He took the military report from his father's hand, stretched it out, and looked at it carefully. Sima Yu's brows also tightened. However, just for a moment, he laughed again and handed back the military report.

Gave it to Sima Qing.

"Isn't this very simple, father?"

Sima Yu sat down on the chair with a smile, raised his head and looked at Sima Qing, "I would like to ask my father, has Xue'er girl ever had any friendship with the proton from the Sishui Kingdom before?"

"At most, I just met him once or twice. What's wrong?"

Seeing that Sima Yu just kept laughing, Sima Qing felt a little relieved. After all, Sima Yu had learned lessons from Nalan Xue for several years, but he knew her better than himself. Look.

He wasn't nervous at all, he just seemed to be waiting for him to ask him, so he "showed off" for a while, knowing that this matter was not as speculated at the end of the letter.

.

"Father, do you think Miss Xue'er is the kind of woman who has no determination at all, only meets people a few times, and doesn't even have three matchmakers or six betrothals, so she just commits herself to her?"

Seeing that Sima Qing was already waiting for his explanation, Sima Yu stopped trying to keep it secret. He chuckled and continued to talk to him, "The old prince of Sishui Kingdom sent him away from Mo Kingdom before to return to his hometown of Tianxing City.

, Father has seen him before, right? He is thin, ugly, and looks like a sickly young man. Hearing the gifts from Father, he is so nervous that he cannot kneel properly... Such a person is worse than a slave,

Would a wise man like my father believe the slanderous words of the person who wrote the letter and think that girl Xueer would fall in love with him? Haha. Father, even if you want to test your son, you should find a difficult question?

This trick, which even a three-year-old cannot fool, should be saved for later to amuse your grandson..."

"Well, I think so as a father."

Sima Qing was the most face-saving person. At this time, Sima Yu had left some steps for him. How could there be any reason not to go down? He followed Sima Yu's sentence and "tested" him again, "You come and analyze it for your father. Xue

What do you mean by this little girl? Father, let me show you. What you analyzed is correct or not."

"My son, I think, there are three purposes for Xue'er to do this."

Sima Yu pursed her lips and thought for a moment before continuing to explain everything to Sima Qing.

First, by doing this, Shang and Feng will know that she already has an interest in someone else, and has secretly promised that person, thus giving up on her marriage proposal.

Emperor Shang wanted to marry her back and become the queen. If he knew that she already had someone else in mind, he would definitely give up on the matter. The queen is respected but cares about someone else. He favored Fusu, so naturally he couldn't afford to lose this person.

of.

As for the Feng Kingdom, the one who wants to propose marriage is Chang Xian Feng, the eldest prince of the Feng Emperor. This Chang Xian Feng is not the only son that the Feng Emperor likes. He also has a younger brother named Chang Xiu Yuan, who is also very popular.

There may be candidates who will compete for the throne of Feng Kingdom in the future. If Chang Xianfeng insists on marrying Nalan Xue regardless of Nalan Xue's "bad reputation" and embarrasses the Feng Emperor, then he will fall out of favor and lose the qualification to inherit the throne.

Asked whether Chang Xianfeng was willing to give up the throne for a woman, he couldn't get over it just because of the Feng Emperor's face!

Secondly, by doing this, she can be freed. From now on, her marriage will no longer be restricted by others.

As the saying goes, if you are hired as a wife and become a concubine, her "private exchanges" with others are no different from running away with that person. Now that you are a concubine, you are no longer a "lady" who has not left the court.

, when she first marries, she obeys her husband, and when she remarries, she is on her own. Her "husband" has passed away, so if she wants to remarry, she can just follow her own wishes. Even Nalanji and Nalanshu, her two brothers,

I have no right to ask.

Third, by doing this, you can take the opportunity to hand over military power, and let Sima Qing use the form of "punishment" to bring the soldiers and generals she has recruited along the way to the Mo Kingdom, and let Sima Qing's behavior of "taking power"

, without anyone’s advice, it’s a matter of course, and at the same time, she made it clear to Sima Qing that she, Nalan Xue, is not interested in these military powers at all, so that Sima Qing can safely trust the Nalan Mansion and not delay the future of her two brothers.

