Qin Shuhuai walked back into the house and sat back in the living room without saying anything.

The rain was pouring down, and he sat quietly, his mind blank.

There was chaos outside, but in Qin Shuhuai's heart, there was only the sound of rain. The troops he had transferred from the north entered Xuanjing, and now Xuanjing was in chaos, just like the palace chaos he had experienced two years ago.

Everyone in Xuanjing was in danger, and every household closed their doors, only hearing the sound of troops entering the city.

Jiang Chun and Zhao Yi stood at the door, not daring to speak. Zhao Yi wanted to ask Jiang Chun something, but did not dare to ask more.

Qin Shuhuai sat quietly, silent, as if thinking about something.

Not long after, hurried footsteps were heard outside. A eunuch holding a light was leading a child to the corridor in a hurry.

When Jiang Chun saw the man, his expression changed and he bowed and said, "Your Majesty!"

"Where's my sister?"

Qin Ming shouted anxiously, and when he came into the house, he saw Qin Shuhuai sitting in a daze. He raised his voice: "You didn't bring her back?!"

Qin Shuhuai raised his head and looked at Qin Ming. The young man in front of him looked anxious and angry. He said angrily: "I have already told you the location, why don't you bring her back?!"

Qin Shuhuai listened to Qin Ming's voice and slowly came back to his senses. His eyes fell on Qin Ming's anxious expression and he spoke calmly: "Your Majesty, do you know that the Northern Emperor wants to exchange the Sixteen Prefectures of Southern Yan for the princess?"

"Know."

Hearing this, Qin Ming's expression gradually turned cold. He clenched his fist and looked at Qin Shuhuai: "Are you also moved by him?"

Qin Shuhuai didn't say anything. Qin Ming angrily overturned everything on the table and said with rapid breathing: "Coward! Coward! You are all cowards!"

"You guys have run my Qi Kingdom like this," Qin Ming raised his hand and pointed at Qin Ming, tears welling up in his eyes, "Are you so cowardly that you want to trade a woman for the safety of a country?! You are shameless, but I want more!"

Qin Shuhuai looked up at Qin Ming. If he were still a teenager, he would probably applaud Qin Ming's words.

When I was a teenager, life seemed to be just words. For a word, I would risk my life and take revenge.

However, he was now 28 years old. He had seen life and death on the battlefield, he had seen civilians struggling, he had seen soldiers dying. He could no longer easily say like the young emperor that he wanted a soldier to sacrifice his life in exchange for the marriage of a princess.

He could only slowly say: "Your Majesty, Bei Yan is seeking marriage."

"Is my sister willing to marry me?!" Qin Ming looked at him coldly: "Only when she is willing can it be called begging. If you want to take her away whether she is willing or not, it is called robbing."

"The princess is unwilling," Qin Shuhuai controlled his emotions and tried to remain calm, "but the court officials may not be unwilling."

Qin Ming didn't say anything. He slowly calmed down. He looked at Qin Shuhuai with pity and sadness in his eyes. He took a deep breath and sat down cross-legged.

"Qin Shuhuai, I don't understand," he lowered his eyes and restrained himself: "You two obviously love each other so much, why don't you be together?"

Qin Shuhuai was slightly stunned when he heard Qin Ming's words.

Qin Ming turned his head. The baby fat on his face had disappeared, revealing lines, and he began to lose weight.

"You are obviously the regent king. Zhao Yu can be willful, why can't you? He has 500,000 soldiers stationed at the border, so just fight him! If he doesn't give you the sixteen states in the south of Yan, then take them away! Isn't this what you have come to this day for?"

"You know," Qin Ming couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Why am I here today?"

Qin Ming didn't say anything. He pursed his lips for a long time before finally saying, "I know about your affairs."

The young emperor's words were full of sighs: "Liu Shuyan once told me."

Qin Shuhuai raised his eyes to look at him, his gaze clear.

Qin Ming stared at Qin Shuhuai: "When you came back, it was your father who pitied your talent and forced you to take this path. You took this path just because you wanted to protect the people you wanted to protect one day, but why can't you do it now?"

Qin Ming's eyes were full of frankness when he spoke. Qin Shuhuai couldn't help but think of his uncle, the one who killed his father and saved Qi from the swamp, Qin Wenxuan.

