Ah Jing was stunned for a moment, "You want to give a gift? What gift?"
Qin Zhou curled his lips and smiled, "Send him two beauties and tell him that I am giving them to him. If he doesn't want them, then it means he has no intention of cooperating with me. I want to see if the relationship between them can stand the test, and whether Xia Zian is as righteous as she said."
A Jing glanced at Qin Zhou and felt surprised. The general had never done such a thing before. These tricks seemed to her like nonsense.
The next day, Qin Zhou took his men to Wolf Tail Mountain.
Beimo Palace.
Imperial study.
"Your Majesty, Xia Zian went to the General's Mansion yesterday and had a private conversation with the General for a long time. After the conversation, the General left the city today."
A man dressed in servant's clothes knelt in front of the emperor and Empress Cao and reported.
Empress Cao frowned, "What did she say to Xia Zian? Do you know?"
"They talked behind closed doors, and the servants were not allowed to enter, so we don't know what they talked about. But after Xia Zian left, Guard A Jing came back and reported to her what happened in Ancheng. After hearing this, the general left the city."
"Leave the city?" The emperor narrowed his eyes, raised his hand and told the servants to go out, and then said: "Qin Zhou, Qin Zhou, please don't let me down."
Empress Cao recalled her previous words of rebellion and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid we can no longer control Qin Zhou."
"I asked your Qin family's grandma to talk to her before. Didn't you look for her?" asked the emperor.
"I did, but the old lady said she was too old to ask about the children's affairs, and Qin Zhou had grown up and had her own ideas."
The emperor sneered, "It seems that the Qin family is going to rebel."
"Now General Qin, who could help, is sick again, and Prince Zhenguo is also sick. It's really a headache." Queen Cao said.
The emperor closed his eyes and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of the chair, as if in thought.
Queen Cao didn't dare to disturb him, knowing that he would only do this when making important decisions.
A trace of viciousness flashed through her heart, and she hoped that the emperor could be more decisive. Only when the Qin family fell could her Cao family come up.
The Qin family has been vicious for so many years, it's now the Cao family's turn.
After a long while, the emperor suddenly opened his eyes and shouted, "Someone come!"
A man flashed in from outside the door, knelt on one knee and bowed, saying: "Your Majesty, I am here."
"Send a message to Lord Cao Ji, asking him to put aside the matters at hand and follow Qin Zhou to see where she goes. If he finds that she has contacted Xia Zian or Murong Jie privately..."
His hand was slightly raised, then slowly dropped, "Kill without mercy!"
Killing a general is a taboo before a war, especially since Qin Zhou is his favorite general.
However, as an emperor, one must be decisive in killing. Since Qin Zhou has already had rebellious intentions, he must not be allowed to stay. He must act quickly while she is not on guard. Otherwise, when she has completed her preparations, it will be difficult to deal with her.
Empress Cao's expression suddenly relaxed. Well, as long as the emperor is willing to do this, that's good. She was just afraid that the emperor couldn't bear to do it and would not be willing to do it.
Although Qin Zhou is a low-key person and not arrogant, her power is still there. Especially now that she has a rebellious heart, if she joins the peace faction, the entire Beimo will change.
The emperor made this decision and then remained silent.
Empress Cao consoled him, "Your Majesty, there is nothing we can do about it. The Qin family has been favored by the emperor for many years, and she is becoming more and more powerful. If she is not contained, she will threaten the emperor's power."
The emperor looked at her and said, "Queen, since the founding of the Northern Desert Dynasty, the status of the general has been supreme. Are you aware of this?"
Empress Cao was startled, somewhat unsure of the emperor's thoughts, "Your Majesty, you must learn from other countries. Centralizing power is the long-term solution."
"Take away power? If Beimo wants to take away the power of the generals, he will be at the mercy of others. I will give Qin Zhou a chance. If she doesn't go to see Xia Zian, then she will still be in the same position as she should be."
Empress Cao smiled and said, "Of course. If she hadn't gone to find Xia Zian or Murong Jie, she would still be the great general of the Northern Desert."
The emperor stood up and said calmly, "You and Qin Zhou have always worked closely together. I hope you are not being hypocritical and don't always want to help your Cao family members get promoted."
Empress Cao said, "Your Majesty is overthinking. I rely heavily on General Da. As for the Cao family, it is an unparalleled honor to have me as the empress."
"That's the best!" The emperor snorted and walked away.
The emperor's sudden change of attitude made Empress Cao very uneasy.
As for Qin Zhou, she had always believed that Qin Zhou would submit to her for the rest of his life, because she was too low-key and never became arrogant because of her favor.
Whatever you tell her to do, she will do it and never resist.
In fact, with her status, she doesn't need to be so humble. Perhaps if she had behaved a little more arrogantly from the beginning, then her current "disobedience" would not seem like a big deal.
Over the years, because she believed she could subdue Qin Zhou, the emperor always treated her with courtesy and asked for her opinion on everything.
But now...
Queen Cao was terrified when she thought about it. She felt that relying on others would not work. Only people from the Cao family could provide her with strong support.
Thinking of this, she sent a message to her confidant, "Please pass on my imperial decree and tell Lord Cao..."
Her eyes suddenly turned fierce. Although Qin Zhou might still be useful, it was time for her to give up her position.
Wolf Tail Mountain!
Lingli returned to Wolf Tail Mountain earlier than Qin Zhou and told Zi'an that Qin Zhou was on the way.
Zi'an breathed a sigh of relief, "Lingli, Qin Zhou is actually a talented person. I would feel very sorry if I had to kill her in the end."
"Yes." Knowing a hero, respecting a hero, Lingli knew Qin Zhou's ability.
"Go put on makeup and look like Qin Zhou first." Zi'an said.
"Why? Do you still need to put on makeup now?" Lingli asked.
Zi'an smiled and said, "At least, let her know that we can still do without her. She is not arrogant towards the emperor, but she is very arrogant towards us."
Lingli nodded, "This Qin Zhou is indeed like this."
After saying that, Lingli turned around and left.
Zi'an's guess was correct. Qin Zhou came with great momentum and arrogance.
Although she had already agreed to cooperate in her heart, she thought that she needed to take the initiative, rather than Murong Jie and Zi'an.
So, when she arrived at Wolf Tail Mountain and met Zi'an, she first placed her people there and directly seized Su Mu's power.
Su Mu didn't care, because he had been tired for too long, and it would be best if someone came to help.
Zi'an snuggled up against the tree, watching Qin Zhou commanding the country in Wolf Tail Mountain with a smile on his face.
The villagers were very surprised at Qin Zhou's arrival, which meant that they still had hope.
After Qin Zhou accepted the people's worship, he came to Zi'an and said proudly, "Let's talk?"
Zian shrugged, "Okay!"
The two walked towards the stream, and Zi'an sat down on a big rock by the stream.
(End of this chapter)