La vie des gens de la campagne en ville sous la dynastie Song

Chapitre 64

The pride of being an emperor.

Qin Zhen nodded, continuing to wait with curiosity for Zhu to continue. She knew that Zhu must have her own ideas by now. Sure enough, Zhu made a suggestion that shocked Qin Zhen—no, it was extremely shocking!

"Let His Majesty personally lead the expedition!" Zhu said, looking at Qin Zhen's wide-eyed expression.

"Although Your Majesty is physically weak and unable to fight, the Jin Kingdom is currently being pushed back to the foot of Changbai Mountain by Ninth Brother and his generals, barely clinging to life. As long as our army approaches, we can annihilate the remaining Jurchen tribes without Your Majesty even having to personally lead the troops. Moreover, the two capitals of Liao, Zhongjing and Shangjing, have been recaptured from the Jin army by our army and are still under our control. By exchanging them for the remaining prefectures of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, the great cause of our Great Song Dynasty can be completed, and those ministers will no longer question Your Majesty's abilities. Without the pressure exerted by the ministers, Your Majesty will naturally not suspect that you want to eliminate Ninth Brother. You and he can then be together without any obstacles. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Zhu finished recounting her long-planned scheme with great excitement, her cheeks slightly flushed, clearly overwhelmed with emotion. Qin Zhen couldn't help but admire her; she looked at Zhu with new respect. It turned out that Zhu Lian's laziness and unwillingness to concern herself with matters outside the palace didn't mean she was ignorant or clueless!

In fact, Zhu's plan was quite good. If things proceeded steadily in that way, the Jin Dynasty would be destroyed, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun would be recovered, and the Liao Dynasty would be driven out of the Great Wall. The golden age of the Song Dynasty would not be far away.

However… Qin Zhen knew that plans never keep up with changes. Zhao Gou's recall to the capital gave the weakened Jin state a chance to breathe. How easy would it be to wipe it out in one fell swoop? Moreover, Zhao Huan had so ruthlessly claimed all of Zhao Gou's credit for himself. Zhao Gou also had his own pride. Would he really remain indifferent? At the very least, even if Zhao Gou didn't care, Qin Hui, who wanted to become the emperor's father-in-law, would not agree.

Qin Zhen sighed inwardly. The idea was good, but too idealistic. However, she said with a happy expression, "Such a good method! I'll go back and tell my father and Zhao Gou right away. They will definitely be able to persuade the Emperor to rescind his decree!"

Zhu nodded, satisfied, and let Qin Zhen leave.

After leaving Fengyi Palace, Qin Zhen unexpectedly encountered another person in the palace, Zhu's cousin, Zhu Xuan, who is now Zhu Jieyu.

Hearing that Qin Zhen was entering the palace today, she waited early on the only way out of the palace, watching Qin Zhen slowly walk towards her with a cold smile on her lips.

When Qin Zhen saw her, he slowed down. After the two faced each other, Zhu Xuan got straight to the point: "Give me the antidote!"

"I can't give it to you, you know why."

"If you don't give it to me, I'll tell the Emperor what you've done!"

Qin Zhen looked at Zhu Xuan with disgust. She wasn't even half as smart as her sister Zhu, so it was no wonder she could only become a concubine.

"What I did? Are you going to tell Zhao Huan that I gave your sister a contraceptive pill because I pitied you, so that everyone would think the Crown Princess was infertile two years ago, thus facilitating your marriage to Zhao Huan?"

Zhu Xuan almost ground her teeth to powder. She knew that even if she sought death, she wouldn't be able to threaten Qin Zhen.

Qin Zhen initially only pitied Zhu Xuan. When Zhu Xuan cried uncontrollably at the Crown Prince's wedding, Qin Zhen witnessed it and, in a moment of folly, decided to help her marry Zhao Huan. However, after entering the palace as a concubine, Zhu Xuan repeatedly harmed her own sister, forcing Qin Zhen to increase her power within the palace to protect Zhu Xuan and her son!

Moreover, Qin Zhen would never allow Zhu Xuan to conceive the Emperor's child. She had already harmed her own sister even without a son. If she had a son, wouldn't she be single-mindedly thinking about how to kill the eldest prince?

She already regretted this incident, and now Zhu Xuan dared to cause trouble for her like this!

"Please, give me the antidote... I want to be a mother too, you can't just take away all my hope like this!" Zhu Xuan, who had been fierce at first, almost begged Qin Zhen.

