Even emperors have it tough, so don't be too picky about the entries.

......

When Chen Yuan was brought up, he was initially standing tall and proud, but upon seeing the tense atmosphere inside the tent, he immediately cowered.

He immediately hunched over and bowed to the Empress.

Helian Yunni was clearly taking her anger out on him.

He slammed his hand on the table and said sternly:

"Chen Yuan! You've raised a fine son!"

"You, Sixth Brother, caused our Northern Barbarians to lose over five thousand men today. This debt will all be yours!"

"Tell me, choose how you want to die!"

Chen Yuan's legs went weak, and he almost knelt down.

But he had been an emperor for decades, so his mental fortitude was up to par.

They quickly calmed down.

I thought to myself, "Can I choose to die of pleasure?"

He knew that Helian Yunni would not kill him, so he didn't need to worry about his life.

But... he didn't want to suffer physical pain.

Chen Yuan was more angry with Chen Shao than with Helian Yunni.

That bastard son of mine, he abandoned me the day before.

Now he clearly knows that his father is in the Northern Mang army.

Instead of sending anyone to negotiate and exchange, they are provoking others in this way.

He's trying to use someone else to do his dirty work!

He immediately smiled wryly:

"Your Majesty, please don't blame me. It's all my fault... My rebellious son doesn't understand the situation... He insisted on resisting. Your Majesty, rest assured, I will write a letter and have him come to apologize in person."

The generals in the tent looked at each other in bewilderment.

Chen Yuan's words really surprised them.

Is this really so shameless?

"Your Majesty, this man is known for his fickle nature; he should not be trusted."

"Moreover, the people of the Central Plains are mostly cunning. Who knows if there are any coded messages in the letter that might leak our military secrets?"

The Empress nodded and waved her hand:

"Then drag him out and chop him up."

"what?"

This caught Chen Yuan off guard, and he hurriedly raised his hand and shouted.

"Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty the Empress, spare me!"

"What that unfilial son did has absolutely nothing to do with me!"

"What Your Majesty is trapped by is simply the strong walls of the capital, which cannot be taken in the short term."

"I...I'm willing to open the city gates for Your Majesty!"

The Empress gestured for the soldiers to withdraw and smiled:

"Can you call for help?"

"Yes! It's definitely possible! The guards on the city wall, and Yu Qi'an himself, were all my former subjects. They wouldn't dare shoot arrows at me. If I stand below the city, the gates will fall without a fight..."

The Empress finally nodded in satisfaction.

"Then I will give you one more chance. If you can open the city gates on the battlefield, you can go back to be the Emperor of Great Yan."

"I can rule from across the river with you."

"If you can't be persuaded... then I'll have no choice but to charge into battle with your head hanging on the flagpole."

"Take him away!"

Two guards helped Chen Yuan out of the main tent.

The empress turned around to face her ministers.

"Pass down the order: the entire army shall rest for a day to restore morale and treat the wounded."

"At dawn the day after tomorrow, launch a full-scale attack on the city!"

......

The Imperial Study.

Chen Shao had just sat down when he heard a series of hurried footsteps.

Interspersed among these were Eunuch Wei's shrill voices: "Mr. Shen! Mr. Shen, please slow down!"

"Eunuch, don't talk to me."

Chen Shao frowned as he listened from inside the room.

With such a filthy mouth, who else could it be!

Shen Qingci pushed open the door and entered.

They did not bow.

He placed a heavy bundle directly on the table, making a dull thud.

The bundle was partially opened, revealing rows of silver notes inside.

"Twenty thousand taels!"

Shen Qingci crossed her arms:

"You're short of money to buy horses right now, and Lord Yu is desperate for food. I'll sell my house and do my best to help."

Chen Shao's heart stirred.

This warmth...

He gave the voluptuous beauty a deep look.

"You sold the house...where will you live?"

"There are dormitories at Luming Academy, I'll just move there."

"Don't look at me like that, it's disgusting."

