novelraw Chapter 367 Life and death depend on fate
Chapter 367 Life and death depend on fate
The emperor had something on his mind, and was a little absent-minded when drinking with the ministers.
The palace banquet, which was originally prepared to be extremely grand, did not last too long.
When the queen sent the news that the ceremony of coming of age was over, the emperor left first and went to the Qinzheng Palace accompanied by Prime Minister Ji, General Xuan and the three princes.
Before leaving, the emperor invited Mu Cang to come over as well.
Arriving at the Qinzheng Palace, he wanted to call the postman to ask again, but Prime Minister Ji said: "You must be very tired after traveling all the way. Your Majesty, let you rest first."
"The matter is urgent. Is it so important to rest at this time?" Yan Chen frowned, "The most urgent task should be to find out the cause and effect of the matter. The more we know-"
"The more we know, can the second prince solve the case immediately?" Prime Minister Ji interrupted, "Her Royal Highness the Princess has decided to set off for Fenglu early tomorrow morning. The postman should have a good rest at this time, otherwise even an iron body will not be able to continue on the journey back."
Yan Chen choked slightly and was unable to refute for a while.
"The incident happened in Fenglu, which is more than 1,400 miles away from Shengjing. We have very few clues, and I feel uneasy." The emperor sat on the dragon throne with a frown, "General Xuan, do you think this was really done by bandits?"
"According to common sense, Dugu Qingyun should not have gone to Chiyao Valley." General Xuan's expression was solemn, "Even if we don't know the danger of Chiyao Valley, when the team passed Fenglu, the local posthouse officials could not have failed to remind us."
"That's right." The emperor nodded slowly, "So This matter is particularly strange. "
General Xuan continued: "So there are two possibilities. One is that the local officials failed to do their job or had ulterior motives and deliberately led us there; the other is that the local officials informed us of the danger, but Dugu Qingyun insisted on going there. "
Prime Minister Ji frowned: "No matter which reason it is, it may eventually lead to a conflict between Jin and Yan, and then the army will be sent to punish them. "
General Xuan shook his head: "It shouldn't be-"
"If the emperor of Yan knew that his son had an accident in Jin , we will never give up. "Yan Yun made a prompt decision, "Should we prepare early?"
General Xuan was silent, his brows sank slightly: "Prepare for what?"
Yan Yun frowned: "Of course, we should dispatch troops to the border and be ready for battle at any time."
General Xuan sneered: "Now we have a clear conscience, just investigate the truth thoroughly. Once we dispatch troops to the border, nothing will become something."
Yan Yun was speechless and hesitated for a long time: "What if Yan Guo recognizes us without any reason? It must be our deliberate provocation. If we mobilize troops at that time, I'm afraid it will be too late. "
"War is not a trivial matter. Once a war breaks out, the biggest losses are the court's soldiers and economy. "General Xuan said in a cold tone, "The Emperor of Yan is not a fool. We know the situation of Yan's soldiers stationed at the border. Not to mention that Dugu Qingyun is not dead yet, even if he really died in the territory of Jin, our princes will find ways to prevent the war from starting. "
Do you really think that war is just playing house and you can fight whenever you want?
It doesn't take time to mobilize troops or to raise food and grass?
If you really want to prepare for war, you must ensure that there are enough troops in advance to ensure that there is no risk.
So recruiting soldiers is definitely necessary.
Weapons, armor, war horses, military equipment, which one can be missing?
Unless a strong country faces a weak country, it will send troops to suppress it if it is slightly dissatisfied.
Or some countries with bad climate and environment that are really difficult to survive will plunder other countries' property by fighting. In any case, the king and the dignitaries are the people who least want to fight.
In the case of Jin, Yan will at most send envoys to ask Jin to give an explanation or ask for a compensation plan to the maximum extent. It is impossible to use the sword right away.
The words spoken by the two princes at this time have already revealed their knowledge and attitude on family and national affairs.
The emperor was a little disappointed.
Before Yan Li came back, he never felt how bad his four sons were, but before, it was because there was no comparison. Now compared with Yan Li, the daughter, the princes are so mediocre that it makes people tired.
