Chapter 807 The Queen's Request
Eight attendants followed the queen into the Kunning Palace.
Upon reaching the entrance of the main hall of Kunning Palace, Cheng Wanwan stopped and said, "Your Majesty, this is the Empress's palace. Not too many people are allowed to enter at the same time. Two people are enough to serve her. Please don't mind."
The Queen relaxed and turned around, saying, "Since we are in the Great Yu Kingdom, we must abide by its rules. Just the two of you can come in."
The old woman opened her mouth, but seeing that Cheng Wanwan only brought one person to serve her, she didn't say anything more and followed the Queen in with another old woman.
The Kunning Palace is magnificent and grand, with its main hall resplendent in gold and jade. Inside the vast hall, there were only the Empress and a few palace maids, and the aroma of tea wafted through the air, clearly indicating that they had been waiting for quite some time.
"No need for formalities," the Queen said with a smile. "Your Majesty and Lady Sui, please be seated."
The Queen took a sip of tea and smiled, praising, "Assab has no habit of drinking tea, and the tea that merchants bring to Assab is difficult to sell at a good price. If we want to open up the tea market in Assab, we should first cultivate a tea-drinking culture. I wonder if Your Majesty could teach me how to brew tea?"
The Empress smiled and agreed, "Of course."
The palace maid immediately brought out all the tools for brewing tea, and the three of them sat down at the tea table.
The Queen taught with all her heart, but the Queen was somewhat distracted. After learning half of it, she turned around and said, "Go and fetch my favorite hairpin. I want to give it to the Queen as a thank you gift."
One of the nannies left immediately.
The queen continued, "Go and fetch my favorite conch shell."
The old woman stood steadily and bowed her head, saying, "The Queen must have someone by her side. I will go and fetch the conch shell when Aunt Yu returns."
The queen bit her lower lip so hard that it turned white.
The Empress looked up and asked, "Is something the matter?"
Cheng Wanwan said, "The Queen wants to give a gift to Her Majesty the Empress."
She realized that the group of people serving the queen were not her confidants; they were there to watch over her, but in reality, they were there to spy on her.
At this moment, the Queen's eagerness to get rid of these people must mean she has something important to tell the Empress.
Perhaps this is the main reason why King Asab and Queen traveled thousands of miles to the Great Yu Kingdom...
Otherwise, Asab wouldn't have brought tigers as tribute; it was a gesture of loyalty, a way of telling the Great Yu Kingdom that Asab had no intention of vying for supremacy...
"Your Majesty, please try the tea I brewed." Cheng Wanwan picked up a teacup and handed it to her. "My skills are not as good as the Empress's, but I added some clever touches. Let's see if Your Majesty can taste the difference..."
Just as her hand was about to reach the Queen, it suddenly loosened, and a steaming cup of tea fell onto the table, the tea spilling down the corner and soaking the Queen's dress.
"queen!"
The old woman immediately knelt down to clean it.
"I'm so sorry!" Cheng Wanwan quickly apologized. "If the Queen has been burned, I deserve to die! I remember that Your Majesty the Empress has a dress that is exactly the same as the Queen's. I have no shame but to beg Your Majesty the Empress to bestow that dress upon the Queen."
The Queen glanced at the Queen's glittering attire. She really didn't have such an extravagant dress. How could Lady Sui be lying through her teeth?
Just as she was wondering what was going on, she saw Cheng Wanwan winking and making faces at her.
She nodded in agreement with Cheng Wanwan's words: "I do have one. Your Majesty, please come in and take a look. If you like it, you can put it on directly."
Cheng Wanwan translated it once.
Upon hearing this, the old woman helped the Queen to her feet and then followed her into the inner chamber.
"Wait a moment." Cheng Wanwan raised her hand to stop them. "A few steps further is the Empress's sleeping quarters. In our Great Yu Kingdom, no one is allowed to enter except for the Emperor, Empress, and a few close attendants. If I hadn't caused trouble, our Empress wouldn't have invited the Queen in. Since the Queen can go in, you servants can wait outside."
