Chapter 287 Try to survive
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingtan remembered that when Zhao Yi went to the Qi family, he arranged for Jiang Chaolai to pass a message to her, saying that Prince Rui came to the Duke's Mansion to ask him about the loopholes in the Ministry of War.
Someone came to the palace to invite Zhao Yi into the palace at this time. Could it be that Prince Rui reported the affairs of the Ministry of War to Emperor Jing'an?
Shen Qingtan said seriously: "Manager Zhao, the Second Master is at the Qi family. Please send someone to the Qi family to invite the Second Master."
The manager was afraid of making mistakes, so he immediately arranged for a servant to go to Qi's house to look for Zhao Yi.
After Zhao Yi heard what was said, he took a carriage into the palace.
Eunuch Deng had been waiting at the palace gate for a long time. When he saw Zhao Yi coming, he hurriedly invited Zhao Yi to get into the sedan chair.
"Master Xiao Zhao, Prince Rui went to the palace. I don't know what happened that made the emperor furious."
Eunuch Deng hurriedly followed the sedan chair, speaking quickly, "The Emperor has had trouble sleeping at night, suffering from dizziness and headaches. The Imperial Physician said it was liver fire and urged the Emperor to take care of his health. The Emperor has been so busy with state affairs that he hasn't taken the Imperial Physician's advice to heart. Please advise the Emperor."
Those who were on duty beside Emperor Jing'an knew very well that Emperor Jing'an would only listen to Zhao Yi.
Zhao Yi responded, "Okay, thank you, Eunuch Deng, for your advice."
The sedan stopped at the entrance of Taiji Hall. Zhao Yi was told to enter the inner hall. He saw Emperor Jing'an with a red face and eyes. He held his head with both hands, pressing his fingers against his forehead again and again.
He asked, "Your Majesty, you are not feeling well. Would you like to call the imperial physician to take your pulse?"
"I'm fine, I just didn't sleep well last night." Emperor Jing'an asked Zhao Yi to sit down. "Yier, Rui'er came to the palace today and mentioned the Ministry of War to me."
At this moment, he put aside the dignity of a superior, smoothed out his edges, did not call himself "I", and looked exhausted, looking like an ordinary elder.
True love in the royal family is too rare. His three sons, the eldest and the second son, fought openly and secretly, and ignored the people and the country for the sake of imperial power.
Sitting in this position, he was destined to be unable to speak his mind to his sons like an ordinary father.
Even the most ordinary casual conversation will cause them to speculate a lot.
You are not allowed to reveal your true feelings in front of court officials and concubines.
The only one who could speak was Zhao Yi.
"The Ministry of War's funding has been missing for the past few years. It's so ridiculous that officials are required to raise funds themselves, and no one reports this to the higher authorities."
"There's also the Military Selection Office. The selection, promotion, replacement, and reward of garrison officers and soldiers also cannot withstand scrutiny."
"Right now, only the Chariot and Armory Departments are operating normally. I'm not sure if further investigation will lead to further lawsuits."
When this incident was mentioned, Emperor Jing'an flew into a rage: "Such a bold and reckless person is not a court official, but my good son."
Zhao Yi poured a cup of tea for Emperor Jing'an, and only then did he notice that there were more wrinkles on Emperor Jing'an's face, his hair was gray, and he looked very old.
Suddenly, he understood the purpose of Emperor Jing'an summoning him into the palace.
Perhaps it was a mess in the Ministry of War that made Emperor Jing'an extremely disappointed with Prince Yu. He didn't know how to vent the pent-up anger in his heart, so he summoned him to the palace to talk.
"Your Majesty, please calm down."
Zhao Yi knew that Emperor Jing'an needed someone to listen, so he didn't say anything else.
Emperor Jing'an knew very well that Prince Yu was in charge of the Ministry of War, and under Prince Yu's suppression, the crimes committed would not be exposed.
Since ancient times, when an official makes a mistake, the person in charge will also be implicated. In order to avoid harm, he will naturally come forward to protect and cover up, which has led to a situation where officials protect each other.
Now that Prince Yu has left the Ministry of War and Prince Rui has taken over, such a big thing can no longer be suppressed.
Emperor Jing'an suppressed his inner rage and spoke calmly, "Yier, the fact that the third child was able to grow up safely without his biological mother's protection is enough to show his ability."
