At the hour of Si, the emperor's carriage left the palace.
Now the struggle between Duan Changchuan and the Regent was approaching a fever pitch, and there was no guarantee that the other party would do something when he was cornered, so he secretly replaced the guards around the carriage with several secret guards. He also planted a number of secret guards mixed in with the Imperial Guards along the way.
Half of the imperial guards and secret guards were there to escort them, and with General Rongwu's troops positioned between the villa and Shengjing City, both the palace and the villa were completely protected.
Early this morning, Duan Changchuan received a message from his uncle, who kept reminding him that the defense of the villa was weaker than that of the palace after all, and asked him to be careful.
One thousand of his elite troops have been quietly hiding in Shengjing City, ready to be deployed at any time.
Of course, my uncle himself also secretly hid in the temple outside the villa. It was because Duan Changchuan was worried about him after he encountered an assassin half a month ago that Duan Changchuan allowed him to come.
On the day he set out, at night, Nangong Jin'er and Zhang Dehai left the palace and went straight to Prime Minister Bai's residence.
Zhang Dehai was a eunuch who had served the previous emperor and was also a disciple of the previous chief steward. His connections in the palace were incomparable to those of ordinary servants. In addition, his "reckless" and "ambitious" personality made him very easy to use, so Prime Minister Bai and the Regent both tried to win him over.
Ever since he became the emperor's "abandoned pawn", he has been maneuvering between these two people, not offending either side, not taking sides with either side, and always maintaining a delicate balance.
Therefore, he knew all of Bai Xiang's confidants. He just sent someone to inform them in advance and met Bai Xiang that night.
"Eunuch Zhang came to me this time to discuss something with me? I heard that Eunuch Zhang is now in the cold palace, living with the queen. Has he figured it out now?"
Zhang Dehai smiled, took two steps back, and said, "Yes and no, the one who wants to see the Prime Minister today is not me, but someone else."
After saying this, he invited Nangong Jin'er behind him to come out and said, "This is someone close to the Queen, her name is Nangong Jin'er, and she is here to see you on the Queen's orders. The Queen has something to say to you."
The woman in the black cloak then took off her hat, revealing her real face.
She first stepped forward and bowed lightly, then said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Hello, Lord Bai. Nangong Jin'er is here to visit her mother's family today under the order of the Queen, and would like to make a deal with you."
"Bai Su?" Bai Xiang asked suspiciously, "What kind of deal can she make with me? She has been in the cold palace for more than a month and has not come out yet. She can't even protect herself. How can she make a deal with me? She wants me to save her. Tell her that I can't save her now. Let her save her life first, and she will get better in the future."
The words were spoken with great indifference.
It really doesn't sound like something a father would say.
Nangong Jin'er looked at Zhang Dehai quietly, then laughed softly: "Among what Bai Xiang just said, I'm afraid only one thing is right. You really can't take care of yourself. If you say so, then I will come straight to the point. Our queen is really not here to make a deal with you, our queen is here to save you."
"Save me? By her? What? Do you think you are second only to the emperor after becoming the queen? Could it be that she has only been with the emperor for a month and has fallen in love with him again? Do you think the emperor can also have deep feelings for her? It's a big joke. Can't you see what kind of person the current emperor is? He can execute people in front of all the civil and military officials, and treats the laws of his ancestors as nothing. He kills people and chops people at will. Can such a person have a romantic relationship with others? Not to mention a man as cruel as the current emperor, in the eyes of anyone who stands in that position and becomes a royal family, the love between children is nothing but a pastime. Go back and let her wake up, and pray to God. If the regent and I can succeed this time, she will feel better and stop thinking about nonsense all day long."
Every word Bai Xiang said was ironic.
Zhang Dehai couldn't bear to watch it anymore and wanted to step forward to explain, but before he opened his mouth, Nangong Jin'er's eyes signaled that he swallowed the words back.
The woman stepped forward and said calmly, "Does Prime Minister Bai think that our queen has been in the cold palace these days? It seems that Prime Minister Bai's power has been suppressed a lot, and now even the news is not well-informed. Why can my queen make a deal with you, and why can she save you? Because my queen is now pregnant with the heir of the royal family. Because my queen asked for permission from His Majesty when the plague just broke out in Huainan, and went all the way to Huainan. Because my queen is the rumored , the daughter of the Bai family who is a fairy descended from the earth. Oh, my queen is in the palace, working hard every day, originally she didn't want her father to rebel against the heaven, and finally end up with the nine clans being executed, and she would also be implicated in the future, so she ordered us to come and give her some kind of advice. I didn't expect that Prime Minister Bai would be such a pedantic and arrogant person. Fortunately, the queen told me that if the prime minister doesn't want to, then let the prime minister fend for himself. Anyway, His Majesty can distinguish right from wrong, and even if she is implicated, it won't be too much. "
After saying this, without waiting for Bai Yanyuan's reaction, he gestured to Zhang Dehai, "Let's go, Eunuch Zhang. It seems that the Prime Minister is unwilling to cooperate with us. We don't have to rush. Let's go back to the palace. Didn't His Majesty ask the Queen to go to the villa a few days later to escape the summer heat? We still have a lot to do."
"What did you say? The daughter of the Bai family is Bai Su? She is also pregnant with a dragon heir? You are making it up. If she was really pregnant with a dragon heir, how could she go to Huainan?"
Nangong Jin'er paused, then sneered, "Your Highness caught a cold in Huainan and had a cough. Imperial Doctor Sun found out when he took her pulse. She is now more than four months pregnant. If you don't believe me, just wait for the dragon heir to be born. But it's unclear whether Prime Minister Bai will live to see that day."
After saying that, he continued walking forward.
However, before he reached the door, Bai Xiang rushed over and stopped him.
The girl's lips curled up slightly.
