Just as Chen Huai'an had guessed, the urgent letter from the Uyghur Khanate also concerned the struggle for the position of empress in the new dynasty.
In a personal letter, the valiant Khan Moyanchuo of the Uyghur Khanate told Princess Yueqiluo of Bilge that he had learned of the news that the Prince of Jin had declared himself emperor.
Furthermore, he had already persuaded the rulers of the thirty-five kingdoms of the Western Regions to send a large delegation of envoys to the Longcheng Palace to congratulate the Prince of Jin on his ascension to the throne and to request the new emperor to establish an empress.
Mo Yanchuo instructed Yue Qiluo to prepare herself to become the first non-Han ethnic empress of a Central Plains dynasty, a first in history.
Therefore, when Yue Qiluo saw the contents of the letter, she looked shocked and thought that her father must have gone mad to come up with such a terrible idea.
Judging from Yue Qiluo's reaction, Chen Huai'an naturally guessed the contents of the letter.
Just then, Yue Qiluo subconsciously turned around to look at Chen Huai'an, and their eyes met.
Chen Huai'an maintained his calm and collected expression, and even smiled and nodded at Yue Qiluo.
Upon seeing this, the latter angrily rebuked the steward, Abdo, in Chinese: "Abdo, immediately write back to Father Khan in my name—"
"If he is willing to bring a delegation of envoys from the Western Regions to the Dragon City Palace to congratulate the Prince of Jin on his ascension to the throne, then this princess will welcome him with open arms."
"but--"
Yue Qiluo abruptly changed the subject, saying with unparalleled domineering confidence, "If he has any other intentions, this princess advises him to give up on that idea as soon as possible."
"I, Yue Qiluo, am not a pawn to be manipulated, nor am I a puppet of the Western Regions!"
"That's settled then. Immediately dispatch the letter back to Harabalgas with the utmost urgency!"
"Yes, Princess!"
The butler, Abuduo, nodded and left. Yue Qiluo closed the door again, still clutching the letter in her hand, and angrily returned to sit down next to Chen Huai'an.
Chen Huai'an, who had been observing Yue Qiluo's every move, asked calmly, "Princess, what happened that made you so angry?"
"promise--"
Yue Qiluo didn't mince words, directly handing the top-secret letter to Chen Huai'an, and said angrily, "My father must have lost his mind, actually, actually..."
Ultimately, Yue Qiluo was too ashamed to utter the words "Empress," and instead said, "Your Majesty, I admit I love you, but my love for you has never been about wanting to gain anything from you."
"The first time I saw Your Majesty was on the city wall of the ancient city of Harabalgas. My Western Region bow was already pointed at you outside the city, and I wished I could shoot you dead with one arrow."
Yue Qiluo continued without any attempt to conceal her feelings: "At that time, in my eyes, the emperor was a tyrant who loved killing, a cruel person who wanted to destroy the Uyghur Kingdom and slaughter millions of innocent people;"
"However, as I learned more about the Emperor, I realized that I had misunderstood him."
"On my journey from the ancient city of Lahabalgas to Dragon City, every person I encountered in the Western Regions praised the Emperor's kindness. Without the Emperor's help, most of them would not have survived last winter."
Yue Qiluo said sincerely, "I have never seen a monarch receive such unanimous praise and heartfelt gratitude from the people along a journey of thousands of miles."
"It was only then that I realized I had wronged the Emperor. The Emperor is a truly great hero."
"That's why I'm willing to stay in Longcheng and stay by the Emperor's side."
Finally, Yue Qiluo looked at Chen Huai'an with deep affection and said, word by word, "Your Majesty, I, Yue Qiluo, am not a person who covets power or loves vanity;"
"I love you and want to be by your side, simply because you are the great hero in my heart, a pillar of strength who saves the suffering people from misery, regardless of whether you are an emperor or a prince;"
"I don't care what my status is in being by your side, even if I'm just a maid who washes clothes and cooks. As long as I can be with the person I love, my life will be happy and fulfilling."
"No one can change that!"
Faced with Yue Qiluo's sudden confession, her passionate, fiery, and sincere emotions stirred even the most tender part of Chen Huai'an's heart.
To be fair, Chen Huai'an greatly admired Princess Yue Qiluo of Pijia, who was bold in love and hate and had a straightforward and fiery personality.
In particular, the former once risked his own safety to shield him from a fatal arrow from an assassin.
Regardless of the cause and effect of the assassination attempt at the Uyghur palace, at least in that critical moment of life and death, Yue Qiluo chose to use her frail body to shield Chen Huai'an from a fatal arrow.
This is an indisputable fact.
Based on Yue Qiluo's heartfelt confession just now, coupled with her act of handing over her father, the mighty Khan Moyanchuo's, handwritten letter to me for review without reservation;
Chen Huai'an was almost certain that Yue Qiluo herself was completely unprepared and lacked any scheming regarding the struggle for the position of Empress of the new dynasty.
At that moment, Chen Huai'an seemed to have found the answer in his heart.
Meanwhile, in the camp of the southern expeditionary army in Longcheng, thousands of miles away.
The vanguard of the southern expeditionary force that marched to the Hunan and Hubei and Guangdong-Guangxi regions has already crossed the Hunan and Hubei areas and is about to enter the territory of Guangdong and Guangxi.
This army was commanded by Pang Xianchu, a valiant general from the Longcheng Polu Army, with Fan Wuji and Tang Ziyi as his deputies.
During the march, Fan Wuji suddenly rode forward and found the valiant general Pang Xianchu.
"General Pang, please wait!"
Fan Wuji rode up and called out to Pang Xianchu, who was on his way.
Um?
Pang Xianchu raised an eyebrow and asked, "General Fan, what is it?"
Fan Wuji called Pang Xianchu aside, looked around for a moment, and then leaned close to Pang Xianchu's ear and whispered, "General Pang, have you heard? The civil and military officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun have jointly submitted a petition to the Emperor, requesting that Princess Shujun be made Empress."
"What?"
Upon hearing this news, even Pang Xianchu's usually dull face showed a hint of surprise.
Then, he nudged Fan Wuji with the hilt of his sword and asked, "General Fan, where did you get this information?"
Fan Wuji smiled smugly and said, "General Pang, let's leave this aside. I came to see you to discuss which side you support on the matter of establishing the new dynasty's empress."
"Is it Princess Shujun of the Wuning Prince's Mansion, representing the former civil officials and generals of the Great Xin Dynasty, or Princess Pijia, who is backed by the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions?"
"General Pang, this decision to take sides is a matter of great importance, as it concerns what titles we will be granted after the founding of the nation!"
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