Before Li Jue completely lost his mind, Zhao Yao finally went to see him in the secret chamber. Li Jue had disheveled hair, a haggard expression, a beard covering his chin, and wrinkled clothes. He looked utterly disheveled, entirely unlike his usual immortal appearance.
Li Jue slumped on the floor, and upon seeing Zhao Yao, he barely raised his eyes, his expression calm. However, Zhao Yao could sense the madness beneath his calm exterior.
Zhao Yao sat down at the table and poured a cup of tea for both himself and Li Jue. He raised his cup toward Li Jue, "Won’t you have a cup of tea?"
Li Jue didn’t move, his eyes quietly fixed on Zhao Yao.
Seeing Li Jue’s indifference, Zhao Yao didn’t get angry. He picked up his tea cup and leisurely drank the tea. After finishing his tea, he finally spoke to Li Jue, "The Li Family, Fang Family, Zhong Family, Fu Family, Song Family, and several other families have been confiscated."
Hearing this, Li Jue suddenly stood up. He glared fiercely at Zhao Yao and staggered over to face him. His expression was grim as he gritted his teeth and said, "Your Highness, you truly have a way with things!"
Zhao Yao pushed the cup of tea he had poured for Li Jue earlier toward him. He gestured for Li Jue to sit, "You overestimate . This was all my father’s plan. I rely added a little push."
Li Jue sat down across from Zhao Yao and flung the cup of tea toward him.
It seed Zhao Yao had anticipated this move and nimbly dodged, though he still got splashed with so tea.
After throwing the tea, Li Jue collapsed on the table. He gasped heavily for breath, yet his eyes still glared fiercely at Zhao Yao.
"Even if I don’t capture you, my father’s n will," Zhao Yao said gently, looking at Li Jue as if he wanted to tear him apart. "If my father had captured you, you’d be dead by now. You would never have lived this long. I’ve let you live until now, and I want you to understand the entire sequence of events."
Li Jue struggled to get up. His limbs had long since lost all strength.
"I think during this ti, you’ve almost figured out the whole matter."
Li Jue said nothing.
Zhao Yao continued, seeing Li Jue remain silent, "More than twenty years ago, Jinling was part of a sche orchestrated by my grandfather and father. Your family, and the others, were rely pawns in this sche."
Li Jue lifted his eyes, staring at Zhao Yao in shock.
"At that ti, after the chaos of the previous dynasty, Jinling was wrecked by rebels, as were other places. My grandfather and father left the local aristocratic families to help restore the area, a move that proved effective." Zhao Yao glanced at the sullen Li Jue and chuckled lightly, "When you all grew fat, my father started butchering you. The confiscated wealth from your families has made the national treasury abundant again."
Li Jue couldn’t accept this reality. He shook his head vehently, "Impossible!"
"Actually, if you had shown a bit of restraint, my father wouldn’t have slaughtered you fattened sheep so soon. But alas, you beca more brazen, greedy, and ambitious, increasingly disregarding the court." Zhao Yao shook his head, clicking his tongue, "You didn’t learn a bit from the fate of those families in Yangzhou back then. Instead, you grew more unscrupulous. Do you think my father could tolerate you any longer?"
"And the Crown Prince?" Li Jue asked coldly.
"The Crown Prince?" Zhao Yao scoffed, "My father has long intended to depose him. In my father’s eyes, he is already a deposed Crown Prince."
"How could that be?" Li Jue said incredulously.
"While it’s true that my father personally appointed the Crown Prince, it doesn’t an he endorses him." Zhao Yao kindly explained to Li Jue, "Initially, my father valued the Crown Prince, but he relied too heavily on the Duke Zhen Country Mansion, disappointing my father more and more. My father wants the Crown Prince of Great Zhou, not the Crown Prince of the Duke Zhen Country Mansion. Understand?"
Zhao Yao’s final words left Li Jue fully enlightened then he was utterly shocked, seemingly unable to accept it.
"My father allowed the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen to collude with you all so they’d make more and bigger mistakes," Zhao Yao said with a smile on his lips, "The Crown Prince and Duke Zhen didn’t disappoint my father, committing quite a few errors in Jinling. Now, even though the Crown Prince hasn’t been deposed, he’s confined to the Eastern Palace, losing the power of the heir to the throne, while Duke Zhen has been deposed."
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