Um?
After listening to Zhuge Yunsheng relay Liu Xinwu's request, Prince Wuning, Chen Huai'an frowned slightly.
He turned his head and glanced at Dongfang Xiao, who was sitting upright beside him. The black-robed old monk's half-closed eyes suddenly opened, and two beams of light shot out.
He thought the old monk knew some inside information, but to his surprise, the latter simply nodded his head slightly.
Chen Huai'an had no choice but to ask, "Zhuge Yunsheng, what exactly is going on?"
Zhuge Yunsheng looked up at Chen Huai'an and said, word by word, "Your Highness, the matter is as follows..."
Then, Zhuge Yunsheng recounted the cause and effect of the matter in a clear and logical manner.
It turns out that the ambitious and ambitious Second Emperor Zhao Gan, since ascending the throne, had issued a series of decrees in order to achieve political achievements comparable to those of Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han.
One of them was the Silk Road.
The fate of Princess Liu Shujun, the only daughter of Prince Wuning Liu Xinwu, was closely linked to the Silk Road by an imperial edict issued by Zhao Gan.
During the Daxin period, among the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions, the Uyghurs were the most powerful and influential.
In order to consolidate the influence of the Xin Dynasty in the Western Regions and ensure the smooth flow of the Silk Road, Zhao Gan inevitably had to deal with the Uyghur Khanate.
Meanwhile, the Uyghur Khanate, fearing the powerful national strength and military might of the Great Xin Dynasty, also intended to establish friendly relations with Great Xin.
Therefore, the Huiren Khan of the Uyghur Khanate, Guli Peiluo, sent an envoy to the capital of Daxin to meet the emperor and request a marriage alliance. He asked Emperor Zhao Gan of Daxin to send a princess as his wife, and the two sides concluded an alliance to jointly protect the Silk Road.
Zhao Gan didn't want to get involved in the matter, but his favorite concubine, Wenren Yu, whispered in his ear, urging him to bestow the title of princess upon Liu Shujun, the daughter of Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, and send her to the Uyghurs for a marriage alliance.
This former courtesan, Wenren Yu, already had a grudge against Liu Xinwu, the Prince of Wuning.
Moreover, the fact that Liu Xinwu suffers from a hidden illness that prevents him from having children is a well-known secret in the Daxin court.
Therefore, when given the opportunity to take revenge on Liu Xinwu and separate him from his daughter Liu Shujun for the rest of his life, never to see her again, Wenren Yu was naturally unwilling to let it go.
Zhao Gan couldn't resist Wenren Yu's pillow talk, and since Liu Xinwu, the Prince of Changshan Wuning, was already a marginal figure in the Great Xin Dynasty, he simply fulfilled the demands of his favorite concubine, Wenren Yu.
As a result, Zhao Gan issued an imperial edict to bestow the title of Princess Anning upon Liu Shujun, the only daughter of Prince Wuning Liu Xinwu, and ordered her to marry far away.
The following spring, they went to the Uyghur Khanate, 6,800 li away, for a marriage alliance.
When the news reached the Prince of Wuning's residence in Changshan County, Liu Xinwu and his daughter Liu Shujun were both struck dumb.
Princess Liu Shujun, in particular, fell seriously ill and became increasingly emaciated.
Prince Liu Xinwu of Wuning saw this and felt deeply distressed.
Recalling what the Second Emperor Zhao Gan had done to the Prince of Wuning's residence since his ascension to the throne, Liu Xinwu could no longer suppress his rebellious spirit.
As a father, he would never allow his only daughter, his only relative in the world, to become a victim of political deals by those in power.
They certainly wouldn't stand idly by and watch their daughter, in the prime of her life, marry a dying Uyghur old man.
Just as Liu Xinwu was plotting how to rescue his daughter Liu Shujun from her dire situation...
News of Chen Huai'an, the heir apparent of the Prince of Jin, raising an army in Longcheng to quell the rebellion, and subsequently conquering Yunzhou, Shuobei, and the Turks, reached Liu Xinwu's ears.
From that moment on, Liu Xinwu began to have a plan in mind.
Just then, news of Chen Huai'an's uprising reached the imperial court and Emperor Zhao Gan's ears. This led to the incident where Prince Wu Ning sent a special envoy to the Prince of Jin's residence to secretly report to the emperor that he would personally lead the expedition.
Finally, Zhuge Yunsheng said, "Your Highness, in the entire Great Xin Dynasty, only Your Highness has the ability to save my princess's life from dire straits!"
"Your Highness, my lord said that if Your Highness can lend a helping hand this time, and if Your Highness ever needs anything from the Wu Ning Prince's Mansion in the future, my lord will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
"Please grant my request, Your Highness!"
After saying that, Zhuge Yunsheng raised his head and kowtowed straight down.
On the main seat in the council hall of the Prince's Mansion, Chen Huai'an looked at Zhuge Yunsheng kneeling in front of him but did not give an immediate answer.
The old monk Dongfang Xiao, who was standing to the side, also gestured with his eyes for him to calm down and discuss it later.
The next moment, Chen Huai'an said, "Zhuge Yunsheng, please get up!"
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Yunsheng indeed stood up, but still looked at Chen Huai'an with pleading eyes.
Chen Huai'an then said, "Zhuge Yunsheng, you have come all the way from Changshan County. You must be exhausted from the long journey!"
"I now know everything about what the Prince of Wuning asked you to tell me and what he requested!"
He paused, then continued, "This matter is of great importance, and I need to consider it carefully before giving a reply!"
"Alright then, you can stay at the Prince's residence for now. I will summon you after I make my decision!"
After saying that, Chen Huai'an waved his hand and shouted towards the outside, "Someone, take Mr. Zhuge from the Prince of Wuning's mansion away and serve him well!"
Seeing this, Zhuge Yunsheng said nothing more, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to Chen Huai'an, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness Prince Jin!"
Soon, servants from the Prince's residence took Zhuge Yunsheng away.
Only then did Dongfang Xiao, who had remained silent until now, burst into a hearty laugh and say, "Haha, congratulations, Prince Jin! Congratulations, Prince Jin!"
Chen Huai'an raised an eyebrow, knowing the answer already, and asked, "Master, what is there to be happy about?"
Ha ha!
Dongfang Xiao smiled and said, "Your Highness, you were just jokingly referring to me as your mentor, and now you're pretending to be ignorant with your mentor?"
"This Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, is not only one of the eight princes of different surnames in this dynasty, but also comes from a noble family from the Yan and Zhao regions in the previous dynasty. The late Emperor Zhao Mang was able to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun with ease, and Prince Wu Ning made an indispensable contribution!"
After a pause, Dongfang Xiao continued, "Don't be fooled by the fact that Liu Xinwu, the Prince of Wuning, has been stripped of his military power by the current emperor. His prestige and influence in the Yan and Zhao regions still remain. More than half of the garrison commanders in the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun have close personal relationships with him!"
"More importantly, this Prince Wuning only has one daughter, Princess Liu Shujun!"
"so--"
Hahaha!
At this point, Dongfang Xiao let out another hearty laugh.
Seeing the old monk so happy, Chen Huai'an couldn't help but laugh as well.
He smiled and said, "Then, according to the master's advice, what should we do about this matter?"
Dongfang Xiaodao: "Marry the princess and go straight for Youyun!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com