Qin Zhen said cruelly, "If you were a kind person, why would I have harmed you? You should have known you would be punished the first time you harmed your sister. Besides, you told me that as long as you could stay by Zhao Huan's side for the rest of your life, you wouldn't have any other desires. Now, are you trying to tell me that times have changed? Don't even think about it!"

After saying the last word, Qin Zhen took a quick step and left Zhu Xuan in an instant. Naturally, he did not see the cold look in Zhu Xuan's eyes and the bright red nails digging into her skin!

Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky, Chapter 119: Princess Yunluo of Western Xia

The secret passage in the study of the Prince Kang's mansion has been sealed off and unused ever since Fanlou was sealed off, but it actually had another entrance, which was in the bedroom of the manager of Linglongfang, a newly popular restaurant in the capital.

After Zhao Gou returned to the capital, the secret chamber finally attracted its first guest: Qin Hui.

Zhao Gou sought out Qin Hui because he was utterly distraught over the current situation. Upon seeing Qin Hui, he rebuked him without hesitation: "Lord Qin, you have already obtained what you wanted this time. Stop now, or I will have no patience to continue being used by you like this!"

Qin Hui repeatedly apologized, but in his heart he thought that Zhao Gou had indeed seen through the real reason why he had deliberately provoked Zhao Huan and Zhao Gou to quarrel over Qin Zhen. He was indeed a student and son-in-law whom he valued!

The person who benefited the most from this incident was Qin Hui. Because he refused Zhao Gou's marriage proposal, he gained Zhao Huan's deeper trust. Even others believed that if Qin Zhen insisted on marrying Zhao Gou, they could sever their father-daughter relationship.

Zhao Huan's trust in him was boundless, and his official position rose again and again until he became prime minister, at which point he could not rise any higher. Becoming prime minister at the age of thirty was considered a legend in the Song Dynasty.

"Your Highness, please don't be impatient. I'm doing this all for your sake. Just wait a little longer. Please be patient."

"Are you really going to listen to Qin Zhen's plan and send my brother to the battlefield?" Zhao Gou couldn't bear to do so.

Qin Hui said, "This is not a real scheme. She is just relaying a message from the Empress. I had no choice but to do it, and I believe His Majesty will be very pleased to hear it!"

Zhao Gou sat down silently. Faced with this situation, he could only remain silent. If he were to write a memorial advising Zhao Huan against going to the battlefield, Zhao Huan would only suspect that he was worried about having his military merits stolen, which would be even worse. But considering that Zhao Huan had absolutely no martial arts skills, did he really think the Jin state was so easy to conquer?

Those territories that were reclaimed from the Jin Kingdom were won with the blood and sweat of him, Qin Zhen, and their soldiers! Those victory reports were written with lives lost!

"That's enough!"

Zhao Gou waved his hand, dismissing Qin Hui. He was now somewhat disappointed in his elder brother, the emperor, who turned out to be just like their incompetent father, focusing only on the army under his command while completely ignoring the people's livelihood in Song.

In the past few days, Li Gang had secretly visited Prince Kang's residence at night, where he discussed many things with Zhao Gou. Zhao Gou then clearly saw that the Song Dynasty was already rotting from within, and if it wasn't rectified soon, it might decline on its own before any foreign invasion could occur!

Qin Zhen naturally learned all this from various sources, which is why she made her final decision despite her tears. What she wanted was an emperor who could bring peace and prosperity to the people!

The fourth year of the Xuanhe era was drawing to a close. The new year was fast approaching, and envoys from all sides flocked to pay tribute. Bianjing was bustling with activity.

The Liao envoy was Prince Aoluwo of Jin. Since the death of King Yelü Chun of Qin-Jin a year prior, and Qin Zhen's departure after completing her mourning period, he had never seen Qin Zhen again, and their supposed marriage had fallen through. The Liao people didn't even know where their Princess Dingguo had gone!

He personally traveled to the Song Dynasty this time. Besides discussing the issues of Liaozhongjing and Shangjing, which were controlled by the Song army, he also wanted to meet Qin Zhen.

After settling down at the inn, he ordered someone to bring him a long wooden box containing the thirteenth birthday gift he had given to Qin Zhen: a hair ribbon inlaid with jewels and gold thread.

