Chapter 273: The Queen's Temptation

"Swish!"

Having not slept all night, he did not feel tired.

After returning to the Bai Mansion, Luo Zijun went to the backyard to continue practicing his fist techniques.

After absorbing the power of that evil ghost, he felt the divine soul within his body had grown a bit stronger.

His spirit was also exceptionally high.

At midday.

While he was eating in the small courtyard with Xiaohuan and Zhiyuan, Hua'er came to inform him that someone had arrived from the palace, telling him to enter the palace later as the Queen had something to discuss with him.

After finishing his meal, Luo Zijun took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and then entered the palace.

The carriage traveled smoothly without obstruction and soon arrived at Yaohua Palace.

Qing'er, the Queen's personal maid, had long been waiting at the entrance; upon seeing him, she immediately led him to the study.

In the study, the Queen was wearing a wide red dress, standing before the wall in the room, looking at the map on it with slightly furrowed brows, seemingly contemplating something.

One could see her figure was tall and graceful, with long, jet-black hair draped behind her, and her entire being exuded an awe-inspiring and inviolable aura of majesty.

Luo Zijun entered the study, stepped forward, and lowered his head to pay his respects.

Qing'er glanced at him, retreated, and closed the door behind her.

The Queen stared at the map on the wall for a while longer before turning her head to look at him, a charming smile appearing on her beautiful face, her pair of enchanting peach-blossom eyes sparkling as she said, "Minister Luo, I have good news for you. The Wu Chu Allied Forces have already abandoned their continued attack on our Daliang and are currently diverting their path toward Zhao, preparing to rendezvous with the armies of the other vassal states at Handan, the capital of Zhao, and then together exit He Nei to directly attack Luoyang."

Luo Zijun looked up at her and said, "Do they trust that our Daliang will not attack them from behind?"

The Queen said, "I have already signed a contract with them, and I did not explicitly tell them that I wish to ascend the throne as Queen. Moreover, during the period when they were attacking our Daliang, we were well-prepared, and their offensive was not smooth, so they have no choice but to believe us."

Luo Zijun pondered for a moment, nodded, and said, "If that is the case, it is indeed good news."

The true history was that during the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion, Daliang resisted to the death and suffered heavy losses, which also dragged the Seven-Nation Alliance to their doom, allowing the Han army to easily succeed in suppressing the rebellion.

But now, it was different.

The biggest variable was that the King of Daliang was gone, and the one in power was a Queen who dreamed of ascending the throne; for Great Yan to still dare to delusionally expect Daliang to resist to the death and act as a stepping stone for them—was that not a pipe dream?

The Queen of Daliang wanted to claim the throne, the Great Yan army stood by and watched without helping, wanting Daliang and the other vassal states to slaughter each other; once these reasons emerged, the seven vassal states, including Wu and Chu, naturally believed in Daliang's neutral stance immediately.

The armies of the seven kingdoms were now strong and well-equipped, their momentum at its peak, and they had not wasted too much time or manpower in Daliang; if they attacked Luoyang directly, who would win and who would lose was truly hard to say.

The Queen looked at him and said, "I summoned you today to ask you, if the armies of the seven kingdoms and the Great Yan army officially begin to fight, what should we do?"

Luo Zijun said, "Did the Queen not say that we should remain neutral?"

The Queen's eyes flashed as she said, "I want to hear your thoughts, your true thoughts."

Luo Zijun's gaze turned toward the map on the wall.

The Queen's gaze, however, remained fixed on him as she said, "Minister Luo, we are now grasshoppers on the same rope; I hope you will speak without reservation and give me the best advice."

Luo Zijun was silent for a moment, then without further hesitation, he looked at her and said, "My advice is to take them by surprise and stab them in the back."

The Queen was startled: "Take them by surprise and stab them in the back? Stab whom?"

Luo Zijun said, "Naturally, Great Yan."

The Queen's eyes flickered as she said, "Why?"

Luo Zijun said, "If Great Yan is defeated, the entire country will fall into chaos, and among the seven vassal states, no one will submit to anyone else. Even the most powerful, the King of Wu, is old; even if he ascends the throne, he is not to be feared. By then, whoever ascends the throne will not come to attack our Daliang for the time being, and we can then form alliances with other vassal states to maintain our independence. Of course, it would be best if all the vassal states refuse to submit to the central government and all become independent; then our Daliang will be safe. But if Great Yan wins, given their legitimacy and strength, they would only need to rest for two years before they would certainly settle scores and deal with our Daliang."

The Queen looked at him and said, "Should we stab them without assessing the situation? For example, should we first see which side has the possibility of winning, or wait until both sides are deadlocked before we make a decision?"

Luo Zijun said with a firm tone, "Regardless of who has the advantage, or if both sides are at a stalemate, I believe that our Daliang should join the armies of the seven kingdoms to pincer-attack Great Yan. Of course, before that, Great Yan will certainly send people again to appease us; we should agree on the surface to help, station troops near Luoyang, and after they have fought for a while, suddenly turn our coats and deliver a fatal blow."

The Queen looked at him with sparkling eyes and said, "Minister Luo is indeed the bold one; my other ministers are all timid and hesitant, advising me to remain neutral or to help Great Yan. However..."

Having said this, she paused and added, "Minister Luo's boldness is still not the greatest."

Luo Zijun lowered his head and bowed, saying, "I naturally cannot compare to the Queen; I presume you already have a decision in your heart."

The Queen raised an eyebrow: "Oh? How do you think I feel in my heart?"

Luo Zijun lowered his head and remained silent.

