The prince looked at Prince Qi's back, sneered, and turned to walk into the corridor.
At the end of the corridor, a dress was faintly visible.
"Mother, I have checked, and there is indeed ginseng in the box." The prince bowed.
Empress Cao hummed, "That's fine."
The prince asked doubtfully, "What do you suspect, mother? Do you suspect that Concubine Qing is colluding with Prince Qi?"
"My dear, it's always better to be careful."
"But, didn't mother always teach me that if you employ someone, you should trust him. If you don't trust him, don't employ him. Since you let Qing Fei stay by father's side, why should we be on guard against her?"
The queen slowly turned around and walked forward, "Does your father like Concubine Qing?"
"I like it, of course I like it."
"Since your father likes her, it means that she has a certain weight in his heart. She may be able to influence his decision, and she will be able to get a lot of information from your father, information that others don't know. If Concubine Qing has the intention of betraying and leaks this information, it will hinder my deployment of troops."
The prince said, "I see."
Empress Cao said lovingly: "You are still too young. Study hard. One day, you will have the skills of your father."
"What methods does father have? Isn't he still controlled by mother?" the prince said contemptuously.
Empress Cao shook her head gently, "Silly child, don't think your father is too simple. If it weren't for your mother bringing Qing Fei and Sanshi Taoist into the palace and bewitching your father, how could he listen to me so much now?"
The prince nodded, not quite understanding, "But, don't worry, your son, I have mother to plan everything for you."
"You have to improve yourself, too. You might as well learn more from your uncles. Your uncles are all very outstanding people."
"Yes!" replied the prince.
After leaving the palace, Prince Qi immediately got on the carriage and told the driver, "Hurry up!"
The driver received the order and raised the whip, "What!"
Prince Qi opened the box, took out the ginseng, reached under the brocade box, and took out a piece of paper. He looked at it quickly and then put it into his sleeve pocket.
After reading the note, he felt even more depressed.
His guess was correct. The emperor really intended to hold Murong Jie hostage in Beimo and then order Qin Zhou to continue the war.
Moreover, this was not Empress Cao's idea, but the Emperor's. Before, they always believed that the Emperor was deceived by Empress Cao and made many foolish decisions. However, it turned out that Empress Cao was far less terrifying than the Emperor.
After returning to the palace, he took a deep breath before stepping in.
Murong Jie and others had already eaten, and the retainers arranged for them to stay in the Xiyang Pavilion of the palace.
Xiyang Pavilion is the largest building in the palace. It has twelve rooms, a main hall, two side halls, and an independent garden, occupying one-third of the land of the palace.
Arranging Murong Jie here also shows that Prince Qi values Murong Jie.
"Brother Murong, Princess, are you used to the food?" Prince Qi asked with a smile as he entered the room.
Murong Jie was wiping his sword in the yard. When he saw him come in, he just raised his eyes indifferently, "Get used to it? What's there to get used to? Some things, you just get used to them slowly, such as being cheated."
Prince Qi smiled awkwardly, "This... Brother Murong is really good at joking."
"Prince Qi, tell me the truth. I know what the Northern Desert Emperor meant. I might as well speak frankly. Your Emperor wants to detain me here and continue the attack. I guess he ordered Qin Zhou to attack the moment I stepped into the Northern Desert territory, right?"
As Murong Jie spoke, he tested his sword. His movements were as smooth as flowing water, and he could feel the compelling sword energy with just a casual dance.
Prince Qi was overwhelmed after hearing this. He didn't know this either. He said, "I'm afraid General Qin Zhou won't attack. After all, there is still a branch of the Qin family in Qicheng."
"The emperor will also say in the imperial edict that Xia Zian of the Great Zhou is simply incapable of curing the epidemic. By then, what will Qin Zhou have to worry about? She wanted to fight this battle anyway." Murong Jie sneered.
Prince Qi gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Murong, I'm sorry for you. This time, I was also deceived by the emperor and Empress Cao."
Murong Jie put away his sword and suddenly smiled evilly, "It's okay."
Prince Qi was startled, "Brother Murong?"
Murong Jie held up his sword, walked in with his hands behind his back, and said, "After the decree is issued, the Emperor of Beimo will receive good news within a few days."
"Brother Murong, please explain it clearly." Prince Qi chased in.
Murong Jie locked the door behind him and said, "I am tired."
Prince Qi was turned away, but he could not get angry at all. Who made him the one who was in the wrong
Murong Jie entered the hall and sat on the armchair. Zi'an was reading a book beside him. She heard the conversation between Prince Qi and Murong Jie, and said with a smile, "It's no use to embarrass him. Haven't you seen him? You've grown a few gray hairs for nothing."
"Stupid!" Murong Jie snorted coldly, "How stupid! Do you believe the words of the Emperor of Beimo?"
"Don't you believe it too?" Zi'an said with a smile.
"Although I believe it, I never kill myself when I do things. Don't I have a trick up my sleeve? Wait, the emperor of Northern Desert wants to hold me hostage here so that he can attack the Great Zhou. I will make him suffer a defeat first and let him have a taste of the pain of being at a loss."
Zi'an asked curiously, "Why are you being silent? What will happen if Qin Zhou attacks?"
"Keep it secret!" Murong Jie smiled, "You, just wait for the news."
"I really don't care. The medical book Wen Yi left for me contains a lot of records about the plague. I have to read it quickly." Zi'an said.
"Well, let's go to the epidemic area tonight." Murong Jie said.
"Okay!" Zi'an hoped that it would be as fast as possible, but he was afraid that Prince Qi would not cooperate.
As a result, those who were infected with the epidemic were the people of their Great Zhou, but the situation in the Northern Desert was relatively relaxed.
"Zi'an, let me analyze the thoughts of the Northern Desert Emperor with you first. He doesn't believe that you can cure the plague now, but he will first announce to the public that you can cure the plague, so that everyone can see hope and trust you. However, when you cannot develop a prescription, their trust in you will turn into resentment. The greater the hope at the beginning, the greater the hatred in the end. The anger of the people will burn us alive. On the contrary, if you can develop a prescription, they will definitely send people to plunder secretly, snatch the credit, and then tell the people of Northern Desert that you, Xia Zi'an, are still useless, and then we will be despised by the people of Northern Desert. So, no matter which one it is, we will not benefit at all."
Zi'an nodded, feeling that Murong Jie's analysis was very thorough.
"Then what should we do? Are we going to ignore this plague? But even if we don't, we have now entered the Northern Desert, and it may not be easy to leave." Zi'an asked.
"We have to cure the plague. After all, those are innocent people. Don't worry, I have a good plan. In the next few days, you and Rouyao, Liuliu and Lingli will go to the epidemic area, and I, Xiaotuo and Suqing will go around."
"This is in the Northern Desert, you must be careful." Zi'an said.
"Don't worry, don't you know what I'm capable of?" Murong Jie stretched out his hand and pulled the scar rope on her arm. "The Emperor of Beimo dared to deceive me, so I must give him back."
A domineering light suddenly appeared in his eyes.
(End of this chapter)