Chapter 383: Trespassing into the Zen Temple
The King of Qi was full of hostility towards Zhao Yi in his heart because the imperial tutor favored Zhao Yi. He was afraid of the imperial tutor's influence and feared that the imperial tutor would support Zhao Yi to ascend the throne.
After they returned to Northern Qi, he sent people to secretly monitor Zhao Yi's every move. When he saw Zhao Yi fighting openly and secretly with the Lin family, he stopped and reaped the benefits.
Who would have thought that my father would actually side with the virtuous king, not only giving him the opportunity to make merit, but also giving him real power.
This posed a great threat to him, and he had to get rid of the wise king first.
This is to prevent the power of the wise king from growing too strong, making it difficult to overthrow him.
Now the Concubine Shu has been banished to the cold palace, and the virtuous prince has gone to his fiefdom
The emperor began to support Zhao Yi again to check and balance him.
His first thought was to eliminate Zhao Yi, and then incite civil and military officials to ask for the establishment of a crown prince.
In his opinion, no one can resist the temptation of imperial power.
Zhao Yi is no exception.
But Chang'an said that Zhao Yi had no intention of becoming emperor.
The King of Qi looked at Zhao Yi being pressed against the wall without any resistance, and his emotions were extremely complicated. He went straight to the point: "I will help you get your mother's remains and escort you back to the Great Zhou."
Zhao Yi pushed the King of Qi away and straightened the wrinkled fabric on his shoulders: "What is your purpose?"
"You withdraw from the fight for the throne." The King of Qi paused, then said, "If you don't plan to return to the Great Zhou and fight for that position, we two brothers will each rely on our own abilities."
Zhao Yi saw the viciousness in King Qi's eyes and raised his eyebrows.
The King of Qi was a man of few ideas, impulsive, irritable, and ruthless. Yet, he was completely compliant with the advice of his advisor, Chang An. Clearly refusing to believe that he had no ambitions to seize the throne, he continued to listen to Chang An's advice and negotiate a partnership.
Zhao Yi pushed the pen washers on the table to the ground and said, "Tell me, how are you going to help?"
The King of Qi lowered his eyes to look at the fragments flying at his feet, then looked up at Zhao Yi with an indifferent expression and revealed his plan.
"Prince Yu will arrive in the capital tomorrow, and the Minister of Rites will entertain Prince Yu tomorrow. Father will summon Prince Yu the day after tomorrow, and all civil and military officials will enter the palace at that time."
"I will arrange for someone to set a fire near the Zen temple to lure away the monks guarding the temple, and then sneak in to replace your mother's remains."
"Anyway, the Emperor is a heartless man. How can he tell which bones belong to your mother and which bones don't?"
"On the day of Prince Yu and Guangning's wedding, I will join forces with the ministers to ask for the appointment of a crown prince. Since the emperor cannot spare the energy to look after you, you and your wife can disguise yourself as the bride's escort and leave."
"You set fire to the temple, not only disturbing the tranquility of Buddhism, but also committing sins." Zhao Yi sighed softly, "The virtuous prince has been kicked out. His Majesty has no other sons besides you and me. My family and the princess's relatives are all in the Great Zhou and have no interest in the throne of Northern Qi. There is really no need for you to take this risk."
"If something goes wrong and His Majesty is disappointed in you, then the loss will outweigh the gain." Zhao Yi politely declined: "I appreciate your kindness, but I will find another way."
Seeing that Zhao Yi did not believe in his ability, the King of Qi looked grim and said, "Just wait."
After saying this, the King of Qi left with anger suppressed.
Zhao Yi quietly watched the figure of King Qi disappear at the door. Given King Qi's personality, the more he was denied, the more eager he would be to prove himself.
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At noon the next day, Prince Yu arrived at the capital of Northern Qi.
According to the original rules, the Minister of Rites was to receive Prince Yu today and then stay at the Siyi Pavilion. However, the Emperor of Northern Qi suddenly changed his mind and summoned Prince Yu that day.
This time, no civil or military officials were invited into the palace. Instead, only King Qi, Zhao Yi, and several key ministers were summoned. A banquet was held in Taiqing Palace to entertain King Yu and several envoys.
Zhao Yi met the King of Qi at the palace gate. He saw that the King of Qi had drooping eyelids and a gloomy expression. It seemed that he was unhappy because the actions of the Emperor of Northern Qi had disrupted his plans.
The King of Qi noticed Zhao Yi and was about to say something, but when he saw the official at the palace gate, he walked into the palace without saying a word.
Zhao Yi followed the King of Qi slowly.
The two of them arrived at Taiqing Palace one after the other.
The Emperor of Northern Qi came to Taiqing Palace early for the first time and subtly captured the atmosphere of disharmony between the King of Qi and Zhao Yi.
The news that the King of Qi broke into the Ministry of Rites to cause trouble for Zhao Yi yesterday had already reached his ears.
He understood the King of Qi's character and knew that he was taking advantage of the situation to deliberately pick on Zhao Yi.
The Northern Qi Emperor was pleased with this and looked at Zhao Yi with an even more amiable expression.
Upon seeing this, the King of Qi became even more determined to send Zhao Yi back to the Great Zhou.
At this time, all the officials arrived and bowed and took their seats.
Prince Yu led several envoys in and saluted the Northern Qi Emperor: "The envoys of the Great Zhou pay their respects to Your Majesty."
"No need for formalities." The Northern Qi Emperor looked Prince Yu over, a smile on his face. "The Great Zhou Emperor sent you a thousand miles to marry Guangning, which shows how much he values the alliance between our two countries. Northern Qi and Great Zhou are so close that they are like brothers. Today is a family dinner, so there's no need for formalities."
Prince Yu spoke gently, "My father sent me as an envoy to Northern Qi. First, he values the marriage between our two countries. Second, he wanted to fulfill my aunt's last wish, as well as the wishes of my father and the people of Great Zhou, to welcome her back to the country."
The Northern Qi Emperor glanced at the silent Zhao Yi and frowned, "Are you here to take Yizhen back to the country?"
"That's right," Prince Yu repeated, "My father has ordered me to personally bring my aunt back to her homeland."
The word "personally" is extremely subtle, as if conveying the meaning that Zhao Yi does not need to return to Da Zhou.
"Yizhen is my imperial concubine and has borne me a son. It's only natural that she should be buried in the Northern Qi imperial mausoleum. How could she possibly return to the Great Zhou?" The Northern Qi emperor said coldly, "Emperor Jing'an wouldn't be so foolish, would he?"
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became solemn.
At this time, Eunuch Liu came out from a side door and whispered in the Northern Qi Emperor's ear, "Your Majesty, someone has trespassed into the Zen temple where the remains of the Imperial Concubine are kept."
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