Chapter 290: Finale (Part 2)
"I never thought that the King of Yunnan would commit suicide." Qu Ling sighed.
Zhao Yuanrong didn't think there was anything he couldn't say.
She didn't mention it to her mother simply because her mother was completely uninterested.
"Before I even arrived in Yunnan, Yang Shao brought Yunnan officials to greet me a hundred miles away."
Zhao Yuanrong spoke slowly.
She came to Yunnan with great fanfare and everyone knew about it.
There were countless assassinations along the way.
Fengzaoge followed her secretly, helping her get rid of the assassins and also taking the opportunity to uncover those who harbored evil intentions.
When Yang Shao saw her, he couldn't hide the joy on his face.
His gaze fell on the coffin behind her, and a trace of pain flashed in his eyes again.
"King of Yunnan, your daughter is dead," Zhao Yuanrong said bluntly. "I sent her back for one reason, and secondly, to investigate your shielding of her murderous intent."
Yang Shao did not respond, but said, "Prince, you have been traveling all the way. Go to the palace and rest well first. It won't be too late to investigate after you have rested enough."
Zhao Yuanrong was not in a hurry, but he had no plans to go to the palace.
"No need to trouble Your Majesty, I will just stay at the inn."
Yang Shao's expression changed slightly, and he finally nodded, "That's fine, the inn is quiet, suitable for rest."
The officials who came to greet him all dispersed.
Only Yang Shao and his two sons sent Zhao Yuanrong to the posthouse.
Yang Shao's two sons seemed to be not good at speaking and didn't say much along the way.
It was Yang Shao who kept finding things to talk to Zhao Yuanrong.
Zhao Yuanrong chatted with him in a random manner.
When they arrived at the posthouse, Yang Shao wanted to send Zhao Yuanrong in.
Zhao Yuanrong refused, "King of Yunnan, please go back first. Your daughter is waiting for you."
Yang Yi's coffin had already been delivered to the palace.
"Tomorrow night, the palace will hold a banquet to welcome the prince." Yang Shao said.
"I will definitely come."
After Yang Shao left, Zhao Yuanrong did not rest.
He instructed Hou Xu, "The King of Yunnan has two concubines, one surnamed Chen and the other surnamed Luo. The Chen family owns the largest mine in Yunnan, and the Luo family is the most capable general in the army. Find a few smart people to gather information. I want to meet these two families."
It is not easy to meet the two family heads in private.
On the surface, Yang Shao seemed to have some father-daughter affection for her.
But the dense crowds of people following her outside the post station were enough to show that Yang Shao was not at ease with her.
At the welcoming banquet at the palace, Zhao Yuanrong met all of Yang Shao's family members and officials of all ranks in Yunnan.
Although the two concubines came from wealthy families, they looked like frightened birds.
I don’t know if it’s because Yang Yidu poisoned me too deeply.
After the guests left, Yang Shao finally had the opportunity to be alone with Zhao Yuanrong in the outer study.
"You've grown up so much, time flies." Yang Shao was very excited.
"Dad." Zhao Yuanrong shouted.
Yang Shao's eyes filled with tears, "You...ah...you are still willing to acknowledge me as your father."
"Dad is dad, how could I not acknowledge him?" Zhao Yuanrong said, "It's just that my identity is special, so I can't openly call you dad at the moment."
Yang Shao felt relieved.
"Is your mother okay?"
"Okay, she is the emperor now, of course it's okay."
Zhao Yuanrong suddenly asked, "Dad, do you want to go to the capital and be with Mom?"
Yang Shao was surprised for a moment.
"I am a king of a different surname. If I enter the capital openly, I'm afraid there will be chaos."
Zhao Yuanrong thought it through for him, "You change your identity and I will take you into the palace, that's all."
As long as he is willing to give up everything in Yunnan.
Yang Shao shook his head and frowned, "Yuan Rong, you don't understand. Being in my father's position means there are too many things I cannot control."
Zhao Yuanrong already understood.
She explained her purpose, "Actually, I came here to borrow some soldiers."
Zhao Yuanrong walked directly to the seat of King Yunnan and sat down.
Yang Shao sighed, "Your mother doesn't trust me after all."
"Mother has her own difficulties," Zhao Yuanrong said. "Northern Yan is ready to make a move, and the royal family is also restless. Father has also received a lot of news about attempts to win him over, right?"
Yang Shao smiled.
That's true.
But those people didn’t know that the one sitting on the throne of crown prince was his daughter.
How could he collude with outsiders to get rid of his own daughter?
"Who wants to get rid of me?" Zhao Yuanrong asked with a smile.
Yang Shao did not hide anything and gave her the secret letter he received and told her a list of names.
"What are you going to do?"
"Kill him."
Yang Shao asked, "How to kill?"
"The rest are easy," Zhao Yuanrong said worriedly, "but the three who hold the military power are difficult to deal with."
