In addition to Pei Xuanqing who was eagerly preparing to join the game, there was another person who quietly went to the imperial ancestral tomb after learning that Lian Zong was seriously ill and the government was controlled by Ning Tai.
That person was none other than the third prince Ning Ze.
He planned to restore his true identity and take his men to the capital to rescue Lian Zong.
After years of preparation, Jiang Huaijin, the Fifth Prince of Xijiang State, who had been posing as him, also planned to return to Xijiang State with his identity restored. Before returning to Xijiang State, he specifically sought out Pei Xuanqing and asked him to take him to find Shen Yu.
"Did you find anything when you were building the house in Elm Village?" He didn't hide anything and asked Shen Yu directly.
"What does the Fifth Prince mean?" Shen Yu pretended to be confused even though he knew the truth.
"Half of the tiger talisman, the other half is in my hand." This means that it is useless for Shen Yu and others to take it.
"Did you order the removal of the original owner of that house? And did you also order the destruction of everything that happened to that house afterwards?"
"That's right." Jiang Huaijin nodded in agreement.
"Then why didn't you do anything to me and my wife?"
Jiang Huaijin smiled and said, "Because there is no need." Facts have proved that his decision was right.
"Then what benefits can I get from handing over the tiger talisman to you?" Shen Yu began to bargain.
"What benefit do you want?"
"Help me save the Cui family."
"Even if you don't tell me, I will save the Cui family." The current emperor of Xijiang Kingdom is incompetent and only wants to drain the pond to catch fish. Jiang Huaijin also wants to keep the Cui family so that he can use it for his own benefit.
"Then let's make it a deal."
"Okay." Jiang Huaijin smiled with satisfaction. This meant he got the other half of the tiger talisman without losing anything. However, he remembered Shen Yu's favor.
Shen Yu had considered asking Jiang Huaijin to promise that if he took that position, he would never mobilize troops against Ningjiang County or Xincheng. But how credible could the words of a prince who had endured so long be? It would be better to resolve the Cui family's urgent needs first.
As for whether the Cui family will turn around and rely on Jiang Huaijin? The answer is yes.
Who would be willing to leave their homeland if they could? Especially since the Cui family's vast fortune is in Xijiang, it's not something they can just abandon. Most importantly, the Cui family's roots are in Xijiang, making a fresh start difficult.
But the Cui family would never again place all their bets on Xijiang as they had in the past. They would still send some clansmen to Xincheng and continue to invest money there.
But if Cui Hao and Cui Jin were to replace them, they would most likely stay in Xijiang, which means they would voluntarily give up the management rights of the new city.
Shen Yu and Wan Xueying didn't insist on the entire Cui family moving to the new city; they simply needed money and manpower, and collaborating with the Cui family would solve those problems. Wan Xueying was now leading the Shen family's business, and construction had already begun on the new city, completely independent of the Cui family's development.
The Cui family is currently cultivating wasteland on the outskirts of the new city. The Shen family is also on the outskirts, but they are planting mulberry trees, bamboo, and various fruit trees.
The Cui family has spontaneously built a village, the Shen family mainly built workshops around the designated city, and Wan Xueying plans to build a gathering place for workshops.
Most of the Shen family's descendants are craftsmen, which is perfect for developing the manufacturing industry. It will become one of their main sources of income in the future.
Wan Xueying discovered through exploration that Xincheng not only had abundant water resources and fertile land, but also possessed numerous mineral veins. In the future, Xincheng would have no shortage of sources of income simply through mining and forging. This confidence allowed them to no longer rely entirely on the Cui family.
After Jiang Huaijin returned to Xijiang State, he knew that the emperor of Xijiang State was going to confiscate the Cui family, but he did not immediately help the Cui family. It was not until Cui Hao was imprisoned and the remaining members of the Cui family were taken to Dayan by people sent by Shen Yu to avoid disaster that he led his men to force the emperor to abdicate.
Thanks to the people left behind by the previous emperor, he did not have to spend much effort to sneak into the bedroom of the Emperor of Xijiang Kingdom.
"I knew this day would come sooner or later." When he saw him for the first time, the Emperor of Xijiang Kingdom did not panic at all, but smiled with satisfaction.
