CHAPTER 106: CHAPTER 73 BODY TRANSFORMATION! (PART 2)_2

"I’ll be frank with you, I genuinely admire you. If this were the past, I wouldn’t mind supporting you, at least enough to help you establish yourself as a military leader in this northern region."

"And now?"

"Now, it would just be throwing money into the river. Tell me, aren’t these ribs delicious?"

Zheng Fan began to process this information.

The Sixth Prince reached out, gently brushed the orange residue from Zheng Fan’s shoulder, and said, "I roughly understand what you’re thinking. But this North, don’t be fooled by its current chaotic mix of various factions with their forts and military leaders—there’s truly no future here.

If you want to make a name for yourself, I have a suggestion: head south."

"Your Highness, do you mean for this humble servant to defect to the Qian State?"

The Sixth Prince was speechless. "..."

"Is that not it?"

"Oh, brother..."

"My..."

"Stop!"

The Sixth Prince took a deep breath, pointed at himself, and said, "Zheng Colonel, are you not treating me as a prince of Yan in the slightest?"

"This humble servant must have misunderstood your meaning."

"Heh heh, our Great Yan has the desert to the north, and the Jin and Qian States to the south. What I mean is, things are about to get difficult in the north. You might as well take a chance and try your luck in the south.

Think about it. These Desert Barbarians—their Left Valley King’s own tribe was slaughtered, yet the Royal Court didn’t dare utter a peep. They even had to let that Shatuo Queshi come alone to demand an explanation. Now, his corpse is strung up on the memorial archway, and the Royal Court still has to send people to beg to take the remains back. Against an enemy that, when you slap one cheek, offers up the other for you to slap as well, what kind of merit do you think you can achieve here?"

"But aren’t the Jin and Qian States even more useless?"

"That’s different. The uselessness of the Jin and Qian States is different from that of the Desert Barbarians. With the barbarians, unless you expend tremendous effort to annihilate their tribes, you can’t plunder much profit. But the Jin and Qian States are different, especially the Qian State. That is the truly rich and beautiful Jiangnan. As long as you break through their crude stone defense lines, a casual foray inside will net you enough wealth to make your family rich for three generations."

Zheng Fan nodded thoughtfully.

Then he stared directly at the Sixth Prince.

"Does Your Highness mean for this humble servant to wage war in the south, and then hand over the plundered wealth to Your Highness for you to launder?"

"Hmm? That’s actually a good idea... No, wait. You’re playing dumb with me."

"This humble servant wouldn’t dare."

The Sixth Prince stood up, dusted off his trousers, and said, "So be it. I’ve pointed out the path for you; it’s up to you whether you can seize the opportunity. Of course, if you could become Seventh Uncle’s disciple, that’s also a way out. However, you’d then be tied to the Earl of North Border’s household for the rest of your life. For a true man, not being able to establish his own administration and carve out his own domain is, after all, a matter of regret."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for showing this humble servant the way. But, Your Highness, even if this humble servant is willing to go south, I have no connections or means to do so."

"If you truly wish to go, I can find a way for you. The youngest son of the Minister of War owes my family’s gambling den a considerable sum of silver, heh heh."

"Then this humble servant thanks Your Highness for your patronage!"

"No, wait, wait. This connection is worth a significant amount of silver, you know? Once this favor is used, it’s gone. I don’t do losing deals. Between us, friendship is friendship, and business is business. We keep them separate."

"Your Highness, this perfume... does it smell good?"

"It smells wonderful! A fine item indeed, hmm?"

"This perfume... this humble servant made it."

A smile immediately spread across the Sixth Prince’s face. He stared at Zheng Fan with a somewhat serious expression and said, "So, you just treat me like a younger brother?"

"My..."

"Ah!"

The Sixth Prince clapped his hands over Zheng Fan’s mouth, then leaned close to Zheng Fan’s ear and said, word by word, "Zheng Colonel, you display your ambition so openly before me. Aren’t you afraid, not even a little, that for the sake of the Great Yan’s stability, I might first eliminate an ambitious man like you?"

"Zheng Colonel, answer me!"

"Zheng Colonel, why are you not speaking?"

"MMPH! MMPH! MMPH..."

"Oh, my apologies."

The Sixth Prince removed his hands.

Zheng Fan stared at the Sixth Prince before him and, likewise, enunciated each word clearly, "I am not afraid."

"Why?"

"Because this Great Yan is not yet yours, Your Highness."

A smile touched the Sixth Prince’s lips. He seemed quite satisfied with this answer but continued, "Zheng Colonel, shall we share a dream?"

"Er..."

"Let’s first have a beautiful dream together."

"Your Highness, please don’t..."

"Let’s imagine, in that beautiful dream, that one day we truly succeed. I think, Zheng Colonel, it would be best for you to get castrated now. That way, we can ensure a harmonious relationship between ruler and subject for a lifetime, and it would even become a celebrated tale. It would save us from the cliché ending where the ruler and his subject eventually turn on each other."

"Your Highness, you’re joking."

The Sixth Prince let go of Zheng Fan, straightened his own clothes, and said, "Yes, I was joking."

「Elsewhere」

"Mother, what’s wrong with Uncle Won Hu? Are you going to punish him?" The princess leaned against the bed, snuggling close to the Old Madam.

No matter how tough and ruthless a woman might appear to the outside world, when facing her closest family, she would still reveal a girlish disposition.

The Old Madam was exceptionally well-preserved; she truly didn’t look fifty years old. The wind and sand of the northern lands had failed to leave any distinct wrinkles on her face.

"Heh. Our Li family established itself through martial prowess. We have guarded the northern frontier for a hundred years, standing firm and unyielding. What do we rely on? We rely on these four words: ’Fierce and Unafraid of Death’! Now, that Li Yuanhu has become capable, has he? The Left Valley King had already fought his way through ten military formations, his vitality utterly depleted. Yet, when Li Yuanhu finally engaged him, he was actually forced back!"