ebookland Chapter 203 Lan Zhi's Persistence
Chapter 203 Lan Zhi's Persistence
Although her tone was very soft, it made Zhu Kui and Lin Xingliang both frown.
She is carrying the Crown Prince's child, which the Emperor takes very seriously. If anything were to happen to her, no one could bear the responsibility.
Seeing this, Lin Xingliang glanced at Zhu Kui and shook his head, saying:
"The Crown Princess is pregnant. How can she travel such a long distance with us? If something happens to her on the way, we cannot bear the responsibility. Please reconsider, Crown Princess."
Zhu Kui only wanted to trick the emperor into giving him the tiger tally, and did not want to displease the emperor, so he immediately softened his tone and bowed, saying:
"I was rash in speaking just now, please forgive me, Your Highness. But I was just anxious to save the Crown Prince. I hope Your Highness will hand over the Tiger Tally as soon as possible so that we can gather our forces and set off immediately."
The reason Zhu Kui took on this mission was that he wanted to use the opportunity to obtain the Tiger Tally, then pretend to lead troops to rescue Wei Jianning. If he found him alive, he would find an opportunity to kill him, and then lead troops back to the capital to support Wei Ming as the crown prince. Of course, without the support of the Empress Dowager, he dared not do this.
However, before confirming that Wei Jianning was not dead, he dared not act rashly; he had to ensure that nothing went wrong.
At this moment, Lan Zhi's mind was perfectly clear.
She didn't believe Zhu Kui would be in such a hurry to save Wei Jianning.
She didn't believe he would actually go to save Wei Jianning.
All she knew was that he was so eager to get the Tiger Tally that he must have his reasons. As for what those reasons were, Lan Zhi didn't want to speculate, nor did she have time to.
"Lord Zhu, Lord Lin, as I just said, the Tiger Tally cannot leave my body. If you want to send troops to rescue the Crown Prince, I can take the Tiger Tally with me. Otherwise, even if it means my death, I will not hand over the Tiger Tally."
Her resolute attitude surprised Zhu Kui a little. Lin Xingliang frowned slightly and nodded, saying:
"Lord Zhu, since the Crown Princess insists on this, let's go back and report to the Emperor, and let him decide!"
Zhu Kui, his face ashen, questioned again.
"Does the Crown Princess truly refuse to hand over the Tiger Tally? If the Emperor issues an order to forcibly seize the Tiger Tally, then we will not be so polite."
Lan Zhi nodded in response without any hesitation:
"I don't want to repeat myself. You two may leave now!"
Upon seeing this, Zhu Kui immediately snorted coldly, then tossed his clothes and stormed off.
Before leaving, Lin Xingliang whispered a reminder.
"Your Highness is wise, but please take good care of yourself."
His words seemed to imply that he greatly approved of Lan Zhi's approach, which surprised Lan Zhi.
Watching his departing figure and pondering his words, he became even more certain that Zhu Kui could not be trusted, and this tiger tally could not be lost.
imperial study room
Before the Emperor, Zhu Kui, who had just returned from the Crown Prince's residence, appeared extremely indignant.
"Your Majesty, the Tiger Tally is a military item, always kept by the Crown Prince. Now it has fallen into the hands of the Crown Princess, but she is preventing us from using it to rescue the Crown Prince. We beg Your Majesty to issue an edict to forcibly take away the Tiger Tally from the Crown Princess and return it to the court, so that we can go to rescue the Crown Prince as soon as possible."
The Emperor frowned slightly and looked at Lin Xingliang.
"What about Lord Yilin's construction?"
Lin Xingshi blinked a few times and then bowed in reply:
"I believe this is inappropriate. The Crown Princess is currently pregnant. Judging from her attitude just now, if we forcibly take back the Tiger Tally, it may harm the fetus in her womb, or it may cause her to rebel and harm the fetus by self-harm. This is the Crown Prince's bloodline, the royal offspring, which cannot be ignored!"
Seeing that Lin Xingliang held a contrary attitude to his own, Zhu Kui immediately showed displeasure.
