C26

"Marriage is a good thing, what does he know!"

The emperor was in the palace, but he already knew the news of Prince Jing's awakening. He was originally very happy, but after hearing about the treatment he received while bringing a eunuch to his residence, he was extremely dissatisfied.

"Furthermore, we have bestowed him with Princess Yun of the Lin Kingdom. What is there for him to be dissatisfied with?"

Hearing that, the Chief Eunuch frowned, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, are you saying that Old Luo doesn't have any memory of this near king as a witness? Although this old servant is just a servant, I can't compare to the Duke, but he went to deliver the decree, now that he is acting like this, he is obviously looking down on the Emperor's might."

"You don't need to say anything. This world is in my hands. He doesn't dare be rash." The Emperor scolded.

Chief Eunuch did not dare say anymore.

"However, I heard that the neighboring Princess Yun is a pretty good beauty and it's not a loss to give her to him. With this relationship, if he still dares to make a move, don't blame us for being impolite."

As the emperor spoke, his eyes finally flashed with a sinister light.

Hearing this, the eunuch's face changed slightly, and he hurriedly replied, "Yes."

Unexpectedly, at this moment, a figure flashed by the door.

Song Qian stood at the corner of the wall, frowning as he faintly sighed: "Princess Lin Kingdom …"

The Lin Kingdom was located in the southwest, extremely close to the southwest's border.

It was originally a prosperous and small country. A hundred years ago, it was a subordinate of Daqing and there was a yearly tribute.

It was just that a hundred years ago, the royal family's power had been taken away by the current Lin Kingdom, and after that, the agreement between them had been broken.

After the Sovereign King gained his ambitions, he would often invade.

In recent years, even the road to trade had been cut off.

Although the emperor was very dissatisfied with the rise of this small kingdom.

However, he had always been diligent in the politics of the kingdom. When it came to marching and fighting, he was somewhat lacking in strength.

In his view, it should be governed by culture, and kung fu should only be used in troubled times.

Nowadays, the people of Daqing live and work in peace. Every year, they receive a large amount of money and food. The tax revenue is stable. Both the sea and land trade routes were incomparably smooth.

As such, he did not need to spend too much time and effort on expanding his land. As long as he could stabilize his ancestors' foundation, his reputation would be preserved in this life.

He did not seek for nothing, but he sought for nothing.

Therefore, he did not choose to attack strongly but chose to retreat. This continuous war had already brought a lot of losses to the treasury. As winter approached, the north might suffer from a freezing disaster.

A vibration disaster required money, and this was all paid for in the national treasury.

Even though he could barely hold on, he still couldn't handle too many wars.

Just this time, the neighboring countries had reached an agreement. Other than the princess, they had also given her an expensive dowry. Although none of these could compare to an entire city, they were all things he needed right now.

"A marriage alliance is unavoidable. This princess …" Song Qian pondered for a moment, he thought, but did not leave, he just waited by the side.

The candlelight in the room gradually dimmed. The Emperor had not yet recruited anyone to serve him, so he went to sleep first.

Chief Eunuch crept out, and was preparing to spread the bedding underneath the porch, but Song Qian let out a cough, neither light nor heavy.

"Aiyo, my Third Prince, why are you here?" Chief Eunuch almost shouted the name of an assassin, but when he saw this person, he held it in.

"Eunuch, let me ask you, why did this Lin Kingdom suddenly remember to send a princess? What is the identity of this princess?"

"Why do you ask?" Chief Eunuch was puzzled.

"Just say it."

Song Qian also did not say a word, and only asked.

Chief Eunuch thought that since Song Qian was a Third Prince, and there was some enmity between him and the Prince Jing last time, he would not do anything out of line. Furthermore, if the princess was to come, the news would spread.

After making up his mind, he smiled and said, "Ah, that princess has quite the background."

Song Qian got what he wanted, and without being stingy, he took out a gold ingot and placed it in the hands of the eunuch.

Chief Eunuch was startled for a moment, and then also understood what he meant and closed his hands. "Your Highness is at ease, this old servant will definitely not tell His Majesty about this."

"Sorry for the trouble." Song Qian also laughed, but only half-heartedly.

If it wasn't for this eunuch, he wouldn't have had the mood to bribe the emperor, who had followed him since childhood for thirty years.

