Chapter 1148: Chapter 1139: Digging a Pit (24)
This is what the Princess Consort desires; if the Prince wants to do it, the Princess Consort will definitely not refuse.
She wants to take the Little Princess to Nanliang to pay respects, and have Xie Jingchen escort Su Jin back to the Capital City.
Can Su Jin agree?
Absolutely not.
She looked at Xie Jingchen and said, "Let’s go to Nanliang as well."
Xie Jingchen looked at her, "Why are you going to Nanliang?"
"The journey to the Nanliang Capital is exhausting, Ruoruo may not be able to handle it. With me accompanying, there will be no worries," Su Jin said seriously.
Xie Jingchen put a hand to his forehead, "Speak the truth."
Su Jin, "...."
Su Jin rolled her eyes at him.
This person, isn’t this reason enough?
"I just want to have fun in Nanliang," Su Jin said.
"...."
Xie Jingchen didn’t say anything, he just got up and left.
Su Jin, "...."
Does that mean he agrees or disagrees?
Su Jin pressed on, Xie Jingchen said wearily, "Can I agree?"
"If I let you go to Nanliang and then back to the Capital City, the Emperor will never let me off."
"...."
Su Jin had come to the border to find him, and even after having the child, she hadn’t gone back yet.
Even if she flew back now, the Emperor would consider it late, not to mention a trip to Nanliang would delay at least two months.
Xie Jingchen looked as if there was no room for negotiation.
It’s not that he won’t let her go, it’s that the Emperor doesn’t agree, he is powerless to help.
Su Jin thought about it, and indeed Xie Jingchen didn’t dare let her go to Nanliang.
She looked at Xie Jingchen and said, "If the Emperor lets me go, then you’ll agree?"
Xie Jingchen looked at her, "If the Emperor agrees, I have no reason to object."
Xie Jingchen embraced Su Jin and walked towards the desk.
Su Jin said, "What for?"
"To write a letter to the Emperor," Xie Jingchen said.
Su Jin rolled her eyes.
She hadn’t planned on writing a letter to the Emperor.
Su Jin turned and looked at Xingxing, "Xingxing, is there anything I’ve wanted to do that the Emperor didn’t agree to?"
Xingxing was playing with Yuanyuan.
Upon hearing this, Xingxing tilted her head and thought for a moment, then said, "Miss never asked the Emperor whether he agreed or not for anything."
Su Jin, "...."
Xie Jingchen, "...."
This maid, does she have to be so uncooperative?
Su Jin felt a bit awkward, she looked at Xie Jingchen, coughed lightly and said, "I usually act first and report later."
"I’m the one who gets scolded," Xie Jingchen said helplessly.
"I’m scared."
"...."
Su Jin patted his chest and said, "Think of it this way, the scolding is inevitable anyway."
"If you let me go to Nanliang, and get caught in between, you’ll still get a scolding. It’s much more economical."
Economical...
Xie Jingchen looked despondent.
Even Xingxing couldn’t stand it, after Xie Jingchen went out, she looked at Su Jin and said, "Miss, don’t bully the Master."
Su Jin couldn’t help but raise her hand to tap Xingxing’s forehead, "Whose side are you on, anyway?"
Xingxing rubbed her forehead, "I’m on Miss’s side."
"The Emperor getting angry at the Master won’t really hurt him, and certainly won’t dare strike him."
Good to know.
But if Xie Jingchen doesn’t let her go, she can’t go either.
Su Jin still decided to write a letter to the Emperor.
This letter was sent back to the Capital together with the letter the Prince entrusted to Marquis Dongxiang.
The Prince wanted to act as the envoy to go to Nanliang to offer congratulations; for such a small matter, Marquis Dongxiang would naturally help.
However, someone seized the opportunity ahead of them and grabbed this task.
The ones seizing the task were none other than several of Prince NanAn’s people.
Staying in the Capital was just too boring.
Now Zhao Xu is about to ascend the throne, how could they, as good brothers, not go to congratulate him?
Not to mention, Zhao Xu still owes Prince Beimo a good beating.
When Marquis Dongxiang entered the palace to see the Emperor, the Emperor felt a bit apprehensive.
The small treasury he had been saving for a year was nearly depleted.
Marquis Dongxiang had ransacked what he hadn’t raided all year in the past few months.
The Emperor would seek help from anyone but Marquis Dongxiang if he could avoid it.
Likewise, Marquis Dongxiang wouldn’t normally frequent the Imperial Study when he had nothing to do.
Peace had only been maintained for three days.
Marquis Dongxiang came into the palace again.
