Qi Yuning looked up at Lu Ze and said, "According to Lingling, the throne will eventually belong to little Zhao Jie. It's not up to me whether I want to be a princess or not."
Qi Yuning thought that it was understandable for Zhu Yang and Zhu Feng to have such concerns. If the Qi family army were to arrive at Shengjing City today, how could the new emperor not be on guard against their Qi family when he ascended the throne?
After all, the imperial court now has no external threats and no longer needs the Qi family army. Although there are still some remnants of the Northern Desert who have become bandits, after all, in the past fifteen years, it has been impossible for these remnants to make a comeback, and the Qi family has no place to use its military power.
If the Qi family wants to protect themselves, they have no choice but to ascend the throne and become emperor.
Lu Ze let go of Qi Yuning's hand and asked, "What you mean is that you want to be a princess?"
Qi Yuning said: "Zhu Feng and Zhu Yang were right. Can the new emperor accommodate the Qi family? No matter who becomes the new emperor, they will not treat our Qi family army as well as the current emperor. Only my brother can ascend the throne..."
Before Qi Yuning could finish her words, Lu Ze frowned and turned away.
Qi Yuning frowned slightly when he saw Lu Ze's back. Lu Ze was the son of a princess. For him, if the Qi family changed dynasties, he would definitely not have the glory of a princess's son in the future.
Qi Yuning also turned around and went to Qi Yu'an's study.
Qi Yu'an was writing a letter to Ah Ping. When he saw Qi Yuning coming in, he asked, "Why didn't you come with Lu Ze? I thought you two would be inseparable these days."
Qi Yuning looked at Qi Yu'an and said, "Brother, do you really not want to be the emperor?"
Qi Yu'an paused with the tip of his pen, leaving a dot of ink on the paper as he said, "Qi Yuning, you shouldn't say this. Have you forgotten the Qi family's ancestral motto? Be loyal to the emperor and the country, and be loyal to the Zhao king. If we seize the throne and change the dynasty, then our grandfather's reputation for loyalty will be wiped out!"
Qi Yuning said: "Grandfather gave up the throne to Emperor Shiyuan because he was a good emperor, not for his reputation. Brother, do you think grandfather would care about that reputation? Besides, the emperor has the final say in history books about who wins and who loses!"
Qi Yu'an didn't expect Qi Yuning to be so bold. He frowned and said, "I will pretend that I have never heard you say this. Don't talk nonsense anymore. Besides, Lingling said that the future emperor will be Prince Duan, so he is Prince Duan!"
Qi Yuning said: "When little Zhao Jie is young, our Qi family can protect him, but he will grow up one day and will be afraid of our Qi Palace. We must make sure that the younger generation of the Qi family has no worries, and not leave Shengjing City in a panic like I did last time. Only you can ascend the throne and become the master of the world, once and for all!"
Qi Yuning said: "The Zhu and Zhong families are loyal to us..."
Qi Yu'an said, "Sister, have you ever thought about this? There are soldiers in the south who are loyal to the court. We can raise an army to protect the Zhao family's orthodoxy, quell rebellions, and punish traitors. If our Qi family also covets the throne, there will be war in the south, and people will suffer. What's the difference between us and the Qin family who want to change the dynasty?"
"If I really want to ascend the throne and I snatch the throne from A Ping's family, how can I face A Ping in the future? How can you face Lu Ze? And Princess Ping Rou?"
Qi Yu'an said to Qi Yuning: "You will give up this idea sooner or later. I can't be the emperor!"
Qi Yuning said: "The military strength in the south has never been strong. If you ascend the throne and treat the Zhao family's princes and grandsons well, it may not cause great suffering. The biggest difference between us and the Qin family is that the Qin family killed innocent people indiscriminately, killed many people for the throne, and disrupted the Zhao family's bloodline.
When you ascend the throne, the heir apparent will still be of the Zhao family, with the blood of the Zhao royal family flowing in his veins. Brother! Think about it carefully. Only when the power of the world is in our own hands can we sleep peacefully."
Qi Yuning said, "I don't want to live in fear anymore. Under the imperial power, the life and death of the Qi family all depends on your majesty's thoughts! This great country was conquered by the ancestors of the Qi family. Think about it carefully."
Qi Yu'an listened to Qi Yuning's persuasion and said, "Sister, you want to be a princess, have you considered you and Lu Ze?"
Qi Yuning said: "Princess Pingrou can still keep her title as princess."
Qi Yu'an sighed and said, "Sister, Lu Ze is not only the princess's son, he is also the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple and an important official in the court. If you let a man of Zhao's royal blood associate with the traitor, he will bear the infamy of the whole world. If you want me to ascend the throne and become the emperor, then you and Lu Ze are completely finished!"
Qi Yuning clenched his hands.
Qi Yu'an said: "You should think about it carefully."
Qi Yuning returned to the room and saw the large stack of account books that Lichun brought over. She was in no mood to look at them. She didn't think she had done anything wrong.
She didn't want to experience the same panic and embarrassment of leaving Shengjing City again.
It's dark.