This servant was indeed a servant, his standards were too low. If this servant was one of the people by his side, he would have been killed on the spot, and in other words, his Royal Father was so soft-hearted!

Song Qian thought and sped up his pace.

To be honest, the idea of a marriage alliance was a bit too cowardly in his eyes.

If he was in that position, he would definitely send the general to battle. He would first seize a few of his cities, and then he wouldn't need to fear that he wouldn't be convinced. At that time, forget about a princess, even if he wanted his queen, the Lord of Lin Kingdom would probably not say anything.

It was a pity that he did not have enough power at his disposal. If he wanted to have the ability to decide everything, he would need to go a step further.

In Song Qian's heart, he had already started to think about that neighbouring princess.

The princess of this marriage alliance was actually not the daughter of some imperial concubine, but a direct descendant.

Her big brother was even the Lin Kingdom's crown prince. However, as the Crown Prince had yet to ascend the throne, his future must be limitless.

If he could win over this little princess, not to mention the three hundred thousand strong army. Even if it was a million troops, it wasn't impossible for him to get one. When that time came, he would not have to be afraid of Prince Jing Uncle.

With this thought, he was even more certain that he would make the decision.

When he reached the entrance of the palace, just as he was about to leave, he stopped in his tracks. Then, thinking about it, he turned back and went to where the Noble Consort Yun was.

Noble Consort Yun was the emperor's most beloved concubine and was currently her Consort Mother.

He was afraid that Ben, Third Prince, was the direct descendant of the empress, but unfortunately, the empress had already died, so Song Qian had no choice but to remember everything clearly at that time.

Ever since he could remember, he had been working under the Noble Consort Yun and often discussed some important matters with her as if she was his mother.

When he went over, he saw that the candles in the palace had already been extinguished by half, and they looked somewhat dim.

After taking two more steps outside, he knocked on the door twice. "I wonder if Mother is asleep?"

Someone immediately answered: "Who is it?"

Song Qian explained his identity in a low voice, and the door immediately opened as the Palace Maid welcomed him with a smile.

Before she could even enter the hall, Noble Consort Yun came out to welcome him as well. She smiled and pulled his hand, "Why are you here? How come you haven't put on any additional clothes in the middle of the night. What if you get sick?"

Song Qian laughed softly, shook his head and said: "Today, because of the discussion about the marriage agreement, Royal Father called for me and the others, we were discussing together, I did not plan to stay too long."

"Oh?" Noble Consort Yun raised her eyebrows, "Your Royal Father didn't tell me about the marriage, but I'm curious, what kind of person is he. If he wants to marry him, I'll have to put in a lot of effort."

"She is a princess born from Lin Kingdom, but the Royal Father wants to marry her to the Prince Jing!"

"What!"

Noble Consort Yun shouted loudly. Song Qian looked over, only to see her hiding it, lowering his head and coughing. He frowned: "This Prince Jing has the authority of a soldier, if I marry her, it would be like adding wings to a tiger."

"My son also thinks the same!" Song Qian's eyes lit up: "I heard that the princess's older brother is the crown prince of Lin Kingdom. Such a person actually married into a marriage alliance, this is a great opportunity."

"You want her?" Noble Consort Yun understood what he meant.

"Your son had this intention, but the Royal Father was interested in the Prince Jing, so your son came to ask for mother's help."

Song Qian said, his mouth was dry as he poured himself a cup of tea.

"Let me do it."

Noble Consort Yun stopped him and took the teapot from his hand.

The fragrance of the tea lingered in the air as the white mist rose into the air. However, it dispersed in the blink of an eye.

Song Qian looked at Noble Consort Yun, only to see that she had not changed her sleeping clothes, it was just a light golden palace dress, embroidered with golden strings of peacock feathers. The phoenix eyes had pearls inlaid within, under the candlelight, it seemed as if she had a spirit of her own.

Her wrist was wrapped in a thin veil, and now that she found it troublesome, she placed the silk to the side. It was made from snow silk, and was embroidered with a golden thread like a swimming dragon and a phoenix; it was incomparably gorgeous.

Since he was young, he had always been by the side of such a person. In his heart, his wife should be as luxurious as her.

But now, that Xi Mengge...