Joy of Life: I, a man, became the Queen of Northern Qi?

"You think you are always intelligent, thoughtful, and selfless, right?"

Li An asked expressionlessly.

At this time, layers of dark clouds gathered in the sky for no apparent reason, hanging high in the void without lingering away, blocking most of the warm sunlight and making the gorgeous scenery in the palace lose some of its color.

It was quiet.

Shen Zhong is now at the peak of his power, and he has gradually developed the aura of a superior during this period of time, not to mention that his eyes are always filled with cold murderous intent. The fake smile on his face will weaken his courage by a third if seen by outsiders, but he is speechless at this moment. He is at the peak of his years, and if the Empress had not appeared, he should be the Emperor's right-hand man, helping His Majesty to resist the attacks from foreign countries, but he is now lowering his head, not even daring to speak a word to defend himself.

Among the few people, the young emperor has become accustomed to his queen.

She watched all this with great interest, and even thought that it might be better if there were some melon seeds. She was also curious about what Shen Zhong had done to make the queen so angry.

Cao Zhengchun was the most loyal to the emperor, and seeing the empress was angry he also glared at Shen Zhong.

However, Yu Huatian's eyes flashed, revealing an expression of gloating. There were too many constraints. In order to efficiently complete the instructions of His Majesty and the Queen, the Jinyiwei should not be allowed to exist in such a way as to balance the affairs of the East and West Factories!
These two men are both smart people, but Wei Hua on the side is still a little lacking in skills.

He usually got along best with Shen Zhong. Not only did they share the same aspirations, both wanted to work hard to make a career for the Great Qi, but they were also both court officials, unlike Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian - the former two were eunuchs.
Wei Hua took a step forward. The court robes he wore made him look elegant and graceful. He bowed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I wonder where you heard this from. Maybe there is some misunderstanding here?"

"Lord Shen cares deeply about Da Qi, so he would never harbor selfish motives or prepare any escape plan!"

"Misunderstanding?" Li An glanced at Wei Hua and asked softly, "Are you guaranteeing Shen Zhong? How foolish! Even at this point, you still can't see the essence of things!"

The nature of things?
Could it be that Lord Shen was hiding something from me? Hadn't he been developing an intelligence network in recent months, searching for evidence of crimes committed by lawless officials and eliminating possible enemy spies in the court?
"Wei Hua, I want to ask you, since you took over the Imperial Merchants and cooperated in the smuggling business with Qing Kingdom, have you discovered any clues?"

Wei Hua was slightly startled, then gave a wry smile.

I was wondering why the Empress kept me here today, and the reason was actually because of smuggling.

With some doubt, he responded: "Although the smuggling business with Qing Kingdom has experienced some twists and turns due to the war, there is generally nothing unusual. The profit has been gradually increasing in the past two months, and the transaction volume is huge."

"I'll just say it straight!"

He waved his long sleeves to interrupt Wei Hua's further words.

"This is not so much smuggling with the Qing Kingdom as it is smuggling with the Crown Prince of the Southern Dynasty, and with the Junshan Society of Princess Li Yunrui!" Li An smiled contemptuously, looking at Wei Hua who was still puzzled and slowly shook his head, "The war between the two countries broke out, and the smuggling route was changed. Do you know who the people are at each transit node after this? Are they the same people as before?"

"Madam, you mean"

Wei Hua straightened up in disbelief, turned to look at Shen Zhong with disappointment in his eyes. The first thing he thought of was that Shen Zhong had embezzled money, but reason told him that this was not the case, and the profit amounts he had made were not deceptive.

"Heavy."

Turning his head, Li An said slowly: "At the beginning, the smuggling route changed, and the Jinyiwei were sent to coordinate and protect the safety of the trade route. These were indeed to relieve the emperor's worries and arrange things in advance. Even I feel very relieved when I see this. But you shouldn't have intervened and rashly cooperated with Junshanhui to decide the goods for the transaction between His Majesty and me without authorization!"

"You deserve to be killed!"

When the word "kill" was uttered, several people present shook their bodies, and Zhao Gao even lowered his head even lower.

He was still feeling the lingering fear of the cold stare the Empress gave him when he flattered His Majesty in the palace just now.

Even the little emperor opened his mouth slightly when he heard this, and said, "Isn't the Queen's words too harsh? Shen Qing did not seek personal gain from this. Is there any hidden reason for the change and addition of some goods? Why don't we listen to his explanation and make another decision."

The queen hated it most when her subordinates disobeyed her. Since she said the words "he should be killed" in front of everyone, she must have the intention to kill him.

After stabilizing it a little, the emperor turned to look at Shen Zhong and said, "Mr. Shen, tell me in detail what you have considered and planned."

"Your Majesty, your Majesty."

