A Time-Traveling Mishap: I Became an Ancient Nobleman

Chapter 198 I'll take you back first

Zhou Hanzhang couldn't take it seriously. Even if it were true, he couldn't accept it. "Uncle, you're joking."

“I’m not joking. How can your brothers compare to you? If any one of them were even half as good as you, I wouldn’t have to worry so much.”

Zhou Hanzhang dared not respond to this, and only smiled without saying anything more.

"It's settled then. You'll be in charge of the United States' affairs in the Great Zhou Dynasty."

He looked at the eldest prince and said, "After you've finished packing, go over the relevant matters with Zhang'er. Then go straight back to your residence; you don't need to come out again."

The eldest prince glared at Zhou Hanzhang with hatred, a glance that was fleeting but still caught by Zhou Hanzhang.

Good heavens, that's terrifying.

He really is a major villain.

The eldest prince quickly changed his attitude and respectfully replied, "Yes."

The emperor found him irritating and said, "Get out."

Zhou Hanzhang knew that one cannot become fat in one bite, and that he needed to proceed slowly and methodically in order to bring down the eldest prince.

After Zhou Hanzhang returned to the carriage, Jiang Mingyun immediately pulled her aside and asked what had happened.

"Brother Hanzhang, how is it?"

She had just wanted to go down with them, but Zhou Hanzhang insisted that she stay here, saying it wouldn't be good if the Crown Prince saw her here.

This made her extremely eager and nervous.

Zhou Hanzhang shook his head. "My royal uncle only confined him to his quarters for six months, and then I took over the affairs of the visit from the United States that he is currently accompanying."

Jiang Mingyun immediately became anxious, "He left the capital without permission and even orchestrated such a grand show, which His Majesty witnessed, and this is only such a light punishment?"

“Mingyun, calm down. Your uncle has a lot to consider. Although he left the capital without permission, His Majesty has already punished him. You know he’s always been a silver-tongued man. Even if we know he’s that kind of person, we can’t bring him down in one fell swoop unless we have more compelling evidence.”

"But are we just going to let him continue like this? He definitely won't give up easily, and then what will happen to my Jiang family?"

Zhou Hanzhang grabbed her shoulders with both hands to steady her. "Since you've come all this way again, we'll be more wary of him this time. It certainly won't be the same as your last life. Just relax."

Putting aside the fact that he is the son of the late empress, he is also the first son of the emperor, which means he is destined to receive more favor than others. Unless he commits a particularly serious crime, the emperor's uncle will not do anything to him, given his personality.

Moreover, he currently only seeks his uncle's approval to gain more resources; he hasn't yet reached the point of rebellion. Our next step is to see if there's any way to ignite his greater ambition, make him anxious, and thus induce him to commit more wrongdoings.

Or perhaps we could find a way to expose the fact that he isn't the Emperor's uncle's son, but..."

"But what?"

"However, this is still a royal scandal. Even if it is exposed, we cannot publicize it. Uncle Royal should not allow such a thing to happen."

The story of the prince being replaced by a raccoon dog has been heard in every dynasty, but why are there so few of these stories passed down?

That's because the royal family had no choice but to keep it a secret to save face.

"So what do we do next?"

"I don't think he'll stay put even if he's confined. His attempt to use the life-saving grace to gain the Emperor's trust is no longer viable. The Emperor has General Gu and numerous secret guards by his side, and things will only get worse after he returns to the capital. He won't find a better opportunity."

I think he'll start getting closer to you next. You need to be careful when we get back, and watch out for him trying to do something bad to you.

Yesterday, Uncle He told me that Ye Gui had also come to Jiangnan, but he had returned to the capital ahead of schedule, perhaps sensing something.

I think Ye Gui is the person we should be focusing on right now, compared to the First Prince. After all, he's in the academy every day, so it's easy for him to get close to you. If you don't fall into their trap, they might come up with some other despicable schemes.”

Jiang Mingyun naturally knew that she had already gone through that experience in her previous life.

"What are you going to do with Bitao now?"

“I didn’t disturb her, but slowly took away some of her rights, so that she could no longer get close to me.”

“You did a good job, but I suggest you give her some opportunities, create some news for her to spread, and let her contact her brother and the eldest prince.”

Even if it weren't for her, there would be others. Why don't we take the initiative to grab this person and make her act according to our wishes, so that she can convey what we want to tell?

The enemy's knife is deadly when we can't see it, but if we can see it clearly, we can use it to our advantage and catch them off guard.

“Brother Hanzhang, you’re right. When I saw her before, I was reminded of what she did to me in my past life. So I just slowly distanced myself from her and never thought of using her.”

Yes, I want her to experience the despair I felt in my past life. She should be pregnant with the Crown Prince's child now. Before I came out, I saw that she stopped eating the foods she used to love and was feeling nauseous from time to time.

She thought she was hiding from me and didn't see me, but I could see her perfectly clearly. In this life, I will never be as blind as I was in my past life.

I was originally planning to marry her off to a lame widower, but now, Brother Hanzhang, you've given me a new idea. She's heavily pregnant now and must be eager for me to get involved with the First Prince. Then we can seize the opportunity and beat her to a pulp.

Seeing that Jiang Mingyun had figured it out, Zhou Hanzhang was somewhat relieved. "Yes, that's it. Whether it's Bitao, Ye Gui, or the Crown Prince, we can't crush them all at once with our current resources. We need to wait for the right opportunity, because often, such opportunities only come once. You must be patient."

"I understand, thank you, Brother Hanzhang."

"Good to know. He will be coming back to Beijing with us. You need to be careful and make sure he doesn't see you. Otherwise, he'll be like a dog, sniffing out your scent and coming to bother you."

Jiang Mingyun was a little happier to see that Zhou Hanzhang was thinking of her. "I know, but if we're traveling together, I can't stay in this carriage the whole time. What if he sees me when I go out to relieve myself?"

Zhou Hanzhang thought about it and realized it made sense. "How about this, I'll take you back first. Wait a moment, I'll go tell my uncle and father right away."

She quickly found the Emperor and Zhou Huaide. "Uncle, Father, Mingyun has an urgent matter at home and needs to go back as soon as possible. I was thinking of sending her back first."

"You'll take her home yourself?"

Zhou Huaide looked at Zhou Hanzhang and sighed inwardly. His own child was also a delicate young lady, alas…