After these seven years, the Zhao state was divided into two factions: one supporting the Crown Prince and the other backing eleven-year-old Prince Ke.

  Seeing Zhao Jinghou's body getting weaker and weaker every day, he finally fell ill with a cold and was bedridden.

  Zhao Jinghou had been bedridden for half a month, and Zhao Zhangji thought about it several times. She brought a cup of poisonous wine to see him, and said with tears in her eyes: "I have no brothers, and there is only me, the eldest daughter, in my family. You have always treated me with deep affection, and I am willing to die for you to live a long life. However, your current illness is critical, and I am by nature timid and do not dare wait for the outcome. I want to take a step ahead and wait for you on the road to the Yellow Springs. The only thing that makes me anxious is my parents. Please give an order to send Gongzi Ke to Lu State, so that he can take care of my parents in the future."

  If someone else had said this, Zhao Jing Hou would have been furious long ago. Isn't this a curse on him? But Ai Ji seemed sincere and genuine, and he also knew that his days were numbered, so what could he not agree to for her sake?

  But he was also afraid that Zhao Zhaoyi was being hypocritical, so he tested her: I originally wanted to send you and Gongzi Ke back to Lu together, take good care of him until he grows up, don't allow him to be buried with me.

  Zhaoyi had no romantic feelings for this old man who was more than twenty years older than her, but she knew that once Zhao Jinghou died, even if the orphaned mother and child were placed in the most noble position in Zhao by some powerful ministers, they would still be nothing more than puppets. Her son would always be a prince of Zhao no matter where he went, and if he grew up safely in Lu, it was not impossible that he could one day take the throne of Zhao.

  So she resolutely decided to stake her own life for a chance to give her son an opportunity to choose.

  She then said to Zhao Jing Hou: As long as Gongzi Ke can arrive in Lu State, whatever you say, I will agree.

  Zhao Jinghou was utterly disappointed

  How could Zhao Zhenji not understand the temperament of Zhao Jing Hou? When she finished speaking, she got up and took the poisonous wine from the maid's hand and drank it all in one gulp.

  She knew how to smile most charmingly, how to cry most movingly, and at this moment she combined the two, looking at Zhao Jing Hou, slowly leaning on him with a slightly coquettish tone: You said I'm not allowed to follow you in death, but what I'm following is my heart, doesn't that count as not going against your will?

  She smiled with tears, the corners of her lips stained with fresh blood against her skin as white as snow, as if she had gathered all the glory of her life to burst forth in this moment, making Zhao Jinghou stare blankly and almost forget his pain.

  Zhao Jinghou watched as she lay on his body and closed her eyes, and for a moment, old tears flowed freely. He was certain that Zhao Zhangji had feelings for him, rather than having ulterior motives. He struggled to get up, holding Zhao Zhangji's corpse, and immediately ordered someone to send Gongzi Ke to the state of Lu.

  However, Zhao Jinghou was heartbroken over Ai Ji's death and died three days later.

  With Gongsun He as the leader of the powerful ministers, they immediately supported the crown prince to ascend to the throne. Later, in order to eliminate future troubles, they sent someone to pursue and kill Gongzi Ke...

  "In my humble opinion, this is not a disaster" The old and hoarse voice of Chancellor Gongsun Pi brought Zhao Hou back from his memories.

  He was shocked by what he heard and asked, "What do you mean by this?"

  "No matter what, you are the eldest son and the crown prince. At that time, the former king had no will, and you were naturally the heir apparent. No one could question this matter, even if they found Prince Ke. It would still be a rebellion." Gong Sun paused for a moment before continuing, "Those with ulterior motives have been restless for a long time. Haven't you always been looking for an opportunity to eliminate them? This time, having a legitimate reason to capture them all at once is a good thing for the Zhao state."

  Zhao Hou nodded, knowing that Gongsun Pi had not finished speaking, so he did not respond.

