The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 1353: brazen
Chapter 1353: Shameless
When the news reached the State of Yan, the Queen Mother learned that Zhong Xingxiao had been imprisoned because his subordinates assassinated a senior official of the Great Zhou court. The Queen Mother was so shocked that she almost fainted. She kept shouting that this was a conspiracy of the Great Zhou and Bai Qingyan, and that Bai Qingyan was deliberately targeting her brother to avenge her for betraying the Great Zhou.
When Queen Dowager Yan heard the news that Zhong Xingxiao was injured when she first entered the palace since arriving in Da Zhou, she did not go to the palace to plead with Bai Qingyan for Zhong Xingxiao. Instead, she stopped Zhong Xingxiao who was about to escape back to Yan State and asked him to return to Da Zhou. She could not sit still and was supported by her personal maid with a pale face as she hurried to Murong Li’s bedroom.
Murong Li had just finished talking with his brother Murong Ping and was writing a reply to the Great Zhou. When he heard his mother’s voice, he winked at Wang Jiuzhou, put the jade-handled brush aside, and stood up to greet Queen Dowager Yan.
Wang Jiuzhou took the opportunity to stamp the reply letter written by Murong Li on the memorial, and then followed Murong Li to welcome Queen Dowager Yan.
“Ali…Ali, you have to find a way to save your uncle!” Queen Mother Yan choked up and shouted as she stepped into Murong Li’s study, “Mother only has one brother!”
Murong Li bowed, and helped Queen Mother Yan, who was crying, to sit down. Then he spoke: “The guards were all selected by my uncle himself before he set out. This time, my uncle’s guards tried to assassinate Lord Liu but were caught on the spot by the Liu Mansion guards. Later, they were tortured and gave up my uncle. The evidence is irrefutable…”
“No!” Queen Mother Yan said sharply, “Ali, you forgot that it was your uncle who first agreed to your gambling strategy, and it was your uncle who persuaded mother! How could your uncle be so stupid as to send people to assassinate the important officials of the Great Zhou when he was asking the Great Zhou to agree to the gambling strategy!”
“The assassin said… my uncle was afraid of Lord Liu’s mouth. Lord Liu is well-spoken and well-argued, and all the countries know that both Xiliang and Daliang have suffered losses from Lord Liu. My uncle wanted to promote the gambling strategy between the two countries, so he sent people to assassinate Lord Liu. Now Lord Liu of the Great Zhou is still lying in bed unconscious…”
In fact, Murong Li was not interested in whether Zhong Xingxiao really sent people to assassinate Liu Rushi. However… if Zhong Xingxiao could be kept in Da Zhou, there would be one less person bewitching his mother, which might not be a bad thing for the State of Yan.
“Even so…even so, your uncle is doing this for the good of our Yan State! Can you try to save your uncle?” Queen Mother Yan tightly grasped Murong Li’s hand, and as if she suddenly remembered something, she said to Murong Li, “Where is your ninth uncle? What did your ninth uncle say? He was the one who persuaded your uncle to return to the Great Zhou. Did he tell you? Before he left…your ninth uncle made a promise. How could he let anything happen to your uncle! Why doesn’t he ask the Emperor of the Great Zhou for help? After all, they have a child…”
Murong Li’s eyes darkened, and the gentle voice that had just comforted Queen Mother Yan seemed a little cold and hard: “Mother, the news came a few days ago that Uncle Jiu went to the palace… and was injured. When the two countries formed an alliance, mother stabbed Uncle Jiu in the back, wasn’t it because she hoped that Uncle Jiu and the Emperor of the Great Zhou would break up? Now Uncle Jiu and the Emperor of the Great Zhou have reached the point of being incompatible, and mother can be said to have got what she wanted, but now… when Uncle is in trouble, mother is counting on the Emperor of the Great Zhou to remember his friendship with Uncle Jiu!”
“Mother…” Murong Li pulled his hand out of Queen Mother Yan’s hand, “You can’t always have all the good things in the world! Because the Great Zhou refused to let go of the stabbing in the back of mother, and now they want us Yan to hostage my second brother, General Xie Xun, and Uncle Nine to the Great Zhou before they agree to the strategy of gambling the country. They say that they want to hold our Yan people who are good at fighting hostages to the Great Zhou, and then they will believe that our Yan is sincere in gambling the country, instead of trying to stabilize the Great Zhou with the idea of gambling the country and wait for the main force to come back to support… want to fight a war with the Great Zhou.”
Queen Mother Yan’s face turned pale, and she stared at Murong Li with wide eyes: “How could they do this in the Great Zhou? Our Yan State is willing to gamble with the country, which is already…”
“We in Yan are willing to gamble our country because we have reached a critical moment of life and death and have no choice but to do so! But the Great Zhou… can completely trap the main force of our Yan and then attack the capital of Yan! Mother… do you still think that our Yan’s proposal of gambling our country is a gift to the Great Zhou?” Murong Li was angry and his words were a bit harsh.
This… is the second time in all these years that Murong Li has spoken to Queen Mother Yan like this.
“Think about it again, mother. Why did the Great Zhou Emperor want to detain Uncle Jiu?” Murong Li said in a cold voice. “The Great Zhou Emperor was angry with Uncle Jiu and kept him here… I’m afraid he wanted to torture him. Can’t you figure this out, mother?”
“But Ayan is the father of her two children!”
“With one move, the Queen Mother separated Uncle Jiu from his own flesh and blood and lover, and even made them stand on the opposite side. Now, Uncle Jiu is asked to use his two children to beg the Emperor of Great Zhou to let his uncle go. Uncle Jiu… How shameless must you be to ask for this? Mother, you asked the Emperor of Great Zhou to be careful about the children. Then when you conspired with Xiliang, did you ever think that… the Emperor of Great Zhou was pregnant with Uncle Jiu’s own flesh and blood?”
If the person in front of him wasn’t Murong Li’s mother, Murong Li really wanted to ask…how could one be so shameless?
“As for the diplomatic mission to the Great Zhou, Uncle Nine can go… but Uncle can’t go. This was also said by mother. To put it bluntly, Uncle Nine is mother’s brother, and although Uncle Nine is mother’s brother, they are not blood relatives. In mother’s eyes, there is still a difference between uncle and uncle! Ah Li is disappointed for Uncle Nine!” Murong Li straightened his spine and looked at his mother, whose face was even paler than before, and said, “But mother, don’t forget that Uncle Nine’s surname is Murong, and Ah Li’s surname is Murong too. To Ah Li… Uncle Nine is as close to mother as mother, and I will never allow Uncle Nine to get into trouble! So this time… I will only protect Uncle Nine!”
“Ali! He’s your uncle! He’s related to you by blood!”
“Mother, I’m afraid you have forgotten how A-Li got the throne!” Murong Li said calmly, “Mother, ask yourself, if it was your uncle… would he give up the throne to A-Li?”
Queen Mother Yan tightened her grip, her nails digging into the tender flesh of her palms.
“In the final analysis, mother and uncle are for the Zhong family, while I and Uncle Nine are for the Murong royal family.” Murong Li was full of the spirit of an emperor. “Mother is old, so she should go back to tend to the flowers and plants and pray for the Yan Kingdom! Don’t interfere in the affairs of the Yan Kingdom anymore. I… have my own ideas!”
“Ali, why are you so cruel? He’s your uncle… You just leave him like that and let him die unjustly in a foreign land?” Queen Mother Yan cried out, “Your uncle loves you so much…”