Let Me Pursue You

17

Chapter 17 The Emperor’s Heart
Lu Shi Qing was silent, raised his eyes and said: “Your Majesty, you can’t. General Yuan knows this official doesn’t like County Princess. Now if this official go, doesn’t it make him suspicious of your intentions? In this way, your plan to control County Princess in the capital will inevitably be exposed.”

Emperor Huining laughed angrily: “Zhen see that you really despise Zhen’s niece, only wish she could go back to Yaozhou so that it can be quiet again!”

Lu Shi Qing was silent, as if tacitly acquiescing, then listened to him talking to the eunuch for a while: “But what Zishu said is also reasonable. Then how about this, wait until Sichen returns to the city, let some people to pretend to be mountain bandits to make a scene, and lead Ci Xian back to the city first. Remember, don’t hurt anyone, keep your hands and feet clean.”

Lu Shi Qing frowned slightly.

The eunuch withdrew after receiving the order, Emperor Huining gave Lu Shi Qing a seat, and he was concerned about other things: “Did you gain anything last night? Is that Wuxing’s Ji family really tricky?”

Lu Shi Qing’s eyes clung to the eunuch’s leaving back for a moment, and quickly came back to his senses: “This official have been paying attention to Wuxing’s Ji family for a long time, and found a large number of brand-new arrowheads in their goods last night, which are not in-line with the regulations of military weapons. However, if this official’s conjecture is correct, someone deliberately let this official discover these tricks in order to kill with borrowed knife.”

Emperor Hui Ning narrowed his eyes, and he had some idea in his mind, and sighed: “These sons of Zhen——!” He then continued to ask, “You just said, Ci Xian went with you to the countryside. Does she know about this?”

Lu Shi Qing shook his head: “County Princess doesn’t know the whole story.”

Emperor Huining seemed to feel relieved, and said, “Speaking of the Yuan family, Zhen would like to have a few words with you. Do you know why Supervisor Zhang came to see Zhen just now?”

“This official doesn’t know, please ask Your Majesty to clarify.”

“A group of courtiers headed by Supervisor Zhang have always held prejudices against the Yuan family. Since that year when Zhen directly named Yuan Yi Zhi as Second Rank Prince, they reminded Zhen that Diannan Prince is so powerful that we have to guard against him, especially his son who has some blood of the Zheng family. Zhen then took Shichen as a hostage and decreed to force him to stay in Chang’an.”

“Last year when Nanzhao invaded, it was them again who wanted Zhen to bear the humiliation and beg for peace, and ordered Ci Xian to marry Nanzhao. Zhen knew what they were thinking. Yuan Yi Zhi was eager to protect his daughter, so there would be some animosity with Zhen, and they would be happy to see him at odds with Zhen. But later, these people read the urgent report from Yaozhou and changed their minds, hoping that Zhen would allow the war.”

He sneered: “How can Zhen not know their intentions? They secretly hope that Diannan army would be defeated and Yuan Yi Zhi would apologize with death as stated in the military order. But how could these people have expected that in such a critical situation, the Diannan soldiers would unite into impregnable stronghold and saved a desperate crisis, turning the defeat into victory for Great Zhou.”

Lu Shi Qing listened with a smile from beginning to end.

Emperor Huining continued: “Diannan won the battle, and Yuan Yi Zhi shocked the frontiers and won the popularity of the people. They once again couldn’t sit still, presented a petition to let Zhen test him out and see if he had any rebellious intentions. Zhen then issued a decree to let him bring Ci Xian to the capital to receive the reward. As a result, the Yuan family came here confidently, standing upright without fear of a slanted shadow. If Yuan Yi Zhi really plotted something, how could he have the courage to let the pair of son and daughter fall into Zhen’s eyes? Especially this time, Ci Xian came to Chang’an alone, which is a testament to his wholehearted loyalty.”