"He never appeared in front of me. The only time was last year when his eunuch was seriously ill. He knelt before me and begged me to assign a royal physician to treat the eunuch."
"He said I was a benevolent monarch who cared about the people of the Great Zhou. The eunuchs who served him were palace servants, but they were also citizens of the Great Zhou. I should protect my people."
These words moved Emperor Jing'an, and he also took his youngest son to heart.
Because this youngest son is most like him.
Emperor Jing'an asked, "Yier, teach the third son well for me."
Zhao Yi could sense the seriousness in Emperor Jing'an's words, which were more earnest than when he met the Third Prince this morning.
Over the years, Emperor Jing'an taught him how to be an official and even how to be an emperor.
Emperor Jing'an once said: "Yier, your illness has been cured. In the future, you will teach my sons and grandsons for me."
Now Emperor Jing'an has handed the third prince over to him.
Zhao Yi said cautiously, "I will definitely live up to your expectations, Your Majesty."
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Princess Guangning returned to the Siyi Pavilion carrying the potted plant. She ran into the King of Qi and bowed, "Royal brother."
The King of Qi paused, glanced at Princess Guangning's pale face, then looked at the orchid pot in her arms and reached out to tear off a leaf.
"Is this a gift from the Imperial Concubine?"
Princess Guangning looked at the orchid with trembling branches and leaves, shook her frail body, and nodded.
The King of Qi saw Princess Guangning's fear of him and frowned, "Why did the Imperial Concubine send you flowers?"
Princess Guangning said vaguely, "The Imperial Concubine said she likes me and that we have a good relationship, so she gave me this pot of flowers."
Prince Qi looked solemn. What was Concubine Ling's intention? Was she trying to get Princess Guangning to marry Prince Yu?
Or is there another intention?
The King of Qi was puzzled and planned to discuss it with Envoy Gao later.
He asked another question: "Did you meet Princess Jiahe in the palace today?"
Princess Guangning nodded and said, "Brother, I have seen the princess." Without waiting for the King of Qi to continue, she said softly, "Many officials and their wives were surrounding the princess, so I didn't have the chance to interact with her."
Shen Qingtan was the only person who had been kind to her since she came to the Great Zhou, and she didn't want to plot against him against his will.
She knew the mission she was carrying. On the surface, it was to promote friendly relations between the two countries, but in reality, it was to alienate the relationship between the Zhenbei Palace and the royal family.
Even though the King of Zhenbei had made his stance clear and the army was approaching, the King of Qi still did not give up. It seemed that the envoy held a very important bargaining chip in his hand.
Princess Guangning had a hunch that their plan would fail.
She looked at the leaves thrown on the ground by King Qi, as if foreshadowing her end.
Princess Guangning knew very well that as long as the two countries went to war again, she would die no matter who she married.
Her fate was sealed the moment she set foot on the Great Zhou territory. Even so, she still wanted to struggle.
Even if the world is unfair to her, even if she goes through many hardships and sufferings, she still doesn't want to accept her fate and wants to live.
Try your best to survive.
King Qi thought of Shen Qingtan's identity and realized that she could not be approached as Princess Guangning.
He waved his hand, signaling her to leave.
Princess Guangning hurried back to her room as if she had been pardoned.
The King of Qi turned around and went to find Envoy Gao.
Envoy Gao came out of his room and saw the King of Qi approaching. He bowed and said, "Your Highness."
The King of Qi motioned Envoy Gao to come into the house and repeated Princess Guangning's words to him.
"Do you think Concubine Ling's attitude towards Guangning is just a pretext she put up to lure someone into a trap, or does she really like Guangning?"
The King of Qi said with a frown, "If it's the latter, then it will be very difficult."
Envoy Gao smiled meaningfully and said, "Your Highness, you don't have to worry. It's not Concubine Ling who decides who Guangning will marry, but Emperor Jing'an."
Seeing that Envoy Gao looked very capable, the King of Qi couldn't help but feel curious about the leverage that Envoy Gao held in his hand.
"Envoy Gao, you said last time that Princess Yizhen could make Emperor Jing'an compromise. In fact, Emperor Jing'an is not threatened by us." The King of Qi asked, "What secrets do you have about Emperor Jing'an?"
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