Chapter 130

The eldest princess did not truly intend to kill the second prince. As the second prince's struggles weakened, she released his grip, and almost immediately someone jumped into the water and pulled him out.

As the eldest princess took a handkerchief from a palace maid to wipe the water from her fingers, the second prince lay on the ground vomiting water. He was wrapped in a cloak, soaking wet, and shivering in the chilly spring breeze. He looked disheveled and pitiful.

The eldest princess looked up at the lotus pond, her tone as gentle as ever, as tender as the wind, and said, "When the lotus flowers bloom here in June, the scenery will surely be breathtaking."

"It's just a pity. Mother planted this pond of lotus flowers for my sister, hoping she could be resurrected like the legendary Nezha, her body restored by the lotus blossoms. But she will never see it again." The eldest princess said, looking at the second prince, seemingly chuckling softly. Her gentle tone sent a chill down one's spine. "Second brother, you entered the water today, so you've seen this beautiful sight for your sister, haven't you?"

Xue Jin'an kept watching that side. He had activated the high-definition motion capture camera and keenly observed that the Second Prince was trembling even more violently, gripping his cloak tighter and tighter, almost tearing a hole through it.

The second prince kept his head down, and when he caught a glimpse of the princess's approaching skirt, he froze. He hurriedly raised his head, his eyes revealing fear, guilt, and timidity.

Logically speaking, this was a very normal reaction, after all, the eldest princess had just reprimanded him, leaving him with a deep psychological shadow. However, Xue Jin'an carefully observed his body language and felt that there was something strange about it.

The eldest princess squatted down, lifted the second prince's chin with her fingers through a handkerchief, and called the second prince by his full name for the first time.

"Xue Peilan, my patience with you is limited. If you don't want to atone for your sins, then don't provoke me." After saying this, the eldest princess threw away the second prince's chin as if it were something dirty, leaving the handkerchief on the ground as well.

She stood up and glanced back at the small building before leaving, her gaze unmistakably fixed on the third floor. Xue Jin'an remained expressionless and showed no reaction, while Irina raised her hand and, with a smile on her face, offered a toast from afar using an empty glass cup.

The eldest princess withdrew her gaze and left without looking back.

Immediately, a eunuch stepped forward to help the second prince up, but he did not get any favors. Instead, the second prince used the eunuch as an outlet for his emotions. He pushed the eunuch away, but the lack of oxygen made his limbs weak and he almost fell to the ground again. Another eunuch caught him in time.

He grew even angrier and roared in a hoarse voice, "Get out! All of you, get out!"

"Pfft—" Irina, who was leaning against the railing watching the show, burst out laughing without any restraint. The laughter drifted down with the wind and reached the ears of the person in question.

The second prince, who was in the middle of a rage, froze, finally remembering that he wasn't the only one in the lakeside pavilion.

Soon, the Second Prince also staggered away, not daring to raise his head the whole time. For a moment, only Shouquan remained below. Irina had brought a guard with her on her mission, and even her maids were armed with armor. It was forbidden to bring weapons to the banquet at the palace, so Irina simply left her maids outside and came to the banquet alone. Shouquan stood in a corner, trying to minimize his presence.

Irina also noticed the lone Shouquan. "Is that your attendant? He doesn't look very strong."

"I am enough on my own, they don't need to be good at fighting." Xue Jin'an was quite confident in his combat skills. Even when he chose Lingzhi as the future chief steward, what he valued most was Lingzhi's excellent overall management ability.

His choice to eliminate all threats and ruthlessly ascend the throne meant that his reign would not be peaceful. Lingzhi's martial arts skills were good enough to protect her own life during the assassination attempt and not be a hindrance, so Xue Jin'an didn't need to worry about saving her.

Irina also remembered how Xue Jin'an had defeated Batuna in no time. She nodded and said, "That's right. With your martial arts skills, ordinary people would have a hard time getting close to you."

Irina sighed again and said once more, "It's such a pity."

"Do you know that I most favored Xue Mu and you for the position of future Lord of the Great Qi, but she no longer has a chance?" Irina said with great certainty, and even sighed.

Xue Jin'an knew that Irina had summoned him to the third floor alone not simply to give the Eldest Princess and the Second Prince some space; it was merely a side effect. Irina must have something to discuss with him, something that he, Irina, and the Eldest Princess all understood.

Irina wanted to use the eldest princess to elicit the negotiation terms, and Xue Jin'an readily followed up, "Why do you say that?"

