Movie: Get Alpha Dog at the start

Chapter 1122 Dou Zhao: Who is this person?
Shortly after the emperor left, there was a noise outside the door.

Not long after, a handsome young eunuch walked in with small steps and knelt in front of Qin Hao.

"Your servant Ma Quan has been ordered to come and serve the Ninth Prince."

Qin Hao looked at the eunuchs, palace maids, and guards behind Ma Quan. They were all unfamiliar faces. It was obvious that the emperor had replaced all the people around him with new ones.

"Well, you all go down."

"Slave, I'll take my leave."

Since he was arranged by the emperor, at least he would not harm his life. This also indicated that his performance today had attracted the attention of the emperor.

As a prince without the support of his relatives, if he wants to seize the throne, he cannot do without the support of his father, the emperor.

After Ma Quan and others left, Qin Hao walked to the desk again, pondered for a long time, and wrote down a few names on the paper.

"Song Mo."

He is the eldest son of Duke Yingguo, and his uncle Jiang Meisun is the contemporary Duke Dingguo. The Dingguo Army under his command is capable of fighting and has strict discipline, and is a military force that cannot be underestimated.

Duke Dingguo Jiang Meisun and the emperor were childhood friends and were very loyal to him. It was almost impossible to get him to help him rebel, or to pacify the country. Therefore, the best way was to wait for Jiang Meisun's death and then take control of Song Mo. This way, he would have the power to compete with Prince Qing.

"Ji Yong."

He was born in the Cui family of Ji'an and was related to Dou Zhao's grandmother. He was considered Dou Zhao's distant cousin. He could read at the age of two and compose poems at the age of four. He grew up in a Buddhist sect and learned medical skills. However, he said that a doctor can only cure ten or a hundred people, but cannot save all the people. He gave up medicine to pursue literature, and won the third place in the imperial examination, showing his talent for governing the country.

If these two men, one civil and one military, could be brought under our command, the chances of success in the Jingnan Rebellion would be much greater.

After thinking about it, Qin Hao finally wrote down the name of the heroine "Dou Zhao".

To support one's own power in the court, it is inevitable to spend money. Dou Zhao has some business acumen and is suitable to be his white glove.

After burning the paper, Qin Hao looked at the bright moon outside the window.

"At this time, Dou Zhao should be about to be reborn, right?"

Three days later, the emperor sent someone over.

"Ninth Prince, His Majesty summons you to the Wenhua Palace."

"Please lead the way."

"Your Highness the Ninth Prince has embarrassed me."

In the Wenhua Hall, Emperor Zhu Jianshen sat on the dragon throne, accompanied by a woman in luxurious clothes and wearing a phoenix crown. The two of them looked and behaved in a close manner, and it was obvious that this woman was Empress Wan.

"I pay my respects to my father, the emperor, and the queen."

Zhu Jianshen nodded with satisfaction: "Get up."

Then he turned to the ministers standing below and said, "Do you think my Ninth Prince is worthy of being taught?"

Several ministers stared at each other for a long time, and an old man in the lead saluted tremblingly.

"Your Highness, we see that the Ninth Prince has an extraordinary bearing. With a little training, he will surely become a pillar of our dynasty in the future."

Zhu Jianshen was about to speak when Queen Wan stopped him and then walked up to Qin Hao.

"Since you have a good handwriting, why did you hide your poor handwriting in the past? Did you believe some rumors? I am here today, so you can speak out boldly and I will definitely help you."

Zhu Jianshen's face changed when he heard this. It was obvious that this was not something he had told the queen.

Empress Wan also noticed Zhu Jianshen's strangeness and explained softly, "Your Majesty, please don't worry. I am in charge of the harem. Yesterday, Your Majesty suddenly replaced all the people who served Hao'er. If I didn't know about such a big move, wouldn't it be dereliction of duty?"

Zhu Jianshen felt as embarrassed as if his little tricks were exposed on the spot. All the ministers were experienced people. They lowered their heads and buried them in their wide robes and sleeves like ostriches, as if saying: I didn't hear anything.

"Your Majesty, rumors stop at wise men. In the past, I was young and ignorant, and I was frightened when I heard the rumors. I only came to my senses recently. I hope that my father and the queen will forgive me."

Qin Hao's answer made Zhu Jianshen feel relieved immediately.

"Queen, Hao'er is only eight years old after all, and he was previously bewitched by someone with bad intentions. How about you forgive him this time?"

Empress Wan glanced at Qin Hao unwillingly, then knelt in front of Zhu Jianshen and said, "Your Majesty, someone in the harem spread this rumor because I didn't discipline them properly. Please allow me to make amends for my crime and rectify the harem to correct people's hearts!"

Qin Hao couldn't help but look at Queen Wan with admiration. With just one sentence, she forced the emperor to give up his power. She said that she was trying to rectify the harem and correct people's hearts, but in fact she was taking the opportunity to eliminate dissidents. Maybe after this rectification of the harem, Queen Wan would be the undisputed master of the harem.

Qin Hao unknowingly became a knife in Queen Wan's hand.

