Ah Ping continued, "Your Highness, I come from a poor family, and I don't dare to marry into your family and become your goddaughter..."
Princess Pingrou smiled and said, "How can it be considered marrying above your station? We will be a family in the future. I feel close to you when I see you, so I will take you as my goddaughter."
"No." Lu Baozhu said jealously, "Mother, you can only have me as your daughter."
Ah Ping secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Pingrou, who was standing beside her, touched Lu Baozhu's head and said, "You, you are even more childish than Lingling."
Lu Baozhu snuggled in Princess Pingrou's arms and said, "As long as my mother is here, I can be childish."
Qi Yuning felt a trace of jealousy in her heart. She had been competing with Lu Baozhu for many years, and sometimes she had never been envious or jealous when Lu Baozhu got the treasures.
Whenever she saw Lu Baozhu and Princess Pingrou getting along with each other, she could not help but feel jealous.
Qi Yuning returned to Chunjiang Courtyard.
Over the past half month, the letters from the manager of the Qi family's shop have piled up on the desk like a small mountain.
Qi Yuning hurriedly bathed, changed into a princess's palace dress, and went to the palace with Qi Yu'an to pay a visit to His Majesty.
Then he entered the palace.
Qi Yuning met Lu Ze, whom she hadn't seen for a few days.
Lu Ze, wearing a bright red official robe, walked up to Qi Yuning and handed the hot water bottle in his hand to Qi Yuning, "I prepared it especially for you."
Qi Yuning took the hot water bottle and smiled: "Thank you."
Lu Ze whispered in Qi Yuning's ear: "His Majesty was furious when he learned about Wen Ban's collusion with the King of Shu. He has banished Concubine Xian to the cold palace and imprisoned the King of Shu."
Qi Yuning paused, looking at Lu Ze in confusion: "Just imprisonment? How can it be enough to pay for the lives of thousands of soldiers in my Qi Family Army?"
Lu Ze said: "His Majesty is old. He has been a benevolent king all his life. Now that he is over 60 years old, I am afraid he will not easily sentence his eldest son to death..."
Qi Yuning frowned when he heard this.
Qi Yu'an, Qi Yuning and Lu Ze entered the Purple Palace and saluted to Emperor Shi Yuan who was sitting at the top.
Emperor Shi Yuan's hair was much grayer than before, and he looked much older.
Emperor Shi Yuan sighed and said, "Yu'an, Yuning, you two should get up quickly. I didn't teach my son well enough to know that the beast would make such a big mistake for the throne. I feel so ashamed of Brother Qi Yang, your parents, and you.
I will not protect the King of Shu, but will demote him and his descendants to commoners, and imprison them in a miserable and desolate place for the rest of their lives."
Qi Yuning still knelt on the ground and said: "Your Majesty, you are devoted to the people. You are a diligent king who works hard for the people of the world. The fault lies with the King of Shu. Please punish the King of Shu severely. It will be difficult to convince the people if the King of Shu is not killed."
Qi Yu'an also knelt and said, "Your Majesty, the number of soldiers who died in Beicheng back then was tens of thousands, and many of them were buried in the yellow sand, unable to even return home wrapped in horsehide.
Back then, my grandfather risked his life to defeat Beimo and expand the territory for Dasheng so that the sacrificed soldiers could rest in peace under the territory of Dasheng. As a member of the royal family, the King of Shu colluded with Beimo, which is a heinous crime that cannot be described in words. He should be sentenced to death. "
Qi Yuning knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I beg Your Majesty to sentence the King of Shu to treason and punish him with the death penalty of lingchi."
Emperor Shi Yuan looked at the two siblings below, rubbed his temples, sighed and said: "The King of Shu is guilty of a heinous crime. I will imprison him in a dark room for the rest of his life, without seeing the light of day, to atone for the sins of the dead soldiers!"
"Your Majesty!" Qi Yuning pursed his lips and said, "Your Majesty, the crime that the King of Shu committed is treason and collusion with the enemy. Princes who break the law are guilty of the same crime as common people. Your Majesty is really unfair to let the King of Shu go so easily."