.

"Father, do you think what I said is comprehensive enough?"

Sima Yu did not tell Sima Qing "all the reasons" at once, but deliberately left one as a dispensable one to ask him to step down. Anyway, now, Sima Qing has calmed down and can think about things properly.

There was no need for him to take all the "smartness" for himself. With Sima Qing's stinginess, not saving face for him was tantamount to not leaving a way for himself to survive. He didn't want Sima Qing to take advantage of others in the future.

To make things difficult for him, Nalan Xue is already twenty-one, and he doesn’t have much time to waste!

"There is one more thing that I haven't thought of."

Sima Qing chuckled and said the only remaining "reason" in a good mood, "She is so loyal, I will definitely not treat her badly in the future. After some time, this rumor will pass."

Some, I will issue a decree to grant her the status of a legal wife, so that she can get married without any loss. In the future, the husband's family will get the marriage from me, and the people in the family will not dare to embarrass her.

, I can also get a good reputation, and be this girl’s lifelong supporter in the future! Oh, this girl is really smart, and she plotted me into her plan, and I can only praise her.

, support her!"

"Then this slanderer..."

Since just now, Sima Yu has been thinking in her heart about how to deal with this person who made random guesses and almost caused Nalan Xue to be convicted. At this time, seeing Sima Qing happy, why not mention it?

"Such a sycophant who framed Zhongliang cannot be spared lightly."

Sima Qing thought for a moment, then casually said the punishment for the "slanderous" person, "I think that punishing the nine tribes is a bit harsh, why not punish the three tribes?"

"My son, I thought, it was only one fault, and it was not as bad as the rest of the family."

Sima Yu shook his head. Although he hated that person very much, he couldn't express it too much. There are regulations in the laws of Mo State. Slanderous words and false accusations to frame loyal ministers will not cause loss of reputation or personal casualties to loyal ministers.

Then only one person will be punished and sent to a bitter and cold land as a slave. Obviously, this is another temptation for him by Sima Qing. He cannot fall into his trap just based on his temporary happiness and anger!

"Then I will follow my son's words and send this sycophant to a bitter and cold land as a slave!"

Sima Qing nodded with satisfaction, convicted the "snitch", picked up a pen, studied ink, wrote an imperial edict in his own handwriting, and handed it into Sima Yu's hands. "In order to avoid long nights and many dreams, my son will set off now.

, go to Jishui City in person and declare the decree to Miss Xue'er. Remember, after pronouncing the decree, you must talk to her privately and let her know that I already know what she means and appreciate her very much.

With this wisdom, I will give her everything she asks for. I will wrong those who slandered her. I have been sent to a bitter and cold land to be a slave."

…

On the other side, the Shang army led by Shang Fusu had also reached Denglin City, which was only fifty miles away from Jishui City.

After listening to the scout's report and Nalanxue's words at the foot of Jishui City, Shang Fusu couldn't help but smile and waved his hand gently, signaling the man to retreat.

"You cunning woman. I just thought that you were interested in me. In just a few days, you poured a lot of cold water on me and made me give up?"

Shang Fusu smiled and opened a delicate wooden box in front of him. From it, he took out a piece of saltpeter that was the size of a human palm and was exquisitely carved. He took it in his hand and started playing with it.

Saltpeter is inherently afraid of water and will melt and be severely damaged when it comes in contact with water. However, craftsmen cannot carve it without washing it with water to cool it down. Therefore, few people will carve this thing into exquisite objects. Firstly, it is time-consuming. Secondly,

It took a lot of effort, but it was worthless... However, in order to look good when he was hired by Nalan Xue, Shang Fusu didn't care about these trivial matters, and only made a decree to let some of the most skillful jade men in the Shang Kingdom

The craftsmen were invited to the palace, and they each took a large piece of saltpeter and carved the pattern they were best at. Now, the piece he took out of the box to play with was the piece he had carved out of hundreds of pieces of saltpeter.

