kvmb Chapter 382 Let's Talk Cooperation
Chapter 382 Let's Talk Cooperation
"A national temple?" Shen Qingtan's eyes flashed with surprise. This didn't seem like something the Northern Qi emperor would do. "Where is it located?"
"The Zen temple on the back mountain." Deputy General Sun said solemnly, "There are monks specifically assigned to guard the temple. They rotate shifts every four hours, and the temple is always guarded day and night."
Shen Qingtan frowned slightly. The Northern Qi Emperor had not arranged for secret guards to watch over them, probably because he was worried that the large-scale operation would attract attention.
These monks guarding the palace might very well be men of the Northern Qi emperor.
She felt reassured: "Uncle Sun, thank you for your trouble. I'll discuss it with Second Master first and see what the next step should be."
Prince Yu was about to arrive in the capital of Northern Qi. To show his importance, the Emperor of Northern Qi had the Minister of Rites personally receive him.
Zhao Yi, who was in charge of the Ministry of Rites, was extremely busy during this period.
In particular, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites would consult Zhao Yi on matters large and small, showing that he followed Zhao Yi's lead.
Seeing that Shen Qingtan had no further instructions, Deputy General Sun left Lanxue Garden.
Shen Qingtan waited for Zhao Yi in the mansion until night fell before she heard steady footsteps outside the door.
She recognized Zhao Yi's footsteps, quickly put the book aside, slipped on her shoes and got out of bed. She saw Zhao Yi push open the door and come in, greeting her with a smile.
"Have you had dinner yet?" Shen Qingtan moved closer to Zhao Yi, smelling the fresh, cool scent of early spring on him, with a faint hint of alcohol. She placed her hand on his arm and sniffed his shoulder. "You've been drinking?"
"I had dinner at a restaurant with my colleagues today." A faint smile appeared in Zhao Yi's eyes as he lowered his head and kissed her soft lips, gently sucking on them. "I didn't drink any alcohol, but I smelled of it."
Shen Qingtan didn't smell any alcohol on his breath and breathed a slight sigh of relief: "My cousin said you can't drink alcohol until your health is better."
"Don't worry, I take good care of my health." Zhao Yi tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "Because of my status, no one dares to urge me to drink."
"Hmm." Shen Qingtan loosened his belt and took off his casual clothes: "Today, Uncle Sun came to the manor to report that the remains of the Princess Protector of the Nation are being kept in the Zen monastery of the National Temple."
"A Zen temple?" Zhao Yi was somewhat surprised. "No wonder it took more than a month to find its whereabouts."
"Uncle Sun said that the monastery is guarded day and night. If we want to retrieve the remains, we have to plan carefully. We must retrieve them quietly and send someone ahead to escort them back to the Great Zhou."
Shen Qingtan hung her regular clothes on the screen and took out a casual outfit for Zhao Yi to wear: "Once the remains are successfully returned to the Great Zhou, we can look for an opportunity to return to the Great Zhou."
Zhao Yi said in a low voice, "Someone will lend us a hand."
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At the same time, King Qi also learned that Princess Yizhen's remains were at the State Temple, and immediately sent people to bring Chang'an to him.
Chang An rushed over in a panic, fearing that he might not be able to restrain the King of Qi in time and cause a disaster.
After all, a month ago, the Empress sent someone to deliver a list and told the Prince of Qi that the noble ladies on the list were the concubines chosen by the Emperor of Northern Qi for Zhao Yi.
They were all born of the emperor's principal wife, and their fathers were close advisors to the emperor.
This undoubtedly sends a message to the King of Qi: the Emperor of Northern Qi intends to cultivate Zhao Yi.
One wise king left, and another Zhao Yi came.
Unable to control his temper, the Prince of Qi smashed things in his study, harboring resentment towards the Emperor of Northern Qi and planning to eliminate Zhao Yi. Then, with only Zhao Yi as his son, the Emperor of Northern Qi would have no one left to cause him trouble.
Chang An was terrified and quickly restrained the raging bull to prevent the Prince of Qi from falling into Zhao Yi's hands like Consort Shu and her son.
He had been to the Great Zhou and witnessed Zhao Yi's methods. He understood a principle well: if there was no absolute certainty that he could bring down Zhao Yi, the best approach was to avoid direct confrontation.
Thinking about this, Chang An felt a sense of doubt.
