Building a Harmonious Song Dynasty

Chapter 75

Qin Zhen pulled Fan Nianjing aside and said, "There's no need to be so formal. Just call me Auntie. Other titles sound too formal."

Fan Nianjing smiled after hearing this and said softly, "I also like to call you aunt."

"Jing'er, how have you been these past few days? Is your senior brother treating you well?"

Fan Nianjing nodded vigorously and said, "Okay, my godparents treat me very well. Look, I'm wearing the new clothes they made for me." He stood in front of Qin Zhen and turned around. With his refined demeanor and brocade clothes, he truly looked like a young master from a wealthy family.

Seeing that he was doing well and his personality was as cheerful as when he was with his own mother, Qin Zhen was truly relieved.

She said with some reluctance, "Your godfather will be taking you back to Lin'an soon. Your aunt doesn't know how long it will be before she sees you again. You must be good and take good care of yourself, okay?"

Nianjing looked at Qin Zhen in confusion, tilted her head and said, "My godfather said we would stay in Bianjing, and he was going to send me to the private school in a couple of days. Why did my aunt say we were leaving?"

This surprised Qin Zhen greatly. Would Fan Tianxiang stay in the capital? Back then, his Fanlou restaurant was shut down, and he was wanted by the authorities. He went to Lin'an to help Zhao Gou manage the Linlang Pavilion under an assumed name. Now that he was going back to Bianjing, wasn't he afraid that the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital who had seen him before would recognize him? Furthermore, Li Shishi's identity really couldn't be exposed. What did they plan to do?

Fan Nianjing pushed out the god Qin Zhen, and Qin Zhen had no choice but to say, "Aunt must have made a mistake. Since your godfather said so, then it must be true."

Qin Zhen listened to Nian Jing recount many of his experiences in the capital. Many ordinary things seemed novel to Nian Jing, and he spoke of them at length. After Nian Jing finished speaking, Qin Zhen asked a palace maid to take him to play in the back garden, and then sent Wan Qiu to invite Fan Tianxiang over.

When Fan Tianxiang arrived at Yuxiu Palace, he was with Zhao Gou. The two of them naturally knew the doubts in Qin Zhen's heart, so Zhao Gou explained: "The accounts of the national treasury have been unclear for many years, and even I, a layman, can see the loopholes. Now there is going to be a war again. Although the Western Xia is not a threat, the expenditure of military pay is still a headache. Therefore, I plan to ask Brother Fan to take up the post of Minister of Revenue and help me manage it."

It seems that Zhao Gou has indeed begun to reorganize the court. Although this makes sense, what about the matter of Fan Tianxiang and his wife? She expressed her concerns, and Fan Tianxiang smiled and said, "Thank you for thinking of your senior brother, junior sister. His Majesty will naturally help me solve these problems properly."

Qin Zhen laughed at her own foolishness. Yes, Zhao Gou was now the emperor. Overturning an old case without evidence and creating a false identity for Li Shishi was not difficult at all.

"In that case, I'll have to trouble you with this, Senior Brother," Qin Zhen said politely.

Fan Tianxiang said, "My master's lifelong wish was to see the country peaceful and prosperous. I was raised by my master and am also your senior brother. This is something I should do."

As the three were talking, Fan Nianjing suddenly returned from his outing and rushed in without being announced. Seeing Fan Tianxiang there, he happily called out, "Godfather!" Then he curiously looked at Zhao Gou, who was sitting next to Qin Zhen. The two somewhat similar faces looked at each other, and Qin Zhen felt a little embarrassed. He hadn't wanted the uncle and nephew to meet.

"Jing'er, come here. This is your uncle." Qin Zhen forcibly stripped Zhao Gou of his status as the emperor's uncle and made Fan Nianjing call him uncle. Fan Nianjing, unaware of the reason, naturally obediently greeted him, "Jing'er greets uncle."

Zhao Gou looked at Fan Nianjing with great appreciation, and Fan Nianjing also seemed to like Zhao Gou quite a bit, whether it was because of blood ties or because of Qin Zhen.

Volume Two: Soaring Eagle 141 Mid-Autumn Festival Without a Moon

For Qin Zhen, life in the palace was not boring at all. She was in charge of the food, clothing and daily necessities of several elders and thousands of palace servants. Fortunately, with the help of Qingmei and Wanqiu, she was able to sort out the trivial matters in the palace in just one month.

