Granny Kong laughed along, adding, "Our princess is so clever; she chose the Prince of Qin so early. Even if she goes to Huaicheng in the future, she'll still be able to..."
"Who said I was going to Huaicheng?"
Cheng Lan interrupted.
Granny Kong's face stiffened: "Princess, don't you plan to go to Huaicheng? You...you helped the Prince of Qin, and the Prince of Qin has always been fair in rewarding and punishing..."
"It's precisely because he's fair in rewarding and punishing that I can't go. Otherwise, wouldn't he misunderstand that I'm taking advantage of his kindness? In that case, kindness would turn into enmity."
"And think about it, Granny. Even if the King of Qin doesn't attack the capital now, he has already surrounded it. The capital will be his sooner or later."
"When His Majesty is gone, the capital will no longer be the capital, but just an ordinary city in Daliang. However, because I helped the Prince of Qin, I can still keep my current princess residence and my current wealth and honor. I don't have to wander around in front of the Prince of Qin and worry about accidentally displeasing him. Isn't that great?"
It sounds really good to be able to retain both favor and freedom.
But Granny Kong knew exactly what she was thinking and exposed her without hesitation.
"You just don't want to see Lord Cui!"
Cheng Lan rolled her eyes: "Every day it's Master Cui, Master Cui. Anyone who didn't know better would think that you raised him, not me."
With that, she got up, slipped on her shoes, and gracefully left, leaving Granny Kong to watch her retreating figure and sigh helplessly.
...
Yao Youqing had just given birth not long ago, and Wei Hong was unwilling to let her rush to Qizhou. Therefore, from the beginning, the person sitting in the carriage was not her, but a woman with a similar figure who was impersonating her.
The "King of Qin" in the carriage was not actually the King of Qin, but was replaced by a soldier from the Jingyuan Army.
In order to make this group pass muster, Wei Hong specially sent Guo Sheng, Li Dou, Qiong Yu and other people who usually followed them, and even let them bring Xiao Ke'ai and Xiao Guai'ai. Only Zhou Mama was left to take care of Yao Youqing. Cui Hao was sent to Cangcheng under the pretext of guarding the border in his place, so that outsiders would think that everything was normal and would not suspect anything.
He took this opportunity to stay at the Prince's Mansion for a while, spending his days with Yao Youqing and taking care of the children.
Wei Qi'an was his first child. Although he wasn't a girl, he loved him very much and often held him in his arms to play with him. He even made him a grasshopper by hand.
But the wet nurse said the child was too young and had delicate skin to play with such things, so he had to put it away again.
Also staying in the mansion was Yao Yuzhi, who loved holding children even more than him. Whenever she had free time, she would come to see her little grandson and wouldn't leave, wishing she could stay there all day long.
When Yao Yuzhi arrived that day, the child was already being held by Wei Hong. The tall man held the child in one hand and waved a cloth tiger in front of the child with the other.
Yao Yuzhi smiled and leaned over to look at the baby in the swaddling clothes, who had already grown a bit, and reached out to touch his little face.
Wei Hong subtly shifted his body to the side, avoiding his touch.
Yao Yuzhi's hand froze in mid-air, and she awkwardly withdrew it, but she did not leave. After a while, she tried to reach out and touch him again, but the man dodged her hand once more.
After this happened several times, even though he kept reminding himself to be tolerant, he became somewhat annoyed. When Wei Hong once again avoided his hand from touching the child, he didn't pull his outstretched hand back, but instead took the opportunity to give Wei Hong a hard pat on the head.
Wei Hong nearly lost his temper and almost threw the child out of his arms.
He turned around and glared at Yao Yuzhi: "What are you doing!"
The noise was so loud that it startled the baby in her arms, and the tiny infant burst into tears.
Wei Hong was taken aback. Yao Yuzhi quickly took the child from her and gently comforted him, "Chen'er, be good, Chen'er, don't cry."
Hearing the noise, Yao Youqing, who was resting in the inner room, lifted the curtain and came out, asking, "What's wrong?"
