Thinking of this, Pei Yuan walked to Murong Qing's carriage, clasped his hands in greeting to the person inside, and said, "I am Pei Yuan, son of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. I have come here by imperial decree to welcome Your Highness the Princess. The inn has been prepared. I will take you there now. If Your Highness needs anything, please tell me. I will do my best to arrange it for you."
Ye Zemin pouted and whispered to Ye Zeyu, "Look at his official robes, he's clearly a seventh-rank official in the Ministry of Rites, yet he keeps talking about being the son of a minister!"
And this sycophantic behavior is a disgrace to the State of Qi! It is precisely because our State of Qi has such weak civil officials that we only defend and never attack, failing to annex Northern Yan in one fell swoop!
During his time in the military camp, Ye Zeming had already considered himself a military officer and instinctively looked down on civil officials.
Ye Ziyu found it amusing, but he agreed with Ye Zeming's words.
Those civil officials in the court who advocated peace had been kneeling for so long that they had become accustomed to it, forgetting that they were the victors.
Now that Northern Yan is on its last legs, they have no reason to take the Northern Yan delegation seriously.
If Northern Yan is not convinced, then let's fight again!
Such groveling will only embolden the arrogance of Northern Yan and disregard the soldiers and civilians who have died at the hands of Northern Yan over the past decades!
Sure enough, after hearing Pei Yuan's words, Murong Qing felt much better. She reached out from the carriage and slowly lifted the curtain, revealing her stunningly beautiful face.
Pei Yuan stared at the beauty in the carriage, almost forgetting to breathe.
Rumor has it that the Northern Yan princess is incomparably beautiful. I thought it was an exaggeration, but it turns out that the reputation is well-deserved!
Even if all the dark spots on Miss Shen's face were removed, she still wouldn't be as beautiful as one-tenth of Princess Beiyan.
As Pei Yuan looked at Murong Qing, Murong Qing was also sizing up Pei Yuan.
He was handsome and refined in his speech. If Ye Ziyu were like that, she certainly wouldn't be so averse to him.
She subconsciously glanced at Ye Ziyu, but seeing no reaction from him, her resentment intensified. After taking a deep breath, she smiled brightly and said meaningfully to Pei Yuan, "If this princess feels lonely, how about I have you keep me company later? I wonder if this young master Pei would be willing?"
Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan's Adam's apple bobbed. Looking at Murong Qing's beautiful face, he swallowed hard, then clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your Highness is too kind."
Ye Ziyu, not wanting to linger any longer, interrupted the ambiguous atmosphere between Murong Qing and Pei Yuan.
"Now that the delegation has entered the city, the remaining matters will be handled by the Ministry of Rites. I will take my leave first!"
Having said that, he rode his horse toward the palace, with Ye Zeming following closely behind.
Ye Ziyu's actions were originally out of impatience, but in Murong Qing's eyes, they were interpreted as a sign of jealousy.
Her red lips curled into a smug smile.
She knew it; how could any man not like her beauty? It seemed that Ye Ziyu's previous behavior towards her was just an act for everyone else.
Oh!
Ye Zeyu was anxious to go to the palace to report back so that he could see Su Muxi as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, after returning from his mission at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he encountered Consort Zhang on his way to the Empress Dowager's palace.
Ye Zeyu intended to walk past without glancing at her, but then he heard Consort Zhang hurriedly say, "Your Highness, I have a way to help you ascend the throne and clear Prince Yu's name!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Ziyu stopped and tilted his head to look down at Zhang Cairen.
"Do you know what you just said? I will pretend I didn't hear it."
Since they were still inside the palace, Consort Zhang didn't know whether they were friend or foe, so it was best to be cautious.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, he saw Zhang Cairen reach out to pull his sleeve, so he quickly raised his hand to dodge, staring coldly at Zhang Cairen, waiting for her next move.
Seeing Ye Zeyu's wary gaze, Zhang Tong stamped her foot anxiously and whispered, "I really want to help you! If you don't believe me, you should at least believe my dad! This isn't the place to talk, let's go over there."
As he spoke, he stretched out his palm and continued to say to Ye Ziyu, "Five minutes, just give me five minutes!"
Although Ye Zeyu didn't know how long five minutes was, he was willing to go with Zhang Cairen to the artificial hill to see what she had to say and whether she was friend or foe.
"Okay, you go first."
Zhang Tong was overjoyed to see Ye Zeyu agree and happily headed towards a hidden artificial hill not far away.
She originally thought that her uniqueness would surely attract Ye Zeyu's attention.
Unexpectedly, Ye Zeyu never gave her a second glance during their several meetings, so she decided to start by getting close to the Empress Dowager.
It is said that the reason Ye Zeyu asked the emperor to marry Su Muxi was because Su Muxi had saved the Empress Dowager and was deeply favored by her.
Just when she thought she had won the Empress Dowager's favor and trust, the Empress Dowager suddenly became wary of her, which made her feel frustrated and anxious at the same time.
Her current body has been in the palace for some time now. She has made many excuses to refuse to serve the emperor. If she can't find a chance to leave the palace soon, she may eventually have to serve that old man Ye Jingchun!
After much thought, she concluded that the reason the Empress Dowager was wary of her must be because Su Muxi had said something to her.
And this morning too, Su Muxi ostensibly said that she saw her complexion was not good and wanted to take her pulse, but in reality she wanted to tell the Empress Dowager that her intentions were not pure.
After hearing about Su Muxi's affair with the Marquis of Anyang's mansion, I initially felt quite sorry for her, but now it seems that she was too naive and kind.
Ugly people are often mischievous; this saying is certainly not without merit!
Since that's the case, she decided to be direct.
As a member of the royal family, Ye Zeyu ultimately values nothing more than power. Su Muxi can't give Ye Zeyu anything, but she can give him everything he wants!
After arriving at the artificial hill, Zhang Tong quickly explained its value.
"Your Highness, although I have lived a secluded life for a long time, I have a very capable master who has taught me many things."
"I can make something called a cannon, which can destroy a city in an instant. And landmines, siege engines, repeating crossbows..."
Ye Zeyu listened to what Zhang Cai said, his eyes filled with surprise.
If they could really make these things, the State of Qi would be able to sweep across the entire continent and achieve a great unification that has not been seen in a century!
Seeing the incredulous look in Ye Zeyu's eyes, Zhang Tong couldn't help but feel a little smug.
She knows so many things!
"Not only that, I can also make crystal-clear glass, soap that can clean away dirt, and perfume that leaves a lasting fragrance..."
"While accumulating wealth from all over the world, we can also improve Qi's iron forging technology and so on, making Qi a world leader for hundreds of years—that's absolutely no problem!"
Ye Zeyu gradually concealed the surprise in his eyes, looked at Zhang Tong, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What are the conditions?"
The two were not related and had no close relationship. Zhang Cairen would not help him for no reason; she must have something in mind.
Zhang Tong looked up at Ye Zeyu, her face full of shyness.
"If you can help me fake my death and leave the palace, I am willing to help you conquer the world and become your empress!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