How could the old woman be willing to give up? She followed closely behind the Queen, unwilling to leave.
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "In the Great Yu Kingdom, servants like this would be thrown out to be fed to the dogs."
"Just wait, then." The Queen understood Cheng Wanwan's meaning, her eyes filled with gratitude. She then turned her head and said coldly, "If this affects the relationship between Asabu and the Great Yu Kingdom, you won't have enough heads to chop off."
The old woman finally let go and waited in the outer room.
Cheng Wanwan gave Granny Qi a look, signaling her to keep a close eye on things.
The Empress's inner chamber was also spacious, exuding understated luxury. Two palace maids were burning incense when the Empress chased them out.
So, only three people remained in the large inner room.
"Lady Sui is indeed wise and intelligent. I didn't say anything, yet Lady Sui knew what I wanted to do." The Queen thanked Cheng Wanwan first, then walked to the Queen and curtsied. "The reason why the King and I put aside all of Asab's state affairs to come here is not only to show Asab's sincerity, but also because we have a request."
The empress showed no surprise.
The Great Yu Kingdom can be considered a place where all nations pay tribute, but each time it is only the officials of those countries who come to pay tribute, or send a prince or princess. This is the first time the king has come in person. Even if it is to show sincerity, this sincerity is a bit too much.
After the palace banquet that day, the emperor told her that the Asab ministers who came to court seemed to have their own ulterior motives.
As expected, the Emperor was right.
"Those were all people sent by the Prince." The Queen smiled bitterly. "Eight out of ten of the people serving the King and me are the Prince's spies. If we drive one away, the Prince will send two more... The King and I have lived under the Prince's surveillance for more than ten years. We have endured it for more than ten years. We wanted to endure it forever, but the Prince is growing up and will inherit the throne sooner or later. We can't let the Prince live the life we have..."
As the queen spoke, tears streamed down her face. It was clear that this was the first time she had spoken to outsiders about these things, and the first time she had confided her grievances to them. She was completely unable to control her emotions.
As she spoke, Cheng Wanwan translated.
After listening to what followed, Cheng Wanwan realized that the Assab royal family was in such a mess.
The current king is the eldest son of the legitimate wife. He rightfully inherited the throne more than ten years ago. When he first ascended the throne, an external enemy country invaded, so he gave military power to his younger brother, who is called the Prince in the queen’s words. After the Prince led the troops to repel the enemy country, he was unwilling to return the military power and became Prince Ali, who held a large army in Asab.
Over the past decade or so, Prince Alexander has continuously expanded his power, commanding nearly 200,000 troops, making him virtually all-powerful.
If he wanted to rebel, it would be a very simple matter. But since the current king is his own brother, overthrowing his brother's regime would be met with a barrage of spittle from the Assab people, who value family ties. Therefore, Prince Alex only wants power, not the throne... At every court assembly, the king doesn't need to speak; Prince Alex makes all the decisions.
The king of Assab was merely a puppet.
The Empress spoke slowly: "So, you want the Great Yu Kingdom to help you regain military power?"
The Queen nodded: "I know this request is abrupt, but it is the only way we have... As long as the Great Yu Kingdom helps the King become a true king, we will offer up the largest gold mine mountain of the Asabu royal family, and will pay tribute to the Great Yu Kingdom with countless precious treasures every year. Asabu will forever be subservient to the Great Yu Kingdom."
Cheng Wanwan knew that Assab had many gold-mining mountains, some of which were controlled by the imperial court and others were exclusively owned by the royal family. No one except the royal family knew where they were, which was why the Assab royal family seemed so wealthy.
The largest gold-producing mountain range has an unimaginable annual output... In some ways, this deal is very worthwhile.
The Queen pondered for a moment before saying, "You and the King have come to the Great Yu Kingdom. Prince Ali should be able to guess your purpose, right?"
"The prince is in his hands; he knows the king and I wouldn't dare act recklessly," the queen said with a wry smile. "Therefore, this time, we can't seize power by force; we need to outsmart him..."
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