ebookland Chapter 262 Talk about cooperation
Chapter 262 Talk about cooperation
A breeze suddenly blew, causing the wisteria flowers nearby to sway in the wind. A few purple petals fell with the wind, floating right past the two of them.
Su Qingwan was silent for a moment. Li Yuncheng's proposal was indeed tempting.
"What does the prince want to cooperate on?" Su Qingwan asked.
Seeing that she finally gave in, Li Yuncheng finally let go of his worries.
"How do you feel about getting rid of the two kings?"
He did not directly say which two they were, but among the princes, only the third prince, Prince Rui, and the fourth prince, Prince Qi, stood out; the others were not outstanding.
If Su Qingwan could cooperate with him, after the death of the second prince, the emperor would have no available princes, and he himself was old. How many years could he last in that position?
Su Qingwan restrained her expression. She had not expected that Li Yuncheng would have such thoughts.
If it is really Prince Qi and Prince Rui, these two are involved with Su Yunrou openly or secretly, and the two princes are already mortal enemies of Su Qingwan, so Su Qingwan will not let them go.
For Su Qingwan, assassination is the fastest way to get rid of the two kings. But to do it secretly and prevent the people who are investigating from associating the deaths of the two kings with Prince Yi's Mansion and the Jiang family, it still needs to be considered in the long run. At least it is difficult for Su Qingwan's current power to get rid of the two kings secretly.
"Aren't you afraid that I will tell the emperor?"
"Fourth Miss is a smart person. Now cooperating with me is the most beneficial to you and Prince Yi's Mansion. The reason why your marriage with Prince Rui was cancelled was because His Majesty did not want Prince Yi's Mansion to become a helper of Prince Rui. Later, when Su Yunrou became the Princess of Rui, this was more or less due to my advice."
"Today, I am here to investigate the matter of the King of Qi in accordance with His Majesty's order. Although I may be seeking credit for what I said, I have always kept in mind the kindness of saving the Fourth Miss' life."
Li Yuncheng's words made Su Qingwan think deeply. The emperor had always wanted to take back the military power of Prince Yi's Mansion, but he never had a suitable reason.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for your insignificant life-saving grace. But Your Highness is too calculating! If I cooperate with you, you will have the possibility of ascending to that position after success, but the only benefit I have now is to accept the money without any worries. Why do you think I will agree to cooperate with you?"
Su Qingwan smiled faintly, thinking back to the fact that she had such a positive image in front of the emperor, Li Yuncheng in front of her must also be able to help her. But the more she thought about it, the more Su Qingwan felt that Li Yuncheng was scheming. Now he only cared about saving her life, but what about the future?
After all, after experiencing what happened to her father, Su Qingwan felt that since even her father was like this, other men were even more unreliable.
In the previous life, Prince Rui was the emperor. In this life, it is impossible for Prince Rui to ascend the throne again. As for Prince Qi, she certainly would not let him sit on that position.
So apart from them, it doesn’t matter to her who becomes the emperor.
"Fourth Miss, if I ascend to the throne, I will grant you the highest position among women in the world and ensure that you become the Empress of the Central Palace, second only to the emperor. In this way, Prince Yi's Mansion will be safe and secure." Li Yuncheng said in a gentle voice.
He knew very well that Prince Yi's Mansion wanted to be loyal subjects, but Emperor Wenjin had already become suspicious of them. The heart of an emperor was hard to predict, and no one knew when the emperor would take action.
"To be honest with you, Fourth Miss, the Emperor has already drafted an edict to recall Uncle Li, who is stationed at Tonghu Pass in the northern part of the Great Wall, back to the capital to report. If he comes back, it will be impossible for him to leave the capital again."
Su Qingwan's eyes trembled slightly. Has the emperor done this?
Then, did he let my father enter the Ministry of Revenue just to create smoke screens for my uncles and others to let down their guard?
"Now that the fourth young lady is engaged to me, the crisis in Prince Yi's mansion can be resolved." Li Yuncheng tempted.
Emperor Wen Jin trusted him very much. The main reason was that although Li Yuncheng was not the emperor's son, he had a father-son relationship with Emperor Wen Jin. Therefore, Emperor Wen Jin could feel at ease after Su Qingwan married him.
Su Qingwan frowned. If it wasn't related to Prince Yi's Mansion, she naturally wouldn't have so many concerns. After all, if she took out the things her master gave her, Emperor Wen Jin would also be afraid.
However, it is easier to avoid an open attack than to guard against an arrow from the dark. There are so many people in Prince Yi's mansion that it is impossible for him to take care of all of them.
Moreover, that would only make Emperor Wen Jin even more wary of his uncle and his people.
Therefore, the method proposed by Li Yuncheng is a good way to remove the emperor's doubts, but...
"I'm not interested in the position of Queen!"
