Chapter 297 The Demonic Servant Who Brings Calamity to the Country
"I came to see you, of course." Li Yuanzhao ignored the mess on the floor and slowly walked to the bedside to sit down.
She reached out to wipe away the tears on his cheeks and asked, "Why are you crying so hard?"
Jue La Yun Dan turned her head away from her touch, "Go away, I don't want to see you."
Li Yuanzhao disregarded his overstepping of bounds and instead softened his tone, patiently asking, "Are you sad because your father passed away, or because I punished you today?"
Jue La Yun Dan became even angrier upon hearing this. She clearly knew everything, yet she still asked him.
He turned around abruptly and reached out to push Li Yuanzhao's shoulder. "Go away! Anyway, my father is gone, they all laugh at me, neglect me, and despise me. Even you don't want me anymore! I deserve to be here alone to die!"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Li Yuanzhao remained seated despite being pushed around. "When did I ever say I didn't want you?"
Jue La Yun Dan's eyes reddened even more, and she bit her lower lip fiercely, saying, "You're just like them! You only treated me as a hostage, and now that you've lost your support, you're too lazy to pretend anymore!"
Li Yuanzhao's expression turned slightly cold. "Yun Dan, there's a limit to how much you can mess around."
Jue La Yun Dan sensed the coldness in her words, but stubbornly turned her face away, refusing to back down.
Li Yuanzhao stood up abruptly. "Since you're in a bad mood, just stay in the palace and have some peace and quiet."
As Juela Yundan watched her retreating figure, he blurted out, "Now that you're leaving, don't ever set foot in Ningxiang Palace again!"
To everyone's surprise, Li Yuanzhao didn't even stop walking when he heard this.
This completely threw Jue La Yun Dan into a panic.
He jumped off the bed barefoot, caught up with Li Yuanzhao in a few steps, and grabbed his sleeve.
Li Yuanzhao then slowly turned his head, his gaze falling heavily on his face.
Jue La Yun Dan's eyes darted around, her previous arrogance vanishing instantly. She lowered her stance and cautiously probed, "You...you're really leaving..."
"Didn't you say you didn't want to see me?" Li Yuanzhao raised an eyebrow and asked.
Jue La Yun Dan muttered softly, "That was just something I said in anger, you...you can tell."
As he spoke, fearing that Li Yuanzhao might actually turn away and leave, he quickly grabbed her sleeve and pulled her to the bedside, forcibly pressing her back down to sit on the edge of the bed.
He sidled up to Li Yuanzhao, looking aggrieved, and whispered his reasons for being angry: "They were the ones who bullied me and mocked me in front of so many people, but you punished me too. It's not fair at all."
"Who can bully you?" Li Yuanzhao raised an eyebrow. "Besides, I didn't go to see anyone else, but I came to see you. Don't you understand why?"
Upon hearing this, Jue La Yun Dan felt much of her grievance dissipate.
He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately couldn't overcome the unease in his heart. He looked up at Li Yuanzhao and asked softly, "Will you always... treat me like this?"
Li Yuanzhao did not answer directly, but instead asked, "Why do you ask that?"
“I’m just a little scared.” Jue La Yun Dan lowered her eyes. “My father is gone, and I can’t go back to Tibet. I… I only have you left.”
Li Yuanzhao reached out and pulled him into his arms, gently patting his back. "Don't worry, as long as you obey me, I will always treat you like this."
“But, but your harem has so many people…” Jue La Yun Dan buried her face in the crook of her neck and said in a muffled voice.
"What are you saying?" Li Yuanzhao chuckled. "Have you ever seen an emperor whose harem only has one woman?"
"If that's really the case, then you shouldn't be in this harem."
After all, Pei Huaijin was the rightful husband.
Jue La Yun Dan realized she had misspoke and straightened up from her embrace.
But then, the tears in his eyes were replaced by another, deeper emotion.
“But my father died a terrible death.” His voice was filled with the pain of losing his father. “That woman, Yangjin, my father treated her like his own daughter. But what did she do? She repaid kindness with enmity, murdered her father, usurped the throne, and slaughtered our entire royal family…”
At this point, he could no longer hold back, his voice choked with emotion, and tears welled up in his eyes again.
