Unwilling
Unbridled laughter echoed throughout the mansion, and nearly half of the people stayed, which was within Yuan Ming's expectations.
She looked up at the door and saw that Zhong Yingqi was already there.
Yuan Ming smiled and said, "General Zhong, please don't break your promise."
One day ago...
"General Zhong, let's make a deal."
It was getting dark, Yuan Ming lit the candle on the table, and the faint candlelight jumped into her eyes like scattered starlight.
Zhong Yingqi stared into her eyes and asked, "What's the deal?"
"I must get what belongs to Zhang He. Unfortunately, I'm alone and I'm afraid it will be difficult to convince others. So I want to borrow a little bit of General Zhong's prestige."
"Are you sure you can take down Zhang He?"
Yuan Ming laughed out loud: "Whether we can get it or not is up to me. General Zhong just needs to tell me whether this deal can be done."
Zhong Yingqi's face darkened, and his tone grew colder: "Since this is a deal, Your Highness, why don't you tell me your bargaining chips?"
Yuan Ming waved his hand: "As for me, I can temporarily give General Zhong the right to mobilize the county soldiers."
This time it was Zhong Yingqi's turn to laugh out loud. "Let's not even talk about Zhang He's scrawny soldiers. Just think about how His Highness used my name to usurp power, and in the end, he only gave me 'temporary' transfer rights. Isn't that a bit too much of a loss for me?"
Yuan Ming's smile grew even brighter, almost to the point of being fake:
"I know that General Zhong is upright and incorruptible. No matter how wicked Zhang He is, he will eventually be handed over to the Emperor for punishment. Especially since the current Empress hates personal punishment, and General Zhong doesn't want to be involved in rumors."
Yuan Ming changed the subject: "But the Liang army is approaching. Although they have no intention of attacking at the moment, who knows what they will do next? The people are in the hands of corrupt officials like Zhang He. The general must be worried."
Zhong Yingqi nodded and motioned Yuan Ming to continue.
"So, I've done the job that put General Zhong in such a dilemma. With a deposed princess like me to shoulder the brunt of the world's opinions and the Empress's possible accusations, it's definitely a win-win for General Zhong."
"You know your identity, don't you worry that others will think you're gathering strength to rebel someday?"
After saying this, Zhong Yingqi felt that Yuan Ming's eyes dimmed, but only for a moment.
"General Zhong, you're worrying too much. After all, when the Empress and I... my mother and I do something like this, how can there be no risk at all?"
The sky was completely dark, and the candle had burned out. Zhong Yingqi walked to the door and turned back to see Yuan Ming, chin propped up with one hand, staring listlessly at the dying candlestick.
The darkness gradually swallowed her up, but she didn't care.
Back to the present, Yuan Ming, sitting on the armchair, looked like a charming little fox who had succeeded, with a smile of accomplishment in her eyes, completely different from her that day.
Zhong Yingqi and Yuan Ming sat at the same table again. Yuan Ming stroked the teacup with his right hand and looked very satisfied.
Zhong Yingqi took a sip of tea and asked, "Where's Zhang He?"
Yuan Ming seemed to have just woken up from his emotions and murmured, "Zhang He, I've left her to Fang'er. You should know her. She's the good girl who didn't run away that night. She's quite pitiful. She lost her parents and her home, so I took her in."
Zhong Yingqi recalled that night and felt guilty. "I was careless at the time. I didn't expect Zhang He to be so reckless. Otherwise, those girls might still be alive. I heard their bodies were thrown into a mass grave. I sent people to look for them and found a few coffins to bury them as best I can."
"General Zhong is thoughtful. I didn't pay attention to the dead, but was thinking about the living."
Zhong Yingqi thought this was very strange, but then he thought, it's not surprising that Yuan Ming said something strange since he was insane.
"What should we do next, Your Highness?"
"Let's see which side strikes first. I've seized Zhang He's power, and everyone knows it. Yuan Zi can't sit still, but the Empress and the other officials will have different opinions. Whether this is good or bad for me depends on how much leverage Yuan Zi holds. On the other side, there are the Liang army. My sword strike missed, but the Emperor of Liang won't let it go. If he strikes, it will definitely affect the Empress and Yuan Zi. At that time, life or death will depend entirely on my luck."
"It's all up to fate?" Zhong Yingqi didn't quite believe Yuan Ming was such a passive person. It seemed he still didn't fully understand Yuan Ming, but it was undeniable that her slightly eccentric personality, coupled with her stunning beauty, often made it impossible to take your eyes off her.
Besides, Yuan Ming...whether she admits it or not, she has a kind heart.
"Your Highness, I have always wanted to ask you a question."
"Oh, what's the problem? Please ask."
Zhong Yingqi picked up the teacup and faced Yuan Ming.
"Your Highness, why are you so anxious to take Mucheng? Mucheng's military is weak, the Liang army is eyeing it covetously, and the capital has been slow to respond. Mucheng is caught in the middle and its situation is not optimistic. Your Highness is now a free man, why would you bother with this dirty water? Therefore, I don't understand why Your Highness is doing this."
"What else could it be? Because of my sense of justice." Yuan Ming spoke quickly, "You and I both know that Zhang He is the one who would abandon the city and flee. What would happen to the people who stayed behind? They would be at the mercy of others."
"I made mistakes in the past, and now I want to make amends. It just so happens that I want to make a comeback, and I must have my own army. I want these county soldiers that everyone in Mucheng despises. It's that simple."
