"It's simple. You just need to let the general's wife take this medicine as soon as Princess Jingnan gives her a follow-up consultation. Not only will I release your mother and you, I will also give you a large sum of money and let you escape." The man in black tempted.
The servant took the medicine bottle tremblingly, and the figure of the man in black disappeared in an instant.
Not long after, the man in black quietly sneaked into a mansion on the outskirts of the capital.
"My lord, the matter has been settled." The man in black saluted respectfully to the man who took action.
The man was wearing a mask and a black cloak, so his face couldn't be seen. He smiled softly when he heard the words.
"You did a good job. Last time, we persuaded the General's Mansion to send someone to Huichun Hall to ask Princess Jingnan to deliver the General's wife. Although we didn't achieve our goal, we finally managed to persuade a servant to rebel in the iron-clad General's Mansion. If we don't make full use of him, wouldn't it be a waste? However, since he wants to see his mother so much, after he completes the task, we will send him to the underworld to reunite with his mother and son."
He carefully examined the man in black who was obeying his orders and said tentatively, "I've wronged you these days by making you a nameless secret guard."
"My lord, you can forgive me and not only spare my life, but also be willing to use me. I am very grateful and do not feel wronged." The man in black said words of gratitude, but the hatred in his eyes was frighteningly deep.
"You can no longer use the name Wu Yan. However, once the struggle between Prince Jingnan and the general is provoked this time, you can change your name and take over as captain of the Suzaku team. I have a more important task for you."
"Thank you, my lord, for the promotion." The man in black kowtowed heavily.
The man waved him off. The man in black quietly walked out, and in a corner where no one could see him, a mocking smile played on his face. "Captain of the Suzaku team? Excellent! Just what he wanted! It's worth all the time he's been humbled."
The officials of the Honglu Temple and the people of Nanzhao have been arguing for three whole days, but the treaty has not been finalized.
Logically speaking, after Nanzhao's defeat, the peace treaty would be nothing more than ceding cities, paying annual tribute, sending hostages or marrying a princess.
Although Nanzhao had brought the princess with him, he had no intention of marrying her off. It would have been fine if they hadn't sent the princess off, at least they had the Third Prince as a hostage. But they were only willing to cede one city—the one captured by Prince Jingnan—and refused to mention the annual tribute. Even more infuriating, the Third Prince, the hostage, was unconscious and looked half-dead. How could they justify sending a dying man as a hostage?
The officials of the Honglu Temple were all very angry. Those with bad tempers made it clear directly that if they couldn't reach an agreement, they would beat them and keep beating them!
But the emperor had finally managed to keep Prince Jingnan in the capital and was keeping him under his watch. How could he let him go back easily?
Since the emperor did not want to fight, he could only continue the peace talks. However, Donglin and Nanzhao had been at war every year, and Donglin had suffered more defeats than victories in the past. Only after the current King Jingnan, Sikong Zhan, took office did the situation turn around. Not only did they advance with unstoppable force, they also broke through Nanzhao's gateway, Ziyi City, forcing Nanzhao to take the initiative to request negotiations.
Therefore, the officials of Nanzhao all looked down on the officials of Donglin. The officials of the Honglu Temple could not control them at all. It seemed that no one in Donglin could control the people of Nanzhao except Prince Jingnan.
The emperor was having a headache, and Imperial Concubine Lin Wanrou whispered in his ear that a flower-viewing banquet would be held at the Pingnan Marquis's Mansion in a few days. They could invite the Prince and Princess of Nanzhao to attend, and then invite the Prince of Jingnan and his wife to join them. Then, as long as they made some arrangements, they would not need the emperor to show up, and they could use the Prince of Jingnan to intimidate the people of Nanzhao and put an end to their arrogance.
Lin Wanrou whispered to the emperor for a long time. The more the emperor listened, the more feasible it seemed to him. In his joy, he was about to hold the beauty in his arms and do some exercise that would be beneficial to her body and mind, but he heard the chief eunuch knocking on the door and whispering that he had something important to report.
The emperor was very displeased that his good deed was interrupted, but his chief eunuch was always a man who knew what was important. If he said it was important, then it must be important. He had no choice but to straighten his clothes, walk out of the outer room, call the chief eunuch in, and ask, "What's the matter?"
"Your Majesty, someone from the Cold Palace has come to report that the deposed Consort Lin has been diagnosed with pregnancy today, and it has been over two months." The eunuch chief reported in a low voice while cautiously observing the emperor's expression.
He had accepted favors from the former Concubine Xian, and thought that since this was the Emperor's first child and the Concubine Xian was the Emperor's first concubine, the Emperor would probably take their old relationship into consideration and allow the Concubine Xian to give birth to the prince safely. By then, the former Concubine Xian might be able to regain the Emperor's favor because of her status as a mother with a son, so he took the risk to report the matter.
Ever since the Emperor stripped Concubine Xian of her title and banished her to the cold palace, he rarely thought of her. Moreover, now that he has married Lin Wanrou, how could he still remember the old one?
But the virtuous concubine was pregnant with his first child after all. Thinking of the virtuous concubine who had been with him for more than a year and had a deep love for him, the emperor finally softened his heart and ordered the eunuch chief to take the former virtuous concubine out of the cold palace and temporarily place her in her original palace. If she could successfully give birth to a prince or a princess, her crime would be forgiven and she would be given a title at that time.
Lin Wanrou, who was hiding at the door and eavesdropping, was so angry when she heard the news.
Hearing the emperor's footsteps, she quickly sat back on the bed, forced a smile, and said coquettishly: "Your Majesty, cousin~~ On such a beautiful day, what else could be more important than Wanrou? I won't tolerate your neglect of Wanrou~~"
"Okay, okay, I'm wrong." The emperor knew that the matter of the former virtuous concubine would inevitably make Lin Wanrou unhappy, so he had to comfort her in advance.
"Among the gifts Nanzhao sent, there's a cart of something called colored glass. With a little polishing and placed in the sun, it becomes dazzling. If it's made into windows, it can make the room incredibly bright. It's truly rare. I'll give it all to Wanrou, okay?"
"Okay, thank you, cousin the emperor! I knew you loved me the most." Lin Wanrou threw herself into the emperor's arms, a flash of malice in her eyes: a mere deposed concubine actually dared to compete with her for favor, overestimating her own abilities! And she even wanted to give birth to the emperor's eldest son? Dream on!
On the second day, the Marquis of Pingnan sent the visiting card to the Prince of Jingnan's Mansion.
Since Princess Jingnan married into the Jingnan Palace, she has either been away from the palace or recuperating from injuries there, so every time no matter what kind of visiting card it was, it was never delivered to Lin Jinghan. But this time, Sikong Zhan took the visiting card and personally delivered it to Lin Jinghan.
Of course, sending gifts was fake, and the real excuse was to see his wife - since Jinghan became Xiang Yuanqing's apprentice, he has been learning from him all day long, and he hasn't seen his wife all day.
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