Irina dipped her finger in the thin sip of wine in her cup and drew a circle on the railing. She said slowly, “Mu stands too high, yet not high enough. What she painstakingly grasps is nothing but a mirage, a flower in a mirror or the moon in the water. It may seem prosperous and beautiful, but it is actually illusory and fragile, and can be shattered with a single touch.”

“If she had been given a few more years, and had a real chance to extend her influence beyond the capital, she might have had a chance of winning. Unfortunately, it’s too late.” Irina shook her head, then drew a spear next to her with her finger. Pointing at the spear, she looked at Xue Jin’an and said with a smile, “Her opponent has already seized the most important military power, hasn’t he?”

Xue Jin'an did not deny it, and even turned the tables on Irina: "The palace drama of the Great Empire is coming to an end, congratulations."

Xue Jin'an deliberately moved the Northwest Army's garrison to the new border, keeping his sword pointed at the Northern Desert Royal Court at all times. This was intended to threaten the Rong and Di tribes while also deterring the overly restless Great Empire.

The fact that this military report reached Irina so quickly indicates that Irina wields considerable power within the empire, and that she may even have gained control of a portion of the army.

However, this did not disrupt Xue Jin'an's plans. He knew from the beginning that this person who came to Daqi with the delegation did not have any good intentions. He was probably just there to gather information. If Daqi did not give a strong enough response to the Rongdi invasion of the border, then the next invasion would definitely not be just by Rongdi.

Irina's identity, to some extent, is similar to Xue Jin'an's identity as the legitimate prince, a situation that is both dangerous and opportunistic. The Empress's ascension to the throne was not entirely legitimate, and the first people she dealt with were the royalist ministers, those who were close to her husband, the former king. This has to some extent led to Irina's current awkward situation of having no one to rely on.

Irina can only fight for the throne herself. She can't wait for her younger siblings to grow up. No matter who ascends to the throne, she, the "former princess," will have no way out. The fastest and most profitable way to gain a voice is through military merit.

Internal annexation would threaten the interests of powerful landowners. The Great Empire was a feudal slave system, where nobles could raise slaves and private armies in their territories, demonstrating the strictness of the class system. Irina disliked those reckless nobles, but she also knew that she absolutely could not take action against them at the moment. In fact, she had to offer enough benefits to attract these hyenas and get them to push her to the top.

So she only had one path to take, which was to expand outwards. At that time, the empress had already met with the envoys of the Rong and Di tribes and reached some tacit agreements. Her idea was in line with the empress's interests and was very feasible.

Compared to the powerful Qi state that dominated the East, Irina actually preferred to gradually annex the lands of the Rong and Di tribes or the Western Regions. However, the empress and nobles looked down on the resource-poor barbarian lands; they were fixated on the treasures of the East.

However, now... the Northwest Army's strength is enough to clear the minds of the Empress and the nobles, making them realize that the Eastern Great Power is not so easy to bully. Irina can also take advantage of the situation to implement her plan and unite with the Eastern Great Power to divide up the Northern Desert.

Irina initially valued the eldest princess, but she soon discovered that the eldest princess was more skilled in domestic affairs and was severely restricted due to her status as a woman. She considered cooperating with the second prince, but unfortunately, the second prince was a fool who did not live up to his name.

Irina had been choosing for a long time. Although the Seventh Prince was also in her betting pool, he was originally in a very low position. Even though she knew that Xue Jin'an was not simple the moment she saw him, she also noticed the Princess's attention to the Seventh Prince from her interactions with him.

However, perhaps because their situations were too similar, Irina was not very optimistic about whether the Seventh Prince could rise to prominence, until the Empress Dowager suddenly stepped forward.

Irina vaguely saw the shadow of her grandmother in a remarkably outstanding female politician, and saw the qualities of those in power that were so widely criticized.

This woman, who was in power at the same time as her grandmother, had both lost her husbands to illness shortly after they ascended the throne, leaving her and her children to support the country. The difference was that her grandmother became an empress, while this woman put her son on the throne and became a figure behind the scenes.

Her grandmother died at less than fifty years old, and her son was overthrown by his own daughter-in-law less than two years after ascending the throne. However, she abdicated in her fifties and has lived to this day, living a very long life.

Irina was quite excited and curious, eager to know what it was that had reignited the desire for power in this long-lived old man who had never bothered with other people's business.

News inside the palace is hard to find, but news outside the palace is easy to find.

As Zhou Yushu said, the Empress Dowager had been retired for so long that the people had almost forgotten about this ruler. Her resurgence in the hearts of the people was due to a set of cards used for entertainment. Even though the cards were intentionally used to refer to the Empress Dowager as Empress Lü Zhi and Emperor Hui of Han as the current emperor, those who knew the game could immediately tell who the cards were referring to by looking at the allusions in the written skills.

