After crossing, I surrounded the capital from the countryside

She raised her head, looked at the emperor firmly, and retorted: "Royal brother, this is wrong. Women are not only dependent on men, nor are they born for marriage. We are also wise and powerful, and can contribute to the country and society. Although Shilian is a woman, she also hopes to contribute to the future of the country in her own way."

The emperor became even angrier upon hearing this. He sneered, "Humph, your methods? What do you think your so-called 'methods' can do? In my opinion, they are nothing but unrealistic fantasies. If you really care about the country, you should obey my arrangements, marry the Northern Barbarians, and consolidate the country's alliance. Instead of wasting time here talking about ideals!"

Zhou Shilian listened to the emperor's belittlement and accusations. Although she felt unwilling, she felt more sad.

She had never expected that her royal brother would look down on women so much, and she had never expected that he would belittle her so ruthlessly.

But she did not give up. She continued to stand her ground: "Brother, Shi Lian understands your painstaking efforts and your worries. But Shi Lian really cannot accept such an arrangement. I beg you to give me a chance, let me..."

"That's enough! Remember, you are a princess of the royal family. Your fate has long been closely linked to the country. There is no room for negotiation on this matter. I summoned you here just to inform you."

"Brother Emperor!"

"Someone! Send Princess Lianqing back!"

"Brother Emperor!"

When Zhou Shilian returned to the princess's mansion, she was so angry that she pushed all the tea sets on the table to the ground.

"Crackling" it shattered all over the ground.

"Princess……"

"You guys go out first, I want to be alone."

"Yes."

After everyone left, Zhou Shilian kept breathing heavily, thinking about the issue of the emperor's bloodline that had been circulating among the people recently. Zhou Shilian was unwilling to believe it before, but now he felt that this matter was probably true.

After all, the conflict between the Great Zhou Kingdom and the Northern Barbarians for hundreds of years was known to the world. Now his brother actually wanted to let a princess marry the Northern Barbarians in order to borrow troops from the Northern Barbarians to encircle and suppress the rebels.

This is ridiculous. Isn't this just inviting a wolf into the house? !

No, if my brother is really of Northern Barbarian blood, then...

Thinking of this, Zhou Shilian immediately asked someone to prepare the car and set off for Prince An's Mansion.

Prince An's Mansion

"What wind brings our Princess Lianqing here?" Zhou Shiyuan looked at Zhou Shilian and joked.

Zhou Shilian saw that Zhou Shiyuan's face looked better. After sending the people around away, she told him everything that had just happened.

"This is outrageous!" Zhou Shiyuan slammed the table in anger. His anger rushed straight to his brain and he didn't even notice the pain in his palm.

"Seventh Brother, you said that Zhou Shijie wouldn't really..."

Zhou Shiyuan thought for a moment after hearing this, a dark light flashed across his eyes, and when he looked up and met Zhou Shilian's gaze, both of them felt a jolt in their hearts.

Zhou Shilian felt her scalp tingling: "Seventh Brother!?"

Zhou Shiyuan looked at Zhou Shilian and said, "Sister, do you know that I, your seventh brother, almost couldn't come back?"

"Ah?" Zhou Shilian's pupils dilated as she thought of something.

Zhou Shiyuan slowly recounted his experience: "Now that I think about it, maybe Zhou Shijie already knew my life experience at that time. That's why he wanted to kill me, but I was lucky enough to be saved by Sect Master Xu. After I returned to Beijing safely, I stayed at home when I had nothing to do, so he didn't have the chance to kill me, which is why I am still alive now..."

Zhou Shilian stood up in shock, her eyes full of surprise.

After a while, Zhou Shilian slowly sat down, with a ruthless look in his eyes: "Seventh Brother, why don't we join forces to give him to..."

As he said this, he made a throat-cutting gesture with his hand.

Zhou Shiyuan was shocked. He didn't expect that his sister would be so courageous.

but……

Zhou Shiyuan thought for a moment and said, "I think we could try to cooperate with Sect Leader Xu's rebel army."

"The Rebels?"

Zhou Shiyuan looked at Zhou Shilian seriously and said, "I have thought about this for a long time. Although his uprising army is regarded as a rebel army, there are many knowledgeable people among them, and their power is growing day by day and can no longer be ignored. If we can join forces with them to fight against foreign enemies together, perhaps we can really succeed."

Zhou Shilian's eyes flashed with surprise when she heard this, but she immediately fell into deep thought. She knew her brother's proposal was not aimless, but the road to cooperation would be full of thorns and unknowns.

"Brother, what you said is very true," Zhou Shilian said slowly, "but there has been a long-standing grudge between Master Xu's rebels and our court. How can we build trust and achieve cooperation?"

Zhou Shiyuan smiled slightly, as if he had already made up his mind: "This is indeed a difficult problem, but it is not unsolvable. What's more, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"When I was recovering in Xiaoyao Sect, I also had contact with Sect Leader Xu. I don't think she is the kind of ambitious person who seeks power and usurps the throne. On the contrary, she is a kind person who is passionate and wants to protect the people of the world."

"If we can really reach a cooperation, it will be a win-win situation."

Zhou Shilian's eyes lit up when she heard this: "That's a solution, then how do we contact them?"

Zhou Shiyuan raised his eyebrows, "The hermit has his own clever plan."

……

The sunlight slanted down on the ancient and mottled city walls, giving this silent city a faint golden glow.

Xu Qingqing led her rebel army, marching with firm steps, slowly approaching the entrance of the city. As the team gradually approached, the atmosphere at the city gate began to become unusual.

People gathered spontaneously from all directions, some holding farm tools, some carrying bags on their shoulders, with expressions of expectation and anxiety on their faces, and they surrounded the city gate tightly.

There were discussions and whispers among the crowd, but when the rebels came into sight, all the voices stopped abruptly, replaced by solemnity and awe.

At the front of the crowd, a man dressed in the uniform of an imperial official stood out. He was tall and straight, but his face revealed a sense of fatigue and helplessness.

When Xu Qingqing appeared in front of everyone riding a warhorse in a heroic manner, the official knelt down on the ground without hesitation, touching the ground with his forehead, expressing his deepest respect and pleading.

This action seemed to be a signal, and soon after, the people around followed suit and knelt on the ground, with hope flashing in their eyes, as if at this moment, Xu Qingqing had become their only savior.

There was a solemn and slightly heavy atmosphere in the air, but more of it was a desire for the coming changes.

Xu Qingqing was riding on the horse, looking at the scene in front of her, and a complex emotion surged in her heart.

She slowly tightened the reins to stop the horse, and glanced at the people kneeling on the ground and the man dressed in the clothes of a court official. She felt shocked and a little emotional.