In terms of seniority, Qin Wenxuan did attempt to usurp the throne, and in a sense, Qin Shuhuai should hate him.

But Qin Shuhuai did not hate him, because compared to the throne, Qin Shuhuai loved this country more.

"You know what?" Qin Shuhuai suddenly asked. Dong You came over and served them tea. Qin Shuhuai smiled with a nostalgic look in his eyes: "When I was very young, I was the prince."

Qin Ming nodded.

Now he finally stopped pretending to be stupid and stopped pretending to be the submissive emperor. Most people would have become nervous when facing Qin Shuhuai's words, but Qin Ming did not. He was very calm, as if he was really just talking about an ordinary past.

Qin Shuhuai looked at Qin Ming and said, "My mother once told me that as a prince, I should regard the country as my home. I may be without family in this life, and I may be lost and helpless, but I must understand that from the moment I was born into the Qin family, I have shouldered the responsibilities of a royal child."

"Xiaoming," Qin Shuhuai lowered his eyebrows, "It is precisely because I am the regent that I cannot act rashly. Even as powerful as the Tang Dynasty, Princess Wencheng married into the Tibetans. Compared with the stable lives of so many people, your sister and I are nothing."

When Qin Ming heard what Qin Shuhuai said, he was stunned.

His eyes were filled with surprise. After a long while, he slowly said, "You...aren't you unwilling to accept this?"

Qin Shuhuai smiled, with a hint of sadness in his eyes: "If she lives a good life, then I won't be unwilling."

Although he said this, Qin Ming clearly saw his clenched fists.

Qin Ming stopped talking. He took a deep breath and slowly raised his head: "Well, from today on, you are no longer the regent."

Qin Shuhuai was a little surprised. Qin Ming stood up and looked at him calmly: "You are no longer the prince, Qin Shuhuai. This Qi State and this world belong to me, so you don't need to carry the responsibility of this world, and you don't need to care about the people. This is my business."

"Now you are not even the regent, and the country has to take your wife to beg for his safety, Qin Shuhuai," Qin Ming looked up at him: "Shouldn't you try every possible way to save your wife?"

Qin Shuhuai trembled slightly, and Qin Ming continued: "The Sixteen Prefectures of Southern Yan are my business. Whether to go to war or not is also my business. Qin Shuhuai," Qin Ming approached him: "Hand over the power, I will take these responsibilities for you!"

Hearing this, Qin Shuhuai couldn't help laughing.

He looked up at the young man leaning in front of him with a determined look: "There are no childish people in the royal family." Qin Shuhuai couldn't help but sigh: "Your Majesty, you made me understand."

Qin Ming didn't answer him. He tensed up and said nervously, "I didn't lie to you. I hope you live a good life, sister."

"You don't understand," Qin Ming straightened up, "She is probably my only relative."

After listening to Qin Ming's words, how could Qin Shuhuai not understand?

"Are you going to attack the Queen Mother?"

Qin Ming did not respond, but turned around and said, "I will go find Wei Yan, and I will let Liu Shuyan explain everything else to you."

After saying that, Qin Ming walked out.

As soon as he walked out, Qin Shuhuai's eyes gradually focused. As the sound of rain outside grew heavier, he suddenly said, "Zhao Yi."

"exist."

"Get ready. I'm going to Beiyan to meet Xiahou Yan in one day."

Xiahou Yan, Bai Zhi's husband, was saved by Zhao Yu, grew up with Zhao Yu, and assisted Zhao Yu in ascending the throne. He is the legitimate son of Ningguo Hou and is now the Grand Marshal of the Northern Yan Army.

Hearing that Qin Shuhuai was going to Beiyan, Jiang Chun frowned: "Prince, what about Xuanjing?"

As they were talking, a report came from outside. Qin Shuhuai nodded, and Liu Shuyan appeared in front of Qin Shuhuai.

Liu Shuyan shook off the raindrops on his body and bowed respectfully to Qin Shuhuai.

Qin Shuhuai nodded, and Liu Shuyan came forward, knelt down, and said calmly: "I think the Regent Prince already knows the purpose of my visit."

"What is the plan of His Majesty, you, and Wei Yan?"

"The Regent should know that the Queen Mother and Zhang Ying are from the Wu tribe."

