In this situation, even if Wang Baiying went to the battlefield, his power would inevitably fall into other hands. No one could trust him to entrust military power to someone who had suffered repeated defeats. Furthermore, a prince consort was not allowed to interfere in politics. If he did not achieve anything this time, he would have even less chance of entering the circle of power in the future.
However, wouldn't it be surprising if a scholar could do the work of a military officer and achieve good results?
To think even more maliciously, the winds of war can change in an instant; what if Wang Baiying were to die on the battlefield?
Qiu Lanxi now understood why Wang Baiying had taken the bait so easily. Under such a blow, it was inevitable that her emotions would be affected, and her appearance at that time made the other party give up and act recklessly.
Hearing her words, Yan Qingli raised her eyebrows and chuckled softly.
Qiu Lanxi nestled against her, clinging to her like a little bird, her eyes filled with adoration. Yan Qingli knew it was all fake. She was used to seeing concubines in the palace scheme and plot to win favor, using every smile and gesture of hers, so she never believed in such things.
But Yan Qingli liked this feeling very much. Just like when her father saw the beautiful concubines fighting for her, he was not disappointed that they were different from the image he had in mind. On the contrary, he was very interested in it.
However, unlike her father, she did not need to rely on her status to make others unable to guess her preferences, so she frankly said, "Qingqing's praise is so pleasant to hear, I would like to hear a few more words."
Qiu Lanxi: "…………" She looked up in surprise, "Your Highness suddenly said that, I don't know how to start."
Yan Qingli looked at her with a half-smile.
Qiu Lanxi wasn't intimidated. Yan Qingli's personality wasn't to the point of being insane. In fact, as long as you didn't cross her bottom line, she could be quite tolerant.
So she seemed troubled for a moment before reaching out to touch her eyebrows and eyes:
"Your Highness has exceptionally beautiful features. When I first saw Your Highness, I wondered how a woman could have such imposing features?"
As she spoke, her cool fingertips slowly slid down from her eyebrows to the tip of her nose. Just as they were about to slide down to her lips, Yan Qingli suddenly grabbed them, looking at her with cool eyes.
In the short time it took to hold her breath, Qiu Lanxi's eyes reddened and became watery: "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I have offended you."
He thought to himself with regret that even if Princess Shaoguang was gay, she probably wasn't a promiscuous person, otherwise she wouldn't be unable to tolerate even this level of tolerance.
Yan Qingli narrowed her eyes: "Qingqing is quite bold."
She raised her hand and let Qiu Lanxi's hand touch her face again. Qiu Lanxi tried to make her hand tremble to show fear, but she couldn't, so she simply changed her strategy and touched the other person's eyes.
The eyes are such a delicate part that it's hard not to instinctively close them when they're touched. But Yan Qingli was a ruthless person. Not only did she not shake off Qiu Lanxi, she let her have her way.
Qiu Lanxi gently touched Yan Qingli's eyelashes, and subconsciously curled her fingers, revealing her shyness. Yan Qingli took her hand and lowered it to her lips, which she hadn't been able to touch before, and kissed her smooth and slender fingertips.
Qiu Lanxi trembled slightly and subconsciously tried to curl her fingers, but Yan Qingli, as if she had expected it, opened her lips and caught them.
Her lips and tongue glided lightly across her fingertips like a dragonfly skimming the water. Qiu Lanxi was dumbfounded, but Yan Qingli said as if nothing had happened, "I only realized today that Qingqing's hands are so beautiful."
Qiu Lanxi shuddered, suddenly realizing she had made a terrible mistake.
She could only lower her eyes to show her shyness, but Yan Qingli seemed to have discovered a new toy, holding her hand and admiring it carefully. Even the beads on her wrist that she had personally put on seemed to be a bit of an eyesore, and she moved them away.
Qiu Lanxi held the beads and let Yan Qingli play with her hands as if a strange hobby had been triggered. She felt guilty and wondered if she had really turned him gay.
Yan Qingli didn't actually have any strange ideas. She was born noble and didn't compare herself with other noble ladies. She was full of ambition and even her study companions only focused on strategy. She never paid attention to such small details.
It was only now that Yan Qingli realized that there could be such a beautiful and soft woman's hands, which felt wonderful to the touch and even warmer than jade, making them truly irresistible.
Qiu Lanxi felt a chill run down her spine from being touched. She now had some doubts about Yan Qingli's sexual orientation, but it wasn't just that she thought she was a lesbian; she also wondered if she had a fetish.
After holding back for a long time, Qiu Lanxi finally couldn't help but speak up: "Your Highness, it's getting late, and you have to attend the morning court tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Yan Qingli glanced at the hourglass, surprised that time had passed so quickly. She looked at Qiu Lanxi, whose smile was a little stiff, and smiled before saying, "Then let's rest."
However, despite saying that, he didn't let go of Qiu Lanxi's hand. After checking their fingers, he lay down with his fingers intertwined, not intending to separate them again.
Qiu Lanxi felt a little annoyed by this. Sleeping with someone else was already uncomfortable enough, but Yan Qingli was usually quite polite when they slept together, so there was always a distance between them. Although she wanted to get closer to him, this wasn't the kind of closeness she wanted!