Wei Hong pointed at Yao Yuzhi: "He...he touched me!"
Yao Youqing: "...?"
Although she didn't speak, the doubt and confusion on her face showed her attitude towards the matter.
Wei Hong: "..."
That old bastard! I shouldn't have saved him in the first place!
Chapter 131 Cutting the Robe
Yao Yuzhi hummed a lullaby she had heard somewhere, and the baby in her arms gradually calmed down as she listened to the deep, gentle singing.
Although Wei Hong was dissatisfied, he couldn't forcefully take the child away, so he could only sit down with a sullen face.
Yao Youqing turned to look at Yao Yuzhi, but Yao Yuzhi clearly didn't want to talk about what had just happened and changed the subject before she could speak.
"I heard that things have been settled in Huaicheng, so shouldn't we be setting off soon?"
Wei Hong had guessed that those powerful families would be unwilling to accept this and would probably try to get rid of him before he entered Huaicheng.
Because once they enter Huaicheng, he will soon ascend the throne, and by then it will be too late for them to do anything.
As expected, Guo Sheng and his group were attacked, and by following the clues, they were implicated in many powerful families.
Most of these families were prominent families from the capital, but there were also a few prominent families from other places. These people had many dealings with Duke Anguo and others.
When the new emperor moved the capital and ascended the throne, some people saw it as an opportunity, while others, like the Duke of Anguo and his ilk, felt it was a dead end.
Especially considering the King of Qin's past behavior, he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would allow the power of aristocratic families to expand and interfere in the court.
Without power, aristocratic families are just empty shells, which makes many people uneasy.
Furthermore, with promises from Anguo Gong and others that they would have a place in the court when the young emperor ascended the throne, they took the risk and became vassals.
As a result, the plot was exposed. Because Duke Anguo and his group were in the capital and Wei Hong did not currently intend to attack the capital, they were relatively safe for the time being. Those who were not in the capital were not so lucky. They were immediately uprooted by Guo Sheng and used as a warning to others.
With this matter resolved and Yao Youqing's postpartum recovery progressing smoothly, there's no need to delay the trip to Huaicheng any longer.
The new capital has been established, so it's best to go there and ascend the throne as soon as possible to avoid any further complications.
Wei Hong didn't want to pay attention to Yao Yuzhi, but when he saw Yao Youqing looking at him, his tense expression eased a little. He reached out and let her sit down next to him, saying, "I was just about to tell you about this. Yesterday, I sent someone to Cangcheng to call Ziqian back. Once he returns, we'll set off for Xindu."
"Because we can't let the news of the relocation of the capital leak out in advance, I didn't dare to send anyone to repair the temporary palace before. Although Ziyi has been making arrangements these days, the time is still short, so it certainly won't be as good as the imperial palace in the capital. Ning'er, you can make do with it for now, and we'll repair it slowly when we move there in the future."
Yao Youqing shook her head: "Your Highness, although I have never been to that palace, since it was built during the reign of Emperor Gaozong and was exclusively for the royal family to live in, it should not be bad. You just need to have it cleaned up and made habitable. There is no need to make special repairs, so as not to give people something to say about your extravagance as soon as you ascend the throne."
Wei Hong smiled and reached out to pull her into his arms, but she dodged him, gave him a reproachful look, and glanced in Yao Yuzhi's direction, indicating that the elders were still there.
Wei Hong pursed his lips and had no choice but to withdraw his hand.
"Don't worry, I won't be extravagant. But a new dynasty should have some new look, and I can't let my palace look so dilapidated."
His words reminded Yao Youqing of the former Prince Qin's Mansion, and she thought to herself that even if it was dilapidated, it couldn't be more dilapidated than the former Prince Qin's Mansion, right?
However, the Imperial Palace and the Prince of Qin's residence are different. The Prince of Qin's residence is only Wei Hong's personal residence, while the Imperial Palace is not only where they will live in the future, but also where civil and military officials hold court. It is a symbol of the Liang royal family and should indeed have a certain degree of majesty.