On this day, Li Yan, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department, came to the front of Yuxiu Palace again. Wanqiu was not happy to see him. Who told him to always bother her mistress with trivial matters?

"Chief Steward Li, it's raining so hard today, why did you still make this trip in person?"

Li Yan handed the oilcloth umbrella to the eunuch behind him, shook the water droplets off his sleeves, and said, "We serve the Emperor and Empress. Even if it's raining knives, we still have to come and ask the Empress for permission. Miss Wanqiu, please inform her for me."

Out of consideration for his apparent loyalty, Wanqiu led Li Yan to Qin Zhen. Li Yan immediately bowed deeply and said, "Your Majesty, look at the weather. It has been raining for several days. If it doesn't stop by the Mid-Autumn Festival, what will happen to the moon-viewing banquet held in the Imperial Garden?"

Qin Zhen patted the book in her hand and asked Li Yan, "You're an old servant in the palace, have you encountered this situation before?"

Li Yan nodded and said, "It also rained heavily during the Mid-Autumn Festival in the third year of Emperor Huizong's reign."

"And how were things arranged back then?"

"The moon-viewing banquet was cancelled; we only had lunch at Anqing Palace."

Qin Zhen looked at the book again and said, "Then let's follow the same procedure as last time. If the weather is good, we can ask the Empress Dowagers to move the banquet to the Imperial Garden. If the weather is bad, we can have lunch at Anqing Hall. Either way, we just want to have a happy reunion."

Li Yan bowed again before leaving. As soon as he left, Wanqiu complained, "That man is so annoying. He comes to the Empress for everything, big or small. I didn't see anything important."

Qin Zhen's eyes remained fixed on the book as she softly said, "Some people feel forgotten and will try every means to appear in front of others. It's understandable, given the need for survival."

In the past, Li Yan would often help Qin Zhen or Zhao Gou obtain intelligence information about the palace. Now that both of them are in the palace and wield considerable power, they no longer need him. In addition, Li Yan is getting old, and Qingmei takes care of the emperor's daily life alone. He could be kicked out of the palace at any time. In order to keep his position as the chief steward of the palace, he has to do everything personally and give Qin Zhen enough decision-making power so that the "master" feels the loyalty of the "servant".

"Wanqiu, don't make things too difficult for him. He's spent his whole life in the palace, and there are some things we still need him for. Be polite to him."

Wanqiu quickly agreed and said she would never dare to do anything reckless again.

The Mid-Autumn Festival arrived as scheduled, and as feared, it rained heavily that day. When the Empress Dowagers and Imperial Concubines arrived at Anqing Palace in the rain at noon in their palanquins, Qin Zhen was already waiting inside.

Although these "elders" were of high seniority, many were actually only in their early thirties. Even Empress Dowager Meng, who had served three emperors, was only fifty years old. Their attire brightened up the usually plain palace.

They valued this new "daughter-in-law" highly, after all, everyone knew exactly how Zhao Gou treated her. If Qin Zhen was happy, Zhao Gou was happy; and if Zhao Gou was happy, the sons of the Dowager Consorts, who were idle princes outside the palace, would live comfortably. Therefore, Qin Zhen was quite sought after, and the elders generally gave her face.

"His Majesty has arrived!" Li Yan's long, thin voice was followed by Zhao Gou's agile figure. Everyone hurriedly gathered to greet each other. Zhao Gou smiled and said, "Ladies, please don't be too reserved. There are fewer people in the palace now, so let's act like ordinary people and be more at ease."

The women smiled and took their seats. Gatherings were rare in the palace, so these former sisters had plenty to talk about. The once-prosperous harem of Emperor Huizong was long gone; even Emperor Qinzong's harem, besides the Zhu sisters, had few concubines, and now only Qin Zhen was the empress—a smaller scale than even the largest ordinary harem.

Although dark clouds loomed outside the hall, the atmosphere inside was quite pleasant. After the meal, everyone played a few riddles by the lanterns in the hall, and only dispersed when their enthusiasm waned.

In the afternoon, Qin Zhen watched as everyone dispersed and was about to return to the palace when Zhao Gou pulled her aside and said mysteriously, "Come, come with me."

The two boarded the carriage and sped out of the palace, arriving unexpectedly at the gates of the Qin residence.

