Chapter 409

The atmosphere in the Hall of Nurturing Hearts froze to an extreme degree.

Everyone was at a loss, looking toward Emperor Longqing. Now that such a huge incident has occurred, Princess Yuan Qing's reputation is already ruined; if we further force Princess Le Qing to marry the poisoned and near-dead Xiao Yin, it would provoke public outrage—isn't that obviously making things difficult for the strong?

A promiscuous woman just rolled around with someone's nephew, and then she must marry the Imperial Uncle—where in the world is there such reason?

But if we now send Princess Yuan Qing back to Bei Di, that would offend Bei Di.

The core purpose of Bei Di and Southern Qi is also the marriage alliance.

If the plan fails, we will simply benefit the Western Rong. Now Western Rong, Bei Di, and Southern Qi stand in a tripartite balance; pulling one thread moves the whole body.

At this moment, offending the North Pole and failing to complete the marriage alliance are both fatal mistakes.

Emperor Longqing suddenly felt his head about to split, let out a muffled groan, and collapsed into his chair; those around all knelt down.

"Please calm your anger, Your Majesty!"

"Take care of yourself, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty's dragon body is important; do not become too angry, lest worry turn into illness."

A group of sycophants all around, hearing these words, made Emperor Longqing feel as if a fly had been stuffed into his heart, extremely uncomfortable.

This truly is a dilemma, leaving Emperor Longqing almost unable to dismount from the tiger.

He raised his hand to rub his forehead, glanced sideways at the standing Gu Kang, his thoughts shifted, and he asked Gu Kang: "Gu Kang, what is your opinion?"

Gu Kang's heart skipped a beat; with so many officials standing there, when villagers personally asked him, handling this matter poorly would not be a simple court dispute, but a conflict between the states of Bei Di and Southern Qi.

If mishandled, I fear the people will lose their livelihood.

Gu Kang pondered for a moment, then slowly knelt before Emperor Longqing, kowtowed once, lifted his eyes, and said: "I dare to offer my humble opinion."

"Since Your Highness's infatuation is solely due to being bewitched by Princess Yuan Qing..."

"They are mutually attracted; as young people, they cannot help themselves, which is also human nature—this is understandable."

After Gu Kang spoke these words, the eyes of everyone around changed to utter astonishment, some even twitching.

What kind of joke is this?

Everyone knows Princess Yuan Qing likes Ninth Imperial Uncle Xiao Yin, while Xiao Wei is now a complete eunuch—where would any mutual affection come from? It's impossible.

Everyone knows these two were schemed against, yet Princess Yuan Qing repeatedly claims the schemer is Gu Jiu Ling.

This is truly laughable; Gu Jiu Ling has been dead for months—how could she crawl out of the underworld to plot and scheme against a nation's princess?

It feels as if these two have encountered evil; perhaps they have done too many shameful deeds and are now being controlled by ghosts.

Thinking of this, the wailing of the night wind outside suddenly ceased.

These people all shivered in unison, yet when Emperor Longqing heard Gu Kang raise this issue, his pupils flickered slightly, and he slowly lifted his gaze to the tall young man before him.

He is not unaware of Gu Kang's meaning.

A marriage alliance?

Princess Yuan Qing came to Southern Qi this time for the marriage alliance; previously she wanted to marry Xiao Yin.

Now the situation has suddenly deteriorated; his plan was good, but in reality a major change has occurred.

Since that, the unpleasant matter concerning Xiao Yin can be postponed; the urgent task is to set the policy of alliance and marriage between the two states.

Likewise, giving the marriage alliance to his own third son could also promote an alliance between Bei Di and Southern Qi.

Emperor Longqing slowly closed his eyes; obviously it no longer hurt so much.

He raised his eyebrows and looked at Xiao Wei and Princess Yuan Qing before him, then said slowly: "What Minister Gu said is correct—if you two have long been secretly exchanging funds and mutually loving each other, why not speak up earlier?"

"Now you have caused such a great uproar, stirring up countless rumors, ruining the reputation of our two nations; you bear the greatest responsibility."

"Forget it; heaven has the virtue of cherishing life, and I am not so cruel and heartless."

"If so, I will grant you marriage, select a day, and complete the wedding."

"By then, Princess Yuan Qing can accompany my son to Crossroads Prefecture. As a couple, you have deep solidarity in resisting the epidemic; be happier."

Emperor Longqing kept chattering, painting a big pie for the Third Prince of going to Crossroads Prefecture.

The Third Prince's eyes were already filled with a chilling gloom; earlier he heard from his maternal grandfather that the Empress Dowager wanted him and the Duan family members to go to Crossroads Prefecture together.

Only then could Father Emperor completely let down his guard against their maternal grandfather, the Duan family.

Now his son has become a worthless eunuch, his status has plummeted.

When Father Emperor says it, it means he tacitly accepts Empress Dowager Ning'an's words; this is essentially completely abandoning him.

Furthermore, by bestowing Princess Yuanqing in marriage to him, he has completed the core task for both sides, which is beneficial for the alliance between the northern lands and the Southern Seven.

At the same time, he placed Princess Yuanqing in Quzhou, not a key location in the capital, thereby reducing Bei Di's interference in Southern Qi's court affairs, achieving two goals at once.

But he has always been guarding the borders for Father Emperor.

Nine Imperial Uncle Xiao Yin suffered defeat at Qi Sha Gu seven years ago; these past seven years, the defense of the father's lands has been the Duan family's responsibility.

Moreover, his Xiao Wei has become a eunuch; Father Emperor intends to drive him out of Shang Jing like a stray dog, his heart is truly vicious.

On one side, Princess Yuanqing's expression drastically changed; she suddenly raised her head and loudly rebuked: "Your Majesty, I am a princess of Bei Di; my marriage is not for Southern Qi to meddle in."

"I utterly disagree; Your Majesty is the emperor of Southern Qi, and for me, a Bei Di princess, it is of no use."

Upon hearing Princess Yuanqing's loud rebuke, the people around all turned pale, and cold sweat beaded on their foreheads.

To dare speak such treasonous words, this woman is indeed fiery; isn't she afraid the Southern Qi Court will have her killed here?

Emperor Longqing's fingers tensed slightly, gradually clenching into a fist, his gaze icy.

This woman before me is detestable to the extreme; I never expected that in such a predicament she would be so arrogant, relying solely on her status as a Bei Di princess.

But now he really cannot kill this woman, after all Bei Di and Southern Qi have allied to jointly resist the rising Western Rong; this is a settled policy.

After a long while, Emperor Longqing let out a bitter laugh, raising his eyes coldly toward Princess Yuanqing.

"Princess, you still don't see the situation clearly; your royal brother's situation in Bei Di is not good."

"He wouldn't have sent you to Southern Qi without telling you what your mission is this time, would he?"

"If the princess cannot recall what she is supposed to do this time, then fine—I will immediately send someone to escort you back to Bei Di so you can hear your royal brother's thoughts yourself."

Emperor Longqing's few short words caused Princess Yuan Qing's face to change dramatically.

Her heart suddenly started pounding wildly.

Recalling her older brother's grim and cold words, this time she must ensure the marriage alliance between Southern Qi and Bei Di succeeds, otherwise she need not return.

Thinking of this, Princess Yuan Qing finally came to her senses, involuntarily shivering.