However, when Yelü Chun passed away, Qin Zhen returned the gifts intact. Although Ao Lugan was not particularly clever, he was certainly not stupid. He naturally knew that Qin Zhen was telling him that Yelü Chun's arranged marriage was no longer valid.

At a banquet held in the Song Dynasty to entertain envoys, Ao Luwo was seated close to Zhao Gou because of their familiarity, making it easier for them to talk. Zhao Gou noticed that Ao Luwo seemed hesitant to speak from the moment they met, so he took the initiative to ask him a question.

Since Zhao Gou had spoken, Ao Luwo naturally seized the opportunity to say, "My second uncle asked me to send a message to Qin Zhen, hoping that Your Highness could help me tell her to come to the post station. I have to tell her in person."

“That’s easy to say, I’ll tell her that.”

Although Zhao Gou politely agreed to the matter, he was well aware of Ao Luwo's ulterior motives. If Yelü Huanzhen had a secret to tell Qin Zhen, he could have simply sent a message through the Chuihua Society. Why go through all this trouble? In Qin Zhen's eyes, the Chuihua Society was far more reliable than Ao Luwo.

Although Zhao Gou knew that Ao Luwo wanted to meet Qin Zhen alone, he still truthfully told Qin Zhen the news. The following afternoon, Qin Zhen appeared in front of the post station. Liang Hongyu accompanied Qin Zhen, and she secretly told him, "The prince's men are secretly..."

"Should I lead them away?"

Qin Zhen shook his head slightly and walked into the post station without saying anything.

When Ao Luwo learned that Qin Zhen was looking for him, he hurriedly invited her in, but he didn't know what to say to her. After thinking for a while, he turned around and went inside, took out the long wooden box containing the hairband, and placed it back in front of Qin Zhen.

Seeing Qin Zhen frown, Ao Luwo quickly explained, "You should keep this. It's just a gift and doesn't mean anything else."

Qin Zhen suddenly smiled gently and said, "I was ignorant before, and I accepted such a valuable gift from Your Highness so casually. If a gem merchant hadn't told me how precious the gems on these two hairbands were, I probably still wouldn't know. I returned the gift that day because I felt I couldn't bear such a valuable gift, so why would I accept it today? You should take it back."

Is it really because it's so valuable that you won't accept it? The Prince of Jin thought awkwardly, his hand resting on the wooden box, unsure of what to do.

Qin Zhen didn't give him a chance to reconsider and asked directly, "Did Sixth Senior Brother ask His Highness to bring me any message?"

This was originally an excuse that Ao Luwo made up, but now that Qin Zhen asked him about it, he had no choice but to lie and say, "Actually, it's nothing serious. I just heard that you were injured when you attacked Shangjing last time, and my uncle told me to make sure you are alright with my own eyes."

"It's just a minor scratch. It's healed completely after all this time. Tell him not to worry about it too much."

The faint scar on Qin Zhen's forehead was from that battle, but now that her hair was down, Ao Luwo couldn't see the injury, so he assumed that Qin Zhen had only suffered a minor abrasion. But in reality, during that battle, Qin Zhen was knocked unconscious by a blow to the head, broke three ribs, and Zhao Gou, in order to save her, had a foot-long scar on his back, plus a fractured shoulder bone.

The two men's desperate fighting shocked the entire army and caused great concern among the other deputy generals. If Zhao Gou and Qin Zhen hadn't both ordered Liu Qi, Han Shizhong, and Yue Fei not to reveal their whereabouts before they fell unconscious, the three of them would have really wanted to send these two reckless young men back to the rear!

In truth, Qin Zhen was just anxious; she wanted to end the war as soon as possible.

They paid a heavy price for going to Shangjing, thinking they could wipe out the Jin Kingdom in one fell swoop, but Zhao Huan ruined their plans. Qin Zhen found Zhao Huan's actions of sabotaging their efforts to end the war very annoying, which was probably one of the reasons why he began to dislike him.

Thinking about the events of the past battlefield, Qin Zhen was a little distracted, but fortunately she listened to what Ao Luwo said next, which was simply that he hoped Qin Zhen could help him take back the two capitals, Zhong and Shang, from the Song army.

Qin Zhen simply smiled and said, "This matter is the main purpose of Your Highness's trip to the Song Dynasty. The Emperor is naturally aware of it and will surely give you an answer soon. Please don't be anxious."

