Chapter 297 Imperial Power Turmoil

Mu Junyan held her face and kissed her gently: "I can't hide anything from you."...

A month later, news came from Beijing.

The Queen's family had close ties with the Yuan family.

With the support of the Yuan family, the generals of the imperial guards in the capital were replaced one after another.

A month later, the emperor was seriously ill and on the verge of death. The crown prince became regent and the empress ruled the country from behind the curtain.

…

At this moment, Wang Heng was meeting Duan Yu.

"Prince Duan, I am here on the orders of the Empress to present a gift to congratulate you on your eldest son turning six months old. Concubine Yu is a blessed person. The Empress has specially ordered me to present a precious ruby ​​headpiece to Concubine Yu as a token of congratulations."

Zhao Luoxuan was sitting next to Duan Yu, but Wang Heng didn't care about her.

Zhao Luoxuan had a smile on her face, but her heart was cold.

Her mother, in order to gain power, actually helped others to step on her.

She is the Queen Mother’s biological daughter!

Duan Yu’s eldest son is already over one year old, but he is not born to Zhao Luoxuan, but to Duan Yu’s concubine, Yu.

Coincidentally, this concubine of the Yu family was sent by the Yuan family.

Duan Yu glanced at Zhao Luoxuan, who looked normal, then turned back to look at Wang Heng and said with a smile, "I'm afraid Yu Shi can't afford the Queen's reward. Wang Er has been registered under the Princess' name and has become a legitimate son. If the Queen of your country wants to give a gift, shouldn't she give it to the Princess?"

Zhao Luoxuan also laughed and said, "Your Majesty, you are joking. If my mother wants to give a gift to Yu, I must give it to her. How dare I take it for myself?"

Duan Yu looked at her deeply and said, "Princess, you are so generous. Someone, take the gift to Concubine Yu."

Wang Heng smiled deeply and bowed again: "I have something important to discuss with Prince Duan."

The meaning is to let Zhao Luoxuan stay away.

Zhao Luoxuan stood up tactfully and said, "Your Majesty, I will take my leave."

Duan Yu nodded, and Zhao Luoxuan turned and left without even looking at Wang Heng.

Wang Heng saw her disappear at the door and said, "Prince Duan, the Queen Mother is thinking of your friendship towards Daliang over the past year and is preparing to give you a big gift."

Duan Yu smiled slightly: "Oh, what kind of gift?"

"I have five cities in the southern border of Daliang."

Duan Yu raised his eyebrows: "What a great gift. What does your queen want me to do?"

Wang Heng was also very happy when he saw his smile deepen.

He has already negotiated with several small countries in southern Xinjiang, and they all said that as long as Duan Yu is willing to join forces, they are willing to join forces again to put pressure on the Mu family army.

Wang Heng took a step forward confidently and said in a low voice, "Please ask Prince Duan to help the Queen seize the military power of the Mu family army."

Duan Yu suddenly burst into laughter: "I don't understand. What good will it bring to the Queen if she betrays the Mu family army?"

Wang Heng's heart skipped a beat.

He hurriedly explained, "You misunderstood. The Queen did not betray the Mu family army, but the Mu family army is now the only one in power. Relying on the title of king, they have been recruiting soldiers and horses, which is a threat to Daliang."

"So, you teamed up with other countries to kill one of your own beasts?"

Wang Heng's expression changed slightly.

"Prince Duan, if you don't do this, how can the Queen give you the five cities?"

Duan Yu smiled and said, "The envoy is absolutely right."

Wang Heng was secretly delighted.

Interests are the important bond between the two countries.

The Queen is afraid of the Mu family army, but the Yuan family alone cannot take back the Mu family army. They can only use the countries in southern Xinjiang to put pressure on the Mu family army.

After seeing Wang Heng off, Duan Yu went straight to Zhao Luoxuan's palace.

As soon as I entered the room, I saw Zhao Luoxuan teasing the little prince.

Hearing footsteps, Zhao Luoxuan looked up and saw him coming in, so she stood up and bowed.

Duan Yu lifted her up and said, "I'm telling you that you don't have to bow to me all the time."

"Etiquette cannot be abolished."

Zhao Luoxuan smiled slightly and looked at Duan Yu: "Wang Heng came here to ask you to deal with the Mu family army, right?"

Duan Yu held her hand and said, "Yes. What do you think?"

Zhao Luoxuan sneered: "Idiot! If the Yuan family is allowed to dominate, how can they tolerate my mother and my brother the crown prince? My mother has always lacked foresight."

Duan Yu raised his eyebrows: "What if I agree? After all, the five cities are very tempting."

Zhao Luoxuan immediately pulled her hand back and said seriously, "Then I ask the king to divorce me. Let me return to Southern Xinjiang."

"You are my princess, how can I divorce you?"

Zhao Luoxuan said solemnly: "I voluntarily married into the royal family for the sake of peace for the people of the two countries in Southern Xinjiang. If this original intention is gone, there is no point in me staying here."

After saying that, she knelt on the ground and kowtowed solemnly.

"Please divorce me, Your Majesty."

