I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 306 Portrait
The group returned to the Northwest Army's camp. After King Xuan and his entourage had rested, they gathered in the royal tent to talk.

Gu Ci recounted the important events that had occurred during this period to King Xuan, and then took out the letter from the Turkic state from his bosom and handed it to King Xuan.

King Xuan took the letter, quickly glanced through it, and slammed it onto the table. "Emperor Pingyuan has no shame in order to secure his throne!"

For the emperor of a nation to actively collude with the enemy is utterly ridiculous!
Chen Li had long since spoken out about Emperor Pingyuan's actions and suggested, "Your Highness, let's rebel against him!"

King Xuan pretended not to hear.

Chen Li was about to say something more when Jiang Wei covered his mouth.

Jiang Yiming waved his feather fan. "Your Highness, General Chen is right. His Majesty has repeatedly tried to kill the Northwest Army at the Xuan Prince's Mansion. Are we just going to accept this?"

If that's the case, then the Northwest Army might as well just end their own lives.

King Xuan rubbed his forehead; he really didn't want to bring this up, but he couldn't avoid the topic.

"Zhaozhao, what do you think?"

All eyes immediately fell on Tang Zhao.

Tang Zhao's smile faded, and he said seriously, "Father, as the saying goes, a cowardly soldier is a coward, and a cowardly general leads to a cowardly army. Emperor Pingyuan is the ruler of a country. If he is not upright, how can the morals of the Great Yu Kingdom be upright?"

“If the national character is corrupt, the people’s character will be corrupt, and if the people’s character is corrupt, the country will be in danger. The country that Emperor Gaozu worked so hard to build cannot be lost in the hands of Emperor Pingyuan, an unfilial descendant.”

King Xuan: . . . . . .

Jiang Yiming's eyes showed praise, "Your Highness is very insightful."

King Xuan looked around at his trusted confidants, and they all agreed with his plan to rebel. King Xuan slammed his hand on the table and said, "Then let's do it!"

"Yuanye, go and invite the Turkic envoy to the military camp."

Gu Ci accepted the order and left. Half an hour later, Ashide Muyang followed Gu Ci into the royal tent.

Ashidemuyang bowed deeply to the seated Prince Xuan, saying, "Asidemuyang, the Turkic envoy, greets His Highness Prince Xuan of Dayu."

King Xuan raised his hand, "Your Excellency, please excuse the formalities and be seated."

Ashide Muyang sat in the first seat to the left of Prince Xuan. "This foreign minister has come here on behalf of His Majesty the Khan of our country to negotiate peace with His Highness Prince Xuan. As long as His Highness Prince Xuan agrees to the peace negotiations, His Majesty the Khan of our country will present the letter with both hands."

"Peace negotiations are possible, but in addition to the letter of acceptance, you must also pay compensation of 10,000 cattle, sheep and horses, 100 chests of gold, silver and precious jewels. Furthermore, you must cede Jiuquan Prefecture to Dayu."

Ashide Muyang was startled. He wanted to refuse but dared not, so he had to use delaying tactics. "Your Highness, gold, silver and horses are all negotiable, but please forgive me for not being able to make the decision on the matter of ceding territory."

"I will give the Turks one month. Within this month, I can ensure the stability of the border. But if I do not receive a satisfactory answer after this month, then don't blame me for personally leading my troops to take Jiuquan Prefecture."

"Yes," Ashidemuyang gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger and preserving his last shred of dignity. He bowed and left the Northwest Army camp, riding swiftly back to the Turkic capital.

Tang Zhao applauded wildly in his heart.

"Alright, I'm tired too. You may all leave."

After Tang Zhao left the royal tent, Gu Ci walked beside her and whispered, "When Ashide Muyang came, he brought Song Qinglan with him to the Northwest Army camp. Do you want to go see her?"

Tang Zhao became interested. "Let's go!"