"Since the Emperor's uncle knows this day will come, then there's no need for me to bother. I'll have to trouble you to issue an imperial decree, passing the throne to me."
"Don't worry about this for now. Let your people withdraw first. I have something important to tell you."
"If you have anything to say, wait until the emperor's uncle issues the imperial edict." It must be said that Jiang Huaijin is very vigilant.
"It's a secret about you. Do you want outsiders to know?"
"What secrets could my nephew have?" Jiang Huaijin still didn't let his men leave.
Seeing him like this, the Xijiang Emperor smiled and said slowly, "Then I wonder about the secret of your mother. Do you want to hear it?"
Jiang Huaijin hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand at his men and ordered, "You go down first!"
"My lord, you must not do this!" A loyal subordinate stepped forward to dissuade him.
"Everyone inside and outside the palace is ours, it doesn't matter!" Jiang Huaijin insisted.
"Then my lord must be careful!"
"I will. Please send a few more people to protect my mother." Jiang Huaijin was always worried about his mother.
"Yes! Your subordinates will take their leave!"
After seeing everyone leave, Jiang Huaijin turned to the Xijiang Emperor and asked, "Can I tell you now?"
"You should have the answer in your heart, right?" the Emperor of Xijiang asked back.
Jiang Huaijin raised his eyebrows slightly, "How can I have an answer?" There was no one else around, and he didn't call himself nephew in front of the Emperor of Xijiang Kingdom.
"Alright, then I'll tell you, I'm your biological father. Even if you don't force me to abdicate, I'll pass the throne to you. I've always wanted this throne for your mother, for you."
"Impossible!" Jiang Huaijin denied flatly, "If you said that the noble lady before my mother entered the palace was you, I would believe it, but how could I be your son?"
"Your mother gave birth to you eight months after entering the palace, but in fact you were born at full term." This reason must be convincing, right?
"Even if it is," Jiang Huaijin did not refute, "then why did you send my mother to the palace?"
The Xijiang Emperor's eyes flickered. "There's a misunderstanding here."
"Misunderstanding?" Jiang Huaijin sneered, "Okay, even if it's a misunderstanding, it's a matter between you and my mother." He didn't want to continue discussing this topic, "When will you issue the imperial edict?" he asked.
"I have actually already made up my mind." After a pause, the Xijiang Emperor asked again, "How do you plan to deal with me?"
"I will naturally arrange a place for you to spend your remaining years in peace." Jiang Huaijin had no intention of killing the Emperor of Xijiang Kingdom.
"Can I take your mother with me?" The Emperor of Xijiang State became more and more demanding.
"Impossible! My mother will become the most noble woman in the world. How could she possibly go with you?"
"Then do you need to ask your mother's opinion?"
"No need! From the first day my mother entered the palace, it was destined that you two would never be together." Jiang Huaijin was so sure because ever since he could remember, his mother had taught him to listen to his father and to be filial to him.
His father was also very kind to him and his mother. Even though the women in the harem were often involved in intrigues, he rarely saw his mother looking sad. This told him that his mother had adapted well to harem life. Although she didn't love his father very much, at least she didn't hold much resentment towards him.
When he was a child, he heard people gossiping about him not being his father's child. He asked his mother about this. His mother smiled and told him, "If you are not your father's biological child, then whose is it?"
When he was older, his brother, the Emperor, questioned whether he was his father's child. He sought confirmation from his mother again. Still smiling, his mother told him, "If you are not your father's biological child, then whose else could it be?"
After his father was murdered, someone told him that he was the new emperor's child. His brothers and younger brothers were all afraid of being killed by the new emperor, but he didn't have to worry. He went to his mother again, and this time his mother said to him seriously, "Leave Xijiang as soon as possible. Some people say you are the new emperor's child. You don't need to acknowledge it, nor do you need to deny it."
There was no need to recognize him, and he was asked to escape from Xijiang because he was not the biological child of the person in front of him, and he was afraid that he would be in danger if he stayed in Xijiang.
There is no need to deny that it was to protect him. As long as the new emperor thought he was his own flesh and blood, his life could be saved.
However, he had not expected to receive an unexpected reward. This man, who had seven or eight sons, actually issued an imperial decree in advance to make him the new emperor, and abdicated himself to become the emperor emeritus.
