Chapter 161 Seeking the Skin of a Tiger
In the private room of Yayun Pavilion
"Your humble servant pays respect to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"No need to be so polite, Prime Minister. Please take a seat."
Helian Chen picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Yun Qingshan himself, pushing it in front of him.
"Prime Minister, please try this. This is the new Longjing tea that was delivered to the palace this year."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
"To be honest, Prime Minister, ever since my father granted me and Yun Wei a marriage, I've been wanting to find a suitable time to meet with you and have a chat. After all, it won't be long before we're a family!"
"Your Highness is right. This humble servant also holds the same view. It is my daughter's blessing to have the honor of marrying Your Highness! It is also my humble servant's honor to have Your Highness's protection and blessing in the Prime Minister's Mansion in the future!"
Yun Qingshan's words successfully pleased Helian Chen, and Helian Chen looked at Yun Qingshan with a look of satisfaction.
"With the Prime Minister's words, I now know what's going on!
I, the Prime Minister, have invited you to the teahouse today to have a chat about the current situation in the court. What do you think about the marriage between Prince Yu and Princess Mingxi?
Although Princess Mingxi is not the Prime Minister's biological daughter, she is the third daughter of the Prime Minister's Mansion and grew up in the mansion. So I would like to ask your opinion, Prime Minister."
Yun Qingshan was silent for a moment, then stood up and knelt before Helian Chen, bowing solemnly to him.
"Your Highness, I solemnly promise you that I and the entire Prime Minister's Office are committed to serving Your Highness!
As for Yunli, oh no! Princess Mingxi no longer has anything to do with the Prime Minister's Mansion the moment she left it, so please rest assured, Your Highness, my loyalty to you is clear to all!"
"Haha~ Prime Minister, please stand up quickly! I'm not saying this to test you, I already know what you mean!
Today I want to discuss with you how to break the current situation."
Yun Qingshan stood up and sat back in his seat. After a moment's thought, he said, "To break the current situation, I believe it's about military power! The current situation is extremely unfavorable to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Prince Yu holds military power and is now married to the Lanxi Kingdom. If one day he joins forces with the Lanxi Kingdom to annex my Yueqi Kingdom, it will be too late to regret then..."
Helian Chen frowned: "This is what I thought in my heart, and so did my father. He wanted to take back the military power of Prince Yu several times, but Prince Yu always dealt with it. When he returned from the northwest, my father wanted to use his marriage contract with Yun Li as an excuse to take back the military power, but Yun Li suddenly became the Princess of Lan Xi Kingdom.
This put my father in a dilemma! In addition, Prince Yu told my father that he was able to defeat the Sangyou Kingdom this time because of the help of Princess Mingxi. The explosive weapons of the Lanxi Kingdom are very powerful. Without explosives, this victory would not have been easy...
So now it’s not right to take back the military power, nor is it right to not take it back… This is also a problem that is giving Father a headache.”
Yun Qingshan thought about it again and again, and said thoughtfully: "Your Highness, I have a plan. I wonder if it will work?"
Helian Chen's eyes flickered, and he said urgently: "Prime Minister Yun, have you come up with any solution? Tell me about it."
“Although Yunli is Princess Mingxi of Lanxi Country, her identity is only known to the public in Lanxi Country. But the people of Yueqi Country still know her as Yunli, the third daughter of the Prime Minister’s Mansion. Moreover, she has not changed her name to this day and still uses my surname Yun!
Therefore, I have the power to decide her marriage. If I had arranged a marriage for her before I knew her true identity and had already exchanged marriage certificates..."
When Helian Chen heard this, his eyes lit up instantly: "The Prime Minister wants to ruin her marriage with Prince Yu?"
"Yes, even if it doesn't work, I heard that the Queen Mother is against the marriage between Prince Yu and Princess Mingxi.
He secretly sent someone to investigate and learned that when the Queen Mother was in Jiangnan, she had chosen a woman for Prince Yu. That woman was the daughter of the Third Prince, Princess Zhaoxue!
It is said that Princess Zhaoxue accompanied the Queen Mother for three years in Jiangnan and had a deep relationship with her, so the Queen Mother intended to marry Princess Zhaoxue to Prince Yu.
Helian Chen frowned. "Princess Zhaoxue? The daughter of the Third Imperial Uncle! I almost forgot there was a Third Imperial Uncle. The Empress Dowager is really partial to him! Although the Third Imperial Uncle is in southern Xinjiang, far from the capital, he has at least 50,000 soldiers and horses. I don't know if he has secretly developed more troops and horses in recent years.
"Does the Empress Dowager think that the Crown Prince hasn't been cowardly enough? No, Zhao Xue absolutely cannot do that!"
"Your Highness, this is just a matter of authority. You and I are fueling this matter. It would be best if the Queen Mother stepped in. Compared to Princess Zhaoxue, Yunli is the greater threat!
Even if Prince Yu and Princess Zhaoxue are together, what about the Third Prince? I have to say something unpleasant. The emperor is far away and the princes who already have fiefs are not allowed to leave their fiefs without permission. Besides, the distance between Southern Xinjiang and the capital is even farther than that between the Northwestern border and the capital. If we rely on the Third Prince to succeed, it will be too late by the time he arrives!
Therefore, I feel that the Third Prince is nothing to be afraid of!"
Helian Chen thought for a moment and said, "What the Prime Minister said does make some sense, but I need to think carefully about this matter. Let's talk about Zhaoxue's matter after she arrives in the capital. As for Yunli's matter, the Prime Minister should handle it as soon as possible according to what you just said!"
"Yes! I obey your command! I will arrange it when I get back."
"Does the Prime Minister have any male candidates in mind?"
"Yes, he is my brother Weichen's son!"
"Oh? I haven't heard that the Prime Minister's Mansion has a big room?"
"I have an older brother and a younger brother. They are both in Wuzhou, Jiangnan. My brother has sent a letter saying that they will arrive in the capital in three days."
"Alright! Then I'll wait for the Prime Minister's good news! This time, no matter what, I can't separate Prince Yu and Yun Li, but I'm going to disgust them. Prime Minister, it's best if everyone knows about this!"
"Yes! I understand. I will never let His Royal Highness the Crown Prince down!"
…
After Helian Chen and Yun Qingshan finished their conversation, they went straight to the palace and came to the Queen's Fengyi Palace.
"Your son pays his respects to the Queen Mother."
"Is there something that brings you to the palace so late, Prince?"
Helian Chen nodded, and the Queen waved her hand to signal the maids and guards in the palace to leave.
After everyone left, Helian Chen told the Queen what he had just said to Yun Qingshan at Yayun Pavilion about the Queen Mother wanting to marry Zhaoxue to Prince Yu, and also told Yun Qingshan what he meant.
After a long while, the Queen sneered and said:
"Prince, why don't you take Zhaoxue into your palace?"
Helian Chen was slightly stunned: "What does the Queen Mother mean..."
"I know what Yun Qingshan, the old fox, is up to. He wants his daughter to be the Crown Princess, and he doesn't threaten her.
He wants to completely tie himself to the Crown Prince's Mansion, so that the Crown Prince can rely on the Prime Minister's Mansion as his greatest support!"
"That means Yun Cheng is very loyal to me."
The Queen glanced at the Crown Prince and said, "Crown Prince, you handle government affairs well, but you still need to learn more about how to control people and the art of maintaining balance as an emperor!
If the Crown Prince's Mansion is completely tied to the Prime Minister's Mansion, it will mean that the Prime Minister's Mansion can control you at any time. Do you understand what your mother said?"
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