Qin Shuhuai nodded, without saying much, and poured tea for Liu Shuyan: "This chaos in the aristocratic families was planned by these two. These two colluded with Zhao Yu inside and outside, and sent my father as a lobbyist to incite the aristocratic families to kill you and the eldest princess in the name of clearing the emperor's side. The Queen Mother promised the aristocratic families that after she assists in the administration, she is willing to reshuffle the major aristocratic families and the royal family, and divide up the military forces, fiefdoms, and court positions in the hands of the Regent Prince."

Qin Shuhuai was not surprised by this. He nodded and said, "But this is not enough to make you rebel."

After all, Qin Shuhuai has more than 200,000 elite soldiers at the border, and Qin Peng is Wei Yan's sister-in-law. If the two of them join forces, how can this noble family dare to move?

"Zhao Yu provided them with military pay," Liu Shuyan took a sip of tea and spoke calmly, "and in exchange for the sixteen states of southern Yan, he kept Wei Yan neutral."

"When did this happen?"

"About," Liu Shuyan thought for a moment, "after Zhao Yu proposed marriage."

Qin Shuhuai thought about it and roughly understood the timeline of Zhao Yu's actions.

Zhao Yu probably began to plan and came to Qi shortly after he separated from them at the southern border.

He first used Liu Shiyun to frame Qin Peng, thinking that this would put Qin Peng in trouble, so that Qin Peng would voluntarily follow him back to Beiyan in order not to cause trouble for Qin Shuhuai. However, he never thought that the relationship between Qin Peng and Qin Shuhuai was so strong that Qin Peng was determined not to leave.

So Zhao Yu simply fanned the flames, letting Zhang Ying and Li Shu instigate Liu Shixuan to assassinate Qin Peng, and letting Qin Shuhuai let him take Qin Peng away out of the desire to protect Qin Peng.

Zhao Yu has always been a man who plans everything out. He was afraid that Qin Shuhuai would not agree, so in addition to this plan, he asked Zhang Ying to use Liu Shixuan to contact the aristocratic families and planned civil unrest in Qi.

Once Qin Shuhuai and the noble families went to war, Qi would suffer a great loss of national strength. Zhang Ying and Li Shu came to seek revenge on Qi, and after they came to power, they would certainly destroy Qi. So even if the Sixteen Prefectures of Southern Yan were given to Wei Yan, after Li Shu came to power, it might not be difficult for Zhao Yu to take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Southern Yan in the chaos.

Qin Shuhuai knew what happened, and after a moment of thinking, he understood: "So the reason why Wei Yan is with you is because Wei Yan knows that Zhang Ying and Li Shu are from the Wu tribe?"

"Yes," Liu Shuyan nodded, "It was only after His Majesty told me that I realized how serious the situation is. If Zhang Ying and Li Shu were just after power and the sixteen states of southern Yan, we might be able to tolerate a lot. But Li Shu never thought about power, she just wanted to destroy Qi."

"How are you connected to His Majesty?"

Qin Shuhuai listened quietly and blew away the tips of the tea leaves floating on the surface.

"My father came to me on behalf of Zhang Ying and asked me to join the war. I pretended to surrender and met His Majesty. His Majesty explained his intentions to me in private. The Liu family has been loyal to the emperor for generations, and this time is no exception."

"Your Majesty means," Liu Shuyan raised his eyes, a trace of struggle flashed in his eyes: "The Wu clan will eventually become a disaster, and we must eradicate the roots."

Qin Shuhuai nodded without making any statement. Liu Shuyan said anxiously, "Your Highness, the noble families are ready to make a move now under the persuasion of Zhang Ying, Li Shu and others. They are now stationed in Xuanjing with 5,000 troops secretly. I asked Wei Yan to bring some troops, but the southern army is still a long way from Xuanjing. Now Xuanjing is in chaos, and we can only rely on Your Highness!"

"You calculated very well."

Qin Shuhuai raised his eyes to look at Liu Shuyan and said calmly: "But I don't know how Your Majesty plans to deal with me afterwards?"

Liu Shuyan was stunned for a moment. Qin Shuhuai put down his teacup and said calmly, "Since Your Majesty usually pretends to be stupid, how can you allow others to sleep soundly beside your bed with such talent? Since Your Majesty asked you to tell me what to do, you should naturally tell me what to give me."

