Seeing that Zhong Yi readily agreed, the court officials of Daqing were not happy and blocked the Taihe Hall after the court session.

"My lords, His Majesty has said he will not see you. You should return home as soon as possible."

All the officials looked at Jiang He. "Lord Marquis, please persuade the Emperor. It is now the Great Ning that is begging the Emperor to accept the abdication edict. Even if they are merged, it would not be unreasonable to continue calling it Great Qing."

Upon hearing this, Jiang He shook off imaginary dust from his body. "Don't worry, everyone, I will go and persuade the Emperor."

Bullshit.

The Jiang family couldn't wait for the Daqing name to be ruined.

If Jiang He still harbored some attachment to Daqing before, now, after experiencing so much, including the betrayal of Gu Lin by Da Ning, he has come to understand.

Public opinion is always a tool for those in power to manipulate power.

As long as there is no war and people have enough to eat and wear, they will not have any political leanings.

Therefore, such an opportunity to destroy Daqing without harming the people is rare and hard to come by.

He wouldn't stop Ayan.

Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Jiang He's obvious radiance caught Gu Qingyan's eye. "Uncle, do you know that Aunt is pregnant?"

"The Emperor knew all along but didn't tell me." Jiang He's lips curled slightly as he found a seat and sat down. Ying Zhi immediately stepped forward to brew Jiang He a pot of tea.

“Such an important matter should be told to you by your aunt,” Gu Qingyan said with great interest. “Uncle, how many months into the pregnancy can you tell if it’s a younger cousin or a younger cousin?”

He doesn't mind either cousin or younger cousin.

“I asked, and it would take at least four months.”

Jiang He couldn't stop smiling. "Has Your Majesty decided on the name of the country?"

The next second, a piece of paper was handed to him.

Jiang He stared at the words on the paper for a long time, then said, "Good, these words are good."

Da Yu.

......

The news that Gu Qingyan was unwilling to continue using Daqing as the name of the country spread quickly. The people's reaction to this matter was surprisingly small. Just as Jiang He had expected, as long as Gu Qingyan was still in power, they felt that there was no difference.

Only court officials and some civil and military officials reacted strongly.

Gu Qingyan directly suppressed the court officials, and Jiang He also completely suppressed the military generals.

Only scholars.

It was at this very moment that Kui Ruo returned.

"Lord Wei, you've finally returned."

As soon as Wei Ruo entered the capital, he was surrounded by a group of scholars who passionately argued that it was illogical for Gu Qingyan to change the name of the country.

Kui Ruo was already exhausted from her journey, and now with the added buzzing sound like flies in her ears, she felt like she was about to explode.

"stop."

Seeing that Wei Ruo was somewhat out of sorts, the voices of the crowd gradually ceased.

"If the Emperor continues to use Daqing as the name of the country as you demand, what about Da Ning? Will Da Ning willingly be destroyed?"

"Well...we can't just give it a shot. What if Da Ning agrees?"

Kui Ruo laughed in anger at these words, "Whether you believe it or not, if the Emperor insists on using Daqing as the name of the country, Da Ning will resist even if it has to, and will not merge with us."

"Even with Emperor Zhaoyuan's abdication edict."

Seeing this, Wei Ruo chuckled a few more times, "What if we push the Emperor too far and he just continues to use Da Ning as the country's name..."

The initial aggressive disturbance was defused by Wei Ruo's few words. Wei Ruo let out a heavy sigh of relief before heading towards the palace.

On his way back to Beijing, he ran into Gu Lin, who looked extremely haggard.

She only said one thing to him: "Please."

......

In a courtyard house on the outskirts of Beijing.

"What?" Upon hearing the guard's words, Gu Qingyao hurriedly ran out of the house, her steps still a little unsteady.

"His Majesty has accepted Emperor Zhaoyuan's abdication edict and will announce the new dynasty name soon."

"A new national title?"

Gu Qingyao's hands clenched into fists beneath her sleeves. Did this mean that Daqing was about to perish?

"Yes, the merged country will not be called Daqing or Daning."

"knew."

Gu Qingyao nodded, as if she had instantly fallen silent. Gu Qingfeng, who was in a wheelchair behind her, also spoke up, "Thank you for coming to tell us."

After the guards left the courtyard, Gu Qingfeng smiled mockingly, "As expected, Gu Qingyan hates Daqing."

Otherwise, why wouldn't he have tried to use Daqing as the name of the country after the merger of the two nations, as this would have been more beneficial to his future rule?

"Daqing has caused my mother so much harm, it's better if he's not called Daqing."

Gu Qingyao spoke calmly, "I think Gu Qingyan will also think of a more suitable name for the country. In that case, Da Ning will be willing to merge with us, the two countries will not fight, and the people will be safe and sound."

"I'm not as insightful as Yao'er."

Gu Qingfeng glanced at Gu Qingyao, feeling that something about her was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"I wonder how long we'll be locked up here." Gu Qingfeng was still somewhat amazed when he thought about it. "So Emperor Zhaoyuan was the Imperial Uncle, and Gu Qingyan was Emperor Zhaoyuan's son."

Thinking of this, a hint of fear flashed in Gu Qingfeng's eyes. No wonder he was taken away and severely tortured by Emperor Zhaoyuan that time.

"Does Second Brother think Gu Qingyan has a good life?"

"Of course." Gu Qingfeng replied without hesitation. In his view, Gu Qingyan was naturally lucky, not only being the Empress Dowager's biological child but also the child of Emperor Zhaoyuan of Da Ning.

"Second brother, have you forgotten? He has bad luck."

Gu Qingyao looked at Gu Qingfeng indifferently, "Second brother, have you forgotten how he died in his past life? His life was very bitter."

After saying that, Gu Qingyao went into the house, leaving Gu Qingfeng alone in the courtyard, sitting silently in his wheelchair.

Soon, the sound of a potter's flute rang out. Gu Qingfeng listened to the music, and the more he listened, the more familiar it seemed.

Suddenly, Gu Qingfeng seemed to realize something, and his whole body trembled violently.

He had played this piece when Yao'er was scared, and Yao'er told him that the piece was called "The Lament of a Beauty".

The music tells the story of a princess who jumped off the walls of the capital city before the country's demise.

At that time, any enemy troops attacking the city had to step over the princess's corpse.

When did Yao'er learn this tune?

The princess in the story had her kingdom's name erased, and so did Yao'er...

As the music ended, Gu Qingfeng's urgent voice rang out, "Yao'er..."

"Second brother, this tune just suddenly came to mind. I can play other tunes too, I'll play one for you." Gu Qingyao smiled and started playing another tune, leaving Gu Qingfeng stunned.

He couldn't even remember the last time Yao'er had spoken to him so kindly and called him "Second Brother" like this.

All of this made him extremely anxious.