Chapter 382 Talking about Cooperation
"National Temple?" Shen Qingtan's eyes flashed with surprise. This didn't seem like something the Northern Qi emperor would do. "Where is it?"
"The Zen temple in the back mountain." Deputy General Sun said solemnly, "There are special monks guarding the Zen temple. A new group of people are assigned to guard it every four hours. They are always there day and night."
Shen Qingtan frowned slightly. The Emperor of Northern Qi did not arrange any secret guards to guard the place, probably because he was worried that the scene would be too grand and attract attention.
These guarding monks might be the Northern Qi Emperor's men.
She felt relieved. "Uncle Sun, thank you for your help. I'll discuss with the Second Master first to see what to do next."
Prince Yu was about to arrive in the capital of Northern Qi. In order to show his importance, the Emperor of Northern Qi sent the Minister of Rites to personally receive him.
Zhao Yi was in charge of the Ministry of Rites and was extremely busy during this period.
Especially the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, who would ask Zhao Yi about all matters, big or small, and acted as if he was following Zhao Yi's lead.
Seeing that Shen Qingtan had no other instructions, Lieutenant General Sun left Lanxue Garden.
Shen Qingtan was waiting for Zhao Yi in the mansion. It was not until night fell that he heard steady footsteps coming from outside the door.
She recognized the footsteps as Zhao Yi's, and quickly put the book beside her, slipped on the bed, and saw Zhao Yi pushing open the door and coming in. She greeted him with a smile.
"Have you had dinner?" Shen Qingtan approached Zhao Yi and could smell the fresh, cool, and faint scent of early spring on him. She placed her hand on his arm and sniffed his shoulder. "Have you been drinking?"
"I went to a restaurant with my colleagues today for dinner." A faint smile appeared in Zhao Yi's eyes. He lowered his head and kissed her soft lips, sucking gently: "I didn't drink, but you smell of alcohol."
Shen Qingtan didn't smell any alcohol on his breath and breathed a sigh of relief: "My cousin said you can't drink until your body is in good shape."
"Don't worry, I take good care of myself." Zhao Yi tucked the loose hair behind her ears and said, "With my status, no one dares to force me to drink."
"Hmm." Shen Qingtan untied his belt and took off his casual clothes. "Uncle Sun came to the mansion today to report that the remains of the Princess Protector of the Country are stored in the Zen courtyard of the National Temple."
"Zen Temple?" Zhao Yi was a little surprised: "No wonder it took more than a month to find the whereabouts."
"Uncle Sun said that the temple is under constant guard day and night. If we want to retrieve the remains, we must plan carefully. We must do it quietly and send someone to escort them back to the Great Zhou."
Shen Qingtan hung his casual clothes on the screen and took out a casual dress for Zhao Yi to wear. "Once the remains are safely returned to Da Zhou, we can look for an opportunity to return to Da Zhou."
Zhao Yi whispered, "Someone will lend us a hand."
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At the same time, King Qi also learned that Princess Yizhen's remains were in the National Temple, and immediately sent someone to find Chang'an.
Chang An rushed over in a hurry, fearing that he would not be able to tie up the King of Qi in time and cause a disaster.
After all, a month ago, the Queen sent someone to deliver a list and told the King of Qi that the noble ladies on the list were the concubines chosen by the Emperor of Northern Qi for Zhao Yi.
They are all born of legitimate parents, and their fathers are close ministers to the emperor.
This undoubtedly revealed a message to the King of Qi: the Emperor of Northern Qi intended to cultivate Zhao Yi.
A wise king left and Zhao Yi came.
The King of Qi lost control of his temper and smashed things in his study. He harbored resentment towards the Northern Qi Emperor and planned to get rid of Zhao Yi. By then, the Northern Qi Emperor would only have Zhao Yi as his son, and no one would bother him anymore.
Chang An was terrified and quickly restrained the irritable bull to prevent the King of Qi from falling into the hands of Zhao Yi like Concubine Shu and her son.
He had been to Da Zhou and witnessed Zhao Yi's methods. He was well aware of a truth: if there was no absolute certainty that he could bring down Zhao Yi, the best way was to avoid his attack.
Thinking of this, Chang An began to feel doubtful.
