Upon hearing Zhao Cheng's words, the King of Chu laughed out loud, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. His phoenix eyes were full of mockery. "Kill them? What will you use to kill them? You can't even deal with Jiang Yimian, let alone Lu Cijian."
If Zhao Cheng hadn't been brought back in time last time, he might have already died. If he goes again this time, he is very likely to be killed instead.
Now that many of his men have fallen, and Zhao Chengruo is dead, he truly has no one left to rely on.
He'll kill those two sooner or later, but not now.
After a long silence, he finally said, "I heard that the envoy from Tuyuhun will be coming to the capital soon. Is this true?"
Zhao Cheng hurriedly replied, "Your Highness, it is true. It is news from the palace that it is related to the peace treaty brought back by General Wei."
The envoy who came to the capital this time seems to be a prince of Tuyuhun, but it's unclear whether he's the eldest or the second prince.
Now that the Khan of Tuyuhun is getting old, his most outstanding sons are the eldest and second princes, who have been vying for the Khan's position for many years.
If they were to manipulate things or take advantage of the situation, it would greatly benefit the prince's plans.
With those Western Liang people added to the mix, the throne would be within easy reach.
Thinking it over, he quickly said, "Your Highness, would you like me to make contact with the Tuyuhun prince?"
The King of Chu shook his head, staring at the tea that kept swirling in his teacup. After a while, he said, "No need for now. Let's see how things go first. Xie Jingxuan is keeping a close eye on the Prince's residence, so it's best if the residence remains quiet."
Those two princes of Tuyuhun are no pushovers. Although Wei Jinghai has retrieved the peace treaty, it's still uncertain how he will sign it with Tuyuhun.
Xie Jingxuan is going to be very busy.
He didn't believe that Tuyuhun could so easily sue for peace; there must be some other conspiracy.
His sudden trip to the capital must have been for a reason, which piqued his curiosity.
He would be even happier if he could sit back and watch the tigers fight.
Zhao Cheng simply smiled and replied, "Your Highness is right. Those Tuyuhun people are not only arrogant and haughty, but also extremely difficult to get along with. They especially hate the people of the Great Jin. Their trip to the capital to seek peace this time will certainly not be simple."
Xie Jingxuan is probably going to have a headache for a while.
Moreover, those Tuyuhun people still have to face Wei Jinghai, who has been beating them for many years. They certainly won't leave easily this time, but who knows what trouble they will cause in the capital.
The King of Chu chuckled softly, gently swirling the cup in his hand before saying with a smile, "In that case, let's watch the show."
Zhao Cheng suddenly thought of something, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Your Highness, should we make use of Marquis Anding's side?"
Now that the Xue family has been raided, they still need a pawn of equal rank in the court. Since the Marquis of Anding has become related to the Xue family by marriage, he must have this inclination.
The King of Chu merely chuckled and said coldly, "He is not our pawn. We want to use him, and he naturally wants to use us as well. Let's not make a move for now and observe first."
That old fox is not comparable to that fool Xue Xingzhao; he is slippery and cunning, and it is indeed difficult to control him.
He has to wait for the other party to come to him.
*
A month passed in the blink of an eye, and the autumn imperial examinations finally came to a successful conclusion under the supervision of the people of the capital.
Looking at the letter in her hand, Liu'er said with great regret, "Miss, Gao Yang is really gone. This letter was received by Ashu this morning. It says that Gao Yang left after delivering the letter."
Jiang Yimian wasn't too surprised. She took the letter, which contained only a few short sentences: "The osmanthus flowers in Jinling are extremely fragrant. If there is an opportunity, I hope the princess can see them."
Jiang Yimian just smiled and said, "Cheng'an County in Jinling is currently short of a magistrate. He can take office now. I originally thought he would wait until Yang Qiguang was exiled before going there."
I really didn't expect it to be in such a hurry. The results were only released yesterday, and he left the capital today. He must have already packed everything up.
Liu'er thought for a while before sighing and saying, "Gao Yang is probably afraid that he will be sad if we meet again. Speaking of which, it's a real pity for Gao Yang. He won the top score in the autumn examination this time. If he had waited to participate in the spring examination next year, he would definitely have gotten a good ranking as well."
If he continued taking the exams, he couldn't be sure if he would become the top scholar, but he certainly wouldn't just become a county magistrate.
If the Ministry of Rites hadn't been corrupt for many years, harming too many students, how could Gao Yang have become so disheartened that he wouldn't even want to participate in the imperial examinations anymore?
All of this is the fault of those people; they are truly hateful. Over the years, they have ruined the lives of countless students who have studied diligently for years.
Jiang Yimian said, "He must have thought this through carefully before making this choice. Who says that going back to Jinling to be a minor county magistrate is not a good life?"
Gao Yang's personality wasn't suited to the political arena in the capital. He would definitely be more comfortable being a county magistrate in his hometown. Besides, she didn't believe that Gao Yang's decision had nothing to do with Yang Qiguang.
The two had been together in the capital for many years and were considered close friends, so they would always consider each other's feelings.
Liu'er was taken aback, then, as if realizing something, she smiled and said, "What you say is right, Miss. Apart from being bustling, the capital city is really not very interesting without family and friends."
If it weren't for the Jiang family, she certainly wouldn't have stayed in the capital; she might have just found some remote mountain forest and spent her days with poisonous creatures.
As she thought about it, she peeled a lychee and put it in her mouth.
The first taste is the unique sweet fragrance of lychee, and the flavor is excellent.
She said with some surprise, "The lychees that Vice General Jiang sent are really delicious. It's already October, and there are still such delicious lychees. I wonder if these lychees would make good lychee wine."
Besides poisons, her greatest love was all kinds of fine wines. Because of this love, she gradually improved her winemaking skills.
She just hadn't tried the lychee wine yet.
Seeing this, Jiang Yimian just smiled and joked, "It should taste better than the bayberry wine that Lin Yan'an sent."
Upon hearing the mention of bayberry wine, Liu'er immediately frowned, feeling that even the lychees in her mouth didn't taste so sweet anymore. "Miss, please don't mention it."
Lin Yan'an must have gone mad a few days ago. He insisted I try his homemade bayberry wine, and it almost killed me with its sourness. I have no idea how he made it; it was such a waste of bayberries.
This was the first time she had ever tasted such terrible wine; it wasn't even as good as the wine she could brew herself. That guy must have come to get revenge on her.
Saying that he knew she liked wine and specially made it for her to try is practically murder.
Jiang Yimian just smiled and glanced at the sky outside. "Judging by the time, it's about time. Why didn't he come to ask you to try the bayberry wine today?"
At this time in the past, Lin Yan'an would have already come looking for Liu'er with great eagerness.
The two of them have been together every day for the past few days. Even when Zhao Xiaonian wanted to go with them, Lin Yan'an sent him away.
Enraged, Zhao Xiaonian cursed at the princess's mansion and even took the opportunity to berate the fortune teller at his stall.
Liu'er quickly waved her hand, her whole expression showing relief. "He's not in the capital these past few days. He said he was going to check on the Lin family's business."
Thankfully he wasn't there. I'll never believe that guy again.
She could never forget that awful bayberry wine.
Jiang Yimian just smiled and didn't say anything more. Her gaze fell on the street outside the window, where there were many more Tuyuhun people among the pedestrians coming and going.
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