noffsinger Chapter 528 Leaving Beijing
Chapter 528 Leaving Beijing
The negotiated terms were sent to the palace as quickly as possible.
However, after it was delivered to the palace, Xie Ci'an was not in the Chuigong Hall, but went to the Kunning Hall to have lunch with the Queen. Cheng Song had no choice but to trot to deliver the treaty presented by the Ministry of Rites to the Kunning Hall and wait for Xie Ci'an to make a decision.
In the past, Cheng Song would always follow Xie Ci'an. Since the queen became pregnant, Xie Ci'an often came to Kunning Palace to accompany her. However, the other palace servants were afraid that they could not handle the affairs of Chuigong Palace, so Cheng Song had to be left in Chuigong Palace to deal with these trivial matters.
Before finishing lunch, Xie Ci'an saw the treaty sent by the Ministry of Rites. The previously negotiated salt price was reduced by one third, and the number of war horses he proposed was cut in half. As for other things, they were almost the same. In fact, neither country gained much from such a contract. The salt was sold to the Yelan Kingdom at a high price, and they did not give them many war horses, which meant that they had to protect these war horses and could not let them die. It would take a certain amount of time and patience to reproduce war horses. After all, the number they gave was too small. Even if there were transactions every year, the number was small and it would take years to accumulate.
The Yelan Kingdom also has a backup plan.
I have to sigh at the cleverness of this ***.
"Let the Ministry of Rites draft the treaty." After reading it, Xie Ci'an handed it back to Cheng Song.
Only then did Cheng Song retreat respectfully.
Gu Jianchu ate the lotus root starch meatballs in front of him and said, "The Crown Princess's plot to murder the Crown Prince has been discovered, so why hasn't this lady dealt with it?"
"The Crown Princess's grandfather supports the Crown Prince. Su Tang is clearly planning to suppress this matter in order to protect the Grand Tutor's family. After all, the Crown Princess has committed a heinous crime that will bring disaster upon the entire family. Su Tang doesn't want the Crown Prince to end his life at this moment. No one will mention the Crown Princess's case, and she won't be punished. I'm afraid they'll find a random excuse to quietly deal with her when they return to Yelan Country."
"Su Tang will definitely not tolerate the Crown Princess doing something like this."
"That Prime Minister Zhu is clearly one of the Second Prince's men. I'm afraid he won't live to return home."
Prime Minister Zhu thought he loved ** Yue, and after the prince got into trouble, he openly defended ** Yue. However, he didn't know that when ** Yue was investigated, Prime Minister Zhu's identity was basically exposed, and such a big thing happened, so Su Tang would definitely not stay.
This clever man who committed suicide ended up shooting himself in the foot.
Gu Jianchu did not think that there was anything worthy of sympathy for Prime Minister Zhu and the Crown Princess. They had simply chosen the path themselves. Since it was their own choice, they had to go all the way to the end.
"Su Tang gave in so quickly because he was anxious to go back and deal with the Second Prince and these miscellaneous matters." Gu Jianchu looked seriously into Xie Ci'an's eyes.
Xie Ci'an caressed Gu Jianchu's little head lovingly and said gently, "That's right. Su Tang hurried back to deal with the Second Prince's affairs. Since the Second Prince dared to instigate the Crown Princess to poison the Crown Prince, there's no guarantee that he would cause any trouble in the country while he's away. So she didn't dare stay here any longer, fearing something might happen."
"But this lady is quite courageous. If she could take the position of the Yelan Kingdom, it would be a great thing. However, with her status, it would be difficult for her to reach that step." Xie Ci'an still admired Su Tang's courage very much.
Not to mention Xie Ci'an, after Gu Jianchu got the news about Su Tang from the system, he had great respect for Su Tang.
Gu Jianchu, who was eating, suddenly cried out, and Xie Ci'an was so scared that he quickly put down his chopsticks, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Zhuxi, go get the doctor."
Xie Ci'an was visibly panicking, even her voice was trembling. Gu Jianchu quickly held Xie Ci'an's hand and stopped Zhuxi with his eyes, "No need to call the imperial physician, I'm fine, it's just that the baby seemed to kick me in the stomach just now, and it hurts a little, it's nothing serious."
After hearing Gu Jianchu's explanation, Xie Ci'an's heart was relieved. He stroked Gu Jianchu's bulging belly and couldn't help but scold her, "This child is really disobedient. He actually tortured his mother like this. When he is born, I will definitely educate him well."
"Your Majesty, you are only talking about it now. I don't know how to pamper the child after he is born." Gu Jianchu said jokingly.
Xie Ci'an rubbed Gu Jianchu's nose, his tone full of endless doting, "Impossible, absolutely impossible, in my heart, Ah Chu is still the most important, no one can surpass Ah Chu."
Hearing this, Gu Jianchu's face was full of smiles.
In the evening, Xie Ci'an did not return to Chuigong Palace, but stayed in Kunning Palace to accompany Gu Jianchu.
The next day, Ye Lan Guo's message came in, saying that he wanted to see her before leaving.
Gu Jianchu did not refuse and asked Zhuxi to personally bring Su Tang into the palace. Accompanying Su Tang was her female official Lin Wen, who was also the adopted daughter of the late queen.
Gu Jianchu personally poured a cup of tea and brought it to Su Tang. "I heard that *** will be leaving Beijing and returning to Yelan Country soon."
Gu Jianchu was just chatting casually.
Su Tang picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip. He did not hide too much from Gu Jianchu. After all, Gu Jianchu and Xie Ci'an already knew some of their affairs. If he continued to hide it, it would seem a bit boring.
Su Tang nodded and said, "I am preparing to leave tomorrow, so I came to the palace today to see the Queen and say goodbye. The Crown Prince has encountered such a big problem, and I am sure that there are also problems within the Yelan Kingdom. So I am in a hurry to go back and deal with it. Besides, the matter has been settled, so it is inconvenient for me to stay in Yelan Kingdom for any longer."
Gu Jianchu and Xie Ci'an had already guessed Su Tang's treatment of the Crown Princess, so they naturally had no interest in asking more questions at this time. "I didn't expect that after such a quick visit, the Princess would be leaving so soon. I don't have anything good to give her, so I prepared some small gifts. I hope the Princess won't dislike them."
Gu Jianchu glanced at Zhu Xia, who naturally brought someone to present the small gift. "It's not anything great, just some supplements, and some soft smoke silk from Jiangnan. Although it's not as good as the scarf the princess sent, it's also a famous piece of fabric from Jiangnan, and it makes very beautiful clothes. The princess can take it back to make a few sets of clothes, or give it as a reward. The rest are some supplements and some worthless ornaments."
"How can I accept such a valuable thing?" Su Tang declined.
"I feel that I have a connection with the Duke. Besides, you have given me so many good things in the past, so naturally I have to give you a few in return. In the future, the princess will be busy with many political affairs of the Yelan Kingdom, and I'm afraid that you and I won't have many chances to meet again. If the princess doesn't accept them, I'm afraid she will despise me." Gu Jianchu looked at Su Tang gently.