Qin Zhen looked at Zhao Gou in surprise, a warm feeling washing over her. On this Mid-Autumn Festival night, he had actually brought her home; such care was something Qin Zhen hadn't expected.

"Going home without permission...isn't that... a bit inappropriate?"

Zhao Gou said disdainfully, "I'm the one who brought you back. Let's see who dares to gossip about it."

Qin Zhen smiled, unable to do anything about Zhao Gou, and then walked down from the carriage with him under an umbrella. When the Qin family opened the gate to welcome the two of them into the mansion, Qin Hui rushed out in a panic and was about to kneel down and kowtow in the rain, but Zhao Gou and Qin Zhen hurriedly stopped him.

Qin Zhen's mother, Lady Wang, was in poor health and, due to the thunderstorm, was unable to even get out of bed. Therefore, Qin Zhen did not spend much time talking with his father. After bidding farewell to Zhao Gou and Qin Hui in the hall, he went to see his mother.

After Qin Zhen had spent a long time chatting with her mother, a maid came to ask if she wanted to have dinner there. Qin Zhen told her to ask Zhao Gou for his opinion, and the maid returned shortly afterward, saying, "His Majesty asked me to tell Your Highness that he has other plans for the evening and will have dinner with you at the mansion another time." Qin Zhen nodded gently and continued to massage Wang Shi's sore shoulders.

The rain stopped this evening, and even more remarkably, the setting sun peeked out from behind the dark clouds, bringing sunshine to the sky that had been gloomy for many days.

Lady Wang lay half-reclined on the bed, looking lovingly at her daughter. Seeing that she was doing well, she felt extremely relieved and knew she dared not have any other desires in this life. She patted her daughter's hand and said, "It's getting late. Since the Emperor has made arrangements, you should go soon."

"Mother, please take good care of yourself. I will come back to visit you again later."

Madam Wang shook her head and said, "You've married into the palace, why are you still so restless? Although I miss you, you shouldn't come back so often. It's against the rules."

Qin Zhen nodded silently, but a sense of sorrow filled her heart. She also knew medicine; her mother's health had always been poor, her pulse weak and unstable. If she didn't fulfill her filial duties soon, she feared…

"Sigh..." Qin Zhen sighed softly, then went to the front hall to find Zhao Gou, and the two left the Qin residence together.

After they boarded the carriage, Qin Zhen asked Zhao Gou, "How did your discussion with my father go? Was it effective?"

Zhao Huan chuckled and said, "How do you see through everything so clearly?" In fact, one of the most important purposes of Zhao Huan bringing Qin Zhen back to the Qin residence today was to have a face-to-face talk with Qin Hui and to find out some information about the situation in Western Xia from him.

"When my father-in-law found out that we knew about his deal with the Western Xia, he was initially very alarmed, but later he calmed down and told me a lot of useful things."

The two talked for a long time about the Western Xia. It turned out that the Western Xia was also unstable. The emperor was old and his power was waning. The crown prince was not born to the empress. The court was basically divided into two factions: the empress's party and the crown prince's party. The one who provoked the war was the empress's party, and the envoy sent to the capital was a high-ranking official of the crown prince's party.

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhen understood immediately, and Zhao Gou, without Qin Zhen needing to explain, knew exactly how to proceed.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped, and the person outside lifted the curtain, revealing the sign of Zhenlongfang to Qin Zhen.

"Huh, I thought we were going back to the palace, how did we end up here?"

Zhao Gou, feigning mystery, pulled Qin Zhen out of the carriage and said, "You'll know once you go inside!"

The most elegant private room in Zhenlongfang was already filled with people. When they entered, everyone stopped and looked at the two people in gorgeous clothes and beautiful figures.

Qin Zhen was surprised to find that the people sitting in the room were none other than the three members of the eldest senior brother's family, the third senior brother Su Mufei, the fourth senior brother Liang Shicheng, and the fifth senior brother Ji Wuhuan and his sister!

"Senior Brother..." Qin Zhen called out to everyone, then turned to look at Zhao Gou, feeling extremely grateful. To Qin Zhen, her senior brothers were like family, and being able to gather with them on Mid-Autumn Festival was truly a wonderful thing.

The senior brothers treated Zhao Gou and Qin Zhen with the same courtesy they would show their younger sister and brother-in-law, creating a harmonious and friendly atmosphere.

