Chapter 243 Your burden is heavy.
Song Zhimian was very surprised that Xiao Huaijin didn't go back.
A prince left on the border, with 300,000 southwestern troops by his side—if this were any other emperor, he would surely be losing sleep!
"Afraid I'll become too powerful with my troops? If I really had that in mind, why would I bother with all this? I'd just go straight back to the capital."
My father and elder sister sent me several letters, all urging me to bring them back to the capital once the matter in Biao Kingdom was resolved.
Do you think I don't know? If I go back, my brother, the Crown Prince, will quit everything and do nothing, and then Father will appoint me as the Crown Prince.
Then he would find some time to take the Crown Prince on a trip, leaving me in the capital to worry about everything.
I wouldn't be that stupid!
It's quite good in the southwest. Every now and then, I can lead troops out to fight. It's much better than reading memorials in the capital.
Besides, I have a legitimate reason for doing so.
Within the territory of Biao Kingdom, various forces are now entangled, and it's a constant struggle of one attacking the other.
The Southwest Army must have mediated this process!
Uncle Nine is the commander of the Southwest Army. Any troop movement in the Southwest Army must go through him. But if it happens too often, some people in the capital will inevitably say some unpleasant things.
With me here, everything can be done in my name.
After all, when I came to the Southwest, my father gave me a secret letter and an imperial gold medal.
Therefore, I will not return to the capital until a successor has been chosen.” Xiao Huaijin went on and on about his rambling.
Song Zhimian remained silent for a long time.
The Xiao imperial family...
There was something about it that she couldn't understand.
In other countries, the struggle for the throne is so fierce that it leaves corpses strewn across the land. Take, for example, the Kingdom of Biao right before our eyes…
Wasn't the downfall of the Biao Kingdom ultimately caused by the throne?
In less than half a year, the Biao Kingdom was destroyed.
But what about Dayu? It seems that no one cares much about the throne; in fact, they treat it like a hot potato.
Who would have thought that a prince would stay on the frontier to avoid becoming crown prince?
Seeing that Song Zhimian remained silent, Xiao Huaijin quickly chuckled.
"Actually, you don't need to worry about me. I quite like staying here. Don't worry, I won't stay at the border forever and never go back."
"As soon as the crown prince is decided in the capital, I will return immediately."
Song Zhimian chuckled twice.
A fifth-rank female official worrying about a prince? How could that be?
"Well... Your Highness knows what's going on, so I won't say anything more."
However, I believe Your Highness will definitely be a very good prince.
"And also... Your Highness, tell me, who will His Majesty choose as the Crown Prince?" Song Zhimin blinked her big eyes at Xiao Huaijin.
Xiao Huaijin made Song Zhimin feel a little uncomfortable.
He coughed lightly before saying, "Who should I choose? It's either Jue-ge'er or my eldest sister, who else could it be?"
Song Zhimian, no matter who you choose, you'll have plenty of work to do when you get back.
So, you still have a heavy burden on your shoulders!
Song Zhimian was shocked once again.
She could think of choosing the youngest grandson of the emperor as the crown prince, but Lord Ye…
"You mean His Majesty will consider making Lady Ye the Crown Princess?" Song Zhimian lowered her voice.
Xiao Huaijin felt that Song Zhimin was being a bit too cautious. Was it impossible for his elder sister to become the crown princess?
"What? You don't believe me?" Xiao Huaijin asked with a smile.
Song Zhimian nodded honestly.
Regardless of the dynasty, the idea of a woman becoming emperor... well, everyone was extremely opposed to it, okay?
Even though the Great Yu was already quite open-minded, with women holding official positions, engaging in commerce, or doing other things, becoming an empress... was still a bit difficult.
"I also know that it would have been very difficult for women to govern in other dynasties."
But in the Great Yu Dynasty, on my father's side...
If the eldest sister wanted to be the emperor, the father would definitely pass the throne to her without hesitation.
The key issue is that the eldest sister doesn't want to be the eldest.
The eldest sister only cared about the accounts; she wanted to settle all the accounts in Dayu clearly, thinking that no one in Dayu would dare to falsify the accounts.
"So, as long as my elder sister wants to be the emperor, she can be the emperor!" Xiao Huaijin said slowly.
Song Zhimian thought about it carefully, that Lord Ye...
Indeed, all she cared about were the account books. Every time I went to see Lord Ye, she was always holding account books...
“Lord Ye… has the people in his heart, he is a good man!” Song Zhimian said honestly.
Xiao Huaijin smiled in response.
"My eldest sister is definitely a good person, Song Zhimian, do you know? When I was little, the first time I met my eldest sister, she beat me up."
Back then, I was naughty and rode a eunuch like a horse, which my older sister saw.
My elder sister got angry right away. She pushed me off the eunuch's back, hit me a few times, and scolded me, saying that I shouldn't have humiliated people.
I was furious. I thought to myself, I'm a prince, the favorite child of my father and my elder brother, the crown prince, and I was actually hit by a girl...
I went to complain to my father, but... I got kicked by my father again.
That's when I learned that my eldest sister was the emperor's most beloved child.
Later... I found that my older sister was a good person; she remained calm no matter what happened.
When Tong Shiqing broke off the engagement and ran off to Princess Jia Hui, I really wanted to twist his head off.
But the eldest sister said that if there's no fate between us, there's no fate between us, and there's no need to force it.
That's when I realized that my older sister had far more to say than we thought.
At seventeen, she managed to take control of the Censorate, which had been in disarray for almost ten years. My elder sister is someone with big things on her mind…
Xiao Huaijin went on and on about Ye Yunshu.
Song Zhimian also felt a little regretful.
If only there were a pot of wine in front of me, I could take this opportunity to get Prince Qi to drink a few more cups, and maybe he would say more about Lord Ye!
...
Two days later, Song Zhimian received an imperial decree from the capital.
Let her take Xiao Jingjue and the twelfth prince back to the capital.
Xiao Huaijin gave him a separate imperial edict.
As for what was written on the imperial edict for Xiao Huaijin, no one else knew. In any case, Xiao Huaijin's expression was a bit conflicted after reading the edict, but also somewhat relieved.
Soon, Song Zhimian led Xiao Jingjue and the twelfth prince towards the capital.
Along with Song Zhimian and her group, fifteen large carts carrying treasures obtained from the royal family of the Kingdom of Biao were also sent back to the capital.
In addition, there were five cartloads of gifts that Xiao Huaijin had helped Song Zhimin prepare for those people in the capital.
Besides the Imperial Guards, Song Zhimin was protected by a Southwest Army cavalry force that had been on the battlefield and experienced fierce fighting.
And so, after a long journey of about twenty days, the grand convoy finally returned to the capital before the Lunar New Year...
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