This thought flashed through his mind, and Qin Shuhuai put away his thoughts. He looked at the woman in front of him, raised her hand to her forehead, and prostrated herself on the ground respectfully: "Greetings, Brother Wang."

They were cousins ​​six generations apart. Because they were so distant, they should probably be counted from Qin Shuhuai's grandfather's grandfather. So when Qin Peng called him that, Qin Shuhuai didn't react for a moment. He frowned, and after a moment, he slowly said, "I've seen the princess."

Outside, Chun Su closed the door at Qin Peng's signal, leaving Qin Peng and Qin Shuhuai alone in the room. Qin Shuhuai walked forward, lifted his coat, and knelt down opposite Qin Peng.

His face was expressionless and he showed no emotion. Qin Peng didn't know when Qin Shuhuai became like this. In her memory, when she first met Qin Shuhuai, he was still a very talkative teenager. In the early years after she and he got married, he almost never slept every night and was tossing and turning.

Even after all the hard work, he didn't feel tired at all. He held her hand and had countless things to say.

She had been with him for twelve years, even though they had met less often. But as his third wife, she knew him better than anyone else. But now, facing him, looking at him kneeling in front of her, holding the teacup calmly with a calm demeanor, his face no longer childish, she suddenly realized that it had been almost seven years since she had looked at him so carefully. Seven years was enough to change a person beyond recognition. The young man who loved to laugh and talk had become the calm and peaceful King of Huai'an.

"Princess, what do you want to say to me?"

Qin Peng kept looking at him, which made Qin Shuhuai feel a little uncomfortable. He raised his eyelids and met the other person's gaze. Qin Peng put his thoughts on the current matter and smiled and said, "I asked you to come here mainly because of the Sixteenth Prince. The Sixteenth Prince is my brother. Now the prince wants to take Ah Ming away. I don't know why."

Qin Peng was going around in circles with Qin Shuhuai and had prepared his words in his mind, intending to let Qin Shuhuai weigh the pros and cons and not do anything stupid that would ruin all the princes' ascension to the throne.

Putting aside other things, Qin Peng is Wei Yan's sister-in-law and Qin Ming's biological sister. What would Wei Yan think if someone wanted to kill Qin Ming?

Qin Peng knew that Qin Shuhuai was not someone who didn't care about the people. She had grasped Qin Shuhuai's weakness, and the only thing left was how to bring it up. She had prepared all of Qin Shuhuai's responses, but she never thought that after Qin Shuhuai took a sip of tea, he said directly: "Now that your majesty's children have all died in the palace riot, only the sixteenth prince is left, who is the blood of the royal family. Naturally, I will welcome the sixteenth prince back to inherit the throne."

Upon hearing this, Qin Peng was stunned on the spot.

She thought Qin Shuhuai had prepared a lot of words, just wanting to take Qin Ming away and kill him quietly, not giving Qin Ming any chance to ascend the throne. Who knew that Qin Shuhuai would ascend the throne as soon as he opened his mouth? !

Qin Peng's heart was beating wildly, but she remained calm. She drank a sip of tea to calm down and continued, "My brother is also of royal blood, and is the legitimate heir of Emperor Jing. Why doesn't my brother declare himself emperor?"

Qin Shuhuai remained calm, and said with a loyal and patriotic look: "Uncle Wang has been so kind to me, how can I not treat my brothers well after Uncle Wang passed away?"

"Besides," Qin Shuhuai raised his eyes to look at Qin Peng, with a mocking smile on his face, "Looking at what the princess meant today, she was ready to say goodbye and persuade me. Now it's just you and me, why does the princess have to pretend?"

"Now that His Majesty's descendants are only the sixteenth prince, I have no choice. If the princess is willing today, then she can go back to the palace with me. I will ask the Ministry of Rites to prepare and everyone will be happy. If the princess is not willing..." Qin Shuhuai paused and looked up at Qin Peng. Qin Peng smiled and said nothing, but he already understood what Qin Shuhuai meant.