Lu Ze said, "Your Majesty, what the princess said is absolutely right. The King of Shu was not only guilty of treason, but also of conspiracy, illegal arms sales, and iron ore mining. Each of these crimes is punishable by death. If you let him off lightly, I'm afraid other princes will follow suit. Please punish the King of Shu severely."
Qi Yuning had thought that His Majesty might protect the King of Shu, but he did not expect that he would treat the King of Shu so lightly.
It's also chilling.
More than ten members of his family died because of their loyalty to the Zhao family's regime.
Emperor Shi Yuan saw his grandson and the two younger generations of the Qi family and slowly said:
"I am already over sixty years old. From ancient times to the present, how many emperors have lived to be over sixty years old? The King of Shu is almost forty years old now. I know that I have let down your Qi family, and I will make amends to the Qi family in the future. But he is my eldest son after all, and I really can't bear to take his life."
Qi Yuning said, "Your Majesty's deep love for your son is something I understand, but what about my parents? They still love their son and daughter, but they still left me and my brother behind to go to the battlefield in order to be loyal to Your Majesty and to protect the Zhao family. I beg Your Majesty to make the decision for my parents."
Qi Yu'an, who was standing by, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the Qi family has been guarding the border of Dasheng for three generations. My fiancée is pregnant. I ask Your Majesty to allow me to hand over the Qi family's military power to Your Majesty. I can also take good care of my wife and children in Shengjing City after leaving the military camp."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Shiyuan stood up and said, "Yuan."
Although the Northern Desert had been destroyed for more than ten years, many remnants of the Northern Desert royal tribes did not easily surrender to Dasheng.
Many tribes were scattered around the border between Beicheng and Wan State and became sand bandits, all of which were suppressed by the Qi family's army.
Emperor Shi Yuan knew that there was no better candidate who could shoulder the heavy burden of the Qi family army. The subordinates of the Qi family army were loyal to the Qi family, and the court could not change the generals at will. The military power of the Qi family could not be taken back.
Moreover, if he took away the military power of the Qi family, his reputation of being kind to his subjects throughout his life would surely be criticized.
Qi Yuning said: "Your Majesty, my grandfather left me and my brother loyal to Your Majesty. The children of the Qi family are not afraid of dying on the battlefield, nor are they afraid of fighting in the battlefield to defend the Zhao family's territory. However, if the traitor is not eliminated, treason will only require imprisonment instead of death.
Why should the Qi family fight so hard to defend the territory? It would be better to have children and live a miserable life. There is no need to envy the prosperous Lu Guogong Mansion next door, while my Qi family is miserable every New Year! "
Emperor Shi Yuan looked displeased and asked, "Are you forcing me?"
Qi Yuning raised his eyes to look at Emperor Shi Yuan and said, "Your Majesty, we are grateful for your care for us brothers and sisters, but the hatred for killing our father and mother is irreconcilable. It would be unkind and unjust not to avenge the treason that killed the Da Sheng soldiers!"
Emperor Shiyuan said angrily, "Are you saying that I am unkind and unjust?"
Lu Zelian said: "Grandfather, that's not what the princess meant. The Qi family's sacrificed generals are all brothers of the Qi family brothers and sisters. They can't remain indifferent. Your Majesty, if you don't severely punish the King of Shu, I'm afraid it will chill the generals of the world."
When Emperor Shi Yuan saw the three juniors below, he said in a cold voice: "I will discuss this matter with the ministers tomorrow morning. You all should leave now."
After Qi Yuning left the Zichen Palace, her eyes were filled with dismay. His Majesty had been so good to her over the years that she had forgotten that imperial power is imperial power.
Lu Ze said beside Qi Yuning: "The King of Shu is your majesty's first son. Your majesty is old and can't bear to do something to his own son. But when the morning court is held tomorrow, the ministers will not protect the King of Shu, and the King of Shu will get his retribution."
Qi Yu'an also persuaded Qi Yuning, "Sister, I will definitely avenge my parents."
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