paranoianovel Chapter 2341 Qu Zhiqing's Allegiance
Chapter 2341 Qu Zhiqing's Allegiance
Li Shen gave Xue Rengui a look, and Xue Rengui understood immediately and followed him out.
With thousands of people gathering, Li Shen needed safety. Xue Rengui went out to mobilize the guard battalion to provide protection and check if anyone was carrying weapons such as bows and crossbows.
"Qu Zhiqing, why are you postponing your title? Do you know how rare a title is in the Tang Dynasty?
If you become a marquis, the annual salary alone will make you prosperous and wealthy.
Don't you think they are both looking forward to it?"
There are no outsiders here, Li Shen asked directly.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, it is precisely because it is difficult to obtain a title in the Tang Dynasty that I feel that I am unworthy of the position.
I am just a branch of the Qu family and a rebel. I have never done anything to benefit the Tang Dynasty.
If I were to receive the title, I would be unable to sleep or eat peacefully." Qu Zhiqing continued with the same rhetoric, which made Li Shen somewhat dissatisfied.
"Then why do you want to join the Ji Wang Mansion? Do you know that even if you join the Ji Wang Mansion, you will not get an official position.
It would be better for you to be the leader of the rebels. In Prince Ji’s mansion, you are just a servant.
Besides, it’s not easy to enter the Ji Wang Mansion, and it’s even harder to leave the Ji Wang Mansion. Who would enter the Ji Wang Mansion if they were not desperate? "
Li Shen fell back and leaned directly on Chunxiang behind him. His expression was as frivolous as possible, with a hint of teasing.
Wang Xuance behind him rolled his eyes. "Are you saying I'm desperate? You were the one who found me in the first place, okay?"
But Lian Si was right. It was not easy to join the Prince Ji's Mansion, and it was even harder to quit.
Just like Wang Xuance, it would be impossible for him to withdraw from Prince Ji's Mansion on his own, unless he died.
After all, he knew too many secrets of Prince Ji's Mansion, and Li Shen would not let him go with peace of mind.
There is only one possibility for him to get away with it, that is, Li Shen's father Li Shimin wants Wang Xuance, or the crown prince wants Wang Xuance after he succeeds to the throne, and can only do so by issuing an order.
Otherwise, even if the current prince wanted Wang Xuance, Li Shen would have to go up and fight Li Chengqian to the death.
There was no way he could defeat the prince.
With a "thump!", Qu Zhiqing fell to his knees.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, I dare not hide anything. I do not want to die."
"Oh? How can you say that? You're alive and well, and you're about to become a noble. How could you die?"
Li Shen's pupils shrank, but a smile remained on his face. This Qu Zhiqing actually knew that he was going to kill them?
Who leaked this information? But Li Shen quickly dismissed the idea.
He had never had much contact with Qu Zhiping, and besides himself, there were only three people who knew that he wanted to kill the three of them.
Xue Rengui, Wang Xuance, and Zhou Daowu were present at the time, and even Zhao Tiejun didn't know about it.
Li Shen didn't believe that his two close confidants would betray him, and he didn't believe that his brother-in-law would betray him even more.
Zhou Daowu has no connection with these three people at all, and he has no interest in this.
The cotton fields and warehouses in Xizhou were not the property of his Zhou family, but of the princess's mansion.
Otherwise, how could it be so close to Prince Ji's property? This large area had long been enclosed by Li Shen, and no one would dare to get close.
Since it wasn't these three people, Li Shen really couldn't guess who leaked the information.
At this time, Qu Zhiqing was lying on the ground.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, I dare not hide anything. I have previously asked several shopkeepers from Chang'an in the workshop.
I learned from them that the nobles of the Tang Dynasty were all those who were granted fiefdoms by the Tang Dynasty, and almost no nobles were produced in the middle and late stages of the founding of the country.
Even the prime ministers who were promoted later had no titles, and this was even more so for the members of the Qu clan who went to Chang'an City.
The Qu Zhisheng and Qu Zhizhan that His Royal Highness Prince Ji just mentioned only held official positions.
This shows how precious the nobility of the Tang Dynasty is."
"Since you know how precious it is, why are you still trying to refuse?" Li Shen asked after hearing this.
"Because I'm afraid of death, and precisely because I know how precious the Tang nobles are, I've thought about it and figured out one thing."
When Qu Zhiqing said this, his body trembled a little. What he said next might bring him fatal disaster.
"What's the matter?" Li Shen frowned.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, please forgive me. I dare to speculate that Your Highness Prince Ji cannot even obtain the title.
But His Royal Highness Prince Ji still agreed to the three of us. Isn’t he afraid that we three will have objections?
So I thought about it and came up with a possibility, which is... that is... the prince will find an excuse to get rid of us, so that he doesn't have to fulfill his promise.
I have been in a state of panic since I thought of this possibility. Until today, when I met Prince Ji, I decided not to accept the title. I only hope that His Highness Prince Ji can keep me as a noble.
I am willing to be loyal to His Royal Highness Prince Ji for the rest of my life."
After saying this, Qu Zhiqing kowtowed to Li Shen several times, his pleading expression evident in his words, or perhaps his desire to survive was very strong.
He would give up anything to survive, and he was willing to sell himself to King Ji to survive.
Li Shen was a little surprised. He didn't expect that these things were actually deduced by Qu Zhiqing himself.
The person who leaked the information was not someone close to Li Shenxiang, but someone Qu Zhiqing found out through Tangren.
That’s really impressive.
"Ha ha ha ha."
Li Shen laughed out loud.
"Qu Zhiqing, I didn't expect you to have such thoughts. If you are so intelligent, why did you fall into the trap and end up in this situation?"
Li Shen was a little curious. How could such a smart person still follow Zhao Tiejun?
“Ah~~~~”
Qu Zhiqing raised his head and sighed, and Li Shen immediately realized that there was a story behind this.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, I dare not hide the fact that Qu Zhixian and I are actually cousins, and it was he who bewitched me into becoming a rebel.
At that time, most of the tribesmen moved to the Central Plains, and only I and my side branches stayed.
From being rich to being poor, it was at this time that Qu Zhixian found the villain and persuaded him to join him in a rebellion.
At that time, I did feel resentment towards the Tang Dynasty, so I agreed to Qu Zhixian's request and then wandered around the Anxi Protectorate.
Until His Royal Highness Prince Ji arrived and launched a massive campaign to suppress the rebels, we fled to the foot of the Holy Mountain and met Chief Zhao.
His Royal Highness Prince Ji is a man of great foresight and strategy. How could I compare with him? Naturally, I fell into his trap.
I have no great ambitions, I just want to live and be rich and prosperous. I hope Your Highness Prince Ji will not abandon me and give me a way out. "
After saying this, Qu Zhiqing prostrated himself on the ground again. He recounted his experiences and expressed that he had no choice but to become a rebel.
At the end, he even flattered the emperor.
Li Shen listened with his eyes narrowed, and looked at Qu Zhiqing lying on the ground, lost in thought. If it was true as he said, Qu Zhiqing was still of some use.
After a long while, Li Shen asked:
"How can I trust your loyalty?"
(I find that people on the Internet are so crazy now, they often say that they won’t drive a GLB or a C.
Why can't I afford one even though I want one? Am I worse than a dog?