I Became the Crown Prince of a Ruined Country

65 – In Qin

A little before Huidan left for Qi.

Those who left Handan earlier than that arrived at their destination and were having a moment of reunion.

Hamyang, a large city comparable to Handan.

There, Young-jeong met his father, who had abandoned him. Youngjacho, who is older than the image in her memory, hugged Yeongjeong and shed tears, saying that she had never forgotten you, but Yeongjeong saw through to it that it was a pretense.

There is no longer a father who showed his sincerity to his wife and daughter even as he struggled day after day in hardship and humiliation to survive. There is only one old king who overcame all the dark fights of blood and death and ascended the throne.

Yeongjacho’s mouth speaks of longing and love for Yeongjeong and Johee, but her eyes are cold, implying that she no longer has any affection for the two of them.

‘Yes. I guess so.’

I could have forgiven him if he left Jo Nara just to survive. Young-do knows now. Because the girl who lived without dying has now found the reason for her life.

I don’t want to die, I want to live, how great and absolute the desire to survive is. I didn’t want to criticize him for putting the desire to survive ahead of his love for his family.

But if that was all, Yeongjacho should have taken Johee and Yeongjeong out after returning to the Qin Dynasty. Although he knew that it would be difficult, Yeongjacho had the strength to do so.

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The reason Yeongjacho didn’t do that was probably because the two of them were a burden to Yeongjacho rather than a help in the political struggle. The two of them would only have difficulty in expanding their power through marriage with the aristocratic family.

Yeongjacho chose power over Johee and Yeongjeong.

As the conclusive evidence, the emotion felt in Yeongjacho’s eyes was not the guilt of neglecting the two of them and the joy of being with them now, but the heartlessness of a ruler who was thinking about how to treat the two of them.

‘It’s cold….’

Winter has not come yet, but the emptiness in Youngjeong’s heart pierced his body and mind more coldly than the winter wind.

‘… Step.’

To me, the only person who gave me unconditional favor was you.

Yeongjeong realized it again in the arms of her parents.

And as the emptiness of his empty seat grew, the obsession and desire for him grew.

But Yeongjeong did not regret it. It was a necessary choice. Even though he is away from Heidan’s side now, from the day we meet again until the moment we die, we will be together forever. Youngjeong vowed to endure the present loneliness and cold.

During this period, someone other than Yeongjeong may be taking over Heidan’s side, but I will bear with it. I will definitely pay for it someday.

After several long years, the time for the father-daughter reunion was short. There was no banquet because it was a memorial service for the late King Jinhyomun.

Even though it was only a few days after entering the Qin Dynasty and only one day of seeing the court in Hamyang, Yeongjeong understood Yeongjacho’s intentions. He was weighing

Surprisingly, it was not the powerful aristocratic families of the existing Qin Dynasty that currently rule the court in Hamyang.

Yeongjacho must want to balance. The power that is concentrated on one side is also a burden to the king, Yeongjacho.

He must have tried to balance the power by lowering the Youngjeong and continuing to support his half-brother Yeongseong-gyo, the main axis of the aristocratic power, to empower the aristocratic class.

Is it the fate of those who sit on the throne to be calm, which even family members consider the weight of power? Or is it just because Yeongjacho doesn’t feel affection from Johee and Yeongjeong and loves the other house more.

Either way, his attitude would not be that of a father dealing with his beloved family.

In that case, Yingjing himself would not treat him as a father.

Taking it as a static atop her throne, she will walk the path that leads to her throne in her own way.

That first step was that person.

“How are you, princess?”

Yeongjeong looked at the elderly middle-aged man greeting him, revealing that he had been dating him.

Even though she has reached the age of the Jangga (杖家), when a middle-aged person walks around with a cane at home, she stands tall and smiles benevolently.

But don’t be fooled by that soft appearance. That person must be the monster of the court holding the real power of the current Qin Dynasty.

A rare royal throne jijae (王佐之材) who seduced Yeongjacho and finally made him king.

A colossus who, despite being from the Han Dynasty, rose to the throne by driving out the nobles of the Qin Dynasty.

His name is Yeobulwi (呂不韋). It is a person who is not wrong.

Youngjeong met Yeobulwi and her eyes. And saw. It seems to live in satisfaction with everything, but the endless insult that still burns inside.

“You brought me here.”

“…!”

It was a fleeting moment, but Yeongjeong caught Yeobulwi’s light of wonder. Soon after, Yeobulwi caressed his beard and said calmly, as if he had no intention of hiding it.