She definitely did it on purpose!
Qiu Lanxi couldn't help but think resentfully, "How can a princess be so petty? She has to retaliate for such a small thing?!"
Chapter 7
As the morning mist thinned and the rooster crowed at dawn, even though it was still barely light and Yan Qingli had gone to bed late the night before, she woke up on time the next day.
As she got up, she glanced down at Qiu Lanxi and saw that Qiu Lanxi looked like she was about to fall off the bed, shrinking herself to the edge of the bed. She couldn't help but chuckle.
No matter how well a person pretends, their sleeping posture cannot lie. For Yan Qingli, this was not incomprehensible. The harmony of yin and yang is the great way in the world, and those who choose to be either yin or yang are the minority.
Just like the opera "Lianxiangban", the dream of the night and the makeup of the morning seem beautiful, but in essence, it is just a fig leaf for men to cover up their desire for multiple wives and concubines. In Yan Qingli's opinion, the only one who benefits from this kind of story is the man, while the woman is just a compromise forced by the environment. Otherwise, who would be willing to marry the same man instead of the one they love?
Qiu Lanxi's upbringing meant that she could not easily accept such a thing. However, just like many young men with slender waists who were valued by those in high positions, when they became another man's lover, could they really accept it all?
They simply couldn't resist.
But like all those in high positions, Yan Qingli didn't care whether she rejected him or not.
Without disturbing Qiu Lanxi, she got out of bed and had her maid change into her court dress. Although she held a sinecure, she could not miss the court assembly, especially since her good father was waiting for her.
In just one night, the news of last night's events had spread far and wide, but everyone pretended to be unaware of it, exchanging a knowing glance with each other only when Princess Shaoguang was detained by the Emperor.
Upon entering the Jinshen Hall, Yan Qingli immediately knelt before Emperor Qinghe, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."
Before she could even get up, the memorial was thrown beside her: "Look what you've done!"
Yan Qingli didn't look at it, but she knew what it said. She straightened up and said, "Does Father also think that I am wrong?"
Before Emperor Qinghe could answer, Yan Qingli continued, "Wang Baiying was depressed because he could not serve in the court due to his marriage to me. Who was it that disregarded his reputation and even sent his private soldiers to let him into the military camp?"
"And who was it that obtained the book written by the Sage of War and gave it to him?"
"In this world, there should always be a principle of karmic retribution. Did I not give him a chance to refuse back then? How can one person have all the advantages in the world?"
As she spoke, she stood up from the ground without waiting for Emperor Qinghe to speak: "A man like that, whoever wants him can have him, anyway, I don't care!"
What man in the world doesn't stray? And what man doesn't love beauty? Even today, Emperor Qinghe's palace is still full of new beauties. However, although Yan Qingli is not his only daughter, her status is incomparable to that of ordinary people. Emperor Qinghe could not possibly understand Wang Baiying and only felt that she was ungrateful.
Emperor Qinghe softened his tone: "Then you can't say such things in public. Don't you care about your reputation?"
For Emperor Qinghe, this consort was tactless, and he could simply find another one for Shaoguang. However, if word got out, no noble family with any sense of shame or reputation would want their carefully cultivated child to be a consort. They wouldn't even be willing to accept it, and he would probably "claim illness" to disqualify any of them he chose!
Yan Qingli smiled indifferently upon hearing this: "When have I ever cared about such things?"
Emperor Qinghe was speechless, raising his hand to press his temples in a headache: "Even so, why do you have to smear yourself? Look at the nonsense you're spouting! What do you mean by 'One glimpse of your beloved and you're doomed for life, and from then on, your lover is just a stranger'?"
Seeing that he had a headache, Yan Qingli immediately went over to rub it for him before saying, "Father, I am not talking nonsense. I originally thought that my future husband would be a man as good as you in the world."
Seeing that his face relaxed after being coaxed, Yan Qingli continued, "But as you know, Father, I didn't find anyone in the end, and I was delayed and became an old maid. In the end, I was willing to marry Wang Baiying because he was good-looking."
“Father, as you know, I am living a good life.”
Emperor Qinghe nodded. Shaoguang's temperament was still unsettled, and she even chose a husband simply because he was the best-looking among the eligible men. He was originally worried about this, but he was relieved to see that she had indeed calmed down after marriage.
"But I gave him such a good opportunity, yet he didn't cherish it. Father, he lost all three battles. I could have done better than him!"
Emperor Qinghe found it amusing. Shaoguang was still young, and liking someone was as simple as eating and drinking. She was not angry about Wang Baiying's later affair, but simply because his handsome and intelligent image had collapsed in her mind.
"What does this have to do with the nonsense you're spouting?" Emperor Qinghe showed no sign of surprise. If Shaoguang was dissatisfied with her consort, she could simply replace him, but those words...
"Because I originally thought that although the Prince Consort could not be as capable as Father Emperor in writing to pacify the world and in martial arts to conquer the world, he was still quite devoted to love," Yan Qingli said earnestly. "So I thought I would go and see what merits the person who bewitched the Prince Consort had that made me pale in comparison."
