Chapter 43 Princess Zhaoqing
Xue Qi was also stunned when he heard Chi Li's almost prophetic words.
Do I really have to place my bet on Zhao Mingyue? Is Zhao Mingyue really the benefactor my master mentioned?
She really doubted it. After all, in her opinion, assisting Zhao Mingyue to ascend to the throne was much more difficult than persuading Queen Mother Chi to rebel.
But she is already 24 years old. If she rejects this opportunity, how many more 24 years will she have to wait and miss?
Xue Qi didn't think for long before raising his head. "If I dare to gamble, Your Majesty, could you tell me what the chances of winning are?"
Chi Qi didn't look at her, but just looked at Zhao Mingyue intently, patting her shoulders with her fingers intermittently, as if she was comforting a cat.
But her voice was surprisingly cold, "Chance of winning? There is no chance of winning at all. Does Xue Siji have to get other people's guarantees before he dares to do anything?"
Xue Qi stood there in a daze, then started laughing.
Yes, didn't she know long ago that wanting to reform and overthrow this world where men are superior to women is an unprecedented and hopeless thing?
More importantly, she had to do it. Even if she failed, at least she had tried it.
Now that there is such an opportunity in front of her, why does she hesitate?
"I understand your majesty's intention. I am willing to assist the princess until death."
A paranoid smile flashed in her eyes as calm as water. After lurking in the palace for so many years, she finally waited for it.
This opportunity belongs to her.
————
"Where is Princess Zhaoqing?"
Zhen Ruicai came to Princess Zhaoqing's mansion with a few of his men. The captain of the guard at the door immediately saluted when he saw him.
"Your Excellency, Princess Zhaoqing has already returned to her palace. Don't worry, I'll be here to guard it and make sure not even a fly gets out!"
The captain of the guard's boast did not make Zhen Ruicai look at him with high regard. Zhen Ruicai snorted coldly, asked the door to be opened, and strode into the mansion.
When I arrived at Princess Zhaoqing's residence and walked into the yard, I saw Zhao Yuzhang leaning on the railing, holding a wine jug in his hand and several more piled at his feet.
Zhen Ruicai leaned against the gate of the courtyard, not moving forward. He perfunctorily bowed and called out, "Greetings, Princess Sister-in-law."
Zhao Yuzhang immediately raised his head. His eyes were hazy from drunkenness a moment ago, but when he saw it was him, his eyes suddenly became fierce. "Zhen Ruicai, did you come here specifically to die?"
Seeing her cold and stern expression, Zhen Rui couldn't help but sigh, "Sister-in-law Princess, how come you've been in this mansion for five years and still have such a stubborn temper? Haven't you learned enough?"
Zhao Yuzhang sneered, "You came here just to talk nonsense?"
Zhen Ruicai looked at her, and suddenly his mouth opened wide, laughing loudly: "Zhao Yuzhang, I came here just to see you in such pain! You drink all day to drown your sorrows, you must be feeling bad, but when I see you feeling bad, I feel better too!"
Zhao Yuzhang suddenly stood up straight and stared at him, his dark eyes dull and lifeless.
Zhen Ruicai was startled. What did she want to do?
Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and Zhao Yuzhang raised his hand and smashed the wine bottle on the railing, splashing wine and porcelain pieces everywhere.
Holding a piece of sharp-edged porcelain in her hand, she walked slowly towards him.
Zhen Ruicai subconsciously took a step back. When he realized what was happening, he was quite annoyed. Why should he be afraid of her, Zhao Yuzhang? His face immediately turned stern again.
However, the men behind him had already understood Zhao Yuzhang's abilities, so they stepped forward quickly, drew their swords and blocked Zhao Yuzhang, preventing her from moving forward.
Zhao Yuzhang stopped, looked at him, and sneered, "You are still so afraid of death."
Zhen Ruicai's face darkened and he angrily said, "Zhao Yuzhang, what right do you have to say that I'm afraid of death? If I weren't afraid of death, I would have been killed by you in Tangzhou City just like my brother!"
When he thought of his powerful and outstanding brother who was forced to stay in the city and face the enemy's artillery fire because Zhao Yuzhang refused to abandon the city and escape, and eventually died, he wanted to kill Zhao Yuzhang!
But unfortunately! She was a princess, a royal noble, someone he couldn't kill no matter what!
Five years ago, King Motuo of Xiqi led his army south, burning, killing and looting along the way, and the people in the border areas suffered greatly.
At that time, he followed his brother to garrison Chengping Pass, but suffered successive defeats and had no choice but to retreat to Tangzhou City.
The isolated city was difficult to defend, and the imperial reinforcements were slow to arrive, so they soon ran out of ammunition and food.
Zhen Ruicai had long realized that the city could not be defended at all, so he urged his brother to take the main force and abandon the city and flee.
Who would have thought that Princess Zhaoqing, who had accompanied her husband to the throne, firmly opposed it and insisted on staying with the remaining soldiers, the elderly, the weak, women and children in the city.
So Zhen Ruicai had no choice but to lead his troops to escape and retreat back to Ningzhou.
But what he didn't expect was that Tangzhou City was actually defended!
No, it should not be said that we defended it, but that we conquered it.
Princess Zhaoqing was a madwoman. She directly opened the city gate and led the women's army composed of women and children in the city to fight behind the city.
If we lose, we will die, everyone will die!
But she won this battle.
