After summoning Zi'an, the emperor arranged a meeting with Prince Qi.
Of course, it’s about the so-called commitment issue.
Naturally, the emperor didn't dare to ask for too much now, because Zi'an's trip to the Northern Desert might not necessarily help control the plague or find a way to cure it.
He only wanted Prince Qi to promise to protect Zi'an's personal safety in Beimo.
It’s not that he cares much about Zi’an’s life or death, but Zi’an went there on imperial orders this time. If any problems occurred in Beimo, it would be a provocation to his dignity as the emperor of the Great Zhou, and also a challenge to the dignity of the Great Zhou.
He will send someone to go with Zi'an. If Zi'an can find a good solution, it will be his bargaining chip in negotiations with Beimo.
Prince Qi understood the emperor's concerns very well. He said, "On the day the princess leaves, I, the Crown Prince of Beimo, will also leave and come to the capital of the Great Zhou. I will temporarily stay here as a hostage. I ask the Emperor of the Great Zhou to take good care of me."
It is worth it no matter how you look at it to exchange a princess for a prince.
Because the matter is urgent, Zi'an cannot delay and must leave as soon as possible.
The emperor and Prince Qi discussed it and decided that they should set off tomorrow.
Zi'an couldn't object, but the ancestor had ordered that he should control the situation first. How could he control it? Time was so short.
She came back to discuss with Murong Jie, who thought for a moment, "Should we host a banquet tonight to entertain Prince Qi and send him and you off?"
"Yes." Zi'an remembered that Eunuch Lu said this.
"Well, let's set a trap for Prince Nan Huai at tonight's banquet." Murong Jie said with a faint smile.
Today in the Great Zhou Dynasty, although the emperor is biased, he is still the emperor after all, and he has been in power for many years without any mistakes in his administration.
However, he is now unable to distinguish people clearly and wants to use various means to consolidate his position. If he can control Prince Nan Huai, he will be in control of the situation.
After hearing what Murong Jie said, Zi'an said, "You can set a trap, but he has to be alive."
The same fate Gu has not been solved yet.
Zi'an has actually been thinking about getting rid of the poison these days, but there are too few records about it.
She hasn't finished reading Wen Yi's manuscripts that she brought back from Hanshan. She needs to see which ones are about poison and take them to Beimo to read.
Murong Jie said: "Don't worry, I just want to let the emperor know that he can't control Prince Nan Huai. Even if Prince Nan Huai hasn't given up his rebellion yet, he will know what attitude and means to use to deal with Prince Nan Huai."
"You mean to let them kill each other?" Zi'an said, and smiled awkwardly. The word "kill each other" didn't seem very appropriate.
But from a dark perspective, it seems very appropriate!
Murong Jie glanced at her, "Now the Night King has been appointed as the Grand Commandant, but it is only temporary. I have gone to my third brother and Lord Cui to tell them that the Emperor intends to remove the Night King from the position of Grand Commandant and promote Old Eighth. He thinks that Old Eighth is now a commander without troops, and promoting him is not a big deal, but can curb me. However, if the Emperor knew that he is not only not a commander without troops, but also has a lot of connections and military supplies, do you think the Emperor will still promote him? Will he still use him?"
"Of course not. He knew that Lao Ba was ambitious."
"Yes, by then, he will think that Old Eight will be a greater threat to him than this king."
Zi'an nodded: "That's right, but the farewell banquet will be held tonight. Is it too late to make arrangements? Besides, Prince Nan Huai's people should not be in the capital, right?"
"Do you remember the arms dealer who was cheated by Hu Huanxi?" Murong Jie smiled mysteriously.
"Oh, that unlucky guy!" Zi'an laughed, "Is he still making a living in the capital?"
"The war is about to start, and his business will be good."
Zi'an smiled and said, "Yes, business is good, but these arms dealers should do any business, right? As long as it's profitable."
"It's not that I'm wrongly accusing Old Eight, but he did spread the word that he wanted the crossbows in the hands of this arms dealer. This batch of goods is worth a lot of money, but the arms dealer is not willing to cooperate with him because he has been cheated by him before. Perhaps, I can facilitate this cooperation."
After he finished speaking, he added thoughtfully, "Now the emperor has summoned Sun Fang'er to the palace. Sun Fang'er is the future Princess Nan Huai. What do you think the emperor will do if he knows that Sun Fang'er is still secretly communicating with Prince Nan Huai?"
Zi'an looked at the strange smile on his man's face, "Old fox!"
Nanhuai Palace.
The mansion of Prince Nan Huai was once the mansion of Prince Su. After Prince Su died, as he had no son to inherit, the royal family took back his mansion and now gave it to Prince Nan Huai.
The former Prince Su's Palace was indescribably luxurious. Although its luxury has faded over the years, it can still restore its original appearance with a little renovation.
King Nan Huai did not renovate the mansion because it was only his temporary residence. He would not care even if every inch of the bricks were made of gold.
The only residence he longed for was a palace.
Prince Nan Huai and Concubine Gui are very similar to some extent.
They are all ambitious people who want to be the ruler of the world. To achieve this goal, the noble concubine can kill her sister, kill her son, and sacrifice everything that can be sacrificed.
As for King Nan Huai, for this ultimate goal, he can compromise, pretend to be a grandson, and howl outside the Golden Palace for four hours.
In terms of scheming, Prince Nan Huai is far inferior to the Noble Concubine. The Noble Concubine's failure was due to her impatience and suspicion.
A heartless person can accomplish great things, but the noble concubine delayed great things because of her heartlessness, and finally ended up killing each other with her own son.
Therefore, it is true that character determines destiny.
Prince Nan Huai was patient and able to bend and stretch. If he had the support of an expert, this kind of character would be very formidable.
Behind him, there happened to be a master, whose name was Shangqiu.
Shangqiu is a charlatan who can see a little bit of God's will.
This kind of charlatan is usually very smart and can guess people's minds very well. He also knows some unconventional ways. There are many such charlatans in the world, but no one is as powerful as Shangqiu.
Murong Jie decided to start with smart people like Shangqiu, because the smarter the person is, the more cautious he will be, and the more cautious he is, the more restricted he will be.
Tonight's farewell party is also a highlight for the emperor.
Because this was his first state banquet after he recovered from his illness.
He wanted to use this state banquet to tell everyone that he had recovered and had regained power.
The preparations this time were very hasty. Concubine Yi and Concubine Mei almost shouted themselves hoarse, and the servants in the palace ran their legs thin before they managed to arrange tonight's banquet.
Because it was a state banquet, the emperor also asked the palace servants to go out of the palace one by one to notify the royal relatives and officials above the second rank to enter the palace to attend.
This time, I am not bringing my family.
The news that Zi'an was about to go to Beimo also spread quickly in the capital.
The people were very proud because Beimo and Da Zhou were originally going to go to war, but now Beimo was asking the princess of Da Zhou to save their people.
(End of this chapter)