Song Chu: Dad, if you don't work hard, how can I just lie down and relax?

Chapter 44 The Thief Cries "Stop Thief!" and the Villain Accuses First

Meanwhile, Wang Jun and his son Wang Lu rode home in an oxcart. The atmosphere was somewhat awkward, and Wang Jun didn't speak to Wang Lu for quite some time.

"Dad, are you angry?"

"How could I dare? They're all grown up now, why would they care what an old man like me thinks or feels? Such a big thing, and they didn't even discuss it with me."

"Then let me discuss this with you, can you agree?"

"Of course I can't agree to that."

That solves it.

"Oh, I don't agree, then let's not discuss it."

"Not really..."

"Wang Lu, do you really think you're Twelve? Do you even know what you're doing? Zhao Guangmei is making a fuss, and you're just going to go along with it? Didn't you already promise me to stay away from him?"

"You're the one who told me the details of the Qin King's rebellion. Zhao Guangyi even laid a hand on his own son; he's inhuman! Do you think I'd let you off just because I'm his confidant? Would a man who killed his nephew, brother, and son possibly care about a worthless confidant?!"

Wang Lu was speechless for a moment.

"Speak up, what are you thinking?"

"I just...acted impulsively, I just thought Zhao Guangmei was my friend."

"You're still young, talking about friends? How old are you? You still believe in that kind of chivalrous loyalty? Do you think you're still in your middle school days watching those gangster movies? So what do you think now? Can you stop being Zhao Guangmei's study companion? Can you stay away from her?"

Wang Lu remained silent for a while before saying, "I just... I just want to... save him. I don't want him to die in such a muddled way like in history."

"Who do you think you are? Save yourself first, okay? Or save me instead?"

Regardless of Zhao Guangyi's abilities, his ruthlessness and jealousy alone place him among the most notorious in history.

After all, it's not uncommon in history for brothers to kill each other for the throne, but it's rare for someone to directly kill their own son. He was even capable of harming his own son.

"Zhao Yuanxi is his biological son and was originally the de facto crown prince. He just wanted to join forces with some ministers to submit a memorial, hoping to become the crown prince and make it more legitimate."

Then this 27-year-old guy, who was in great health and had no problems whatsoever, suddenly died. How could he be human?!

Now, when I think about what you told me, and when I think about the master I'm serving, I get chills down my spine. You still want to save others? Why don't you save me first!

You know perfectly well that we'll be serving this thing sixteen years from now, and you still want to save Zhao Guangmei? Is your little bit of friendship really that important?

He paused, then asked, "How do you plan to help Zhao Guangmei escape her fate? Is she even able to escape it?"

Considering that Zhao Guangyi's eldest son Zhao Yuanzu went insane after killing Zhao Guangmei, it shows that he must have had a very good relationship with his uncle Zhao Guangmei. And the good relationship between uncle and nephew must be because the uncle and father had a good brotherly relationship.

Even Zhao Heng, who succeeded Zhao Yuanxi, was suspected by Zhao Guangyi of plotting to gain fame and power when he was the prefect of Kaifeng because he distributed some grain to the people in the counties below.

Wang Qinruo was dispatched to investigate the matter. If it weren't for Wang Qinruo risking his life to vouch for Zhao Heng, this third son might have also died, and from then on wouldn't have dared to utter a single word in the position of crown prince.

He served as the crown prince for several years, but when he ascended the throne, almost no one in the court knew him. He knew nothing when he first became emperor.

Therefore, it would probably be of little use for Zhao Guangmei to try to win over her second brother Zhao Guangyi through emotional appeals and build a good family relationship in order to avoid being rebelled in the future.

The Golden Box Alliance was an unexpected disaster for Zhao Guangmei. She hadn't done anything wrong, yet she was inexplicably killed by her second brother. To be honest, Wang Lu didn't know what else Zhao Guangmei could rely on besides family ties.

Seeing Wang Lu with his head down, looking dejected, Wang Jun's tone softened, saying, "You're getting so close to him now, but you can't really help him much. You're just a time traveler who knows a little history; you can't change anything."

