Emperor Tianhui had originally ordered the Duke of Qin to stay in the disaster areas until spring plowing began before returning to the capital. It was obvious that he wanted to keep His Highness Duke of Qin in the midst of his troubles and away from the center of Tianning's power.
Unexpectedly, the disaster relief work in the disaster areas had already been completed before spring plowing began. All that was left was to wait for the right time to arrive.
Under these circumstances, the longer the Duke of Qin stayed in South Ning Prefecture, the easier it would be for him to establish a foundation there and gain complete control over it and the other two prefectures.
After all, the three prefectural governors of the three disaster regions could be said to be the three most important prefectures in Tianning's central region. Together, they were basically equal to half of Tianning's central region. They were the hub that connected the north and south of Tianning, as well as the most populous regions in Tianning. Once the Duke of Qin took control of these three prefectures, his power in Tianning would be like a tiger that had grown wings.
How could Emperor Tianhui not be worried?
Now that he was lying on his sickbed, he realized that sending the Duke of Qin south had been a mistake. Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Emperor Tianhui's Eunuch Liu had already been sitting in the guest hall of Jiangnan's Plum Blossom Courtyard for half a day. Unfortunately, he still hadn't met with His Highness Duke of Qin or esteemed wangfei. It was Chu Xifeng who came out to meet him.
"Eunuch Liu, His Highness is ill and inconvenient to receive you. I ask for your forgiveness," Chu Xifeng was very polite.
Eunuch Liu didn't dare to accept such courtesy, but quickly bowed with hands clasped in front. "Guard Chu is overcompensating me. I wonder if His Highness has made any arrangements to return to the capital? "
"Eunuch Liu, His Highness has been overworked recently and it's inconvenient for him to travel long distances. The doctor said we'll have to observe him for a while. Thus, there's no telling when he'll return, "Chu Xifeng replied helplessly.
Eunuch Liu knew that this was a difficult task, but what else could he do besides tell Emperor Tianhui the truth?
In his heart, dealing with Emperor Tianhui was much easier than dealing with His Highness Duke of Qin.
Just like that, Eunuch Liu returned with an "uncertain time."
Emperor Tianhui nearly jumped out of his sickbed at these words. Even an idiot would know that the Duke of Qin was doing this on purpose. It was bad enough that he didn't return immediately, but he didn't even give him time.
"Someone come, issue an edict. Zhen doesn't believe that I can't summon him back!" Emperor Tianhui was about to faint from anger.
Noble Consort Xue, who was waiting on the side, hurriedly stopped him. "Your Majesty, please calm down. This must not happen."
Emperor Tianhui glowered at her, causing Noble Consort Xue to quickly bow. "Your Majesty, the Duke of Qin is currently in the limelight in the central regions. Now he's using exhaustion and illness as an excuse to refuse to return. If news of Your Highness's decree spreads, what will the common people think?"
Emperor Tianhui grew even angrier at her words. "What do you think? Could it be that they wanted to rebel? Or do they think Long Fei Ye is in charge of Tianning? "
"Your Majesty, please calm down! Chenqie definitely did not have such intentions. It's just that those lowly commoners have never been able to distinguish right from wrong. Whoever gives them benefits, they will side with that person. This was especially true for the Southern and Northern Ning Counties, where the folk customs had always been valiant. I hope Your Highness will reconsider and not fall into the Duke of Qin's trap. "
Finally, Emperor Tianhui listened to Noble Consort Xue's explanation. He wasn't so ignorant as to fail to see through the intricacies of the situation, but he was too angry to think straight.
After a period of silence, Emperor Tianhui had no choice but to summon Eunuch Liu back. "Write up an imperial edict. The Duke of Qin has rendered meritorious service in relieving the disaster areas. When he returns to the capital, he'll be richly rewarded! As for Gu Beiyue … "
Emperor Tianhui paused before changing his tune. "Summon Imperial Physician Huang and have him bring the best medicine to treat the Duke of Qin's illness!"
