Chapter 811 Asking for Benefits
The atmosphere in Shengjing City is extremely tense today, with soldiers and officers rushing around everywhere.
It is said that the King of England was kidnapped and his whereabouts are still unknown.
The city gates have been blocked, only entry is allowed but not exit.
The officers and soldiers were searching house by house, and anyone who dared to resist would be arrested and thrown into jail.
The people in the city were all so scared that they hid in their houses and dared not run around.
There were almost no pedestrians on the street, and the shops on both sides were deserted.
An anonymous letter was suddenly received in the British palace.
The butler delivered the letter to the Queen.
Bu Shengyan unfolded the letter and found that it was a letter from the kidnappers, saying that the King of England and the Royal Concubine were in their hands. If they wanted them alive, they had to pay 800,000 taels of silver to ransom them.
In addition to the ransom, they had a very special request.
They specifically demanded that Duke Hong must come in person to deliver the ransom.
If the ransom had not been delivered by Duke Hong himself, the kidnappers would rather not take the ransom and kill the victim directly.
Along with the letter came the jade pendant that Luo Yechen wore and a pearl hairpin that belonged to the imperial concubine.
Bu Shengyan asked, "Where is the person who delivered the letter?"
The housekeeper said truthfully, "The letter was placed at the entrance of the palace. When the doorman heard the knock and opened the door, he only saw the letter on the floor at the entrance, but no one."
Bu Shengyan nodded to show that she understood.
She stuffed the letter into her sleeve with a sullen face, walked out the door quickly, mounted her horse, and headed straight for the palace.
In the palace, Luo Qinghan already knew the news that the imperial concubine and the King of England were kidnapped at the same time.
He ordered the patrol department and Jingzhao Prefecture to search the whole city and find the man.
At the same time, he deliberately suppressed the news of the concubine's kidnapping, and only told the outside world that the King of England had been kidnapped.
The imperial concubine was a woman after all. If the news of her kidnapping got out, even if she managed to escape unscathed, her reputation would be ruined.
In this world, there are always some people who like to speculate about others with the greatest malice.
Luo Qinghan didn't want Xixi to be criticized by others.
Eunuch Chang walked in and said respectfully.
"Your Majesty, the Princess of England requests an audience."
Luo Qinghan: "Announce."
Soon Bu Shengyan walked in.
She bowed to the emperor, took out the letter from her sleeve, and went straight to the point.
"I received a letter from the kidnappers."
She handed over the letter along with the jade pendant and pearl hairpin.
Luo Qinghan first unfolded the letter and read the contents, then looked at the jade pendant and pearl hairpin.
The things were indeed from Luo Yechen and Xiao Xixi, which meant that they were indeed in the hands of the kidnappers.
If they want the two to stay alive, they have to do what the kidnappers ask.
Luo Qinghan said in a deep voice: "Duke Xuanhong has entered the palace."
"Yes."
Duke Hong was quite surprised when he learned that the emperor summoned him to the palace.
Although he was the emperor's great uncle, in fact the relationship between them was not very close. The emperor was a cold person and rarely summoned relatives to the palace for an audience unless necessary.
Duke Hong changed his clothes with a confused heart and went into the palace in a carriage.
He bowed to the emperor.
Luo Qinghan was too lazy to waste time talking to him, so he just told him about the kidnapping of the imperial concubine and the King of England, and hoped that he could come forward to pay the ransom on their behalf. He would definitely get some benefits after the deed was done.
Duke Hong was immediately frightened.
He waved his hands hurriedly.
"No, no, I am old and my legs are not very flexible. I really can't do something like this. I might even cause trouble for the King of England and the Concubine. Your Majesty, please find someone else."
Luo Qing looked at him coldly.
"The kidnappers specifically asked you to pay the ransom. You must go. If you refuse to go, I will charge you with disobeying the imperial order. You can decide for yourself."
Seeing the emperor's firm attitude, Duke Hong knew that he could not escape this time, so he could only compromise and start negotiating terms with the other party using this incident.
"If Your Majesty insists that I make this trip, I can only obey.
But Your Majesty also knows that those kidnappers are very cruel.
If they suddenly become violent and want to kill me, I will have no ability to resist.
Of course, I am old, so if I die, I die. There is nothing to regret.
Poor my children and grandchildren, if I were gone, they would be so sad. "
Luo Qinghan asked coldly: "What do you want in exchange for being willing to make this trip?"
Duke Hongguo started to think frantically in his mind.
This is a great opportunity to get some benefits!
Judging from the emperor's expression, it seemed that he could make very big concessions as long as the King of England and the concubine could return safely.
Duke Hong is now a Duke, and the next rank up is king.
In the Dasheng Dynasty, only the princes and their descendants could be crowned kings. The only king with a different surname was the King of Chenliu. However, all of his family members died, and his end was very miserable.
With the bloody precedent of the King of Chenliu, Duke Hong had an instinctive fear of becoming a king of a different surname.
As for official positions, he had no interest in being one, and he also knew that he was not cut out to be one.
Even if he is given a high-ranking official position, he will probably not be able to hold the position for long and will soon be impeached and dismissed from office.
As for money, he has no shortage of it.
He has no shortage of beauties either.
He thought about it and a bold idea popped into his mind.
Before the emperor held a beauty contest, the Hongguo Mansion prepared two girls, one of whom was entered into the palace and named Lu Jieyushi. It was thought that she would be able to rise to the top with the help of the Empress Dowager and become the new Queen.
Who would have thought that she would eventually be demoted to a concubine and banished to the cold palace, which was a complete failure for her.
Duke Hong wanted to send his other granddaughter into the palace, but was stopped by the Empress Dowager.
Although he didn't know the reason, since the Empress Dowager had said so, Duke Hong couldn't say anything more and could only give up unwillingly.
Looking at the young and handsome emperor at this time, Duke Hong felt that he was a perfect match for his granddaughter.
If he could seize the opportunity to let his granddaughter enter the imperial palace, it would undoubtedly be a great help to the Lu family.
In the future, even if Duke Hong and the Empress Dowager are gone, the Lu family can continue to prosper with the help of the Queen.
Duke Hong had made up his mind and spoke immediately.
"I have a granddaughter named Xinyao, who is sixteen years old and gentle and sophisticated. She has always admired Your Majesty and hopes to be by Your Majesty's side."
Luo Qinghan looked at him steadily for a long time before speaking.
"You want Lu Xinyao to enter the palace as a concubine?"
Duke Hong plucked up his courage and said, "Xinyao is the eldest daughter of the family, and she is the most precious treasure in my heart. I have loved her since she was a child. I have promised her that I would not let her be a mistress."
Luo Qinghan: "You have great ambitions."
Duke Hong bowed and spoke with sincerity.
"I am already old now, fame, fortune and wealth are nothing but passing clouds to me.
Only the happiness of my children and grandchildren is my biggest concern.
If Your Majesty can fulfill my love for my granddaughter, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
…
Good morning everyone!
I found that the number of monthly tickets has decreased a lot recently, and I am almost caught up by the person behind me.
Wow, doesn’t everyone like salted fish anymore?
I am not willing to vote for the monthly ticket anymore, I am so sad! QAQ
(End of this chapter)
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