Originally, Jiang Huaijin did not intend to let the man in front of him be the emperor, he just wanted to give him the status of a prince, but his foundation was not deep at the moment, and he was not sure how many hidden tricks this man had, so in the end he had no choice but to acknowledge him.
After he ascended the throne, the Cui family's crimes were pardoned and the crisis of the Cui family was temporarily resolved.
During this period, the Hengyang Marquis's Mansion was short-sighted and decisively agreed to Cui Mingzhu's proposal for a divorce. However, when Cui Mingzhu proposed that her daughter would live with her in the future, the Hengyang Marquis' Mansion demanded 5,000 taels of silver. After bargaining, Cui Mingzhu finally gave them 2,000 taels to settle the matter.
As Shen Yu had previously suspected, the Cui family abandoned their previous plan to relocate the entire clan to the new city, and only arranged for a small number of clan members to move there in batches. The position of lord of the new city fell to Shen Yu without a doubt.
However, at present, he is at most a lord in name only. However, the lord's wife is very capable. While taking people to buy properties everywhere, she also does not forget to recruit workers.
Due to the continuous disasters in the south of Dayan in recent years, many disaster victims flowed into the northern border. Wan Xueying recruited workers and provided food and accommodation, as well as monthly wages, so a large number of disaster victims went to Xincheng.
Because the new city treated the disaster victims very friendly, and a large number of encouraging and stimulating policies were introduced one after another, and more importantly, people there had no worries about food and drink and could make money, they not only took the initiative to stay there, but also spontaneously called their friends and asked more people to go to the new city.
Since Wan Xueying was busy with these things, she didn't get involved in the affairs of Beihu and Dayan.
However, regarding the fact that the Beihu Emperor was not poisoned but addicted to drugs, she came up with a bad idea. That was to find a way to replace the Beihu Emperor's medicine. It would be best if the Beihu Emperor had a fit in front of all the ministers, and then take advantage of the opportunity to poison the Beihu Emperor. Then she would send someone to call Zheng Xincheng to treat him, and then put the blame of the poisoning on Zheng Xincheng and arrest him.
After hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up and they actually did what she suggested.
Moreover, things went much more smoothly than anyone had imagined. In the end, Zheng Xincheng couldn't believe that he would be caught.
However, everyone had a disagreement on whether to keep Zheng Xincheng, simply because after Zheng Xincheng was arrested, he threatened that if he was not there, not only Beihu, but also all the poisoned people in Dayan would die!
After Pei Xuanqing approached Wan Xueying to ask about the detoxification, Wan Xueying smiled and asked, "Master Pei, do you want the Northern Hu and the Great Yan court to be peaceful and stable during this period, or do you want them to be in chaos? Do you need to take advantage of this situation to find out who has colluded with Zheng Xincheng?"
"Of course we want to stir up some chaos." That way they would have a chance. Pei Xuanqing then asked, "I came to you to ask if you and Doctor Lu could help them detoxify?"
"That depends on what kind of poison they were infected with." He didn't say it could be cured, nor did he say it couldn't be cured.
Pei Xuanqing smiled and said, "You can even cure the poison of the silk thread, so I believe the poisons in the court will not be difficult for you." In that case, it would not matter whether Zheng Xincheng stayed or not. As long as everyone thought he was still alive, they could follow the clues and find many of his accomplices.
Seeing that Beihu and Nanling hadn't sent troops yet, and unable to contact Zheng Xincheng and his son, Ning Tai became restless and decided to take action. His first move was to order Ji Yun, Pei Xuanqing, Dexing Hou Gao Luan, and others to return to the capital immediately in the name of Emperor Lianzong. He also issued a special decree prohibiting them from bringing more than ten guards, lest they be deemed to be disobeying imperial orders.
After receiving the imperial edict, Ji Yun approached Pei Xuanqing and asked, "It's obvious that the Crown Prince has no good intentions. What are your plans?"
