"Wait!"
A harsh and angry voice stopped Emperor Kang Cheng. Who else but Western Zhou's Empress Xue dared to appear in the Eastern Palace and act so impudently in front of the emperor?
Firstly, Empress Xue was favored by Emperor Kang Cheng, and secondly, her family was powerful and influential. She had ruled over the harem for so long that no one could compete with her. In the early years of Crown Prince Ye's ruthless battles to eliminate dissidents, she had also played a part.
Before Empress Xue could walk out, Emperor Kang Cheng shouted angrily, "Your Highness, it's all because you spoiled the Crown Prince!"
"Heh heh, Yaoyao was banished because I spoiled her anyway. I've already committed many crimes, this one won't make a difference! "
Empress Xue stubbornly walked out from behind the curtain. Unlike other Empresses, this Empress Xue did not have a graceful and luxurious appearance, nor was she adorned with jewels. Although she was old, she still maintained her figure well. She wore a snow-white muslin dress inside, and a gray-black fox fur robe outside. Time had left its mark on her face, but it did not take away her innate noble temperament. If not for the fact that she was in the Imperial Palace, anyone who saw her might mistake her for a fairy.
Duanmu Yao's otherworldly temperament was inherited from her, but Duanmu Yao was even more ethereal and beautiful than her younger self.
"Guards, drag the Crown Prince out!" Emperor Kang Cheng was truly furious.
"If Your Majesty insists on flogging the Crown Prince, then please flog this concubine first!"
Empress Xue stood protectively in front of Crown Prince Ye, who also hid behind her and refused to come out.
Emperor Kang Cheng grabbed the secret letter and tossed it over. "Look at what he's written. He's lost all face for Western Zhou, but he still hasn't reneged on his promise. He even dares to contact that damned girl. Does he really want us to cripple him? "
"Your Majesty, this concubine had the Crown Prince write this letter. Please forgive the Crown Prince this time out of consideration for the fact that this concubine misses her daughter and the Crown Prince wants to protect his younger sister. "
As Empress Xue spoke, tears began to fall from her eyes. "Your Majesty, Yao Yao, that girl, doesn't know any better. How could she stand up to that bastard Jun Yixie's coaxing? She was muddle-headed in a moment of folly and got tricked by a venomous woman like Han Yunxi in front of everyone. Now the whole world knows about it, and even now there are rumors that Yao Yao and Jun Yixie … had an affair! Your Majesty, what was wrong with the Crown Prince hating Han Yunxi? Your Majesty, don't you feel sorry for your daughter? "
Emperor Kang Cheng couldn't bear to see the empress cry, so even his heart of stone melted at the sight of her tearful appearance. "Enough, enough, let's not talk about this anymore!"
As he spoke, he turned to leave. Crown Prince Ye was overjoyed, but Empress Xue angrily glared at him and said in a low voice, "You better behave for the next few days! Also, keep in touch with your sister and ask her about the old man in Kenzō. "
Crown Prince Ye nodded resentfully. Empress Xue quickly chased after Emperor Kang Cheng.
Emperor Kang Cheng was silent at first, but after walking for a long time, he finally asked in a low voice, "How is Yao Yao?"
Emperor Kang Cheng doted on Princess Yao even more than he doted on Crown Prince Ye. Not only did the princess resemble Empress Xue when she was young, but she was also the favorite disciple of the old man in Tianshan Kenzō. She was an important bridge between Western Zhou and Kenzō.
Although he had driven Princess Yao away, Emperor Kang Cheng still cared about her in private. He didn't actually stop the empress and crown prince from exchanging letters with the princess.
"I heard that she's been practicing a new swordsmanship recently and has made great progress," Empress Xue whispered. "Your Majesty, this concubine knows that you're disappointed in Ye 'er for failing to live up to your expectations. In fact, if the Duke of Qin hadn't intervened, Ye' er might've really provoked Han Yunxi and made a fool of herself."
"Don't underestimate Qin Wangfei. That woman can practically influence the Duke of Qin's decisions. How could she make a fool of herself so easily? "Emperor Kang Cheng retorted.
Empress Xue didn't say anything. Like her daughter, she would never acknowledge any of Han Yunxi's merits.
Soon enough, a eunuch came to report that the Duke of Qin and Qin Wangfei had arrived.
"Your Majesty, this concubine will accompany you to meet them?" Empress Xue was only testing the waters. When she saw that Emperor Kang Cheng didn't refuse, she followed along.
Emperor Kang Cheng arranged for a formal audience with the Duke of Qin in a side hall next to Chaoyang Hall. The empress didn't show up, but hid in a bedroom at the back of the hall to listen in. Emperor Kang Cheng also dismissed General Chu, who had escorted the Duke of Qin and the others into the palace.
Clearly, this was a private meeting.
Emperor Kang Cheng was puzzled as to what Long Fei Ye was going to talk about. Would it be about Western Liang, the Chu Clan, or Tian An City?
After all, there were only so many topics that were directly related to them. Long Fei Ye wasn't likely to talk about cooperation between Western Zhou and the commander-in-chief's estate in the south.
Unexpectedly, Long Fei Ye actually talked about last year's plague at Northern Li's horse farms!
One of Northern Li's three major horse farms, Southern Li's horse farms, was plagued by the plague and quickly spread to the herdsmen's farms. Although the plague had passed, they suffered heavy losses. It was said that Southern Li's horse farm was practically crippled and that Northern Li's military had suffered a great loss.
"I heard that Hongcheng and Tianze horse farms have both fallen into the Crown Prince's hands?" Emperor Kang Cheng probed. He'd received news that the Duke of Kang, Jun Yixie, had a share of these two horse farms as well. But because of the Medicine City incident, Jun Yixie had been stripped of his position and power.