"In the game of imperial power, every move must be made with extreme caution, and no opponent should be underestimated."

Qin Hao silently took note of this.

"Please stand up quickly. I've told you many times that there is no need for us to be so polite as husband and wife. Okay, okay." Zhu Jianshen helped Queen Wan up and showed his love in front of all the ministers.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Queen Wan took advantage of the situation and stood up and sat next to Zhu Jianshen.

Zhu Jianshen cleared his throat and said, "Master Wu, since you also said that the Ninth Prince is a promising talent, do you have a suitable candidate for a teacher?"

Elder Wu pondered for a long time and said: "The new Jinshi Dou Shiying is very talented and may be able to take on the responsibility of teaching the Ninth Prince."

Zhu Jianshen nodded but did not make a decision on the spot. Instead, he asked other ministers.

"Do you have any other candidates, my dear ministers?"

A middle-aged man in a red robe came out and bowed, saying, "I recommend the new champion Liu Heng. His knowledge far exceeds that of Dou Shiying, and he is more suitable to teach the Ninth Prince."

Afterwards, some ministers also came forward and recommended many famous teachers and scholars.

Zhu Jianshen ignored him and said to the man in red robe with a smile: "I heard that Wang Aiqing is going to become a relative of the Dou family soon. Is this to avoid suspicion?"

Wang Xingyi immediately kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have always been dedicated to the public and have never had any selfish motives. The reason I recommended Liu Heng is because I value his talent."

"Well, Lord Wang is an upright person, and everyone can see that. I was just joking, so don't take it seriously." After Zhu Jianshen finished speaking, he said to Lord Wu.

"Then let's follow Elder Wu's recommendation and let Dou Shiying teach the Ninth Prince."

"Your Majesty is wise."

No one asked Qin Hao for his opinion because his opinion was the least important. Through this recommendation of the teacher, Zhu Jianshen knew that his civil servants were not a monolithic group, and his goal had been achieved.

Elder Wu was very happy because he had broken down Zhu Jianshen's vigilance through the opposition of a group of court officials. Wang Xingyi also earned the reputation of being upright in the eyes of the emperor through his opposition to Elder Wu.

Qin Hao’s only gain was a cheap teacher. This is politics.

"Dou Shiying? Dou Zhao's father, the coward who forced the original wife to death and then took over the wife's nest?"

"It's quite interesting."

In the following days, Qin Hao went to Wenhua Hall to attend classes in an orderly manner. Zhu Jianshen attached great importance to the education of his offspring, and the cabinet elders would often take time out to attend classes.

Crown Prince Zhu Yousheng is an absolutely good student. He is humble, studious, gentle and elegant. All the important officials in the cabinet, headed by Lord Wu, are very optimistic about him.

Although Prince Qing Zhu Youting is very smart, he always conflicts with the Crown Prince and is not liked by important officials in the cabinet.

After Qin Hao changed his previous laziness, he did receive some praise. However, with the legitimate crown prince above him and Queen Wan's only son, Prince Qing, below him, no matter how well Qin Hao, the ninth prince, performed, he would not get the support of the cabinet.

However, Qin Hao didn't care. There were already too many people on the boats of the Crown Prince and Prince Qing's parties, and some of them would not be able to squeeze in.

Moreover, as the unpopular ninth prince, if he wants to succeed in his campaign of Jingnan, it would be best if the Crown Prince and Prince Qing kill each other thoroughly, so that he can reap the benefits.

"Ma Quan, I remember that it has been more than ten days since the emperor ordered Dou Shiying to come to the palace to teach, right?"

The class had just ended when Qin Hao deliberately spoke loudly.

Ma Quan bowed and replied, "Reporting to the Ninth Prince, today is exactly the tenth day."

"So, he doesn't want to teach me anymore? If he doesn't want to teach, why doesn't he report to my father so that he can choose another teacher? What's the point of dragging it on like this?" Qin Hao said angrily.

The prince at the side said in a gentle tone.

"Ninth brother, you misunderstood. The reason why Dou Shiying did not enter the palace was because his family had a sudden change. His wife died of a sudden illness. His family was preparing for the funeral, so it was inconvenient for him to enter the palace."

"Oh." Qin Hao showed a surprised look on his face: "In that case, the teacher's wife passed away. As a student, I must go to pay my respects."

The prince hesitated when he heard this: "Ninth brother, are you going to leave the palace?"

"Oh, that's right. I don't have a token to leave the palace, so I can't get out." Qin Hao pretended to be frustrated, and then his eyes lit up: "Your Highness the Crown Prince should have a token to leave the palace, right? Can you lend it to me?"

"This... I'm afraid it's not a good idea. If my father punishes me..."

The prince subconsciously covered his sleeves.

Prince Qing waved his hand and a gold medal fell on Qin Hao's desk. "Hmph, ninth brother, don't pay attention to that blockhead. It's just a token. Fourth brother will give it to you."

"Thank you, fourth brother, for your help." Qin Hao put the gold medal into his sleeve without hesitation.