"His Majesty said," Liu Shuyan's eyes showed a struggle, "If you can save the princess, you can be allowed to be the prince consort and share the government with the princess. After he reaches the age of twenty, you two can retire to the mountains and forests, and he will give you a gold medal of immunity from death, and you will always be like real siblings."

Qin Ming saw it clearly.

Killing Qin Shuhuai is impossible, so now he wants to use Qin Shuhuai to fight against Zhang Ying and Li Shu.

The biggest constraint on Qin Shuhuai is actually Qin Peng. After all, Qin Peng is his biological sister, and with her presence, he can tie down Qin Shuhuai, the wolf.

Qin Ming had always asked him to rescue Qin Peng. On the one hand, maybe they really had a brother-sister relationship, but on the other hand, he was also planning to rescue Qin Peng to control him, or maybe it was Qin Shuhuai's best plan to die in Beiyan in order to save Qin Peng.

Qin Shuhuai didn't say anything. After a long while, he asked, "Tell me, if I wasn't there, would he have saved Peng Peng?"

Liu Shuyan remained silent for a long time before he said, "Your Majesty will probably avenge the princess."

Qin Shuhuai understood. He raised his eyes and looked at Liu Shuyan: "You won't persuade me this time?"

"I don't know." Liu Shuyan lowered his eyes: "I did what I could. If you want to save her as the Regent, I will support you. If you save her as a husband, I shouldn't support you."

Qin Shuhuai nodded, took a deep breath, stood up and said, "Let's go."

After saying that, he walked out of the room and said directly to Jiang Chun: "Call the troops and enter the palace."

On the other side, Qin Ming hurried back to the palace.

As soon as he entered the bedroom, he heard Li Shu's lazy voice: "My son, where have you been?"

Qin Ming froze for a moment, raised his head, and immediately put on a worried expression: "I... still want to ask about my sister's whereabouts."

"My son," Li Shu sighed, "Come here."

Qin Ming didn't move. His body trembled slightly, as if he understood what the past meant.

However, he didn't dare to resist. After Li Shu said "Hmm?", he took a deep breath, walked over and stopped in front of Li Shu.

Li Shu lay on the bed, looking at him calmly.

"Ming'er," she raised her hand and stroked his face, saying slowly, "Soon, this world will belong to our Wu clan. We can avenge the Qin family for annihilating our people!"

As she spoke, she had a look of satisfaction in her eyes: "My son, are you satisfied?"

"Mother..." Qin Ming's eyes were filled with anxiety: "I... am not also Qin..."

Before he could finish his words, Li Shu slapped him in the face. Qin Ming was unable to stand and fell to the ground. His handsome face was scratched by Li Shu's nails. Qin Ming covered his face with his hands in fear and did not dare to raise his head.

Li Shu walked towards Qin Ming, raised her hand to pinch his chin, and looked at him calmly.

"My son," Li Shu said with a chilling voice, "Mother told you not to mention the vile blood in your body."

Qin Ming's eyes were filled with struggle, and he said in a trembling voice: "Mother..."

"Be good," Li Shu said softly, holding his face in her hands. "Send Qin Shuhuai to the palace. Soon, everything will be over."

"Mother," Qin Ming whispered, "Now that this is over, I won't be punished anymore?"

"Yes." Li Shu was like a loving mother: "It's over. Your sins are atoned for."

Qin Ming nodded desperately: "Okay, mother, I will summon Qin Shuhuai in now!"

As he spoke, he propped himself up and said to the outside: "Dong You! Call Qin Shuhuai!"

The eunuch outside the station heard the emperor's words and bowed his head and said, "Yes."

As he said this, he hurried out and found a young eunuch: "Summon the Prince of Zheng to the palace, and then tell Lord Liu and General Wei to proceed according to the plan."

The young eunuch's breathing was disordered, but he forced himself to remain calm, nodded and said, "Master, don't worry."

After saying that, he turned and walked out.

The fierce wind and cold rain indicated that Xuanjing would be in chaos on this day.

When the whole Qi State was in chaos, Qin Peng followed Zhao Yu in the carriage and fell into a deep sleep.