Qi Yuning waited until Lu Ze came back.
Qi Yuning saw Lu Ze coming in and asked, "Have you had your meal?"
Lu Ze nodded slightly and said, "Yes."
Qi Yuning stepped forward and said, "I haven't used it yet. Please accompany me to eat some."
Lu Ze sat next to Qi Yuning and had dinner with her. Qi Yuning picked up a piece of mutton and gave it to Lu Ze, saying, "Are you still angry?"
Lu Ze said: "Don't you think I shouldn't be angry? Yuning, when you said you wanted to be a princess, did you ever think about our future?"
Qi Yuning said slowly: "No matter what, Lingling said that it is Xiao Zhaojie who will ascend the throne in the future. You are angry with me for this matter, and I feel very wronged."
Qi Yuning passed the mutton to Lu Ze's lips and said, "Eat a piece of mutton and don't be angry with me anymore."
It was a rare opportunity for Qi Yuning to act like a spoiled child. Lu Ze held Qi Yuning's hand and pulled her into his arms. He said helplessly, "How dare you be so bold? You really want to be a princess!"
Qi Yuning put down her chopsticks, held Lu Ze's neck with both hands and said, "Lu Ze, I never thought about becoming a princess before. I even thought I would be loyal to the royal family and His Majesty for the rest of my life. However, what Zhu Feng and Zhu Yang said is true. When the new emperor ascends the throne, our Qi family will surely be feared. If that's the case, why can't the Qi family be the master of the world?"
Lu Ze whispered, "Have you ever thought that if you really become a princess one day, will there still be a future between you and me? If I were not the grandson of the Zhao royal family, I would not care, but I am of the royal blood of the Zhao family.
Yuning, when you said you wanted to be a princess, you didn’t think about our future at all.”
Qi Yuning said: "We have Lingling in our future, and my brother doesn't agree. Besides, you and I will both know that it was Xiao Zhaojie who became the emperor. I just thought so, and you are angry with me..."
Lu Ze pinched Qi Yuning's nose and said helplessly, "You, you never considered me at first, but now you say I'm angry with you."
Qi Yuning asked: "Then can you stop being angry?"
Lu Ze said calmly, "Don't be angry anymore. As you said, the throne will belong to Xiao Zhaojie in the end. You will have no chance to be a princess. But Yuning, I hope you can consider me when you think about the future. We will be husband and wife in the end."
Qi Yuning smiled and said, "Okay."
On the seventh day of August, the troops, who had rested in Chang'an City for three days, set out again.
It was the ninth day of August when they arrived outside Shangzhou City. At the gate of Shangzhou City, the Qin army was already well prepared. As soon as the Qi army arrived, they were surrounded by the army from Gyeonggi Province.
On the wall of Shangzhou, Qin Zhen looked down and shouted, "Qi Yu'an, if you leave your sister, Princess Qi, to warm my bed and serve me, I will spare your lives!"
Qi Yuning, who was with the army, frowned when he heard Qin Zhen's dirty words on the city gate.
Lu Ze beside her drew his bow and arrow, and the arrow shining in the sun broke through the wind and shot towards Qin Zhen's eyes on the city wall.
Qin Zhen didn't expect a sharp arrow to shoot at him, and he didn't even try to dodge. The arrow hit him straight in the eye.
Lu Ze handed Qi Yuning a sword and told the secret guards around him to take good care of Qi Yuning. Then he rode forward to kill the soldiers in Gyeonggi Province.
Qin Zhen was shot in the eye and shouted angrily: "Kill them, kill them quickly!"
"It's Lu Ze!"
"It's Prince Lu!"
"Shouldn't Prince Lu be dead? Why is he still alive?!"
Qin Zhen listened to his men's words. He was shot in the eye and one of his eyes could not be opened. He could not see Lu Ze's appearance clearly. He could only hear the sound of fighting below.
Qi Yuning had been with the army for many days, but had never seen such a scene. Although she was wearing armor, she did not dare to act rashly. She held a sword in her hand and was well protected by several secret guards of Lu Ze.
Her eyes were fixed on Lu Ze, who was hacking at the enemies in front of her. Lu Ze was riding on a horse, wielding a spear.
The fully armed Qi family army broke through the encirclement and hit the city gate with a huge log. When the city gate was broken, Qi Yuning saw the soldiers on both sides making way for them, with dust flying and horses' hooves clanging like thunder.
It turned out that Zhu Yang and Zhu Feng led 5,000 cavalrymen to ride into the city with great momentum. As soon as the cavalrymen entered the city, the Qi family army broke through into Shangzhou City with great force. Many soldiers from Gyeonggi Province actually raised their hands and surrendered when they saw the Qi family army cavalrymen.
Seeing this, Lu Ze sneered. What kind of good troops could Qin Zhen bring? He didn't expect that Qin Zhen would leave the troops from Gyeonggi Province to resist the Qi family army.
After Qi Yuning entered Shangzhou with the large army, Shangzhou City was a large plain. From a distance, Longhua Mountain could be vaguely seen in the clouds in the distance...
It is only one step away from Shengjing.
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