"No matter who it is, once the plague spreads, no one can do anything about it." Long Fei Ye said indifferently, "This prince received news not long ago that last year's horse plague also affected Tianze and Hongcheng horse farms, but the losses weren't as great as Southern Li's."
Emperor Kang Cheng's heart skipped a beat. Although Long Fei Ye had spoken tactfully, he understood everything!
It seemed that Northern Li's losses were even greater than he'd expected. In other words, Northern Li's military strength wasn't as strong as he'd estimated.
No wonder. With Tianning's internal strife, Great General Ning of the Cavalry and General Mu of the Infantry were split in two. The navy had retreated to the south, so Tianning's military strength in the north had been split in half. Northern Li had only lost one horse farm, but hadn't made any moves to the south.
So it was because they'd suffered huge losses!
What was the Duke of Qin's intention in revealing such a secret to him?
"If Tianning wasn't in chaos, this would be a good opportunity," Emperor Kang Cheng sighed with emotion.
Northern Li had always been the one to invade Tianning and Western Zhou's borders. If Tianning's infantry and cavalry could work together with Western Zhou, they could take advantage of Northern Li's lack of battle horses and attack them to their heart's content.
"If Western Zhou is interested, this prince can pull some strings and have General Baili come over for a discussion," Long Fei Ye said.
Emperor Kang Cheng finally understood why Long Fei Ye had come. As it turned out, he really was here to cooperate with Western Zhou!
If the Baili Navy set out by sea to invade Northern Li's borders, then they could join forces with Western Zhou to form a pincer attack that would make it difficult for Northern Li to defend its east and west.
Emperor Kang Cheng's first reaction was to be moved! But he was still rational enough to quickly analyze the pros and cons of this cooperation. Without a doubt, the disadvantages outweighed the advantages!
For one thing, joining forces with the Duke of Qin would mean tearing off all pretense of cordiality with Western Zhou. If that happened, the Ning Clan cavalry stationed at the borders would take advantage of the chaos to invade Western Zhou. The consequences would be unthinkable.
Secondly, even the most confident of winning a battle could be miscalculated. Western Zhou shared a border with Northern Li, so they'd run the risk of being invaded by Northern Li. Northern Li's cavalry held grudges and wouldn't hesitate to pay any price for offending them. Moreover, Long Fei Ye didn't share a border with Northern Li and was even separated by Emperor Tianhui and his son. Thus, the Duke of Qin didn't have to take much risk. If he couldn't win, he could just withdraw his navy.
Thirdly, and this was Emperor Kang Cheng's greatest fear. Cooperating with the Duke of Qin was tantamount to asking a tiger for its skin, or even a fox for its skin. He'd never know how he'd fallen into a trap! Heaven knows if the Duke of Qin was sincerely trying to suppress Northern Li or scheme against Western Zhou?
Emperor Kang Cheng's first thought was to reject the idea, but he still put on an expression of interest. After all, he still wanted to learn more about Northern Li from the Duke of Qin's mouth.
Unfortunately, he didn't get any answers in the end. At first, the Duke of Qin spoke quite a bit, but by the end, it was just him doing all the talking while the Duke of Qin listened.
Han Yunxi, who was sitting by the Duke of Qin's side, didn't say a word. She looked like someone who'd been left out to dry and bored, but the Duke of Qin kept pouring tea for her from time to time. Empress Xue couldn't help but feel jealous as she watched from the shadows.
Even she, the country's favored empress, had to hide in the shadows to eavesdrop. Han Yunxi was only a wangfei, so what right did she have to sit on equal footing with the Duke of Qin and listen in on politics? Moreover, the Duke of Qin was pouring tea for her in front of everyone. No matter what, it should be Han Yunxi pouring tea for him instead!
Although Cloud Realm Continent's customs were more civilized, this was still a world where men were considered superior to women. Men, especially those with power, might beg women in bed, but no one would wait on a woman like this in a formal setting.
Yet the Duke of Qin had done it, and Han Yunxi had accepted it so calmly. The two of them seemed to have gotten used to it by now.
Empress Xue was furious at the sight, to say nothing of her daughter. I have to tell Yao Yao about this and have her guard everything at Celestial Mountain. Even if she loses the marriage alliance and her status as princess, she can't let Han Yunxi get away so easily!
Long Fei Ye and Emperor Kang Cheng chatted for less than two hours before agreeing to attend the banquet that night. Long Fei Ye took Han Yunxi out of the palace.
As soon as they left, Han Yunxi blurted out, "You didn't really want to cooperate with Western Zhou! Right?! You came here on purpose to leak information about the plague! "
After following Long Fei Ye for so long and adding in her own intelligence, Han Yunxi had more or less figured out Long Fei Ye's schemes.
"Keep going," Long Fei Ye said with interest.
"So Emperor Kang Cheng will use the excuse of grounding the crown prince to make a move against the Chu Clan!" Han Yunxi said seriously.
As the saying went, high merits overshadowed the master, but great power attracted disaster. No matter how magnanimous Emperor Kang Cheng was, he couldn't allow the Chu Clan's power to grow without limit. Especially after Chu Qingge married Emperor Tianhui and became the empress within two years, Emperor Kang Cheng grew even more fearful of her.
Emperor Kang Cheng had refrained from making a move against the Chu clan for two reasons. Firstly, he was observing the situation from the sidelines. Secondly, he was wary of the Northern Li cavalry. After all, the Chu clan's archers were the most formidable force in the Western Zhou army. They were a major force against the Northern Li cavalry!
Han Yunxi grinned at Long Fei Ye. "Long Fei Ye, you're too evil. You came here to sow discord!"
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