"If you don't want to," Qin Peng said with a cold smile, "From now on, there will be no Fourth Princess. Is that what you mean, my brother?"

"Wei Yan is still at the border, and it will take more than half a month for him to arrive here. Even if Wei Yan and I come into conflict, I am not afraid. The most important thing is that the princess is so confident, will Wei Yan help her?"

Qin Shuhuai hit the nail on the head.

Wei Yan is just as powerful as him. After the dust has settled, Qin Ming has also ascended the throne. Will Wei Yan fight Qin Shuhuai for a dead sister-in-law?

Not to mention that Qin Peng and Wei Yan themselves did not have much intersection. Even if they did, a man like Wei Yan, who supported an entire family alone, was definitely not such an impulsive person.

Qin Peng was not ungrateful. Her original intention was just to persuade Qin Shuhuai not to kill Qin Ming and ascend the throne herself. Now that Qin Shuhuai had no such intention, she would not interfere. So she bowed and said, "Thank you for your care in the future, brother."

"Then," Qin Shuhuai stood up, his face calm, "I will congratulate the Princess first."

"Thank you, my brother. I would like to congratulate you in advance."

Neither of them said what they were congratulating, but they both knew it.

When the youngest son ascends to the throne, people like Qin Shuhuai will naturally become the actual person in power.

But all these are things of the past. Now that the current issue has been resolved, Qin Peng feels relieved. He said to Chun Su, "Pack up and prepare to go down the mountain and enter the palace."

He raised his head and said to Qiu Su, "Go and bring Xiao Ming over here so I can take a look."

After a while, Qiu Su brought Qin Ming in, and Dong You and Chun Su went to pack their luggage.

Qin Ming is only eight years old now. He looks rather thin, but his facial features are very delicate, and he is somewhat similar to Qin Peng.

Although their mother was dull and of humble origin, she was an absolute beauty. That was why, despite her temperament and background, she was favored twice in succession.

Both the sister and the brother inherited the good qualities of their parents, especially Qin Peng. As a girl, her appearance is so beautiful that she is absolutely flawless.

Although Qin Ming has not yet opened his eyes, he is already a beautiful baby with delicate and exquisite figure.

This reminded Qin Peng of Zhao Yu back then. Zhao Yu was the same, very good-looking since she was young. She had a hard time in the cold palace when she was young. Zhao Yu had a weak personality and often hid behind Zhao Peng, timidly calling out, "Sister, forget it, forget it."

But once something really happened or a fight broke out, Zhao Yu would protect Zhao Peng like a mad puppy.

Thinking of Zhao Yu in the past and looking at Qin Ming in front of her, Qin Peng's heart softened a lot. She held Qin Ming's hand, and Qin Ming shrank back in fear. Qin Peng smiled softly: "Don't be afraid, I'm your sister."

Qin Ming raised his eyes cautiously. He looked so timid, obviously he was not having a good time in the imperial mausoleum. Qin Peng raised his hand to touch his hair, feeling a little sad: "I will take care of you and protect you in the future. You can tell me what you want, what you want to eat, and what you want to play. No one can bully you, understand?"

Qin Ming didn't dare to speak, but he was obviously moved by these words. Qin Peng said patiently: "Call me sister."

Qin Ming opened his mouth and called out softly, like a cat meowing, "Sister."

At this time, Chun Su and Dong You had packed up their things. Qin Peng was a simple person before, so he didn't have many things in Huguo Temple. Chun Su reminded Qin Peng, "Master, it's ready."

Qin Peng nodded, pulled Qin Ming up, and said, "Let's go."

The group got on the carriage and Qin Shuhuai sent them back. Qin Peng was teasing Qin Ming all the way. When they arrived at the palace, Qin Ming completely let go and called her "sister" sweetly.

Qin Shuhuai noticed the change in Qin Ming. He cast his gaze on Qin Peng's face without leaving a trace. Seeing the gentle and patient smile on Qin Peng's face, he paused for a moment, and then retracted his gaze.