She raised her eyelashes and looked at him contemptuously.
"Is there anything else, Bai Xiang?"
"Tell me what your plans are."
"It's what the Prime Minister wants and what our Queen wants. The Prime Minister should know it clearly."
[What does Bai Su want...]
Bai Yanyuan was as cunning as a fox, so of course he could guess the answer immediately: he just wanted to secure the position of queen and make him acknowledge, or in other words, make the whole world acknowledge, that she, Bai Su, was the legitimate eldest daughter.
But in this case, what should the Prime Minister’s wife do
He had come up with the idea of marrying off a concubine's daughter to the emperor in order to humiliate the current emperor. Now that he was breaking his word, wouldn't he become the laughing stock of the world
"Your Excellency is hesitant? Then you can think about it again and see what His Majesty thinks."
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Nangong Jin'er threw out another harsh word.
What is your Majesty thinking
Hearing this, Bai Yanyuan could hardly stand.
Yes, if he, a prime minister, felt humiliated, then wouldn't the emperor, who had to accept the prime minister's concubine as the queen, have suffered an even greater humiliation
In the past, Bai Yanyuan only thought that the current emperor was just a little rabbit, and he didn't even have to join forces with the regent to control the government.
If the Regent had not been obsessed with power, there would have been no need for him to fight with the Regent. And the Regent had promised him too many benefits, so how could he possibly join forces with that man
Now it seems that the regent is nothing but a fool in the eyes of the little emperor.
Thinking of this, Bai Yanyuan hesitated and said, "I can recognize her as my legitimate daughter, but my wife is the lady of the imperial court appointed by the late emperor... This cannot be changed."
Nangong Jin'er nodded with satisfaction: "Just tell me what you can take, and our queen will find a way to take the rest."
"If she can protect me, and Your Majesty is willing, I will make her mother the prime minister's wife. As for the current lady, she will naturally become a concubine."
"I believe that His Majesty will agree with this. After all... only a child born by the wife of a first-rank prime minister is worthy of the title of the Queen Mother of Datong. What do you think, Prime Minister?"
"Yes... Did the Queen tell you what I can get?"
Bai Yanyuan asked in a low voice.
At this point, the old fox finally took the bait.
Nangong Jin'er finally raised the corners of her lips and said, "My queen and you are father and daughter. My queen is in a high position, so of course she wants a strong maternal clan. As long as the Prime Minister is willing to withdraw now, the queen will try to keep the Prime Minister's current position. Of course, with our current emperor here, the Prime Minister will not be as all-powerful as he is now, but the Prime Minister will be a legitimate national warrior from now on, and you will still be in a position where one person is below and ten thousand people are above. When my queen's child is born in the future, if it is a boy, he will be the prince, and if it is a girl, she will be the first princess of Datong. The Prime Minister should think about it again. Let's not talk about whether the current regent is still destined to control the imperial power. The regent's son now has only one son and will not have children in the future. The pros and cons of this, the Prime Minister should understand."
The woman's words were sharp and clear, and Bai Yanyuan softened his attitude after just a few words.
After a long silence, he hesitated and said, "Let me think about it again..."
Nangong Jin'er didn't mean to force anything. She just said calmly, "Such an important matter should be considered by the Prime Minister. But let me remind you that the Regent has already sent the prince and his wife to Huainan. Huainan has just been pacified. If something happens again, the emperor will be furious and my queen will not be able to say anything."
After hearing these words, Bai Yanyuan's heart tightened again.
"I will be able to think it through tomorrow."
“This is the best.”
Nangong Jin'er finally bowed slightly to the crowd and left under the guidance of Zhang Dehai.
On the way back, Zhang Dehai kept giving people thumbs up: "Miss Jin'er is so brave and courageous."
Nangong Jin'er finished the important task in her heart and let out a long breath: "It was all taught by the Queen. Your Majesty, the Queen and my aunt studied for a long time before they came up with this. I just relayed the matter. Fortunately, everything is as the Queen expected. I believe that I don't need to wait until tomorrow, Bai Xiang will be able to figure it out tonight."
"Yes, our queen is kind and gentle... Speaking of which, the queen really cares about His Majesty."
Nangong Jin'er's grip on the brocade bag also tightened.
Early this morning, she and Zhang Dehai went to see His Majesty secretly. His Majesty handed them a jade pendant and said that Prime Minister Bai was suspicious by nature. In order to convince him faster, he directly mentioned His Majesty's name, and he was not afraid that Prime Minister Bai would not agree.
The two of them went to the Imperial Observatory and told the matter to the Empress, but were refuted by her.
At that time, the queen was silent for only a short while, then she flatly rejected the matter.
"No, if this matter is done in the name of your majesty, then Bai Xiang will become a hero in the fight for imperial power. He will take credit for this achievement in the future, and your majesty will be restricted by high officials again. You should still proceed as planned and go to persuade Bai Xiang in my name, so that he will always be guilty. Your majesty can also use this matter to easily control him in the future. Jin'er, your majesty's jade pendant is still given to you, but I hope you can return it to your majesty intact."
The Queen said so that day.
At this time, in the moonlit night, Nangong Jin'er looked at the full moon in the sky and let out a long breath.
She tightly grasped the jade pendant in the brocade bag and said softly, "That's great. When Your Majesty releases the queen from the cold palace, I can return the jade pendant to Your Majesty... Your Majesty will also know that the queen is sincere."
The head eunuch who had been immersed in the palace for more than ten years couldn't help but sigh softly: "It's great."
[very nice.]
[It’s great to have someone treat me like this...]
No wonder people say: I wish to win the heart of one person, and we will never change until we grow old together.
They won't be phase-shifted, right
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Note: The song is "Song of the White-haired Man"
I changed the last word, it's not a typo.