If Emperor Tianhui wanted to win back the hearts of the people, treating the Duke of Qin well was his only choice.
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Physician Courtyard has two Imperial Physician Huangs. Which one are you referring to?" Eunuch Luo asked in a low voice.
"Huang Gengchen. His medical skills are second only to Gu Beiyue's. Remember, tell him to treat the Duke of Qin as soon as possible!" Emperor Tianhui emphasized. Without a doubt, he wanted to send Imperial Physician Huang to hurry the Duke of Qin.
Would the Duke of Qin be able to keep up the pretense if the imperial physician was already there?
Gu Beiyue had been waiting by the sickbed the entire time. He watched Eunuch Luo's retreating form with a silent smile.
When the empress dowager had made things difficult for him and forced him to stay at the Duke of Qin's estate, it was Imperial Physician Huang who had secretly treated him.
Although Han Yunxi didn't know the relationship between him and Imperial Physician Huang, Han Yunxi and Imperial Physician Huang were still friends.
Seeing that things had come to an end, Noble Consort Xue quickly offered up a decoction of medicine. "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Your health is more important! "
Noble Consort Xue was still young, barely in her early twenties. She ranked third among the four Noble Consorts and was the imperial uncle's concubine's daughter. She was also the empress dowager's niece. The imperial uncle's estate had fallen from power, but Empress Dowager Li was still alive, so Noble Consort Xue hadn't been affected much.
Of the four Noble Consorts, the second imperial son's mother, Noble Consort Xiao, had fallen out of favor. Noble Consort Ning stayed at home and didn't fight for her place, while Noble Consort Yun had been poisoned to death. Noble Consort Xue had taken advantage of the situation to win the emperor's favor.
Add to that the empress dowager's support, and she was now the most glorious person in the palace.
Emperor Tianhui drank his medicine as he flipped through memorials to the throne. Suddenly, he saw a memorial from the Ministry of Rites asking for a marriage alliance between West Chu and the Princess of West Chu.
The Princess of West Chu was none other than Chu Qingge. Because she represented West Chu in this marriage alliance, the West Chu emperor had conferred her the title of Princess of West Chu.
Chu Qingge's status was noble to begin with, but now that she'd been conferred such a title, the struggle for the throne would become interesting once she married into Tianning.
Whether it was the imperial court or the harem, plenty of people wanted to depose the insane empress.
Noble Consort Xue stole a glance at the memorial from the Ministry of Rites, her heart uneasy. She'd seen Chu Qingge before. Heaven knows what kind of chaos Tianning's harem would cause if that woman came.
Noble Consort Xue thought it over before deciding to find Crown Prince Consort Mu Liuyue to discuss the matter. After all, they were in the same boat.
If Mu Liuyue wanted to become empress in the future, she'd have to support the crown prince to seize the throne. She'd have to nip any potential threats in the bud.
Late that night, Noble Consort Xue personally went to the Eastern Palace to see Mu Liuyue.
But Mu Liuyue simply ignored her warning. "Even if Chu Qingge can give His Majesty an imperial son as soon as she arrives, what kind of waves can a baby in swaddling clothes cause? Noble Consort Xue, you're underestimating His Highness Crown Prince too much. "
Mu Liuyue's sufferings in the Eastern Palace were only known to its members. In front of outsiders, she could only puff herself up at her own cost and pretend as if nothing had happened while wholeheartedly protecting His Highness Crown Prince.
"Liuyue, it's not that I'm underestimating the crown prince, but you're the one who's underestimating Western Zhou's Chu Clan!" Noble Consort Xue said sincerely.
"Forget it, forget it. Leave these matters for the crown prince's advisors to worry about. It's getting late, so Noble Consort Xue should go back, "Mu Liuyue said impatiently.
Noble Consort Xue was currently favored by the emperor and was the perfect person to blow pillow talk to. Who wouldn't curry favor with her? But Mu Liuyue, the crown prince's consort, didn't put her in her eyes at all. In the end, Noble Consort Xue relied on the empress dowager, who placed all her hopes on the crown prince.
