The Prodigal Son

In the palace.

Zhao Luan had already recovered from the pain.

At first she thought Qin Yu was injured, but now it seems that it was definitely not what she thought.

I wonder what kind of trouble that bastard is up to now!

Zhao Luan had been implicated by Qin Yu countless times, and was now somewhat numb to it, even too lazy to bring herself to deal with Qin Yu.

Anyway, after making so many tough decisions and saying so many harsh things to myself, in the end I still couldn't get anything done to Qin Yu.

Moreover, Qin Yu has inadvertently uncovered the real culprit who plotted to kill the Crown Prince. If she wants to do something to Qin Yu, the Empress Dowager will probably be the first to object!

Now she's having a headache again about how to reward Qin Yu!

Just as Zhao Luan was secretly having a headache, Shangguan Youyi led the Empress Dowager in.

Upon seeing the Empress Dowager, Zhao Luan quickly stood up, preparing to pay her respects.

"Sit down, sit down!"

The Empress Dowager quickened her pace and walked to Zhao Luan's side, looking at her with concern: "I heard you're not feeling well, what's wrong?"

"Thank you for your concern, Mother. I am fine."

Zhao Luan patted the Empress Dowager's hand, "She's probably been thinking about the Shi family's misdeeds lately and got angry."

Speaking of the Shi family, the Empress Dowager's face immediately showed deep hatred. "I am also very angry. I even wanted to arrange the marriage between Lü Si and that little slut Shi Lian'er, but I never expected the Shi family to be so vicious..."

One historian has harmed countless people.

It also changed the fate of countless people.

Whenever she thinks of the Shi family, all she wants to do is tear them to pieces and grind their bones to dust!

"yes!"

Zhao Luan sighed softly, "It's fortunate that Lü Si refused to marry Shi Lian'er no matter what, otherwise we probably wouldn't have been able to trace it back to the Shi family this time."

It seems that fate has its own plan.

Looking back now, it was truly a miscarriage of justice to punish Lü Si by giving him a proper explanation to the Shi family.

Once Lü Si returns to the capital with Qin Yu, he should be properly rewarded.

"This is called God having eyes."

The Empress Dowager raised her hand to wipe away the tears in her eyes, then gestured for Shangguan Youyi to leave, and asked Zhao Luan, "Has there been any news from Yun Huai?"

Zhao Luan nodded slightly, "There is some news, but Qin Yu has not yet submitted a memorial explaining the situation. I guess he wants to handle things properly before submitting a memorial..."

As she spoke, Zhao Luan told the Empress Dowager the news she had received.

All the messages she's receiving so far are coming from Ningzhou.

Qin Yu has sealed off the entire Yunhuai region, preventing any news from getting out of the city.

One thing is certain: Qin Yu took advantage of the Shi family's grand full-moon celebration to wipe out the entire Shi family.

There are other rumors, but they are all conflicting and there is no definite answer.

"All we need to do is wipe out the Shi family!"

A ruthless glint flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes. "Let's not talk about this now. Let's wait for news from Qin Yu! I also want to ask you, now that Qin Yu has found the real culprit who murdered your elder brother, how do you plan to reward him?"

Speaking of this, Zhao Luan rubbed her head in exasperation, "My daughter is also worried about this!"

A reward is definitely in order!

But how to bestow the reward is a headache.

All she could think of now was to take the opportunity to give Qin Yu the position of commander of the Wudang Flying Army that she had reserved for him long ago, and appoint him as a general of the second or third rank.

Even she herself felt that this reward was meager, let alone the ministers in the court who had close ties with the Qin family.

Qin Yu's achievements were not limited to uncovering the true culprit who murdered the crown prince; he also reformed the salt administration.

They even helped the imperial court solve extremely urgent financial problems.

"Don't worry about it!"

The Empress Dowager grasped Zhao Luan's hand, "To take him as my husband is far better than any reward!"

"Mother, this..."

Zhao Luan was both amused and exasperated.

Why bring this up again?

However, she could understand.

The Empress Dowager already favored Qin Yu, and now that Qin Yu has uncovered the real culprit who murdered her elder brother, she will definitely find Qin Yu pleasing to the eye no matter what.

Now, in her heart, probably no man in the world can compare to Qin Yu.

No matter what happens between her and Qin Yu in the future, her mother will definitely dote on Qin Yu even more.

"Let me finish speaking."

The Empress Dowager stopped Zhao Luan and sighed softly, "You know, I've had this idea before!"

"Now, Qin Yu has inadvertently uncovered the true culprit who murdered your elder brother. I believe this is the will of Heaven!"

"And think about it, our dynasty will launch a war to destroy Yan this year. If this succeeds, Qin Yu's achievements will be unparalleled throughout history!"

"With so many merits, you definitely can't not reward them, but in the end, there's nowhere left to reward them!"

"You can't wait until there's no more room to seal him before killing him, can you?"

"But if you marry him, wouldn't all the problems be solved?"

The Empress Dowager patiently spoke to Zhao Luan.

Logically speaking, given Qin Yu's existing achievements, he should have been granted the title of Duke and the rank of First-Class General long ago!

It was that scoundrel who went to great lengths to hand over his dirty laundry to Zhao Luan, so that she wouldn't have to worry about rewarding him.

But Qin Yu can't do this every time, can he?

The imperial court is not afraid of bestowing titles and rewards upon its ministers; it is only afraid that there are no more titles to bestow!

Zhao Luan smiled wryly, "I understand what Mother is saying! But, didn't I also say the same thing to Mother..."

"Isn't it just about those girls?"

The Empress Dowager interrupted Zhao Luan, saying casually, "I've been thinking about this these past few days. When a wealthy family takes in a son-in-law, doesn't he need a maidservant? Just treat those girls as your maidservants!"

"Besides, rules are rules, but people are flexible!"

"There is no precedent in our dynasty for passing the throne to a woman, yet your father still passed it on to you, didn't he?"

"Our dynasty is currently in a very favorable situation. The larger our territory becomes, the more you need someone like Qin Yu to consolidate your rule!"

The Empress Dowager continued to brainwash Zhao Luan.

Oh no!

It's about analyzing the situation!

She had previously felt that Qin Yu was the most suitable husband for Zhao Luan.

Now I am even more convinced that this position belongs to Qin Yu!

Moreover, as someone who has been through it all, she could tell that this girl actually liked Qin Yu quite a bit.

Despite her constant clamor to hang Qin Yu up and whip him, when has that whip ever actually touched Qin Yu?

In the Empress Dowager's eyes, this was just flirting!

Zhao Luan pondered the Empress Dowager's words quietly, then smiled and said, "I will seriously consider Mother's suggestion!"

Seeing that Zhao Luan seemed to have taken her words to heart, the Empress Dowager was immediately pleased. "Don't try to fool me."

"Won't."

Zhao Luan gently shook her head, "What Mother said makes perfect sense! Besides, although Qin Yu has a lot of bad habits, he still has many good points! Having him by my side makes me feel more at ease!"

"Oh, right!"

The Empress Dowager held Zhao Luan's hand tightly. "I trust my judgment, and I trust yours! The person we, mother and daughter, have chosen cannot be wrong!"

"Um."

Zhao Luan nodded slightly, but secretly smiled bitterly to herself.

Why is it that it has to be Qin Yu now?