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Chapter 874 Beauty Trap

This time, the old emperor visited many places during his southern tour to Jiangning Prefecture. He even visited the former Dali Royal City in person. Suning and the Ningyuan Army did not hide anything from the old emperor and his people. The old emperor also met with the high-ranking generals and officials of the Ningyuan Army. Unfortunately, he still did not truly witness the military might of the Ningyuan Army during the military parade. After the Duke of Ying took the lead in refusing to join forces with the Ningyuan Army to march into Khitan from two directions at the same time, he officially angered Suning, the actual controller of the Ningyuan Army.

"Your Highness, why don't you hold a military parade? My father really wants to see it." Princess Huirou was naturally the first to hear about this matter, and then she looked at Su Ning in confusion and asked, mainly because she didn't want the emperor and the empress to leave with disappointment.

"I'm afraid of scaring them." Suning made up an excuse casually. Since the other party was so wary of him, there was no need for him to try to please them.

"Uh?"

"Huirou, your father and mother are both very old. If I scare them into something bad, I won't be able to clear myself even if I jump into the Yellow River. Besides, the Ningyuan Army is now intensively preparing for the Northern Expedition against the barbarians. They really don't have time to do these meaningless things." Looking at Princess Huirou, who had a questioning expression on her face, Su Ning smiled and explained in detail again.

"Hmph! Excuses." Princess Huirou scolded him without believing a word he said. The couple had been together for a long time and knew about Su Ning's bad behavior.

"Hui Rou, this is really not my excuse. The ministers in the court have no sense of confidentiality and are particularly obsessed with becoming famous through publishing books and biographies. The Khitan and Xixia barbarians can easily find out important information with just a few inquiries. I even suspect that the ministers in the court have already leaked the news."

"How is it possible! How could those barbarians know how to read? How could the Song Dynasty court be so terrible?" Princess Huirou immediately retorted in disbelief, feeling that Suning had imagined their Song Dynasty court to be too terrible.

"Every year, the Song Dynasty has countless scholars who fail the imperial examinations. Many of these frustrated scholars choose to serve as officials in Khitan and Western Xia. The most famous of these is Zhang Yuan, the impoverished scholar who defected to Western Xia. Furthermore, the Song court is far more wary of the Ning Palace and the Ningyuan Army than the Khitan and Western Xia. They're eager for our Ningyuan Army to fight the Khitan to the death."

"Hmph! Prince Ning, you are judging others by your own standards. I believe that my father and the ministers would not do that." Although she knew that what Su Ning said was very reasonable, Princess Huirou was still unwilling to admit it.

"Huirou, military and government affairs are very complicated. You need to be patient and study hard. I guess the Khitan must have received the news of our military deployment, so our Ningyuan Army has to conceal its strength as much as possible." Suning has been training Princess Huirou to get involved in daily government affairs, because her growth is related to his next huge plan.

"By the way! Your Highness, Madam Hua's uncle has already arrived in Jiangning Prefecture. You must arrange an official position for him, right?" Princess Huirou knew that it would be difficult to argue with Su Ning, so she simply changed the subject and talked about another thing.

"Alas! Most of the Wang family members have bad intentions. I really don't want to use them." At this time, Suning was quite helpless. He refused many times but still couldn't drive away these "parasites".

"Your Highness, Madam Hua's grandfather Wang Dan was a famous official of the Song Dynasty. Although he has passed away now, he is still very influential in the court of the Song Dynasty. Your Highness, just think of it as buying a horse's bones for a huge sum of money." Hearing Su Ning's disdain and disgust for the Wang family in his words, Princess Huirou tried to persuade him with a helpless smile.

"Well, that's fine! Right now, only Dali is lacking a prefect, so let him go to Dali to be the prefect." Su Ning thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case, so he sent Sheng Hualan's uncle to Dali to take up the post.

"Ah? Is it too remote?" Sure enough, Princess Huirou noticed that Su Ning was casually sending away the Wang family members and was still not prepared to reuse this "family member".

"Hmph! Actually, if it weren't for Sheng Hualan's sake, I would have sent him directly to Jiaozhi and Champa. Besides, Dali has been run by the Duan family for many years, and its prosperity is actually comparable to that of the big cities in the Central Plains."