"The prince originally wanted to let the Northern Hu invade the northern border and Lingnan invade the southern region in order to delay the general and Marquis Dexing. As a result, the Northern Border had internal problems and was unable to take care of itself. Lingnan looked to the Northern Hu for everything, and when they saw that the Northern Hu did not send troops, they also chose to sit still. I guess the prince can't sit still anymore, and plans to let us enter the capital in the name of the emperor, set a net on the way for us to fall into, and then get rid of us, so as to prepare for his enthronement in the future." Pei Xuanqing told Ji Yun what had happened recently and his own speculation.
Ji Yun nodded, "What you said is similar to what I know." He asked again, "Are we really just going to sit there and wait for death?"
"Of course not." This time, without waiting for Ji Yun's prompting, Pei Xuanqing voiced his thoughts. "We must send some men to the ambush site before our assassins, so that we can eliminate them all at once." He wouldn't be so foolish as to bring only ten men. Furthermore, his biggest trump cards were the Dark Forest Guards and the Imperial Guards. Even if he didn't bring any soldiers, he still had a chance of eliminating Ning Tai.
"But how do you know where they will ambush?"
"I have my own way of doing this." Pei Xuanqing was certain about this.
"Okay, I believe you. Then can you tell me, after this is done, do you plan to take that position yourself, or do you plan to appoint someone else?" Since it concerns their family, Ji Yun had to ask clearly.
"General, which one do you think is better?" Pei Xuanqing asked back.
"Personally, I certainly hope you can take that position right away. But if changing dynasties were that easy, the world would have been in chaos long ago."
"So what?" Pei Xuanqing raised his eyebrows slightly.
"I think it would be best for you to use Queen Pei's status to establish a young ruler first, and you can be the regent. You can then take action after he has grown stronger. Otherwise, the world will inevitably be in chaos." This was the conclusion that Ji Yun came to after careful discussion with several of his confidants, which was more favorable to him.
Although he knew Ji Yun said this out of fear that he would abandon him after taking that position. As long as he didn't take that position, he would have to use the Ji family. But he had to admit that this was also the conclusion he came to after discussing it with Shen Yu. So he asked, "Who do you think is suitable for this young master? The Third Prince has always been eyeing that position."
"Of course, the younger the better. Forget about the Third Prince. He hasn't even been able to keep you and Dexing Marquis Gao Luan in check these past few years, relying solely on his own power and the Ye family. Oh, and even more so, the Emperor. But now the Emperor can barely protect himself, and the Crown Prince will never allow the Emperor's previously drafted edict of enthronement to be announced to the world. The Ye family has long since declined, so there are very few people he can truly rely on."
Pei Xuanqing smiled faintly. It had to be said that his nonsense in getting Princess Mingxia to marry Gao Zijin had indeed worked. The Deyang Marquisate was still hoping to leverage Princess Mingxia's identity to gamble, should there be an opportunity. However, that would require waiting for the empire to enter chaos. This was why Pei Xuanqing agreed with Ji Yun's suggestion to stabilize the situation first.
It was also for this reason that Ning Ze, after failing to win over the Deyang Marquisate many times, wanted to use the Ye family's existing influence in the military.
But Dexing Marquis Gao Luan was no pushover; over the past few years, he had already eliminated or divided the Ye family's influence in the military. Only a few who were well hidden remained, and they were not to be feared.
In this case, the third prince's only chance is to rely on Lian Zong, so he must send someone to rescue Lian Zong.
Pei Xuanqing's guess was correct; Ning Ze was indeed planning to lead his men to the capital to rescue Emperor Lianzong. Before leaving, he sent Ye Chengyun to find Shen Yu.
"This is a great opportunity for you and me to achieve great things. The Third Prince means that you should bring your men with us to the capital to rescue the emperor." Ye Chengyun was a straightforward person and told Ning Ze all his intentions right away.
"Do you know that this trip is extremely risky?" Shen Yu asked.
"But how can we achieve success without taking risks?" Ye Chengyun disagreed.
"Did the Third Prince promise us any benefits?"
"The Third Prince said he would completely detoxify us, and promotions would be inevitable."
"Completely detoxify?" Shen Yu's mouth curled up slightly.
"You may not know this yet," Ye Chengyun said with a proud look on his face. "There is an antidote for Qiansi, and someone who has been poisoned by Qiansi has already been cured. The Third Prince promised to find the antidote and help us detoxify."
