met free Chapter 323 Clearing up Doubts
Chapter 323 Clearing up Doubts
The Imperial Tutor slowly said, "In my opinion, he is no different from the other princes; clear rewards and punishments will suffice."
The Emperor of Northern Qi frowned, remained silent, and waited for the Imperial Tutor to continue.
"His Majesty welcomed the Crown Prince back to Northern Qi for two reasons. First, he wanted the Crown Prince to return to his country and bring back Princess Yizhen's remains to Great Zhou. This would appease Emperor Jing'an and the people's anger, promote an alliance between the two countries, and facilitate the smooth return of the Prince of Qi to Northern Qi."
The Imperial Tutor explained the reason: "Secondly, His Highness's special status requires him to maintain the stable development of relations between the two countries, in order to prevent the Great Zhou from launching an attack on the Northern Qi after it has recovered and rebuilt itself."
The Northern Qi emperor had indeed thought so before, but after Zhao Yi helped the Great Zhou seize a city from Northern Qi and brought his family to Northern Qi, he changed his mind.
"I have a different opinion."
The Imperial Tutor tilted his head slightly, assuming a listening posture.
"Emperor Jing'an favored Zhao Yi. In order to find his lost daughter, the Prince of Zhenbei risked the extermination of his clan and took the initiative to confess to Emperor Jing'an that his daughter had left Liangzhou. This shows how much he valued his daughter."
The Emperor of Northern Qi pondered, "Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan have come to Northern Qi. Can Northern Qi use them to control Great Zhou?"
"Your Majesty, you are mistaken. Emperor Jing'an did not agree to form an alliance with Northern Qi entirely out of consideration for His Highness. His Highness was merely offering a way out to Great Zhou."
"The Great Zhou's treasury is empty and food is scarce, insufficient to support their campaign against the Northern Qi. They need to recuperate, which is why they agreed to peace talks."
“The Prince of Zhenbei did not come to the capital to plead guilty at first, but rather after he had rendered meritorious service in battle, he came to the capital to confess his disobedience to the late emperor.”
"Although the Prince of Zhenbei cares about his daughter, he carries the lives of the people of the Great Zhou and hundreds of thousands of soldiers on his shoulders. His mission does not allow him to compromise with the Northern Qi for his daughter, which would lead to the destruction of the country and the loss of his family."
"If the Crown Princess were to encounter any trouble in Northern Qi, the Prince of Zhenbei's iron cavalry would crush Northern Qi."
"Besides, although the Crown Prince is important to Emperor Jing'an, he cannot compare to Princess Yizhen's position in Emperor Jing'an's heart."
"For the sake of the country and the people, Emperor Jing'an abandoned Princess Yizhen and refused Princess Guangning's marriage to the Prince of Zhenbei."
"Your Highness, compared to the people and the state of the Great Zhou, it is not necessary for me to elaborate on which is more important."
The imperial tutor broke down the current situation in detail and explained it to the Emperor of Northern Qi.
The Northern Qi Emperor's face darkened. The missions that Emperor Jing'an and Prince Zhenbei carried meant that they would not abandon the greater good of the nation for personal feelings.
Judging from his own experience, he would also prioritize the well-being of the nation and its people.
In this way, Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan's role in remaining in Northern Qi was merely to maintain peace between the two countries.
Unless the fate of the nation is in danger, Emperor Jing'an and Prince Zhenbei will take Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan into consideration and will not take the initiative to attack Northern Qi.
The Emperor of Northern Qi recalled how the Imperial Tutor's decisions always proved crucial at critical moments. It was precisely because of the Imperial Tutor's foresight that he was able to be placed on the throne.
Bringing Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan back to Northern Qi this time is probably not just about consolidating relations between the two countries; they may even be used to seek benefits for Northern Qi in the future.
Thinking of this, the Northern Qi Emperor relaxed his brow: "Then let's do as you say." He sighed: "When he returns from controlling the plague, I will grant him the title of king."
The Imperial Tutor did not interfere with the Northern Qi Emperor in such a trivial matter.
The emperor of Northern Qi relied heavily on his imperial tutor, seeking his advice on any political matter.
