Hu Xiaotian smiled. "Everyone has their own ambitions. Although we've known each other for some time, Brother Zou, I really don't understand you at all."
Zou Yong said, "Back in the Bohai Kingdom, there were bound to be some misunderstandings between us, Your Highness. Besides, we were each serving our own master then. Surely you aren't still dwelling on those matters?"
Hu Xiaotian said, "Serving our own masters? And whom were you serving, Brother Zou?"
Zou Yong sighed. "To tell you the truth, Your Highness, I had reached an understanding with a certain powerful figure in Great Yong. I would help him deal with the Prince of Yan, Xue Shengjing, and he would reward me. But in the end, the plan failed."
Hu Xiaotian actually knew all about this. He knew that the powerful figure Zou Yong referred to was Li Chenzhou. At the time, however, Zou Yong probably had not imagined that Li Chenzhou would eventually betray Xue Daohong as well, much less that he would join forces with the eldest princess, Xue Lingjun. As for Zou Yong, he had gained nothing from the upheaval in the Bohai Kingdom.
The reward Li Chenzhou had promised Zou Yong was to install him as the new King of Bohai after taking control of the kingdom. But Hu Xiaotian and Yan Tianlu had joined forces to crush that conspiracy. Afterward, the Bohai Kingdom and Python Jiao Island had also reached an understanding. The King of Bohai, Yan Dongsheng, had recognized Zou Yong's ambitions and gradually distanced himself from him. Li Chenzhou was busy consolidating his control over Great Yong and eliminating his opponents, leaving him no time to attend to affairs within the Bohai Kingdom. Zou Yong was, in truth, deeply frustrated with his current situation.
Zou Yong's true identity was the