After the failed attempt to pretend to be dead, the sickly child was favored by the treacherous mini

Xia Ling, who had been given a seven-day leave after his wedding, left the East Palace on the wedding night and moved directly into Prince Ling's Mansion.

After being awake and drunk for several days, when I woke up again, it was almost the end of the holiday.

The singing, dancing and drinking in the outer courtyard started again. Xia Ling, wearing a cloak over his clothes, lay on a soft couch, letting the young eunuch massage his head, which was very uncomfortable after a night of drunkenness.

There were already quite a few memorials piled on the small wooden table next to the couch, most of which were all the arrangements made by Shen Jinmo and the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the southern tour.

Xia Ling picked up a few books at random, took a look at them, and then threw them back on the small table.

These matters did not require his approval at all. Shen Jinmo handed these memorials over only because of the emperor's order and he needed to speak to him.

However, the most important thing now has not been determined. Even if Xia Ling is really allowed to make the decision, nothing can be accomplished.

Xun Lan pushed the door open with a bowl of sobering soup. While Xia Ling was drinking the soup, Xun Lan whispered to him about the noble envoy's unusual behavior.

This was on Xia Ling's territory, and Xia Ling personally accompanied the guests in drinking, firstly to show his sincerity and respect, and secondly to use the wine to say all the things that should and should not be said.

As for Xun Lan, the eunuch of the Eastern Palace, he naturally had to be alert at all times and keep a close eye on every little movement in the Prince Ling's Mansion.

Xia Ling, who knew what was going on, changed his clothes and sat upright at the desk, drinking hot tea. "How is the East Palace these days?"

The question was directed at the Eastern Palace, but what he actually wanted to know was whether Han Shu had been stabbed by the soft knife of the palace and her muscles had become weak.

In his original plan, Han Shu was an important chess piece to make everything go smoothly.

"On the wedding night, the blind nannies were thrown into the pond. After that, the Crown Princess was summoned by the Queen. When she returned to the East Palace later, she copied the scriptures to pray for Daxia."

"I heard from Miss Suiyin that the Crown Princess would stand all day long regardless of the weather, and when she finished copying the Buddhist scriptures at night, it was already midnight."

"I was summoned by the Queen again early this morning. When I left the Eastern Palace, I had not heard the news that the Crown Princess had returned to the Eastern Palace."

Xia Ling's lips curved slightly, and he felt satisfied with Zhong Luoyue's training.

Some people's pride has to be cut off before they can understand their situation and do things that are in line with their status.

"Although a married woman should be gentle, kind and modest, and should abide by palace rules in everything, Shu'er knelt for half a month to be the Crown Princess, how can your mother treat her like this?"

He spoke these words lightly, expecting Xun Lan to approve of his views.

However, Xun Lan kept his brows lowered throughout the entire time and did not make any comment on the matter.

He didn't know if it was Xia Ling's own illusion, but he always felt that Xun Lan seemed to feel a little sorry for Han Shu's experience.

Thinking about how Xun Lan had once argued with Xia Hong over a few bandits, Xia Ling felt it was normal to feel pity for Han Shu.

"I am not the kind of person who would argue with a woman. When the matter at hand is settled, I will certainly give my mother some good advice."

Xun Lan did not want to talk any more about Han Shu with Xia Ling. Seeing that Xia Ling was still pretending to be addicted, Xun Lan simply threw out the chips that had not yet been concluded.

"I just went to the front yard to persuade people to drink a few rounds of wine. All the princes except the King of Inner North have started to indulge in fine wine and beautiful women again."

Xia Ling spent several days, and the fish he wanted to catch finally floated to the surface.

Thinking of the Inner Northern Kingdom's cavalrymen who grew up on horseback, Xia Ling smiled with great satisfaction.

Standing up from the desk, Xia Ling looked out the window at the beautiful scenery outside the house, and instantly felt a great sense of pride: "God helps me, how can I betray God?"

"Dong dong dong."

There was a knock on the door, and the eunuch said softly, "Your Highness, the Prince of Inner North has brought some wine to invite you to drink with him."

King of Inner North, isn’t that the bright moon in Xia Ling’s heart right now?

He walked up to the study room and opened the door himself. Xia Ling smiled and welcomed the King of Neibei in. "I have been craving for this Neibei grassland goat milk wine for a long time. I wonder if this is the wine the King of Neibei brought?"

The King of Inner North, who originally planned to give it a try, was surprised by Xia Ling's enthusiasm: "My young prince brought not only goat milk wine, but also something that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince likes more."

At a glance from Xia Ling, Xun Lan personally ordered all the servants around the study to go out.

He was left alone sitting on a wooden chair outside the study, guarding the most important step for Xia Ling that determined his life or death.

He poured a cup of goat milk wine from the jug into his own cup first, and the King of Inner North drank the first cup, then poured some for Xia Ling.

Xia Ling picked up the cup of mare's milk brought by the King of Inner North, turned it around in his hand for a few times, and then drank it in one gulp.

The two looked into each other's eyes, and the King of Neibei pinched his beard that was tied into a small whip and laughed loudly.

Xia Ling followed closely behind, also laughing happily.

The King of Neibei couldn't understand the fathers and sons, monarchs and ministers in the court of the Great Xia, but he could see that even though Xia Ling was the legitimate prince of the Empress Dowager, he was not as favored as Xia Yu.

If Xia Hong, the king of this country, is not killed, Xia Ling will be replaced by Xia Yu sooner or later.

The empty wine cup was filled again. The Inner North King, who was more anxious than Xia Ling, spoke first: "Your Highness the Crown Prince doesn't like being outshined by others, and wants to be the only person to convey the will of the Eternal Heaven?"

Neibei is backed by a vast desert, and people rely on migrating with cattle and sheep for most of the year.

Life was still passable in spring and summer when there was plenty of water and grass, but in autumn and winter, they could only survive by plundering the people of Beixin County.

Xia Ling naturally knew what the King of Inner North wanted.

"The King of Inner North is tired of the wind and sand in Inner North and wants to lead the people of Inner North to live a peaceful life like in Great Xia where men farm and women weave?"

Before the King of Inner North came to Xia Ling to discuss cooperation, he personally sent his advisers to look for Xia Yu, which was now at a disadvantage in strength but seemed to be more favored by the emperor.

Who would have thought that Xia Yu would directly propose the clause of "being a vassal state for generations and offering cattle and sheep every year", which directly made his advisers so angry that they vomited blood.

He even suspected that the royal descendants and nobles of this Divine Capital had already known that his Inner North Cavalry had been chased and driven out of the Inner North border for more than a hundred miles by the northern border roaming troops this year.

If he doesn't find someone to support Neibei, Neibei may suffer the pain of national destruction.

Now seeing what Xia Ling said, the King of Inner North suddenly felt that as long as Xia Ling successfully ascended to the throne, his Inner North might be bright and glorious.

"The Emperor's birthday is approaching, and there will be many royal relatives and relatives going south for a tour. There must be a limited number of guards that can be brought along."

"With the loss of the iron wall formed by the imperial guards and the palace walls, it is the perfect opportunity to assassinate the emperor. I, Neibei, can use 5,000 cavalry to help the prince seize the throne."

Upon hearing this, Xia Ling's hands hidden in his wide sleeves were so excited that they broke out in a sweat.

Trying his best to remain calm, Xia Ling asked, "The King of Inner North is so generous, I will definitely not treat Inner North unfairly. Please feel free to ask for anything you want."

"I want to use these 5,000 cavalry to exchange for the two counties of Beixin and Dingxi. Even if it means losing an inch of land, I will not discuss this cooperation with the Crown Prince."