Who says sleep is not spiritual practice?

Chapter 17 Prince, he is dying
Reject the Northern Palace.

Incense burner yard.

Tonight, the second wife, Jiang Jing, wore a long skirt embroidered with peacocks spreading its tail, and the hem embellished with jasper dragged on the floor, which was about ten feet long.

There are a total of 99 peacock feathers on the skirt, and each piece is plucked from the tail of a live male peacock by a special person to show the noble status of the owner of the skirt.

Jiang Jing has more than [-] long skirts made by similar techniques.

At this time, Jiang Jing was writing a letter in the room of her son Jiang Qingjian.

On the side, an old servant with an unremarkable appearance was grinding ink for him.

The old servant was short in stature and looked like a dwarf. When grinding ink, he needed to step on the stool to reach the table with his hands. His movements were also very funny, like a playful child.

But no one in the palace dared to laugh at him.

Because he is from the Jiang family in Yongzhou, he is one of the only four congenital second-rank Haoyue realm masters in the palace, and his status is second only to King Jubei and the second wife.

There are three states in the northern border of Chu State.

Yongzhou, Bingzhou, Youzhou.

24 years ago, Jiang Qiushui, who was the governor of Anbei at the time, laid down Youzhou, which was occupied by the Qiang people at that time, for the royal family of Chu State. With three words, with a single stroke of a pen, Jiang Qiushui was rewarded with all the land of the three states in the north.

Among the three prefectures, Bing prefecture was the base camp where Jiang Qiushui had cultivated for many years, and he was concurrently the governor at that time.

Youzhou was conquered by him with his troops. After the defeat of the Qiang people, they returned to the Chu State. The leaders of several major tribes were half afraid of Jiang Qiushui and half convinced, and dared not do things that were obedient to others.

Only Yongzhou, which was completely controlled by the Jiang family, did not obey this King of Rejecting the North.

It is rumored that Jiang Qiushui fought openly and secretly with the Jiang family for more than a year in order to seize the control of Yongzhou. Married into Jubei Palace.

The woman's name is Jiang Jing, and the dowry shop is ten miles long, plus an old servant who is born in the second-rank Haoyue realm.

Another year later, the woman gave birth to a baby boy named Jiang Qingjian.

The Jiang family of Yongzhou had high hopes for Jiang Qingjian and poured incalculable resources into him, especially after the eldest wife and eldest son of the royal family went south to the capital to be protons 12 years ago, they intensified their efforts and gradually extended their hands into the three northern states military power!

Anyone can see the Jiang family's ambition for the next throne.

And Jiang Jing is also happy to see her son Jiang Qingjian succeed in inheriting the throne with the support of the Jiang family.

Even if the authority of this throne will be discounted.

"Qingjian led his troops to the north again, and refused to stay at home for a night, saying that the soldiers under his command hadn't returned home for half a year to kill Di Ren, and he was no exception."

"Going north, going north again, my mind is full of military achievements!"

"Heh, it's just like his father!"

"There is one thing I have always wondered about. Do men like to fight and kill so much?"

"Qingjian is, and Qiushui was also when he was young. When he was old and fell ill, he would get up and go to the north gate to hold a banquet for the soldiers who returned from victory."

Jiang Jing stopped writing and asked the old servant:

"Old Liu, do you think Qingjian will be a qualified King of Rejecting the North in the future?"

The old servant smiled and nodded:

"My son is compassionate to the soldiers, and has the responsibility of defending the family and the country. He will definitely be a qualified King of Rejecting the North."

Jiang Jing was not satisfied with this answer, and sighed:

"From the moment I gave birth to the green sword, I have been looking forward to the day when he will wear the python robe."

"But now is not the time!"

She grabbed the table with all her strength, and embedded her ten fingers into the tabletop, letting the sawdust pierce her skin, and vented in a frantic tone:
"It's too early, it's really too early!"

"Qingjian is only 22 years old, his military career is only at the sixth rank, his martial arts cultivation is only at the acquired eighth rank, and he has only a thousand elite soldiers under his command..."