I picked out the piece I felt most satisfied with.

"I believe that before long, everyone in the world will know about this matter. How could the Queen... destroy herself like this for the sake of Emperor Mo's legacy!"

The chief eunuch who serves Shang Fusu originally served Shang Yingshi. He has been immersed in the situation for many years and has heard a lot about the current situation. This time, standing next to Shang Fusu,

After hearing the report, I briefly guessed what it meant, "Your Majesty is infatuated with your Majesty, and your Majesty is also infatuated with you... Well, what should we do?"

"Do you think she is also interested in me?"

The words of the chief eunuch made Shang Fusu feel very comfortable. He instinctively smiled and said, "Why do you see that?"

"Isn't it just the old slave who thinks so? If your Majesty asks anyone to ask, he must think the same thing as the old slave!"

The head eunuch pursed his lips and smiled, stretched out his hand, gave Shang Fusu a cup of tea, and explained to him according to his own thoughts, "Mo Country's hundreds of thousands of troops were sent away without a single casualty."

After returning home, he only brought ten thousand light cavalry and several thousand crossbows with him to continue the campaign. Now, at the foot of Jishui City, there were already another three to four hundred thousand people. The country of Mo was not short of major generals.

How good would it be if the whole country of Italy swallowed it up? If not for your majesty’s interest, why would you give us such a huge benefit for nothing? Dozens of cities and half of the country of Italy!”

"I think so too."

Shang Fusu nodded with a smile on his face, carefully put the piece of beautifully carved saltpeter he held in his hand back into the box, squinted his eyes, and looked out the window, "I thought, Queen

She must have been forced to say this, and the person who forced her to say this was the old fox Sima Qing... Most probably, it was the old fox Sima Qing who was thinking something was wrong. She guessed in her heart that it was the queen and me.

He had a plan to make him suffer, so he threatened the safety of the queen's two brothers and forced her to say such words to destroy her own reputation and make me afraid of the world's words and dare not ask again.

Marry her as your queen... Humph! I am not afraid of this old fox's tricks! I will marry Nalan Xue and become my queen!"

"Your Majesty is Holy Ming."

Like other soldiers from the Shang Kingdom, the chief eunuch who served Shang Fusu also liked Nalanxue, the "queen who had not yet passed the marriage", a woman who could lead troops. Gee, this was a good match that many men from the Shang Kingdom dreamed of. !Your Majesty is truly blessed!

…

The country of Italy fell, and the country of Mo and Shang each took half. Chang Zhentian, the emperor who couldn't find any excuse to send troops, was already very angry.

Originally, it was a good thing. Just before I saw it, I could make someone bring the betrothal gift and follow Chang Xianfeng to Mo Country to propose marriage. However, it suddenly caused trouble and was delayed for more than half a year.

This damn Italian country is really blind. Why is it so anxious to die? At least, wait for him to send people to propose the marriage, and then send troops to the Mo country to force the marriage... He might as well get involved in this crusade. Yeah! Tsk, originally, I could have snatched back a few cities with less talk!

It’s all the fault of those damn etiquette officials! They said that they must comply with the rules, prepare as many things as possible, prepare and repair the palace for the wedding, what a mess. A lot of nonsense! If they hadn’t been nagging, it would have been a waste. After spending so much time, how could it be... Sigh! At that time, he should have insisted on his own opinion and asked Chang Xianfeng to bring his things and a few servants, and hurry up to Mo Country to propose marriage! Those customary etiquette and so on, when can't we make up for it? Oh! Such a great opportunity is gone, but where will it be again in the future?

"Your Majesty, I have a secret message from you."

A young eunuch hurriedly ran in from the door. He didn't have time to stand still, so he knelt down with a plop and handed what he was holding in front of Chang Zhentian.

"Yeah, I understand. Just go down."

