Chapter 399 Su Wan'er Falls into a Trap and Suffers a Miscarriage
Yun Zhaoxue said, "If you don't want to go to Lingnan, you can go somewhere else."
Zhao Zhenrou shook her head, "I want to stay in Lin'an, I don't want to leave you."
"It's dangerous for you to stay in Lin'an. If they find out, you'll be dead. Aren't you afraid?"
“I’m not afraid. I want to stay in Lin’an and live with you. I’ve almost died several times already. More than death, I’m afraid of going to a place where I don’t know anyone and dying far from home. If I stay in Lin’an and don’t go out, or if I go out I wear a veil and no one will recognize me.”
Hearing her say that, Yun Zhaoxue did not force her to leave, but agreed to let her stay, "Alright, if you want to stay, then stay. Please ask the divine doctor to make you a human skin mask, and you can wear the mask during the day."
"Thank you, thank you so much, Cousin Xue'er. Don't worry, I will try my best to support myself and won't cause you any trouble." Zhao Zhenrou cried tears of joy. It was wonderful; she could stay.
...
Zhao Xuan refused to see Zhao Rui, nor did he acknowledge his identity. He sent assassins to kill him, but they failed, so he simply ignored him.
On this day, Zhao Rui finally took the initiative. He led the old ministers who had been brought back with him through the exchange of prisoners to kneel in front of the palace gates during the morning court session and request an audience with the emperor.
Passersby gathered around to watch.
The news reached Zhao Xuan's ears.
Zhao Xuan had no choice but to summon the person to the palace.
Zhao Rui achieved his goal: to enter the court, seize power, and reclaim the throne that belonged to him.
The emperor passed the throne to him before the enemy army entered the palace. That throne was rightfully his; Zhao Xuan's claim was illegitimate and he only succeeded by chance.
The ministers in the court were exploited by Zhao Xuan to pay for military expenses, and they had a lot of complaints about him.
Knowing that Zhao Rui was a major threat to Zhao Xuan, they spoke well of Zhao Rui and used the pretext of brotherly love and respect to suppress him, thus allowing Zhao Xuan to regain his throne.
Zhao Xuan agreed; a prince with only a throne and no real power couldn't cause any trouble.
Good news kept coming from the northern border. Xiao Xuance led the Zhenbei Army to defeat the enemy and after securing Dingzhou, he also captured Baozhou.
Zhao Xuan was overjoyed. During his reign, he recovered the lands lost from his father, and history would surely record him as a wise and benevolent ruler.
"Good! Excellent! Our army has decisively defeated the enemy's main force and recaptured another important town in Baozhou. Further north, we can reclaim all sixteen prefectures of Yanyun." He laughed as he sat on the dragon throne.
The ministers below kept their eyes down, seemingly lost in thought, and remained silent.
Warfare costs money, but where does the money come from?
It's all taken from their own pockets.
The emperor asked his ministers to fund the army, which was unprecedented in history.
However, the enemy did not intend to seek peace, so they had no choice but to advocate for it.
Two months later, they finally got their chance: Da Jing wanted to negotiate peace with Da Zhou.
Zhao Xuan did not want to negotiate peace. The situation in the north was favorable to them. He wanted to recover the lost territory, defeat the enemy so that they would not dare to invade the territory of the Great Zhou again, and wipe away the shame.
However, the ministers did not want to fight any more wars. The national treasury was empty, and they were worried that if they did not have enough food, how could they fight?
After court, he returned to the inner palace, and, still furious, drank hot tea and smashed another tea set.
Knowing that Zhao Xuan was recently enraged because the court officials were opposing him, Yun Jiaoyue personally cooked a bowl of lotus seed soup.
When she brought it over, she saw the broken porcelain shards on the ground and guessed that she had come to the right place.
"Your Majesty, have those ministers angered you again?"
Zhao Xuan said angrily, "Those damned people! They colluded with Zhao Rui to force me to agree to the peace request from Da Jing."
"Your Majesty, I also feel that continuing this war will not be good for our Great Zhou. Firstly, war requires a lot of silver to pay soldiers' salaries, buy food and fodder and make weapons. The national treasury is empty and simply cannot support it."
Secondly, the retired emperor and the former crown prince are still in their hands. If they are pushed too far, they might do anything in desperation.
I'm not afraid of them being killed by Da Jing, I'm afraid they'll be released again.
Zhao Xuan waved for the other palace servants to leave before saying, "Didn't you say that in my previous life, my father and the crown prince died far from home, and their remains never returned to the Great Zhou?"
Only then did he wholeheartedly support Xiao Xuance in continuing to lead his army north to reclaim lost territory.
"In the previous life, the war in the north was not so smooth. Dingzhou was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the two sides were deadlocked for nearly two years. However, in this life, Prince Xiao recovered Dingzhou in less than a year, and then recovered Baozhou as well."
