Therefore, she was willing to go to the capital and pave the way for the prince with her own life.
To this end, she even deliberately left behind that letter, making him misunderstand that she was going to betray the prince. Only in this way would he not immediately send a large number of troops to find and stop her.
Once she's gone far away, even if they find out the truth, they won't be able to stop her.
Cui Hao's eyes stung with tears, annoyed that he had actually believed the letter without any suspicion.
He had always thought he was calm enough, unlike Ziyi, and wouldn't mistreat the princess because of the old grudge between the prince and Lord Yao.
But even if he wasn't mistreated, he still remembered it and held a grudge.
Because I was bothered by it, I felt she would actually do such a thing.
Cui Hao lifted the tent flap, sat down at the table, exhaled a breath of stale air, opened a military report, and began to carefully review it.
There's no use thinking about these things now. Instead of blaming myself, I should focus on the present, so that the prince can go to find the princess with peace of mind and the princess can return safely as soon as possible.
Chapter 106 Three Certificates [Two Combined]
After a bumpy journey, Yao Youqing traveled from the Jin Dynasty to the Southern Yan Dynasty before finally entering the territory of the Liang Dynasty.
The scenery and customs of Nanyan and Daliang are similar, unlike those of Dajin where the differences are immediately apparent. If it weren't for the fact that the people escorting her had been replaced a few days ago, she would have had no idea where she was.
Although the border of Daliang was disturbed by war, the heartland remained prosperous, as if the world was still the same peaceful and prosperous era as before, without any changes.
But Yao Youqing knew that everything was different now, and she didn't know how long this prosperity could last.
She looked out the window through a crack in the carriage curtain and muttered to herself, "I am originally from Daliang, but now I have to detour from Dajin to Nanyan to get back here. It's ridiculous."
Zhou's mother sighed softly, not knowing how to respond for fear of being overheard by the people outside the car, so she picked up a pastry from the small table and handed it to her.
"Miss, please have a snack. You haven't eaten much all day. We're getting closer and closer to the capital. You need to eat well so you'll have the strength to testify in court."
Since leaving the border, Yao Youqing has had a poor appetite, and she has been eating even less these past few days.
But Mother Zhou was right. Since she was going to the court to testify, she had to make sure she arrived in the capital safely. So she took the snacks and prepared to eat some.
The pastry was brought to her lips, but before it even touched them, a commotion suddenly erupted outside, mixed with shrill laughter and a cacophony of shouting and cursing.
She paused, looked out from behind the carriage curtain, and saw that the carriage she was riding in was passing the intersection of a crossroads. On the other side of the intersection was a tavern, where several richly dressed women were leaning against the second-floor window, laughing so hard they were doubled over.
Seven or eight ragged beggars were gathered on the street directly opposite the window, scrambling to grab the handfuls of fried beans that the women had just thrown down from upstairs.
Beans rolled everywhere, and the beggars crawled around on their knees like insects. One of them grabbed a few beans from the ground and stuffed them into his mouth without even looking, but accidentally broke his tooth on a pebble stuck in the ground. His mouth was filled with blood, and when he raised his hand to wipe it, his hand was covered in blood.
The woman upstairs laughed even louder, pointing at the man and saying, "A reward! A reward!"
The maidservant beside the woman immediately smiled and agreed, then turned and went downstairs to give the beggar with the broken tooth a reward.
The beggar, overjoyed, thanked the woman upstairs, saying, "Thank you, madam! Thank you, madam!"
Yao Youqing could no longer eat the pastries she was holding. As she lowered the carriage curtain, she put the pastries back into the box.
I had long heard that there were wealthy families in Daliang who used to scatter beans in the street for fun. Li Dou was picked up by Li Tai when he was picking up beans.
Unexpectedly, more than a decade later, this kind of immoral and amusement-seeking trick has not stopped.
She closed her eyes and leaned against Zhou's mother, not saying a word, and didn't look out of the car again the whole way.
The scenes of war before were unbearable to look at, and the fleeting prosperity before my eyes was something I didn't want to see either...
Since resigning from his post, Yao Yuzhi has never attended court assemblies again. Although Wei Chi still retains the title of Grand Tutor for him, it is only a nominal position. He does not need to attend court or report to the government office. He is only symbolically invited to the palace to participate in banquets during festivals to show respect and preferential treatment to the old minister.
Early that morning, someone suddenly came to the palace, saying that he wanted to invite him to the palace to attend the court assembly.