"I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing it for the Great Yan Dynasty, for all the people of the world."

"If you can't defend the city, the house I keep will just be for the Northern Barbarians to live in. Rather than letting those barbarians benefit, I'd rather gamble on whether you can do something."

Chen Shao had gotten used to that sharp tongue.

"Mr. Shen." He put away his smile and bowed to her respectfully.

"I..."

"Alright, alright, stop with the nonsense. You're being so fussy, like a woman."

"Fifty thousand taels, at current prices, could buy several hundred bolts of horsemanship, right?"

Warhorses are extremely scarce in the Great Yan Dynasty.

Even in times of peace, a bolt of horseman could fetch 20 taels, but now it's skyrocketing to 60 taels.

But this isn't about money.

This is the girl's heartfelt wish.

Chen Shao was deeply moved.

"Mr. Shen, please accept this money for now. I just received one million taels from the Empress Dowager, which should be enough to cover my immediate needs."

Shen Qingci was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up.

He looked Chen Shao up and down.

"You didn't sell your body in exchange for sex, did you?"

"The Empress Dowager was already a married widow, and their passion was like dry tinder igniting a raging fire."

"No, no, no..."

Chen Shao was about to explain when Shen Qingci interrupted him.

"It doesn't matter. I can understand if you were to become a male prostitute in a brothel to save the country."

"This won't affect your character in any way; on the contrary, this is what makes a real man!"

"A true man knows when to yield and when to stand firm!"

Damn... I can't explain this anymore.

Chen Shao offered no further explanation.

But he didn't refuse anymore; this woman was just a stubborn one.

Chen Shao said solemnly:

"I will remember Mr. Shen's kindness."

"This fifty thousand taels of silver is a godsend, and I would also like to give you a gift."

Shen Qingci raised an eyebrow.

Chen Shaodao: "I will repay you with my body."

"roll!"

"Let me finish. I definitely can't repay you with my body, but empty promises seem too weak."

"I have nothing else of value, so I will give you a poem instead."

Chen Shao thought for a long time and it seemed that he could only follow the old path that his predecessors had taken.

It's old-fashioned, but it's practical.

He walked to the imperial desk, spread out a sheet of Xuan paper, picked up a vermilion brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote with lightning speed.

His calligraphy isn't particularly good, but it's still quite elegant.

Two lines of text leap off the page.

"There will be times when the wind will break the waves, and I will set sail to cross the vast ocean."

Shen Qingci looked down.

I was about to mutter something like, "What kind of lousy poetry can you even write?"

But when he saw those fourteen characters, his eyes became even brighter.

Finding gold in the shit!

bah bah bah!

This is real gold!

As the headmaster of Luming Academy, she usually encountered sentimental poems about love and romance, and affected sentimentality.

I've never seen such a magnificent and unrestrained poem, almost bursting out of my chest.

Chen Shao looked at her expression.

He thought to himself, "No wonder it's the path that so many time-traveling predecessors have trodden; it's really useful."

"Sir, how are you?"

"Wait, let me catch my breath."

Shen Qingci's chest heaved violently, as if it were filled with the heroic sentiment in the poem, almost bursting out.

After a moment, she seemed to wake up from a dream.

"good."

She seemed to see through Chen Shao's thoughts and waved her hand, saying:

"There are very few who can truly deserve my praise."

"Can't you live without bragging?" Chen Shao was speechless.

"It's just that my handwriting is too bad. I'll rewrite it myself when I get back and hang it in the main hall of the academy so that all the students can learn from it!"

After saying that, she didn't take the paper and quickly walked out of the palace gate.

With a flick of his robe across the threshold, he vanished without a trace.

Chen Shao was about to summon Eunuch Wei when he saw the man already jogging over.

"Your Majesty, Miss Han Qingwan from the Prime Minister's residence has arrived at the palace."

Chen Shao was taken aback:

"Is she in such a hurry?"