  "This rebellion is led by the Wu and Hua families, who have always been on good terms. However, in my observation, although they can collaborate on a plot, they cannot share wealth and power. If they succeed in usurping the throne, they will inevitably turn against each other due to unequal distribution of benefits. At this moment, if we just give them a slight push, they will focus on dividing the spoils before even achieving victory, and their alliance will crumble!" Gong Sun's eyes shone brightly

  Zhao Hou's eyebrows finally relaxed and he broke into a smile, saying with a hint of teasing, "Old Chancellor, you're indeed old and cunning!"

  Gongsun Pi also smiled as he looked at the monarch in front of him. When Zhao Hou was still a prince, he showed a virtuous and gentle appearance, seemingly a bit dull-witted. However, since his ascension to the throne, whenever it came to critical moments, he could always find the right person to seek help from.

  Gongsun Zhi carefully considered the situation, and realized that the various clans in Zhao had too much power, weakening the monarch's authority. The crown prince was still keeping a foolish appearance to gain more support. Now he also gradually understood this point.

  It seems that one cannot underestimate the monarch after all, Gong Sunpiao sighed in his heart.

  Gongsun Pi walked out of the study, took a glance at the fine snow falling outside, and slowly made his way along the long corridor towards the council hall.

  He didn't raise his hand until they reached the gate of the council hall, and then he beckoned a guard to come over, "Go invite General Gongsun Gu"

  "Hey!" The guard took orders and quickly left

  The snow is getting thicker and thicker, even the rivers of Quanhe and Xinhe have started to freeze, and the entire city of Handan is submerged in the heavy snow.

  Song Chu sat in the house, staring at the ice that had formed in his cup, and his teeth chattered as he said, "It's even colder than Longxi, can people still survive this?"

  Longxi often has blizzards, so the walls are much thicker than Handan's, and there are very few of these carved windows that let in drafts everywhere. As long as the charcoal fire is lit inside, it will warm up quickly, but this house can't even compare to lighting ten braziers

  "Since you're feeling cold, why don't you get up and move around a bit?"

  "At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, he smiled wryly and said, 'In this kind of weather, it's not necessary, actually I'm not cold even if I hold a white blade.'"

  "Sir, isn't it that you want to learn some self-defense martial arts?" Ji Yu's gaze was naked skepticism of her determination.

  Song Chu nodded after a moment of silence and said, "Alright"

  She was just about to stand up when she heard Qi Bian's voice outside the door, "Sir"

  "Come in." Song Chuoyi naturally sat back down again.

  Ji Bian pushed the door open and came in, cupping his hands together and saying, "I heard that it was Zhao Jing Hou who had wanted to make Gongzi Ke the crown prince back then, but after Zhao Jing Hou passed away, Gongzi Ke disappeared. It's said that Gongzi Fan found Gongzi Ke and only then won over the Wu and Hua clans."

  After the Gong Sun family supported the crown prince's succession, the power of these two big families was being gradually weakened. If there hadn't been a timely opportunity, they might have declined like this, so plotting rebellion was also reasonable.

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, one stretched out his hand to take down the kettle from the stove and said, "Continue to pay attention to the situation. Whoever becomes the ruler of Zhao State has little to do with us. It's best to decide victory or defeat in one battle."

  "Hey," Ji Bian said

  Song Chu now didn't rush to meet Zhao Hou, the internal war was approaching, she went to discuss external wars, wasn't it just to ask for a fight? She pondered in her heart, if they delayed and didn't fight, she had to think of some way to make them start fighting sooner.

  Ji Yu got up and said, "I'll also go try to gather some information"

  "Don't go," Song Chuyi said after taking a sip of water, "Qī Biàn is a straightforward person, you can tell at a glance that he has ulterior motives."

  "I'm quite decent-looking" was what Ji Yue had always thought.

  Song Chu shook his head ↓ straight and honest are different, Ji Yu took a look and wasn't that kind of careless person, while Ji Bian is

  If Ji Bian took the money to bribe the guards and ask about the situation, those people might have thought that Wei Shi was just anxious, but if Ji Yu did so, it would definitely arouse other people's vigilance.

  Based on Song Chu Er's experience, people tend to be less guarded against those with a honest and simple appearance, making them more likely to receive recommendation votes.