The Queen gave a cold snort and said, "Just speak, I grant you immunity!"

Luo Zijun lowered his head and said respectfully, "I feel that your ambition, Your Majesty, may no longer be limited to the position of Queen of Daliang."

The Queen's pupils constricted; she stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly threw her head back and laughed "Haha."

The laughter was loud, and her chest heaved up and down.

After a long while, she stopped, looked at him, and said, "Minister Luo, then how do you think I should proceed?"

Luo Zijun lowered his head and said, "Accumulate strength, wait for the armies of the seven kingdoms and the Great Yan army to become exhausted and suffer heavy losses, then join forces with the seven kingdoms' armies to assault the Great Yan army. Once the Great Yan army is routed, strike in one go, enter Chang'an, and rule the world!"

Once these words were spoken, the room fell into a long silence.

After a while, the Queen suddenly moved her feet, walked up to him, grabbed his hands, and said, "Minister Luo, you truly are the worm in my belly!"

Seeing her tone was excited, she gripped his hands tightly and added, "If you, Minister Luo, help me successfully take Guanzhong and ascend the imperial throne, then I will make you the minister under my skirt, beneath me alone but above ten thousand!"

Hmm?

Luo Zijun stiffened instantly and looked up at her.

Minister... under the skirt?

"Cough, cough..."

The Queen coughed and laughed, "What I meant was that I will make you my most favored minister, with a status second only to me."

Luo Zijun's mouth twitched, and he lowered his head, saying, "Many thanks, Your Majesty."

The two were very close; he could clearly smell the charming, faint fragrance emanating from her, and his hands could clearly feel the softness and delicate skin of her hands. Just now, when he looked up and met those charming, alluring peach-blossom eyes, it made his heart beat even faster.

"The Queen really does not care about etiquette..."

How could she suddenly grab a man's hands and stand so close to him, with her chest almost pressing against his?

"Minister Luo, what do you think my chances of winning are?"

The Queen continued to hold his hands, asking with a smile.

Luo Zijun did not dare to raise his head; keeping his head lowered, he said respectfully, "If Your Majesty asks about attacking Great Yan, the chances of victory are high, but if you ask about entering Guanzhong to ascend the throne as Emperor, the chances of victory are only twenty percent. Although our Daliang is wealthy and our army is not inferior, and we have been biding our time and sharpening our weapons for so long, Your Majesty is, after all, a woman, and the various vassal kings of Great Yan all share the same surname. To them, Your Majesty is an outsider; being crowned King in Daliang is already shocking enough, but if you were to declare yourself Emperor, it would likely cause an immediate uproar, and the vassal kings across the country might unite to resist at once..."

The Queen was silent for a moment, then suddenly snorted coldly, "The Li family's throne was not taken from others to begin with. Is it possible that since ancient times, the Emperor has always been of the Li family?"

Luo Zijun said, "If Your Majesty truly wishes to do this, this subject believes that at that time, you could first support a vassal king with the surname Li as a puppet emperor. Once the world is stable, you could then slowly weaken those vassal kings. Only after power is centralized could you have that puppet emperor issue an edict to abdicate and yield the throne to Your Majesty."

The Queen frowned and said, "How long would that take? It would be ages."

Luo Zijun said, "Your Majesty is still young and can afford to wait."

The Queen looked at him with sparkling eyes and said, "I want to make you a subject under my skirt when I am at my most beautiful!"

The corner of Luo Zijun's mouth twitched, and he lowered his head, saying, "Your Majesty is the most beautiful at all times."

The Queen snorted coldly, "That sounds nice, but if I were old, say thirty or forty, I imagine Minister Luo would not say the same."

Luo Zijun suddenly felt that the current atmosphere was strange, and this Queen was also strange.

The strangest thing was that even now, the Queen was still holding his hands; even if he had talent and his words were to her liking, there was no need for this, was there?

If others knew of this, even having a hundred heads would not be enough to be beheaded.

"Minister Luo, raise your head and look at me."

The Queen suddenly commanded.

Luo Zijun's heart skipped a beat, and he had no choice but to raise his head and look at her.

A gorgeous and charming face, along with a pair of watery, enchanting eyes, immediately came into view.

The Queen's red lips parted slightly, and her tone suddenly became gentle, "If, when the time comes, our Daliang can truly defeat the Great Yan army, I will give you a reward, a massive reward."

Luo Zijun's heart raced from her beautiful appearance and the fragrance wafting from her mouth; he had to lower his head again and said, "Everything this subject has is a gift from Your Majesty; I dare not ask for any more rewards."

Who would win and who would lose was still unknown.

If Daliang were to fail, he would have to take his whole family and run away immediately.

At this moment, he suddenly discovered that the Queen's hands, which were holding his, had fingers that began to move gently, rubbing against his palms.

"Minister Luo, as long as you are loyal to me, everything I have in the future will be yours."

The Queen said softly while rubbing his palms.

Luo Zijun's heart pounded rapidly, and even his breathing became hurried; he wanted to pull his hands away and wanted to step back immediately, but he did not have the courage, so he could only lower his head and say, "This subject's loyalty to Your Majesty is as clear as the sun and the moon."

The Queen laughed, "You don't even dare to raise your head to look at me while you speak, yet you claim it is as clear as the sun and the moon."

Just as Luo Zijun was feeling flustered and confused, she suddenly said softly again, "By the way, I heard that Minister Luo is also a physician. I have been suffering from headaches and insomnia lately, and my waist and back ache. How about you help me take my pulse, knead my shoulders, and pound my legs?"

(End of this chapter)