The Prodigal Son

When the three arrived at the tea room, they found it in a mess, with a group of palace maids and eunuchs kneeling outside, trembling.

The Empress Dowager and Zhao Luan stared at each other like fighting cocks, their faces grim.

Shangguan Youyi cautiously entered the room. "Empress Dowager, this is..."

"Get out!"

The Empress Dowager roared angrily.

Shangguan Youyi trembled and quickly bowed and retreated.

"Just stand there!"

Zhao Luan coldly called out to Shangguan Youyi.

"this……"

Shangguan Youyi was caught in a dilemma: standing still or retreating was not an option.

Seeing this, Zhao Yan quickly walked into the room and said, "Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, please calm down. Getting angry will harm your health."

"Did you get so angry that you hurt yourself?"

The Empress Dowager sneered, "Some people just find me an eyesore and wish they could drive me to my death!"

"Your Majesty, you flatter me!"

Zhao Luan's face darkened. "The Empress Dowager has been staying in the Peony Garden for so long; it's time to return to the palace!"

"Where I live is none of your business!"

The Empress Dowager coldly stared at Zhao Luan, "I want the people of the world to see how the Empress of Da Ning drove me out of the palace, forcing me to live in the garden the late Emperor built for her!"

Zhao Luan took a deep breath and sternly ordered, "Prepare the imperial carriage to escort the Empress Dowager back to the palace!"

"Who dares?"

The Empress Dowager was furious.

"I dare!"

Zhao Luan was not intimidated at all.

"you……"

Enraged, the Empress Dowager raised her hand to slap Zhao Luan across the face.

"Empress Dowager!"

Zhao Luan suddenly raised her voice, "The person speaking to you now is not your daughter, but the Empress of Da Ning! Don't keep testing my limits!"

"Good, good! Your wings have really hardened!"

The Empress Dowager was so angry she was panting heavily. "I'm not going back to the palace! Go ahead and kill me if you dare! If I even flinch, I'm not the late Emperor's Empress!"

Seeing the mother and daughter at loggerheads, Zhao Yan quickly stepped forward to support the Empress Dowager and once again advised, "Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, you are mother and daughter. You can talk things out calmly. Don't let outsiders laugh at you."

As he spoke, Zhao Yan gave Shangguan Youyi a meaningful look.

Shangguan Youyi understood and quickly stepped forward to support Zhao Luan, advising, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Someone from the palace just reported that Prime Minister Song has urgent business with you. Your Majesty, please return to the palace first!"

Zhao Luan glanced coldly at Shangguan Youyi, hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "I have urgent matters to attend to, so I won't say any more to the Empress Dowager! Please make preparations, Empress Dowager. I will send someone to fetch you back to the palace in three days!"

"That's your palace; it's not fit for me!"

The Empress Dowager responded coldly.

Zhao Luan was about to speak again when Shangguan Youyi pulled her back, "Your Majesty, let's return to the palace first!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, let's return to the palace first!"

Qin Yu also stepped forward to persuade him, "State affairs are of utmost importance."

Zhao Luan took a few deep breaths, turned around, and walked out.

Qin Yu and Shangguan Youyi gave a brief bow to the Empress Dowager and quickly followed.

Watching Zhao Luan's retreating figure, the Empress Dowager was furious. She overturned the tea table in a rage and roared, "Unfilial daughter! This unfilial daughter!"

The Empress Dowager was furious and stomped her feet in anger.

I felt like I was about to pass out in one breath at any moment.

Zhao Yan, observing this, was both pleased and puzzled. "Empress Dowager, what's going on between you and His Majesty?"

The Empress Dowager gritted her teeth and growled, "This unfilial daughter tries to forcibly bring me back to the palace!"

"this……"

Zhao Yan asked suspiciously, "There shouldn't be anything wrong with the Empress Dowager returning to the palace, right?"

She was the Empress Dowager of Da Ning; wasn't it only natural for her to live in the palace?

Is there anything wrong with this?

"Can't you even understand this?"

The Empress Dowager glared at Zhao Yan, panting, and said, "She's afraid I'll side with you, so she wants to take me back to the palace and put me under house arrest!"

Zhao Yan was slightly taken aback, then suddenly realized what was going on.

Yes!

The Empress Dowager lived in the Peony Garden, and he could come to see her at any time.