Emperor Qinghe thought to himself, what else can be done? No matter how beautiful the flower at home is, after looking at it for a long time, one will naturally want to try something new. In the eyes of most men, the only mistake Wang Baiying made was not hiding her well.
"Only after seeing her did I realize that such a beauty exists in the world." Yan Qingli looked completely captivated by her beauty.
Emperor Qinghe: "…………"
He was so offended by Yan Qingli's attitude that he almost couldn't breathe. Fortunately, Emperor Qinghe was a man who had seen a lot, and after a while, he said earnestly, "If you take a fancy to her, you can keep her as a maid, but you..."
“But I don’t want to treat her as just a maid,” Yan Qingli said matter-of-factly. “I didn’t understand before why someone would lose their appetite for a beauty, but after seeing you, I understand. Wouldn’t it be a waste to treat such a beauty as a maid? She should be my intimate companion!”
Yan Qingli has always been bold and often says surprising things. Her teachers all regret that she is not a man. Emperor Qinghe never expected that she would even pick up such bad habits of men.
But Emperor Qinghe also knew that Yan Qingli was not an unreasonable person who didn't know what was important. For her to make such a big show of promoting someone to the forefront was not as easy as she made it sound.
"You're so deeply in love with that woman? What kind of talk is that?"
"Who dares to speak ill of me?" Yan Qingli clung to Emperor Qinghe's arm, her voice filled with sorrow. "Father, do you want to separate me and Qingqing?"
Emperor Qinghe remained silent. He did indeed want to, after all, he couldn't bear to harm his own daughter, so how could he not be ruthless to others?
"Father, do you still remember that marriage alliance?" Yan Qingli looked up at him.
Emperor Qinghe was taken aback and began to recall the past.
His ascension to the throne was not smooth sailing. As a prince, he was worse off than a favored princess. Many people believed that he had only gotten the throne by chance, and therefore his position was not secure. He couldn't even make decisions about his children's marriages.
Only on that day, when he looked at his young daughter, did he become fierce and utter the earth-shattering words, "This is my Ning Kingdom. If it is to be a marriage alliance, it should not be my daughter who goes, but me." This extinguished the court officials' thoughts of a marriage alliance.
Emperor Qinghe's early life was filled with the phrase "being unable to control one's own destiny." Yan Qingli was his dream, so he doted on her and gave her almost anything she wanted.
Yan Qingli's eyes were slightly red, and she gently rested her head on his knee: "Father, Mother and I have suffered too much in the past. Now I don't want to care about anything. All I want is for things to go smoothly and as I wish."
Despite her current success, Yan Qingli has also experienced hardship. When Emperor Qinghe lost power, he caught a cold and no one cared for him. It was Yan Qingli who kowtowed and begged for a royal physician. When she was on the verge of starvation, it was her mother who cut off her own flesh to feed her husband, which saved Emperor Qinghe's life.
These past friendships are Yan Qingli's most powerful weapon in her current success.
Emperor Qinghe was stunned for a long time before saying, "Alright, alright, I'll do as you say."
"It's my fault, Father. I've made things difficult for you again." Yan Qingli's voice was choked with sobs. She lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Emperor Qinghe gently stroked her back: "I won't force you, just keep it in mind."
He changed the subject, "However, it's not good to be so obsessed with men and women... I remember you once said that you wanted to succeed in your career more than romantic love. So, don't send your private troops back. Just keep them and lead them yourself."
Emperor Qinghe had a very good plan. Because of his childhood experiences, fine clothes and delicacies were no match for a real official in Shaoguang's world. People's energy is limited. Once she was busy with her career, her feelings for that woman would naturally fade.
If he were to interfere forcefully, it would only strengthen her resolve. Emperor Qinghe had already considered this yesterday, but now she was even bringing up past events to beg him, clearly she was currently in a frenzy.
Having all been through that age, Emperor Qinghe knew he couldn't directly break up the couple, lest he complicate matters further.
“Father…” Yan Qingli’s face fell immediately upon hearing this, and he stammered, “Those private soldiers were originally transferred from the Imperial Guard by Father. Why not let them go back?”
Emperor Qinghe slapped her and glared at her: "What nonsense are you talking about? Hurry up and leave! Be careful, or I might change my mind!"
Upon seeing this, Yan Qingli quickly bowed and took her leave. Only after leaving the palace and getting into her carriage did she reveal a faint smile.
Emperor Qinghe treated her very well back then, even saying those kinds of things during the marriage alliance. But people change eventually. Not only did her father change, but she changed too.
Her father wanted to take back the private soldiers he had given her, and she naturally had to return them. But how she returned them and how she profited from it was her business.
That loving father has now become a qualified emperor, and Yan Qingli also wants to sit in that position for a while.
However, she knew that once she revealed this idea, not only would the entire court oppose it, her brothers would oppose it, but even her father, the emperor, would oppose it. Otherwise, he would not have insisted on her marriage no matter what.
She cannot get married, because once she does, everyone will think she can only be a good wife and mother. But why should she?
Prince Fu and the others are of the Emperor's bloodline, so why isn't she? They can compete, so why can't she?