Jiang Chun came over and asked Qin Shuhuai, "What are you looking at, sir?"

Qin Shuhuai did not respond. He walked towards Yu's study and ordered, "Let the six ministers come to see him."

"Sir..." Jiang Chun hesitated: "The new emperor has not been established yet, it would be a bad idea for you to summon someone to the Shangshufang, right?"

"The new emperor has not been established yet," Qin Shuhuai said with murderous intent in his voice, "but it's time for me to take my place."

After hearing what Qin Shuhuai said, Jiang Chun immediately understood what Qin Shuhuai meant.

The emperor gave Qin Ming, but the power in the court would not be transferred. Yu's study summoned the six ministers, just to announce to the world who is the real power in the court now.

"And," Qin Shuhuai suddenly remembered, "Did you send the message I asked you to send to Wei Yan last night?"

Jiang Chun nodded: "Don't worry, sir. The news of summoning Wei Yan back to the capital has been sent out. It was also announced when Madam Wei was seriously ill."

Qin Shuhuai nodded, his face grim: "Get the men ready."

When Qin Shuhuai went to work in Yu's study, Qin Peng took Qin Ming back to the harem. As soon as they entered the palace, a woman in blue clothes rushed over, pulled Qin Ming into her arms, and asked anxiously: "Is Ming'er okay? Is he injured?"

Qin Peng looked at the woman in front of him, his hands clasped in his sleeves, and waited quietly for the woman to finish the examination. After Qin Ming was relieved, he spoke calmly: "Mother."

When the woman heard her daughter calling her, she raised her head impatiently and looked Qin Peng up and down. She found that Qin Peng was wearing gorgeous clothes and a golden hairpin on his head. She was immediately dissatisfied: "You dressed so grandly to enter the palace today, but let Ming'er dress so shabby. You only care about yourself to make others look good, but you don't think that he will be the emperor in the future. I'm afraid that if you dress like this to enter the palace, people will look down on you! You are my sister, and you still need to rely on Ming'er in the future. Why do you do this?"

Qin Peng didn't say anything. She was not surprised at all that Miss Shu said that.

Lady Shu's original name was Li Shu. She was born in the countryside. She entered the palace for money when the palace was recruited from outside. She was favored by Qin Wenxuan because of her face and "frankness". She has never had any etiquette.

Although Zhao Peng's mother was also a palace maid, she was from a noble family. She was banished to the palace as a slave after her father committed a crime. The two had completely different backgrounds, so the children they raised were naturally different.

People in the countryside value boys more. Although Qin Peng was raised earlier, he is not as important as Qin Ming in Li Shu's heart. This is why Qin Peng did not contact Li Shu for many years after Qin Ming was born.

Listening to Li Shu's words at this moment, Qin Peng was too lazy to respond and said directly: "Then let someone in the palace take Xiao Ming to familiarize herself with it. Mother, let's discuss the rest first."

Hearing this, Li Shu felt a little strange.

In my memory, Qin Peng was always timid and submissive. If he had been scolded like this in the past, he would have had red eyes and left in tears.

But now, this daughter not only did not cry or make a fuss, but was calm and discussed the funeral arrangements.

But even though it was strange, Li Shu didn't think much of it. After all, people change. She and Qin Peng had hardly seen each other in these years, and she had no idea what her daughter had been through. Now that she had stopped crying, it was a good thing.

She nodded and had Qin Ming taken away. Then she stood up and said, imitating the empress she had seen before, "Peng'er, Ming'er will be His Majesty in the future. As a princess, you cannot call him by his name. Remember to call him His Majesty. Forget it today, but if you call him that again in the future, you will be punished according to palace rules."

After hearing this, Qin Peng sneered inwardly.

She followed Li Shu to her seat, and when she saw Li Shu sitting down, she spoke directly, "Qin Shuhuai, what are you going to do?"

Li Shu's hand holding the teacup trembled in fear, and the water scalded the back of her hand. She looked up anxiously: "You are asking for death, why did you mention him!"