amaotonovel Chapter 391 Statue
Chapter 391 Statue
Prince Yu placed the letter on the table, his fingertip tracing the wax seal: "The letter from Father to Prince Guangling should naturally be given to him."
When Shen Qingtan first discovered the matter in Qingzhou, he was worried that Shen Qingtan would expose it, so he sent people to silence her.
Having escaped death, how could Shen Qingtan not hate him?
They'll probably remember this debt and wait to settle it with me.
Given Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan's methods, if they wanted to take revenge on him, they would only make him lose everything he had and everything he cared about most, turning him into a homeless dog.
All he cared about was the throne.
Unfortunately, Zhao Yi is deeply favored by his father, the emperor, and Shen Qingtan's father holds considerable military power. If he were to interfere with the selection of the crown prince, it would undoubtedly become his biggest obstacle.
He felt a great sense of crisis and decided to eliminate the obstacle.
Unfortunately, he made a fatal mistake, and his scheme was exposed.
The emperor relieved him of all his duties and confined him to the palace.
Just then, Zhao Yi's true identity was revealed, and he returned to Northern Qi with the Northern Qi envoy.
The feud between them seemed to have come to an end at this moment.
Zhao Yi became a prince of Northern Qi. As long as he remained in Northern Qi, he would not pose a threat to him.
There was no conflict of interest between them, so he had no reason to target Zhao Yi anymore.
On the contrary, he wanted to put Zhao Yi on the throne of Northern Qi.
Besides extinguishing Zhao Yi's desire to return to the Great Zhou, the fact that Zhao Yi became the emperor of the Northern Qi would further strengthen the relationship between the Northern Qi and the Great Zhou, preventing further wars.
For him, it was entirely beneficial.
Prince Yu pushed the letter forward: "Take this letter to the Prince of Guangling's residence."
The Emperor knew about his past grievances with Zhao Yi, yet he still sent him the letter, probably to test him. If it was a test, the contents wouldn't be very important.
"Yes, sir." The subordinate took the letter and prepared to leave.
"Wait," Prince Yu instructed, "inspect Prince Qi."
The subordinate acknowledged and withdrew, then quickly rode off to deliver the letter to the Prince of Guangling's residence.
The gatekeeper received the letter and immediately delivered it to Lanxue Garden: "Your Highness, this is a letter sent by Prince Yu of the Great Zhou."
Zhao Yi recognized the handwriting on the envelope as belonging to Emperor Jing'an. He carefully examined the envelope and, finding no signs of tampering, tore it open and took out a letter from inside.
After reading the letter, he found nothing of great importance; it was just an ordinary family letter.
In his letter, Emperor Jing'an instructed him to prioritize his own safety in Northern Qi. He said that if his life was in danger, the spies planted in Northern Qi would help him return to Great Zhou.
In addition, Emperor Jing'an also revealed in the letter that the two days before Prince Yu welcomed Princess Guangning back to the Great Zhou were his birth mother's birthday.
Zhao Yi stared intently at the words "birth date," as if hinting at the arrival of some kind of opportunity.
Seeing Zhao Yi staring blankly at the letter, Shen Qingtan couldn't help but ask, "This is a letter from my imperial uncle?"
Upon hearing Shen Qingtan's voice, Zhao Yi snapped out of his reverie and handed her the letter: "My mother's birthday is two days before Prince Yu returns to the Great Zhou to welcome his bride."
Shen Qingtan was taken aback, but quickly understood: "As a son, you should go and pay your respects."
Zhao Yi nodded slightly: "We have come to Northern Qi and have not yet paid our respects to my mother. Her birthday is a good opportunity."
The Northern Qi emperor had no reason to refuse.
Once the matter was settled, Zhao Yi began making arrangements.
-
Meanwhile, after King Qi dealt with Chang Yuan, Chang An, who was by his side, took leave to escort Chang Yuan's coffin back to his ancestral home for burial.
King Qi did not know whether Chang An would continue to be loyal to him in the future, but everything Chang An had done before was for his benefit.
