Empress in her second playthrough: Something's not right with this plot!

Is this an attempt to play the emotional card?

"Since Your Majesty says so, then I shall also say a few words from my heart."

Li Yunsheng raised his head and looked directly into those phoenix eyes.

“If I had not formed a faction, the King of Qin would have rebelled with Fei Su long ago.”

If I remember correctly, it was Your Majesty who instructed me to eliminate Fei Su's faction.

If I were to be an honest official, what would I have to fight Fei Su with? Just my unwavering loyalty and courage to serve the country?

Factional struggles cost money; without bribes, where would the money come from?

Your Majesty could ask them, "If they don't give me money, do they feel at ease?"

Li Yunsheng raised his finger and pointed to the sky.

"A gentleman has things he will do and things he will not do. If Heaven thinks that I have selfish motives, then let me be punished by Heaven."

Jiang Qingying stared wide-eyed, wondering how he could explain what she had done so logically and convincingly.

"Then, Fei Su is dead, and the court is now stable. How do you explain your continued control of the government?"

Li Yunsheng countered with a question.

"May I ask if Your Majesty intends to deal with me if power were returned to you?"

Jiang Qingying's lips didn't move, but the words "Of course, dismissal from office and confiscation of property" almost slipped out.

"It should be the same as before, with the ruler and his subjects of one mind."

"His Majesty did not tell the truth in front of the late emperor's memorial tablet."

Li Yunsheng looked at the memorial tablets in Fengxian Hall.

"I'm afraid that confiscating their property and executing them would be considered a great act of mercy from His Majesty."

Seeing that she couldn't win the argument, Jiang Qingying turned and left, leaving behind a parting remark.

"Follow me to the Imperial Pharmacy to pay homage to the Medicine King!"

Standing to the side, Gao Zhan sighed inwardly. His Majesty had been completely controlled by this kid since childhood.

All Li Yunsheng could say was that being an emperor was truly exhausting.

They prayed from dawn until the next morning, offering various kinds of prayers.

……

Lantern Festival.

into the night.

Before Li Yunsheng even left the house, he could already hear music and noise from inside the city.

Stepping out of the mansion gate, my eyes were immediately drawn to something bright.

The Lantern Festival here is the real festival, with all kinds of lanterns everywhere you look.

As dusk settles, torches light up the streets, moonlight spills across the ground, and lanterns illuminate the alleys.

In the thin mist of night, the moonlight and lamplight reflected each other, shimmering and dazzling from near and far, high and low.

Wei Xiang showed a rare hint of excitement as she pointed into the distance.

"what is that?"

Li Yunsheng looked ahead in the direction she was pointing.

There, there is a magnificent mountain made of lanterns.

It can be said to be one of the liveliest places in the entire city.

At the foot of Mount Ao, many people gathered to watch.

That's called Aoshan.

The streets were bustling with acrobatic performances and numerous stalls.

The bustling city was filled with noise, and the lanterns shone like daytime.

The exquisite and ingenious designs of the lantern wheels, lantern trees, and lantern towers are truly masterpieces.

Looking around, one sees white phoenixes twirling among flowers, yellow dragons spouting water, golden ghosts, silver swallows, the Floating Light Cave, and the Star-Gathering Pavilion, all illuminated by lanterns.

Among them, the most eye-catching is the lantern wheel.

This lantern has seven layers, with seven lamps on each layer, resembling a wheel.

Standing several meters tall, it was draped with various silks and brocades, and decorated with gold and silver, making it a magnificent and luxurious structure.

It's like a huge public party, a stage for young men and women to showcase themselves.

The children of wealthy families are dressed elegantly and made up exquisitely.

Children from ordinary families also wear their best clothes and dress up beautifully.

The long street was bustling with people.

Pairs of young men and women held hands tightly, as if afraid of being separated in the crowd.

Her face was filled with shyness and sweetness.

Under the moonlight, amidst the bustling crowd, Li Yunsheng suddenly remembered that line—

I searched for him a thousand times in the crowd, then suddenly I turned around and there he was, in the dim light.

Thinking of this, Li Yunsheng suddenly turned around.

On the Jade River Bridge, the empress, disguised as a man, happened to look up, and their eyes met.

Then, the Empress snorted coldly and turned her head to look elsewhere.

Chapter 78 What a massive dragon slaughter!

April.

Wei State, Imperial Observatory.

Prime Minister Taishu Wei rushed in; his voice preceded his arrival.

"Old Xu, disaster has struck!"

Wenren Xu sat by the chessboard, playing against himself.

Taishu Wei walked in and grabbed his hand.

"If you still have the mind to play chess, I, David, am facing an utter disaster!"

Wenren Xu stared at the chessboard in front of him and slowly spoke.

"Droughts had already occurred in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and grain prices doubled or even increased several times over."

The State of Chu has severed trade relations with my State of Wei; no one will buy silk or gauze anymore, and not a single grain of grain can enter Wei.

"It seems you already know."

A memorial slipped from Taishu Wei's hands, and he slumped down opposite Wenren Xu.

"And there's something else you don't know: the Honghe River breached its banks, and the flood affected the three prefectures of Fengzhou, Yunzhou, and Yanzhou."

Millions of people are waiting for disaster relief food.

The Chu army has assembled, intending to invade our border.

The eastern border is short of provisions, and requests the imperial court to allocate grain.

The Western Zhou Dynasty was preoccupied with its own problems and banned the trade of grain.

Wenren Xu was stunned for a moment, then pushed away Taishu Wei's hand.

"What a massive dragon slaughter!"

Taishu Wei turned to look at the chessboard, where a white piece had swallowed a large dragon of forty-six black pieces, reaching a hundred eyes.

Wenren Xu picked up the black pieces one by one from the chessboard and put them into the chess box.

Through the messages sent back by his spies, he had finally figured out the key point that had been puzzling him—timing.

The Western Zhou Dynasty suffered a severe drought, with no rain falling for months, and the disaster affected almost half of the Western Zhou.

If people can't even feed themselves, why would they sell food to others?

Even if he wanted to sell, there was no grain left to sell.

Now he finally understood why Li Yunsheng had stockpiled grain in advance; it was practically prophetic.

Unfortunately, it's too late to know all this now.

It should be said that it was too late from the very beginning.

Taishu Wei got impatient and overturned the chessboard.

"With the situation so dire, how can you still be thinking about playing chess?!"

Cough cough--

Wenren Xu coughed violently, his face turning red from holding it in.

Taishu Wei's tone softened slightly as he quickly stepped forward and gently patted Wenren Xu's back.

"It's my fault, I was too loud just now."

But I... I'm really anxious.

How could he not be anxious after receiving so much bad news in one day?

After a moment, Wenren Xu recovered slightly and looked up at Taishu Wei in front of him.

“When the states of Wei and Chu were trading with each other, I said that Li Yunsheng must be harboring evil intentions.”

When the State of Chu was hoarding grain, I had an audience with His Majesty, who said that everything was under control.

Now that they've finished their preparations, what's the point of you coming to me?