“Indeed, you are intelligent. It must be because of the princess’ innate intelligence that she has survived so far in the land of Zhao. That’s right. I brought her here to Hamyang.”

Surprisingly, the subject who brought Yeongjeong from the Zhao Dynasty to the Qin Dynasty was Yeobulwi, not his father Yeongja Cho.

No matter how high the achievements and prestige of Yeobulwi are, the strength of the nobles of the Qin Dynasty, who are tightly united around Youngseonggyo, is absolutely formidable. Youngjeong was the most powerful way to overcome this situation.

Although it is said that the nobles of the Qin Dynasty are united as the Spiritual Church, not all nobles in the Qin Dynasty followed the Spirituality Church.

Nobles who are not on good terms with Yeongseonggyo’s mother’s family, or nobles who have been cooped up by Yeobulwi.

Rising nobles who rose to the ranks of the nobility after being recognized for their abilities and merits in the four classes.

Those who follow utilitarianism and choose to watch the political battle between the two powers, etc.

Even within the aristocracy, there was a conflict between groups. If all the nobles of the Qin Dynasty had succeeded in uniting with one heart and mind, no matter how hard they were, they would not have been able to overcome their iron-clad walls and emerge as the core power of the Qin Dynasty.

Of course, being able to squeeze into the gaps of such vested interests is already an incomparable ability, but anyway.

For Yeobulwi, he tried to put an end to the political struggle by choosing neutrality like that or by attracting nobles who were paying attention to each other.

What makes that possible is the existence of the spirit. Yeongjeong is also the blood of Yeongjacho.

If the Youngjeong is put forward, some of the nobles who have been silent for a while will gather around the Youngjeong again and confront the Spiritual Cult faction.

Then the victory of Yeobulwi will be certain.

These political dynamics, Yongzheng had accurately understood them in this short period of time.

“You said you were a merchant, right? Then you can do business with me too.”

“Ohhh, trading…that’s what I really like. All right. What kind of deal does the princess want?”

“It’s going to make me king, it’s going to be the common wish of both of us anyway, so let’s talk about what happens after that? I don’t want much. Yes. One, just one.”

He was puzzled by the words that he would obey Yeobulwi obediently, even though he knew that he was in a position to completely overturn the current balance. If you had that level of acumen and cool-headedness, you would have been able to negotiate for more benefits.

But eventually, Yeobulwi, who heard what Yeongjeong wanted, smiled slightly bitterly.

“My marriage is arranged by me, and you fully support it. Even if war is necessary, with all your might.”

Youngjeong’s pupils were blindly stained with some kind of emotion.

When did you see those eyes? Yeobulwi now chews on the old memories that have faded.

Even though she was her own woman, she gave it up to another man for her own desires.

Jo-hee, Yeong-jeong’s mother, Yeong-ja-cho’s wife, and, in the past, her mistress. It was her eyes that she saw in her.

‘Is her mother and daughter alike?’

If they heard that, both Johee and Youngjeong would hate it and deny it, but from a third person’s point of view, she could affirm that she had seen both of them.

Youngjeong is said to have inherited the blood of Johee.

It was until here that I pondered over the past. Yeobulwi did not regret the fact that she married Johee, who was her lover, to Yeongjacho.

Because of that, he calmly focused on the transaction between himself and the spirit.

“If I do, what will I get from her princess?”

“Upper seat.”

Even though she made herself a king, Yeongja Cho did not allow Yeobulwi to do so.

The seat of power over one under one and over ten thousand.

Yeongjeong replied that he would give the position to Yeobulwi.

Even though she knew that the swear words she had been hiding were revealed, she spoke leisurely.

“Is that all?”

“Is there anything else your sangbo wants?”

Equally leisurely answer to a leisurely leisurely question.

However, the meaning contained in that answer is not as soft as their tone.

Complementary. Youngjeong’s words were that you were no different from the king’s father, so he promised to give you not only the position of the upper chamber, but also the position of regent.

Even that woman was taken aback by this answer.

“Huh…? Heh heh, ha ha ha ha ha ha! Good. Good.”

After bursting into laughter, Yeobulwi even clapped and giggled, then calmed down her laughter and whispered to Youngjeong.

“I will make her princess into a true king.”

And the words of Yeobulwi were kept.

Yeongjeong became the Crown Princess.

It happened when Heidan left Handan.