Even though Chang An didn't reveal his reasons for asking Zhao Yi to return to the Great Zhou, he believed Chang An wouldn't harm him. He kept Chang An's advice in mind and put it into action.
He inquired about Princess Yizhen from his mother, wrote a lengthy letter, and sent it to Zhao Yi. He then wrote another letter to the Marquis of Shou'an, hoping that his maternal grandfather could lend him a hand and, on the day of Princess Guangning's wedding, join forces with all the officials to request the Emperor to establish a Crown Prince.
With everything arranged, King Qi felt a little relieved and was just waiting for Princess Yizhen's birthday.
-
The capital of Northern Qi was not disturbed by the arrival of the Zhou envoy; in fact, it was even calmer than usual. However, this calmness gave rise to a sense of unease.
The Northern Qi emperor was extremely uneasy and couldn't sleep all night. He lit incense sent by the empress and finally fell asleep, but then he was plunged into nightmares.
His temper grew increasingly volatile, to the point where he could no longer control his anger. During the morning court session, he flew into a rage and ordered the execution of several officials.
He hadn't had a good night's sleep for days, and his headache flared up. After taking a bowl of herbal soup, he couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep.
In his dream, a sharp longsword pierced his chest.
He heard a voice resound in his ears: "The Chu family has usurped the country for decades, it's time to return the empire to the Zongzheng family."
"Do not--"
The Emperor of Northern Qi suddenly woke up, clutching his chest, only to find that there was not a single scratch.
A dream, yet another dream.
This dream kept recurring, waking him up each time just as it was about to pierce his chest, tormenting his mind again and again.
What does it signify that the cold, long sword pierced his chest today?
"Your Majesty..." Seeing the Northern Qi Emperor covered in cold sweat, Eunuch Liu knew he had another nightmare. He quickly took out a porcelain bottle, poured out a pill, and handed him a cup of water: "Why don't you go to the temporary palace for a while?"
The Northern Qi emperor took a pill and swallowed it, his face grim. "No need," he said coldly. "I don't believe Changyuan has the ability to lead his troops to breach my imperial city."
When Eunuch Liu accepted the water cup from the Emperor of Northern Qi, he inadvertently touched the Emperor's hand, which was as cold as ice, revealing the Emperor's deep fear of the former Crown Prince.
It's not hard to understand; everyone feels fear when things are beyond their control.
In particular, the Lin family was wiped out without a trace. No matter how hard the Northern Qi Emperor investigated, he could not find a single clue. Finally, it was deduced that it was the remnants of the previous dynasty who were responsible. The Northern Qi Emperor searched high and low, but still could not find them.
This undoubtedly cast a shadow over the Northern Qi emperor's heart, fearing that the remnants of the previous dynasty would kill him without anyone noticing, to the point that he had nightmares every night.
Having had too many nightmares, the Northern Qi emperor was even afraid to sleep, lest he dream of nightmares that would fill him with terror.
The Northern Qi emperor looked out the window, but it was still pitch black outside.
He was wide awake, so he threw off the covers and got out of bed, where he found himself facing a bronze mirror.
When the Emperor of Northern Qi saw the person in the mirror, he looked haggard, with bloodshot eyes and two long, large bags under his eyes.
His expression grew increasingly grim: "Have the men we sent out found anything?"
"There's no news," said Eunuch Liu cautiously.
The Northern Qi emperor said coldly, "Send more people to investigate."
He could not have peace of mind until the remnants of the previous dynasty were eliminated.
Liu Gonggong's lips moved as if to say that after searching for so many years, he had never found any remnants of the previous dynasty, perhaps they no longer existed.
At that moment, the sound of clashing armor came from outside the door, followed by the voice of a guard: "Your Majesty, a statue has appeared out of nowhere in the palace."
The Northern Qi emperor's face was gloomy as he strode towards the outside of the palace.
He wanted to see who dared to place a statue in the palace.
When he arrived at the entrance of a palace, led by his guards, his pupils constricted and he was so frightened by the sight of a huge statue that he retreated repeatedly.