Chapter 288: Diverting the Trouble
Envoy Gao fell silent. If it wasn't a critical moment, he would have kept it to himself and would never reveal a word.
If the King of Qi knew about this, it would probably ruin the whole situation.
"Your Highness, the Great Zhou has experienced natural disasters and constant wars on the border, which have long since emptied the national treasury. Even the money to settle the victims of Guanzhou depends on the money donated by Zhao Yi and wealthy merchants."
"We dare to push the issue of marriage because we are sure that the Great Zhou cannot afford the military funds."
"Since ancient times, many countries have perished due to empty treasuries."
"Externally, there is no food and money to supply soldiers to fight the enemy. Internally, there is no way to comfort the people affected by the disaster."
"When the people can no longer make ends meet, they will rise up in rebellion. Foreign enemies will seize the opportunity, and under attack from both inside and outside, the imperial court will be powerless to resist."
Although Envoy Gao was just trying to please King Qi, it was his true inner thoughts.
The Great Zhou won the battle, but was also severely damaged and needed to recuperate.
Otherwise, the Great Zhou would never accept the surrender of Northern Qi and would go straight to the capital of Northern Qi to bring Princess Yizhen back to the country.
From the fact that Emperor Jing'an sent the King of Zhenbei to support the northern border, it can be seen that the food and money of the Great Zhou were tight and difficult to sustain, so they wanted to win a quick victory.
The King of Qi is not a stupid man. How could he not see that Envoy Gao was intentionally concealing something?
He had previously sounded out the situation with Envoy Gao, but did not get the desired result, so he went to find several other accompanying envoys, but they knew nothing about anything he asked.
The King of Qi no longer wanted to be bored. "We have been in the Great Zhou for a long time. When will the marriage be finalized?"
Envoy Gao uttered a few words: "Royal Autumn Hunt."
The King of Qi calculated that according to the time of the Great Zhou's autumn hunting in previous years, it would not exceed one month at the latest.
When the autumn hunting season arrives and Guangning's marriage is finalized, he should get the answer to the secret he wants to know.
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Zhao Yi came out of the palace and returned to the Duke's Mansion. It was already late at night, and he walked under the cold white moonlight to Lanxue Garden.
He paused, and unexpectedly discovered that there were cat lanterns hanging on the eaves and trees.
It adds a touch of fun and warmth to this quiet courtyard.
Zhao Yi couldn't help but quicken his pace, pushed open the door and went in. He saw Shen Qingtan leaning on the Arhat couch reading a book.
She looked like she had just come out of the bath, her fair cheeks stained rosy by the heat. She was wearing a waistcoat and a moon-white gauze, like a thin mist lightly covering a gorgeous flower branch.
It is charming and fragrant, delicate and charming.
Zhao Yi walked towards Shen Qingtan, but suddenly stopped and realized that she had already taken a shower. He was covered in dust, so he went to the inner room.
He took out clean casual clothes from the cabinet, stood at the screen, and was about to unbuckle his belt.
Suddenly, a warm body pressed against his back, and a pair of soft hands stretched out from behind his waist, groping to untie his belt.
Zhao Yi could almost smell the light fragrance emanating from her body. He said in a low voice, "I just came back from outside, and my clothes are covered in dust."
"You're such a bummer." Shen Qingtan took off his belt, walked around to his front, and took off his outer robe for him. "I'm worried that Prince Rui's work will be unreliable and will implicate you, making the emperor think you're taking sides."
Zhao Yi smiled helplessly and apologized.
"Prince Rui is asking about matters at court, which has nothing to do with me." Zhao Yi draped his outer robe over the screen. "The emperor just wanted to talk to me and played a few games of chess. He didn't ask me about the Ministry of War."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingtan felt that Emperor Jing'an really loved Zhao Yi. He did not ask him about the Ministry of War, probably because he did not want to involve Zhao Yi.
Emperor Jing'an asked a question, and Zhao Yi had to give advice. Once he gave advice, he would be really dragged into this mess and it would be difficult to extricate himself.
After all, Emperor Jing'an would casually ask Zhao Yi about other state affairs. He specifically summoned Zhao Yi to the palace today, but didn't ask a single question, so that Zhao Yi could avoid suspicion.
"My heart is finally at peace." Shen Qingtan said softly, "They say true love is hard to come by in the royal family, but I don't think that's entirely true. The emperor is a man who values friendship and loyalty."
Zhao Yi naturally knew what Shen Qingtan was referring to, and couldn't help but think of what Eunuch Deng said about Emperor Jing'an being ill and having been busy handling government affairs, unable to rest properly.
Now the follow-up affairs of Qingzhou have not been handled yet, and the problem of empty treasury also needs to be solved urgently.
Zhao Yi plans to go to the Prime Minister tomorrow to discuss this matter and relieve Emperor Jing'an's worries.
"Mother said that I have many benefactors in my destiny." Zhao Yi said softly with a smile in his eyes, "The emperor is like this, and so is the madam."
Shen Qingtan: “…”
She poked his chest and said, "It's late, go take a shower and go to bed."
Zhao Yi laughed and went to the bathroom with his clothes.
Shen Qingtan was lying on the bed, and accidentally saw a box of ointment beside the pillow with the words "Yuji Cream" written on it.
This is the gift that the Fourth Lady gave me in Xishan, and it also comes with the steps for how to use it.
You need to dissolve the ointment in the palm of your hand, then massage it slowly to nourish the skin. It can remove dullness from the skin and make it white, tender and smooth.
Zhao Yi consciously took on this responsibility and applied it to her before going to bed every day, which naturally enhanced the relationship between husband and wife.
Thinking of this, Shen Qingtan felt a surge of heat in his ears. He quickly stuffed the ointment under his pillow and rolled up the quilt to sleep.
An unknown amount of time passed before the man lay beside her, put his arm around her waist, and held her in his arms.
Then, she felt a chill on her waist. The man's hand covered her waist and slowly rubbed the ointment. Her bones seemed to soften.
Shen Qingtan buried his face in the quilt and secretly made a decision that he would not accept anything from his fourth aunt in the future.
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Emperor Jing'an issued an edict, ordering Prince Rui to thoroughly investigate the Ministry of War and asking the Embroidered Uniform Guard to assist in the investigation.
When the news reached Prince Yu's ears, he did not react much and continued to practice calligraphy calmly.
"Your Highness, the Imperial Guards will definitely find out once they take action." Zhan Shi said anxiously, "What should you do?"
Prince Yu finished writing a piece of calligraphy and then looked up at the Minister of State: "Divert the trouble eastward."
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