Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

Chapter 357 One day, she will personally seize that position.

Although the ministers of the prince's faction wanted to stand up and refute Chai Jiliang's statement, no minister in the court stood up directly at this time.

They are all waiting.

Waiting for the Empress's attitude.

Anyway, they have already submitted their memorials; now it depends on Empress Wu's attitude towards this matter.

If Emperor Wu has completely given up on the eldest princess, then he will likely choose to send her to the northern kingdom as a hostage, even if Chai Jiliang threatens to kill himself.

Upon hearing Chai Jiliang's words, the Empress Wu asked, "Since Minister Chai does not wish for the eldest princess to go to the Northern Kingdom as a hostage, then in Minister Chai's opinion, who is the best candidate for hostage?"

Faced with this question, Chai Jiliang did not answer immediately. Although he was quite anxious and afraid that the Empress Wu would agree to send Wu Yunwan to the Northern Kingdom as a hostage, he did not dare to answer the question casually.

If he were to suggest sending a certain prince to the Northern Kingdom as a hostage, he would inevitably offend that faction of princes. Under the current circumstances, continuing to offend those ministers would only bring more trouble.

After pondering for a moment, Chai Jiliang said, "Your Majesty, I believe that whether it is the eldest princess or the princes, they are all Your Majesty's own flesh and blood. Therefore, if Your Majesty insists on choosing a hostage to go to the Northern Kingdom, then Your Majesty should make the decision."

Upon hearing this, the Empress chuckled. Chai Jiliang was truly impeccable.

Empress Wu then continued, "Since you know they are all my own flesh and blood, don't you think it's a bit too cruel for me to personally choose my own children to suffer in the harsh northern lands?"

Chai Jiliang did not reply, but simply knelt on the ground.

Just then, Emperor Wu continued, "As the eldest daughter, the eldest princess should naturally shoulder the responsibilities of that daughter. If the Northern Kingdom insists on choosing a hostage to go there, I will have no choice but to reluctantly send the eldest princess to the Northern Kingdom as a hostage."

Upon hearing this, the officials in the hall were taken aback, and Chai Jiliang was also stunned.

After everyone realized what was happening, they all exclaimed in unison, "Your Majesty is wise!"

No sooner had these ministers finished speaking than Chai Jiliang immediately shouted, "Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

Ignoring Chai Jiliang's words, the Empress continued, "I will speak to the eldest princess about this matter personally after court. I believe she will understand my predicament."

Chai Jiliang wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by the Empress, "Alright, the matter of the hostage is settled. This matter will not be discussed further."

This……

Afterwards, Chai Jiliang was completely lost in thought throughout the morning court session, and had no interest in listening to the ministers discussing other matters. Chai Jiliang never expected that the Empress Wu would actually be willing to send her eldest daughter to the northern kingdom as a hostage.

Wu Yunwan is at least a Grandmaster, while those princes are all useless. Instead of sending the useless ones as hostages, they sent the most powerful one.

Could it be that Emperor Wu has truly abandoned the eldest princess completely?

After the morning court session, Emperor Wu sent someone to Qingyun Palace to summon Wu Yunwan to his study, as he wanted to speak with his daughter in person.

Inside the Qingyun Palace, Wu Yunwan lay dejectedly on the chaise longue, her eyes devoid of their former brilliance.

A person who holds great power will age very quickly once they lose the nourishment of that power.

Just then, a female guard entered Qingyun Palace. "Princess, His Majesty requests that you go to the Imperial Study now."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yunwan was taken aback at first, then immediately rose from the chaise lounge and asked, "What does my father want me to do in the Imperial Study?"

The female guard paused for a moment before finally saying, "I heard that His Majesty intends to send His Highness to the Northern Kingdom as a hostage. His Majesty summoned His Highness to the Imperial Study, presumably because of this matter."

Upon hearing this, Wu Junwan was completely stunned.

To go to the northern lands as a hostage?

Are you kidding me?

If she leaves the capital and goes to the northern country, she will completely lose any chance of making a comeback.

Is her father really that heartless?

Thinking of this, Wu Yunwan clenched her fists slightly. Then, at that moment, the image of a certain young man suddenly appeared in her mind, and the words that man had said to her when she went to the Northern Kingdom began to echo in her ears. In particular, there was one sentence that she still remembered very clearly.

"It's not necessarily necessary to conquer the entire Great Wu. Once the Northern Kingdom becomes powerful enough, the Great Wu Dynasty will naturally send Miss Qian to the Northern Kingdom."

When the Northern King said those words, although he was referring to Miss Qian, he was actually referring to her.

Unexpectedly, the Northern King's words came true, and his statement actually became a reality.

Although she was very reluctant, Wu Yunwan finally decided to go to the Imperial Study to see what else her father, the Emperor, had to say to her.

She then said to the maids in the hall, "Help me change my clothes!"

A short while later, Wu Junwan changed her clothes and combed her hair, looking much more energetic, though she still looked somewhat dejected.

Wu Yunwan then went to the Imperial Study.