She added, "You must lend me soldiers. Fifty thousand will be enough."
Yunnan has over 100,000 troops, this is the number reported to the imperial court. No one knows how many there are in private.
Yang Shao stared at his daughter.
When they met for the first time, she asked for half of Yunnan's troops.
"I know you'll hesitate, and I'm not in a hurry. Just take your time to think about it."
Zhao Yuanrong did not force Yang Shao.
She stood up and said seriously, "Dad, you know that my mother has an adopted son. He is so doted on that he is almost threatening my position as crown prince."
"He knew I was your daughter. He tricked Yang Yi into coming to the capital and revealed the news about the palace to him. He sent people to Yunnan and found a lot of information. This gave the Censorate an opportunity to impeach you. Dad, there is a traitor around you."
"I heard that the Chen and Luo families are your capable helpers. Are these two families reliable?"
Yang Shao was originally wondering why the Yunnan incident was brought to the court, but it turned out to be a long-planned event.
"Both families have followed me for many years and will not betray me."
Yang Shao was not so easily provoked by a few words.
He wants to investigate secretly.
Zhao Yuanrong didn't say much, and changed the subject, "There were so many people around yesterday, it wasn't appropriate for me to get too close to you in front of outsiders. I want to come to the palace every day to talk to you, is that okay?"
"sure."
Yang Shao was overjoyed that his daughter was close to him.
Zhao Yuanrong went to the Yunnan Palace every day.
Yang Shao was very surprised to find that his daughter was very familiar with everything in Yunnan.
Zhao Yuanrong said to him, "I have wanted to come to Yunnan since I was a child. The Queen Mother of Song was not kind to me, and they were not kind to me either. I always hoped that one day, my father would take me away."
Yang Shao felt guilty, "Dad, there's nothing I can do. Empress Dowager Song is on guard against me."
At the beginning, Yang Shao could accompany her all the time.
After a while, it won't work.
There are military affairs, political affairs and many other things in Yunnan waiting for him to deal with.
Zhao Yuanrong strolled around the mansion.
She met two concubines and other concubines.
A bunch of clichés.
She knew that the relationship between the Chen family, the Luo family, and the Wang Mansion was not so indestructible, but rather shaky.
The Chen family and the Luo family are not on good terms either.
That's much easier.
She just revealed to the two families that there was a traitor around the prince, and the two families who originally refused to see her now wanted to see her.
Zhao Yuanrong didn't shy away from Yang Shao. "Knowing you were investigating their families, they panicked and wanted to join forces with me to kill you and support their grandson to take the throne. They all wanted to seize the initiative. They also said that if they had evidence against you and handed it to the court, you would be finished."
Yang Shao was extremely angry.
"They don't know my identity. If they knew, they wouldn't say these things."
Zhao Yuanrong's identity is a bargaining chip for Yang Shao.
Yang Yi said that Yang Shao wanted to use this matter to negotiate terms with the emperor.
Zhao Yuanrong had been in Yunnan for so long that she found that no one knew her identity.
As for how Yang Yi knew this, Zhao Yuanrong sincerely sighed that Yang Shao really loved his daughter.
If Yang Yi wasn't such a hopeless case, he would definitely be living a free and easy life.
"Yuan Rong, what role did you play in this?" Yang Shao couldn't see through his daughter.
Zhao Yuanrong showed no fear. "Prince Rui wanted to get rid of you. If I hadn't seized the opportunity first, it would have been him who came to Yunnan. How do you plan to deal with him, Dad? If you kill him, you will be a rebel. If you don't kill him, he will get rid of you."
"Dad, you have to understand that only if I'm well can I keep you safe. If the Chen and Luo families were truly loyal, you wouldn't doubt them, and they wouldn't come looking for me. To put it bluntly, your situation isn't good at all."
Yang Shao felt depressed.
Once a king of a different surname is disliked by the imperial court, it will be the beginning of his destruction.
"You have another choice," Zhao Yuanrong said, "Kill me, join forces with the royal family of Northern Yan, and invade the capital."
This option was never within Yang Shao's consideration.
Let’s not talk about whether we can win this battle with the imperial court.
Even if he wins, the world still belongs to the Zhao family, and he won't get anything.
It’s better than now, at least the prince is his daughter.
"I will lend you troops," Yang Shao said. "Kill Prince Rui and those relatives, and your position as crown prince will be unshakable."
Rather than taking risks, it’s better to support your daughter.
"Thank you, Dad."
Yang Shao's borrowing of troops shocked the whole of Yunnan.
The generals under his command were puzzled, "Why did the prince send troops to Bingzhou? Isn't this just letting our brothers lose their lives in vain?"
Why should we get involved in the affairs of the imperial court?
Right in the military camp, in front of the generals, Zhao Yuanrong arrived.
She said, "Because I am your king's daughter."
