Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne Chapter 1103 - 133: Purpose (2)

During meals, the chatter among ordinary folks centers on family affairs or Prince Han, Zhao Yao.

After finishing his meal, a middle-aged man picked at his teeth and remarked, "When will Prince Han, Zhao Yao, return from his trip to Annan and Johor?"

A middle-aged woman, face full of worry, asked, "Could something bad have happened to His Highness? Wouldn’t the Annan people hurt His Highness?"

"Those foreigners wouldn’t dare to injure our Prince."

"Yes, yes, our Prince is incredibly powerful; those foreigners can’t match him at all."

"I heard those foreigners wish to arrange a marriage for our Prince." Elderly women huddled together gossiping. "The foreign royal houses want to wed their princesses to our Prince as consorts."

"Those foreigners keep dispatching beauties to His Highness, but he rejects every one."

"Our Prince hasn’t wed a princess consort yet, nor keeps any maids nearby. Rumors claim our Prince favors men, yet no men accompany him either."

"Since His Highness came here, he’s devoted to securing good lives for us commoners. When could he spare time for romance?"

"It’s all thanks to Prince Han; otherwise, how could we relish such fine days?"

"Swamp Prefecture feels so vacant without His Highness these days. I wonder when he’ll return."

Deeply missed by Swamp Prefecture’s residents, Zhao Yao travels back home.

This journey to Annan and Pyu held no grand objective. Though he sped through Johor and Pyu, he still glimpsed the exotic customs of distant lands.

"Uncle, we’ve only ventured out a few days, yet you hurry me back. I haven’t enjoyed enough yet." Zhao Yao had plotted a month-long wander but returned after merely ten days. He’d schemed a covert sea escape alone, but He Lianfang caught on and demanded to come along.

He Lianfang threw a frosty glare at the sulking Zhao Yao and grumbled, "I fear you’d refuse to return." These past days, Zhao Yao reveled wildly in Annan and Johor, displaying zero urge to head back to Swamp Prefecture. He Lianfang dreaded that more playtime would make Zhao Yao abandon the return for good.

Zhao Yao: "Uncle, you’re overthinking it."

"You’d better feel that way." He Lianfang clearly doubted Zhao Yao.

"I truly mean it; Great Zhou is my homeland. After uplifting Swamp Prefecture, I’ll launch ships to explore."

As he poured tea, He Lianfang inquired, "You’ve been reveling day and night out there. Did you learn anything?"

With utmost gravity, Zhao Yao declared, "Truth be told, the grub in those foreign realms tastes dreadful, and their pastimes can’t rival Great Zhou’s, but it’s refreshingly new."

He Lianfang cast a scornful glance at Zhao Yao’s pretended obliviousness.

"Your excursion to Annan and Johor wasn’t solely for amusement; it served another aim."

"Uncle, you’re misjudging me. I went purely for relaxation, with no hidden agenda." Zhao Yao donned an innocent expression, "Anyway, what other agenda could I possibly have?"

He Lianfang fixed Zhao Yao with a prolonged stare, staying silent.

"I honestly had none." Zhao Yao’s gaze shone pure, his demeanor utterly genuine.

His face unmoved, He Lianfang’s voice chilled: "Do you plan to conceal it from me?"

"Uncle, why conceal from you? I’ve no cause to withhold it." Zhao Yao rubbed his cheek, explaining, "My chief reason for going to Annan was leisure and scouting the Southern Wei fugitives concealed there."

He Lianfang’s voice warmed back to normal: "What did you discover?"

"Nothing worthwhile." Zhao Yao sprawled over the table, rolling his head to and fro, "It lines up with our expectations, but I gathered plenty of scandalous royal tidbits from Annan and Johor." Straightening eagerly, he bubbled with gossip fervor, "The palace secrets in these foreign courts are utterly sensational—Uncle, care to hear?"

"No."

"Uncle, allow me to share..." Zhao Yao disregarded He Lianfang’s refusal and dove into spilling the secrets he’d overheard.

After a short while of listening, He Lianfang tired of it and shoved Zhao Yao outside.

"Uncle, let me finish..."

"Out."

"Uncle, just hear me..." So immersed in his tale, Zhao Yao kept chattering from the doorway even after expulsion, determined to conclude the tantalizing secrets.

Obliged to endure the flood of gossip, He Lianfang: "..."

Having finally spilled all the gossip, Zhao Yao departed from He Lianfang’s door.

Back in his private quarters, Zhao Yao's face darkened abruptly, a helpless sigh rising in his heart: Uncle really isn't someone easy to trick, and he couldn't help but wonder if his words had convinced Uncle in the slightest.

This journey to Annan and Johor went beyond mere relaxation; it aimed to probe certain affairs as well. In particular, it tracked the activities of Southern Wei operatives concealed within Annan and Pyu.

The findings turned out far more alarming than anticipated.

Annan's crisis loomed even graver than Zhao Yao had pictured.

Ever since these nations bowed to Great Zhou, countless factions from Great Zhou had seeped deeply into them. Whether such infiltration benefited Great Zhou or the countries themselves remained a mystery.

Although startling, these developments aligned with Zhao Yao's foresight. The true shock came from the formidable sway Prince Han and the Xiongnu’s Third Princess wielded in these distant lands. He had expected their reach to spread overseas, yet not to this shocking degree.

Their expansion must halt right there; their power needs to be severed.

With their clear ties to the Southern Wei folk, the moment has arrived to stir up strife among them.

"Come out."

Suddenly, a shadowy figure materialized before Zhao Yao, "Your Highness, what commands do you have?"

Zhao Yao leaned close and murmured directives into the Hidden Guard’s ear.

Upon receiving the orders, the Hidden Guard melted away from the chamber.