"Your Highness." The emperor turned his head and looked at Mu Cang, "What do you think of this matter?"
Mu Cang raised his eyebrows slightly and was about to speak.
The emperor suddenly found that Mu Cang was still standing, and hurriedly said: "Come here! Set up a seat for Prince Ji and serve tea."
"Yes."
Two eunuchs hurriedly lifted the chair and placed it behind Mu Cang.
Mu Cang nodded, sat down calmly on the chair, and then said: "This matter will not attract the attention of the two countries, and it is impossible that the prince of Yan State assassinated the prince. Your Majesty does not need to worry too much."
"How can Prince Ji be sure?" Prime Minister Ji asked in a gentle tone, and explained after asking, "I have no other meaning, I just want to know what clues Prince Ji used to judge this result?"
Mu Cang said indifferently: "The best explanation is that the prince of Yan State is fine."
If the prince of Yan State assassinated, it would be impossible to leave Dugu Qingyun alive; if it was a conspiracy set up by Fenglu officials, then they would be courting death.
Because this behavior is enough to be identified as treason, and regardless of whether it was done by them, if they were suspected, it would be a serious crime to punish the people of Ji.
Besides, framing the prince of Yan would not bring any benefits to the local officials.
Dugu Qingyun was recuperating in Fenglu at the moment, and the bandits abducted the two princesses and ran away. They did not kill Dugu Qingyun, obviously because they did not want to make a big deal out of it and were worried about endless troubles.
It is obvious which is more serious, kidnapping two women or killing a prince.
"Mu Cang is right." Yan Li walked in from outside, slender and elegant, "The best explanation is that Dugu Qingyun is not dead."
Everyone turned to look.
Yan Li's hair was tied up with a hairpin, and the gold hairpins inlaid with rubies on her hair were noble and dazzling.
When the emperor saw her come in, he couldn't help but feel better, but he couldn't help feeling a little regretful: "I held a grand birthday banquet and hairpin ceremony for you today, but something unexpected happened..."
"I am now a married woman and I have great power in my hands. There is no need to be too grand about the etiquette of these little girls in the boudoir." Yan Li didn't care.
Especially since her real age was already over 20, she agreed to the 10-year-old ceremony to meet the Queen's expectations for her daughter, but she herself didn't really care.
"Let's get back to the point." Yan Li walked to Mu Cang's side and sat down. The couple sitting together was really pleasing to the eye. "It's no small matter what happened to the Crown Prince of Yan. No matter what the purpose of the bandits is, no matter who they are, we must deal with it carefully."
"What do you think, my sister?" Yan Chen asked.
"Of course, we must get to the bottom of this first." Yan Li glanced at him, "We must make sure that the Crown Prince of Yan is safe and sound, and then find out the truth behind it. We must find out whether it is a human or a ghost."
"What should we do with the two princesses who were kidnapped?" Yan Jin looked worried, "The reputation of a girl is more important than her life. If she is kidnapped this time, her innocence will be lost. I'm afraid-"
"We can probably see whether the two princesses will live or die." Yan Li said calmly, telling the truth.
"See?" Yan Yun looked at her in disbelief, as if he had finally caught her with something, "How could the imperial sister say such a cold-blooded thing?"
"What else?" Yan Li glared at her with a mocking look, "You go and rescue them now?"
Yan Yun was speechless: "I-"
"I really doubt it, how can you ask such a stupid question?" Yan Li sneered, "Six miles of urgent information rushed to Shengjing, and at least three days have passed. What happened in these three days, can you calculate?"
"I..."
"Even if you calculated it, how can you save it?" Yan Yan Li said coldly, "If they were insulted or killed yesterday, tell me, what can you do to bring them back to life?"
Yan Yun's face turned red little by little: "Even if there is no way to save it, the emperor sister can change the way of speaking to make herself appear less cold-blooded."
"If they are still fine now, whether they are on the way to transfer or hidden in a dangerous place, as long as they are still alive and can hold on until I rescue them, then this is their fate." Yan Li said calmly, "What's wrong with what I said?"
Yan Yun's face was ashen, and he was completely speechless.