Chapter 454 Making Two-Way Preparations
The sun had completely sunk behind the western mountains, and night began to fall. The unlit room was empty and silent, yet somewhat oppressive. The woman, once radiant in her crimson robes, now looked as withered and faded as a flower battered by frost.
Zhu Junning didn't know how long she had been sitting there. The door was pushed open, and the teahouse owner's voice came, bringing her back to her senses. She waved for the owner to leave, and then, holding onto the armrest of the chair, she used some effort to stand up.
His gaze lingered on Xie Ning'an's former seat for a moment before he composed himself, straightened his back, and strode out. Back at the Lingnan Prince's residence, as soon as he entered the gate, the Prince's personal attendants greeted him, "Princess, the Prince has been waiting for you."
Zhu Junning nodded, his expression remaining calm as he walked towards the Prince of Lingnan's courtyard. Just as he reached the study door, the Prince of Lingnan's voice came from inside, "Junning is back? Come in quickly."
Zhu Junning took a deep breath silently, then stepped inside. Upon reaching the King of Lingnan, she curtsied, "Father."
The Prince of Lingnan stared at her intently for a moment, then waved his hand to dismiss her formalities, and asked, "How was it?"
Zhu Junning stood with her back slightly bent and truthfully recounted her meeting with Xie Ning'an. The more the Prince of Lingnan listened, the darker his expression became. By the time she finished, his face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
"Foolish!" The King of Lingnan's voice was cold and stern as he rebuked, "The matter of the bronze plaque is a top secret, not a single word of which should be revealed to outsiders, yet you personally handed it over to Xie Ning'an!"
Zhu Junning immediately lifted her robe and knelt on the ground, saying, "Daughter knows her mistake."
The Prince of Lingnan looked down at her coldly without speaking. Zhu Junning clenched her fist and explained, "Xie Ning'an is no ordinary person. If I were to trade him for something ordinary, he simply wouldn't accept it. And given his current situation, leaving the capital and leaving Daqian is what he needs most. So..."
Zhu Junning placed his hands on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "In short, it's all my daughter's fault."
The Prince of Lingnan stared at her for a moment longer before sighing. Compared to Xie Ning'an, this daughter was far inferior, let alone compared to Jiang Yu. He said wearily, "Get up and sit down."
Zhu Junning stood up, but didn't dare to sit down. The Prince of Lingnan glanced at her and said, "How much of what Xie Ning'an said do you think is true and how much is false?"
Zhu Junning lowered his head and pondered for a while before asking, "Does Father think that Xie Ning'an and Jiang Yu can trust each other?"
The King of Lingnan frowned, then said with certainty, "Definitely not."
The Xie family fell to Jiang Yu, who later took over their money shops and trading companies. Further restructuring was implemented to eliminate the Xie family's influence in these businesses. Xie Ning'an, under duress, had no choice but to cooperate with Jiang Yu in all of this.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Xie Ning'an and Jiang Yu have a blood feud, so how could the two of them trust each other? In fact, given Jiang Yu's ruthless style, once the reform is over and Xie Ning'an is no longer useful, it would be better for her to eliminate Xie Ning'an and the remaining weak forces of the Xie family.
With Xie Ning'an's intelligence, how could he not have thought of this?
Thinking of this, the expression on his face softened a bit. He then waved for Zhu Junning to sit down and said, "Xie Ning'an and Jiang Yu are mortal enemies. Your analysis that Xie Ning'an wants to leave Da Gan is correct. Only by leaving Da Gan can the Xie family have a chance to become a powerful family again."
“Therefore, I believe that Xie Ning’an’s words are at least 70% true.” Zhu Junning walked to a chair and sat down. The Lingnan King’s affirmation of her analysis restored some of her confidence.
At this moment, the Prince of Lingnan turned to look at her and asked, "Xie Ning'an said that only 30 million taels of silver flowed into the national treasury in the past six months, and that Prince Rui consumed a large amount of silver in researching and manufacturing firearms. Is that true?"
"My daughter believes that Jiang Yu's claim of 80 million taels of silver flowing into the national treasury in six months is definitely an exaggeration. As for whether the figure of 30 million is correct or not, it's hard to say."
Zhu Junning clasped her hands tightly together, frowned, and pondered for a while before saying, "But I believe it is true that what Xie Ning'an said about Prince Rui consuming a lot of silver in researching and manufacturing firearms is true."
She repeated Xie Ning'an's analysis from that time, and then said, "I think Xie Ning'an's analysis is correct. If such powerful firearms could be researched and manufactured so easily, then the world would have had such weapons long ago."
The Prince of Lingnan nodded in agreement, "In other words, the imperial treasury is not particularly abundant. And they don't have many powerful firearms at their disposal."
Zhu Junning frowned again upon hearing this. She said, "Even so, if the court goes to war with us without considering the consequences, we have no chance of winning."
The King of Lingnan narrowed his eyes, his lips pressed into a straight line, and the armrests of his chair creaked under his grip. He sat there coldly and solemnly for a long time before his voice finally rang out, "If I were the emperor, I would definitely seize this opportunity to take over Lingnan. The more depleted the national treasury and the less firearms we have, the more we should take over Lingnan in one fell swoop."
Zhu Junning's hands clenched tightly as he stared at the Prince of Lingnan and asked, "Father, do you intend to use your last trump card?"
The Prince of Lingnan did not answer her question. Instead, he relaxed and leaned back in his chair, saying in a leisurely voice, "I submitted the memorial requesting to leave the capital, but the emperor has not yet replied. I suppose he will soon find a reason to keep us in Shangjing."
"What reason do you think the emperor will give?" Zhu Junning asked.
The Prince of Lingnan shook his head. "If the Empress Dowager were to pass away, he could use the excuse of keeping vigil for her. But now, although the Empress Dowager is in poor health, it seems she can live for a few more days."
Zhu Junning lowered her eyes upon hearing this. She thought of what Xie Ning'an had said: because the Empress Dowager was seriously ill, Grand Tutor Yan's granddaughter might marry Prince Rui as a concubine.
"If all else fails, we'll leave secretly," Zhu Junning asked tentatively.
The Prince of Lingnan remained silent and did not reply to her. After a while, he said, "Make preparations for both possibilities. I will arrange a meeting with your great-uncle as soon as possible. You should reassure your grandmother."
"Yes." Zhu Junning stood up and said, "I'll go to my grandmother's place now."
“No need for that,” the King of Lingnan said with a look of pity. “Neither Xie Ning’an nor Jiang Yu are easy to deal with. You must be careful in the future.”
As Zhu Junning lowered her eyes, her fingertips secretly pinched her cuffs. Her tone deepened, filled with shame: "It was my daughter who miscalculated and unnecessarily revealed her weakness."
The Prince of Lingnan nodded and waved for her to go back and rest. Zhu Junning pursed her lips, bowed, and turned to leave, but when she looked up, she couldn't hide the resentment in her eyes, her gaze slightly tense. She was unwilling to be led by Xie Ning'an this time, yet she had to admit that she had indeed made a bad move.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
