631 The Might of a Divine General (2)
She married the general of the Helian family and gave birth to a son and a daughter. Her daughter had the holy artifact of Nanzhao, her son-in-law was the heir of the royal family, and her grandson was the youngest and most powerful Little Gu Elder.
This was a life that she had accumulated several lifetimes of luck.
On the other hand, the Little Princess was simply unbearable to look at.
The Emperor was exhausted from the matter at the border of Nanzhao and had not stepped foot into the harem for a few days. However, just because he did not come did not mean that the news would not come.
The heated discussion among the commoners had already spread throughout the harem.
The people in the harem were used to following the wind. After the Eldest Princessâs cheers gradually rose, Consort Yunâs treatment also rose.
Back then, Consort Yun had tainted the Emperorâs body when he was drunk and was despised by the Emperor and the Empress. Because of this, Consort Yunâs maternal family had distanced themselves from her. All these years, she had led a bitter life in the palace and did not have a maternal family she could rely on.
But it was different now. The best honey pomelo was sent to her palace the moment it entered the palace.
The Empress ate what was left.
This was naturally not the Emperorâs idea, but the Emperor had not visited the Empress for many days. In the eyes of the palace servants, wasnât it because the Empress had lost her favor?
The Eldest Princess was already like this before she returned to the palace. If the father and daughter really reunited, how could the Central Palace survive?
âWhat does everyone say?â In the central palace, the Empress asked the eunuch who had come to report with a cold expression.
The eunuch braced himself and said fearfully, âYour Highness, the outside world said⦠said that the Old State Preceptorâs divination was wrong back then. The Eldest Princess is⦠is the lucky star of the heavens. Our Little Princess is⦠the jinx of the countryâ¦â
âBastard!â The Empress slammed her fist on the table.
It was rare for her to be so angry. The palace servants knelt on the ground in fear.
Ever since the Empress entered the palace, everything had been smooth-sailing. If there was something, it would have been Consort Yun. However, Consort Yun and the Emperor were an accident. So what if Consort Yun climbed into the bed? She still couldnât even keep the piece of meat in her stomach. Not only did she obtain the Emperorâs disgust, but the Emperor even treated the Empress better than before because of his guilt.
Perhaps because her days had gone much smoother, the Empress never dreamed that one change after another would happen.
The Empress composed herself and tried to suppress her boiling anger. âWhat else?â
The eunuch kneeling on the ground wiped his cold sweat and said, âThose unruly commoners even said that the war started because of the Little Princess and begged the Emperor to execute her.â
âHow dare they!â The Empress stood up in anger.
The eunuchs and palace servants lay on the ground, not even daring to breathe loudly.
âYour Highness, the commandery prince requests an audience,â a palace maid reported from outside.
When the Empress heard that Nangong Li had arrived, she restrained her emotions and sat down. âLet him in. You guys can leave.â
âYes.â
The palace servants tactfully left.
Nangong Li strode in and looked at the Empress, who could not hide her breakdown despite her efforts to suppress it. He took a step forward and held her hand. âGrandmother!â
The Empress patted the back of his hand and said tiredly, âHave a seat.â Nangong Li sat down on a stool slightly shorter than the Empressâs. The Empress touched the top of his head lovingly. âItâs been hard on you these days.â
Nangong Li shook his head. âIâm fine, but Grandmother, I heard that your situation isnât good.â
âWhatâs wrong with me?â The Empress said.
âHas Consort Yun come to cause trouble for you?â Nangong Li had eyes in the palace, so he naturally heard a lot about Consort Yun. That woman had been restless since a long time ago, and now that her daughter had gained power, she was even more arrogant.
The Empress frowned. âShe doesnât have the ability yet.â
Consort Yun did not have any real power, but she had learned all the annoying abilities. Consort Yun came to her palace to greet her every day. When the Empress did not see her, she would walk around outside the palace door. In short, she could be annoying as she pleased.
It was not good to tell Nangong Li this. As an elder, she did not want her juniors to worry about her.
Nangong Li saw through it but did not expose her. He looked up at the Empress and said, âGrandmother, Iâm here today to discuss something with you.â
âWhat is it?â The Empress asked.