Promising to find an antidote? Isn't that just empty talk? Shen Yu's smile widened after hearing this, and then he said seriously, "I did hear that someone has solved the poison of Pulling Silk. I also know that the method is very cruel. It requires using children as medicine men and then using their blood to remove the poison."
"How could this happen?" After being surprised, Ye Chengyun said in an instant, "As long as it can detoxify you, you can be cruel, otherwise it will be you and me who will die."
"Even so, you know that the person who can use children as medicine has been caught, and may even be dead. How can we detoxify?" From beginning to end, Shen Yu never mentioned that he had already detoxified himself.
Ye Chengyun once again asked, "How could this be?" His hopes dashed, and his disappointment was palpable. This time, after a long pause, he finally gathered his spirits and continued, "We won't live past forty anyway, so let's just give it a try!"
"Fight? Fight for whom? Don't you know that children born to people who are poisoned by the pulling thread will die young?"
"I know, I can fight for my family!" Seeing the Ye family gradually decline, Ye Chengyun felt really bad.
"Just figure it out for yourself."
"Then what do you mean?" After talking for a long time, Ye Chengyun still didn't get a reply from Shen Yu.
"I have an official position and it is inconvenient for me to leave the northern border, so I will not go to Beijing with you." Shen Yu politely refused.
"Have you ever thought about what you would do if the Third Prince took that position?" Ye Chengyun was full of confidence, but he didn't expect that Shen Yu, who was also the Third Prince's study companion, would actually back off?
"At worst, I can just resign and retire." Shen Yu smiled. "I've even been exiled before, so what's this?"
"Just think it through." Shen Yu's rejection made Ye Chengyun feel deeply betrayed, which made him even more sad than knowing that the poison of Qiansi could not be cured.
But he couldn't force Shen Yu, and he also knew that this trip to Beijing was very dangerous. They had too few chips in their hands and had no chance of winning.
Seeing his childhood playmate leave so dejectedly, Shen Yu felt particularly heavy-hearted. He had thought about trying to keep Ye Chengyun, telling him that the relationship could be resolved by having Wan Xueying. But what would that mean?
Ye Chengyun was different from him, and was far more loyal to the Third Prince than he was. Even if he tried to persuade him, it would be in vain. It would be better to let Ye Chengyun know less.
Even though Ye Chengyun tactfully told Ning Ze that Shen Yu was unable to come to the capital due to official business, Ning Ze knew that Shen Yu had betrayed him. Although Ning Ze was furious, he knew that he had to save Lian Zong first and then settle the score later.
He had been back at the Imperial Mausoleum for some time and had tried to win over He Wenxuan, the commander of the guards. He Wenxuan hesitated and went to see Pei Xuanqing, who told him not to act rashly but to wait for the right opportunity.
In the end, He Wenxuan also rejected Ning Ze, and Ning Ze had to sneak into the capital with his men.
He thought he was lucky. Not only did he enter the capital smoothly, he also bribed the palace guards and led people into the palace in disguise, and then entered Lian Zong's bedroom as he knew the whole place.
"Father, your son is here to save you." Seeing Lian Zong lying on the dragon bed, Ning Ze was filled with mixed feelings of sadness and joy.
"Woo woo woo woo" Hearing his voice, Lian Zong made faces vigorously, trying to say a complete sentence, but he was unable to do so.
"Father, please don't be impatient. If you have anything to say, wait until I take you out." Ning Ze said as he stepped forward. Suddenly, a large net fell from above, and before he could react, he was already trapped in it.
"Third Prince!" Ye Chengyun was planning to step forward, but was instantly surrounded by the Yulin Guards.
"Hahaha, Third Prince is a little late! I've been waiting for you." Ning Tai walked in with laughter.
Ning Ze glared at him and asked, "Did you let us in on purpose?" He still struggled in the net, but the more he struggled, the tighter the net tightened around him.
"Of course!" Ning Tai smiled complacently, "How else could you be fooled? How else could I possibly catch you in such a trap?"
"Did you harm our father like this?"
"So what? He's the one who's so ignorant of the current situation that he insists on passing the throne to you."
"You are plotting treason! You are committing regicide!" Ning Ze became even angrier.
