Normally, even if the Imperial Astronomical Bureau had set a date for Chai Shijing's wedding, the Emperor Jianning would still have needed his approval. However, Chai Shijing and the Imperial Astronomical Bureau had simply set a date and announced it, angering the Emperor. "Don't try to fool me with these high-sounding words."
Zhang Jianzheng kowtowed and said, "Every word I say is true. I dare not deceive Your Majesty."
Emperor Jianning took the water from Li Xi and took a sip. "Mr. Zhang, you observe the stars day and night. Have you ever calculated who is the true emperor, Prince Ping or Prince Duan?"
This is a life-threatening question! "Da Yong has only one true emperor, and that is Your Majesty. No one else is!"
"Oh? Prince Duan isn't either?"
"I am incompetent. Even with Your Majesty as the Purple Star, I cannot predict who will be the next emperor."
Emperor Jianning refused to let Zhang Jianzheng go. "I want you to announce to the world that if Prince Ping becomes emperor, Great Yong will suffer endless disasters. If Prince Duan becomes emperor, Great Yong will enjoy peace and prosperity."
Zhang Jianzheng was secretly complaining, and Prince Ping actually guessed it.
He followed Prince Ping's instructions and replied, "Your Majesty, Prince Ping is quite popular among the people. Suddenly saying that he will bring endless disasters to Dayong will probably not win their trust. It would be better to wait until Prince Ping sets a date for his wedding, and then I will find a time to spread this statement. Say that Prince Ping's marriage has disrupted his original destiny."
Emperor Jianning thought about it and nodded in agreement. He had to change the people's impression of Prince Duan, and this matter could not be rushed.
After appeasing Emperor Jianning, Chai Shijing began to prepare for the wedding. There were still more than two months before the wedding, so he had a lot to do.
The Eastern Dynasty and the Southern Chen came to Dayong to rob a lot of gold and silver. Qin Shu followed suit and also captured several cities of the Southern Chen and the Eastern Dynasty, and led his troops to raid the homes of many merchants.
Most of the silver they recovered was given to merchants in Dayong as compensation, and a small portion, along with the silver Kang Yueran had sent, was used to reward the soldiers.
The Eastern Dynasty and the Southern Chen sent people to negotiate peace with the Grand Commander Chai Shiqin. Chai Shiqin finally found a place to use his power and invited envoys from the two countries to Huaizhou for discussions.
Since there was no war, Qin Shu and Kang Yueran discussed and decided to let Kang Yueran return to the capital first.
"Yueran, you should go back to the capital first. Prince Ping has moved up the wedding date. You will be married in a month and a half. Let me congratulate you first!" There are still many aftermaths to deal with after the war, so she has to stay in Huaizhou and cannot attend Kang Yueran's wedding.
"Thank you! You've become famous after the Southwest War. Did you enjoy the fight?"
Qin Shu was in high spirits. "Of course it's fun! It would be even more fun if there weren't all these random things going on."
In order to gain a sense of existence, Chai Shiqin acted like a demon several times, and Qin Shu couldn't do anything to Chai Shiqin, so he got sulky several times.
Kang Yueran comforted him, "Prince Duan will be back in Beijing soon."
Qin Shu smiled and shook his head, "I wasn't referring to Prince Duan, but His Majesty. After Li Xi came to my house and read out the Emperor's decree appointing me as a general, he said that His Majesty asked me to find an opportunity to kill you.
I was fighting in the southwest, and His Majesty sent me three letters urging me to act quickly, but I always evaded them by saying the war was urgent. "Yue Ran, your journey back to the capital must have been difficult."
She handed Kang Yueran a token and said, "I once led Duke Lu's private soldiers into battle. When I reported to His Majesty, I said the entire army was annihilated, with only a few dozen wounded. I asked them to live in hiding and go somewhere else.
But in fact, there are more than 2,600 people alive, and they are now hiding in Yueyang Mountain. The ones leading them are my personal soldiers. Yue Ran, this is a trump card I leave for you.
She handed over a few more sheets of paper. "This records the men the emperor has placed in the southwest. All of them are now under the control of Prince Duan. I've written down everything I know, but it's definitely not complete. Duke Lu has private soldiers, and I suspected the emperor had some too, but I've searched for a long time and haven't found any."
Kang Yueran thanked him sincerely, "Thank you very much. I will be careful on the road. Qin Shu, you didn't kill me, but there's no guarantee that the emperor won't be angry and send someone to kill you. You have to be careful at all times."
"Don't worry, I have my own soldiers, and the emperor's influence in the Huaizhou garrison has been completely eliminated. My father is the Duke of Zhenguo. Before Prince Duan ascends the throne, the emperor dare not kill me."
"Your Majesty's temperament is very different from before. You should be careful and don't be careless."
Qin Shu nodded, "Okay! Yueran, if the emperor really wants to kill you, Prince Heping, you can go find my eldest brother."
Kang Yueran laughed, "When I first came to the capital, A Jing asked me to make friends with you so that I could win over the Qin family. Now it seems that I have lived up to A Jing's trust."
"At the beginning, everyone in our family was wary of you, but in the end they fell into your trap." Qin Shu laughed as he spoke.
The Qin family is not involved in party disputes, but both Qin Cheng and Qin Shu are attracted to Kang Yueran, and are eventually conquered by her and willingly stand in the same camp with her.
"What do you mean by a trap? It's because we have the same values and we share the same interests."
"No, that's because you have never forced our Qin family. Yueran, my brother and I are willing to help Prince Ping become emperor." She used to be close to Kang Yueran, and it was the Qin family who was testing Kang Yueran, but Kang Yueran did not make a big fuss about it.
The Duke of Zhenguo spends most of his time in the northern border. Qin Cheng is the head of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. His willingness represents the attitude of most of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
Kang Yueran patted his chest and said, "Then I'm relieved!"
"You got what you wanted!" After saying that, both of them laughed.
The way back was full of dangers. Kang Yueran didn't want to implicate too many people, so she spread the word that she would take Xiao Wuzi and leave privately.
On the night the news was released, an uninvited guest came to Kang Yueran's room.
Zhuo Limin still looked nonchalant, "Miss Kang, have you decided on a date to leave?"
"Master Zhuo, are you going with me?"
"If Miss Kang is willing to wait seven or eight days before setting off, we can go together."
Kang Yueran frowned, "Master Zhuo, are you not staying to help Prince Duan?"
Chai Shiqin has been busy negotiating compensation with the two countries recently. If he doesn't leave, Zhuo Liming can't leave; if Zhuo Liming can leave, it means Chai Shiqin can also leave.
But before that, Chai Shiqin relied on Dayong's victory and asked for exorbitant compensation, which far exceeded the budgets of Eastern Dynasty and Southern Chen, so the negotiations were not going smoothly.
Zhuo Limin laughed self-deprecatingly and said, "Miss Kang, are you teasing me? You know full well that Prince Duan is no longer the pitiful little guy he was yesterday."
Chai Shiqin hated him for stealing the limelight, so he always suppressed him intentionally or unintentionally, trying to embarrass him. He did not dare to confront Chai Shiqin directly, and on the surface he submitted to Chai Shiqin, but in his heart he despised Chai Shiqin.
Kang Yueran quickly shook her head. "How dare I tease you? You came here tonight to tell me that Prince Duan will be returning to the capital soon?"
"That's right!" Zhuo Limin was afraid that Kang Yueran didn't understand, so he asked again, "Do you know what it means for Prince Duan to lower the negotiation conditions and rush back to Beijing?"
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