whether he exposed Prince Jin or the brat wasn't even guaranteed.

"The brat, why did he fabricate a false identity for himself?"

The Miao King rubbed his aching teeth.

Ruan Qing, having gathered intel, explained, "Young Master Ayuan didn't know anything back then."

The Princess had always claimed the young master's father was dead; who could have imagined not only was he alive and well, but also the Crown Prince of Great Liang?

"Furthermore, given the relationship between Miaojiang and the Southwest..."

Ruan Qing left the rest unsaid.

Miaojiang and the Southwest had, at one time, acted in mutual support, pledging to jointly resist neighboring states. But the old Miao King unexpectedly defected to Great Zhou.

The old King Qin, feeling betrayed, had accepted the outcome because his ties with Great Zhou weren't bad, believing defecting to Great Zhou was better than choosing another country.

Soon after, the old King Qin's sister eloped with the old Miao King's younger brother; a year later, she died of illness in Miaojiang.

The old King Qin visited Miaojiang demanding justice for his sister and ended up beating the old Miao King's younger brother.

Perhaps struck too violently, the Miao King's younger brother sustained serious injuries and passed away shortly after.

Thus, a deep grudge was cemented between the two sides.

Over the years, if not for Witch Mountain mediating the tensions, who knew what chaos would have unfolded between Miaojiang and the Southwest.

The Miao King hadn't gone to the Southwest simply to attend Lu Qi and Gongsun Liuying's wedding banquet.

He was there out of concern for the brat and his granddaughter-in-law's safety.

"Of all the people to fall for, she just had to pick the son of that old scoundrel? If I'd known it was the Crown Prince Mansion, I wouldn't have come!"

The more the Miao King thought about it, the angrier he became.

"Please calm down."

Ruan Qing tried to console him.

The Miao King snapped, "I can't! Where's Bai Zheng?"

Whenever the Miao King addressed his daughter by her full name, it meant he was truly furious.

Ruan Qing replied, "The Princess is resting and recovering."

The Miao King waved grandly, "Get her up! Tell her to recuperate somewhere else! In such a big Imperial City, I don't believe I can't find someplace for her to recover!"

Ruan Qing quickly interjected, "The Young Madam suggested the Princess should rest quietly."

The Miao King replied, "Fine, bring the little girl along too! She's living in that damn Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, and I don't trust it!"

Ruan Qing hesitated and then asked, "Would you like to meet Great Liang's Crown Prince first?"

The Miao King slammed the table, "I absolutely refuse to meet him!"

Suddenly, Ruan Qing's ears twitched, and he looked at the door alertly: "Who's there?"

Like lightning, Ruan Ling rushed to the door, threw it open, and stared at the unfamiliar man standing before him: "It's Great Liang's Crown Prince."

He hadn't seen Lu Zhaoyan before.

But the resemblance to the young master was unmistakable. Anyone could tell that he was the young master's biological father.

Upon hearing it was Emperor Liang's son, the Miao King's face darkened: "Chase him out—"

Lu Zhaoyan: "My father is a bastard."

The Miao King: "...Come in."