"Okay! In addition, Madam Hua's grandmother sent a few maids, and Madam Hua asked me if I want to accept them?" Seeing that Su Ning had made the final decision, Princess Huirou could only shake her head with a helpless smile.

"No! Prince Ning's Mansion never uses servants of unknown origin. Except for the servants in your courtyard who were brought from the palace, the others were all trained by the chief steward Su San in the mansion." Then Su Ning refused again. His own mansion would never allow the existence of uncertainties.

"Your Highness, Steward Su is just a servant. Do you trust her so much?" At this time, Princess Huirou became jealous of the expressionless female steward. She felt that the young Prince Ning in front of her trusted this female steward too much.

"Of course! If you have any problems in the future, you can directly contact General Manager Su. Also, General Manager Su stipulated that the inner court is not allowed to use musk and safflower as medicine. I also instructed her to do so in advance."

"Ah? Okay! I understand."

In fact, Sheng Hualan really wanted to keep the maid that Wang's grandmother sent to her. After all, she also wanted to keep a few caring maids around her. You must know that she was directly snatched away by Su Ning back then. At that time, Sheng Hualan had no caring maids around her at all. In addition, the rules in Prince Ning's Mansion were loose on the outside but strict on the inside, and no one was allowed to send in servants and maids. So Sheng Hualan had no choice but to ask Princess Huirou for help.

At first, Sheng Hualan personally begged Su San, the female manager of Prince Ning's Mansion, but was directly rejected by Su San with an expressionless face. Then, she had no choice but to find Princess Huirou, the princess consort. However, even with Princess Huirou's personal appearance, Su Ning was unable to give up, because this rule was originally formulated by Su Ning in advance.

"Madam Hua, I'm sorry! I've tried my best." Princess Huirou looked at Sheng Hualan in front of her a little embarrassedly and apologized. She didn't expect Su Ning's rejection to be so straightforward, and realized that Su Ning's defense against the outside world had never weakened.

"Princess, Hualan is very grateful for your help. I will let these maids leave the palace later." At this time, Sheng Hualan explained with a forced smile.

"Madam Hua, Prince Ning's every move is attracting attention now, so naturally he has to use the servants he trained himself. So I hope you don't have any resentment. Besides, your grandmother and father have never sent any maids." Princess Huirou was worried that Sheng Hualan would blame Su Ning for something she didn't want to see through, so she smiled and persuaded her.

"I know! After all, this can also prevent spies from being sent in by others." Sheng Hualan knew very well the various pressures faced by the Ning Wang Mansion, which was surrounded by flowers and splendor. Naturally, she quickly figured out all of Su Ning's actions.

"Well, Madam Hua, it's best if you can understand. Also, you'd better tell your uncle, Lord Wang, that we in Jiangnan are different from the lands north of the Yangtze River. The prince only employs people who are capable and can get things done. As long as your uncle shows his true ability, the prince will definitely promote your uncle quickly."

"Yes! Princess."

……

The old emperor and Empress Cao were so happy staying in Jiangning Prefecture that they didn't want to leave, because the conditions there were much better than in Bianliang, and there were not so many palace rules to constrain them, and there were no stupid censors watching their every move every day. However, they still had to return to Bianliang as soon as possible because they had stayed south of the Yangtze River for too long.

"Prince Ning, I have decided to give you the Chengyuan in Bianjing, to be used as the Prince Ning Mansion for you and Huirou in Bianjing. I will arrange for the Ministry of Works to follow up and renovate it." Before leaving, the old emperor and Queen Cao summoned Su Ning and Princess Huirou again, and personally granted them a large mansion in Bianjing.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, and Your Majesty, for your kindness." Suning and Princess Huirou quickly stood up and kowtowed to thank the old emperor for his gift.

"Well, you and Huirou must come back to Bianjing often in the future, so that His Majesty and I don't miss you." Then Queen Cao said with a smile while looking at Su Ning and Princess Huirou.

"Yes! Madam."

Soon, the old emperor and the empress boarded the dragon boat under the escort of the guards. Then, the ministers and officials of the court came to say goodbye to Su Ning one by one. Lastly, of course, came the nobles of Bianjing and their families. Su Ning suddenly noticed the self-admiring and unpretentious Princess Pingning. "Princess Pingning, please stay."

"Your Highness, Princess, Pingning greets you." Princess Pingning quickly bowed and saluted, suppressing her surprise. You know, she didn't want to get too close to Su Ning.

