Concubine Mei immediately sent a letter to Prince Chen, and he received it in the evening.
After reading the letter, Prince Chen's face turned serious. He felt that he had made a mistake.
He had always believed that the emperor intended to pass the throne to Xie Yunxiu, but it turned out that he didn't. He wanted to pass the throne to someone else. This person was far away, Xie Yunqi, the one he had once paid the least attention to and thought had been kicked out long ago.
Prince Chen was not a fool. If the person Emperor Zhao wanted to pass the throne to was Xie Yunqi, then everything he did would become natural.
Going to the fiefdom was not to disqualify Xie Yunqi, but to protect him. However, Xie Yunqi was not as simple as Prince Chen imagined. He made him mistakenly believe that Emperor Zhao wanted to pass the throne to Xie Yunxiu. He had been hiding behind him, watching him fall into the trap step by step.
King Chen couldn't help but admire this man for being so calculating!
After learning that Emperor Zhao was planning to cultivate someone else, Prince Chen spent a fortune to send someone to Lanzhou to assassinate Xie Yunqi. Not satisfied with this, he had his followers fabricate the fact that Xie Yunqi was planning a rebellion and write an impeachment memorial to Emperor Zhao.
After Emperor Zhao looked at it, he put it aside and ignored it.
His heart was as clear as a mirror, and he knew that some people could no longer restrain themselves from attacking Xie Yunqi. Unable to evade the attacks, neither could he bear the heavy burden. Emperor Zhao suppressed the matter and did not mention it for the time being.
That night, he went to see Concubine Lin.
Concubine Lin was so angry about the Lin family's broken engagement that if it weren't for the old lady, she would have wanted to cut off all ties with her family.
Knowing her son's unhappy life in Lanzhou, Concubine Lin was heartbroken. She went to Kunning Palace every day to complain, which made the Empress impatient. She confined Concubine Lin for a month to teach her a lesson.
Even in this situation where no one was around, Concubine Lin did not expect that Emperor Zhao would send her anything.
When Concubine Lin heard that the sweet potatoes were sent from Lanzhou, she cried with joy.
This wasn't a gift from Emperor Zhao, it was clearly from her beloved son. That day, Concubine Lin was both crying and laughing, and asked Fengchun to steam a few sweet potatoes to eat with her meal. Unexpectedly, this thing was quite delicious, sweet, soft, and tasty. It was really a good thing.
Concubine Lin took out a few and asked Fengchun to give them to Concubine Min, and she ate the rest one every day and became addicted to them.
After knowing that Xie Yunqi was safe, Concubine Lin was completely relieved.
She knew that Xie Yunqi was in trouble in Lanzhou, so she asked her followers to sell the shop and send the money to Xie Yunqi.
Concubine Lin had never expected that Emperor Zhao would come to see her. After paying her respects, Concubine Lin asked, "What does the Emperor want to see me about?"
"Why can't you come to Yongning Palace if you have nothing to do?" Emperor Zhao asked, "Are sweet potatoes delicious?"
"It is very delicious. Thank you, Your Majesty."
Emperor Zhao asked, "Has Qi'er contacted you?"
Concubine Lin shook her head. Since Xie Yunqi went to Lanzhou, she had only received a letter of greeting, and she learned other things from the Queen.
There is no mother in the world who doesn't miss her son. If possible, Concubine Lin wants to go to the fiefdom with Xie Yunqi so that the mother and son will have someone to rely on.
"Yin'er, do you blame me?"
Concubine Lin shook her head. "I dare not. I know Qi'er is stupid, and staying in the capital will do him no good. But I didn't expect there would be a drought in Lanzhou. If I had known, I would not have sent Qi'er to die."
Emperor Zhao laughed out loud. Lin Yin was the only one in the world who thought Xie Yunqi was stupid. Seeing her rare honesty, Emperor Zhao lowered his guard and said, "Someone has reported to me that the King of Qin has embezzled disaster relief funds and enriched himself."
"Your Majesty, Qi'er would never do such a disloyal and unrighteous thing." Concubine Lin knelt on the ground in fear and argued, "Qi'er sold all the belongings of the Qin Palace, even selling a few shops, and used the money to help Lanzhou with its urgent needs. The entire Qin Palace is now just an empty shell, and everything else has been pawned. If Qi'er really did something so cruel, why would he have ended up in such a tight financial situation?"
At this point, Concubine Lin wept. "I know the Emperor suspects Qi'er of rebellion, but in my opinion, Qi'er is too honest, which is why he's suffering so much. He should have just gone with the flow, waiting for Lord Qian to send money and food for emergency relief, with his subordinates taking care of everything. He, a prince, could still live a carefree life in his fiefdom. But he didn't. Not only did he donate all his belongings, he even mobilized local wealthy families to donate, and used the money to provide disaster relief. Although I don't understand state affairs, I know that people's livelihoods are the most valuable. The people benefit, and that's more important than anything else."
"You are so brave, you dare to say anything." Emperor Zhao sighed and said, "Get up."
Concubine Lin's eyes were slightly red, and she quickly wiped away her tears with a handkerchief. "I know that the emperor won't listen to one side of the story. As long as the emperor still trusts me and Qi'er, that's enough. I'll be satisfied."
"Do you think Qi'er can become the crown prince?"
Concubine Lin shook her head. "I dare not discuss political affairs."
"I allow you to say it."
Concubine Lin continued to shake her head, not daring to speak out. Emperor Zhaodi thought that the only person in the entire harem who dared to speak out was the Empress. Everyone else respected and feared him; no one dared to speak the truth to him. He, a lonely man, had truly done enough.
"I'll choose a marriage for Qi'er. I think the granddaughter of the Shen family is pretty good. If you like her, then we can arrange it."
Concubine Lin knelt down and kowtowed in thanks. "Your Majesty, I thank you."
Xu Jing, who was thousands of miles away, never imagined that not only did he not receive any reward from the emperor, but he was also struck by thunder.
The emperor wanted to force someone from Queen Shen's family to be his princess. The Lin family could still refuse, but the Shen family really couldn't.
Fortunately, Xu Jing had already laid a trap in the court. Whenever the emperor mentioned this matter, ministers would come to oppose it. Over time, Emperor Zhao also gave up the idea of finding a wife for Xu Jing and temporarily put his marriage on hold.
As time went by, the disaster slowly came to an end. Qian Huai also brought Zhou Siheng to say goodbye to Xu Jing, saying that they would be returning to Beijing the next day.
Xu Jing said goodbye with a smile, and that night they had a farewell dinner together.
After three rounds of drinking, Qian Huai and the others were all knocked down. Xu Jing asked his followers to help Qian Huai and Zhang Xin go back to rest. Only Zhou Siheng was left behind.
Zhou Siheng drank a glass of wine because he was weak, and now he is the only sober person in the whole banquet.
Winter passed, spring arrived, and the nights in the northwest remained uncharacteristically cold. He hadn't even taken off the cloak he'd brought with him for a month. Looking up, the bright moon hung on the branches, and the gentle breeze was a unique delight.
Xu Jing raised his glass towards Zhou Siheng and said, "We part today, and I don't know when we'll meet again. I wish you a bright future."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Now that there are no outsiders here, you can call me Mingji."
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