The day after the Dragon Boat Festival, a shocking news came. The father and son of the Yu family in Annan sent people to ambush the Qin envoys. Li Tianyou was missing and Commander Xiang was seriously injured.
The emperor was not interested in Li Tianyou's whereabouts. It didn't matter whether he was alive or dead.
But Yu and his son sent people to ambush the delegation he sent out, which was a provocation to him.
The emperor was furious, "You traitor are despicable."
He wanted to send troops to teach Yu father and son a lesson. The dignity of the suzerain state must not be violated.
The Qin army is strong and powerful, so it is not difficult to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops.
But the question of who will lead the troops remains undecided.
His original intention was to employ General Xiong, who was idle at home, but several ministers in the court opposed it.
General Xiong's shelling of the disaster victims was criticized.
He discussed the matter with several generals he trusted, but decided not to send any of them out. After all, he still needed these people to intimidate Prince Jin.
After thinking it over, he had no choice but to go to Fushou Palace to discuss with the Queen Mother, "When the time comes, I will regret having too little."
The Queen Mother thought for a moment and said, "Xinfu can be used. He has done a very good job in the Shangzhi Army over the past year."
Xinfu is Qin Zhaoxi's courtesy name. There is no one else available from the Empress Dowager's family, so the only one who can be promoted is this nephew.
The emperor thought for a moment and said, "Xinfu is too young. I'm afraid he won't be able to convince the people if he becomes the commander."
"That kid Helian Yu became the chief general when he was only sixteen or seventeen years old. Xinfu is already twenty years old, why can't he be the chief general?" The empress dowager said with her neck stiff.
"That was a mission given in a time of crisis." Although the emperor hated Prince Jin, it was indeed Prince Jin and his son who turned the tide back then.
The Queen Mother thought for a moment and said, "Then let the veteran Zhang Neng be the chief general, and Xin Fu and He Lian Ming be the deputy generals."
The emperor frowned, "Helian Ming has always been close to Helian Yu, and only follows Helian Yu's lead. What's the difference between using him and using Helian Yu?"
"How can there be no difference? Of course there is a difference. Helian Ming is also the prince of the palace. Is he willing to be inferior to others? Now that he has military power in his hands, will he still obey Helian Yu?"
At this time, the Queen Mother had completely forgotten that she was so confident and self-righteous before she pointed Jiang Changning to Prince Jin that day.
The emperor obviously hadn't remembered this either. He thought the Queen Mother's plan was brilliant and said, "Announce the appointment at the morning court tomorrow."
He wanted to catch Prince Jin off guard!
In fact, he was worrying too much, as the King of Jin really didn't want to lead the expedition.
Jiang Changning is pregnant, and he wants to stay in Beijing to accompany his wife. Besides, the military power does not necessarily have to be in his own hands.
Not only the Prince of Jin but also the Prince of De wanted to accompany his wife. When he heard that the Emperor wanted him to be the deputy general and go to Annan to quell the rebellion, he was depressed to the extreme.
After the court session ended, he dragged Prince Jin to drink with him, "Cousin Yu, what do you think the emperor means by this?"
"Who is your deputy general?" King Jin did not answer his question, but asked back.
Prince De was stunned at first, then he slammed the table and stood up, angrily saying: "You are using me as a stepping stone."
"You are wrong. You are not a stepping stone, you are a head. The Queen Mother and the Emperor are trying to make things happen for Qin Zhaoxi." The Prince of Jin saw through the situation and hit the nail on the head.
Prince De was stunned for a while, then sat down angrily and drank the wine in the glass. "Hold your breath."
"The emperor's order is hard to disobey. You should just do your job well. Stop drinking alone and go back." Prince Jin stood up and was about to leave.
Prince De reached out and grabbed his sleeve, "Cousin Yu, it's still early. It won't be too late to have a few drinks with me before leaving."