The generals in the tent were so surprised that they couldn't close their mouths for a long time.
"The so-called borrowing of troops is just an excuse. If your prince helps me, he is helping himself as well as you. If I am removed from the position of crown prince, you will be the first to be liquidated. Only when I am firmly on the throne of crown prince can you maintain your eternal glory and wealth."
The prince is the daughter of the King of Yunnan.
This news not only spread quickly throughout Yunnan, but also spread to all parts of the Xi Dynasty.
Only then did the Chen and Luo families realize they had been deceived.
So, when Zhao Yuanrong led his troops away, they joined forces and broke into the palace.
Anyway, even if they don't attack the palace, their two families will be eliminated.
Zhao Yuanrong asked Hou Xu to lead the troops away first, and she led her confidants back to the city.
The rebellions of the Chen and Luo families have been suppressed, and the palace is in ruins.
Yang Shao was wearing armor, and the knife in his hand was still dripping with blood.
"My daughter, why are you back again?"
Although he asked this, he had a smile on his face.
He seemed to have expected Zhao Yuanrong to come back.
"Dad, Mom said that she knew you were a man of loyalty and affection, so she gave birth to me with you."
Zhao Yuanrong stepped on the bloody ground and walked over step by step. "You owe me for so many years, don't you?"
When Yang Yi was mentally ill, Zhao Yuanrong went to see her.
She frantically pulled Zhao Yuanrong's hand, "Yuanrong, what do you look like now? Do you look a bit like your sister?"
Obviously, Yang Yi learned from Yang Shao.
Zhao Yuanrong decided to go to Yunnan in person.
"My identity is known to the world. From now on, no one will join forces with you. All forces will regard you and the court as one."
"If you were alive, I, the prince, would be criticized."
At this moment, Yang Shao looked at the tears on his daughter's face, and felt a little relieved in his heart, "Your mother taught you very well."
Zhao Yuanrong said, "Dad, you love Yang Yi so much, please love me too."
"When I ascend the throne, the Yang family will prosper for generations. Otherwise, all the people will suffer."
Yang Shao suddenly burst into laughter.
"You will become an excellent emperor. Your heart is cold and cruel enough."
Zhao Yuanrong watched his father die before his eyes.
The road to becoming an emperor has always been like this.
"A Ling, am I really that ruthless?" Zhao Yuanrong took a sip of wine.
Qu Ling said, "Who among you here doesn't have the blood of a loved one on your hands?"
There was a strange silence at the table.
"I didn't," Ye Jingming said, "all my relatives died before me."
The other three rolled their eyes and kept silent.
Zhao Yuanrong changed the subject, "A Ling, how did Zhao Xuanyi die?"
"Suicide."
Qu Ling told the cause of Zhao Xuanyi's death for the first time.
"Sister, he committed suicide the night you left the capital."
Zhao Yuanrong clenched his fingers slightly.
The news of Zhao Xuanyi's death was kept secret.
The deposed emperor Zhao Ji always thought that he would be able to see his son on his birthday.
In the end, they were all lies to him.
Before the birthday banquet in the palace began, Qu Ling accompanied the emperor to meet the deposed emperor.
Qu Ling brought over the poisoned wine.
The emperor said, "Your son is dead. You should go too. Then you three can be reunited as a family."
After a pause, the emperor continued, "Your mother must miss you too."
The deposed emperor's expression was one of surprise, pain, confusion, and finally all of it turned into relief.
He didn't say a word and drank the poisoned wine.
At this point, everything that needs to be said has been said.
Zhao Yuanrong raised his glass first, "The world is at peace, and all the people are at peace."
Qu Ling clinked his glass with hers, "The court is peaceful and the state is safe."
Ye Jingming said nonchalantly, "Your Majesty, may you be healthy and live a long and blessed life."
"Where is the prince consort?" He looked at Chi Yuan.
In Lantian County outside Beijing, many people died in succession. It was said that a headless corpse dug up a grave in the middle of the night and crawled out to kill people.
Lantian County was unable to crack the case, so it reported to the capital.
The emperor issued an edict, ordering Chi Yuan to return to the Dali Temple to investigate the case and find out whether it was a ghost or someone did it intentionally.
Chi Yuan's eyes were clear and upright as he clinked glasses with everyone, "May the law be enforced, evil be suppressed, the world be free from bandits, and the people enjoy peace and prosperity."
The banquet at the princess's mansion lasted until late at night and ended with the four people drunk.
The next day, the Eastern Palace and the Royal Palace delivered the court robes to the Princess's Mansion early.
At the time of the morning court session, the red door of the princess's mansion opened.
They put on court robes and returned to their positions.
[End of Text]
That’s all for this year, thank you to every reader who has read this far.
Thank you all for your continued support.
I decided to try a no-CP book for the next one.
If we are lucky, see you next year.
I wish you all good health and lots of money.
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