When Wu Yunwan entered the imperial study, Emperor Wu was reviewing memorials. After sensing Wu Yunwan's entry, he put down his pen and looked at her.

Wu Yunwan immediately bowed and said, "Daughter greets Father Emperor!"

The Emperor nodded and said, "Get up."

Wu Yunwan asked directly, "I wonder what business Father has with me?"

Emperor Wu said calmly, "Yunwan, I know you hate me for stripping you of your title, but you must understand that I had no choice but to do this. The defeat of Great Wu this time is inseparable from you. If it weren't for your lack of intelligence and not knowing that the Northern Kingdom possessed so many powerful weapons, Great Wu would not have suffered such a crushing defeat. Therefore, I must punish you."

Wu Junwan said expressionlessly, "I understand. Since it has already happened, I am willing to accept the punishment."

The Empress said, "It's good that you understand my predicament."

"The Northern Kingdom is now at its zenith, and the mysterious weapons it possesses are so powerful that they have become the greatest threat to the Great Wu Dynasty."

"Even if peace is reached this time, it won't be long before the Northern King launches an attack, wanting to annex the entire Great Wu."

At this point, the Empress rose from her chair, walked to the center of the study, stood before Wu Yunwan, looked her into the eyes, and said, "You are my most valued daughter, so I wish to entrust you with a task. I wonder if you are willing?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yunwan instantly guessed what her father was about to say. She wasn't stupid; she couldn't possibly not know that her father was making empty promises to her.

"Father, please speak!"

The Emperor then said, "I hope you can go to the Northern Kingdom as a hostage and find a way to obtain the Northern Kingdom's secrets, especially the methods for manufacturing its weapons."

"If you can obtain the blueprints for the weapons in the Northern Kingdom, after your time as a hostage is up, when you return to Da Wu, I will once again bestow upon you the title of Princess, and there is even a possibility that you may become the Crown Princess."

Upon hearing this, Wu Junwan was startled once again.

Although she knew her father would make empty promises, she didn't expect the promises he made to her to be so grand.

What is the status of the Crown Princess?

Like the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess is the heir to the throne.

By bestowing upon her the title of Crown Princess, it meant that her father intended for her to be his heir to the throne, that is, to become the next Empress Wu.

No matter how hard she tried or how well she performed in the past, her father would never say such a thing. After all, this was a relatively traditional country, and very few people from top to bottom wanted a woman to be emperor.

It took Wu Junwan a while to come to her senses. After regaining her composure, she said, "Father, I understand. I will definitely find a way to complete your mission."

Upon hearing this, the Empress smiled slightly and then said, "I'm entrusting everything to you."

"Alright, you can go back now. Once the peace terms agreed upon by the delegation and the Northern Kingdom are released, you should head to the Northern Kingdom immediately."

Wu Junwan then bowed and said, "Yes, Father, I take my leave."

As soon as she finished speaking, Wu Yunwan turned and left the Imperial Study. After watching Wu Yunwan's figure leave the Imperial Study, the Emperor Wu's originally smiling face instantly darkened.

Crown Princess?

How could he possibly hand over his throne to a woman?

If it weren't for winning over those around the Empress, he wouldn't have made Wu Junwan the eldest princess. Now that those around Wu Junwan have all pledged allegiance to other princes, and some have even directly pledged allegiance to him, the emperor, he is even less likely to allow Wu Junwan to have power.

Although his daughter was outstanding, she was not qualified to inherit the rightful lineage.

The reason he said that was because he was worried that Wu Yunwan would become self-destructive after being sent to the Northern Kingdom and would no longer support the Great Wu.

If given a glimmer of hope, Wu Yunwan would surely dream of becoming the Empress of Great Wu in the future, thus continuing to do things for Great Wu, and even becoming more motivated than before.

At this moment, Emperor Wu said to himself, "Yunwan, you mustn't disappoint your father."

On her way back to Qingyun Palace, Wu Junwan was not excited.

Although the Empress's words had momentarily stunned her, she quickly regained her senses. She didn't believe her father would really make her the Crown Princess.

If her father really had this idea, he would have made her the Crown Princess long ago, instead of only bringing it up now.

Now that all the people her mother followed before her death have dispersed, even Pei Hong, a Grandmaster, has directly pledged allegiance to the Martial Emperor, she has few people left to use. To her father, her only value now is probably to go to the Northern Kingdom as a hostage to steal its secrets.

Clearly, her father wanted to keep her in check, prevent her from becoming self-destructive and betraying the Great Wu, and also to ensure that she, as a pawn, could play a role in the Northern Kingdom.

At this moment, a faint smile appeared on Wu Junwan's face.

Although she understood that her father was just making empty promises, it also made her realize that she wasn't entirely without hope, and that one day she would personally seize that position.

The image of that little man resurfaced in her mind once again.

This lecherous man wants me to go to the Northern Kingdom, right? Well then, here I come! I'll keep this wicked woman in the Northern Kingdom forever. This little man will regret it one day!

(End of this chapter)