Su Qingwan's words were beyond Li Yuncheng's expectations. He didn't expect that Su Qingwan would actually reject him. Doesn't she consider the people in Prince Yi's Mansion?
But after seeing Su Qingwan's clear eyes, Li Yuncheng instantly understood that it was not that she didn't consider them, but that she was guarding against him.
Li Yuncheng couldn't help but put his fist to his lips and chuckled.
"If you don't believe me, Miss, why don't I promise you three things, with no time limit? As long as your request is not against morality, does not involve murder or arson, and does not violate my conscience, I can agree to it. Miss, please consider it carefully."
After he finished speaking, Li Yuncheng's eyes looked at Su Qingwan with a hint of intrigue.
This needs to be considered carefully!
The only way to prevent the Emperor from moving from Prince Yi's Mansion now is for the mansion to hand over its military power. However, Emperor Wen Jin is suspicious by nature, and even if his uncle hands over the military power, he probably will not accept it, and will continue to be suspicious.
But you can still give it a try, but your uncle will have to suffer a bit.
As for the cooperation with Li Yuncheng, it can continue. He has the trust of the emperor. Sometimes one word he says in front of the emperor is more powerful than a hundred words from others. So with him around, it will be easier to get rid of King Qi and King Rui.
"Prince, what can you use to prove that your promise is valid? You can't just do it without any words." Su Qingwan said.
Li Yuncheng is a man of deep thoughts. When cooperating with such a person, forget about gentleman's credit and verbal agreement. It is better to put it on paper and have the evidence yourself.
"That's easy!" Li Yuncheng took out a piece of excellent dragon jade pendant from his arms, handed it to Su Qingwan, and said:
"This is something my father left me. There is only one of its kind in the world. I'll give it to Miss Four to keep for me."
The entire Panlong jade pendant is white and smooth, but the dragon is a five-clawed golden dragon. This thing can only be used by emperors, but the wise king has it.
Su Qingwan took the jade pendant calmly, "Don't worry, I will keep it well, but it would be better if you leave a written promise."
"Okay!" Li Yuncheng agreed without hesitation.
This made Su Qingwan look up to him. Compared with Emperor Wen Jin's sons, Li Yuncheng indeed had more of an emperor's appearance.
After receiving the letter of commitment, Su Qingwan felt much more relieved.
"Fourth Miss, now that we are in the same boat, you really don't want to consider getting engaged to me?" Li Yuncheng laughed again.
"There's no need to talk about this anymore, Prince, you should go."
Upon hearing this, Li Yuncheng knew that he couldn't force her, so he just looked at her intelligent and bright eyes for a few times and left first.
After leaving the yard, the captain of the guards and others were already waiting outside. When they saw Li Yuncheng come out safely, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Prince, how dare she..."
Li Yuncheng raised his hand to interrupt the captain of the guards and led his men away.
For him, cooperating with Su Qingwan would only have advantages and no disadvantages, and she was smarter than he thought. He thought she would agree to the engagement, but he didn't expect that she didn't agree.
"Qingwan, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have dragged you into this vortex. But it's very difficult for either of us to fight alone. It's good for both of us to tie you and me together. Don't worry, I will show my sincerity before that."
Li Yuncheng murmured in his heart, and his smile became more peaceful. He recalled in his mind how he was set up by a certain prince that day and almost died there. In the end, it was Su Qingwan, an unrelated woman, who saved him.
"Hey!"
Li Yuncheng sighed. He originally wanted to be a loyal minister, but the things that happened in his early years made him unable to protect himself. Later, he learned to please the emperor and became the emperor's most beloved nephew. He thought that he could make the princes afraid of him.
But the more he was loved by the emperor, the more the princes wanted to get rid of him...
Sometimes it is wrong not to fight or compete, and it is even more wrong to do it to protect yourself. Instead of this, why doesn't he fight for it?
After Li Yuncheng left, Su Qingwan asked someone to find Da Nian.
"Is there any medicine for terminal illnesses that even the imperial physician cannot diagnose?" Su Qingwan asked.
"Yes, but it has to be made now."
"Get it done as soon as possible. I can be of use to you."
Su Qingwan was worried that Emperor Wen Jin would take action prematurely, but she thought that Li Yuncheng should do something to show his sincerity in cooperation, so it was possible that the time for issuing the imperial edict would be postponed, but not for too long.
After all, that is military power!
How could Emperor Wen Jin not be thinking about her?
"Yes!" Da Nian said, and took out two porcelain bottles and handed them to Su Qingwan, "Miss, this is medicine for the third young master. After he finishes these two bottles, his illness will be cured."
Su Qingwan nodded, took the porcelain vase, asked Da Nian to deal with the silver according to the old rules, and then returned to the Marquis' Mansion.
At the gate of the Marquis's Mansion, he met Zhenzhu who was waiting for him.
"Miss, the eldest lady has invited a few fortune tellers back."