"But Mr. Liu, do you know..."

Jiang Jing stared at the old servant, her eyes were bloodshot, resentful and pitiful:
"do you know……"

"My lord, he is dying!"

"..."

The old servant was silent.

The Jiang family in Yongzhou was also caught off guard by the sudden deterioration of the king's condition.

They didn't expect that the man who had been born and died on the battlefield for decades would die of illness in bed one day?
It's ridiculous and pathetic.

It is obvious that if the King of the North is dead, the entire state of Chu will not be able to find another person with enough ability and reputation to take charge of the three northern states in a short time!
And Jiang Qiushui's position as a king with a different surname may not necessarily be hereditary!

Once he dies, I believe that the royal family of Chu State will be happy to separate the three states in the northern border and separate the powers.

But what the Jiang family wants is the right to govern the entire three northern states!
So for Jiang, the King of Rejecting the North cannot die for the time being!
He had to hold out until the day when Jiang Qingjian had enough reputation in the three northern states.

"The Jiang family will fully support the son, no matter the cost!"

The old servant made a solemn promise.

Jiang Jing sighed helplessly.

She is naturally aware of the wolf ambitions of the Jiang family, but in order for her son to inherit the throne, she can only seek skin from the tiger.

When she first came to the palace, she always wanted to seek blessings for the Jiang family, but after more than twenty years, she gave birth to Jiang Qingjian and became the mistress of the palace, and her mind also changed subtly.

"This time the Qingjian Battalion beheaded more than two thousand people, which is enough to raise Qingjian's military rank by half a rank, but it is far from enough!"

"Back then, the prince beheaded 20 Qiang people and took down the entire Youzhou to be eligible to be king. If my son wants to be hereditary, he must kill at least [-] Di people!"

Jiang Jing handed the finished letter to the old servant beside her:

"Tell my father, within half a year, I will see Qingjian's record of beheading [-] Di people!"

The old servant frowned:

"Madam, do you want to think about it again?"

"If you act too hastily, it will only cause the opposite effect."

"Recently, several transactions between us and Di Ren were settled with iron ore. According to the law, it is a felony to steal and beheaded. If someone catches the handle, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Jiang Jing pulled a peacock feather from her dress and broke it with her bare hands:

"Do you think I don't want Xu Xu to figure it out?"

"Old Liu, there is no time!"

"Seek for wealth and danger!"

She paused and said again:

"and many more!"

"Tell my father again, try to use gold, silver, silk and satin to trade with the Di people. If it is impossible, give them second-grade ore, and never let them get high-grade iron ore. As for iron-smelting technology, it is not allowed at all. Give way!"

"In this way, even if they have enough iron ore, the sharpness of their weapons will not be as sharp as that of the Anbei Army."

"I don't want to see Qing Jian become the queen of rejecting the North, and the three northern states lose an inch of land in his hands!"

The old servant was convinced:

"The Patriarch has already thought of this."

"What I'm worried about now is, will that person from Ziyan Court climb Jiangshan, cause trouble to the young master?"

Naturally, Jiang Jing and the old servant had already known about the episode that happened in the Sutra Pavilion today.

To be honest, the fourth son Jiang Qingyu and Jiang Shan's friendship really surprised them both.

But based on this alone, Jiang Qingyu is not enough to get Jiang Jing's attention:

"No matter how deep the sapphire is hidden, it will not become a climate."

"If he doesn't have enough prestige in the army, even if he has a relationship with the three innate second ranks in the palace, he still won't be able to sit on the throne!"

The old servant agreed:
"What the lady said is very true."

"What's more, that kind of thing is impossible to happen. Apart from me and Jiang Shan, one of the other two innate second-ranks has already been drawn into our camp."

……

While Jiang Jing and the old servant were discussing things in the Incense Burner Yard, a masked man in a white robe quietly avoided everyone's sight and sneaked into Qianjian Lake.

(End of this chapter)