The Prodigal Son

"Luan'er, you've gone too far by coming here to chase people away from me!"

The Empress Dowager was somewhat displeased, and the smile on her face disappeared.

This palace isn't her territory, but this Cixi Palace is, isn't it?

She was having a nice chat with Yu Jing, but Zhao Luan came and started finding all sorts of ways to get rid of her. It was so disrespectful to her!

"My daughter isn't here to kick me out."

Zhao Luan gently shook her head, "Daughter does indeed have something important to discuss with Mother."

"What is it?" the Empress Dowager asked calmly.

"Regarding the Nine Dragon Pendant."

As Zhao Luan spoke, she recounted how Xiao Baoju had used force to coerce her into handing over the fragments of the Nine Dragon Pendant.

"How arrogant!"

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager's face fell. "We haven't even settled the score with Bei Qi from five years ago, and they still dare to threaten the Emperor of Great Ning with force in court? If Bei Qi wants to fight, we'll fight them to the bitter end!"

The Empress Dowager gets angry whenever this is mentioned.

If it weren't for the Northern Qi's invasion and the Yan's sudden attack, she would never have been deposed.

Before that, more than 70% of the military power of the imperial court was in the hands of the Guo family and those who were affiliated with the Guo family. Even Qin Fumeng, the Grand General who was in charge of the country, only controlled 70,000 troops.

But when faced with a powerful enemy, those bastards who had never fought a major battle were more and more useless than the last. At first, they suffered defeat after defeat, and her younger brother and two nephews died one after another. They even lost Wuguan Pass.

In order to preserve the territory of Da Ning, she had no choice but to hand over military power to generals who were good at fighting.

But handing over military power is tantamount to handing over all power.

After the war ended, most of the military power was firmly in the hands of those who supported Zhao Luan.

Forced by circumstances, she had no choice but to agree to withdraw from the court.

"That's the same reply from my daughter."

Zhao Luan nodded gently: "Daughter wants to ask Mother if she knows what secret the Nine Dragon Pendant holds? Why would Northern Qi resort to force for a mere fragment?"

"I really don't know about this."

The Empress Dowager shook her head and said, "When the late Emperor was still alive, he did mention the fragment of the Nine Dragon Pendant to me, but he only heard Emperor Xiaowu say that the Nine Dragon Pendant hid a shocking secret. However, neither he nor Emperor Xiaowu knew what the secret was."

"Even the Empress Dowager doesn't know?"

Zhao Luan frowned, then took out a secret report from her sleeve and handed it to the Empress Dowager, saying, "Mother, please take a look at this again!"

The Empress Dowager took the secret report, opened it, and her pupils suddenly contracted.

The royal family of Chu wanted to arrange a marriage between the Chu princess and Zhao Yan, the heir apparent of the King of Chengyang, whose mourning period was about to end!

Is the information reliable?

The Empress Dowager asked in a deep voice.

"reliable!"

Zhao Luan nodded: "This is intelligence sent back by spies that the late emperor planted in the Chu Kingdom many years ago!"

The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes slightly, and asked with surprise, "So, you've decided to grant the Prince of Chengyang's request?"

Is that why she drove Yu Jing away?

If that's the case, then Yu Jing should indeed be driven away!

"No!"

Zhao Luan shook her head gently and sighed, "What I wanted to say was that the court is now facing internal and external troubles again, and I really have no intention of considering marriage. Please don't worry about it."

"Foolish!"

The Empress Dowager rebuked him sternly, "At this time, you should stabilize the situation of our dynasty through marriage! After all, the Prince of Chengyang is a member of the imperial family. Your marriage to the Prince of Chengyang's heir will strengthen our kinship! As long as you agree, the Prince of Chengyang will be the most loyal subject of our Great Ning!"

"Your Majesty, you are mistaken!"

Zhao Luan gently shook her head, "If a daughter doesn't marry, many people still have hope! But if a daughter marries, it will extinguish the hopes of many others..."

Zhao Luan quietly began to analyze the situation with the Empress Dowager.

Whether it's Yu Jing, the Prince of Chengyang, or anyone else, they all just want to seize the throne of Da Ning through marriage alliances.

If she doesn't marry, she can still navigate between various factions.

If Da Ning really faces a huge crisis, marriage alliance will be her last resort.

Talking about marriage now is like handing over your cards prematurely!

This is not a good thing for either her or the imperial court!

Zhao Luan's words make some sense.

However, they still couldn't persuade the Empress Dowager.