"So what? From this moment on, you will have to bear the blame for treason and regicide." As he spoke, Ning Tai forcefully stuffed the poison he had prepared in advance into Lian Zong's mouth.
Lian Zong tried to vomit, but Ning Tai covered his mouth fiercely. He said coldly, "Father, you should rest in peace now that you have seen your beloved son before you die. By the way, you won't be alone on your journey to the underworld. I'll have my Third Brother and Consort Xian accompany you."
Then he gave the order: "Kill! Kill everyone without mercy!"
The first person to be killed was Ning Ze who was trapped in the big net. The one who fought to the end was Ye Chengyun. His body was full of holes and he had become a bloody man.
After the third prince, Ye Chengyun and others were all killed, Lian Zong spat out a mouthful of blood, stared at the third prince's body, and soon lost his breath, ending his life as an emperor.
Just as Ning Tai was sending someone to call several important officials of the court who had been arranged in advance to witness Ning Ze poisoning Lian Zong, and he was leading his men to kill Ning Ze and others, Queen Pei walked in from outside with another group of ministers.
"Mother, why are you here?" Ning Tai was a little surprised to see Empress Pei. "It's too bloody here. Please wait until I have dealt with it." The reason why he was surprised was that he was afraid that Empress Pei would do something bad, so he sent people to put her under house arrest in the palace.
Empress Pei's face turned pale as she said coldly, "If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have seen you poison the Emperor and kill the Third Prince and the others."
"Mother, you misunderstood," Ning Tai explained hastily. "It was my third brother who poisoned my father. I ordered his arrest, and he and his men resisted, leading to their execution."
"Really?" Empress Pei was clearly unconvinced. "Then why don't you ask the people around you to tell us what's going on?" She glanced around at the Imperial Guards present and demanded sharply, "Who's going to speak first?"
"I will speak first." Under the gaze of the crowd, the commander of the Imperial Guard, whom Ning Tai had always trusted, stepped forward and said, "It was the Crown Prince who set up a trap to lure the Third Prince into it. It was also the Crown Prince who poisoned the Emperor and wanted to pass the blame on to the Third Prince!"
"The commander is right, it was all done by the prince!" someone echoed.
"Yes, it was all done by the prince!" More people echoed.
"You...you, you are talking nonsense!" What Ning Tai wanted to ask more was why this group of people turned against him at this time.
"Prince, do you have anything else to say?" Queen Pei's tone became even colder.
"Mother, I was wrongly accused! It was my Third Brother who killed my father, not me!"
"It's useless to say anything now! Come, bring the Crown Prince and the others to me!"
"Yes, sir!" Along with this voice, a man dressed in black, wearing a black cloak and a silver hollow mask slowly walked in with his men.
"Is this the deputy commander of the Dark Forest Guard?" Some people whispered when they saw his attire.
"Yes, this is the deputy commander of the Dark Forest Guard."
Pei Xuanqing ignored what these people were saying and said to Ning Tai, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, I'm sorry!" Then he waved his hand and several masters of the Dark Forest Guard stepped forward and captured Ning Tai and others in one fell swoop.
He had actually been in Beijing for a few days, and the person Ning Tai sent to hunt him and Ji Yun was none other than the former commander of the Dark Forest Guard, Han Jun.
It was also because of him that Pei Xuanqing used the Dark Forest Guard's unique communication methods to find several former Dark Forest Guards and persuade them to rebel. He also learned from these people the ambush location of the Han army and others, which made it easy to break their ambush and completely kill the bandits.
It is said that those thieves were originally Zheng Xincheng's men, but after Zheng Xincheng was arrested, they switched to Ningtai. They originally thought they could rise to prominence through this, but ended up being killed by the sword.
Pei Xuanqing then sent people to catch the remaining thieves through those who instigated the rebellion. At this point, the case of the disappearance of decent women in various places was completely resolved.
Compared to Ning Ze who had to bribe the guards to enter the palace, it was easy for Pei Xuanqing as the deputy commander of the Dark Forest Guard, so he also contacted Queen Pei easily.
"Queen, the country cannot be without a king for a day. Who should be appointed as the new king in this situation?" At this moment, a minister made a suggestion.