"Lord Lin, what you said is not right. You also said at the Crown Prince's residence that if the Crown Princess were to travel with us as she wishes, what if something happened on the way? Could you bear the responsibility?"
Lin Xingliang stubbornly argued with him.
“But the one in trouble now is the Crown Prince. Even if we don’t let the Crown Princess come with us, will she feel at ease staying in the Crown Prince’s residence? Besides, she is a skilled doctor. Yesterday, the messenger who came back said that two doctors in a row said that there was no hope for him, but she managed to bring him back to life. This shows that she has the ability to bring the dead back to life. If we find the Crown Prince, there is no guarantee that he will not be injured. With the Crown Princess there, the Crown Prince can be treated in time. What’s wrong with that?”
"But it is really inappropriate for her, a woman, to be in the military camp. Your Majesty, this old minister does not agree."
Lin Xingliang also looked at the Emperor without backing down.
"This old minister believes that forcibly taking back the Crown Princess's tiger tally while the Crown Prince is in trouble would surely cause controversy among the people if it harms the unborn child in the Crown Princess's womb. It would be better to bring a few people with us to take care of the Crown Princess. In any case, our journey will only take three days at most, and the Crown Princess is still in her early stages of pregnancy, so there will be no problem."
It turned out that yesterday, the Emperor left Lin Xingliang, Zhu Kui and others behind to discuss the possibility of Wei Jianning being captured. The final decision was to set up a roadblock in Xinglong County, a necessary route from Tianwu Kingdom to Northern Wei Kingdom, to prevent the enemy from reaching the capital directly.
However, the tiger tally, which should have been kept by the Crown Prince, was on Lan Zhi. To mobilize troops, the tiger tally was required, which is why Zhu Kui and Lin Xingliang went to the Crown Prince's residence to ask for the tiger tally.
After frowning and pondering for a moment, the Emperor nodded and said:
"The Crown Princess is rather stubborn. I'm afraid no one can stop her from doing what she wants to do. However, she doesn't really like the palace maids, and it's not convenient for others to go."
At this point, the Emperor looked at Lin Xingliang and waved his hand, saying, "Lord Lin, your wife has given birth to three children and knows a lot about women's affairs. If it's convenient, let your wife accompany him on this trip. That way, it will be easier to take care of her."
Upon hearing this, Lin Xingliang paused for a moment, then clasped his hands in a fist salute and replied:
"Your Majesty, I accept the decree. I will now inform the Crown Princess that we will depart for Xinglong County early tomorrow morning."
The Emperor then looked at Zhu Kui.
"Lord Zhu, on this mission, Lord Lin will be in charge, and you will assist him. You will take two-thirds of the troops stationed in the capital with you. On the premise of ensuring the Crown Prince's safe return, you must also ensure that the people of Tianwu Kingdom are repelled. Otherwise, you will have to answer to me with your head."
The Emperor's last words were spoken with great emphasis and a firm tone, causing Lin Xingliang and Zhu Kui to frown instantly.
Lin Xingliang knew Zhu Kui best. He had originally told the Emperor that he did not wish to travel with Zhu Kui this time, but the Emperor refused, saying that Lord Zhu was skilled in military tactics and that having him by his side as a strategist was most appropriate.
It's unclear whether the Emperor was too old and blind to recognize Zhu Kui's true character, or whether he wanted to use this opportunity to test Zhu Kui's loyalty.
Zhu Kui hadn't expected the Emperor to agree to the Crown Princess's idea of holding the Tiger Tally and fighting alongside them on the front lines, but he didn't care. Could a woman, especially a pregnant one, possibly stop his grand plan? He had nothing to worry about.
Besides, he has already killed countless people in the first half of his life, so what difference would it make if he killed one or two more?
When Lan Zhi learned that the Emperor had agreed to let her carry the tiger tally and travel with Lin Xingliang, she could hardly believe it.
She looked at Lin Xingliang and asked in surprise,
"Lord Lin, are you telling the truth? Has the Emperor really agreed?"