She had caught a cold and was a little weak. After Zhao Yu gave her some medicine, he let her rest in the carriage, walking and stopping from time to time.

She had a high fever, and Zhao Yu stayed by her side all night without sleeping. Qin Peng woke up occasionally and saw that Zhao Yu had not closed her eyes. When she saw her looking at him, he anxiously asked, "What do you want?"

Qin Peng said nothing and just looked at him quietly.

After waking up, she felt much better and had some strength. Zhao Yu saw her staring at him blankly, and he couldn't help but frown. He touched her head and softened his voice: "Do you want some water?"

"I do not understand."

Qin Peng finally spoke.

Her voice was a little hoarse. Zhao Yu was stunned for a moment, then he lowered his eyes and asked her, "Do you want to sit up?"

Qin Peng coughed lightly, and Zhao Yu hurriedly helped her to calm down. She raised her hand to push him away and sat up by herself.

Zhao Yu was not annoyed, so he sat aside and said calmly: "Ask whatever you want to ask, I will answer you."

"I have too many questions." Qin Peng panted, "Why don't you tell me from the beginning."

Zhao Yu nodded, turned his head, looked at the swaying curtain outside, and said calmly: "This matter may have to be traced back to thirty years ago, when the Wu tribe was destroyed, and the Wu tribe's saint Wu Qin was hunted down by the Wu tribe when she was pregnant, and fled all the way to Beiyan."

"My mother was a concubine of Northern Yan at that time. She had been favored by the emperor for many years but had never gotten pregnant. At that time, she met Wu Qin by chance. Wu Qin begged my mother to save her and her daughter. She could find a way to make my mother pregnant."

"In order to find a place for her daughter, Wu Qin found a way to use medicine to make my mother feel pregnant, and then my mother pretended to be pregnant. At that time, my mother always hoped that Wu Qin gave birth to a boy, but..."

"She's a girl."

Qin Peng spoke calmly, and Zhao Yu nodded: "Yes, it's a daughter. So she became the first child my mother announced to the outside world, a princess. Wu Qin accompanied my mother to raise this child, and a year later, my mother became pregnant. Later, not long after I was born, Wu Qin finally died of her old illness. At that time, she thought that she had found the best destination for her daughter, the Princess of Beiyan, and probably no one would bully her in this life. Beiyan is such a powerful country, it will definitely protect her and let her grow up well."

After hearing these words, Qin Peng didn't know why, but he seemed to vaguely remember an outline.

She had once held her in her arms and asked her to call her "Mom". She was completely different from Wen Yuan, who raised her. Every word she spoke made Qin Peng feel warm.

Qin Peng felt a surge of sadness and it was difficult for him to speak: "And then?"

"But she didn't expect that Wen Yuan was such a fool. After she gave birth to the prince, she fought for favor and was banished to the cold palace. A woman who was banished to the cold palace will always miss the favor. She forgot her own child and just complained and cursed every day."

"So you and I grew up together. You probably don't know this," Zhao Yu laughed softly, "In fact, I always thought that we would be together for the rest of our lives. No matter what time it was, you would protect me and accompany me."

"When I was in the cold palace, I only had you," he looked up at her, as if he was about to cry: "Now I am 24 years old, but I always feel that I am still in the cold palace."

"Ayu..."

Qin Peng looked at him and felt as if her throat was blocked by something. Zhao Yu listened to her calling, turned her head and said, "My mother told me all this. She told me your life experience and your origins, and then told me that you are not my biological sister and that one day, you will leave me."

"Do you remember the Lantern Festival when I was ten years old?"

"I don't remember..."

Qin Peng spoke dryly, and Zhao Yu's eyes were full of the understanding that he had already guessed: "Yes, you don't remember. On the Lantern Festival of that year, I waited for you to come back and eat glutinous rice balls. But you made an appointment with Qin Shuhuai and secretly went out to see the lanterns. I cried and made a fuss, and my mother was annoyed, so she slapped me and told me that you are not my biological sister, how can I expect you to be good to me? Even if you are my biological sister, you will get married sooner or later."

"You're going to leave me eventually."

"I don't believe it. That night, I waited for you on the steps of the room. It snowed heavily that day, and I sat there counting, from one to one thousand, and then from one thousand to one. I didn't even know how long I counted, I just thought, why is the night so long, why haven't you come back yet?"