"But have you considered what you would do if the King of Chengyang lost patience and sided with the State of Chu?"

The Empress Dowager, deeply worried, said in a deep voice, "You are the Empress of Great Ning; you cannot disregard the safety of the nation for personal feelings!"

"To put it bluntly, you'll eventually get married, in a marriage alliance with the Prince of Chengyang's heir. If the throne passes to your children, the flesh will rot inside the pot anyway!"

"But if you marry someone else, half of your children's blood won't belong to the Zhao family!"

"Can't you tell which is more important?"

She had always been inclined to marry the Prince of Chengyang.

Marrying Yu Jing would be a second-best option!

Zhao Luan remained silent.

After a moment, Zhao Luan looked at the Empress Dowager with a firm expression, "I understand Mother's meaning, and I know that Mother is thinking of the safety of the court! But please, Mother, believe in me!"

Meeting Zhao Luan's gaze, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

A daughter is no longer under her mother's control once she grows up!

"Fine! Since that's how it is, you can do whatever you want with it!"

The Empress Dowager sighed helplessly, "I only hope you won't regret it in the future, and I also hope you understand that you will eventually marry and continue the bloodline of the Da Ning royal family!"

"My daughter understands."

Zhao Luan breathed a sigh of relief. "Daughter, please stay and have lunch with Mother!"

"No need, you can go do your thing!"

The Empress Dowager refused, saying leisurely, "Rest assured, although I sometimes have some dissatisfaction with you, I am the Empress Dowager of Da Ning, and my life belongs to Da Ning! More than anyone else, I hope Da Ning will prosper forever!"

She knew in her heart that Zhao Luan didn't really want to have a meal with her.

It's simply because she's worried that I'll cause her trouble when Da Ning is beset by internal and external troubles.

However, she really underestimates herself!

If I didn't even have this much vision, why would the shrewd late emperor have made me empress?

When I handed over power to her back then, although it was largely due to the circumstances, I also didn't want the Great Ning, which had just experienced war, to exhaust its resources through the constant infighting between the mother and daughter.

"Your daughter is ashamed! Your daughter thanks Your Majesty."

Zhao Luan stood up and respectfully bowed to the Empress Dowager.

"well……"

The Empress Dowager sighed softly, "Besides, since Qin Yu has already been granted an official position, let's arrange a job for that boy Lü Si too! He's never gotten along with Qin Yu, we can't let him be inferior to Qin Yu, can we?"

Zhao Luan thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

……

Qin Yu returned to his residence carrying a pile of spoils.

But before he could even settle in, Yan Li came looking for him.

"Why are you here?"

Qin Yu asked Yan Li in surprise.

Yan Li smiled and said, "I've come to bid farewell to Young Master Qin!"

"Are you leaving?"

Qin Yu suppressed his excitement.

Let's go, let's go quickly!

Now that you're gone, I'm going to go talk to Bei Qi!

"yes!"

Yan Li nodded and said, "This morning, Prime Minister Song signed an agreement with our dynasty on behalf of your country to resume trade. Tomorrow morning, I will lead people back to Yan to begin preparations for the trade."

"So eager?"

Qin Yu smacked his lips, then tilted his head back and asked, "So, what do you think? I didn't lie to you, did I?"

"No! I was judging you by my own petty standards! I apologize to Young Master Qin!"

As she spoke, Yan Li bowed again to Qin Yu to apologize.

"That's more like it!"

Qin Yu smiled with satisfaction, "I told you long ago, although I, Qin Yu, am not a good person, my integrity is absolutely top-notch!"

"I believe it now!"

Yan Li chuckled, "I'd like to treat you to a few drinks tonight, as a token of my appreciation..."

"You're trying to get me killed!"

Qin Yu interrupted him impatiently, "Are you afraid the Empress of our dynasty doesn't know about our deal? Let me tell you, I didn't take any benefits from you!"

Yan Li chuckled to herself.

I didn't expect him to be so cautious.

"yes!"

Yan Li nodded and smiled, "Young Master Qin is a good man; he's always thinking of the people of both countries!"

"Yes, yes!"

Qin Yu nodded repeatedly, "I won't invite you to stay for dinner, and I won't see you off tomorrow! But I'm warning you, if you two continue to be two-faced, you won't have another chance!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Li immediately nodded seriously.

After a brief chat, Yan Li took his leave.

After seeing Yan Li off, Qin Yu was in a great mood.

Now that Yan Li is gone, I should talk to Bei Qi...