Shang Shaoyan clenched his sleeves, forced a smile, and looked at Qiao Xiuyu: "Hug me, okay?"
Qiao Xiuyu knelt down, pulled Shang Shaoyan into her arms, and kissed her temple with utmost tenderness: "An'an, don't be afraid."
He paused, then smiled at Shang Shaoyan's slightly upturned face and said, "They're not good to you, but I am. No matter what, I'll always be here for you."
Shang Shaoyan's eyes were slightly tearful. She snuggled closer to Qiao Xiuyu and whispered, "You treat me well, and I want to treat you well too, but I never loved anyone in my past life, so I don't know what to do... If I do anything wrong, please forgive me, Qilang."
Qiao Xiuyu patted her back helplessly and said with a smile, "There's nothing wrong with it. Just be yourself."
As the sun began to set, Shang Shaoyan leaned against Qiao Xiuyu's chest, watching the moon gradually become clearer, and suddenly said, "Seventh Brother, I will be returning to the capital the day after tomorrow. I have already made arrangements for your affairs in Northern Zhou, and you can go back at any time."
Qiao Xiuyu looked down at her and smiled slightly, "Have you made arrangements for my brother as well?"
Shang Shaoyan smiled and said with a hint of pride, "I found him a very large garden in Suzhou, with mountains and water, as well as many fertile fields. Once I have Nan Chen under my control, he can go there."
Qiao Xiuyu couldn't help but feel a little jealous: "You've never prepared gardens or fertile fields for me."
Shang Shaoyan chuckled and pinched his cheek: "Wouldn't it be enough if I gave you a vast empire by then?"
Qiao Xiuyu shook his head: "I don't want the country, I only want you."
Shang Shaoyan couldn't help but blush slightly.
...
On July 7th, Shang Shaoyan embarked on his journey back to Shengjing.
On the third day after her departure, she received news of the death of Emperor Chen and the ascension of Prince Gong to the throne. However, his position was not secure, as many people witnessed him strangling Emperor Chen with his own hands, and he was unable to touch some of the witnesses. Meanwhile, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Nan'an had temporarily gone into hiding, and the three parties were deadlocked for the time being, forming a delicate balance.
The Crown Prince kept sending letters urging Shang Shaoyan to return to the capital quickly, wanting him to use force to suppress the other two sides. However, Shang Shaoyan was not in a hurry and continued on his way as usual, taking good care of the 20,000 troops she had taken with her.
After traveling for a month, Shang Jiajun arrived at the outskirts of Shengjing one after another, with Shang Shaoyan being among those who arrived neither too early nor too late.
"Princess," Old Master Xin said, looking at Shang Shaoyan with a smile in his eyes, "please be very careful."
Yu Tan, Hua Qing, and Mr. Xin led their troops to camp on the outskirts of the city. Shang Shaoyan picked up a signal flare, smiled, and nodded at the group.
She selected a squad of elite soldiers, then mounted her horse and headed straight for the city gate.
Upon seeing Shang Shaoyan's token, the city guard's eyes darted around, and he gave another soldier a wink. That soldier then went into the city to look for someone.
Upon seeing this, Shang Shaoyan raised an eyebrow and lazily looked at the city guard: "What, going to report to your master?"
The soldiers guarding the city seemed quite confident and unafraid of Shang Shaoyan's words. They bowed perfunctorily and said, "Your Highness is overthinking this. These are just basic procedures."
Shang Shaoyan sneered, then raised his sword and stabbed the guard's shoulder. Seeing the soldier clutch his wound in disbelief and fall to the ground crying out in pain, he spoke casually after a long while: "His Highness the Crown Prince summoned me back to the capital because he had important matters to discuss. How dare some villains obstruct me... I suppose if His Highness the Crown Prince knew, he wouldn't blame me for what I did wrong."
Having said that, she ignored the astonished looks on the faces of the other soldiers and rode her horse into Shengjing.
The Crown Prince is still the heir apparent because Prince Gong has no surviving offspring, so the position of Crown Prince has not been changed for the time being. This is a point that can be taken advantage of.
With that thought in mind, Shang Shaoyan returned to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and placed the five hundred elite soldiers he had brought back in the front yard.
Bai Feng, Bai Xue, and Bai Shuang couldn't help but tear up when they saw Shang Shaoyan: "The county princess has finally returned."
Looking at the three maids he had personally promoted, Shang Shaoyan smiled and said, "Don't cry, it's good news that I'm back."
Bai Feng, always well-informed, burst into tears upon hearing this: "What kind of good thing is it to marry the Crown Prince? Everyone says that the Crown Prince is licentious and immoral, a complete scoundrel. The county princess cannot marry him!"
Shang Shaoyan knew that this was a role arranged for him by He Shuye, so he wasn't surprised, but every time he heard it, he couldn't help but dig his toes into the ground.
She smiled and gave the three of them a meaningful look: "I will go to the palace, but... not in this way."
She paused for a moment, then said, "Just wait, Prince Gong will summon me in a few days."
Bai Xue said cautiously, "Princess, you should now be addressed as Your Majesty."
Shang Shaoyan waved his hand dismissively: "Alright, then call him Your Majesty."
Bai Xue: "..."
Sure enough, that afternoon, the newly appointed Emperor Chen Lu Yi sent an imperial edict to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, saying that he had specially invited Princess Heyang to attend the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet three days later.
Shang Shaoyan accepted the imperial decree and then began to consider her current manpower—not to mention military strength, she already had hundreds of thousands of troops; as for the court officials, there was no need to worry, as Shang Yunlan had long ago extended her influence into the court, not to mention Li Xuan, Chen Shu and their disciples; as for public sentiment…
Shang Shaoyan is very confident in this regard.
Thinking this, she happily ate two more bowls of rice, and then sent a message to Mr. Xin, who was stationed in the suburbs: "Three days later, the land of Nan Chen will belong to me."
Mr. Xin received the secret letter and couldn't help but laugh. Then he looked at the nearly full moon overhead with great emotion.
“In recent years, Yao Chen has deployed a lot of people in the court. The county princess has also invited Li Xuan and Chen Shu to come out of seclusion. Those two have many disciples, and none of them are just ordinary people…” Old Master Xin said slowly to Hua Qing, “If the county princess ascends the throne, the first thing she will do is to clean up the court and promote her people. At that time, I’m afraid even this old body of mine will not be able to escape.”
Hua Qing was a rough man and didn't have the same complex emotions as Mr. Xin. He just scratched the back of his head and smiled somewhat naively: "I only know that if the county princess ascends the throne, the people of the world will naturally be much better off."
Old Master Xin chuckled and shook his head: "I wonder what the county magistrate plans to do in Northern Zhou..."
Hua Qing thought for a moment and said, "That Seventh Young Master has never concealed his identity. He and the County Princess should be related by marriage, which can be considered a peace marriage."
Mr. Xin gave him a deep look: "I think the county magistrate has grand ambitions."
Hua Qing's eyes widened: "Isn't the county princess rebelling right now? Could there be anything bigger?"
Old Master Xin glanced at him with a smile and said slowly, "I'm afraid the county magistrate wants to unify the north and south."
Hua Qing was stunned for a moment, then clapped his hands and laughed, "Great! If I can see the unification of North and South in my lifetime, then I will die without regrets!"
Mr. Xin took a sip of cold water and couldn't help but smile: "Yes, I have no regrets about dying."
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