Beads of sweat oozed from his hooked nose. He brushed his sleeves, adjusted his robes, and then slowly knelt on the ground. He raised his hands and said, "I am of humble origin and little experience. Fortunately, Your Majesty and Your Majesty valued me and gave me this high position. I should put the country of Great Qi first and worry about Your Majesty and Your Majesty first!"

"We are all doing our job, so we should always be attentive."

At this point, Shen Zhong showed a bitter smile on his face. He bowed to Wei Hua apologetically, and then his speech speed gradually increased.

"Since the birth of the Queen, the situation between Da Qi and Nan Qing has changed every half a month, and the offense and defense have changed!"

"such a pity"

"Before this, the Great Qi had been at peace for a long time. Not only were there all kinds of corrupt officials in the court, but there was also the traitor Sean and his adopted son Shangshan Hu who were causing chaos in the court! As a result, the border troops were exhausted and discipline was lax. The soldiers who were still able to fight became his private army. Even with the great achievements of the queen and the national teacher, they killed the Nanqing Grandmaster Ye Liuyun and defeated the hundreds of thousands of invading enemies, but they had no choice but to give up the territory they had conquered because no one could defend it."

Shen Zhong knelt forward and took two steps, then fell to the ground, shouting:
"I will not give in!"

The little emperor seemed to realize something. He took a deep breath, sat on the wooden chair that Zhao Gao had brought over, stroked the armrests with his hands, and sighed.

The other people were also somewhat moved by what they heard, but they didn't know how this was related to the substitution of smuggled goods.

"Forgive me for being blunt. The Queen Mother originally asked the Imperial Guard to handle the smuggling matter." Shen Zhong raised his head and looked at the Queen. "Although I was only the Imperial Guard's pacification envoy at that time, I also understood the secrets involved. I once advised the Queen Mother not to smuggle important things and military needs to the Kingdom of Qing. Even if there is a lot of money, we should not be tempted. We should be cautious in everything!"

"But on the one hand, they are smuggling to help the enemy invade our territory, and on the other hand, the treasury is empty and corruption is rampant. Uesugi Torao is so arrogant that he is colluding with Prince Gong!"

"The current situation is difficult, what can we do?"

One question seemed to be answered, but a new one immediately popped up.

The little emperor couldn't help it. She was the one who asked the question, and she was the only one who could ask it: "You are in a dilemma. Since you already know how difficult it is for the Queen Mother to make a decision, why do you still have resentment towards her in your words?"

"You also said that the current situation is completely different from before."

"Why were you able to openly oppose the smuggling of important items and military needs in the past? But now that the treasury is full, the front line has won a great victory, and the fruits of the peace talks are about to be pocketed, you are instead replacing the smuggled items with the previous ones? You are even willing to take risks and risk angering the queen."

"The Xishan Mine Incident is still fresh in my memory. The Queen even ordered that the iron ore used to make military equipment must not be allowed to flow out. Could it be that you didn't hear it clearly or have forgotten it?"

"What is your purpose that could make you disregard even your own life?"

Shen Zhong's face became solemn when he heard this, as if he was ready to die.

"I do not have my own purpose. All this is for Da Qi." "Just like the reason why I opposed smuggling military supplies to Nan Qing, it was like drinking poison to quench thirst, and the disadvantages outweighed the advantages! Although it can slightly alleviate the emptiness of the national treasury and the financial situation of the court, in the long run, Da Qi will definitely suffer. This time when the Qing army attacked, our border troops were defeated at the beginning. Of course, the quality was not as good as that of the opponent, but also because the opponent had excellent weapons and equipped the entire battalion! These are clear evidence!"

"But now it's different. The Queen has appeared out of nowhere, and the two Grandmasters have surpassed the Qing Kingdom! The Grandmasters' combat power is extraordinary and has gone beyond the scope of military combat power."

"At this time, the military supplies are smuggled to Li Yunrui's Junshan Society. These things will eventually be delivered to the hands of a prince of the Southern Dynasty."

Having said this, Shen Zhong stopped talking.

He had already given the reason: before, when no one knew that Emperor Qing was a grandmaster, Ye Liuyun of Qing and Ku He, the national teacher of Northern Qi, maintained tacit restraint, and it was always the soldiers below who decided the outcome.

But it’s not like this at this stage.

The role of the army has been weakened to an abstract level. It is used for defense rather than war. Naturally, it would be harmless to trade those important things to the Junshan Society.

The little emperor had thought of this before, so she didn't get angry. She smiled and said four words softly:

"Holding an army and exercising self-reliance?"

