northernbook Chapter 398 Worship
Chapter 398 Worship
Lady Shou'an asked anxiously, "My lord, what should we do?"
The Prince of Qi is not of the Northern Qi Emperor's bloodline, and we must not support him to ascend the throne. Only by sending the Prince of Qi back to his fiefdom, far away from the capital and its troubles, as the Empress suggested, can we prevent his true identity from being exposed.
Marquis Shou'an said, "I will personally meet with Her Majesty before making a decision."
The letter was brief and didn't provide any details. Based on his understanding of the Empress, he would never do something so foolish. As for the Prince of Qi's background, it might not be as simple as the letter suggested; there were probably other hidden stories.
Lady Shou'an thought of the system of imperial concubines visiting each other's relatives, which allowed the birth parents to enter the palace once a year by special decree.
Although she was granted the privilege of entering the palace once a month, the Marquis of Shou'an was only allowed to see the Empress once a year, and only with the special decree granted by His Majesty.
She asked, "Are you visiting the palace today?"
Marquis Shou'an replied, "After Princess Guangning gets married, I will request permission to go to the palace again."
As for the matter of requesting the establishment of a crown prince, it can only be postponed for now.
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On the other side, upon hearing the news that the Northern Qi emperor had granted Zhao Yi military power, Prince Yu tapped rhythmically on the armrest of his armchair. As if recalling something, he slightly raised the corners of his lips.
Supporting Zhao Yi to become emperor of Northern Qi was less of an obstacle than he had imagined.
Judging from Zhao Yi's growth trajectory after arriving in Northern Qi, there must be someone secretly helping Zhao Yi, and this person must hold a high position in Northern Qi.
The Northern Qi emperor was wary of Zhao Yi, fearing that Zhao Yi was loyal to the Great Zhou and would betray Northern Qi. So how could he possibly give Zhao Yi an important position?
In fact, Zhao Yi was in charge of the Ministry of Rites, took over the responsibilities of the King of Qi, and also held the power to mobilize troops in the garrisons.
The Northern Qi emperor was suspicious by nature. Among all the officials, who had the ability to persuade him to hand over power to Zhao Yi?
Apart from the Imperial Tutor, there is no other person like him.
Thinking of this, Prince Yu revealed a cryptic smile.
If the person supporting Zhao Yi is the Imperial Tutor, then in Northern Qi, which prince can rival Zhao Yi?
At this moment, a subordinate said, "Your Highness, the Prince of Guangling plans to personally visit the Lingfei Mausoleum to pay homage to Princess Huguo on her birthday."
Prince Yu frowned slightly. He hadn't heard Zhao Yi volunteer to pay respects to Princess Yizhen on Qingming Festival, but instead waited until Princess Yizhen's birthday. And that day was exactly two or three days before he was to welcome Princess Guangning back to the Great Zhou.
He had a feeling that this matter was not simple.
Yu Wangchao's subordinates beckoned with their fingers: "On the day of the Empress's birthday, you will keep a close eye on the Prince of Guangling. If he takes the opportunity to steal the remains, you will step in and help him."
The last half of the sentence was full of profound meaning, but the subordinate immediately understood it, quickly agreed, and prepared to leave.
"Wait a minute," Prince Yu asked, "How's the investigation going on the Prince of Qi's side?"
The subordinate reported, "We've made some progress and are continuing our investigation."
Prince Yu waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to leave.
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Zhao Yi held the military command token for troop deployment, which attracted considerable attention, and various factions arranged for people to secretly keep an eye on him.
Zhao Yi keenly sensed the tense atmosphere in the capital and vaguely felt that a storm was brewing.
All factions remained inactive, seemingly waiting for an opportunity.
And this opportunity soon arrived.
On Princess Yizhen's birthday, Shen Qingtan got up very early and specially instructed Liuyue to prepare a plain long dress, with her jet-black hair tied into a high bun and adorned with only a white silk flower.
Liu Yue was holding a box of cosmetics, preparing to apply them to Shen Qingtan.