However, if the Empress Dowager returns to the palace, it won't be so easy to see her.

Zhao Luan is thinking long-term!

"Your Majesty, please calm down."

Zhao Yan helped the Empress Dowager to sit down and comforted her, saying, "His Majesty may simply want to bring the Empress Dowager back to the palace to fulfill her filial duties."

"To fulfill filial piety?"

The Empress Dowager sneered, "Only when I'm dead will she feign filial piety! Later, spread the word that this unfilial daughter wants to imprison me! I'd like to see if she dares to forcibly bring me back to the palace!"

Zhao Yan was about to agree, but then a thought struck her, and she immediately changed her mind, saying, "Empress Dowager, I'm afraid this is somewhat inappropriate!"

"Is there something wrong?"

The Empress Dowager glanced at her with annoyance.

Zhao Yan chuckled, "His Majesty surely still cherishes his mother-daughter bond with the Empress Dowager! In my opinion, His Majesty has only been temporarily bewitched by Qin Yu, which is why he committed such a treasonous act against the Empress Dowager! It was all Qin Yu's doing..."

Qin Yu?

The Empress Dowager's face showed a thoughtful expression, then she looked at Zhao Yan approvingly: "Then let's do it your way!"

"yes!"

Zhao Yan gladly accepted the order, but secretly began to ponder it.

If Qin Yu were to participate in the debate at the Temple of Literature, he could not only outdo Qin Yu, but also make use of the poem Qin Yu had previously used to mock him!

In that case, it really is necessary to have Qin Yu participate in the Confucian Temple debate!

……

"Aren't you guys overacting a bit?"

Inside the imperial carriage, Qin Yu looked at Zhao Luan with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

She thought Zhao Luan and the Empress Dowager had broken up!

It turns out they were just acting?

This actor is definitely a veteran!

"This show has to be put on."

Zhao Luan smiled easily. "Zhao Yan and the Prince of Chengyang are not fools. To fool them, we must make them believe that the relationship between me and the Empress Dowager has reached a point of irreconcilable conflict."

She even felt that this wasn't enough!

If she weren't worried that Qin Yu would notice something was wrong, she would have wanted the Empress Dowager to actually slap her.

This matter is of utmost importance, and we cannot be too cautious.

"Too!"

Qin Yu nodded and smiled.

"I will be summoning Wu Chi and Shen Jue later, so I'll leave Wang Dou and the others to you!"

Zhao Luan instructed, "I don't care how you talk to them! But listen carefully: if they dare to utter a single word about it, I will hold you responsible!"

"No problem!" Qin Yu readily agreed, "They wouldn't dare!"

The imperial carriage hurried back.

Shortly after entering the city, Qin Yu left the imperial carriage.

As the imperial carriage started moving again, Shangguan Youyi smiled and told Zhao Luan about the confrontation between Qin Yu and Zhao Yan.

After hearing her words, Zhao Luan couldn't help but be surprised.

You've written another poem?

This poem... is not bad.

The problem is that the scope of the attack is too broad!

However, this bastard is truly shameless!

He spoke of greed and lust with such self-righteousness.

A smile flashed across Zhao Luan's face, and she asked with interest, "What do you think is Zhao Yan's biggest disadvantage compared to Qin Yu?"

Shangguan Youyi smiled slightly, "Zhao Yan values ​​his reputation, while Qin Yu is shameless and doesn't care about his name!"

"Just as I thought!"

Zhao Luan nodded and smiled, then instructed Shangguan Youyi: "Send someone to tell Qin Yu that he can still participate in this debate at the Confucian Temple! Since we're going to put on a show, let's make it as convincing as possible..."

Zhao Yan has already made her move!

Qin Yu must accept this challenge!

If he keeps refusing to respond, how can Zhao Yan see any hope?

If Zhao Yan sees no hope, their plans cannot proceed!

"yes!"

Shangguan Youyi accepted the order.

"Also, refine Qin Yu's plan thoroughly, down to every single detail! Show it to me after the court assembly tomorrow!"

This is extremely important!

Qin Yu's plan was ingenious, but there were certainly areas for improvement.

We should consider all possible aspects.

For aspects where unforeseen circumstances may arise, contingency plans should be prepared in advance.

We must strive to ensure that nothing goes wrong!