The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Chapter 327 Scheming for Qingyu

Although Zheng Xun had anticipated that things would go smoothly, he never expected them to go this smoothly.

After leaving the government office, she placed Yu Rong and Wu Xiu next to them.

This is both surveillance and assistance.

The Great Yong remained peaceful afterward, but things got interesting in the Brown Kingdom.

Qi Yongji's first talent show after taking office was in full swing.

Those women who entered the palace may seem to be merely symbols representing their families, but they are also a bridge for Qi Yongji to cooperate with the forces behind them.

His attitude toward these women reflects his attitude toward the forces behind them, so he has to be cautious.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Mu Zhuo arranged everything in the He Kingdom as Zheng Xun instructed, and then escaped by feigning death.

As expected, Qi Yongji became suspicious of Mu Zhuo's death.

The Mu family has suffered a series of unfortunate misfortunes in recent years, with some members dying and others scattering.

Zheng Xun knew how strong his luck was and was afraid that this matter would have many twists and turns.

So she rigged his audition.

He had already decided on the empress, but suddenly a minor official's daughter who looked remarkably like Mother Earth appeared.

The daughter of a minor official certainly had no background, but her unusual appearance destined her to become a tool for some people to push to the forefront and use.

Those who gathered together for mutual benefit became her support and backing, giving her leverage to contend with the designated empress.

Although the two forces could check and balance each other, there could only be one empress, and neither side was willing to give in.

Unsurprisingly, the two sides began a life-or-death struggle.

Taking advantage of Qi Yongji's distraction by the harem, Mu Zhuo finally managed to escape.

Upon receiving news that Mu Zhuo had entered the territory of Dayong, Zheng Xun, who was playing chess with Tao Heng, instructed Zhi Chun to warm a pot of wine.

Tao Heng, with great perceptiveness, poured her a glass of wine: "Congratulations, Princess."

"Why congratulate me? You should congratulate Mu Zhuo for finally escaping the days when he was walking on thin ice."

"Of course we congratulate you, after all, the princess is experiencing three joyous occasions."

Tao Heng smiled and placed a word, and a group of chess pieces that seemed to have died just now came back to life because of the two extra liberties. The territory in the southwest corner of the chessboard was now entirely in his hands.

Zheng Xun calmly severed his northeastern layout, and this single move connected the other three corners, instantly turning his previously calm situation into a vibrant one.

"Where did this 'three joys' come from?"

"With Lord Mu's return to Dayong, the court will have gained another capable minister, which is a cause for celebration."

Instead of consolidating the situation in the southwest, Tao Heng placed a piece in the northeast, where Zheng Xun had an advantage. This piece, combined with his opening moves, forcefully tore a gap in Zheng Xun's encirclement.

After Zheng Xun made his move, he continued, "The fact that the rescue plan went so smoothly shows that the efforts of Dayong over the past few years have not been in vain. Qi Yongji's luck is far worse than before, which is the second piece of good news."

He twirled the chess pieces in his hand, looked up and smiled: "The princess went to great lengths to welcome back the meritorious officials from a thousand miles away. From now on, the hearts of the people in the court will all be with the princess. This is the third joy."

As they chatted and laughed, they made their moves much faster.

Finally, Zheng Xun completely seized control of the middle game when Tao Heng risked seizing territory, thus securing the victory: "I have won this game, this is the fourth victory."

She brought the chess basket to her and slowly picked up a piece: "Qianzhi, being too aggressive isn't good."

Tao Heng shrugged helplessly: "I follow your lead, Princess. You are no less so."

"Are you sure?" Zheng Xun looked down at the chessboard.

Tao Heng followed her gaze and suddenly chuckled: "Indeed, the reason why the princess is so aggressive is because she is calculating every move. All the seemingly dangerous moves can be supported by the beginning and the end. Qianzhi is not as good as the princess."

Zheng Xun pouted: "You still want me to?"

Tao Heng's advantage of only occupying the southwest corner was that he initially thought of giving way to Zheng Xun.

Who knew that Zheng Xun didn't need him to yield? Since he wanted to back down, she accepted his concession without hesitation.

Therefore, Tao Heng ultimately suffered a crushing defeat.

Princess, whenever Tao Heng thought he thought he thought highly of her, she always surprised him.

"I'm not saying this to let you know that I am ruthless and cruel. Using these methods against the princess may give me a temporary advantage, but in the end I will still be unable to escape the princess's grasp. Since that's the case, I might as well be more open and not expose those petty tricks to the princess. I also have to save face and maintain my image."

Zheng Xun remained noncommittal: "Being ruthless and vicious for so long and still alive and kicking shows that you're really smart. Now I have a question, can you answer it?"

Tao Heng said seriously, "Is there anything in this world that can confuse a princess? I'm quite curious about that."

Zheng Xun: ...

If she wasn't mistaken, he seemed to be gloating a little.

She stopped what she was doing: "You really want to see me get the short end of the stick?"

Tao Heng picked up the remaining chess pieces by himself: Very clever!

What bad intentions could he possibly have? He just enjoys watching the excitement.

"how can that be possible?"

He vehemently denied it, but the excitement in his eyes didn't diminish at all.

"How dare you!" Zheng Xun scolded, his face stern.

“The princess won’t blame me,” Tao Heng said confidently, raising his chin. “Princess, please speak.”

Zheng Xun hesitated for a moment, then said tactfully, "There's something I need that's in the hands of the First Prince, the Second Prince, and the Eighth Prince..."

Tao Heng's expression gradually turned serious, and he lowered his voice to ask, "The princess wouldn't want to kill them, would she?"

Zheng Xun remained silent.

Tao Heng truly lives up to his name.

Fortunately, she had a keen eye for people and acted quickly. It would be dangerous if such a bad person fell into the hands of someone else.

Tao Heng interpreted her silence as acquiescence. He leaned closer to Zheng Xun and whispered, "I have a plan..."

Zheng Xun interrupted him: "You're overthinking it! That's not what I meant."

Tao Heng looked at her suspiciously, sighed, and sat back down.

Sensing his disappointment, Zheng Xun remained silent.

This is the real King Yama!

Her face fell: "Don't let your mind wander, let's get down to business."

“Princess, please continue.”

"It's not just them, maybe my older sister or Aunt Jianyang too."

The reason she said "perhaps" is because Zheng Jiao is not of royal blood, and her relationship with Jianyang is somewhat distant, so she cannot be certain.

Tao Heng hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and asked, "Princess, you don't mean you need to seize some kind of royal destiny or something, do you?"

Zheng Xun: ...

"Isn't your brain tired? Can't you take a break? Can't you stop overthinking?"

Seeing that Zheng Xun was getting annoyed, Tao Heng didn't dare to make any more trouble and said seriously, "If the princess asked for ordinary things directly, they wouldn't refuse. So is there some hidden reason behind this?"

"I suspect that it might require them to give it willingly."

That's right, what Zheng Xun was talking about was the jade that appeared out of nowhere and could upgrade the system.

She had a premonition that upgrading the system now, while Qi Yongji's luck was waning, might bring unexpected gains.