Nangong Li said, âI believe youâve heard about the Great Zhouâs cavalry approaching the border.â
The Empress was at her witsâ end. âWith Xiao Zhenting personally serving as the commander, the morale of the Great Zhou soldiers is high. This battle wonât be easy. Your grandfatherâs hair has turned white from worrying about this.â
Nangong Li smiled. âI have a way to make the Great Zhou retreat.â
The Empress shook her head. âWhat can you do? Hand the Prince Consort over? That wonât do. Not to mention that no one knows where the Prince Consort has gone, even if heâs found, heâs your father. You canât hand him over!â
Nangong Li said, âThe Great Zhou Emperor doesnât have any killing intent towards Father, donât worry. However, I donât plan to hand Father over.â
The Empress asked in confusion, âThen what do you want to do?â
Nangong Liâs eyes turned cold. âKill Xiao Zhenting!â
The proposal to assassinate Xiao Zhenting had been carefully thought through. With Xiao Zhenting dead, the soldiers of the Great Zhou would definitely lose their backbone. Their morale would definitely plummet, and it would be much easier to attack. Once this situation was resolved, the comments about the Little Princess bringing disaster to the country and the people would no longer stand.
The Eldest Princessâs daughter had contributed to the recovery of the holy artifact. Wasnât he also a great contribution to calming down the chaos?
Of course, he had his own selfish motives.
Xiao Zhenting was Yan Jiuchaoâs stepfather. Although he was his stepfather, he treated Yan Jiuchao better than Prince Yan treated his biological son, Nangong Li. Getting rid of Xiao Zhenting was equivalent to breaking Yan Jiuchaoâs arm.
Nangong Li would spare no effort to do all the things that would harm Yan Jiuchao.
The Empress did not think too much about it. She only thought that her daughter was currently in the limelight. If Liâer could make military contributions, her daughterâs situation would be much better than now.
As long as she thought of Consort Yunâs smug face, the Empress felt that she could not let the Eldest Princess take over no matter what!
The Empress held Nangong Liâs hand and said, âNot to mention how tight the defense of the hundred thousand cavalry is, just Xiao Zhenting himself is skilled in martial arts. Itâs difficult to find his match in the world. Are you confident in killing him?â
It was difficult to find an opponent in the world, but they did not know that there was an Asura outside.
Asura was a heaven-defying existence to begin with. It was unrealistic for Asura to sweep through a hundred thousand cavalry, but it was not a problem to assassinate Xiao Zhenting.
Nangong Li gave the Empress a comforting look and said solemnly, âGrandma, donât worry. I wonât ask you if I donât have a foolproof plan. You only have to help me beg Grandpa for mercy and agree to let me go to the front line. I will definitely be able to bring Xiao Zhentingâs head back!â
On the other side, the Helian family had also received news of the army approaching the border. The difference was that they did not hear it from anyone, but from a courier who personally handed Xiao Zhentingâs handwritten letter to Yan Jiuchao and Yu Wan.
...
Yu Wan read the letter and her eyes lit up. âFather is here!â
The contents of the letter were different from the ones circulating on the market. The Great Zhou Emperor was indeed angry and asked Xiao Zhenting to send his troops south. However, Xiao Zhenting was not willing to lead troops to please the Emperor.
He was here for Yan Jiuchao and Yu Wan. He heard that Prince Yan was still alive. He heard that he had married and had children. He also heard that the couple had gone to Nanzhao and were fighting quite fiercely with that family.
As their father, he had brought a hundred thousand cavalry to support them.
âWait.â Yu Wan blinked when she saw the last line. âFather said that heâs coming to the Capital to look for us!â
The Empress took action and finally convinced the Emperor to agree to Nangong Li going north and conferring him as the North Garrison General.
Nangong Li had made a military pledge. If he did not take Xiao Zhentingâs head, he would not return to the Capital!
Nangong Li was filled with confidence in this mission. Asura also patted his chest, indicating that assassinating Xiao Zhenting was not a problem at all!
Nangong Li valiantly brought Asura to the border, but he missed.
Xiao Zhenting was not in the camp at all!!!
Nangong Li looked at the military pledge in his hand and immediately went berserk!
...
Ahhh!
Where did he go!!!