"According to Lord Qian, Yan Jing was born to a lowly concubine and is of lowly status. How can he be worthy of competing with Princess Zhaohua?" Yun Qingbi looked sharply at Lord Qian and Prime Minister Liang.

Lord Qian shivered under Yun Qingbi's gaze; her eyes seemed to be filled with knives.

Upon hearing this, Yun Qingran was completely unsettled. Her elder brother had never cared about whether someone was born of the legitimate or illegitimate child, yet today he actually called Yan Jing lowly.

"Young Master Yun is always kind to others, why is she acting so strangely today? Could it be that there is something we don't know about?" Liang Xiangzhi also sensed something was wrong, staring at Yun Qingbi's face and chuckling.

"Prime Minister Liang, it was His Majesty who ordered us to discuss this matter. You cannot try to smear me just because my opinion differs from yours." Yun Qingbi's lips curled slightly, meeting Liang Xiangzhi's gaze with a half-smile, showing no fear whatsoever.

"Report!" A soldier in armor ran in, knelt on one knee before the emperor, and held a letter made of brocade in his hand.

"Speak," the Emperor said.

"Your Majesty, this is a secret letter from Prince Jingjing of Xiyan. Please open it yourself." The soldier handed over the letter with both hands.

The young eunuch quickly walked up to the soldier, picked up the secret letter, and handed it to the emperor.

The emperor took it, opened it, looked at it, and then handed it to a young eunuch, who then passed it on to the ministers.

Finally, the secret letter reached Yun Qingran and Yun Qingbi, who quickly opened it to read it.

The secret letter stated that the Emperor of Yan had passed away, and Princess Zhaohua, the Crown Princess of Western Yan, had voluntarily abdicated in favor of Yan Jing, who would ascend the throne in two months. Bei Yin was invited to attend the ceremony.

After reading it, the two siblings exchanged a glance. Judging from the situation, Yan Jing had completely taken the initiative, and Yan Shuangshuang was now definitely under his complete control.

“Your Majesty, according to the letter, Yan Jing has now taken control of Princess Zhaohua and has a very good chance of winning. If we help Princess Zhaohua, Yan Jing will definitely have a grudge against us, Bei Yin, after he ascends the throne. Although we are not afraid of Xi Yan, if Xi Yan turns against us, wouldn’t that be giving Nan Chu an advantage?” Liang Xiangzhi looked at the Emperor, his tone very earnest.

The Emperor fell silent; indeed, that was the case.

"Your Majesty, Yan Jing's actions are illegitimate and improper. If we help Yan Jing, we will be aiding and abetting evil. Please reconsider, Your Majesty." Yun Qingbi knelt down and looked at the Emperor pleadingly.

“Lord Xiaoyun, you just said that Yan Jing was born to a lowly servant and was of lowly status. Now you say that Yan Jing’s actions are illegitimate and improper. What are you implying?” Liang Xiangzhi said with a sneer.

Upon hearing this, the entire Wolong Palace fell silent. Yun Qingbi's heart skipped a beat, and she looked at the Emperor in horror.

The emperor was born into a humble family, and his path to the throne was illegitimate and questionable, so we cannot delve too deeply into his past.

The Emperor gazed at Yun Qingbi with a deep, unreadable expression, his emotions unclear.

"My son was reckless, Your Majesty, please forgive him." Yunxiao quickly knelt down and begged for mercy.

"Your Majesty, my elder brother spoke recklessly. I beg Your Majesty to calm your anger." Yun Qingran immediately knelt down as well, pleading with the Emperor.

For an emperor who rose to power through intrigue and scheming, his birth and history of ascension were his Achilles' heel; to touch them meant certain death. Today, my brother was too reckless!

"Get up." The Emperor raised his hand to the three members of the Yun family.

He was a little angry, but not at Yun Qingbi, but at Liang Xiangzhi. They were talking about Western Yan, and this old bastard had to steer the conversation back to himself, making all the ministers recall his background and rise to power once again.

To the ministers' surprise, the emperor not only wasn't angry, but also told the three of them to get up.

The Emperor is being excessively kind to the Yun family.

Everyone understood that the Emperor's kindness towards the Yun family was because of Yun Qingran. Once again, everyone envied Yunxiao for having such an outstanding daughter.

“Your Majesty, this old minister has a suggestion,” a minister dressed in princely attire stepped forward and said.

Yun Qingran knew him; he was the Prince of Anshun, the Emperor's uncle. This Prince of Anshun was a low-key, diligent, and responsible person, deeply loved by the people.

"Please speak, Your Majesty." The Emperor gestured to Prince Anshun, granting him permission to speak.

“We will stand by and watch, neither helping Princess Zhaohua nor Yan Jing. Whoever ascends the throne will have nothing to do with our Northern Yin,” said Prince Anshun.

The ministers nodded in agreement; this was indeed a win-win solution.

The Emperor nodded, seemingly agreeing with Prince Anshun's words.

Yun Qingbi panicked and was about to step forward when Yun Qingran grabbed his hand tightly.

"Ranran." Yun Qingbi turned around, her expression anxious and puzzled, and called her softly.

"You stand still and don't say another word," Yun Qingran warned him in a low voice.

"Are you going to abandon your good friend, Princess Zhaohua?" Yun Qingbi asked.

"Don't drag me into this. You like Shuangshuang yourself, and you're using me as a pawn." Yun Qingran lowered her voice so much that no one but the two of them could hear her.

Yun Qingbi wanted to argue, but after opening her mouth, she closed it again and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Holy crap, you really like Shuangshuang? I thought you were just having a fleeting crush." ​​Yun Qingran hadn't expected that Yun Qingbi's feelings for Yan Shuangshuang went beyond mere liking; it seemed he was deeply in love.

"Ranran, please help Princess Zhaohua." Yun Qingbi looked at her pleadingly, her eyes glistening with tears.

Looking at her older brother's appearance, Yun Qingran thought of a phrase: "Poor little dog!"

"Don't worry, Shuangshuang is my good friend, I won't ignore her," Yun Qingran said.

After saying that, Yun Qingran stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have other ideas."

Everyone looked at Yun Qingran, curious about what she was going to say.

"Ranran, you speak," the Emperor said, raising his hand and looking at her with loving eyes.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!