wear it lord god

Chapter 2680 Being an Empress Isn't Easy 26
The Crown Prince and Prince Wen arrived in the northern frontier a month later and wrote a letter saying that everything was fine.

Xining delivered the letter to the Crown Princess at Chuxiu Palace, hoping it would put her mind at ease.

Two months later, as the Empress Dowager was about to celebrate her sixtieth birthday, Liu Cheng issued an edict summoning the Duke of Zhenguo and his heir, as well as the Crown Prince and Prince Wen, back to the capital to offer their congratulations.

The response was that the Duke of Zhenguo, after years of fighting, had suffered a relapse of his old wounds and was unable to move. Coincidentally, the prince had caught a cold and could not come in person to offer his birthday wishes, but presented the head of a fierce Tartar general, one hundred horses, and one hundred cattle and sheep to congratulate the Empress Dowager on her long life.

This was instructed several years ago: never return to Beijing.

The heir of the Duke of Zhenguo secretly led his men to the location mentioned by the Empress. Sure enough, they captured the Tartar soldiers who were disguised as bandits, killed their leader, cut off his head, preserved it with coarse salt, and sent it back to the capital.

Xining was in her Qianqiu Palace, flipping through storybooks and eating grapes from the Western Regions that had just been presented as tribute. When she came across something interesting, she would giggle.

The storyline in this dimension is quite interesting.

Just as they were getting into the show, Zhang Shanzhong arrived, and Liu Cheng invited him to come.

Upon arriving at the study, Liu Cheng saw her and, without uttering a word, first knocked over a wooden box, slamming it heavily onto the desk in front of him.

The salt spilled all over the ground, and a head rolled around in front of her.

Xining immediately knelt down: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

Damn it, I wouldn't kneel if it weren't for the mission. But I had no choice; when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. What's a little grievance compared to ensuring a peaceful life for the original owner after their return? Aren't I a very responsible and professional goddess?

Liu Cheng said coldly, "Empress, look at this."

Xi Ning feigned fear and trepidation, glanced at the object just a step away, and cautiously asked, "This is... a human head?"

Nonsense. Anyone with eyes can tell that it's a human head, or at least a replica. Even if it died a gruesome death and was salted, it's still a human head no matter how you look at it.

The knife wound that ran across the entire face of the man's head, with its blackened flesh churning, made the little eunuch standing in the hall tremble and lower his head, not daring to look.

Is the Empress pretending to be stupid? Liu Cheng rolled his eyes, then scoffed, "The Empress is indeed a daughter of a military family; she's not afraid of even seeing a human head."

"Hehe, thank goodness." Xi Ning forced a grin, then looked at it more closely: "Whose is this? It doesn't seem to be from the Central Plains."

Liu Cheng was a little surprised. Seeing the Empress's serious expression, he didn't think she was faking it: "Isn't the Empress afraid?"

"Why be afraid?" The response was a counter-question: "I didn't kill him, I didn't cut off his head, so what, is he going to jump up and bite me?"

Liu Cheng was momentarily speechless; it seemed to make sense. But shouldn't one be afraid upon seeing a corpse?

Since we're not afraid and can't intimidate you, let's get down to business.

Liu Cheng looked at the kneeling Empress with a sinister gaze: "Wang Linglong, let me ask you, what exactly is the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion plotting?"

I'm so tired. Why can't you just say it directly? Why do we have to keep arguing like this?

Xi Ning lowered her head slightly: "Your Majesty, I do not understand your meaning. Please enlighten me."

"This is Bobu'er, a fierce general of the Tartars. According to intelligence, he entered the pass half a month ago, only to be killed by the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo, along with all five hundred soldiers he led." Then there was silence.

Xining said, "That's a good thing, congratulations, Your Majesty."

Liu Cheng continued, "Some people impeached the Duke of Zhenguo for colluding with the enemy and betraying the country. It was because he opened the pass and secretly let the enemy into the pass."

