Chapter 145
He Ning's expression changed completely.
He was not a stupid person, but Jiang Qingning's meticulous analysis instantly shattered his youthful passion at first sight and his desire to express his stance.
He had vaguely sensed that Jiang Qingning was different before, but he had no idea that the woman in front of him could see so clearly.
Jiang Qingning looked at the shock in his eyes and resumed his cold and distant demeanor:
"So, Your Highness, which is more important, your sincerity or His Majesty's chess game? Is your so-called proposal of marriage a blessing or a curse for me?"
She smiled faintly, with a desolate look that seemed to show her understanding of the world:
"All under heaven belongs to the king. On this chessboard, you and I are mere pawns, helpless in our own ways. Your Highness, take care of yourself. Whether you marry or not is entirely up to you."
He Ning's expression became extremely solemn, and even revealed a hint of embarrassment as if he had been seen through.
His hands on his knees unconsciously tightened, his knuckles turning white.
For a moment, the only sound in the hall was the faint hustle and bustle of the street outside, which made the silence in the room even more deadening.
"piece……"
He Ning chuckled, "Miss Jiang, what you said is a bit too alarmist."
"My father has been guarding the northern border for decades, fighting bloody battles, just to protect the territory of the Great Zhou and keep the people safe.
Your Majesty has placed great trust in me and entrusted me with important tasks. This is the relationship between a monarch and his subjects. My He family has been loyal and righteous for generations, and heaven and earth can bear witness to this.
This time I came to the capital to serve the court, so how could I be a hostage or a pawn? As for asking to marry the girl."
He paused and looked at Jiang Qingning's cold profile with complicated eyes.
"Although I dare not say that I have no selfish motives, I am also sincere and willing to treat you as my wife and protect you."
"Zhongliang?"
The hint of sarcasm at the corner of Jiang Qingning's lips reappeared, and every word he said was like a knife, piercing He Ning.
"Your Highness, loyalty and righteousness are not something you can claim to be. Instead, it depends on what the emperor thinks and how the court changes."
She leaned forward slightly, her eyes as sharp as a hawk, locking onto He Ning's wavering expression:
"Your father, the King of Zhenbei, has made outstanding contributions. He commands a powerful army and guards the northern border. He is truly a pillar of the Great Zhou.
However, it has always been the case that great achievements will frighten the emperor. Your Highness, have you ever thought about why your father has been in the northern border for decades, but Your Majesty has never summoned him back to the capital to report on his work?
Why did His Majesty so eagerly issue an order to summon Your Highness back to the capital as soon as Your Highness came of age? It was called grace, but it was actually a form of restraint.
As long as your father is in the northern border, commanding a large force, your Highness will remain a hostage in the capital. If your father makes any unusual move, your Highness's life will be in danger. This is the first reason."
My father has not returned to Beijing for many years.
He had doubts when he was young, but he just thought it was because of the busy military affairs and the trust of His Majesty.
Later, after growing up and being taught by his military advisor, he finally faced the reality. But he did not expect that Jiang Qingning would expose his mistake so blatantly.
Jiang Qingning didn't give him a chance to breathe and continued:
"Secondly, is the war in the northern border really as dire as Your Highness knows, year after year, and is it true that your father is always at the helm?"
Without waiting for He Ning to answer, she asked and answered herself, "Although the Northern Di cavalry is strong, since your father took over, we have fought no less than a hundred battles, both large and small, and have already crippled their main force. The border line has been steadily advanced by a hundred miles.
In the past five years, has there been any real threat to the nation's foundation in the northern border? It's nothing more than small bands of harassing bandits. With your father's ability and the countless brave generals under his command, why would he need to be there at all times?
"Your Majesty has been refusing to summon your father back to the capital year after year, citing instability in the northern border. Your Highness, don't you understand the underlying purpose? It's not that he can't return, but that Your Majesty doesn't want him to, and certainly doesn't dare to let him return!"
"Third, Your Highness, do you think that His Majesty has appointed you as the Censor General, and that En En and Qin Xiu will jointly manage the prisons and enforce discipline? Does this mean that he truly values your abilities?"
She sneered, "I think that His Majesty values your status as the Prince of Zhenbei and puts you on the same level as Qin Xiu.
Qin Xiu has been in charge of the Ministry of Justice for many years. He is deeply rooted and has grown in power. Your Majesty has long been wary of him.
Now, I give Your Highness a position so that you can stand up against Qin Xiu in matters of criminal justice, so that you can restrain and consume each other.
His Majesty sits back and reaps the benefits, and from the moment you, He Ning, set foot in the capital, you have been the most prominent piece on His Majesty's chessboard, used to deal with the Qin family and balance the court."
"As for you proposing to me yesterday..."
Jiang Qingning's eyes swept across the dazzling betrothal gifts in the yard with a hint of cold pity.
"This is exactly what Your Majesty wants. I, Jiang Qingning, a woman who was expelled from the family, whose father and brother are in Lingnan, seemingly guilty but actually hold military power, and who has many entanglements with Qin Xiu, was publicly proposed to by you, the newly promoted prince who is used to check and balance the Qin family.
Your Highness, isn't this a brilliant move to push your Majesty's checks and balances to a climax? Your Majesty will be happy to see this happen, because once this marriage is successful, it will first be a heavy blow to Qin Xiu and the forces behind him.
Secondly, by pushing this trouble of mine onto your He family, Your Majesty can not only appease the father and brother in Lingnan, but also use my father and brother to contain your He family, and further push your He family completely into opposition with the Qin family.
Your He and Qin families, two powerful noble families holding heavy military power, will be at loggerheads from now on. Keeping each other in check, His Majesty can rest easy. And you, He Ning, are merely a carefully orchestrated pawn in His Majesty's chess game, helplessly forced to cross the river."
Loyal and good?
The king and his subjects confront each other?
Serve the court?
A young man's love at first sight?
It's all become a huge joke.
He Ning sat quietly in his original position, but a huge wave of emotions had already risen in his heart.
He thought Jiang Qingning was a woman without ambition, who only knew how to manage the inner chambers or do business.
He never imagined that the woman before him actually understood strategy, military tactics, and the art of checks and balances as an emperor.
His proud identity as the prince of Zhenbei Palace was a sword hanging over his father's head.
His newly acquired high position and noble title were poison bait used by the emperor to stir up internal strife.
He thought his proposal was frank, but it pushed himself and the entire Zhenbei Palace into the center of the arena carefully designed by the emperor.
Jiang Qingning saw all of this clearly, making He Ning mistakenly believe that he was just a puppet, and every step he took was calculated by others.
He stared at Jiang Qingning, who was still sitting upright with a cold expression, and said in a cold voice:
"How could you know all this? How could a girl like you, a girl from the boudoir, understand the secrets of the court and the mind of the emperor?"
Jiang Qingning's heart skipped a beat. The court situation she had spent the whole night thinking about didn't seem to convince He Ning at all.
He seemed to be more sensible than she thought, and perhaps all of this was under He Ning's control, just like following his chess game.
Perhaps, the only variable is that she can't tell for sure.
Jiang Qingning met his scrutinizing gaze calmly, without any evasion:
"Your Highness, have you forgotten? My father was once a frontier general that Your Majesty relied on, and my brother Jiang Qinghuai was also a young talent.
If it weren't for the infighting and constant framing at court, how could the eldest branch of the Jiang family be expelled from the ancestral temple, and my father and brother be exiled to a remote, smoky land, their lives uncertain?"
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