After Zhen Ruicai received the news, he immediately borrowed troops from Ningzhou, returned to Tangzhou, and chased the defeated Xiqi army all the way, fighting fiercely and becoming famous in this battle.
But he was not happy because his brother Zhen Ruizhi could have survived.
But because of the mad Princess Zhaoqing, he died forever on the battlefield and could never come back!
He really hated it at that time.
Fortunately, the late emperor was wise and recalled Zhao Yuzhang and dismissed her female army.
Zhao Yuzhang was also seeking death by openly disobeying the late emperor and was eventually imprisoned in the princess's mansion.
Zhen Ruicai looked at Princess Zhaoqing, whose hair was disheveled and no longer as glorious as before, and said, "Princess Zhaoqing, do you know how much I hate you? You are still alive and well, but my brother is dead, without even a child to carry on the family line!"
Zhao Yuzhang clenched his hands suddenly, the porcelain shards cut his fingers, and blood dripped down.
She was unaware of this and stared at Zhen Ruicai with an ugly expression, anger that was difficult to conceal in her dark eyes.
Zhen Ruicai slowly began to laugh. "However, seeing how miserable you are now, I no longer hate you. Because, the one who defended Tangzhou City and was promoted to a higher position was me, Zhen Ruicai, while you, Zhao Yuzhang, can only rot and stink in this princess's mansion. Haha——"
The laughter stopped abruptly.
Zhao Yuzhang suddenly raised his hand, and broken porcelain pieces flew through the air like sharp arrows, quickly magnifying in Zhen Ruicai's eyes.
He dodged in a hurry, but was still too slow. His cheek suddenly hurt. He reached out and touched it, feeling a wound half a finger long. His finger was covered in red blood.
Zhen Ruicai was both angry and annoyed, "You——!"
"I said, I will kill you!" Zhao Yuzhang faced the knives in the hands of his soldiers and continued to approach him.
Zhen Ruicai was so frightened that he immediately stepped back, accidentally tripping over the threshold and almost falling.
He immediately said: "Close the door, let's go!"
His men immediately closed the gate and escorted him out of Princess Zhaoqing's mansion.
Only after leaving the princess's mansion did Zhen Rui's pounding heart slow down, and a hint of viciousness flashed in his eyes.
Now that the late emperor was gone, the person who was holding Princess Zhaoqing down was gone, and Princess Zhaoqing could not be kept. If he let her leave the princess's mansion, he would be doomed.
In this case, it is better to strike first!
————
On the other side, Chi Li was talking to Xue Qi and Zhao Mingyue when a palace servant came in to report.
"Your Majesty, Wu Shishu requests an audience."
Chi Qi raised her eyebrows. Wasn't Wu Wenxiu too diligent? As soon as he heard that Li Mian had fallen, he rushed to work?
"Let her in. And have lunch prepared. We'll eat here later."
She has been busy since morning and is hungry.
The palace maid agreed and retreated.
Seeing this, Xue Qi was about to stand up and say goodbye.
Chi Li waved her hand and said, "You don't have to leave. We've already caught up. Stay for dinner."
Xue Qi did not refuse, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
At this time, Wu Wenxiu walked in lightly and saluted Chi Lu and Zhao Mingyue.
Zhao Mingyue asked with concern: "Wu Shishu, are you feeling better?"
Wu Wenxiu didn't expect Zhao Mingyue to still remember her injury. She was grateful and said with a smile, "It wasn't a serious injury to begin with. It's all healed now. Thank you for your concern, Princess."
After he finished speaking, someone beside him said in a gentle voice, "Wu Shishu angrily rebuked Prime Minister Li in the court, showing his fearlessness and fearlessness in the face of power. I really admire him. It's true that hearing about him is believing. He is truly a dashing and heroic figure."
Wu Wenxiu turned her head and saw Xue Qi smiling at her. Her eyes widened immediately.
Chi Yan saw the clue and asked, "Why, hasn't Wu Shishu seen her?"
Before Wu Wenxiu could speak, Zhao Mingyue rushed in and said, "Wu Shishu, this person is my teacher now. She used to be the head of the Shangyi Bureau and she writes excellent articles. Your title of the most talented woman is in jeopardy!"
Wu Wenxiu shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. "Sister Wenqi was already famous for her poetry when she was ten years old. How can I compare to her?"
Xue Qi was stunned, frowned slightly, and looked at her carefully, "You are——"
Wu Wenxiu said excitedly, "Sister Wenqi, I am Wu Wenxiu, and Wu Yixian is my mother. Back then, my aunt sent you south to avoid disaster. How did you end up in the palace?"
Xue Qi suddenly realized, "It's my cousin Wenxiu! You changed your last name, I didn't recognize you at first."
Wu Wenxiu smiled awkwardly. She was still a baby at that time. After so many years, it would be strange if Xue Qi could recognize her.
The reason why she recognized Xue Qi was because of the two red moles at the corners of her mouth.
Who would have thought that sisters who had been separated for many years would meet in this palace.
However, in front of Empress Dowager Chi, the two of them couldn't reminisce about the past, so they said these two sentences and stopped.
Chi Yan, on the other hand, looked at them with great interest. "They do look somewhat alike. Xue Qi, to be honest, I still don't know your background. This is a good opportunity for you to share some of your background so that your students can get to know you better."
Zhao Mingyue nodded frantically beside him, but Xue Qi looked unusually embarrassed.
At this time, the palace maid came in and said that lunch was ready and placed in the outer room.
Chi Li stood up and walked outside. "Okay, let's talk while we eat."
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