As the two were talking, a servant from the Liao Kingdom came in and reported, "Your Highness Prince Jin, Princess Yunluo says she has urgent business to discuss!"

"she?"

Ao Luwo and Qin Zhen were both taken aback.

Li Yunluo, the youngest princess of Western Xia, had met Ao Luwo several times and had some acquaintance with him because her mother was a princess of Liao and she was a cousin of Ao Luwo. However, Ao Luwo was unaware that she had just arrived in Song Dynasty with a Western Xia delegation and had some urgent business to discuss with him.

Qin Zhen knew the answer. The reason she knew Li Yunluo was because Li Yunluo was the Western Xia princess whom Zhao Huan had betrothed to Zhao Gou. Her visit to Ao Luwo was probably to use Ao Luwo's relationship with Zhao Gou to meet him beforehand.

Ao Luwo looked at Qin Zhen with some difficulty, and Qin Zhen immediately said, "In a way, Yunluo can also be considered my sister. Brother Prince Jin, why don't you take this opportunity to let us meet?"

Upon hearing this, Ao Luwo knew that Qin Zhen intended to use Yelü Mingzhen's identity to meet Li Yunluo, so he nodded and had the servants bring Li Yunluo in.

Upon seeing Li Yunluo for the first time, Qin Zhen was somewhat surprised; she hadn't expected her to be a little girl. Yunluo had two high pigtails on either side of her head, but her hair was very long, with smooth black hair hanging down from the top, swaying with her bouncy steps, making her quite adorable.

Although Qin Zhen was only fifteen years old, she saw twelve-year-old Li Yunluo as nothing more than a little brat. Moreover, according to intelligence, she was a restless little girl!

Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky 120 A Secret Meeting in a Restaurant

Yunlu was not shy. After meeting Ao Luwo, she looked at Qin curiously and asked, "Who is this fairy sister?"

Qin Zhen blushed slightly, and Ao Luwo said with a smile, "She is the adopted daughter of the Second Imperial Uncle, Yelü Mingzhen, who was granted the title of Princess Dingguo."

"Wow, it's you! I've heard so much about you!" Li Yunluo exclaimed in an exaggeratedly cute tone, immediately latching onto Qin Zhen and recounting some of her little stories from back then as if they were precious treasures. For example, finding the divine doctor to save the Liao emperor, transporting grain to support the capital, and other deeds that she hadn't done but which had been exaggerated by others.

Only now did Qin Zhen realize that Princess Dingguo of Liao was like an idol in the mouths of the princesses of neighboring countries. She chuckled and said that these princesses must have been corrupted by being locked up; their imaginations were truly rich, making her sound so mystical.

Li Yunlu chattered on and on with Qin Zhen for a long time, mostly talking to herself while Qin Zhen and Ao Luwo listened quietly. It wasn't until she took a break to drink tea that Ao Luwo asked, "Yunlu, didn't you have something urgent to discuss with me earlier?" "Oh, I forgot about it as soon as I saw Sister Mingzhen." Yunlu stuck out her tongue and said, "Well, Father said that the main reason I came to the Song Dynasty this time was to get to know my future son-in-law, Prince Kang, Zhao Gou. I also heard that Brother Jin is very familiar with him, so I wanted to ask him to take me to secretly meet him first."

Qin Zhen was somewhat taken aback by the "son-in-law" she mentioned. It seemed as if Xixia wanted to summon Zhao Gou back, rather than marry Yunluo to them. How could such a small Xixia have such thoughts?

Ao Luwo, being rather careless, didn't take the matter seriously and simply asked, "The Western Xia's welcoming banquet will be held tomorrow night, so you can meet tomorrow. Why insist on meeting today in advance?"

"No way. At a banquet, even the worst person will pretend to be great. I want to see the real him!"

Hearing Li Yunluo's willful request, Ao Luwo had another headache. Qin Zhen was here, how could he not know about her relationship with Zhao Gou? How was he supposed to handle this?

“If you trust me, Sister Yunluo, I will take you to see Prince Kang.”

Qin Zhen's suggestion came as a surprise. Her keen ears had clearly caught a sound from the roof tiles. She chuckled inwardly. It seemed Zhao Gou's secret guards had already sent word to him, and today they were going to throw this little trouble at him, giving him a headache!

Li Yunluo asked excitedly, "Does Sister Mingzhen know Prince Kang? I would be so happy if you could take me there!"