He was clearly extremely avaricious, yet was willing to spend all he had to wipe out the Kingdom of Karls. If he were from another country, such an act might be understandable. But Teng Liu was a native of Karls. Why on earth would he do this?
"Why do you insist on the destruction of the Kingdom of Karls?" Jing Xunchao asked. If there was no reasonable explanation, and he were to follow Teng Liu's advice to attack Karls, wouldn't that make him look rather foolish?
Although Karls and the Qin Dynasty had never gotten along well, the peace between the two countries had never been broken. So Jing Xunchao would never attack Karls without good reason.
"Of course I have my reasons. It's just not convenient to say them now," Teng Liu said, looking seriously at Jing Xunchao.
Jing Xunchao could see the sincerity in Teng Liu's eyes, but he still held his ground. Without a reasonable explanation, he wouldn't listen. Although he had no intention of sparing Karls, there were many ways to teach it a lesson. There was no need to destroy the whole kingdom.
Hearing Jing Xunchao's words, Teng Liu's eyes dimmed. But he quickly regained his composure, as if the dejected man just now had never existed.
Teng Liu led Jing Xunchao and the others to his residence, and then left them alone. He only provided accommodation and food; nothing else.
Mu Fengqie was surprised at the desolate scenery in the mansion. "Doesn't he have a fortune? Why does he live in such a shabby place?" Mu Fengqie was utterly confused.
"Maybe there's a story behind it. We might find out later. I'll go talk to him tonight," Jing Xunchao said as he put his luggage in the room.
Zhu Fei and Shen Qi went to the inn under the express delivery station. They could now act freely.
"What do you want to talk to him about?" Mu Fengqie asked Jing Xunchao.
"About sneaking into the palace at night." Since Teng Liu had pointed the clue to the palace, they might as well go and have a look. Maybe they could find some other clues.
If they really found evidence against Karls, it wouldn't be long before the Qin Dynasty launched an attack.
After Teng Liu returned, he locked himself in the study. There was a portrait of a beautiful woman hanging on the wall. Teng Liu looked at the portrait nostalgically. He hadn't dreamed of her for a long time.
"Mother, I miss you. Recently, I've earned a lot of money, but I have no one to offer it to," Teng Liu said as tears welled up in his eyes.
Many people outside envied his boundless wealth, but who could understand his loneliness? He had never enjoyed his mother's love since childhood, and he didn't care about his father's love at all.
Back then, his mother was the most favored concubine. Although she never became the queen, it was already a great honor to have the emperor's exclusive love. However, it was precisely this favor that led to her death.
At that time, his mother was three months pregnant. As soon as the imperial doctor reported the news, the emperor attached great importance to the child. One night, when the emperor went to the queen's palace, his mother was framed by a villain. She was found naked in a man's bed.
That night, the queen led the emperor and all the concubines in the harem there. His mother appeared before everyone in such a humiliating state. There were looks of surprise, mockery, and schadenfreude, but no one was willing to help her cover up or say a good word for her.
He watched helplessly as his mother was taken away by the guards. He knew his mother was innocent. She would never betray the emperor. But the man who had once doted on his mother didn't believe her at the critical moment. He killed the man on the spot, and his mother was beaten to death with sticks.
He remembered that his mother was covered in blood and still shouting her innocence. The man not only didn't believe her but also ordered the guards to beat her abdomen, saying that he wanted to kill the "illegitimate child." The ground was covered in bright red blood.
Gradually, his mother stopped struggling. After it was confirmed that she was dead, the man showed no sign of emotion. He just ordered the servants to throw her body into the mass grave. Then he coldly glanced at Teng Liu and ordered him to be sent to the cold palace. Although Teng Liu was his biological son, seeing him only reminded the emperor of the woman who had betrayed him.
Teng Liu lurked in the cold palace for a long time, gradually accumulating his own power. As soon as he had the ability, the first thing he did was to investigate his mother's case. Sure enough, he found some clues.
When he presented all the evidence before the emperor, the emperor looked at him in shock, as if he couldn't believe what had happened. Then the emperor ordered the concubine who had framed his mother to be sent to the cold palace, and her entire family was stripped of their titles. Their descendants were forbidden to serve in the court for ten generations.
The emperor clearly realized his mistake and tried every means to make up for it, but it was too late. Whenever Teng Liu saw the guilt in the emperor's eyes, he felt it was ironic.
Such a man actually felt guilty?
Ridiculously, after realizing that he had wrongly accused his mother, the emperor remembered her kindness. He had an empty coffin made for her and buried her with the highest - level ceremony, that of a queen.
But what was the use? His mother was already dead, and she didn't even have a complete body.
The emperor once intended to pass the throne to him, but he refused.
What was the point of sitting on the throne? It was better to watch his brothers fight for it.
His grandfather's family was so discouraged after being suppressed by the emperor that they all resigned and returned to their hometown. The emperor wanted to make up for it but couldn't. In the end, he had to give up this idea.
After that, Teng Liu focused on business development. Although business was the least respected occupation, he knew that money could move mountains.
As his business grew, those people had other ideas. They wanted to take over his industries, saying that a prince should serve the country. Who made such a rule?
His brothers tried every means to assassinate him. Even his father, who felt guilty towards him, began to be wary of him because of his growing wealth.
They were afraid that he would become too rich, so he decided to control all the economic lifelines of Karls. One day, if he couldn't live on, he would take everyone down with him.
When Teng Liu came back to his senses, it was already dark outside. The servants in the mansion had started preparing dinner.
Teng Liu carefully took the portrait off the wall.