A Poor Family’s Hereditary Scumbag (6) After comparing their memories, the Tenth Prince and Rui Li quickly realized where the divergence lay, and it wasn’t hard for them to deduce who else—like themselves—had obtained an opportunity beyond fate.
Qin Jingzhou stepped forward with complete confidence. From the perspective of the former male and female leads—yes, former—the original Yu Jingzhou had died the earliest in their memories, and thus should logically have known the least.
Not to mention that he had already advised Rui Li to seek a divorce. Now, not only Rui Li, but even the Tenth Prince held no ill will toward him.
At the very least, when he suddenly appeared and introduced himself, Qin Jingzhou sensed not a trace of hostility from the Tenth Prince.
Still holding Rui Li, the Tenth Prince wiped his face. “Come with me.”
Qin Jingzhou clasped his hands. “With pleasure.”
He instructed his servant to inform his judicial-officer cousin that he had a sudden engagement and would arrive later.
The servant naturally didn’t recognize the Tenth Prince, but the sharp-eyed youth caught a glimpse of the faint yellow lining at the prince’s collar. His expression tightened, and he bolted off without a word.
The Tenth Prince’s residence was still the one borrowed from the Prince of Jin’s heir—a standard four-courtyard estate.
All along the way, Rui Li let the Tenth Prince hold her hand. She looked shy and uneasy, and didn’t dare meet Qin Jingzhou’s gaze—after all, she hadn’t officially divorced Yu Depai yet.
Clearly, in the Tenth Prince’s previous life, he and Rui Li had met, known each other, and loved each other deeply—but their time together had been painfully short. Qin Jingzhou guessed the prince likely knew that only a few years after his own death, the woman he loved had followed him.
Only life-and-death separation could explain why the Tenth Prince had just embraced Rui Li in the street, crying so openly, his emotions surging so violently.
As for Rui Li’s “previous life,” she had been dragged down to her death by Yu Depai.
She had come to the prefectural city to clear her head, “ran into” the Tenth Prince, and was suddenly pulled into a confession of love. Though she looked desperate to escape, deep down she believed every word he said.
With such a foundation, Qin Jingzhou felt even more confident about steering this pair of star-crossed lovers.
What he truly wanted to know was why, the moment the Tenth Prince was reborn, the male lead halo had… shifted so abruptly—almost absurdly so.
Qin Jingzhou muttered to the system, “I have a good impression of both of them. By all logic, this shouldn’t have happened.”
The system replied frankly, “I also feel something’s off.”
Once inside the outer study, Qin Jingzhou took a seat beside the freshly washed and changed Tenth Prince, facing Rui Li across the room. He spoke plainly:
“All I know is that Miss Rui went through tremendous hardship to divorce my bastard son. That disgraceful boy took the money and ran off to throw himself into the arms of a lover he’d met… I have to admit, he’s got some talent. He actually managed to climb all the way up to a princess. But as the saying goes, those who do too much evil will meet their end. He ultimately died in a struggle among the princess’s male favorites—one might say he got exactly what he deserved.”
Yu Depai, a major antagonist in the early plot, had met his end before the male and female leads married.
Qin Jingzhou looked at the two of them and smiled. “As for Miss Rui’s new husband, I didn’t know who he was…”
Calling her Miss Rui was already a clear statement of his stance.
The Tenth Prince smiled in return. “Now you do.”
Qin Jingzhou continued, “Hurry up and get the divorce finalized. Oh—my unfilial son seems to have recently become the kept man of some noblewoman. I was worried he’d cause more trouble, so I broke his leg. In any case, Your Highness, please don’t hold my past actions against me.”
The Tenth Prince burst out laughing. Though he knew Qin Jingzhou was holding things back, he admired this kind of frankness.