Furthermore, they severely damaged the enemy's main force. If the enemy has no power to resist, the Zhenbei Army will sweep through Youzhou like a whirlwind, then march on the Stone City of Dajing, and welcome back the Emperor Emeritus and the Crown Prince. Your position will then be in an awkward position.
Zhao Xuan felt a sense of crisis when he heard her say that.
He ascended the throne temporarily as a convict, which was illegitimate and lacked legitimacy.
The Emperor and the Crown Prince are the rightful heirs; Prince Rui alone has already stirred up trouble in the court.
No! We absolutely cannot let them come back.
If one loses the throne and one's life, how can one claim to be a great emperor for all time?
"Tomorrow the ministers will surely bring up the peace talks again. I will go with the flow and pretend to be coerced into agreeing. This way, I can give an explanation to the people and the Zhenbei Army."
The situation in the north is now favorable to the Great Zhou, so we should withdraw our troops now.
The soldiers and people in the north would surely curse him as a tyrant, so he cannot be the villain.
Zhao Xuan understood and was no longer angry.
After finishing their business, Yun Jiaoyue brought up the matter of the harem.
"Your Highness, I know that you value the prince in Consort Su's womb and visit her every two days. I went today and heard from the palace servants that Consort Su is not feeling well, but I haven't heard that the imperial physician has been summoned. I am really worried about Consort Su's health."
Zhao Xuan asked anxiously, "If you're unwell, why don't you summon the imperial physician?"
"I don't know either, and I don't know what illness it is. The palace servants tried their best to stop me, and I dared not force my way in, for fear of disturbing my sister's rest and affecting the baby in her womb."
"You've done very well. I'll go take a look now." Zhao Xuan got up and walked out.
Yun Jiaoyue followed behind him, her eyes slightly raised, a triumphant smile flashing across her face.
Half an hour ago, Su Wan'er received a note written by Zhao Jiu.
He needed her help with something very important and hoped she would come to Jujing Garden by West Lake for a get-together.
Although the Emperor has moved to the Royal Mausoleum and security will be strengthened, Jujing Garden is located at the very edge of the Royal Mausoleum, and there are fewer Imperial Guards guarding it.
It is usually only temporarily opened to the public for imperial celebrations, but people who come to West Lake to visit on ordinary days often sneak in through the walls.
Su Wan'er arrived at Jujing Garden dressed as a palace maid.
She wandered around the yard twice, but didn't see anyone.
I'm here, where are you?
That damned Zhao Jiu, that stinky Zhao Jiu, she's here.
Why hasn't he shown up yet?
It's eerily quiet here.
Were we scammed?
This place is not safe to stay in for long; let's leave first.
She's really stupid. If she wanted to know about Zhao Jiu, she could have sent someone to summon Princess Zhaoxue to the palace to ask her.
Just as she turned around, a tall figure appeared behind her. "Is Your Highness in such a hurry to leave?"
Su Wan'er heard a familiar voice, paused, and turned around to see a person standing in the corner of the wall in the distance. The light shone on him from behind, making it impossible to see his face.
"You're here? You said you wanted to see me, what is it?"
The man walked towards her.
"Wan'er, you said you wanted me to take you away and become the son-in-law of the Su family. You were trapped in the harem, and I couldn't get close to you. I've been waiting for you, and finally, I've got my chance. I've come to take you away."
"You, how did you become like this?"
This man exuded an aura of evil, while Zhao Jiu was a young man in his early twenties, radiating righteousness, though his physique and waist were not as robust as the man before him.
The other person walked towards her, and she could see their face clearly.
This person is not Zhao Jiu.
The voices are just somewhat similar.
Su Wan'er clutched her stomach and backed away, "You're not him, who are you?"
What is this person trying to do? How does he know so much about her and Zhao Jiu?
If it wasn't Zhao Jiu who said it, then it was leaked by her.
She only spoke to one person, and that was Liu Yiyi.
The other person approached her, and she turned to run away, but suddenly the man behind her appeared in front of her in a flash.
A powerful fist slammed into her abdomen, "Bang!"
"Ah!" She was knocked off her feet by the huge force and fell to the ground with a dull thud as her back hit the ground.
A sharp pain shot through her abdomen. Her face turned deathly pale, her features contorted in agony. She curled up, clutching her stomach, crying out, "Ah! It hurts, it hurts so much..."
Warm blood gushed out from beneath her.
She was in so much pain, it really hurt so much, she felt like she was dying from the pain, she didn't even have the strength to scream.
"Help! Help me! Help me..."
She fainted from the pain shortly afterward.
Meanwhile, Zhao Xuan and Yun Jiaoyue arrived at her courtyard.
Su Wan'er is not here.
The palace maids who interrogated her learned that Su Wan'er had changed into a palace maid's clothes and disappeared without a trace.
The royal gardens where they now reside are not as strictly managed as those in the palace, and the empresses and concubines can come and go freely.
Zhao Xuan thought she had run away to play, so he sent people to the Su family to look for her, but she did not return to the Su family. He questioned the guards at the gate, but no suspicious person had gone out, so he sent people to search in the garden.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com