Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 193

The morning court session was quite lively for a long time because of the matter in Dingzhou.

In the end, it was Zhao Xingjin who made the final decision to immediately send people to Dingzhou.

This means that Xie Mingshen's secret proposal was not adopted.

Now it's time to decide who to send to Dingzhou.

Wei Zhang recommended two censors from the Censorate to carry out their supervisory duties. Since Dingzhou needed reinforcements, he also sent personnel from the Ministry of War.

A small group went ahead first, and the main force set off two days later after they were fully prepared.

General Mingwei's Mansion.

As evening fell, General Du Qian returned to his residence and was immediately summoned to the old lady's courtyard.

"Grandmother, why did you call me here so urgently?" Du Qian hurried into the room, somewhat nervously. "Could it be that you caught a cold while kneeling at the Imperial Ancestral Temple on the first day of the lunar month? Or is your leg hurting?"

Madam Du shook her head and beckoned to him affectionately.

"Come, sit down next to Grandmother. People from the palace came today. Consort Jin, out of consideration for my old age, specially sent some tonics."

"Consort Jin sent something to Grandmother?" Du Qian frowned. "Grandmother should have less contact with her. Although the Wu family are all filthy people, the Xie family may not be any better."

He hated Wu Que, but he also disliked Xie Mingshen. In Du Qian's view, Xie Mingshen was the chief minister, but he failed to fulfill his duty to advise the emperor, which led to Emperor Hui's folly and death. He was also indirectly responsible for the deaths of his grandfather and father.

Madam Du sighed. "Qian'er, your grandmother knows what you're thinking, but when Consort Jin's people came this time, they brought up something else: the matter in Dingzhou. Have you heard about it?"

"Naturally, it's caused quite a stir today," Du Qian said solemnly.

"Consort Jin said that as long as you are willing, she can arrange for you to go and suppress the bandits. This is a good opportunity to make meritorious contributions."

Madam Du spoke, explaining why she had summoned him today.

Upon hearing that he could go to suppress the bandits, Du Qian was initially excited, but then his face darkened when he remembered that it was Xie Jiu who had extended the olive branch.

“Grandmother, of course I want to make a name for myself and bring glory to my Du family, but if I agree to this, I’m afraid I’ll be on the Xie family’s side from now on, which I don’t want.”

Madam Du didn't rush to reply.

She lowered her gaze and then asked him, "Why do you think it was Consort Jin who sent her personal maid today, instead of Chief Minister Xie sending someone to discuss this with you?"

"Why could that be? Because she needs an excuse to send something to her grandmother so she can pass on a message." Du Qian gave the answer without much thought, somewhat displeased.

This immediately made Madam Du's expression turn stern.

His voice also deepened, "Think it over carefully, and don't forget your grandfather's and father's teachings: never act impulsively."

After being reprimanded, Du Qian looked embarrassed, but he obediently calmed down and carefully considered the problem.

Then he frowned and looked at Madam Du, "Could it be that Consort Jin and Chief Minister Xie are not exactly close as father and daughter?"

Otherwise, why would Consort Jin handle the matter personally, instead of entrusting it to her family?

“I have met Consort Jin. She is by no means a fool. Back then, the marriage between the Xie and Wu families was indeed a powerful alliance and a good match. But you know what kind of person Wu Que is. He is not a good match. Chief Minister Xie has been an official for many years and is very shrewd. Can he not see Wu Que’s character? Yet he still married his so-called beloved eldest daughter to him. Do you think he is a person who truly loves his daughter?”

A sharp glint appeared in Madam Du's cloudy eyes as she calmly uttered these words.

Du Qian belatedly realized what was going on after hearing this. "Grandmother means that Consort Jin was not satisfied with her marriage, so she became estranged from Grand Secretary Xie and her father. She then planned to get rid of the Wu family and enter the palace. It seems that she did not break with her family, but she had already become distant in her heart."