Li Yuanzhao listened quietly, then suddenly asked, "You want revenge?"
"Of course I want to!" Jue La Yun Dan's eyes burned with fierce hatred. "I hate her to death! She killed my father and mother, and slaughtered all my brothers and sisters... If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have ended up as an orphan with no home!"
Li Yuanzhao's eyes darkened, and he slowly said, "Then I will help you take revenge."
Jue La Yun Dan was startled, almost thinking she had misheard: "Help me?"
Li Yuanzhao nodded.
Half a month later, an edict bearing the imperial seal of the Great Qi Dynasty, entitled "Edict to Punish Tibet," was promulgated throughout the land, officially declaring war on Tibet.
The edict not only explicitly stated that the Tibetans were inherently treacherous and fickle, but also that in recent years they had repeatedly raided our Hexi and Longyou regions, burning and looting cities and capturing our border people.
Furthermore, citing her royal status as the Tibetan prince Jue La Yun Dan, she accused Yang Jin of usurping the throne and usurping the title of king, and refused to recognize her as the Zanpu (king).
The Emperor of Qi, as the wife of the Tibetan prince, officially announced that Qi would act as the suzerain state to help the Tibetan prince restore his homeland.
He then appointed Shen Churong as the Grand Commander of the Luosuo Road Army, commanding six armies to set out immediately and pacify the Tubo.
The news caused an uproar in both the government and the public.
No one expected that the emperor would suddenly launch a war against Tibet for the sake of a concubine.
Before the imperial edict was issued, the anti-war veterans in the court had jointly submitted a memorial, earnestly advising the emperor countless times, stating that war would be a waste of resources and manpower, and might shake the foundation of the nation.
But Li Yuanzhao had made up her mind, and no matter how the ministers argued, they could not change her mind.
Now that the imperial edict has been issued and war is imminent, even though the officials and civil servants may harbor resentment, they dare not openly complain about the emperor.
Those ministers who were already afraid of war and craved peace could only vent all their resentment on Consort Chen.
In addition, the news of Jue La Yun Dan's arrogant and domineering behavior spread, so the court and the public condemned him as a "traitor to the country," a fox spirit who bewitched the emperor and disrupted the court, which caused the country to be in turmoil and the people to be plunged into war.
In teahouses and taverns, storytellers portrayed him as a vixen who bewitched the emperor.
At the Shilin Literary Gathering, poets wrote satirical poems such as "One laugh ignites the flames of war, another laugh leads to the collapse of mountains and rivers."
Amidst criticism from both the court and the public, Jue La Yundan viewed the war as proof of Li Yuanzhao's unique love for him.
So even though he has now been demoted to the rank of Beauty, he has become even more flamboyant in the palace.
For a time, no one in the harem dared to provoke him in the slightest.
Li Yuanzhao, however, had already devoted all his attention to the war.
She had planned to go to war with Tibet long ago.
Which emperor didn't yearn to expand his territory and achieve unparalleled feats?
Li Yuanzhao was no exception.
Over the years, Tibet has repeatedly broken agreements and harassed the borders of Daqi from time to time, which has long made her dissatisfied.
If she hadn't been busy purging the remnants of the rebels, stabilizing the court, and implementing new policies in the previous two years, leaving her no time to spare, she wouldn't have turned a blind eye to the provocations from Tibet and pretended to maintain a superficial peaceful coexistence with Yangjin.
She could see clearly that Yangjin was not someone who would willingly submit to the Great Qi.
Her current obsequious behavior towards the Great Qi is merely because Tibet has just experienced internal turmoil, its national strength is weak, and it urgently needs time to stabilize the situation.
Once Tibet has recovered and its military is strong, Yangjin will surely make a comeback and become the biggest threat to the border of Daqi.
Therefore, rather than passively waiting for them to launch a war.
Why not take the initiative and seize Tibet by surprise?
After two years of recuperation, the Great Qi Dynasty is now well-stocked with treasury, abundant food supplies, and strong military preparedness.
Tibet was at its weakest point after two years of internal strife.
Therefore, this is the best time to start a war.
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