Chapter 27: Loyalty and Treachery

Outside, the weather was bitterly cold, but inside the room was warm as spring. Zhao Cheng leaned back in his chair, flipping through a book intermittently. By his side, Huahua and Guifei were chatting and embroidering, while a small black dog barked and chased a white cat around the room.

Suddenly, the room fell silent. Zhao Cheng turned his head and saw the white cat, cornered, jump onto the bookshelf, arching its back and bristling its fur, glaring at the small black dog below. "Hehe, you are the treacherous minister, and you are the loyal minister. The treacherous can never overcome the loyal!" he pointed at the two little creatures and laughed.

"Second Master, who are you calling the loyal minister and who the treacherous one?" Guifei asked.

"The cat is the treacherous minister, and the dog is the loyal minister!"

"Second Master, you're just talking nonsense. Little White is so cute, how can it be a treacherous minister!" Guifei, who had been feeding the kitten since it was brought in, couldn't help but speak up for it when Zhao Cheng called it a treacherous minister.

"As the saying goes, 'a dog does not despise a poor home, and a child does not despise an ugly mother.' Dogs can share hardships with their owners, but cats are lazy and gluttonous, always following whoever is wealthy. Once they suffer, they will leave and never return!" Zhao Cheng said with a smile.

"Second Master, you're just spouting nonsense. Little White is clean and beautiful, and can be affectionate to entertain people. Little Black is dirty and ugly, barking at the slightest sound, and is very annoying!" Guifei went over and shooed away the black dog, then picked the cat down from the bookshelf. The cat rubbed against her chest affectionately, making Guifei giggle.

"Little Black, come here!" Zhao Cheng put down his book and called the helpless little dog over. He took a piece of pastry from a plate and placed it by the dog's mouth, petting it as he said, "Sister Guifei and the others are just misled by the crowd, unable to distinguish loyalty from treachery. Don't take it to heart. Soon, it will be given away. We don't want treacherous ministers in our home!"

"Second Master, are you going to give away Little White?" Guifei was shocked and asked urgently.

"Yes, I traded it for a mansion and a herd of livestock!" Zhao Cheng said with a grin.

"Second Master!" Guifei's tears started to flow before she could finish her sentence.

At this moment, the door was pushed open, and Jianxi walked in excitedly, as if he had just found a gold ingot. "Second Master, that Prefect Chen is really obedient. He sent people to hand over the estate early this morning. The chief steward has arranged for people to go. We made a huge profit this time!"

"Idiot, we didn't make a profit; he got the better deal. Two heads plus a Prefect's hat, aren't they worth two hundred hectares of land?" Zhao Cheng said sarcastically. This didn't surprise him; he knew Chen Tang would follow his instructions. Chen had been in the bureaucracy for years and understood the principle of avoiding disaster by paying a price. Moreover, Zhao Cheng hadn't pushed him to the brink, and Chen was probably grateful for his leniency.

"Yes, yes, we gave him five thousand strings of cash and a cat. We didn't take it for free. If we hadn't paid, he wouldn't have dared to say a word!" Jianxi thought for a moment and said.

"Rascal, if we didn't pay, a prince eating for free and defaulting on a debt would make us bandits. I have my dignity, even if you don't. Quickly give them the money and take the cat away!" Zhao Cheng scolded.

"Yes, I'll inform the chief steward right away!" Jianxi said, turning to Guifei, "Guifei, give me the cat!"

"Second Master, can you keep Little White?" Guifei looked at Zhao Cheng with tearful, pitiful eyes, hugging the cat tighter.

"Guifei, how can you be so unreasonable? How dare you disobey Second Master!" Jianxi scolded her sternly.

"Second Master, I really can't bear to part with it," Guifei cried again.

"Fine, fine, you can keep the cat!" Zhao Cheng couldn't stand it and waved his hand in resignation.

"Second Master, then we'll be breaking our word," Jianxi, having been scolded twice, asked cautiously.

"Stupid, you fool, just say the cat died or ran away, or find a stray cat to wash and give to them. We never specified which cat!" Zhao Cheng said angrily. Jianxi, who usually seemed clever, was at a loss when faced with a problem, and Zhao Cheng had to make the decision.

"Yes, yes, Second Master, don't be angry. I'll go to the warehouse and find a cat to give them right away!" Jianxi glared at Guifei and ran off. This girl had made him get scolded again, and though he didn't know what a 'sixty-millimeter mortar' was, he knew it wasn't a good thing.

The scrawny cat in the warehouse, which lived on catching mice and eating leftovers, never imagined its fortune would change so dramatically. Its fate was altered by a single word from the prince. Though it came from humble origins, it was now a nouveau riche, worth thousands of strings of cash. In the Prefect's home, it would be treated like a revered ancestor, and through word of mouth, it would become a famous cat.