The Imperial Tutor would not directly reject his proposal, but would analyze the situation and its advantages and disadvantages for him, leaving the final decision to him.
The Northern Qi emperor liked the imperial tutor's style of doing things very much, and did not feel that he was being manipulated by the imperial tutor, so he trusted the imperial tutor more and more.
Seeing the Imperial Tutor's tired expression, he said with concern, "You must be tired from your journey. Go back to your residence and rest early."
Upon hearing this, the Imperial Tutor left the Imperial Study.
The Emperor of Northern Qi watched his tutor's departing figure before returning to his throne.
Eunuch Liu brought over a cup of tea and placed it beside the Emperor of Northern Qi: "Would you like to summon the Crown Prince's Consort?"
"Zhao Yi has not yet been recognized as a member of the clan, so I will not see her for now. We will discuss it after Zhao Yi returns to the capital."
The Northern Qi emperor, feeling agitated by the fact that the Great Zhou had surpassed the Northern Qi, pushed aside his teacup and said, "Prepare the carriage for Zhaohua Palace."
Eunuch Liu was taken aback. The Northern Qi Emperor should be looking for Consort Shu, who was the head of Zhaohua Palace.
For more than twenty years, Consort Shu has enjoyed the emperor's favor.
She gave birth to two princesses and one prince.
Several of these pregnancies did not result in successful delivery.
To compensate Consort Shu, the Emperor of Northern Qi promoted Lin Yi to Junior Chamberlain.
Eunuch Liu hurriedly followed behind the Northern Qi Emperor to Zhaohua Palace.
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Shen Qingtan settled into the mansion, but the unfamiliar environment made her feel completely at home.
Fortunately, she brought all the ornaments from Lanxueyuan, as well as the silk fabrics used on the bed and couch.
Liuyue and Tingxue placed the ornaments one by one on the display shelf, and took out silk fabrics to change the cushions and mattresses on the bed and tatami.
The room finally felt familiar, and Shen Qingtan calmed down a little.
She instructed, "Take down the plaque in the courtyard and rename it Lanxue Garden."
Liu Yue was taken aback, realizing that her master missed the Great Zhou.
"This servant will go find the steward to replace the plaque." Liu Yue left the room.
Tingxue leaned close to Shen Qingtan and said, "Second Madam, I've found out that the steward originally lived in this mansion. When the Emperor of Northern Qi bestowed the mansion upon Second Master, he didn't arrange for anyone to replace the steward. Instead, he sent eight eunuchs and six palace maids to the mansion."
Shen Qingtan frowned slightly. The origins of the eunuchs and palace maids arranged by the palace were hard to say.
More importantly, they can no longer be dealt with arbitrarily.
She currently knows nothing about the relationships between people in Northern Qi, and is completely clueless, not knowing how to arrange for the palace maids and eunuchs.
Shen Qingtan asked, "Is there any news from Sun Wu?"
As they approached the capital, she handed the token given to her by her second brother to Sun Wu, instructing him to come to the capital ahead of her, contact the spies planted by the Prince's Mansion in the Northern Qi capital, and sort out the relationships between the Northern Qi aristocratic families for her.
Tingxue shook her head: "Once the news of your arrival in the capital spreads, Vice General Sun should return soon."
Shen Qingtan nodded slightly, yawned wearily, and was about to lean against the couch to rest for a while.
Just then, Liuyue's voice came from outside the door: "Second Madam, Vice General Sun has arrived."
"Please come in quickly." Shen Qingtan sat up straight and instructed Tingxue, "Quickly prepare some hot tea."
"Eh." Tingxue left.
Sun Wu entered the room and bowed to Shen Qingtan. “Princess, I have not failed in my mission.” He took off the bundle from his back and handed it to Shen Qingtan with both hands: “This contains a roster, and the relationships between each family are recorded in the register.”
Shen Qingtan unpacked the bundle, took out a roster, and flipped through it.
Sun Wu lowered his voice and said, "My scouts have given me a message: Junior Chamberlain Lin Yi is secretly targeting the Imperial Tutor. The rumors about the plague were spread by Lin Yi's men. Today, Lin Yi's confidants left the city."