Yao Yuzhi's heart sank as she looked at the palace servant.
"I have been out of office for a long time, why would His Majesty suddenly ask me to attend the court assembly?"
The man smiled and said, "This servant doesn't know. I only heard that there is some important matter that requires your help in making a decision. Although you have resigned from your post, you are still a veteran of three reigns and His Majesty's tutor. When he encounters an important matter and is unsure of what to do, he will inevitably have to consult you. Please change your clothes quickly and come with us to the palace, lest His Majesty gets impatient and we have something to say."
The Chen brothers, who were standing next to Yao Yuzhi, frowned upon hearing this.
Chen Miao said, "Our master is unwell and it is probably inconvenient for him to enter the palace. Please go back and inform His Majesty that it is not that he is unwilling to go, but that he is really unable to go."
The palace servant was not displeased that he spoke on Yao Yuzhi's behalf. He still had a smile on his face and said in a high-pitched voice, "Lord Yao's health has never been very good, His Majesty knows this, so he also feels it is not appropriate to trouble you."
"But today the matter is truly urgent, and His Majesty has no other choice but to send us to invite you to the palace."
He pointed to the door and said, "Look, even the imperial carriage has been sent and is waiting outside. There are also imperial physicians accompanying us. If you are unwell, they can treat you immediately without any delay."
With both the imperial carriage and the imperial physicians present, Yao Yuzhi absolutely had to go.
Chen Tian and Chen Miao knew that something was amiss, but they couldn't forcefully stop it.
Currently, Wei Chi is still in power in Daliang. As long as he is the emperor of Daliang, Yao Yuzhi, as a subject, must go, otherwise she will be disobeying the imperial decree.
Yao Yuzhi looked at the palace servant's smiling face and finally nodded.
"Please wait a moment while I change my clothes."
The palace servants acknowledged and left. Chen Tian and Chen Miao, however, did not follow them out. Instead, they stayed in the room and whispered to Yao Yuzhi, "His Majesty is probably up to no good. It's easy for you to enter the palace, but whether you can get out is another matter."
If someone had spoken of the reigning emperor in this way to Yao Yuzhi in the past, he would have been furious and rebuked them. But now he couldn't muster any anger. He simply waved his hand weakly and said, "The imperial carriage has arrived. Everyone knows I've entered the palace. I suppose he won't do anything to me easily."
"Besides, even if I wanted to not go, I couldn't back out. I'll just have to take it one step at a time."
Chen Tian and Chen Miao didn't have any good ideas, so they could only tell him to find an excuse to come back as soon as the court meeting was over. They also whispered among themselves while he went to the inner room to change his clothes, wondering what was so important that he had to attend the court meeting.
It was the time for the court assembly, and Wei Chi himself was still attending court, so he naturally wouldn't want to see Yao Yuzhi alone. Therefore, the palace maid was not lying.
But Yao Yuzhi has been resigned from his post for so long, why does he have to listen to everything?
"If I'm not mistaken, it should be related to your prince."
Yao Yuzhi changed into her official robes, which she hadn't worn in a long time, and came out to speak.
"After I resigned from my official post, I stopped caring about anything else. The only person who is connected to me and whose affairs are of great importance is your prince."
Chen Tian and Chen Miao naturally thought of this as well, but they had not received any news from the prince, and there was still no reply to the letter they had sent to the prince last time.
If it really is related to the prince, then it's not what the prince wants to do, but what His Majesty wants to do!
Before leaving, Yao Yuzhi tidied her clothes one last time, glanced at the two of them, and said, "You've worked hard these past few days. Regardless of why you came here in the first place, it's a fact that you've helped me and the Princess deliver many letters and driven out the spies His Majesty planted in the mansion."
"After I leave, you should leave too."
Chen Miao opened her mouth to say something, but he raised his hand to interrupt her.
"I'm not trying to drive you away, nor do I really think there's any danger in entering the palace. It's just that we don't know what will happen right now, so I'm preparing in advance."
"Leave the Yao residence. If I return safely, you may come back. If I do not return, you should act accordingly. Otherwise, if you are surrounded in this residence, it will be difficult to get out."
Wei Hong must have other men in the capital, but in this mansion there are only the Chen brothers.
If Chen Tian and Chen Miao go out and meet up with others, they will be safe. But if they stay here, things might be different.
Even if Wei Chi can't find an excuse to attack the other people in the Yao family, he will definitely find a way to kill the two of them.
They weren't originally members of the Yao family. If they died in the Yao family because of him, he would owe Wei Hong two more lives.