"Princess, the emperor and the queen mother have granted Chengyuan in Bianjing as the Ning Wang Mansion. I heard that the Gu family's mansion was once in the hands of the old Marquis of Xiangyang. I am willing to pay a high price to buy it from the old Marquis. I would like to ask Princess Pingning to help me and the old Marquis to speak a word." At this time, Su Ning said his request with a smile. After Chengyuan and the Gu family's old mansion were connected, it would become an authentic prince's mansion.

"Yes! Your Majesty, Pingning will definitely convey your message." Princess Pingning agreed with some surprise, feeling that the old emperor and queen were too partial to Su Ning.

"Thank you."

Su Ning and Princess Ping Ning were talking in public about purchasing the old house of the Gu family. Everyone present listened attentively and couldn't help but show a look of surprise. You know, the tension between Su Ning and the Gu family is a well-known fact. But at this time, the old emperor and the empress showed expressions of relief. Since they saw the true situation of the Ningyuan army, they wanted to bring Su Ning back to Bian Jing immediately and put him under house arrest.

"Empress, it seems that Prince Ning and Huirou are very satisfied with the Chengyuan I gave them." The old emperor on the dragon boat looked at Empress Cao beside him with joy and said.

"Yes! If Prince Ning buys the Gu family's old house and connects the two gardens, it will be even larger than Prince Yong's and Prince Yan's mansions." Empress Cao also understood Su Ning's intentions, which showed that Su Ning was slowly letting down his guard against the court. "Well, it seems that when we return to Bianjing, we will have to arrange for the Ministry of Works to follow up. After all, we can't let Prince Ning and Huirou be without a place to live in Bianjing."

"The government is wise."

……

After the old emperor, this big trouble, left Jiangning Prefecture, the relieved Su Ning immediately began to deal with another matter, that is, the group of stupid assassins from Yuzhou. In fact, before the emperor came to Jiangning Prefecture during his southern tour, the Jinyiwei had already caught them. At that time, they just locked them all up and did not interrogate or pay attention to any of them. They had been tortured for such a long time that they were almost crazy.

"Zhao Yingce, I didn't expect that we would meet here." Su Ning sat on a throne in the palace prison, looking at the decadent assassin in front of him through the dim light.

"Hmph! Traitor! Sooner or later, you and your Ningyuan Army will become prisoners." The angry assassin could only curse the enemy in front of him. If angry eyes could kill, the enemy would have been executed by slow slicing long ago.

"Zhao Yingce, it's a pity that you are the prisoner now. As for whether I will become a prisoner, you may never see it again in this life." From the moment Suning chose to rebel against the Song Dynasty, he had decided not to let Zhao Zongquan and his son ascend the throne.

"Gu Tingye, what are you going to do to me? I am a descendant of the emperor of the Song Dynasty." Facing Su Ning's cold and bloodthirsty eyes, the fearless Zhao Yingce couldn't help but panic.

"Tsk! Your Zhao family's ancestors bullied orphans and widows, and then humiliated the king of the fallen Southern Tang. You, their descendants, must naturally pay for their sins." Suning really looked down on the weak Zhao Song court. All their ambitions were used to bully the weak. The subsequent Jingkang Shame was also a punishment for them, the Zhao Song.

"What? Gu Tingye, you are now a prince of the Song Dynasty. Aren't you afraid that His Majesty will punish you for humiliating the royal descendants of the Song Dynasty?" Zhao Yingce trembled with fear, questioning Su Ning in front of him in a stern manner.

"Alright! Stop yelling. I'm going to make a special iron cage, strip you naked and lock you in it, and put it directly in the vegetable market of Jiangning Prefecture, so that the people passing by can see the elegance of the royal descendants." Su Ning suddenly approached Zhao Yingce with a sly smile on his face and told him his plan.

"Ah... Gu Tingye, I beg you, just kill me with one knife!" Zhao Yingce was really scared at this time, and he only wanted to let Su Ning know about him as soon as possible.

"Humph! Killing you would be too easy for you. I will torture you every day."

“Ah… please, just kill me…”

"Take him away! Wait until the special iron cage is ready, then drag him out to parade him through the streets." Then Su Ning irritably ordered the Jinyiwei to drag Zhao Yingce away.

"Yes! Master."