Qin Zhen secretly glanced at Ji Wushuang at the table and saw her happily eating her food, occasionally chatting and laughing with her brother Ji Wuhuan, completely oblivious to Su Mufei. Seeing this, Qin Zhen breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Gou grabbed Qin Zhen's hand from under the table and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry about her, she doesn't remember anything."

His soft remark drew a glance from Su Mufei and Ji Wuhuan. Zhao Gou paused, forgetting their high level of martial arts skills; even though he spoke softly, they could still hear him. Su Mufei glanced at Zhao Gou and Qin Zhen, then at the Ji siblings, his eyes filled with complex and conflicted emotions.

Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky Chapter 142: Western Xia's Laden Traps

Autumn was passing and the weather was getting colder day by day. Qin Zhen instructed the eunuchs to prepare winter clothes while also keeping an eye on the war with the Western Xia.

If the war drags on into winter, how can the soldiers endure the freezing cold of the Northwest wilderness? How can the war continue?

"It must end before winter arrives." This was a shared idea of Zhao Gou and Qin Zhen.

The persuasion efforts with the Western Xia envoy were underway, and from time to time, gleaned from him some secrets about the conflicts between the Crown Prince and the Empress. Meanwhile, news of a victory arrived from the front: Yue Fei had decisively defeated an enemy ambush at Longxu Gorge, annihilating 20,000 enemy troops.

This victory news brought joy to the entire court. Upon learning of it, the Western Xia envoy told Zhao Gou that the Empress's faction could mobilize less than 30,000 troops. The annihilation of 20,000 was tantamount to wiping out her trusted army in one fell swoop, and her days were numbered.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Qin Hui returned to the court and volunteered to accompany the Western Xia envoy to Western Xia to negotiate with the Western Xia crown prince. Qin Hui was eloquent and knew more about the situation in Western Xia than others, so as the prime minister, he was naturally the best person to go and negotiate.

To ensure his performance was convincing, Qin Hui remained silent for four years before and after Zhao Gou's ascension to the throne. This was his chance to make a comeback. Zhao Gou also had his own ulterior motives in this matter. Qin Hui had put in a lot of effort and made significant contributions to his ascension, and he had long wanted to reward him.

However, what he thought would be a happy ending for everyone was met with Qin Zhen's opposition.

"You can't send my father..." Qin Zhen stammered, unable to articulate her reasons, but simply voiced her opposition.

Zhao Gou asked, "Are you worried about the safety of Western Xia? Don't worry, I will send Liu Qi to protect him personally. Everything is arranged."

Qin Zhen shook his head, his brows furrowed with worry: "You know my father's lust for power. Letting him rest at home is the best course of action. If he returns to the court, it might cause a stir. Besides, there have long been complaints in the court about your favoritism towards me. If we add the charge of your powerful maternal relatives influencing the court, that would be disastrous."

Zhao Gou disagreed, saying, "Things aren't as bad as you think. These are just speculations, so don't worry about them."

Qin Zhen was uneasy, but how could she tell Zhao Gou? Zhao Gou saw her pacing anxiously in front of him and could only comfort her, saying, "The imperial edict has already been issued. Let it be this time. If something like this happens again, I will be more careful. And you can rest assured, your husband is not a foolish ruler who lets powerful ministers abuse their power."

Only after hearing the last sentence did Qin Zhen breathe a sigh of relief and say calmly, "Then we have no choice but to do it this way."

When Qin Hui and the Western Xia envoy returned to Western Xia, the Western Xia had ceased their offensive and quietly stationed their troops on the border, facing off against the Song army. Although Western Xia was weakened at this time, the Song army did not take the opportunity to attack, but waited for Qin Hui's negotiations to yield results. Whether the negotiations succeeded or not, different methods would be used to deal with the situation.

Meanwhile, Qin Hui and his entourage quickly crossed the border and were received at the Western Xia palace by envoys sent by the Crown Prince. They first paid their respects to the ailing emperor and then settled in a place arranged by the Crown Prince. The situation in the Western Xia court was constantly changing, and the Crown Prince was not yet able to settle down and have a detailed discussion with Qin Hui. He only wanted to control the Empress's faction in the short term before slowly negotiating a "Song-Xia friendly neighborly agreement" with Qin Hui.