Chang Zhentian glanced at the little eunuch, and took the secret letter rolled into a cylinder from his hand without any hurry. He opened it and read it slowly. The country of Italy was gone, let alone the flesh. , I can’t even take a sip of the soup, what else is worth being so anxious about? It’s just boring things about Mo and Shang that have no benefit, so he doesn’t bother to bother!

However, with just such a casual look, Chang Zhentian almost fell off the back of the chair he was sitting on. What, what is this?! Is it... a lie? Princess Nalan Xue of Mo Country, Under Jishui City, as a widow, she appealed for the grievances of Jiang Yue, the old prince of Surabaya? Uh, no, this can't be regarded as a grievance. This should be...forget it, don't worry about what it is, anyway...it's...she used Yes, it is the identity of the widow!

Damn it!

He asked why the old prince of Sishui Kingdom only surrendered to that little brat Nalan Shu! It turned out that it was their country, Mo, who had already had friendship with Jiang Yue! This Nalan Xue This widow's identity means that she was promised to her at that time!

Damn Sima Qing, he said he wouldn't interfere in Nalan Xue's marriage, bah! He wants to interfere! He's already promised someone, so why should he interfere!

"Come here, go and call Xian Feng for me."

After pondering for a moment, Chang Zhentian calmed down. Although Nalan Xue said these words himself, who knows if Sima Qing's persecution was involved?

I think she only led a small number of soldiers and generals on the expedition. In just a few months, she captured dozens of cities in Italy and gathered three to four hundred thousand soldiers and generals... Such a good general , Not to mention Sima Qing, even he would be reluctant to take action? Could this... be a plan of Sima Qing, just to make himself and Shang Guo give up, and then take the opportunity to keep Nalan Xue? In Mo Country, will you always serve Mo Country?

With the mind of that old fox, Sima Qing, he could definitely do such an immoral thing!

The more Chang Zhentian thought about it, the more he felt that this was how it should be. Finally, he slapped the table, stood up, and shouted at the door, "Where is the person you asked to call! Where did he die!"

"Father, calm down."

Chang Xianfeng pushed open the door and entered with a calm expression, "My son, Xian Feng, pays homage to my father."

On the way, Chang Xianfeng had already heard someone talk about it, but he didn't care.

Everything is beautiful in the forest, and the wind will destroy it. In his opinion, for a woman as outstanding as Nalan Xue, it is normal for someone to spread rumors about her and ruin her reputation. If he does everything

He cares, why should he be pissed to death? Treat her well all his life. No matter how others slander her or bully her, he should stand firmly behind her, even if everyone in the world disagrees with her.

As an enemy and disobedient, there was only one person left to support her side by side, and that person should be him.

"A secret message came from the front, saying that the Princess Nalan you asked to marry claimed to be the widow of Jiang Yue, the old prince of Surabaya. What do you think about this?"

As Chang Zhentian spoke, he threw the secret message in his hand to Chang Xianfeng, still stepping on the chair board and sitting on the back of the chair, with no intention of getting down and sitting still, "You are my favorite.

Son, I respect your ideas. As long as you can convince me, you can make the decision yourself."

"My son thinks that this is a destructive trick used by Emperor Mo because he did not want to give up his good generals to marry others. This is not worthy of belief."

Chang Xianfeng didn't even look at the "secret letter" thrown by his father. He tore it into pieces without hesitation. Then, he knelt on his knees and bowed respectfully to Chang Zhentian.

, only Princess Nalan can live with her. If my father feels that if my son marries her, he will lose the royal face, I am willing to give up my status as a prince and demote myself to a commoner!"

"You are my beloved son. How can you be self-deprecating just because you are self-deprecating?"

Chang Zhentian nodded with satisfaction, jumped down from the chair, stretched out his hand, gave Chang Xianfeng a hand, and asked him to stand up, "I think back then, I snatched your mother back from someone else's sedan chair, you see.

Today, does anyone dare to laugh at me? If you want something, go for it. If you can’t get it, go for it. If you can’t get it, it’s because you don’t have the ability. If you can’t protect what belongs to you, it will be robbed by others.

Yes, it’s the same thing!” (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
Chapter completed!