"He's just a child, and you're using such dirty thoughts to speculate about him!"
"Lord Meng!" Ye Boxian, the Vice Minister of War, immediately frowned. "I am taking precautions! Enthroning that child as a king of a different surname is always a hidden danger! We must not set this precedent. Although this child has no such intentions, he is the cousin of Baili Mingde, the grandson of the Western Rong Emperor. It is hard to say whether he will have such intentions when Baili Mingde ascends the throne! Your Majesty, I will advocate for war."
"Then Lord Ye, if you advocate accepting the challenge, don't forget that Baili Qingluan will personally take part in the fight! She has been mistreated by the Song family, and she won't be able to calm down easily!"
Ye Boxian frowned. "It was the Song family who treated her so harshly. She should seek revenge on them! Instead of starting a war and putting the people on the border in dire straits!"
"Master Ye, I think you are confused. It was the Song family who framed Baili Qingluan for stealing the military deployment map, which triggered the military conflict between the two countries and caused our Beiyi to lose five cities. Now, if we meet the conditions, Xirong will not only withdraw its troops and return the five cities, but also gain decades of peace and stability on the border."
Ye Boxian glanced at his immediate superior, the Minister of War, and continued to insist on his own opinion. "Your Majesty, while satisfying the Western Rong's conditions can temporarily buy the two countries peaceful coexistence, this child is half Western Rong royal blood after all, and I'm afraid he will cause endless trouble in the future! The best strategy is to send troops to fight and repel the Western Rong army by force!"
"Your Majesty!" Meng Gaoyang looked at Ye Boxian with a gleam in his eyes.
Ye Boxian had a bad feeling.
As expected, Meng Gaoyang said to Emperor Qianyuan, "Lord Ye advocates accepting the challenge. I think he is very confident in recovering the five lost cities! Your Majesty, please allow Lord Ye to go to the front lines and fight to repel the Western Rong army in one fell swoop!"
"Lord Ye," Qian Yuanzhen spoke from the dragon throne. "The Song and Xiao armies are now both in the Western Territory. The Crown Prince is in command of both armies. I am sending you to the Western Territory as a staff officer. What are your chances of repelling the Western Rong army and recovering the lost territory?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Boxian greeted Meng Gaoyang's ancestors in his heart!
They actually dug a hole for him to jump into!
He didn't want to go to the western border to face the Xirong army, not to mention what might happen to Baili Qingluan.
Once you go to the West, you may never come back!
"Your Majesty, I..." Ye Boxian was at a loss for a moment and looked at the Minister of War for help.
"Your Majesty!" The Minister of War stepped forward. "This winter is cold, and the Western Rong have suddenly invaded. The Ministry of Revenue is short of silver, and we haven't prepared enough food, fodder, and winter clothing. The Western Rong have captured five cities in a row, and we've missed a golden opportunity. Continuing the war is disadvantageous to us, but making that child a king of a different surname is indeed a huge hidden danger for us, Beiyi."
Emperor Qianyuan looked at the Prime Minister Wang Luyuan and asked, "Master Wang, what are your thoughts?"
"I believe we can agree to the Xirong royal family's request and make a king of a different surname without military power! Xirong's expedition to seek justice for Baili Qingluan was justified. Now that rumors are swirling outside, Xirong has stopped attacking the cities, and the people of the five captured cities have not been massacred. This move is enough to convince the people of the rumors. If we continue to fight, we may lose the people's support. What we need to do now is to appease the people and dispel Baili Qingluan's resentment!"
"I second the motion!"
"I second the motion!"
Emperor Qianyuan pursed his lips slightly upon seeing this, "Okay, I approve!"
Emperor Qianyuan returned to the imperial study and dismissed all the palace servants. He looked over Feng Jinyu's secret letter again and again and confirmed that it was from Su Xingyi and Su Ning'an, father and son.
I really didn't expect that Su Xingyi would pick up Su Ning'an and raise him as his son. He really knows how to pick up people!
He took out Qi Lianli's secret letter and looked at it carefully.
[The princess is pregnant]
Emperor Qianyuan looked at these five words and was very pleased.
What kind of king should he be given?
He picked up a pen and wrote a few words on the paper:
Su Xingyi, if everything goes as planned, then he will be named King Shun.
Suning An?
Emperor Qianyuan remembered the news Qi Lianli had brought back, saying that he was a chubby, cute and filial child with an amazing appetite.
Baili Qingluan asked for 80% of the fiefdoms of the five cities for him. Was she afraid that he wouldn't have enough to eat?
Being able to eat is a blessing, so he was named King of Fu.
"Going to Xirong Northwest Province to plant trees?"
Old Madam Song thought she had heard wrongly, and asked Meng Gaoyang, who came to convey the imperial edict, again.
"That's right. I never expected your Song family to bully Baili Qingluan so much. She didn't even take your lives, the Song and Yu families. She only confiscated your property and exiled you. She even showed you special mercy by allowing you to be exiled after the spring. Before that, you can still live in the Song Mansion..."
Meng Gaoyang glanced at Yu Chengxin and said, "Alas, Baili Qingluan is such a good daughter-in-law, but your Song family doesn't know how to cherish her."
"Master Meng, is my grandson still alive?"
Old Madam Song intuitively felt that her strong grandson was still alive, which was why Baili Qingluan showed some kindness towards them.
Meng Gaoyang looked at the expectant light in Old Madam Song's eyes. Even if he knew that he was still alive, it would not change the Song family's fate of exile.
Meng Gaoyang decided to tell the Song family.
"That child is indeed still alive, having been rescued by a kindhearted person. He and his adoptive father have now been crowned as kings of different surnames. The imperial decree should have left the city by now."
Old Madam Song was delighted, but then she felt endless regret.
She was indeed confused at the time. If she hadn't let her niece Yu Chengxin marry into the Song family, the situation wouldn't be what it is today...
The glory of the foreign surname Wang Tianda should have belonged to their Song family, but now... she really regrets it!
But there is no medicine for regret in this world!
Old Madam Song fainted in pain and regret.
"mother!"
"grandmother!"
After the war, Yu Chengxin and her daughter returned to Tinglan Garden. The room was ransacked and only bedding and a charcoal basin were left for the winter.
"Did Daddy get sent directly to the Northwestern States to plant trees?"
Song Linyuan revealed his crimes, and I think Baili Qingluan will not let him die. After all, Baili Qingluan admired Song Linyuan very much back then, but she will not let him have an easy time, and will not let her go!
"Your father should still be in Huayang County. Let Song Hua take you to find your father after the spring."
"No, I don't want to. I want to go to Northwestern State with my mother to plant trees!"
Xirong Northwest Province is definitely not a place for people to stay!
"You can't go. The imperial edict clearly states that children under seven are not to be exiled. If you go, you're disobeying the order! You'll be beheaded! You can't do anything stupid. Do you understand?"
She was determined not to let Song Shuyi suffer with her.
"Wuwuwu..." Song Shuyi burst into tears when she thought of her future situation. "I won't be able to see my parents anymore. I'll be all alone. What should I do? ... Wuwuwu..."
"You are not alone, you still have a brother who will take care of you." Yu Chengxin coaxed softly.
Song Shuyi cried even harder after hearing this.
Why can't my father, mother, brother and stepmother live a good life together?
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