frightfiction Chapter 219 Cangbei Wants Jingzhiyuan
Chapter 219 Cangbei Wants Jingzhiyuan
Ye Muchen said with difficulty, "Actually, Feng Cuier is someone else. The one who was arrested is a fake. She is actually Feng Cuier's cousin, named Feng Cai'er. They came to the capital together. When they arrived in Qingzhou, Feng Cuier fell ill. While her cousin was unconscious, Feng Cai'er took her travel permit and jade pendant and came to the capital herself, impersonating her and entering the Prince's Mansion."
“This Feng Cui’er was rescued by a kind person, but she had no identification and no one dared to take her in. She begged all the way, but fortunately she was rescued by my master, the divine physician Baili, and that’s how she came to our mansion with him.”
"But since you're not in the manor, I don't dare take her in. I've temporarily arranged for her to stay at Xiao Jing's manor. We'll discuss it again when you return!"
Jingxue was speechless after hearing this. Was this a scene from a TV drama? And there was even a story about a real and a fake Feng Cuier!
"I don't care about this!"
"Xue'er, please don't... After what happened last time, I can't take care of her myself. But I still feel sorry for Feng Yi. He only has this one family member left. I can't let him die with regrets." Ye Muchen felt that Feng Cui'er had become a hot potato.
“Ye Muchen, you don’t need to consider what I think. I have no right to interfere in this matter. Haven’t we already agreed? I have no objection to whatever arrangements you make,” Jingxue said.
Jingxue's attitude greatly frustrated Ye Muchen. Fearing that Jingxue might bring up the idea of divorce again, he said directly, "Alright, I understand. Let her stay in Qin Jing's residence! As long as she's not cold or hungry, that's fine. You should get some rest!"
After finishing his sentence, Ye Muchen got up and went back to his room.
Jingxue "..."
This is a classic case of "once bitten, twice shy"! Whatever, it's none of her business! She went back to her room to sleep.
Today is the fifteenth, and the emperor has come to Fengqi Palace.
The Empress thought the Emperor wouldn't return today. She knew he hadn't stepped into the inner palace for many days, so she didn't have much hope. At that moment, she was playing with the Third Princess and the First Prince.
Two days ago, the Empress Dowager told her that she would select a few women from the noble families who were being trained to enter the palace and accompany the Emperor.
What could the Empress say? After the incidents involving Consort Li and Consort Fang, two more concubines were pregnant, leaving only Consort Shu and Consort Meng. However, both of them were not very noticeable, and the Emperor was not particularly interested in them. So it was time to add some new concubines.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
Upon hearing the eunuch's announcement, the Empress immediately rose to greet the Emperor.
"May Your Majesty be well!" The Empress bowed.
"Get up!" the Emperor said calmly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After they were seated, the palace maids served tea and refreshments, but the Emperor and Empress did not know what to say.
The Empress had no choice but to speak first, saying, "Father and Mother have gone to the hunting grounds and brought the two princesses with them, so the palace is much quieter now."
The emperor remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.
After a while, the Emperor said, "The negotiations with the Cangbei delegation are progressing slowly, and I am also feeling irritable, so I haven't come to see the First Prince. Empress, please don't overthink it."
The women in the inner palace were not allowed to interfere in politics, and the empress didn't know how to respond, so she could only listen quietly.
The Emperor continued, “The grain that Cangbei gives us is very good, but the price is too high. On one hand, they give us expensive grain, and on the other hand, they are drastically suppressing the price of our fine salt.”
"Your Majesty, did Princess Zhan also participate in the negotiations?" the Empress asked.
The Emperor shook his head. "No, since their princess consort didn't participate, we didn't make any arrangements. Even if she did participate, what decision could she make? Besides, if she made the decision, the censors would impeach her again."
"But Prince Duan told me that the goods in Princess Zhan's shop are very attractive to the Cangbei envoys. They placed an order for more than 30,000 taels of silver at once. The delegation also wants the grain seeds from Princess Zhan's shop. We may not even have enough to promote ourselves, so how can we give them to them?"
Since the Emperor kept talking about matters of state, the Empress no longer shied away. "Your Majesty, I think it would be better to let Princess Zhan attend the negotiation meeting. Perhaps it could break the awkward situation! As for the censors, I believe Your Majesty will understand if you reason with them. All of this is for the good of Bei Ye and the good of the people."
The Emperor turned and glanced at the Empress, who was startled and immediately said, "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. It was my fault. I shouldn't have interfered in state affairs."
"It's alright. What the Empress said makes sense. I will consider it. You will accompany me to see the First Prince."
The next day, the plan was to go hunting in the mountains, but the Cangbei delegation said they wanted to warm up at the palace first and have a competition between the two sides.
Let's have a race then!
So they built a large viewing shed on the open space to block out the sun and cold wind, and lit two bonfires next to the viewing shed.
Jingxue led the children to the open space. She looked up and saw the distant mountains. These mountains were still Wolong Mountain, and it was only about 30 miles away from Dashan Village.
At this moment, the trees on Wolong Mountain are covered with a layer of pure white frost, as if they are wearing a silver armor. Under the sunlight, the frost shimmers.
The weather was pretty good; there was no wind and it wasn't very cold.
The official from the Ministry of Rites struck a gong with a "clang" and began to announce the competition and rules.
The competition consists of five events: archery, wrestling, strongman, equestrian, and finally, martial arts. Each event is a challenge.
As soon as the master of ceremonies finished explaining the rules of the competition, Wanyan Junhao said to the retired emperor sitting in the middle, "Your Majesty, how about we have a best-of-five series?"
The Emperor Emeritus glanced at him and said in a low voice, "Now that we've decided on a winner, shouldn't Prince Cangbei ask for a prize?"
Wanyan Junhao did indeed think so, but the Emperor Emeritus had said it first, so the guy didn't hold back. He said matter-of-factly, "Of course, the loser has to grant the winner one request."
That's quite intriguing; those are many demands.
"Heh! Requirements? That depends on what kind of requirements they are," the retired emperor said, raising an eyebrow.
The people around them started whispering among themselves.
“If we win, you can hand Jing Zhiyuan over to us. In any case, he's a criminal in your country, and by rights he should be beheaded. Why not hand him over to us? Many of our soldiers died under his silver spear during the war between our two countries…”
Before Wanyan Junhao could finish speaking, Jingxue interrupted him, "You idiot, I'll give you a chance to say it again. Don't dream in broad daylight."
At this moment, the Seventh Prince, Wanyan Junhui, who rarely spoke, said, "My second brother did not express himself fully. We in Cangbei admire Jing Zhiyuan's talent. Why not hand him over to us? What conditions can you set?"
"It seems your Cangbei delegation is having trouble adjusting to Beiye! None of you have slept well. Let's not even talk about whether you have the ability to win. Even if you do win, don't even think about using my father as an excuse." Jingxue's voice seemed several degrees colder than the weather.
Ye Muchen did not sit with Jingxue today because he was checking the horses and personnel for the competition.
"What? Does Princess Consort Zhan think she looks down on Cangbei just because she knows a little martial arts?" Wanyan Junhao said, glaring at her.
"You're absolutely right! I do look down on you all. You defeated generals are making a big fuss!" Jingxue said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.