In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

"Yes!" Cui He clasped his hands in greeting. He was Cui Wanqing's distant nephew and was also considered a relative of the Prince of Han. He served as a brigade commander in the inner court.

After a brief inspection, Li Yuanchang immediately split his troops into two groups.

He led his team out of the treasure ship and was walking down the slender planks when his gaze was suddenly drawn to two large characters a hundred meters away.

"Northern Song Dynasty!"

Li Yuanchang squinted; those two words were far too sensitive for him.

"Your Highness, it's a merchant ship from the Northern Song Dynasty," Guo Chao whispered.

"I saw it."

Li Yuanchang frowned, and then thought of Wu Zetian.

He originally intended to leave directly, but the two great merchants from the Northern Song and Southern Qin were equally powerful, spreading throughout the entire Tang Dynasty, so it was not surprising to see merchant ships here.

But at that very moment, a beautiful figure flashed past among the large convoy of cars on the shore.

Li Yuanchang's pupils narrowed instantly!

He leaned forward and nearly fell into the sea.

Although it was fleeting, he was still certain it was her.

He rushed ashore almost without hesitation, mounted his horse, and moved with lightning speed.

The sudden change caught everyone off guard, and they all mounted their horses and followed suit.

"drive!"

"drive!!"

The warhorses galloped, covering a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.

The sheer number of horses charging forward immediately caught the attention of the Northern Song Dynasty merchants' men, who then blocked their path.

"Be careful!"

"Who goes there?"

At least thirty or forty burly guards blocked the road.

"The Mingzhou Prefecture government is handling a case, make way!" Zhuo Xi shouted, and his men all flashed their badges.

This thing is a symbol of power, from Qin Shi Huang to the 21st century.

Upon seeing this, the guards' expressions changed, and they made way for them.

Li Yuanchang's horse charged straight in.

"Whoa!!"

Perhaps upon hearing that familiar voice, one of the many carriages suddenly lifted its curtain.

A pair of striking phoenix eyes revealed it.

What are you doing here?

"It really is you!"

The two spoke at almost the same time, both somewhat shocked.

Since their last meeting in Chang'an, Wu Meiniang has disappeared again and has never been seen again.

The two looked at each other, their gazes filled with complex emotions. It was clear that their relationship was not that of ordinary people. Indeed, those destined to be together will always find a way to meet!

"Whoa!!"

All the people from the Minnesota state government followed suit and stopped.

Li Yuanchang glanced back and temporarily held back his thousand words.

"Shall we talk somewhere else?"

Wu Meiniang glanced at the presence of outsiders and, seeing the situation, knew she couldn't escape Li Yuanchang's grasp.

"it is good."

She turned and gave some instructions, then her men drove the carriage away.

Li Yuanchang then ordered his guards to surround the carriage to prevent Wu Meiniang from escaping again.

If Wu Meiniang had returned to Chang'an, he was prepared to forcibly place her under house arrest if he couldn't persuade her to stay.

Li Yuanchang thought he had no chance, but unexpectedly, fate brought him here, and he bumped into it at such an ordinary time.

Indeed, people often fail to obtain what they desperately desire.

It comes back when you stop thinking about it.

The brief conversation between the two, and the sudden arrival of a large number of strangers, left the members of the Northern Song Dynasty Chamber of Commerce on the shore looking at each other in bewilderment and discussing among themselves.

"who is he?"

"Isn't that the Prefect of Mingzhou?"

"..."

On the way, Li Yuanchang learned that Zhuo Xi, the prefect of Mingzhou, actually knew Wu Meiniang, but he did not know the name Wu Meiniang. He knew Ling Shuang, the owner of a merchant house in the Northern Song Dynasty.

The two sides arrived at a manor on the outskirts of Minnesota. It was a very large estate, capable of accommodating nearly a thousand people, and also had its own farm.

A large number of workers are busy here, loading and unloading, and even building their own ships.

Its terrifying capabilities have surpassed those of ordinary businesses.

Li Yuanchang was increasingly alarmed; Wu Meiniang was clearly planning to expand her business overseas.

Finally, the two met alone in a pavilion.

Wild geese fly south, skimming over the high eaves.

Sunlight streamed through the windows on the top floor. As soon as Wu Meiniang entered, she began to fix her headdress in front of the bronze mirror, completely ignoring Li Yuanchang.

"What do you mean?"

"Your Highness, Meiniang doesn't understand what you mean."

"Why did you disappear? What are you trying to do?"

"Your Highness, aren't you being a bit too nosy?"

The two looked at each other through the reflection in the bronze mirror, the atmosphere slightly tense and oppressive.

Although the misunderstanding has been cleared up, many barriers still exist, and Situ Lan's existence is an obstacle that cannot be bypassed.

The empress was unwilling to be a concubine.

a long time.

Li Yuanchang's eyes flashed as he noticed that Wu Meiniang's ring was missing from her finger; she had been wearing it the last time they met.

"Where's your ring?" he asked directly.

"It's too old, I don't want to wear it anymore." Wu Zetian said calmly, continuing to fix her makeup.

Li Yuanchang took a deep breath.

Based on his experience dealing with women over the years, he believes the other party said these things on purpose.

He stopped talking about it because if he continued, it would eventually come down to the position of the Princess Consort of Han.

"Do you still have contact with Li Zhi, the current Crown Prince?"

Did the Northern Song Dynasty provide economic resources for the Crown Prince?

In ancient times, politicians also needed money; their advisors, teams, and even Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) as regent all needed money.

Those uprisings that succeeded, including Li Yuan in his time, were often backed by powerful financial groups that provided them with financial, material, and human support.

In ancient times, these things were concentrated in the hands of prominent local families, but this pattern has now been broken.

The sudden emergence of a large number of goods swept through the Tang Dynasty's business world, making the Northern Song and Southern Qin the largest financial groups in the Tang Dynasty at that time.

Without exaggeration, just looking at resources like money and grain, the current situation is a three-way power struggle: the Northern Song Dynasty controlled by Wu Zetian, and the Southern Qin Dynasty controlled by Li Yuanchang.

The remaining seat would require the combined efforts of five surnames and seven prominent families to fill.

Of course, their greatest strength is their reputation and their rich heritage.

In this respect, even the Northern Song and Southern Qin combined could not match it.

When Wu Zetian frowned in displeasure, she exuded an air of authority and power.

"Your Highness, you're really meddling a bit too much."

"I think I made myself clear enough last time, didn't I?"

"It's none of your business!"

"The greatest reconciliation is for us all to be well."

Li Yuanchang wasn't angry. No matter how much Wu Meiniang grew or how many resources and connections she had, she was still like a woman throwing a tantrum.

"I don't care, you have no idea what outrageous things you're going to do!"

"If you continue to associate closely with the Crown Prince, we will only be enemies in the future!"

He made a series of harsh remarks.

Wu Zetian's slingshot paused.

"What do you mean?"

"Just the literal meaning!"

"I've been looking for you for so long, just because I don't want you to continue down this path!" Li Yuanchang said, somewhat annoyed.

Wu Meiniang turned around: "Haven't you and Prince Jin, the current Crown Prince, always had a good relationship?"

"These things are complicated, and you don't need to know them. You just need to listen to me."