After the Jinyiwei dragged the shouting Zhao Yingce and Shen Congxing away, Su Ning looked at Zhao Linger, whose hair was disheveled, with curiosity on his face. "Zhao Linger, look up."

"Your Highness, I was also forced by Zhao Zongquan and Zhao Yingce, father and son. They have now captured my family and are threatening them."

"Oh? They are exactly the same." Looking at the face in front of him that was exactly the same as Zhao Pan'er, Su Ning immediately couldn't help but reveal a smirk.

"Ah......" Meeting Suning's fiery gaze, Zhao Linger's heart suddenly trembled.

"Zhao Linger, I can help you rescue your father and grandmother, but what can you do for me?" At this time, Su Ning smiled evilly, then looked at Zhao Linger meaningfully and asked.

"Your Highness, as long as you can successfully save my family, Zhao Linger will repay your kindness with her life." Zhao Linger immediately kowtowed heavily in surprise and expressed her gratitude. However, the moment she lowered her head, she revealed a look of triumph.

"Haha! Zhao Linger, from now on you will be my personal maid."

"Yes! Your Majesty."

Zhao Linger, who bowed her head at this time, was very proud, because their plan was not to assassinate Su Ning directly. Because they in Yuzhou had already analyzed the Ningyuan Army in detail, and guessed that the Ningyuan Army must have a very powerful intelligence department, and they also expected that their appearance would definitely not be concealed from the spies of this intelligence department, so their real plan in Yuzhou was still on Zhao Linger.

Zhao Zongquan's plan was actually very detailed and complicated. At the beginning, he would create an assassination attempt that was doomed to fail, and then let Zhao Linger fall smoothly into the hands of Ning Yuanjun. As long as Zhao Linger could successfully get close to the arrogant Su Ning, he would be able to find the right opportunity to kill Su Ning with one blow.

However, Zhao Zongquan and Zhao Yingce had not anticipated that this group of people in Yuzhou had been under the surveillance of the Jinyiwei for a long time, so naturally they did not expect that they would be caught by the Jinyiwei so quickly. However, their plan was still half successful, and Zhao Linger successfully approached the target person.

Yuzhou, Zhaofu.

"Master Tuanlian, there is news from Jiangning Prefecture." A guard of the Zhao family hurried to Zhao Zongquan and reported.

"Oh? Is the plan going well?" Zhao Zongquan immediately looked at his subordinates impatiently and asked.

"My lord, Zhao Linger has become Prince Ning's personal maid, but..." The guard first told the good news, then hesitantly looked up at Zhao Zongquan.

"Great! It seems our plan within a plan really worked." Zhao Zongquan immediately slapped his thigh in surprise. Then, he suddenly realized the guard's strangeness and looked at his men in astonishment and asked, "Did something unexpected happen?"

"That's right! The young master and General Shen were both arrested by the Jinyiwei of Prince Ning's Mansion." The guard reported with his head down.

"What? How could such a big mistake happen?" Zhao Zongquan immediately sat up straight in panic, realizing that they were in big trouble in Yuzhou.

"Master Tuanlian, the young master and General Shen have been under surveillance by the Jinyiwei since they appeared in Jiangning Prefecture." The guard then gave a concise explanation, feeling that Zhao Yingce and Shen Congxing were too careless.

"Humph! It seems that Prince Ning still has rebellious intentions, otherwise he wouldn't be able to monitor the world so closely."

"Sir, how should we respond next?" The guard then looked at Zhao Zongquan with a puzzled look on his face and asked.

"Hey! Looks like I have to go to Jiangning Mansion myself."

"Ah? Sir, isn't this too dangerous? You know, Prince Ning and the Ningyuan Army are very brutal."

"That's fine! It all depends on how Prince Ning makes his request."

Zhao Zongquan's original plan was to let Zhao Linger carry out an assassination full of mistakes, and then after being captured by the Ningyuan Army, she could smoothly enter Su Ning's sight. As long as the lustful Su Ning saw Zhao Linger's beauty, it was believed that Su Ning would definitely take this beautiful Zhao Linger into her own "harem", so that all the skills that Zhao Linger had learned with great effort would come in handy. However, he did not expect that Zhao Yingce and Shen Congxing would be so careless. Then Zhao Zongquan had to come forward and play his cards openly with Su Ning.

……

(End of this chapter)