You can't save him; you'll only get yourself into trouble. Haven't you been insisting on going home? If you want to go home, you'd need to be a high-ranking official and stay away from Zhao Guangmei.

Wang Lu stuck his head out the window, looked out for a long time, and suddenly said:

"Actually, it's not necessarily true that he couldn't be saved. Look at how Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Pu fought each other in the later period of Emperor Taizu's reign. Zhao Pu did everything he could to eliminate Zhao Guangyi's confidants, but in Emperor Taizong's reign, didn't Zhao Pu become prime minister again? This is because Zhao Pu had deep roots and was useful to Zhao Guangyi."

Wang Jun was furious upon hearing this and was about to continue reprimanding the man, but Wang Lu interrupted him, saying:

"Dad, our original goal was to have you become a military general during the reign of Emperor Taizu, and to rise to the rank of first-grade official during that period."

"If you can become a first-rank official while you're alive, then it doesn't matter what happens after that. We didn't expect to serve during Emperor Taizong's reign anyway. Zhao Kuangyin appointed first-rank officials indiscriminately, and there were very few first-rank officials during Emperor Taizong's reign."

"Wait a minute, why are you so concerned about the Prince of Qin's rebellion? I was implicated by Zhao Guangmei, but that must have happened at least during the reign of Emperor Taizong, after the Yongxi Northern Expedition."

According to the plan, you should have been a first-rank official by then. If not, you should have sacrificed yourself for the country while Zhao Kuangyin was still alive so that we could go back.

"Ah~, I know, you've been slacking off, haven't you, Dad? Don't forget, the reason you're now working as an official in the Palace Guard is so that you can easily transition from a civil to a military position in the future, not so that you can actually become Zhao Guangyi's confidant and take the civil service path during Emperor Taizong's reign."

In the Song Dynasty, the notion of valuing civil officials over military ones was a stereotype. It was extremely difficult for a civil official to rise to the first rank; only military generals could. Dad, you're twisting the facts! You're making false accusations first!

"I'm the one who accused you first? It was clearly you who acted on emotion and ruined the plan."

"What plan did I ruin? The Qin King's rebellion happened more than twenty years later. We don't have a plan that far in the future."

"It's clearly you! You're unambitious! You clearly still don't want to be a military officer! It's you who, having a young wife, has forgotten about my mother! You don't want to go back, you don't want to hold the highest rank anymore!"

"I'm talking about your business, and you're trying to pin this on me? I think you're the one crying wolf."

"You're the one who accused me first."

"You're crying 'stop thief' while being the thief yourself."

"You're the one who accused me first."

"You're crying 'stop thief' while being the thief yourself."

The father and son started arguing without even realizing it, and they continued arguing all the way home.

The next day, another palace eunuch came and delivered a letter to Wang Lu on Zhao Guangmei's behalf. The letter read:

"To my brother Lu: During the battle at Tongfu Inn, we went through life and death together, established principles together, and became like-minded and loyal. I regret that we met so late. In the past, my elder brother formed a sworn brotherhood with ten brothers of the Righteous Society and worked together to establish the world, which became a beautiful story."

Today, my brother, Longge, and I are more than blood relatives, and we share the same aspirations for our country. We wish to follow the example of our ancestors and become sworn brothers, sharing both fortune and misfortune, and depending on each other for life and death.

I have chosen the auspicious day of the 28th of this month, and have prepared incense, candles, and sacrificial offerings at the Temple of King Wu Cheng. I respectfully invite you, my brother, to attend this meeting and jointly swear this oath. I eagerly await your reply; I will speak with you in person later. Respectfully yours, Guangmei.

He didn't seem to have considered whether Wang Lu would hesitate after receiving the message, since such a big matter wasn't even discussed in person.

After reading the post, Wang Jun and Wang Lu looked at each other, and an atmosphere that clearly indicated they were about to continue arguing began to brew.

"Are you going?"

"Why don't you teach me how to push it? Dad, you can't shirk your responsibility."

"You're going to cry wolf again."

"You're going to play the victim again."

"You're crying 'stop thief' while being the thief yourself."

"You're the one who accused me first."