The two went to the dungeon where Song Qinglan was imprisoned. Song Qinglan heard footsteps, looked up, and sat up straight the moment she saw Tang Zhao. She ran her hand through her hair, raised her head haughtily, and said hatefully, "I didn't expect you, you bitch, to be so tough. You've been tormented in the manor for ten years and you still haven't died."

"It's also because that bitch An is useless. If it were me, I would have poisoned you with a dose of medicine long ago and ended it all!"

Tang Zhao reached out to stop Gu Ci, who was about to step forward. "You keep calling me a slut, your mouth is so foul, is it because you've served men too much?"

“That doesn’t make sense. How many men have you served?” Tang Zhao counted on his fingers. “The First Khan, Ashina Mu, Tang Zheng, Emperor Pingyuan, that’s only four.”

"The girls in brothels have seen it all, and their mouths are cleaner than yours. Oh, not just their mouths, but their bodies and hearts are also cleaner than yours."

Song Qinglan was shocked, forgetting even Tang Zhao's mockery that she was inferior to a courtesan. "You, how did you know?"

"Know what?" Tang Zhao laughed. "Do you know that you colluded with Tang Zheng, leading to the fall of Wuwei City in the thirtieth year of the Kangzhi reign, or that you secretly contacted Emperor Pingyuan behind Tang Zheng's back?"

Song Qinglan shook her head and moved back, looking at Tang Zhao with the eyes of someone looking at a demon or monster. "How could this be? I did it so secretly, how could you know?"

"Secretly?" Tang Zhao chuckled. "If I still can't find out that you've been sending people to Luoyang to deliver messages to Emperor Pingyuan time and time again, wouldn't I be utterly useless?"

Song Qinglan's gaze was venomous. "You've been staring at me the whole time!"

"I have no choice. My maternal grandparents' family has been harmed so badly by you. How can I feel at ease if I don't keep a close watch on things?"

"Hahaha," Song Qinglan laughed as she looked at Tang Zhao, "I never thought that I, Song Qinglan, who am so clever all my life, would fall into the hands of a little bitch like you."

"What a pity! If Song Qingning had even a fraction of your intelligence, she wouldn't have met such a tragic end!"

Tang Zhao said calmly, "My mother was indeed killed by you."

“Naturally it was me. When I received Tang Zheng’s message that Song Qingning was determined to return to the Northwest to observe mourning for the Song family, I knew my chance had come.”

“I bribed the prefect of Ningzhou to let a troop of Turkic soldiers into the northwest and ambush them on Song Qingning’s only route.”

Song Qinglan stood up, looking at Tang Zhao, and then seemingly looking through Tang Zhao at someone else. "Although I didn't see it with my own eyes, Tang Zhengxin described it in great detail. The carriage overturned off the cliff, and you were covered in bruises. Hahahaha."

"Song Qingning, so what if you were reincarnated? So what if you were showered with love and affection? You still died at my hands."

"Your beloved husband fell at my feet, your respected parents and brothers died because of my schemes, and even your daughter is living a miserable life under my control!"

"So what if we've had a hard time? I've survived, unlike your son, who died long ago!"

“From now on, I will worship my mother’s memorial tablet every day. I will also keep the eternal lamps of my mother and the Song family in Huguo Temple and worship them all year round, so that they can be rich and worry-free in the underworld.”

As for you, ha!

A shout brought Song Qinglan back to reality, and she charged forward, baring her teeth and brandishing her claws.

Tang Zhao shifted his feet and easily dodged the attack.

Song Qinglan was about to step forward when the guards outside the prison came in and tied her to the ground.

“Speaking of which, you are my mother’s cousin and also my aunt,” Tang Zhao smiled slightly. “As a junior, I know the pain my aunt is going through to lose her son, so I specially painted a portrait of the Eighth Prince to comfort her grief.”

Dongmei placed the scroll in Tang Zhao's hand, and with a flick of Tang Zhao's wrist, the portrait, which was half a person's height, was immediately unfurled in front of Song Qinglan.

Song Qinglan couldn't wait to look at the portrait.