Duan Yu's smile turned cold.

“Zhao Luoxuan, do you have a heart?”

After saying that, he stood up and left.

Zhao Luoxuan looked up and frowned.

Qi's mother came out from behind the screen and helped her up.

Zhao Luoxuan looked apologetic: "Mother, daughter-in-law..."

"Good boy." Qi's mother's eyes were slightly red.

"Mother has wanted to tell you this for a long time. In fact, Duan Yu treats you very well. You can consider it."

Zhao Luoxuan was silent.

Mother Qi continued, "You have been waiting for Qi Jun for more than a year. My husband and I are very grateful to you. Qi Jun would be very touched if he knew about this, but he would feel guilty. We all treat you like our own daughter. You should let it go."

Zhao Luoxuan looked up suddenly: "Mother, what are you talking about?"

Qi's mother held her hand and said, "You are so young, you shouldn't spend your whole life on the dead Qi Jun. Otherwise, we two old people will let you down, and we will be even more ashamed of Qi Jun."

"Mother, I can't..."

"Your mother is right. We already treat you as our own daughter." Qi's father couldn't help but come out.

"Good boy. You should think about your future."

Zhao Luoxuan looked at them in a daze.

Ever since she married Qi Jun and became a widow, she has never thought of marrying anyone else. She chose to marry a foreign princess entirely for the sake of Gu Huan and the Mu family army, the people of southern Xinjiang.

Looking back on this year, Duan Yu was indeed good to her.

Give her enough honor.

In order to make her look good, he slept with her many more days in a month than with the so-called favorite concubine Yu.

But he never overstepped the mark once and showed enough respect.

He is still as considerate as he was in the past, and all the good things are given to her first.

He never complained about her wearing plain clothes to mourn for Qi Jun.

It is rare for a king to tolerate such a thing.

But, facing all this, she remained calm.

Mother Qi couldn't help but feel distressed when she saw her, and whispered: "I just heard what Prince Duan said. Think about it, if he really lets you go, it means he will agree to the Queen's conditions. If he doesn't let you go, does it mean that he is still willing to help the Mu family army?"

Qi's father also said: "Good boy, you are guarding for Qi Jun, and you are also guarding the Mu family army for him."

Zhao Luoxuan's mind was in a mess.

I couldn't sleep all night thinking about it.

The next day, she got up early before dawn.

"Where did the king stay last night?"

"Princess, the king was at Concubine Yu's place last night." The maid helped her comb her hair and watched her face carefully.

Zhao Luoxuan's expression remained normal: "Go there and tell him I'm treating him to lunch."

"Isn't breakfast okay?"

Duan Yu appeared behind her with a smile.

Zhao Luoxuan was shocked and tried to stand up to salute, but he held her shoulders with both hands.

"I'll do it, you go and serve breakfast." Duan Yu took the comb from the maid.

The maid happily handed the jade comb to Duan Yu and hurried to the kitchen to order breakfast preparation.

Zhao Luoxuan looked at Duan Yu in the bronze mirror suspiciously.

This was not the first time Duan Yu combed her hair.

Duan Yu looked at her long black hair, playing with it with one hand and gently combing it with the other.

For a long time, neither of them spoke.

Zhao Luoxuan was straightforward and couldn't bear the silence any longer, so she spoke first: "My lord, I..."

"Do you really want to go back?"

Duan Yu was the first to interrupt her.

The words that Zhao Luoxuan almost blurted out were stuck in her throat.

The words of Qi Jun's parents lingered in her mind.

Duan Yu saw that she was in a daze, so he put down the jade comb, straightened her up, leaned down, and stared at her: "Zhao Luoxuan, I will tell you one last time. As long as you stay in Dali, I will be friendly with the Mu family army for one day. If you dare to leave, I will immediately go to war with the Mu family army."

Zhao Luoxuan's face darkened: "Even if the king wants to go to war, you can't win."

Duan Yu sneered, "What do you think I have been doing this year? Besides, why have the Mu family army been fighting with us for decades and still not been able to break through? It's because there are so many countries in southern Xinjiang. Once we unite, plus the Yuan family army, how likely do you think the Mu family army will win?"

Zhao Luoxuan's face changed: "You mean my mother actually let the Yuan family army join forces with you to fight the Mu family army!"

"What do you think?"

Duan Yu slowly stood up, raised her chin, and said with a smile: "Zhao Luoxuan, you better think about it carefully."

Zhao Luoxuan stared blankly at little Duan Qi who was staring at her with his big eyes.

Duan Qi, Duan Yu's eldest son.

In fact, he was not Yu's son, but Ji Xuanyu's posthumous son.

In fact, Yu’s son died inexplicably at birth.

Then Concubine Dowager Wang brought a swaddled baby to Zhao Luoxuan, saying that the baby was Yu's son and should be registered under the name of the princess.

It was the scouts sent by Chi Yan who told her that the child was actually half a year old, but because the mother was dying during childbirth, the child was as weak as a chick.

The half-year-old child is actually almost the same size as a newborn baby.

Zhao Luoxuan didn't reveal the truth, and the palace didn't know it either.