"Later, I finally heard that you were back," Zhao Yu seemed to be lost in memories, his eyes full of despair: "You came back with Qin Shuhuai. He urged you to go back, and you kept pestering him. I ran out, but I was frozen outside for too long, and my legs were numb. So I fell in front of you. When you carried me back, I kept crying. You asked me why I was crying, and I said that my mother said that you would not want me in the future."

"So you promised me that Yu is the most important person in your life. You will never leave me and you will stay with me forever."

"Do you think I want too much?"

Zhao Yu raised his eyes to look at her, frowning: "I don't ask for much, right? You want to marry Qin Shuhuai, I let you marry. You want to be with him, you want to have children, I also let you. But why do you still want to go with him?"

Zhao Yu approached her, with complex emotions in his eyes that Qin Peng could not understand.

It seems like I love it so much.

It seemed like he was extremely hateful.

"If you go to Nanqi, I will never see you again. If you go to Nanqi, what's the point of talking about companionship with me?! You said you would accompany me for the rest of my life, you said you would never leave me, you said I am the most important person in this life, but what happened?!"

"I cried and begged you, I knelt down and begged you, but you still left."

Zhao Yu held her hand, leaned on the edge of the bed, trembling, and stared at her.

"For Qin Shuhuai, you don't want me."

"So," Qin Peng finally understood, and she laughed out loud: "You killed me."

"I didn't mean to kill you."

"When you went to Nanqi, my spies had already heard the news. The Jiang family and the Southern Emperor were eyeing you covetously. I knew that your trip was likely to be dangerous, so I wanted to stop you. At this time, Li Shu asked Liu Shiyun to contact me."

"Why did they contact you?"

"They asked me for this letter. Liu Shiyun was good friends with Dong Wanyi. After she got the letter, she gave it to Dong Wanyi, who gave it to her father, who then gave it to Qin Wenxuan. As expected, this letter angered Qin Wenxuan, and he poisoned you."

Without asking Li Shu what this meant, Qin Peng roughly guessed it. She took a deep breath and told the truth she guessed: "So, Qin Wenxuan actually died at the hands of Qin Shuhuai."

“I think so.”

Zhao Yu chuckled: "He didn't let go of any of the people who attacked you back then. Qin Wenxuan had always been very kind to him and trusted him very much, but he still poisoned him in the end."

Qin Peng trembled slightly.

She understood that killing Qin Wenxuan might be the thing that Qin Shuhuai struggled the most.

Such a good emperor, such a good uncle to him, but Qin Shuhuai still chose to kill him for revenge.

It was because of that guilt that Qin Shuhuai did not kill Qin Ming to ascend the throne.

Even though he didn't know that she was Zhao Peng, he still chose to loyally assist Qin Ming and protect the Southern Qi Kingdom.

She nodded: "I see, what about you?"

Zhao Yu didn't say anything. Qin Peng looked up at him and said, "The Jiang family poisoned me. Qin Wenxuan sent Liu Shuyan to poison me. There are at least three kinds of poison in my body. The last poison was given by you, right?"

Hearing this, Zhao Yu laughed.

"Do you know the peculiarities of the witch saint?"

Qin Peng was stunned for a moment, and Zhao Yu continued, "As long as the witch saint is not pregnant, she will not die. After your mother died, you became the witch saint, and you would not die in the first place."

"I didn't think of killing you," he raised his hand and stroked her face, "I just want you to come back to me."

"I thought that after you died, you would be resurrected in your own body. So I tried every means to bring back your body."

“But I never thought about it,” Zhao Yu said, tears welling up in his eyes: “You didn’t come back.”

"I kept the body. I went to see it every day. I tried everything I could to keep it, but I couldn't."

"Qin Shuhuai was crazy during those six years, but do you think I was fine?"

"I'm crazy too. But I have to hold on. Because I know that my sister wants Ayu to be a good emperor. My sister loves Beiyan and its people deep down. I thought, if I become a good emperor, maybe one day when you come back, you will praise Ayu for doing a good job."

"But you finally came back, why didn't you come to see me?"

He buried his head in her palm and cried out in pain: "I have been looking for you, I have been looking for you!"