Before coming to the prefectural city, he’d already heard that Yu Jingzhou had taken the initiative to help Xiaoli divorce, and that he’d saved his cousin and the others. For Rui Li’s sake, and his cousin’s, he wouldn’t have acted against Qin Jingzhou anyway. What he hadn’t expected was that this man was not only perceptive, but also unmistakably one of his own kind.
Everyone knows their own family’s business.
In his previous life, the Tenth Prince hadn’t lived past thirty. The reason was that while serving as imperial envoy investigating the salt administration, he’d been unknowingly poisoned. He was almost certain the poison had been administered by Prince Li without leaving a trace.
The poison was extremely rare, incurable, and not directly lethal. Its only taboo was mental and physical exhaustion—overexertion was a death sentence.
And he had been reborn after being poisoned.
Once he realized this, the naturally open-minded Tenth Prince complained a little, then fully accepted reality. After all, Heaven had already been generous to him.
To be honest, unlike his brothers, though he’d laughed last in the struggle for succession, he’d never been particularly attached to the throne.
Given another life, he still wasn’t suited to relentless scheming. He only wanted to marry Xiaoli as soon as possible, spend more time with her, make up for past regrets—and send Prince Li down to accompany his father sooner rather than later.
As for the throne… fate could decide.
There was no need to tell Yu Jingzhou that he no longer cared about imperial power.
But as for dealing with Prince Li, the Tenth Prince saw no reason to hide anything—especially since he didn’t believe Yu Jingzhou could swallow his anger after learning the truth behind Yu Depai’s gambling.
He explained calmly:
“Your son was actually chosen. Do you know my Fifth Sister, Princess Zhaoming? She’s Father Emperor’s favorite child. He may not grant her everything she wants, but his favor runs deep. All of us siblings together sometimes don’t compare to a single word from her. Fifth Sister doesn’t love power or money—she only loves beauty. Prince Li catered to her tastes, sending trusted subordinates, sometimes even his own sons and daughters, to personally scout beauties during their travels.”
He paused, his face actually flushing slightly. “I won’t hide it from you—when I first saw you, I was struck. Given your looks, it’s not hard to imagine what kind of charm your son has.”
Rui Li studied Qin Jingzhou for a moment and suddenly chimed in, “He may be terrible in every other way, but his looks really are beyond reproach!”
The Tenth Prince looked at Rui Li with a smile full of indulgence. “That’s true.”
Qin Jingzhou: …
The Tenth Prince really did have a broad mind.
Without waiting for Qin Jingzhou’s response, he continued, “Yu Depai likely latched onto Prince Li’s illegitimate daughter. Calling her a commandery princess wouldn’t be wrong, though she doesn’t actually hold the title. Prince Li’s children collect beauties, seize leverage over them, give them a good ‘lesson,’ then bundle four—or eight—of them up tightly and send them all to Fifth Sister as a surprise.”
Qin Jingzhou: …
Good grief—this was basically blind-box collecting.
After leaving the Tenth Prince’s temporary residence, the system asked, “Brother Zhou, are you really going to work with him? He clearly wants to fall in love and recuperate, while dumping all the work on others!” Qin Jingzhou nodded seriously. “I think I finally understand why the male lead halo suddenly transferred. Just reborn and all he wants is to marry his sweetheart and take revenge, while his career goes full-on salted fish—does that make sense for a romance male lead?” The system shared his indignation. “Exactly. Make him do it himself.” “I’ll help him deal with Prince Li,” Qin Jingzhou said as he climbed into the carriage. “My task, when you boil it down, is to choose an emperor who can firmly hold the throne. That way, we avoid the final chaos and the fall of Great Liang. Two consecutive succession wars would cripple the nation beyond doubt.” The system replied, “That’s true.” “I really didn’t expect Prince Li’s methods to be this twisted. Turns out my bastard son’s crimes had layers to them. Still, after returning home I smashed his leg into a fracture and quickly moved to the county seat. With the young prince living nearby, Prince Li’s daughter didn’t dare openly contact my bastard anymore.” Qin Jingzhou chuckled. “I was planning to dump him back in the village and forget about him. Now it seems such a perfect bait needs to stay close at hand.” The system was silent for a moment, then said, “Brother Zhou… I think you’re far more charming than Yu Depai. I suggest you prepare yourself—mentally—for Princess Zhaoming taking an interest in you.” Qin Jingzhou paused. “Good point. If I really can’t fend her off, I’ll just push my bastard son out front.” He couldn’t hold it anymore and burst out laughing.