Lian Zong was quite pitiful. No one cared about his death as an emperor. Instead, everyone cared more about who would become the next emperor.
"When the emperor was alive, he did have his preference for the third prince. Unfortunately, the third prince is dead, so we can only choose from the remaining princes." Without waiting for anyone to urge her, Empress Pei quickly gave the answer.
"The Emperor said before his death that the remaining older princes were not up to the task, so we can only choose from among the younger princes. I prefer the Tenth Prince, Ning Xu. What do you all think?"
"The tenth prince is five years old this year. Isn't he too young?" This choice was beyond everyone's expectations.
"Ning Xu is indeed young, so I propose to appoint Pei Xuanqing as regent to assist the new emperor in managing state affairs." Queen Pei once again dropped a bombshell.
"Pei Xuanqing? He's young and inexperienced, and he's in the Northern Frontier. I think the Queen should reconsider." Someone else voiced even more doubt. Apparently, they thought the Queen was appointed Regent because Pei Xuanqing was a member of the Pei family.
After Empress Pei looked over, Pei Xuanqing said, "Who said I was in the northern border?" After that, he took off the silver mask to reveal a beautiful face like a banished immortal.
"You are actually the deputy commander of the Dark Forest Guard?"
"That's right," Pei Xuanqing acknowledged with a nod. "The Dark Forest Guard currently has no leader. This Deputy Commander is fully responsible." This time, with a narrow escape, the situation was saved only with the antidote Wan Xueying had prepared. He paused before continuing, "Regarding my inexperience, I also have something to say."
After everyone looked over, a smile appeared on his lips, and he ordered the Dark Forest Guards he had brought with him, "Come here! Take all the ministers away! Release them when they figure it out. Otherwise, they will all be treated as Ning Tai's accomplices!"
"Follow the deputy commander's order!" The Yulin Guards acted quickly and soon covered the mouths of the ministers and took them away.
"Aunt!" After there were only a few people left in the room, Pei Xuanqing bowed deeply to Queen Pei.
"Alright, I've done what you asked me to do. I'm tired, so I'll leave this to you."
"Take care, aunt!"
Empress Pei cast a deep glance at Pei Xuanqing, wanting to say something, but ultimately sighed and turned away. She never once glanced at Emperor Lianzong, who lay dying on the dragon bed.
But Pei Xuanqing understood what Empress Pei wanted to say. It was nothing more than treating Princess Mingxia well.
For the sake of Empress Pei, he would not take action against Princess Mingxia or even the Dexing Marquisate for the time being. However, if they still harbored rebellious intentions, they would be killed sooner or later.
It would be a big mistake to say that it was so easy for Pei Xuanqing to take power. It took Ji Yun, Shen Yu and others nearly three years to help him barely stabilize the situation inside and outside the court.
Just before Pei Xuanqing was about to appoint Shen Yu as the Minister of Revenue and take over the cabinet, Shen Yu approached Pei Xuanqing.
"What? You plan to resign?" Entering the cabinet is what many people dream of. Pei Xuanqing did not expect that Shen Yu would choose to resign at this time.
"Yes," Shen Yu said firmly, "I have no interest in this matter. I beg the Regent to approve this request."
"What is your ambition?" Pei Xuanqing asked with interest.
"Retire to the countryside with Xueying and live a pastoral life." After several years of construction, the new city has begun to take shape. He wants to go there with Wan Xueying as soon as possible to live a free and leisurely life.
However, in order to avoid attracting the attention of other countries, they never clearly stated what they were going to build there. Outsiders still thought they were simply clearing the land, building houses, workshops, and doing business to make money, just like when they first arrived in the northern border.
"I won't allow it! Why do you want to go back and enjoy yourself after only two years, while I have to work so hard here to help the emperor defend his kingdom." Pei Xuanqing felt a little regretful. If he had known that being the regent was so difficult, he should not have had such big ambitions in the beginning.
It was also his bad luck. In recent years, disasters had occurred continuously in the Great Yan Dynasty and the treasury was empty. No matter how diligent he was and how many decrees he issued to benefit the people, he was powerless to reverse the situation.
He even clearly felt that Dayan was just struggling to survive, but he refused to surrender or give up, wanting to fight against the heavens.
