Chapter 492 [The Khan of the Grassland Brought an Envoy to Seek an Audience]
"Please, Queen Mother and Emperor, save me."
Hou Xiaoxiao wiped her tears and suggested, "Why don't I stay with the Queen Mother for the next period of time, worship Buddha and chant scriptures with her, live in the palace, and not go back."
After hearing Hou Xiaoxiao's words, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor looked at each other.
Hou Xiaoxiao took the initiative to request to live in the palace, which was equivalent to putting herself under the emperor's supervision.
This is a good way to prove one's innocence.
Hou Xiaoxiao's nose twitched. "If the Queen Mother and His Majesty don't believe that Jiang Lili is bullying me, you can ask my personal maid, the gatekeeper, and the vendors across from Prince Jin's Mansion. They can all prove that Prince Zhao's Mansion sent someone here."
The Queen Mother handed Hou Xiaoxiao a handkerchief and asked her to wipe her tears: "Alright, alright, look, you are a princess, what do you look like now? If anything happens, I will protect you, right?"
The Empress Dowager was actually very happy that Hou Xiaoxiao was going to move to the Cining Palace.
Not only because this can prove Hou Xiaoxiao's innocence, but also because Hou Xiaoxiao, as the richest man in the capital, would bring expensive and exquisite food, clothing and daily necessities with him as soon as he arrived, and would also prepare some for the empress dowager, making every arrangement very thoughtful.
The Queen Mother adjusted the cat's eye hairpin that Hou Xiaoxiao had given her, and said, "But if you want to live and eat with me, you can't bring your weird insect-attracting powders and poisonous insects. I'm old, and I can't bear these things."
Hou Xiaoxiao nodded, "I understand, granddaughter-in-law. Before moving into the Ning Palace, I will definitely check the nanny next to you carefully."
Seeing that Hou Xiaoxiao took the initiative to stay in the palace, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor temporarily dispelled their suspicions about Hou Xiaoxiao.
When they heard Hou Xiaoxiao's words, they felt much more at ease knowing that this girl would live under their noses. However, they never thought of a possibility: even if Hou Xiaoxiao had no contact with the outside world and even if she did not carry the poisonous insect, she could still pose a threat to the empress dowager.
Who is monitoring whom, and who is the real bird in the cage?
[@周居善: Li Li, the Emperor has already planned to destroy Prince Zhao's Mansion and Xue Wei at the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet.]
@Jiang Lili: They're trying to wipe him out all at once. Why don't we invite someone else he hates? @Yan Chaoyue, are you and our third sister, the Grassland Valkyrie, ready to come to the capital?
@Yan Chaoyue: I've already brought my wife to Xue Wei's place to get money! (Picture)
Yan Chaoyue posted a selfie of the three of them.
The woman next to Yan Chaoyue had a bronze complexion due to years of fighting outside. Her pair of auspicious phoenix eyes were exactly the same as Xin Che's, and they were bright and lively. Her appearance gave people a feeling of health and heroism, like a female leopard with full aura, ready to stretch out her claws to tear the enemy apart at any time.
This is Xin Ningyu, the third sister of the Xin family, who was sent to the grassland to marry a foreign prince, but became a Valkyrie worshipped by all the people on the grassland.
Jiang Lili was impressed by her third sister's beauty and was already looking forward to the day when she would return to Beijing. The family would be reunited then and Prince Zhao and his wife would be even happier.
@Xue Wei: Wait, there's a Mid-Autumn Palace banquet for all of us who have been allies for three years to reunite. I reckon the surprise for Emperor Qingning should be delivered in the next two days.
*
The next morning.
The guard who delivered the message hurriedly entered the imperial study with a letter.
"Your Majesty! Xue Wei sent an urgent report from the northwest!"
When Emperor Qingning heard the name Xue Wei, he immediately narrowed his eyes.
Ever since the last time Yao Chengping escaped, and he scolded and demoted Xue Wei for failing to catch him, he hasn't received any letters from Xue Wei since then.
Emperor Qingning rubbed his brows and said, "Zhou Jushan, take a look at what it says."
After Zhou Jushan took the letter, he glanced at it briefly, and then a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Your Majesty, Lord Xue wrote to say that the Khan of the Bol Grassland, Alun Nadanzhuo (Yan Chaoyue), will bring an envoy to visit our Dasheng during the Mid-Autumn Festival!"
"To discuss peace between the two countries."
Emperor Qingning opened his eyes wide. It was really like the sun rising from the west. It had been three years since the country of Bol and Dasheng had cut off contact.
In the past three years, under the leadership of the grassland Valkyrie, as Bol's strength grew, Emperor Qingning was still worried that Bol would invade the territory of Dasheng at any time. After all, the opponent's strength was now unfathomable, and Dasheng had a vast territory.
I didn't expect that the other party would take the initiative to write a letter and send an envoy delegation to visit and negotiate peace!
"Strange, really strange."
The suspicious Emperor Qingning was puzzled. "Did the Khan of the Bor Grassland mention anything about the peace talks?"
If they bring people to his capital to show off their power and threaten him with a big move, forcing him to cede the city or send troops to attack, that would be really worrying.
"Lord Xue said that the Khan of the grasslands was very pleased with the goods sold at the Jingshui County market. From food and clothing to housing and transportation, every item was deeply loved by the grassland people. The goods from the Li family of Linzhou in the south and the He family of Lingnan were especially rare and unique to them."
When Emperor Qingning heard this, although he showed no expression, he was very proud in his heart. The goods produced by his Dasheng really fascinated these ignorant grassland people!
"So the purpose of the grassland Khan's visit this time is..."
Zhou Jushan presented Xue Wei's letter to Emperor Qingning of the Qing Dynasty: "The Khan of the Grassland wishes to purchase a large quantity of goods from the south of Dasheng. He would like to request that Dasheng establish a caravan to transport goods directly from Lingnan to Boer."
"Precious goods like flowers and porcelain go by land, while bulk commodities go by water."
The territory of the Bur Kingdom was originally in the northwest inland, but after annexing the northern border in the east last year, it also had a seaside port. However, the port is prone to freezing in the autumn and winter seasons, so land transportation is very necessary.
"Okay, okay."
Emperor Qingning smiled. He finally heard something that made him feel relieved during this period of time.
After a moment of laughter, Emperor Qingning became unhappy again: "But now Bo'er is very powerful, we have to be on guard... But Yao Chengping has been replaced by me without any alternative."
"The Northwest Army is now leaderless. Which general should this man choose to send?"
Emperor Qingning wrote down the names of the available military officers in the court on a piece of paper with a brush, sighing as he wrote. Either they were not qualified enough, or they were not trusted enough, so none of them satisfied him.
Zhou Jushan placed the snacks in his food box in front of Emperor Qingning, one dish at a time. "Your Majesty, these are made by the Princess of Jin herself in the Queen Mother's small kitchen. I heard they're even better than those made by the chef at Xiaoran Pastry Shop, and they've added some new ideas."
He advised: "Have some tea and snacks first, and think about these brain-intensive things later."
Emperor Qingning was stunned when he heard this, and suddenly grabbed his hand excitedly: "Hahahaha! I figured it out!"
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