That evening, the Emperor issued an edict, bestowing upon Sheng Ziyan the title of Prince Chi and upon Sheng Zixi the title of Prince An.

Sheng Jingyu was in a hurry to get the Emperor to issue an imperial decree, because he was afraid that the Emperor would not live to see the two of them return.

The Emperor's decree was far better than Sheng Jingyu's decree later. It served as a consolation to them, preventing them from harboring resentment and causing further trouble.

We can talk about fiefdoms when we get back.

Late at night, the Emperor sent someone to ask Sheng Jingyu for the book; it seemed he had regained his senses.

Sheng Jingyu returned the book to him and said, "Read it, refine it, eat it, and wait to die."

My skin has started to change color, and I still can't figure out what's going on.

Hua Ling still wanted to go to the palace to take a look, and this time Sheng Jingyu agreed, so there was no danger anymore.

The next morning at court, everyone wanted to pressure the emperor to appoint a crown prince, but the emperor didn't attend the court session at all.

Sheng Jingyu and Hua Ling were also unable to see the Emperor. He did not say he was in seclusion; he was simply busy.

Forcibly disturbing her would likely drive her mad, so Sheng Jingyu had no choice but to take Hua Ling back to the manor.

This continued for several days in a row. Finally, the ministers had no other choice but to block the entrance to the emperor's palace and kneel down in unison.

The emperor was annoyed by their noise and had no choice but to agree.

Everyone got the result they wanted: the Emperor agreed to appoint Sheng Jingyu as Crown Prince.

But whether it was issuing an imperial edict or conveying a decree, it was all done in a hurry.

When Eunuch Hu arrived at Prince Chen's residence with the imperial edict, Sheng Jingyu had just left not long ago. Eunuch Hu didn't say anything; receiving the edict was just a formality.

Su Wenyuan instructed the people in the manor to spread the news.

Those empty formalities are unimportant; what matters is that everyone knows.

On the day the news spread, Nian Huaizhong also came to report to her that all the shops that Tongyi had opened had been closed, and all the people who were in the public eye had also left.

They originally didn't want to leave because they wanted revenge, but the two who died had already avenged them and even saved their entire group with their own lives.

They decided to leave so as not to disappoint the two people's kindness.

As for whether she would start her own business or continue listening to Nian Huaizhong, Su Wenyuan didn't know; as long as she was alive, that was enough.

Nian Huai didn't go into too much detail, thinking he would explain it in more detail later when he had the chance.

It now seems that the outcome is already decided.

Let them focus on their important business first.

More than half a month later, the emperor's health deteriorated, but it was not a normal illness.

His hair had already started to fall out; the book mentioned that this was normal when one focused on spiritual cultivation, and he believed it again.

The concubines no longer wanted to see him; they were afraid of him, seeing him as neither human nor ghost.

Hua Ling still managed to find an opportunity to take the emperor's pulse.

Needless to say, he won't live long. If he doesn't do anything reckless, he might live to the end of the year.

If you keep eating those things, you might die tomorrow.

The letter from Qikong Kingdom has been sent back again, and it contains a lot of information.

Princess Heyi's illness did not improve and even showed signs of worsening. The imperial physician they brought secretly examined the dregs of the medicine and found that they were not intended to treat Princess Heyi.

The previously unmentioned relics of Prince Qi, which Su Wenyuan referred to as scrap metal, were also explained by Sheng Ziyan.

After arriving in Qikong Kingdom, he discovered that the emperor was paying special attention to him, and his words were full of attempts to find out about those things.

Sheng Ziyan didn't give it to him directly, but instead used it to blackmail the Emperor into punishing Jin Kouhe.

The Emperor agreed without hesitation, clearly having planned it all along; he had already decided to kill the old Prince's family.

The eldest princess also recounted an incident related to that battle years ago.

The reason why Qikong Kingdom was willing to seek peace after winning a series of victories was mainly due to internal strife and the princes fighting for power, resulting in bloodshed.

The war between the two countries was not something that could be ended in a short time. Food supplies were running low, but due to internal strife, the supplies could not be delivered to the front lines.

Continuing the fight would inevitably lead to defeat, and the emperor saw this clearly, which is why he came up with the idea of ​​seeking peace.

However, instead of actively seeking peace, they devised a plan to get Yasukawa to make that request and even killed a meritorious official to facilitate their search for the relics of King Qi.

After reading the letter, Su Wenyuan wanted to go to the palace to scold the emperor.

How stupid.

"Why didn't you know about such important news as the war between the two countries and the internal strife in Qikong Kingdom?" Su Wenyuan asked, puzzled.

Sheng Jingyu coughed awkwardly to cover it up, and finally said weakly, "The secret guards are all in my hands."

Su Wenyuan was startled: "You didn't tell the Emperor?"

Sheng Jingyu quickly explained, "He did mention it, but he didn't care and didn't think there was anything wrong with the internal strife. Besides, at that time, there weren't many secret guards who were successfully planted. Most of them were in the civilian population and didn't know the details."

"They only knew about the internal strife, but they didn't know the extent of the strife or whether it affected the fighting. They would only conduct a targeted investigation if they received orders first, but I didn't give that order at the time."

The message was simply ignored, and no one paid any attention to it.

At that time, Sheng Jingyu was not yet blind, trusted the emperor, and was willing to believe in the emperor's judgment.

After they discovered that the peace offer was Qikong Kingdom's idea, Sheng Jingyu also wondered if it was due to internal strife.

"No wonder you're always afraid of internal strife in Yasukawa."

Sheng Jingyu yawned and said, "There's nothing to be afraid of now. Let's reply to the letter."

Qikong Kingdom's attitude is obvious; now all that's left is to negotiate terms.

Su Wenyuan frowned and said, "Another marriage alliance? Forget it, let's skip this nonsense!"

In her view, marriage alliances were more like a means of paying reparations. The princess would bring a generous dowry, but the princess herself was not important; the dowry was the main thing.

If war were to break out, who would care about the princess's life or death? It would be like a verbal promise of peace, utterly useless.

Sheng Jingyu said, "Instead of a marriage alliance, we plan to set up a border trade office to allow trade between the two countries, and not just between the two countries, but also with the surrounding small countries. Many products produced in Ankawa are in high demand there."

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