He went to eat at his judicial-officer cousin’s home and stayed the night, only leaving the prefectural city the next day to return to the county where he was temporarily staying.
Back home, he finally gave this incarnation’s son, Yu Depai, a proper look. “He’s not completely useless.”
Yu Depai had been terrified into submission by that one beating. “They liked my face. The noblewoman never said it outright, but she planned to send me to an even more powerful noble… I know I’d be selling myself for my looks, but it was the only path upward I could think of.”
Qin Jingzhou felt even more satisfied. “So you’re not an idiot.”
Yu Depai: …
Then he broke down crying. “I didn’t want to gamble either! I was full of resentment with nowhere to vent. Gambling let me forget everything for a while! I didn’t mean to hit Xiaoli—I just… lost control when my temper flared!”
He crawled over, using both hands and feet, and hugged his father’s arm. “Dad, I was wrong! I really know I was wrong!”
He cried so hard it was almost heartrending.
The commotion was loud enough to disturb the family next door.
Moments later, the door creaked open. Qin Jingzhou looked up to see Tianniu standing there, conflicted. “Daddy?”
He shook off his unfilial son. When his daughter rushed over, he lifted her into his arms. “Did your aunt send you to talk me down?”
Tianniu nodded vigorously, her voice soft and sweet. “Yes! Daddy, don’t be angry.”
Qin Jingzhou’s heart melted.
Holding his daughter, he glanced at the bastard son. “I believe what you said just now was true. But persuading your grandmother to sell your aunt and your little sister—that came from your heart as well.”
Yu Depai’s thoughts were easy to read. He’d already fallen into hell—how could he accept his aunt and sister staying clean and untouched? And once they were sold, even if his grandfather and uncles found out, his grandmother would be locked up for life at best.
The core idea was simple: If I’m miserable, everyone goes down with me. Yu Depai said nothing.
Qin Jingzhou continued, “At worst, I swindle money. You take lives. Compared in terms of despicableness, I can’t compete with you.”
He suddenly changed tack. “The deed to your person is also in their hands, isn’t it?”
Yu Depai gave a soft “Mm.”
Qin Jingzhou pinched his son’s cheek. “It’s just a deed. Look how scared you are. Pathetic.”
Yu Depai whispered, “Dad… it’s a death deed.”
Qin Jingzhou slapped a palm onto his son’s back. “Death deeds are easy to deal with. Destroy the deed—or destroy the person holding it. Prince Li’s whole family are human traffickers who stop at nothing. What’s wrong with me acting on Heaven’s behalf?”
Yu Depai was stunned.
Deep down, he still felt his father was just talking big behind closed doors.
Until he followed his father and a group of nobles in action—until he saw his father grab a man in one hand and a woman in the other, tossing the man toward the young prince and flinging the woman at his feet.
His father asked, “Recognize her?”
Yu Depai examined the unconscious woman at his feet, then looked up with utter certainty. “I’d recognize her even if she turned to ashes!”
Qin Jingzhou nodded, thinking it was fortunate he’d held back—only his left arm had dislocated again.
He smoothly reset the joint and was about to lecture his bastard son further when the Tenth Prince’s confidant hurried over and handed him a document. “Mission accomplished!”
Qin Jingzhou took a look—it was indeed the deed to his son’s person.
He put it away under Yu Depai’s bewildered gaze. “From now on, your life and death are in my hands.”
Yu Depai: …
Even in weather light enough for a single robe, he shivered.
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