The prince wanted to stop him: "Fourth brother, ninth brother, I'm afraid it's inappropriate to do this..."

"Brother, just pretend you don't know. If Father asks about it, I will take full responsibility and will not implicate you two brothers."

As soon as Qin Hao finished speaking, King Qing said proudly: "Ninth brother is still straightforward, unlike the eldest brother who only talks about big principles."

"You..." The prince was so angry that he turned away.

With the gold medal from Prince Qing, Qin Hao was able to leave the imperial city unimpeded. Ma Quan also got a carriage from somewhere, and the two of them headed all the way to the Dou family.

The area in front of the Dou Mansion was covered in mourning, the door to the mansion was half-open, and white soul-calling banners on both sides were swaying in the breeze.

"Ma Quan, go knock on the door."

Ma Quan arrived at the door quickly. When the doorman heard that it was the Ninth Prince who had arrived, his face was immediately filled with panic.

"Please wait for a moment, eunuch. I will go and inform them first."

The doorman stumbled all the way to the front hall, where the Dou family and the Wang family were confronting each other.

Wang Xingyi, dressed in a vermilion official robe, must have just come down from the morning court and went straight to the Dou family, which shows his love for his daughter Wang Yingxue.

Wang Xingyi started to speak aggressively: "Now that someone has died, Dou Shiying has been drunk and depressed all day, and all the blame has fallen on my daughter. Rather than being despised and neglected in the future, it is better for you to come back with me first. Even if the daughter of my Wang family never marries, she will never be a concubine."

Dou Shishu, the fifth uncle of the Dou family, hurriedly said with a smile: "Brother Xingyi has misunderstood. We have announced to the public that Zhao has passed away. Your daughter's second wife is naturally the legal wife..."

As the two were talking, Dou Shishu's servant suddenly came in: "Fifth Master..."

Dou Shishu's face was gloomy, and he shouted: "Can't you see that I am discussing important matters with Brother Xingyi? It's rude."

The servant said with a bitter face, "Fifth Master, the gatekeeper sent a message that the Ninth Prince is outside the door. He said that he heard that Seventh Master's wife passed away, so he came to pay his respects."

"The Ninth Prince?" Dou Shishu was confused for a moment. He had only heard of such an unfavored Ninth Prince but had never met him.

Wang Xingyi's face changed drastically when he heard this, and he explained to Dou Shishu, "The Ninth Prince has been favored by His Majesty recently, and he specially selected your Seventh Son as his teacher. But he didn't expect that something like this would happen to your family. If the Ninth Prince sees through it and reports it to the Emperor, and the Jiying Guard investigates it, the future of our two families will be ruined."

Dou Shishu was horrified: "Brother Xingyi, how should we respond?"

"Don't panic. Just tell the servants to keep their mouths shut and let Dou Shiying deal with the Ninth Prince. After all, the Ninth Prince is only eight years old. I'm sure he won't be able to see any flaws."

"Okay, okay, I'll make arrangements right now."

"What are you still standing there for? Come with me to welcome the Ninth Prince."

Not long after, Dou Shishu and Wang Xingyi brought people to the door and welcomed Qin Hao in.

Qin Hao pretended to recognize the wrong person: "This must be you, sir. I just heard today that your family has encountered an accident, so I came to offer my condolences. Please accept my condolences, sir."

Dou Shishu was embarrassed: "Your Highness has recognized the wrong person. I am Dou Shishu, Shiying's elder brother. Shiying lost his wife in middle age and fell ill. I, the fifth brother, have to take care of the funeral on his behalf."

"Oh, I see. It's all my fault for living in the palace for so long that I made a fool of myself."

"No, no, it is a great honor for the Ninth Prince to come to the Dou family. Please come in."

Along the way, the courtyard was filled with plain white curtains, and family members were dressed in white mourning clothes, but no one was seen crying. The branches and leaves of the surrounding trees were drooping, giving people a lifeless feeling.

Just as Qin Hao stepped into the mourning hall, a girl of seven or eight years old struggled to rush to the coffin and knelt down.

Dou Shishu and Wang Xingyi were both horrified.

"Are you all dead? The young lady just lost her mother and is heartbroken. Why don't you help her down to rest?" Dou Shishu shouted.

The servants were about to catch the girl, but she shouted at them: "Who dares to commit treason?"

Qin Hao looked at the girl with great interest. Seeing this, Dou Shishu had no choice but to dismiss the servants with a gloomy face. He bowed to Qin Hao and said, "Your Highness, this is Zhao's daughter, named Dou Zhao. Recently, she was too sad because of her mother's death. What she said and did was a bit extreme. I hope Your Highness will forgive her."

"Oh, so she is the master's daughter. Does that mean she is also my junior sister?"

At this moment, Dou Zhao's mind was a mess. She remembered that in her previous life there was only the Crown Prince and Prince Qing, and she had never heard of the Ninth Prince. How did this Ninth Prince appear before her?

"Is it really Duke Zhuang dreaming of a butterfly? Or am I just having a very real dream?"

"No, everything in the dream doesn't seem fake, and my mother did die because of Wang Yingxue."