Chapter 388 I don't want the title of Empress!
"It's time for half a cup of tea. Your Majesty, please return to the palace and attend to your duties."
Ji Qingwu pointed to the door: "Otherwise, my father will come knocking again to urge me later."
Gibran might actually do such a thing.
Zhao Mingyan said regretfully, "Time flies so fast?"
As he spoke, he rested his head against her chest.
Ji Qingwu's mind raced for a moment: "You, you are not...?"
The words were on the tip of Ji Qingwu's tongue, but he swallowed them back. Whatever the emperor did was justified.
Just as she was lost in thought, the man who had been avoiding the main point finally spoke.
"Awu, I want to personally lead the army to the northern border."
Ji Qingwu was stunned for a moment, then pushed his head away and pulled off his arms that were wrapped around her waist.
She took a step back, creating distance between them, and carefully observed his expression, trying to determine whether he was serious or joking.
"Why?"
Zhao Mingyan said, "In order to catch Xijin off guard, we shall set off tonight."
Ji Qingwu's hands were clenched so tightly that his nails dug into the flesh of his palms.
"But the border conflict is not urgent enough to require Your Majesty's presence."
After Wei Ting arrived, he effectively tied down 200,000 troops of Xijin. There were no further reports of battles between the two armies; they were merely probing each other on the border.
Zhao Mingyan calmly said, "Awu, it's not as simple as you think. Southern Chu has secretly increased its troop presence in the heart of Qishan."
Upon hearing this, Ji Qingwu became alarmed.
The Northern Li and Southern Chu are separated by a mountain called Qishan. Unexpectedly, Southern Chu has also secretly started making small moves. If Western Jin and Southern Chu unite, the Northern Li will be attacked from both sides.
Zhao Mingyan said, "I had your elder brother return from Southern Chu to warn them that I am aware of their movements."
Ji Qingwu lowered his eyes.
News of Yuwen Tianqing and Su Fengyue's execution had already reached Xijin. Logically, Xijin should have been furious at the killing of their own prince.
However, Xijin's troops have not yet been dispatched; they are merely making noise on the border, clearly harboring some ulterior motive.
Zhao Mingyan received a secret report from Wei Ting concerning this matter.
He said in a deep voice, "Xijin's evil intentions are not dead. This battle will have to be fought sooner or later. Rather than passively accepting it, we should take the initiative to attack and minimize the casualties of Beili soldiers and civilians."
Ji Qingwu understood this principle, but he still couldn't accept it.
"It would be too risky for His Majesty to go personally. If... if..."
Ji Qingwu dared not think too deeply about it.
Knowing her worries, Zhao Mingyan looked at her with warm and affectionate eyes and promised, "I will come back to marry you and bring you back to the palace."
Ji Qingwu's throat tightened, and he shook his head.
Zhao Mingyan's eyes dimmed slightly as he said, "Once the imperial decree is accepted, there is no reason to go back on one's word."
Ji Qingwu raised her eyes and stared at him intently.
"I want to go too."
Without even thinking, he refused, saying, "No."
How could Zhao Mingyan let her get into danger?
Why not?
Ji Qingwu stubbornly asked, "It's hard to say whether I'm safe staying in Lin'an. Being under His Majesty's watchful eye is the safest option. Has His Majesty forgotten what happened before?"
Zhao Mingyan had considered bringing her along.
But on the battlefield where swords and spears have no eyes, he couldn't guarantee that she would truly be safe.
He said, "That won't work either. I'll have someone take you to the secret passage in the mausoleum for a while. It's absolutely safe there."
Ji Qingwu's eyes shone brightly, as if they had been washed clean, and most of the emotions within them were annoyance.
"His Majesty has thought everything through and is just here to inform me, right?"
What are imperial mausoleums? They are filled with countless traps and mechanisms, making them the safest places in the world.
But he was willing to take such a great risk.
Zhao Mingyan reached out to pull her, but Ji Qingwu twisted her body to avoid him.
“Ah Wu…”
Ji Qingwu lowered her head, not even sparing him a glance.
The emperor had already decided to personally lead the expedition, which is why he came to the Ji residence with the imperial edict establishing an empress, eager to get everything arranged.
This imperial edict was written a long time ago, and now it has been handed to her, with members of the Ji family as witnesses.
if......
If something were to happen to Emperor Wusu, unlike her previous passive situation, she could produce an imperial edict to assist Yuan Heng in ascending the throne and becoming Empress Dowager.
He had already planned out her escape route.
And what about him...? What were his thoughts? Was he prepared to die?
He came today and said many sweet things. Does he intend for her to live out the rest of her life with sweet memories?
Ji Qingwu was furious.
She quickly turned around and went back to the inner room, parting the jade bead curtain with a crisp sound.
Zhao Mingyan followed behind her and saw her return angrily.
Something flew straight at his face.
"Your Majesty, you should take this imperial edict back with you!"
The scroll that Ji Qingwu had previously cherished was ruthlessly thrown to him by her.
Zhao Mingyan raised his hand to take it, and let out a long sigh.
"Awu, don't be willful."
"That's right, I'm just being willful!"
Ji Qingwu stared into his eyes and said, "You never listen to what I say. Since His Majesty has already made his decision, he can do whatever he wants. Why bother telling me?"
"I don't want to have anything to do with His Majesty anymore, and I don't want the title of Empress either, so that I won't have to be saddened by his memorial tablet in the future."
She kept making angry remarks, and Zhao Mingyan sensed something was wrong.
"Guarding the memorial tablet?"
Ji Qingwu's eyes reddened, and she turned her head away from him.
Zhao Mingyan suddenly chuckled.
Seeing that he could still laugh even in this situation.
Ji Qingwu tensed up, barely managing to hold back from punching him in the handsome face.
She turned and walked inside, passing the messy bed, thinking that just half an hour ago, they were still very close.
Ji Qingwu felt increasingly suffocated and turned back to the bed in the innermost room.
The footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
Ji Qingwu rubbed her eyes, pulled the blanket over herself, and suffocated herself in darkness. Only when she could hardly breathe did she loosen the blanket and let herself out to catch her breath.
As expected, the room returned to silence.
He's gone.
We're setting off tonight.
Ji Qingwu's tears fell onto the pillow, soaking a large area.
I started to feel regret again. Was I too harsh on him? What if something had happened...? I hadn't even said goodbye properly.
Ji Qingwu glanced at the sky outside, which was gray and gloomy. She immediately got up and began rummaging through the trunks on the wall for her luggage.
In no time, a small package was packed up.
He forbids her to go, so she can secretly follow him, right?
Ji Qingwu thought for a moment and decided to bring along the newly developed medicinal powder he had been making in the past few days. He also packed a dozen or so colorful glass medicine bottles into a wooden box.
The burden became completely full.
Ji Qingwu was worried that he might have forgotten something, so he looked around and found that the scroll was still on the round table.
She offered it to Emperor Wusu, but he did not take it with him.
Ji Qingwu walked over, picked up the scroll again, carefully wrapped it in silk, and stuffed it into his luggage.
He muttered to himself, "Trying to trick me into becoming Empress Dowager? Dream on..."
"Ah Wu, do you really want to be the Empress Dowager?"
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