“That’s right!” Shen Zhong’s left face was still swollen to a funny degree, but his sword-like brows gradually knitted together. “Before this, the foreign affairs of the Southern Dynasty had always been going smoothly, so naturally, Emperor Qing was in charge of everything in the court, and the emperor’s majesty was submissive. These things would not change because of his cultivation!”

"But what if the border troops are not doing well in the war, or if they fail to invade and are seriously injured?"

Shen Zhong put on that hypocritical smile again, looking extremely sinister: "At times like this, there are more and more dissenting voices in the court!"

"Your Majesty has just said in the palace that this trip to Kyoto seriously injured Emperor Qing. Under such circumstances, can the princes really keep quiet and remain unmoved? No prince would remain indifferent after knowing that the emperor is a grandmaster. This means that the time for them to soar into the sky is far away."

He paused and bowed his head again.

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty and Your Majesty! I shouldn't make irresponsible comments about the royal family of another country. This is very disrespectful."

"That does make some sense." The little emperor sighed again, not caring about Shen Zhong's disrespect for the monarch. "If it is really as you said, perhaps the chaos in Nanqing will come soon."

The little emperor couldn't help but imagine the scene of unifying the Qing Kingdom, with a look of longing on his face.

Surely by then, her achievements would surpass those of her ancestors and even the Emperor of Wei, right? In the universe and in history books, she would be known as the greatest emperor of all time.
As for some vassal states, she was limited by her vision and didn't take them seriously.
They are all barren lands, what’s the use of them?

Zhan Doudou unconsciously revealed a lovely smile on her face, but it only lasted for a moment. The people around her lowered their heads, not daring to look at her any longer.

Cough!

Two coughs brought her back to her senses. The little emperor adjusted his expression, turned sideways and said seriously, "Queen, since Shen Qing has explained the reason clearly, although he acted on his own initiative before, he was also loyal. I wonder..."

"Loyalty?"

Li An sneered: "It's just self-willed! Under this public spirit, doesn't Shen Zhong want to leave his name in history? If this is not selfish, what is it? This is for fame!"

Although what he said makes some sense, does Lee Ang think he is wrong?

Even if it is really wrong, it is the world's fault, not his!

"Shen Zhong, answer me."

"Since you had this idea, why didn't you report it to His Majesty and me from the beginning? Why did you have to act on your own and cause things to this point?"

"If someone doesn't know, I would think you are befriending Li Yunrui to leave a way out for yourself! Or are you worried that you will become the next Sean?"

"I dare not!" Although he heard the cold and tyrannical tone of the queen, Shen Zhong still responded calmly, "It is not my own decision. It is the queen who ordered that iron ore and other items cannot be circulated privately. If I advise you at this time, it will be fine. Otherwise, wouldn't it make you change your mind every day? This is a major matter that damages the reputation of the royal family, and it is not something that can be compared with a mere iron ore!"

"Since this is the case, why not let me test the law?"

"This way, we can not only save the queen's face and bring benefits to Da Qi, but also replace the smuggled goods and let Junshanhui let down its guard. It can be said to be the best of both worlds!"

After achieving the best of both worlds, the only one who was injured was Shenzhong.

hmm~
There is something.

On the one hand, Ang Lee felt moved by what he heard, and on the other hand, he decided to teach him a lesson.

"His Majesty."

The voice was very gentle, and the little emperor smiled when he heard it. It seemed that Li An was not going to care about Shen's serious crime anymore.

"Queen, you can tell me anything you want to say. You will be the one making the final decision from now on."

Li An nodded and looked at Yu Huatian and said, "Xiao Tianzi, first detain Shen Zhong in the Tian Prison, and execute him in the middle of next month!"

Zhan Doudou: “.???”

What is a capable person? This is it:
As soon as Li An finished speaking, Yu Huatian flashed behind Shen Zhong and tied his arms before the latter could react.

Although Shen Zhong's cultivation was not as good as his, in order to prevent the other party from suddenly attacking and disturbing His Majesty, Yu Huatian even blocked the acupuncture points around Shen Zhong's body, making him unable to move!

The words "I'm sorry" are completely insincere.
From beginning to end, Shen Zhong remained calm and composed in the face of this unexpected change.

He raised his head and glanced at the Queen, then lowered his head and said in a deep voice: "I have deceived the emperor and I deserve death. If my death today can bring about civil unrest in Qing and make the thieves surrender and die, then my own life and death is not worth mentioning!"

The little emperor felt a little bit reluctant when he saw this, but seeing that the queen's attitude was very firm, he didn't say anything.

He just sighed: "You should cherish your life and do more for the court!"

"If you cherish this body, then I am unworthy of this official robe!"

The two responses were powerful and the scene was full of loyalty of the subjects and benevolence of the monarch, which moved everyone who saw it.
That’s not right!

How come I, as the queen, became the villain? ! ? ? (End of this chapter)