Coincidentally, this card set was released last year, and the Empress Dowager's resurgence in court stemmed from the palace horse-riding incident last year. The Empress Dowager ordered Chu Wenwan's remains to be ground to dust and even summoned the noblewomen of the capital to witness it, giving them a severe dressing-down. It's said that those noblewomen still suffer from nightmares to this day, which gives you an idea of ​​how ruthless the Empress Dowager's methods were.

Irina continued her investigation, tracing the cards to Nine Plus One, and from Chu Wenwan to the case of Consort Zhen... Then she discovered that the Seventh Prince was closely connected to both of them.

Irina set her sights on the Seventh Prince. She wanted to get close to him, but the Seventh Prince was still under house arrest, staying in Zhaoyang Palace every day and never going out. She went to so many banquets but couldn't run into him. She had no choice but to ask someone to keep an eye on Jiu Tianyi. Unexpectedly, while keeping an eye on him, she didn't find the Seventh Prince, but instead found General Helian Cheng, and followed the clues to Xue Jin'an.

You can't say that Helian Cheng did anything outrageous or suspicious, but Irina is a smart person, and smart people like to think things through; they often make bold assumptions.

After seeing that Helian Cheng had gone to Jiutianyi and successfully left the country to go to Qizhou a few days later, Irina had an even bolder idea.

“It seems I guessed right, Qizhou is already your territory.” Irina sighed enviously, “future Emperor Qi, let’s sign a century-long peace treaty. Mu is right, you are a terrifyingly intelligent opponent. I don’t want to be your enemy. During our reigns, I think we can become good neighbors who help each other. What do you think?”

Irina reached out her hand to him.

Xue Jin'an has no plans for external expansion for the time being. Moreover, the Great Empire is also a unified country with considerable national strength and territory. It is still unknown whether they will clash in the future, but there is no harm in turning enemies into friends now.

“Of course.” Xue Jin’an took her hand.

The two sides reached a verbal agreement of non-aggression, which was not formally signed into law until five years later. A thousand years later, the people of both countries jokingly regarded it as the starting point for the two countries to become brotherly neighbors. The treaty is also jokingly called the "Treaty of No Barbarians".

"Promise me one more thing. If she fails one day, don't kill her. Let her come to me. I desperately need someone to help me govern the country. Although she may not seem like it, I yearn more for conquering battlefields. I will be the most decorated empress in the empire, crowned with the title of Great Empress," Irina said.

Xue Jin'an neither agreed nor refused; he simply said, "It's up to her to choose."

The eldest princess is a proud person, and Xue Jin'an doesn't know whether she will commit suicide at the Wujiang River. After all, sometimes when people make decisions, they also need to consider the right time, place, and people.

"Haha, you two are so confident, it makes me wonder if you're actually siblings." Irina made no attempt to hide the fact that she was playing both sides and had said similar things to the Princess. She said, half-seriously and half-jokingly, "Your Great Qi has an old saying, 'Cut the weeds and eliminate the roots.' If you really killed her, it wouldn't be so bad. Who knows whether the one who escaped was Liu Bang or Xiang Yu, right?"

Liu Bang escaped with his life at the Feast at Hongmen, led his troops out of Xianyang, and gave Xiang Yu the opportunity to become emperor. In the end, however, he made a comeback and became the final victor. Xiang Yu's remaining troops fled to the Wujiang River but refused to cross. He committed suicide with the words, "I have no face to see the elders of Jiangdong."

Irina's words were actually a test for Xue Jin'an.

Xue Jin'an did not disappoint her. He smiled and said, "I am neither Xiang Yu nor Liu Bang. I will not be surrounded by enemies on all sides, nor will I face the siege of Baideng."

Even if the eldest princess really had the idea of ​​making a comeback by taking advantage of Tsarist Russia, Xue Jin'an would not let her do so.

"Good, you have guts." Only now did Irina truly place all her bets on Xue Jin'an.

The conversation between the two and the princess ended there, and Xue Jin'an then brought up the real reason why he had come to see Irina.

“Zhang Jinghua? The Holy Master of Southern Xinjiang, Zhang Jinghua?” Irina raised her eyebrows. “Your Great Qi should know this person better than I do, right?”

Xue Jin'an's eyes flickered slightly. "I've never heard of it."

Irina was very surprised. "How could that be? Isn't Zhang Jinghua a hero of your Great Qi? He was the one who brought about the fifty-year peace treaty that our two countries signed back then!"