On the way out of the palace, Shen Qing and Ji Junye were sitting in her carriage.
Shen Qing couldn't help but sigh. "Father is really muddle - headed. It was just a quarrel. Now Mother is even angrier."
He's an old man, yet he still tries to get attention by making Mother angry.
Ji Junye didn't dare to say a word. Although it was his father - in - law being scolded now, if he said something, he might be the one getting scolded.
"How much do you know about the matter of Princess Zhaohua and County Princess Jianing?" Shen Qing suddenly asked Ji Junye.
At that time, she was dealing with the King of Jin. By the time she got out of trouble, the matter was over, and the Queen wouldn't deliberately tell her the details.
Ji Junye immediately perked up. When he realized she was asking about Princess Zhaohua and County Princess Jianing, he couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.
Ji Junye moved a bit closer to her. "Generally speaking, Princess Zhaohua forced the palace with her troops, but was recognized by father - in - law. She was defeated and captured. County Princess Jianing was just involved."
"However, I've received news that Princess Zhaohua has escaped from the Buddhist temple. My men spotted her in the territory of Beirong. I've already sent people to secretly arrest her."
"She dared to try to kill you again and again. She deserves to die."
The killing intent in Ji Junye's eyes was brewing and gradually formed a storm.
But if it weren't for her, he wouldn't have met Qingqing. For this reason, he could spare her a whole body.
Shen Qing held his hand, and immediately the storm subsided, like a clear sky after a violent storm.
"I haven't had the chance to ask you. What's your plan for Beirong? Are you going to continue the war?"
The Jing State had been at war for several years. Where did he get so much food and military supplies?
Ji Junye picked up her hand and kissed it gently. Then he told her about the current war situation.
"At that time, the old forces of Beirong supported a new king and killed the old Khan Xingshu. Before his death, the old Khan passed the throne to his eldest son, who is the elder brother of Yelv Wujie. Yelv Wujie couldn't swallow this anger, so he led most of his troops back to the royal court. Then..."
"Then they fought?"
Ji Junye nodded slowly. "Not only did they fight, but the fight was also very fierce. By the time the south of the Yangtze River was pacified, Yelv Wujie, the new Khan of Xingshu, and the other faction in Beirong were all greatly weakened. The food and military supplies in these years were provided by the aristocratic families in the south of the Yangtze River."
The aristocratic families in the south of the Yangtze River were entrenched there. Although they were just merchants and couldn't be compared with the real aristocratic families, they were like big trees deeply rooted in the south of the Yangtze River. No matter how big a single tree was, it could be uprooted given enough time. But if their roots were tightly intertwined, it would be very difficult to separate them.
So when he took over the south of the Yangtze River, he had already formulated new rules, aiming for a surprise attack.
In order to protect themselves, those aristocratic families had to offer half of their property to pledge their loyalty to him.
"Don't worry. I won't do anything without a plan. Although Beirong seems to be a colossus on the surface, it's actually empty inside. There's a force that seems to be helping Beirong, but it's actually like a worm, gradually hollowing out Beirong from the inside."
Shen Qing's eyebrows twitched. She looked up at him. "You suspect it's Princess Zhaohua?"
Ji Junye nodded. "Nine times out of ten."
"Father told me that Shen Miao, who once pretended to be me, was the biological mother of the new king of Beirong. And she was found by Princess Zhaohua. This shows that Beirong... is also under the control of Princess Zhaohua!"
Shen Qing gasped. "If that's the case, then Xingshu's provocation against the Jing State, the King of Jin's rebellion, Beirong's restoration of the country, and the forced palace coup, all these were the works of Princess Zhaohua..."
"She alone laid out such a huge chess game!"
One person could play with the three major countries in the world in the palm of her hand...
No wonder she calmly accepted the result of being imprisoned after her forced palace coup failed. But the Empress Dowager voluntarily asked to be imprisoned to save her life. How much did the Empress Dowager know about Princess Zhaohua's layout?
If the Empress Dowager knew, then they had joined hands to usurp the Jiang State's throne.
If the Empress Dowager didn't know... she must have been able to get out of the defeat unscathed!
Could there be still Princess Zhaohua's people in the court?
Shen Qing suddenly felt a chill down her back.
Moreover, when she disappeared, Princess Zhaohua should have already started her layout. More than twenty years ago... or even longer!
On one hand, she controlled the court of the Jiang State and secretly recruited troops. On the other hand, she was waiting for an opportunity to stir up the situation in the other two countries. The Jing State was her first target. Even if it wasn't taken over by Xingshu, it would be devastated by internal and external troubles. At that time, as long as the Jiang State added a little pressure, the Jing State would cease to exist!
Then, when Yelv Wujie was complacent, she would kill the old Khan and give the throne to the eldest prince of Xingshu. Yelv Wujie would surely turn against his elder brother. At this time, the old forces of Beirong would raise their troops, and she could reap the benefits.
When the time was right, the second elder brother was fighting outside. Her forced palace coup would surely succeed!
She wanted to - unify the world!
Seeing Shen Qing's face turn pale, Ji Junye pulled her into his arms and gently patted her on the back.
"Okay, don't scare yourself. She didn't succeed, did she?"
No -
Shen Qing buried her head in his arms. Ji Junye couldn't see her expression.
Shen Qing was sure that this was the ending of her previous life.
In her previous life, Princess Zhaohua must have accomplished her great cause of unifying the world. She had no doubt about it. But in this life, she didn't expect that she would be reborn with her memories.
It was her rebirth that changed the ending.
Shen Qing couldn't help but hug Ji Junye's waist tightly and get closer to him.
Her rebirth had changed everything and rewritten everyone's ending. Could it also change his?
Shen Qing didn't know, but she saw a glimmer of hope.
So many people's endings had changed in this life. He would surely be able to!
There must be an antidote for the bone - eating poison!
Although Ji Junye didn't know why she was suddenly so proactive, he enjoyed it.
Soon, they arrived at the Princess Mansion.
When getting off the carriage, Shen Qing had already adjusted her mood. There was no sign of abnormality on her face. "I'll send someone to take you to the Honglu Temple Inn."
Envoys from other countries were all received by the Honglu Temple.
"Don't you want to let me in?"
Shen Qing shook her head firmly. "Our identities represent two countries. It's not good if people see us together."
"Okay."
Ji Junye left in Shen Qing's carriage.
The steward of the Princess Mansion was Li Yue. Everything in the mansion was prepared every day, so that the mistress could come back at any time.
Shen Qing went back and took a hot bath, then lay on the bed.
She had learned too many things today, and she couldn't fall asleep.
After a long time, sleepiness slowly came over her.
In a daze, she felt that she was almost asleep, but in the darkness, a tall figure covered her. The warm breath brushed across her face. His somewhat dry lips moved between her eyebrows and then landed on her lips.
Soon, his lips became moist. Slowly moving down, it brought a strange sense of familiarity.
When that strange feeling landed on her chest, she suddenly woke up.
"How did you get here?!"
She knew who it was without looking, just from the familiar smell. Shen Qing pushed the person away forcefully. There was a "thud" sound, which woke up the maid on night watch.
"Your Highness, is there anything wrong?"
Just as Shen Qing was about to say something, a strong force came from her waist. Her back then hit his chest. The ambiguous breath sprayed on her earlobe, and he let out a low whisper.
"I missed you, so I came."
After saying that, he took her earlobe into his mouth.