"Your Highness, please agree to this. Maybe one day when you are tired, you can come and live a pastoral life with us." This meant that Pei Xuanqing should leave a way out for himself.
Shen Yu was so determined to come to Pei Xuanqing to resign because Wan Xueying had been thinking about the possibility of chaos in the world. If that were the case, Pei Xuanqing's fate might not be good.
In any case, Pei Xuanqing was moved by Shen Yu's words and approved his resignation.
In the end, Shen Yu shamelessly asked him for a title, because he didn't want Wan Xueying to return to Northern Frontier and be humble in front of other ladies.
Considering the immense assistance Shen Yu and his wife had provided him over the years, Pei Xuanqing generously granted Shen Yu the title of Duke of Ping. However, he granted him no hereditary status, no salary, and no real power. He also bestowed upon Wan Xueying the title of First-Rank Imperial Consort. Few in the Great Yan Dynasty dared to flaunt their status in front of the couple.
No sooner had they received the imperial edict granting them the title than Shen Yu and his wife came to express their gratitude and bid farewell. Pei Xuanqing was so angry that he almost laughed. It was absolutely impossible for them to say that they hadn't planned this in advance.
In a fit of anger, he didn't go to see them off. However, Xue Lingyue, the regent princess, accompanied Wan Xueying and the others until they were outside the city.
"After this separation, I don't know when we will meet again." Xue Lingyue held Wan Xueying's hand and said goodbye reluctantly.
Wan Xueying smiled and consoled him, "Maybe we'll be back in Beijing soon. After all, we still have some business here." Compared to her other businesses, the business in Beijing was just a drop in the bucket, dispensable. In fact, they wouldn't easily return to Beijing unless absolutely necessary.
"Then if you come back, you must come to the palace to see me." Xue Lingyue held her hand and was still reluctant to let her go.
"Of course. By the way, you're pregnant again, so just send her here. Otherwise, if the prince blames me, I won't be able to bear the consequences."
Xue Lingyue was lucky, having given birth to a boy last year. She was recently diagnosed with pregnancy, and her position in the Prince Regent's Palace was quite secure.
"Speaking of which, you know medicine, and you have Doctor Lu to help you, so how come you haven't seen anything after being married for so many years?"
After Pei Xuanqing became regent, he issued an imperial decree of amnesty in the name of the new emperor. Not only were the crimes of Imperial Physician Lu and his daughter pardoned, but Imperial Physician Lu was also reinstated as Imperial Physician because of his assistance to Pei Xuanqing. However, he refused to enter the palace and remained in Northern Frontier.
Wan Xueying smiled and whispered to Xue Lingyue, "Shh! I'm actually two months pregnant. I'm afraid Shen Yu will wait until I give birth before leaving the capital, so I haven't told him yet."
"Aren't you afraid that something might happen to the child?" Although it was intentional, Xue Lingyue vaguely remembered the pain she felt when she lost her first child.
"It's okay, I can feel that he is fine." This child must be a lucky little star. The moment the pregnancy was diagnosed, the spatial barrier of the Tree of Life, which had been silent for many years, was suddenly broken, and it did not stop expanding until it expanded to ten times its original size.
This time, Wan Xueying and Shen Yu left Beijing and put almost all valuable and useful things into the space of the Tree of Life.
With the constant nourishment of vitality, Wan Xueying could feel that the little life was very energetic, and she did not feel any discomfort.
Regarding the space of the Tree of Life, the couple had a tacit understanding about it and no one talked about the space.
"Then you must be careful on the road." As a mother, Xue Lingyue now felt that nothing was more important than her child, and even Pei Xuanqing had to take a back seat. She also took things in the backyard much less seriously than before.
It should be said that since Pei Xuanqing became the regent, there have been more and more women in the backyard. As long as no one can threaten her position, she always turns a blind eye to those women's nonsense.
"Okay, I will." Although they were reluctant, Wan Xueying and Shen Yu still left.
Although they mostly walked on official roads along the way, some of the routes they took during their exile inevitably overlapped with the ones they took during their exile, which made the couple feel a lot of emotion.
When passing Fengyang Ridge, Wan Xueying glanced at the path of the Emperor's ancestor's spirit and said, "I didn't know where it was back then.
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