So Yao Youqing didn't say those words, but just smiled and nodded slightly.
...
Before Cui Hao returned, Wei Hong dealt with another matter: he released Lian Cheng, who had been confined in the Prince's Mansion.
Although Liancheng was a hostage, she was not mistreated in any other way except for being unable to leave the palace during the past year.
He could even meet with his subordinates regularly, but he had to be accompanied by someone from the Prince's Palace to keep an eye on him and record every word he said.
It's not exactly freedom, but the treatment is actually quite good for a hostage.
Of course, this was achieved in exchange for the Southern Yan withdrawing its troops from Daliang and handing over the Hengshui region, which it had previously seized from the Jin Dynasty.
Wei Hong had actually considered sending Liancheng away earlier, but he chose to stay.
With the Southern Yan army withdrawing from Daliang, the princes and the old emperor no longer had a common enemy, and thus began to engage in internal strife again.
Liancheng thought that since he was already "dead," he might as well not go back for now. He would wait until they had fought to the death and all sides were exhausted before going back. That way, it would be easier for him to clean up the mess.
In any case, he had already prepared a blank edict with all the seals on it. When the time came, he only needed to imitate the Yan Emperor's handwriting to write the content of establishing him as the heir apparent, and no one would be able to tell that it was fake.
But now that Wei Hong is leaving and will no longer "take him in," he has no choice but to go back.
"The carriage is ready for you. My men will escort you all the way out of Daliang to make sure you leave alive. As for whether you live or die after leaving Daliang, that's none of our business. No matter what happens to you, don't try to blame us."
Wei Hong said in a deep voice.
Lian Cheng nodded: "Having troubled you for so long, it's time for me to leave."
After speaking, he did not leave immediately, but remained silent for a moment before asking, "May I speak with the Princess..."
"Can't."
Wei Hong interrupted him directly, refusing his request to say goodbye to Yao Youqing.
This was within Liancheng's expectations. He nodded helplessly and said nothing more.
"Well... I'll be going then."
"Get lost."
Wei Hong replied with two words.
Liancheng frowned and said, "We're brothers after all. Although some of the things I did later were not fair, Da Liang and Nan Yan will still have to deal with each other in the future, right? Why are you so heartless to me? You could at least pretend to give me a smile."
"I'm not you, I don't pretend."
Wei Hong replied coldly with this sentence.
This is a satire of Liancheng, who pretended to be his brother while stabbing him in the back.
Liancheng's expression stiffened slightly, and he shrugged awkwardly: "Never mind, you don't like to smile anyway."
Liancheng arrived dressed in tattered clothes, with little luggage and no need to pack. He took one last look at the courtyard where he had lived for nearly a year, then glanced in the direction of the inner courtyard before turning and walking out.
Wei Hong followed him all the way and personally watched him get into the carriage.
Liancheng thought he was there to see her off. After getting into the car, he smiled and stuck his head out: "I'm leaving now. When I get to Nanyan, I'll write to you and have someone send you two jars of Zui Taibai liquor."
"No need."
Wei Hong replied, and then pulled out a dagger hanging from his waist and cut off a piece of his wide sleeve.
“From this day forward, I sever all ties with you. You will be the Emperor of Yan, and I will be the Emperor of Liang. Apart from normal diplomatic relations between our two countries, we will have no other dealings.”
He then threw the robe and dagger to the ground and left without looking back.
Liancheng was startled, his hand holding the carriage curtain remained motionless for a long time until a servant from the Prince's Mansion reminded him that they were about to depart and told him to sit down. Only then did he slowly lower the curtain and sit back down in the carriage.
The carriage slowly drove out of the palace and out of Hu City.
Liancheng sat in the car for a long time, then suddenly chuckled and murmured, "Isn't it just severing ties? Anyone can do that."
As he spoke, he used brute force to tear at his own sleeve.
He was strong, and after several attempts, he actually tore a hole in the sleeve, making a ripping sound.