She thought for a moment, then picked up her pen and wrote down her plans for the future.
First, we must find a way to get Emperor Chen to leave Shengjing and go to Hangzhou—not because of Aunt Ding and Second Sister Yan's "ambition," but because Hangzhou is the closest to Shengjing and the most likely place for "accidents" to happen.
Secondly, we must get Consort Zhao back to Yunnan as soon as possible. She is a skilled military commander and is very clear about my ideas, and she supports them. Once she has control of the army in Yunnan, my chances of success will increase even further.
Then there's Shang Yunlan's side—he needs to leave Shengjing and escape Emperor Chen's surveillance. Shang Yunlan isn't fully recovered yet; it would be best if he went to Shuzhou to recuperate. I'll have to trouble Lin Jing to accompany him…
Finally, they had to come up with a legitimate reason to start an uprising. Either there were "traitors" who wanted to seize the throne, or the soldiers' pay was being withheld and they were short of food, clothing and weapons.
And she, the Princess of Heyang County and the younger sister of the Duke of Zhenguo, is the one who should save the people from their suffering at this moment!
Shang Shaoyan stroked his chin, having roughly figured out a plan in his mind. Then he threw his scribbled thoughts into the basin of water, slowly tossing the paper to shreds, all the while pondering who would be the scapegoat for embezzling military pay.
As she smiled and pondered, Yu Tan's voice came from outside: "Princess, the Third Princess has arrived."
Princess Lu Shuangyi, the one who was sent to marry a foreign ruler?
Shang Shaoyan straightened her clothes, still wearing her armor, and walked out. She looked at Yu Tan, then frowned: "Why isn't she staying in Shuocheng? What is she doing in the military camp?"
Yu Tan looked around, then lowered his voice and said to Shang Shaoyan, "As you know, after yesterday's battle, you earned the title of God of War. She seems to be very curious about you and wants to come and see."
Shang Shaoyan laughed in exasperation: "I'm not a monkey, and I don't know any tricks. What's she doing here?"
Yu Tan looked distressed, somewhat bewildered: "How could this humble general possibly know?"
Shang Shaoyan didn't make things difficult for Tan, but simply waved his hand and said with a headache, "Bring her over."
Yu Tan accepted the order and took his leave.
Shang Shaoyan fell into deep thought again—she felt she had overlooked something.
What is it?
...
The Southern Chen Dynasty, the imperial palace.
Consort Shu was ultimately rejected because Emperor Chen had damaged the foundation of the dynasty. To be precise, now there was no concubine in the entire Southern Chen harem who was not rejected by Emperor Chen, including Consort Zhao, who was once favored.
Emperor Chen frequently summoned Taoist priests and immortal masters from all over the country every day, and he was also looking forward to Shang Shaoyan bringing back that enlightened immortal from the Northwest. At the same time, Qin Ye seized control of the imperial power and became the veritable "Nine Thousand Years Old".
But he continued to enter and leave Zhaoyang Palace as always, only more openly than before—everyone in the palace could see that he and Consort Zhao were not quite right, but Qin Ye did not care at all, because Emperor Chen had no interest in managing it, nor could he control it.
Consort Zhao has been rather absent-minded these past few days. She often sits by the window, looking up at the clear blue sky, lost in thought, seemingly pondering something.
Liu'er peeled walnuts for her, muttering to herself, "Your Highness, please don't just sit there in a daze all day. You should go out more often, lest you get sick from being cooped up. Otherwise, the Ninth Prince will scold me again..."
Consort Zhao's eyebrows twitched. She looked at Liu'er, her expression authoritative without anger: "Who criticized you?"
Liu'er was startled. She stopped peeling walnuts and stammered, "N-Nine Thousand Years..."
Consort Zhao laughed in fury: "Well, well, what a 'Nine Thousand Years Old'! His Majesty is still alive, and he's already calling himself the Nine Thousand Years Old? What a clever trick, what a cunning scheme!"
Her tone was laced with sarcasm, and Liu'er shrank back, retorting softly, "I've never seen Your Majesty show such favor to His Majesty before..."
Consort Zhao paused for a moment, then glared sharply at Liu'er.
Liu'er was a little scared and quickly put down the walnuts in her hand.
Consort Zhao was amused by her: "You can't kneel, can you?"
Liu'er was stunned for a moment, then quickly came to her senses, her face turning as white as paper. She knelt on the ground with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, Your Majesty, please forgive me..."
Consort Zhao gave her a cold look: "Zhang Liuer, I rescued you in Yunnan and brought you into the palace. You've always been unruly, so I've turned a blind eye to it. But now, in these turbulent times, if you say anything you shouldn't, be careful that I don't poison you and throw you into the Cold Palace. Do you believe me or not?"
Liu'er has followed Consort Zhao for so many years and has never heard a harsh word spoken to her, let alone a threat like this.
She was so frightened that she began to sob: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, this servant will never dare to speak recklessly again."
Consort Zhao stared intently at Liu'er, feeling that she could no longer stay by her side.
He's only accepted a few favors from Qin Ye, and he's already summoned the Ninth Prince; after following me for so many years, he hasn't learned even the slightest bit of shrewdness...
But as she just said, these are turbulent times, and it is not advisable to cause trouble. If she were to drive away her most favored head maid at this time, it would only bring disaster upon herself.
With a change of heart, Consort Zhao waved her hand wearily, "You may leave. I want to be alone for a while."
Liu'er timidly withdrew.
Consort Zhao rubbed her forehead and left the main hall, turning to go to her study.
Just then, a carrier pigeon flew in and landed on the desk. Consort Zhao stared at it for a moment, then reached out and removed the small bamboo tube tied to the pigeon's leg.
She shook out a small note inside, on which were written two lines of small characters: "Heyang is in trouble, the Duke of Zhenguo is worried, and wishes to see his elder sister."
This is a letter from my younger brother, Li Langxuan.
Consort Zhao looked at it several times, almost unable to believe her eyes—had something happened to Heyang?
But why is there no news coming in?
Her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but feel a little worried. She immediately rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.
The next moment, another carrier pigeon landed by the study window, tilting its head to look at Consort Zhao.
...This was a carrier pigeon that Consort Zhao did not recognize.
She walked forward hesitantly and then took another note from its leg.
"General, do not worry. The Western Turks invaded Shuocheng, but I have captured the little Khan alive and won a victory. I am just waiting for an opportunity to send you to Yunnan."
The signature is "He".
Consort Zhao: "..."
She went through it roughly—the Western Turks invaded Shuocheng, someone sent a message to the Duke of Zhenguo, the Duke of Zhenguo was anxious and asked his younger brother to deliver a letter to him; then he calculated the time, and less than a day later, Heyang captured the little Khan and won the battle, probably guessing something, so he hurriedly sent her a letter to avoid her worrying.
From this perspective, it seems that only her younger brother was completely unaware of what He Yang was actually doing.
So here's the question.
Which traitor sent the message to the Duke of Zhenguo?
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