The Emperor was planning to sneak out through the back door of the Imperial Study when Marquis Dongxiang entered and said, "Am I interrupting, sire? Are you on your way to convenience yourself?"
Convenience?!
The Emperor was furious.
He was heading out to conveniently let him choose paintings in the Imperial Study!
The Emperor rubbed his neck and said, "Tired from looking at reports, I was going for a walk in the Imperial Garden."
Then he looked at Marquis Dongxiang and said, "Did you come into the palace for something urgent?"
"It’s not a major issue, with the new Emperor of Nanliang ascending, the court needs to send an envoy for congratulations. I’m here to recommend someone to the Emperor," Marquis Dongxiang said.
The Emperor was a bit surprised.
He didn’t expect Marquis Dongxiang to be concerned with this matter.
"I’ve already instructed a few of Prince NanAn’s people to handle this," the Emperor said.
Why them?
Marquis Dongxiang really couldn’t take such a duty from them to give to the Prince.
And then——
Marquis Dongxiang looked at the Emperor and said, "Prince Zhenbei sent a letter asking me to help him seize this duty, to take the Princess Consort to Nanliang. It’s all up to you, sire."
The Emperor, "...."
Eunuch Fu, "...."
Eunuch Fu felt sorry for the Emperor.
Just earlier, Prince NanAn and his group had pestered the Emperor for quite some time before he finally agreed.
Now Marquis Dongxiang had come to give the Emperor a headache.
Isn’t this making the Emperor break his word in front of the younger generation?
After tossing the dilemma at the Emperor, Marquis Dongxiang took out a letter from his bosom, "This is a family letter from Jinjim for the Emperor."
The Emperor eagerly accepted it.
After opening it, the Emperor glanced at it and smiled, "My daughter is indeed filial."
Su Jin wrote in the letter about how much money the Beauty Pavilion and Beimo trade had earned.
Now with Princess Jing Mountain of Beimo going to marry Zhao Xu, Zhao Xu has a good relationship with them. Su Jin hoped the court would agree to trade between Daqi and Nanliang.
In Su Jin’s words, if she doesn’t make money from Nanliang, someone else will.
Of the profits obtained, she would contribute thirty percent to the National Treasury for disaster relief purposes.
Since the Emperor had agreed to Su Jin trading with Beimo in the first place, there was naturally no reason to refuse trading with Nanliang now.
This matter, the Emperor agreed in one go.
Knowing the Emperor’s good mood, Eunuch Fu smiled and said, "Now that it’s getting warmer, it won’t be long before the Princess returns to the Capital with the Young Prince."
The Emperor was delighted.
Marquis Dongxiang didn’t know what to say.
The Emperor just couldn’t think about how Prince Zhenbei wants to act as an envoy to Nanliang for congratulations, and Jinjim immediately sends such a letter about trading with Nanliang.
Prince Zhenbei would certainly not get involved with the business of the Beauty Pavilion—either she would go or Xie Jingchen would handle the talks.
Would they really separate for a bit of business?
Wasn’t this clearly meant for them to go to Nanliang together?
Knowing the Emperor wouldn’t agree, it was to dig a hole, so when they returned, they’d have a rebuttal when the Emperor scolded them.
Seeing the Emperor fall into the trap and be so happy about it, Marquis Dongxiang was happy too.
No wonder she’s his daughter, truly knows how to dig a hole.
After Marquis Dongxiang left, the Emperor was troubled about who to appoint as the envoy for the Nanliang congratulations.
Ultimately, he let the Prince be the Chief Envoy, with Prince NanAn and his group acting as Deputy Envoys, going together.
Once the imperial edict was issued, some senior ministers felt this arrangement was inappropriate.
The status of Prince NanAn’s party was already sufficient for congratulations; there was no need for Prince Zhenbei to go as well, it would be overestimating Nanliang.
Upon hearing this, Prince NanAn said, "The son of Prime Minister Zhao in Nanliang currently commands a large army and is engaged to Princess Jing Shan of Beimo. If we in Daqi don’t maintain good relations with Nanliang, should Nanliang and Beimo join forces, Daqi will be in a precarious position."
"The Prince’s high status is perfect for conveying our goodwill towards Nanliang. What’s inappropriate about that?"
Even with such reasoning, the old minister still thought it shouldn’t be done and wanted to persuade further, but a colleague tugged at his sleeve.
The Emperor didn’t even discuss this with the court officials before issuing an edict; clearly, he had no intention of changing his mind.
If persuasion was useless and only annoyed the Emperor, why bother?
The old minister turned around and said nothing more.
And so it was decided.
With the Prince not in the Capital, although Prince NanAn and his team were Deputy Envoys, the preparation of congratulatory gifts was still their responsibility.