Zhong Yingqi was very shocked, but after the shock he felt that it was as it should be - Yuan Ming was a kind person who was not afraid of difficulties.
Zhong Yingqi cares about the people of the world, and so does Yuan Ming.
For Yuan Ming, she could have fought for a ray of hope for the people of Mucheng, so why didn't she do it? In her previous life, she was trapped in her own pain, looking at herself in the mirror and feeling sorry for herself, never considering that her people were starving and even living was a luxury.
Yuan Ming could not forget the moment when she climbed over the wall and ran into Fang'er. At first, she laughed at Fang'er for only crying and not resisting, but then she thought, what power does a girl like this have to resist? If it were her, she might not live as long as Fang'er.
Fang'er was like a corner of a tragic picture, allowing Yuan Ming to glimpse the suffering of the world. When she looked up at the world from her own sorrow, she realized that her own great suffering was nothing compared to the world.
Now that I've been reborn, I have to do something. Yuan Ming told himself this, and he took action accordingly.
Zhong Yingqi on the side looked at Yuan Ming gently with a faint smile on his face.
…
Capital city.
Yuan Zi had a big quarrel with the empress, and the ground was covered with scraps of paper and broken porcelain pieces. The servants trembled and dared not make a sound for fear of causing unnecessary trouble.
The empress roared, "Smash it all! Smash it all! Let the civil and military officials see that the princess of Qi Kingdom is like a shrew, raging incompetence."
The servants wanted to close their eyes and plug their ears. The more they heard such words, the more their lives would be in danger.
Yuan Zi's eyes were red. "The border city of Mu has now been given to Yuan Ming. Mother is planning to open the city gates to my good sister and welcome her back to the throne of the princess. Then she can kick this sickly princess like me back to the small courtyard and never ask about me again."
The empress scolded: "You are a waste. Qiguo gave you this to help Liangguo."
The empress said these words with gritted teeth.
Yuan Zi smiled grimly, "I'm useless? Mother, it's obviously you who's useless! When you first seized power, you took advantage of the aristocratic families. I don't know how much you've done to them in the first half of your life. Now that you've gotten into trouble, you're putting it all on me. You're really good at manipulating things."
Yuan Zi was exhausted, leaning on the tea table and panting, she said slowly:
"A few days ago, Zhong Yingqi sent a memorial saying that the Liang army was already eyeing the border covetously, and asked the capital to rush to Mucheng to provide early defenses. I had just approved the troops to go to Mucheng, but Wang Taifu said there were not enough horses. I sent someone to check, but found only one or two foals nibbling hay in the huge stable. I was about to confront Wang Taifu, but he knelt down and said..."
Yuan Zi coughed, her eyes full of sarcasm.
"The Imperial Household Officer Wang said that all the horses in the stables had been chosen by the princes and nobles. Since it was a peaceful time, it would have been a waste to keep so many horses, so they sold them to the noble families at a low price. I hope Mother is aware of this."
The empress frowned, recalling the incident. It was indeed true. She said, "The treasury was in a tight spot at the time, and the horse breeder said there was no grass to feed the horses. So the former prime minister proposed selling the horses to a noble family in the capital. The money from the sale would go to the treasury, and if anything went wrong, the family could return the horses. So, what's going on? The horses can't be returned?"
Yuan Zi sneered, "I don't know which lord started the trend of saying that warhorse meat is delicious and a unique delicacy. A few years ago, noble families started eating horse meat. After all, those who can eat warhorse meat are powerful and influential. Ordinary people are envious when they see them eating it."
The empress was shocked: "They ate all the horses. What kind of mouths dared to eat war horses? Have their brains been damaged by their greed?"
"I think Mother's brain has been spoiled by all the comforts she's had. I heard this from my dear sister. She must have told Mother a long time ago, but then she left the city to travel, so Mother must have forgotten about it."
Yuan Zi spoke in a sarcastic tone, adding, "Mother isn't pushing all the problems onto Wen Cunxiao, is she? Hahaha, Wen Cunxiao is just a puppet pushed up by the aristocratic family. Does he dare to say no in front of them?"
After Yuan Zi finished laughing, she lowered her eyes and said, "It's only in the last one or two years that Wen Cunxiao has regained some power. He's been fighting fiercely with the aristocratic families. Yuan Ming is out studying the people's sentiments, and I've been racking my brains trying to figure out how to defeat Yuan Ming. We've all been busy, but Mother is the only one who's happy and at ease. Tell me, who's to blame for this?"
The empress lowered her head. Now over fifty-five, her once energetic days seemed like a lifetime ago. One night, while reading memorials by candlelight, she had a thought: I'd fought for most of my life, why not enjoy it? It was that moment of slackening that had led to the current situation.
After a long silence, Song Lan helped Yuan Zi up. Yuan Zi said, "If the Liang army really attacks, we'll all be doomed. But when I think about Yuan Ming being doomed before me, I can't help but laugh out loud."
The entire palace was filled with Yuan Zi's laughter. The empress could no longer tolerate it and left with a wave of her sleeves.
Songlan was frightened when she heard this. She thought Yuan Zi might be mentally unstable.
Song Lan's expression of fear revealed only a hint of it, and Yuan Zi, as if with a sharp eye, immediately stopped laughing, tightly grasped Song Lan's hand and asked, "Are you afraid of me?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
