noffsinger Chapter 354 Helping in times of need
Chapter 354 Helping in times of need
She had never heard such words, whether in the present or in the future. For many people, they prefer to have many children and will not sympathize with how much suffering a woman has endured or whether she has been to the gates of hell.
So Xie Ci'an's idea shocked her, surprised her, and made her unable to react in time, "Okay, I'll listen to my husband."
Xie Ci'an just held Gu Jianchu quietly like this. When the water temperature gradually cooled down, Xie Ci'an found that Gu Jianchu had actually fallen asleep in his arms. Xie Ci'an slowly placed Gu Jianchu on the bed, then picked her feet out of the water, gently wiped the water stains on her feet, and carefully tucked Gu Jianchu into the quilt.
Xie Ci'an sat beside the bed, gently stroking Gu Jianchu's soft hair. After making sure that Gu Jianchu was asleep, Xie Ci'an tiptoed out of the inner hall, not forgetting to close the door.
Although he moved his study to Kunning Palace, in order not to disturb Gu Jianchu's rest, he deliberately placed the study in a side hall, so that he could accompany Gu Jianchu without disturbing him.
Xie Ci'an called Wen Zhu and Shuang Jiang into the study.
The candlelight flickered, and Xie Ci'an's face was serious. "The news from Dongli Kingdom has been delivered."
Shuangjiang stepped forward and handed a letter to Xie Ci'an. "This is information from a spy planted by the Imperial City Department in Dongli Kingdom. They've been sending reports to the palace for days. According to the spy, there's something unusual going on in the Dongli Palace right now. After some inquiries, they learned that Princess Rou's husband, the current Prince of Dongli, is seriously ill in the palace. However, Princess Rou and the Prince of Dongli have no children, so the Prime Minister of Dongli is secretly supporting his grandson to ascend the throne and control a puppet emperor."
"After our people realized something was amiss, they inquired around and found out that the retired emperor was now under house arrest by the Prime Minister's troops, and the Second Prince was trapped in the mountains and couldn't return. The Prime Minister now has the final say in the entire Dongli Palace. Once the King of Dongli passes away, the Prime Minister will immediately support his grandson to ascend the throne. Although the grandson is the Second Prince's child, he is also of legitimate royal blood. Even if the Second Prince returns, everything will be set in stone, and he's afraid he won't be able to do anything."
"Your Majesty, should we intervene in this matter?" Shuangjiang asked cautiously, fearing that the emperor would be angry.
It is exactly the same melon as the one the queen ate.
This prime minister has evil ambitions, and Xie Qingrou killed his daughter. Once he supports his grandson to ascend the throne, the entire Dongli Kingdom will probably be controlled by this prime minister.
It was this prime minister who proposed to go to war with the State of Jin. However, it was only after the national teacher came up with an idea and proposed the conditions for marriage that the two countries reached an agreement. Once this prime minister was allowed to take sole control of power, he would inevitably have the idea of going to war again and make a comeback.
Although Jin is now strong enough and is not afraid of Dongli's intention to go to war, once a war breaks out, the people of both countries will inevitably be implicated. This matter can be resolved in other ways, and there is no need to resort to war.
If he helps the second prince at this time, he will not only save him from danger, but also provide timely assistance. He will remember the kindness of Jin State.
Even if King Dongli died, the Second Prince had a kind character and would definitely treat Xie Qingrou well.
Xie Ci'an tapped the table lightly with his fingers, his face stern as he glanced at Shuangjiang beside him. "Although this is Dongli Kingdom's national affair, for Xie Qingrou, our Jin Kingdom has an obligation to do the same. Pass on my order. Before the Dongli King dies, you must find a way to send the Second Prince to the Dongli Palace. Shuangjiang, you go to the border and inform General Li that if the Second Prince of Dongli needs anything, they should obey his orders. We only need to support the Second Prince to ascend the throne. Once the Second Prince is settled, we can bring him back."
"I understand." Shuangjiang took the order and took action immediately.
From what Gu Jianchu learned through his system, it was known that the Prince of Dongli was merely given a chronic poison by the Prime Minister. As long as the poison was removed, the Prince of Dongli would be fine. This would be much easier than going to great lengths to bring the Second Prince back to the palace from the border and then supporting him to ascend the throne.
It is not difficult to see that the current Prince Dongli is a hopeless person. Since he cannot be helped, there is no need for Xie Ci'an to help him. It would be more beneficial to him to let someone else sit in that position. At that time, the Second Prince only needs to remember this favor, and he does not need to find ways to marry.
Shuangjiang could handle the affairs of Dongli Kingdom alone. Wen Zhu did not go forward and left the room on his own.
After dealing with these things, Xie Ci'an returned to the room. Gu Jianchu was still sleeping soundly and was not disturbed at all.
For fear of waking up Gu Jianchu, Xie Ci'an did not ask the palace maids to come in and serve him. He took off his clothes, cut off the candle, lifted the quilt and got into the bed. He grabbed Gu Jianchu's waist and held her in his arms. Smelling the faint jasmine scent on Gu Jianchu's body, Xie Ci'an soon fell asleep.
No matter what the reason was for Xie Qingrou to return to the palace, Gu Jianchu prepared a welcoming banquet for Xie Qingrou.
Xie Qingrou came back in a hurry yesterday, and even if she wanted to prepare, there was no time at all, so early in the morning, Gu Jianchu ordered someone to give the order.
Invitations were also sent to the eldest lady, Xie Qingzhi, and Princess Wan Ning, plus Gu Jianyue and Madam Gu who were already in the palace.
There were not many people in the palace now. According to Xie Qingrou's suggestion, not too many people were invited to the banquet. Gu Jianchu was too lazy to make any trouble and directly held the palace banquet in Kunning Palace.
The palace servants started working early in the morning. They were quick and the banquet was ready in just two hours.
The eldest lady, Princess Wanning, and Xie Qingzhi entered the palace one after another.
Today, only female relatives came into the palace, so Xie Ci'an did not come over to disturb their banquet.
Gu Jianchu sat in the high seat, with Xie Qingzhi and Xie Qingrou on both sides of him. As for the eldest lady, Princess Wan Ning, Gu Jianyue and Madam Gu, they sat down one by one according to their positions.
The food hadn't been served yet, but Cheng Song came over first.
Xie Qingzhi couldn't help but tease, "Hey, the banquet hasn't even started yet, and the emperor has already sent people over out of concern. Don't worry, we will definitely help him take good care of his precious queen."
Cheng Song was still smiling. "You're joking, why would the Emperor be worried? The Emperor simply said that the Empress was in poor health, and asked me to ensure that the Imperial Kitchen brought the cooked Codonopsis and Wolfberry Chicken Soup to the Empress."
As Cheng Song spoke, he asked the servants behind him to bring the chicken soup to the queen.
"It can't be that it's just the Queen's share. The Emperor is really worried about the Queen. There's no share for us." Xie Qingzhi started jokingly.
Cheng Song continued, "Your Highness is so overthinking. This chicken soup is made according to the prescription prescribed by Imperial Physician Lin, with a few more herbs added. It's good for stabilizing the fetus. Since you ladies aren't pregnant yet, it's not appropriate for the Emperor to take the initiative to bring it to you ladies."