Shen Qingtan raised her hand to stop her: "Today we are going to pay respects to the Princess Protector of the Nation, there is no need to wear makeup."
"Yes." Liu Yue put down the cosmetic box and said softly, "As you instructed, the kitchen prepared several sacrificial offerings, packed them in a food box, and ordered someone to send them to the carriage."
Shen Qingtan nodded slightly, raised her hand to smooth the stray hairs at her temples, and got up to go to the outer room for breakfast.
At this moment, Tingxue stood at the door, patted the rainwater off her clothes, and then went inside.
As she set out the meal, she said, "Your Highness, last night Boss Qin sent his manager with a message saying that due to the rain these past few days, they encountered a landslide that blocked their way to the capital. Please send someone to meet them."
"The innkeeper rushed to the capital, but it was already dark, so he couldn't enter the city to deliver the message to you. He went to an inn on the outskirts of the capital to wait for the city gates to open. It was quite a coincidence that he happened to meet Deputy General Sun, who was on a mission, at the inn."
"Deputy General Sun recognized that the shopkeeper was one of Boss Qin's men. Fearing that Boss Qin might be in danger of being blocked on the way, he did not wait until dawn to enter the city to report to you, but immediately took a few men to meet Boss Qin."
As Tingxue spoke, she had already set out breakfast on the table and pulled a letter from her sleeve, handing it to Shen Qingtan.
She added, "The shopkeeper will follow Deputy General Sun's instructions and go to the Prince's mansion to inform you as soon as it is light and the city gates open."
Shen Qingtan frowned. Last year, in order to bring down the Lin family, she opened a tea shop and specifically wrote to Boss Qin and Uncle Gu to arrange for the supply of tea.
In his reply, Mr. Qin said that he would set off for Northern Qi to do business in the spring of this year.
Because Boss Qin was concerned for her safety, and also felt that he was just a merchant with no power or influence to help her, he thought that by expanding his business to Northern Qi and building up his network, he might be able to help her in some way.
It now appears that Boss Qin has already set off for Northern Qi.
Shen Qingtan quickly took the letter, pulled out the letter inside, and glanced at it.
Sure enough, it was pretty much as she had guessed.
Zhao Yi, who was standing nearby, asked suspiciously, "Did Uncle Qin send this letter?"
Shen Qingtan nodded: "The private seal on it matches."
Zhao Yi felt something was wrong. Although it had been raining these past few days, the rainwater shouldn't have caused a landslide.
The landslide occurred just as Boss Qin was on his way to the capital, blocking them halfway.
Just as he was about to speak, he heard Shen Qingtan say thoughtfully, "It's probably too much of a coincidence. Uncle Sun was worried that Uncle Qin was in danger, so he rushed to meet Uncle Qin without telling me."
"Don't worry, I'll send more men over," Zhao Yi reassured him. "Deputy General Sun is highly skilled in martial arts. Even if he's outnumbered, once Jiang Chao arrives with his men, they can ensure their safe retreat."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingtan felt a little more at ease: "Take more people with you."
Zhao Yi smiled and said, "Okay."
He gave the instructions.
Jiang Chao immediately led a group of men out of the city.
Shen Qingtan was preoccupied with the matter of Boss Qin. Because of what she was about to face today, she had no appetite and couldn't eat a single bite.
Zhao Yi didn't force her, but instructed Liu Yue to bring the camel cheese porridge along, so that Shen Qingtan could have some porridge to tide her over if she got hungry on the way.
With everything prepared, Shen Qingtan came out of the house and saw that it was drizzling outside. Dark clouds covered the azure sky, pressing heavily on the rooftops, as if pressing on her heart, and her mind became inexplicably restless.
Zhao Yi held up an oil-paper umbrella to shield her head, and the couple walked side by side outside the mansion, taking a carriage towards the Lingfei Mausoleum.
As the carriage was about to arrive at the Lingfei Mausoleum, the rapid sound of horses' hooves came from afar, blocking the carriage's path: "Your Highness, we have tracked down the remnants of the previous dynasty."