The King of Qi was the Queen's biological son, and no one understood the King of Qi's character better than the Queen.
The Empress clearly knew that Qi Wang's scheming and methods were no match for Zhao Yi, but instead of keeping the news from Qi Wang, she sent someone to tell him the news.
Isn't this just stirring up trouble?
He didn't know the Empress's intentions, but he couldn't let the Prince of Qi be put in danger.
Chang An entered the study and saw Prince Qi pacing back and forth in the room. He bent down and asked, "Your Highness, what important matter has you summoned me for?"
"You told me not to take action against the Prince of Guangling, but to send someone to keep an eye on him for now, and then make the next move." The Prince of Qi tossed a secret letter to Chang An: "I just received news that the Prince of Guangling is searching for the whereabouts of his mother's remains. He has now found them; they are hidden in the State Temple."
After reading the letter, Chang An seemed to be deep in thought: "Your Highness, the Prince of Guangling has always been secretive in his actions, rarely letting anyone find a trace of him. Moreover, when it comes to finding the remains of the Imperial Concubine, he would probably be extremely cautious. How could he possibly allow our people to easily find out their movements?"
"You mean Zhao Yi deliberately revealed this to us?" King Qi stroked his chin, pondering, "What was his purpose in revealing his weakness to me?"
“The Prince of Guangling probably saw through the Northern Qi Emperor’s thoughts, which is why he revealed a message to you,” Chang’an said. “He has no interest in the throne; he only wants to bring the remains of the Imperial Concubine back to the Great Zhou to fulfill her last wish.”
King Qi looked astonished. Was Zhao Yi truly indifferent to the throne of Northern Qi?
“If the Prince of Guangling wanted to seize the throne, he wouldn’t secretly search for the remains of the Imperial Concubine. He could simply inform His Majesty and pay respects at the Imperial Concubine’s memorial tablet.”
Chang An reminded him, "After the Prince of Guangling came to Northern Qi, he did not cultivate his own power, nor did he get close to any court officials."
King Qi was initially skeptical, but upon hearing Chang An's words, he suddenly realized that Zhao Yi had never approached any minister.
Even when the forces of the Wise King approached Zhao Yi, Zhao Yi refused to let them in.
If Zhao Yi had any intention of seizing the throne, he would have taken the opportunity to develop his own power long ago.
The King of Qi calmed down a bit: "In your opinion, what should I do?"
Chang An advised: "Give the Prince of Guangling a hand and escort him back to the Great Zhou."
King Qi remained silent for a long time before finally making up his mind: "Chang'an, he'd better be as you say, rather than using a strategy of retreat to advance."
The next morning, King Qi took the draft document sent by the Grand Secretariat from the Ministry of Revenue and angrily went to the Ministry of Rites. In front of all the officials of the Ministry of Rites, he grabbed Zhao Yi's clothes and dragged him into a room.
His eyes blazed with fury as he ordered his guards, "Stand outside and don't let anyone near."
With a loud bang, King Qi slammed the door shut.
The officials from the Ministry of Rites looked at each other in bewilderment upon witnessing this scene.
The Left Vice Minister of Rites stared at the tightly closed door, torn between whether or not to go in and rescue Zhao Yi.
Suddenly, a muffled thud came from inside the room, as if someone had kicked a stool to the ground.
"The Ministry of Rites just spent a sum of money to entertain the envoys from the Great Zhou. Why is it spending such a large sum of money again for the imperial examinations?" Prince Qi suppressed his anger: "If you don't explain where the money went, I will submit a memorial to my father, the Emperor, to accuse you of abusing your power for personal gain."
Upon hearing this, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites slipped away as fast as he could.
Anyway, both of them are His Majesty's sons, so no matter how much trouble they cause, no one will die.
If he gets involved, he might end up taking the blame.
His Majesty will not hesitate to cut off his head.
He studied diligently for years and worked conscientiously to get to this position, hoping to collect a higher salary, do less work, and go home to be with his wife and children. If two great figures are fighting, and he goes to join in the fun, wouldn't all those decades of hard work have been for nothing?
The Minister of Rites, with a stern face, was about to reprimand the Vice Minister of Rites, but he disappeared in a flash.
Inside the door, however, the scene was quite different. King Qi pressed Zhao Yi against the wall and said, "Let's discuss a collaboration."