Guifei, fearing the cat would be taken away, had slipped out. Huahua took the black dog for a walk, leaving Zhao Cheng alone in the room. He leaned on the table, looking at the two green-haired turtles in the glass tank. They swam leisurely in the water, their long 'hair'—actually algae—drifting in the water. These algae, though a burden, also increased their value, sparing them from becoming a meal and allowing them to live a carefree life.

"Are you content with this life?" Zhao Cheng tapped the glass tank, and the two green-haired turtles panicked, sinking to the bottom and retracting their heads and limbs into their shells.

"Do you think hiding will ensure your safety? Your green hair makes you stand out. Some people are more interested in the unusual. They can break the glass tank, catch you, play with you, and then eat your flesh, making your death even more tragic!" Zhao Cheng said to himself.

"Ah," Zhao Cheng sighed deeply. Wasn't he like the green-haired turtles in the tank? Though he had temporarily escaped the immediate crisis, it was all thanks to the 'green hair'—the prince's halo—on his head.

Ten years, twenty years from now, when the war that would destroy the nation came, what would he do? There were two paths before him: be slaughtered like a pig by the Jin soldiers, or survive in poverty and cold in Wuguo City. The other path was to use his foresight to hide in the south and live out his life.

"Can I, a special forces elite from the future, just live a mediocre life again? No, I must find a third path, live a brilliant life, and not waste this rebirth!"

What can I do now? I've already made a pistol. I can make cannons, muskets, and many 'high-tech' weapons. With these, I can ride a horse, carry a gun, and sweep across the north, conquer the Western Xia, destroy the Liao, and conquer Eurasia! Thinking of this, Zhao Cheng became excited and walked around the room twice. Suddenly, he wanted a cigarette and instinctively reached into his pocket, but then realized it was wrong. He smiled bitterly and shook his head. Tobacco leaves were still growing in South America, waiting for the great discovery of the world.

"Wang, wang!" Suddenly, a dog barked. "Second Master, everything is done. Our estate has doubled in size. From now on, this ten-mile radius will all be ours!" Jianxi, smiling, led the wagging black dog into the room.

"Ah!" Zhao Cheng looked at the happy man and dog, feeling as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head. His heart turned cold, and his body shivered. "Sweeping across Eurasia? The only ones I can trust are this man and this dog. I'm just daydreaming!" His grand ambitions plummeted to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

In the greenhouse, Zhao Cheng's mind was not on the lush green fields. He had a nagging worry. Huang Jingchen had returned, and he expected another 'political lesson.' However, Huang only asked a few trivial questions like "Have you eaten well? Are you cold?" and then went back to his room. Zhao Cheng was surprised. He sensed that Huang Jingchen knew what had happened the past two days but was acting as if nothing had happened.

"What does he mean?" Zhao Cheng was puzzled. Though they lived under the same roof, he knew too little about Huang Jingchen. Huang was like an elder in the family, caring for him and managing the household efficiently. Over a year of interaction, Zhao Cheng realized Huang was not the simple person he appeared to be. In handling the 'garden assassination' incident, he showed his decisive and ruthless side, mercilessly eliminating all suspects and executing everyone involved. His cruel methods were far from his seemingly kind and gentle demeanor.

"Whatever I do, I can't avoid him. If he has ill intentions, I must remove him as soon as possible. If he can help me, he will be a great asset!" As the actual power holder in the prince's residence, Zhao Cheng knew Huang had planted 'spies' around him, making it impossible to hide anything. Now, Huang's silence made Zhao Cheng feel like he was sitting on a volcano, unsure if it was active or dormant.

Zhao Cheng had been tormented by his thoughts, unable to sleep or eat well. The best way to change the world's current state was to tell his father directly, "You must govern diligently and love your people. Don't indulge in pleasure, take concubines, or favor the six villains like Cai Jing. Don't listen to the eunuch Tong Guan's advice to ally with the Jin to destroy the Liao. If you don't listen, your family will be destroyed, and you'll end up eating snow in the northeast." However, this was the least feasible path. Aside from whether his father would listen, the powerful officials and his envious brothers would label him a monster and kill him first.

"Zhao Ren, pick off these deformed cucumbers!" Zhao Cheng pointed to two cucumber vines showing signs of deformity.

"Second Master, these cucumbers are almost ripe. It's a pity to pick them off!" Zhao Ren looked at the cucumbers, which were already as long as chopsticks.

"They must be picked off. They are too big, and if not removed, the other cucumbers won't grow. We can't let them affect the entire vine!" Zhao Cheng said firmly, pulling off a cucumber. He had made up his mind to remove any obstacles in his path.