No matter how angry Noble Consort Xue was, she couldn't do anything to Mu Liuyue.
After sending Noble Consort Xue off, Mu Liuyue immediately issued orders. "Someone come, prepare a generous gift for me. I'm going to give it to Chu Qingge!
Actually, Mu Liuyue had been thinking about Chu Qingge's marriage even before Noble Consort Xue's arrival.
Mu Liuyue's only thought was that Chu Qingge hated Han Yunxi to the core, just as she hated Han Yunxi. In other words, they were on the same boat!
She couldn't count on the crown prince, so she only hoped that Chu Qingge would marry into her family so they could plot revenge together!
Han Yunxi was still far away in Jiangnan's Plum Blossom Garden. If she knew about Mu Liuyue's plans, what would she think?
She didn't care much about Chu Qingge's marriage. Even the empress dowager couldn't do anything to her, much less a "newbie" in the imperial harem.
Right now, she was more concerned about when Long Fei Ye would be willing to return to the capital. She thought that her leisurely days were numbered, but Long Fei Ye still hadn't returned.
When Imperial Physician Huang showed up, she didn't need to show her face. Chu Xifeng sent him away with a few words.
Was he really going to make Emperor Tianhui beg him for help like he said?
Mm, that was worth looking forward to.
Today, General Baili sent a messenger pigeon with news of Fishery Island. Han Yunxi glanced at the letter and smiled. "The effects of the medicine are about to wear off."
The ice on Fishery Island's Illusory Sea Lake had already begun to melt. Her medicine was about to wear off as well, so there was no need to keep fishing.
Long Fei Ye had long stopped caring about the matter. Cold, he said, "Chu Xifeng, send orders to guard Fishery Island to the death. Don't slack off a single bit!"
Jun Yi Xie was still trapped on Fishery Island. Long Fei Ye had given him two choices: die at sea, or die of old age on Fishery Island.
Han Yunxi knew that this man was still angry, so she quietly offered him a cup of tea. After some hesitation, she said, "Your Highness, I'm afraid news of what happened on Fishery Island will spread very quickly …"
Han Yunxi didn't finish, but the matter was very troublesome.
For one thing, Long Fei Ye had mobilized an entire navy to deal with a single Jun Yi Xie. If Emperor Tianhui found out, he'd definitely pursue the matter. Although General Baili was one of Long Fei Ye's men, the navy still belonged to the imperial court in name.
Secondly, once news of Jun Yi Xie's grudge against her and her husband spread, Heaven knows how many people would use her loss as an excuse to slap Long Fei Ye in the face?
Thirdly, once news of the chastity mark spread, the empress dowager would never let it go.
Fourthly, Jun Yi Xie was using Northern Li's boats. Someone in the imperial court would definitely know that he'd come to Fishery Island, so they'd make a fuss about it too.
Han Yunxi's considerations were all necessary. Long Fei Ye naturally knew all of this, but he still replied to Han Yunxi, "Don't worry. Go make preparations, I'll take you out for a spring walk tomorrow."
A spring walk?
"Your Highness is in such a good mood!" Han Yunxi laughed. If this fellow was in such a good mood, then she didn't need to worry about any of those troubles.
Spring plowing had already begun, making it the perfect time for all living things to recover. The grass was long and the orioles were flying. The weather was neither hot nor cold, and the scenery was perfect. Wouldn't it be romantic to go out for a walk at this time?
His Highness Duke of Qin was a man of interests as well! Han Yunxi really didn't want to go back to the capital!
As soon as Han Yunxi left, a guard arrived.
"Your Highness, there's news from Gu Qi Sha. He wants to meet you on the fifteenth of next month."
Long Fei Ye's cold eyes flickered with emotion. "Did he find those two ingredients?"
"He didn't say. He only asked for the fifteenth of next month. Please set the location, Your Highness," the guard replied.
"He's still in Medicine Ghost Valley. Tell him your lordship will definitely arrive on time!" Long Fei Ye said.
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