The Prince of Qi is the Queen's biological son, and no one understands the Prince of Qi's character better than the Queen.
The Queen clearly knew that the Prince of Qi's scheming and tactics were no match for Zhao Yi, so instead of hiding the news from the Prince of Qi, she sent someone to tell him the news.
Isn't this just adding fuel to the fire?
He didn't know the Queen's intention, but he couldn't let the King of Qi fall into danger.
Chang An entered the study and saw the King of Qi pacing back and forth in the room. He asked, "Your Highness, why did you call me here? What's the important matter?"
"You told me not to attack Prince Guangling. For the time being, send someone to keep an eye on him and then make the next move." The King of Qi threw a secret letter to Chang An: "I just received news that Prince Guangling is looking for the remains of his mother. Now they have been found, and they are hidden in the State Temple."
Chang An finished reading the letter and thought, "Your Highness, Prince Guangling has always been secretive and rarely allows anyone to find any clues. Furthermore, when it comes to finding the remains of the Imperial Concubine, he must be extremely cautious. How could he allow our people to easily track down their movements?"
"You mean Zhao Yi revealed it to us on purpose?" The King of Qi stroked his chin, pondering, "What was his purpose in revealing his weakness to me?"
"Prince Guangling has probably seen through the Northern Qi Emperor's thoughts and has just revealed a message to you," Chang An said. "He has no interest in the throne. He only wants to take the Imperial Concubine's remains back to the Great Zhou and fulfill her last wish."
The King of Qi looked stunned. Was Zhao Yi really indifferent to the throne of Northern Qi?
"If Prince Guangling wanted to seize the throne, he wouldn't have secretly searched for the Imperial Concubine's remains. He would have reported this to Your Majesty and paid homage to the Imperial Concubine's spirit tablet."
Chang An reminded him, "Since Prince Guangling came to Northern Qi, he has not cultivated his own power, nor has he become close to any court officials."
The King of Qi was originally skeptical, but after hearing Chang An's words, he suddenly realized that Zhao Yi had never been close to any minister.
Even if the forces of the virtuous king came to Zhao Yi, Zhao Yi would still turn them away.
If Zhao Yi wanted to seize the throne, he would have taken advantage of the situation to develop his own power.
The King of Qi calmed down a bit and said, "According to your opinion, what should I do?"
Chang An suggested: "Give Prince Guangling a helping hand and escort him back to the Great Zhou."
The King of Qi was silent for a long time, and finally made up his mind: "Chang'an, it would be better if he did what you said, instead of retreating to advance."
Early the next morning, the King of Qi took the draft sent by the cabinet from the Ministry of Revenue and went to the Ministry of Rites angrily. In front of all the officials of the Ministry of Rites, he grabbed Zhao Yi's clothes and dragged him into a room.
His eyes blazed with fire as he ordered the guards he had brought with him, "Stay outside and don't let anyone get close."
With a "bang", the King of Qi slammed the door shut.
When the officials from the Ministry of Rites saw this scene, they looked at each other in bewilderment.
The Left Vice Minister of Rites stared at the closed door, wondering whether to go in and rescue Zhao Yi.
Suddenly, a muffled sound was heard in the room, as if someone had kicked a stool to the ground.
"The Ministry of Rites just allocated a small amount of money to entertain the envoys from Great Zhou. Why are they spending another large sum on the imperial examinations?" The King of Qi suppressed his anger and said, "If you don't explain clearly where the money went, I will submit a memorial to my father and charge you with abusing your power for personal gain."
Upon hearing this, the Left Vice Minister of Rites slipped away.
Anyway, the two people inside are His Majesty's sons. No matter how serious the quarrel is, no one will be killed.
If he gets involved, he might be the one to take the blame.
Your Majesty will not show any mercy when you chop off his head.
He studied hard and worked diligently to get to this position, all for the sake of a higher salary, less work, and the freedom to go home to his wife and children. If two gods were fighting, and he joined in the fun, wouldn't all his decades of work have been in vain?
The Minister of Rites had a stern face and wanted to reprimand the Left Vice Minister of Rites, but he disappeared in a flash.
But inside the door, the scene was completely different. The King of Qi pressed Zhao Yi against the wall and said, "Let's discuss a cooperation."
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