Xi Ning looked at him as if he were a monster: "But he was killed by my elder brother, his head is here. Even if he was a traitor, it's all fair in war, a tactic to lure the enemy. If every time he can kill a fierce enemy general by betraying his country, what's wrong with doing it a few more times?"

"Stop making trouble." Liu Cheng slammed his hand on the table. "Even if we wipe out the enemy, the pass cannot be opened so easily."

It seems this damned emperor still wants to target the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion has gone to such lengths, and she, the empress, has also done so much, yet she still can't dispel the emperor's suspicions.

She sighed softly, muttering with a mixture of dissatisfaction and timidity, "Whatever His Majesty says goes. My father has long wanted to retire from the military and relinquish his power. But he insisted on continuing, and look what he's done!"

Liu Cheng was both amused and annoyed: "Then it's still my fault?"

"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, how could you be wrong? The one who is wrong is the one who falsely accused my father. Your Majesty should simply dismiss my father from his post and send him to guard the northern border. I, your humble servant, will request to be confined to my quarters for three months to copy scriptures and pray for the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty." Since the final verdict would be the same anyway, I might as well request to be confined myself.

There's a fishpond in Qianqiu Palace now, and the carp and crucian carp are quite plump in the half-meter-deep water. The vegetables grown in the flowerbed next to it are enough to feed everyone in Qianqiu Palace. The only problem is that there's a lack of charcoal. But thinking that there are still three months until winter, and her confinement period will be over by then, the Duke of Zhenguo and his two sons who are away should be able to find a way to rescue her.

Liu Cheng sat there, his deep gaze unfathomable.

After a long while, Xining felt her knees go numb from kneeling, and then slowly said, "The Duke of Zhenguo wrote that his old injury has relapsed and Wen'er has caught a cold, so he cannot come to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday."

Xi Ning replied, "Father's old injury has been there for many years. Which of my Wang family ancestors didn't have some kind of injury? My brother is so young, he had it before he even came of age. It's normal for Wen'er to have trouble adjusting to the harsh climate of the frontier. After a few days, when they are feeling better, they can come back and apologize to the Empress Dowager. I'm sure the Empress Dowager won't blame them."

The Empress Dowager dared not reprimand you, but you, the dog emperor, must be ashamed and angry that your scheme has failed.

I'm so good to you, but I still can't cure your paranoia.

Liu Cheng's voice finally regained some warmth: "The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion has made great contributions, and the Empress is right. You should go back now."

She immediately kowtowed and thanked him: "Thank you, Your Majesty. My father always taught us children that this is what a subject should do, so Your Majesty should not be angry with the person who made the false accusation. After all, having someone remind me from time to time helps my father remember his duty as a subject. This time, the situation was probably too urgent, and the border was too far from the capital, which is why the enemy was wiped out without being informed. But opening the pass to lure the enemy in is something my father, with his stubborn mind, certainly wouldn't have thought of, nor would he dare to do. I hope Your Majesty will investigate thoroughly. I take my leave."

I've said enough; saying more will only annoy people.

Back at Qianqiu Palace, Xining grew increasingly angry. That damned emperor, forcing her to take action!

After so many missions, she remains the same powerful deity. If she can't be redeemed, then she'll be cremated!
Killing an emperor is not easy, so there's no rush. As long as the Duke of Zhenguo and the Crown Prince don't return, the dog emperor won't dare to do anything to her for the time being.

Liu Cheng wrote to the Duke of Zhenguo, his heir apparent, the Crown Prince, and the other princes every month, urging them to return safely. But each time, none of the four could return.

So this time it was the Duke of Zhenguo's old injury that flared up, the next time it was the Crown Prince's stomach upset, the time after that it was the Heir Apparent's old injury that flared up, and the time after that it was Prince Wen who caught a cold. Before long, it dragged on until the New Year.

The four men still did not return to the capital, citing the frequent raids by Tartars during the winter as the reason for their inability to return.

Liu Cheng was furious. After receiving the letter, he smashed the inkstone, but he was still at a loss.

It's Chinese New Year again.