"So, Consort Jin came directly to our family, probably intending to cultivate her own network. Qian'er, your grandmother has said her piece; the decision is yours." Old Madam Du picked up her teacup and said no more. Du Qian frowned, his heart filled with conflict.

After a long pause, she said, "The vanguard has already headed to Dingzhou, and the main army will depart in two days. Tell her to hurry."

After speaking, he got up and left.

He will agree. The Mingwei General's Mansion is now just an empty name, but it is a name that our ancestors and great-grandfathers earned with their blood. When Du Qian broke through the encirclement and joined Zhao Xingjin's forces, it was not only to save his life, but also to one day restore his family and not let his grandfather and father die in vain.

Madam Du knew his thoughts well, which is why she talked to him so much.

The Du family may not necessarily serve Xie Jiu in the future, but Du Qian needs someone to lend them a hand if he wants to seize an opportunity.

Now, only Xie Jiu has reached out, so we must seize the opportunity.

Everyone just takes what they need.

Back in the palace, Xie Jiu received a reply and immediately made the arrangements.

It wouldn't be difficult for her to place someone in a position; the title of favored concubine speaks for itself, and she's very useful.

Xie Jiu also knew that she needed to plan ahead to completely subdue Du Qian, but there was no rush. She would take it slowly. During this trip to Dingzhou, she would first see if Du Qian was worth cultivating.

Since the incident in Dingzhou, Zhao Xingjin has not set foot in the inner palace for many days. In fact, the morning court session will not resume until after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, which is considered a holiday for the ministers. However, due to the incident in Dingzhou, several small court sessions have been held since the second day of the first lunar month.

It was just like attending the morning court session on a regular day, except that only some of the ministers were present.

As the matter escalated, the people of Xichi naturally learned of the situation. Just as Xie Jiu had predicted, with Shangguan Yi at the forefront, many people in Xichi began to act arrogantly again.

He even began trying to see Zhao Xingjin.

Of course, Zhao Xingjin would not meet with them, refusing on multiple occasions the grounds that he would not attend to state affairs before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

The more he refused to see them, the more Shangguan Yi and the others felt that Zhao Xingjin was avoiding them and didn't want them to take this opportunity to renegotiate the tariff issue. As a result, they became more and more certain that the situation in Dingzhou was not good.

On the tenth day, we met inside the hall.

Shangguan Yi and Zhao Zaiyan knocked on Gao Sui's door together.

"Your Highness, the Emperor's letter has arrived." Shangguan Yi handed a roll of cloth to Gao Sui.

Gao Sui took it, unfolded it, and read it. He then said calmly, "His Majesty has agreed to my marriage with Princess He Yi of Da Jing."

“Indeed, but we believe it is not appropriate to inform the Emperor of Dajing of this matter now,” Zhao Zaiyan said.

Shangguan Yi nodded in agreement. "Now that war has broken out in the southeast of Dajing, the Dajing Emperor is avoiding us and we can't find out the specific details of the battle. From this, we can guess that the situation is probably not good. So now it's in our favor. Previously, the Dajing Emperor wanted to increase tariffs and took a tough stance, but now he probably has to lose some of his confidence."

At this point, if the marriage proposal between the two countries does not receive a proper response from the Western Kingdom for a long time, it will certainly put psychological pressure on the Great Jing.

With a city just lost on the southeastern border and the war still raging, the northwestern frontier is also showing signs of instability, making it a pincer attack.

Seeking stability, they anticipated that Zhao Xingjin would make significant concessions on the tariff issue.

Gao Sui naturally guessed what Shangguan Yi and Zhao Zaiyan were thinking, but he felt that things might not be so simple.

Zhao Xingjin conquered this world on his own; surely he can't quell a mere pirate uprising?
But losing a city does sound quite serious.

Therefore, after thinking for a moment, Gao Sui said in a deep voice, "Let me find a way to see the Emperor of Dajing before we talk about it."