"No, the air is filled with the smell of alcohol. My princess will be angry. She is pregnant and I dare not make her angry." Prince Jin said seriously.
Prince De also remembered that his own wife was also pregnant. If he went back drunk, he would definitely get into trouble. He put down the wine pot and said, "I will not drink this wine as we are about to go to war. I will go back and pack my luggage."
When Prince Jin returned to his palace, he went to Liuxuanyuan to pay his respects to the Queen Mother as usual.
What was the concubine embroidering? A hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of the Prince of Jin. The concubine's sewing skills were almost the same as Jiang Changning's, and she had not touched the needlework for many years. "Mother, what are you doing?"
"I'm making a tiger-head hat." The concubine smiled lovingly, "For my grandson."
"Why did you think of making a tiger-head hat for your grandson, mother?" Prince Jin remembered that when Qiao was pregnant, the concubine did not do so.
"Yin Yao said that the tiger-head hat made by grandma made my grandson look good when he wore it." The concubine laughed, "Aunt's shoes, aunt's socks, Yin Yao is making tiger-head shoes."
"You can do your work, mother. Don't work too hard." Prince Jin saw that the tiger-head hat was made quite finely, with all the thread ends hidden.
"It's not hard, not hard at all." The princess dowager was cheerful. She had longed to be able to make a tiger-head hat for her grandson.
Prince Jin chatted with the Queen Mother for a while, then stood up and left, returning to Rujing Courtyard.
Before entering the courtyard, I heard someone shouting, "Prince, please save our lady."
Prince Jin stopped and looked at the maid running towards him, whom he did not recognize.
He didn't know most of the maids in the mansion, he only knew the ones around Jiang Changning.
The maidservant was calling "Madam", so I guess she was either from Mrs. Park or Mrs. Chen.
The Prince of Jin looked calmly at the maid kneeling at his feet and heard her say, "My Lord, my Lady is ill and is thinking of you. Please go and see her."
"If you are sick, just report it to the princess and take the letter to ask the doctor to see you. Why are you expecting me to do anything? I don't know any medical skills and I can't cure any illness."
As he spoke, Prince Jin walked towards the gate of the courtyard.
"Your Majesty, my lady loves you deeply, my lady."
"We haven't even been together, how can you be so affectionate? I am a noble man, she is sick, and she asked me to go over. If she passes the disease to me, wouldn't it be unfair to me?"
These words were so cruel that the maid was stunned.
Prince Jin didn't pay much attention and walked straight into the door.
The maid was stunned for a moment, then ran back to Jiaoshuangju quickly.
Mrs. Park pretended to be sick in the room. She was wearing a moon-white plain skirt, her hair was tied up in a loose bun, and a light blue silk flower was inserted diagonally in her hair. Her whole body exuded a delicate beauty.
Looking at the maid who came in alone, the light in her eyes suddenly went out, "The prince doesn't want to come, right?"
She actually knew that this method would not work and she could not deceive the King of Jin, but she had no other choice. She was getting older and if she did not serve in the emperor's bedchamber, she would have no chance.
In the past, she was well-behaved and hoped that after the princess became pregnant, she would be arranged to serve in the bedroom.
But now the princess is pregnant and is monopolizing the prince, so she knows that she can't count on the princess to make arrangements, as beauty fades easily, not to mention that she is a few years older than the princess.
She had to do something to win the prince's favor. She remembered her aunt saying that men are most sympathetic to weak women.
She dressed like this in the hope of attracting the prince and gaining his love.
"The prince said that if you are sick, you should report it to the princess consort, and ask the princess to take a letter and invite the doctor to the mansion to see the patient. He is not a doctor and cannot treat illnesses." The maid repeated what the prince of Jin said word for word.
Park's face was filled with despair. If Prince Jin didn't come, she wouldn't be able to use all her tricks!
Is this how I will live, alone in my empty room until I grow old? And remain a girl until I die
(End of this chapter)