He only wanted the same thing to happen once; he didn't want it to happen a second time.
Chen Tian and Chen Miao understood his meaning, nodded, and personally saw him out. Then, instead of returning to the Yao family, they turned and left.
...
Although Wei Chi sent the imperial carriage to fetch Yao Yuzhi, Yao Yuzhi declined, citing that she had already resigned from her official post and was unworthy of such favor from His Majesty. In the end, she took her own carriage to the palace.
He assumed that Wei Chi must have found a suitable reason to tell him to come to the palace in front of all the officials, but when he arrived, he found that all the officials in the hall were shocked and seemed to know nothing about his arrival.
Amidst the murmurs and surprised glances of the crowd, Wei Chi had someone offer Yao Yuzhi a seat. Once he was seated, he said, "I received some news a few days ago that concerns the fate of my Great Liang Dynasty. I am deeply uneasy and have not slept for several days."
"But because the matter is of great importance, it is not appropriate to speak out without concrete evidence, which is why I have not told you all."
"Today, the witness will come to the capital and testify in person in the court. Because the witness is very familiar with Grand Tutor Yao, I invited the Grand Tutor here to serve as a witness."
Then he looked at Yao Yuzhi and said gently, "I apologize for disturbing the Grand Tutor. I hope the Grand Tutor will be lenient with you. Once this matter is settled, I will immediately send someone to escort you back to your residence."
Yao Yuzhi didn't notice that sentence at all; all she could hear was his earlier statement, "He is extremely familiar with Grand Tutor Yao."
Who is he so familiar with? And what kind of credentials could they possibly have here?
He felt inexplicably flustered and sat in the chair, looking towards the direction of the palace gate.
However, the witness was late in arriving. It wasn't until half an hour later that he finally appeared before everyone, led by a eunuch.
As the figure approached, Yao Yuzhi's eyes widened suddenly: "Ning..."
"Slow down, sir."
The eunuch beside him smiled and pressed down on his shoulder. The movement seemed gentle, but his slender white fingers were like iron claws, pressing him firmly into the chair, making him unable to move.
When Yao Youqing entered the hall, she saw him, and her eyes immediately reddened, tears welling up.
Someone recognized her, and the noise in the hall grew even louder.
"Princess Consort of Qin?"
"Why is the Princess Consort of Qin here?"
"Is she the witness?"
What is she trying to prove?
The officials were in an uproar, and the censor failed to quell the unrest several times. It was only after Wei Chi spoke up that the officials finally quieted down.
"The witness I just mentioned is Princess Qin. Some time ago, I received news that Prince Qin once again left his fiefdom without permission and appeared outside Shangchuan, and even left Shuozhou. He secretly killed General Meng Fu, who was guarding near Hutou Pass, simply because General Meng entered the border of Shuozhou while pursuing a group of Southern Yan troops."
"Shuozhou is originally part of our Great Liang territory. The Prince of Qin's fiefdom was only in Shangchuan. Moreover, Shuozhou is now besieged by both Southern Yan and Great Jin. Our Great Liang troops should work together to fight the enemy."
"But the King of Qin regarded the entire Shuozhou as his private property, and killed General Meng simply because he crossed the border!"
"Although I am fully aware of the truth, I am troubled by the lack of evidence to convict him. I can only let him run rampant, plotting to harm court officials for his own selfish gain, plunging the Great Liang into danger, and disregarding the people."
"Fortunately, the Princess Consort of Qin is the daughter of Grand Tutor Yao. She has been well-educated and reasonable since childhood and could not bear to let the people suffer because of the King of Qin. Therefore, she left Shangchuan when he was not in his fiefdom and was willing to stand up and testify to prove that he did indeed have an army and was leaving his fiefdom several times. When General Meng died, he was near Hutou Pass. Although the troops at Hutou Pass did not capture him, the person they saw was indeed the King of Qin."
He looked at Yao Youqing as he spoke, waiting for her to speak.
Wei Chi always felt that he and Yao Youqing were truly in love, and that Yao Youqing must have loved him as much as he loved her, but they had no choice but to give up because of the late emperor's arranged marriage.
Later, she married Wei Hong, and he was never happy about it. It was like there was a thorn stuck in his throat that he couldn't spit out or swallow.
But later, because of Ji Yunwan's words, he felt that she still cared about him. The thought that although she was physically by Wei Hong's side, her heart was always with him made him feel less upset and even a little proud.