Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

At noon the next day, the charcoal fire in the warm room of the East Palace was burning brightly, and the curling sandalwood incense dispelled the winter chill.

Chu Ning was wearing a dark brocade robe, with his long hair tied up casually, and there was a hint of laziness and satisfaction between his brows.

Wu Zhao was half-leaning on the soft couch, her snow-white fox fur loosely wrapped around her body, revealing a few ambiguous red marks on her neck.

She was twirling a white jade chess piece between her fingertips and tapping the chessboard thoughtfully.

"Xiuning has become more and more like you in the past two years."

Chu Ning picked up the teacup and took a sip, a smile in his eyes: "I heard that she scared all the guards in your palace?"

Wu Zhao raised the corners of her lips slightly, a hint of pride flashing in her eyes: "That girl is quite talented, at the level of a third-rate master. Ordinary guards dare not fight her, for fear of defeating her."

She paused, then added with a hint of resignation, "A few days ago, she even pestered the commander of the Imperial Guards to challenge her to a duel, and ended up breaking his sword."

Chu Ning laughed out loud upon hearing this: "Great! As expected of my daughter, you have the same personality as you did back then!"

Wu Zhao glanced at him sideways, flicked her fingertips lightly, and the chess piece fell onto the chessboard with a "pa" sound. She said with a half-smile:

"Why, in your eyes, I was an unruly person back then?"

Chu Ning's smile deepened. He reached out and held her wrist, his thumb gently stroking her delicate skin.

"It's better to be restless. If you were a law-abiding person, how could you have entered Qin alone and joined forces with me to defeat the enemy?"

Wu Zhao snorted lightly, but did not withdraw her hand. She just turned her head slightly and looked through the half-open window lattice at the plum branches in the courtyard covered with a thin layer of frost.

After a while, she whispered, "Xiuning has always wanted to call you 'Daddy'."

Chu Ning's eyes narrowed and his knuckles tightened slightly.

Wu Zhao continued, "However, I have already told her that I hope to wait until you unify the world before revealing her identity."

She looked up at him, her eyes full of meaning: "By then, she will not only be my daughter, but also the princess of Great Chu."

Chu Ning's eyes suddenly lit up with pride. He leaned over and pecked her lightly on the lips, then smiled softly and said, "Don't worry, that day won't be too far away."

It was getting late, and Chu Ning couldn't stay in the house all the time. After talking to Wu Zhao, he came to the yard.

The maid immediately brought a copper basin and a towel.

Chu Ning took the hot towel and wiped it on his face a few times, trying to wipe off the stains on his face.

At this time, Zhao Yu bowed and saluted: "Your Highness, Lord Jia is here and said he has an urgent matter!"

Chu Ning raised his eyebrows. "Emergency? Could it be that the three dynasties on the front line have sent troops? No, if they had, he should have said it was urgent military information!"

After saying that, he put the towel into the copper basin and said, "Let's go and take a look."

One quarter past noon, in the East Palace Hall.

When Chu Ning stepped into the hall, Jia Yu had been waiting for a long time.

This trusted advisor, dressed in a blue shirt and with a calm expression, immediately bowed when he saw Chu Ning coming in.

"I have met His Highness."

Chu Ning nodded slightly, walked straight to the main seat, raised his hand to signal him to excuse himself, "What's the matter?"

Jia Yu stood up and said in a deep voice, "We just received urgent news from the border. The barbarians have sent an envoy and will arrive in the capital in five days."

Chu Ning frowned, a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes: "Five days later?"

Jia Yu nodded: "Yes."

Chu Ning tapped the table with his fingertips and sneered, "It seems they have already set out, but they are deliberately delaying the news in order to catch us off guard."

Jia Yu's expression was solemn: "The barbarians suddenly sent an envoy this time, I'm afraid they have bad intentions."

Chu Ning narrowed her eyes slowly, a cold light flashing in her eyes: "Since they dare to come, I will let them see what it means to be caught off guard."

The hall was brightly lit with candles, and the finest agarwood incense was burning in the copper censer, with wisps of green smoke floating slowly in the air.

Chu Ning stood by the window with his hands behind his back, gazing sternly at the towering palace walls in the distance, and asked in a cold voice:

"Who is leading the other delegation this time?"

Jia Yu stood behind him, holding a secret report in his hand, his expression solemn.

"Your Highness, the barbarian delegation will arrive in five days, led by the barbarian general Gongsun Yi." Jia Yu reported in a deep voice.

Chu Ning raised his eyebrows slightly, a sharp glint in his eyes: "Gongsun Yi? The top-notch master known as the 'Number One Swordsman of the Barbarian Tribe'?"

Jia Yu nodded. "That's him. Rumor has it that he has a violent temper and once single-handedly killed a hundred elite cavalrymen on the battlefield. No one in the barbarian tribe dared to go against his will."

Chu Ning sneered and tapped the window frame with his knuckles: "No matter how violent your temper is, you have to restrain yourself when you come to my territory!"

Jia Yu pondered for a moment and asked, "Your Highness, what standards should be used to receive the barbarian envoys this time?"

Chu Ning's eyes flickered slightly, and he said calmly: "According to the standards of a dynasty envoy, there is no need to deliberately lower it, but there is no need to raise it either."

He paused, his tone growing colder. "They came here this time for two reasons—one was the murder of the Barbarians' secret agent, and the other was evidence of their collusion with Dugu Xin."

"Since they've come to give me an 'account', let them know who's in charge here!"

Jia Yu nodded, then added in a low voice: "In addition, according to the spies' report, there may be one of our people hiding in the barbarian delegation."

Chu Ning's eyes suddenly focused: "Who?"

"Minister of Rites—Deng Hongwen."

Chu Ning's pupils shrank slightly, and the aura around him suddenly sank. The temperature in the hall seemed to drop a few degrees in an instant.

He turned slowly, his eyes as sharp as a knife: "Deng Hongwen is in the barbarian delegation?"

Jia Yu's expression was solemn. "The Jinyiwei haven't confirmed it yet, but the Barbarian delegation's whereabouts are so secretive. It's very likely because they brought Lord Deng with them."

Chu Ning's eyes grew colder as he spoke word by word, "Pass the order down and make sure to find out if Deng Hongwen is in the delegation! If he's missing even a hair—"

He sneered, his voice as cold as ice, "No one from that barbarian delegation will leave alive!"

Jia Yu's heart trembled, and he immediately clasped his fists and said, "I'll arrange it right away!"

Looking at Jia Yu's departing back, Chu Ning slowly sat down with a cold light flashing in his eyes.

He sat alone at the desk, his fingertips gently stroking a jade pendant. The word "Deng" was engraved on the token. It was the token that Deng Hongwen gave him before leaving.

This mission to the barbarians was very dangerous. Deng Hongwen was worried that he would not be able to return, so he left the jade pendant behind in advance.

He also said that if he really couldn't come back, he would be asked to take care of the Deng family.

"Deng Hongwen..." Chu Ning murmured in a low voice, with a complicated look in his eyes.

Deng Hongwen was the Minister of Rites of the Chu State and one of his confidants.

A few months ago, he was ordered to go on a diplomatic mission to the barbarian territory and secretly investigate the collusion between the barbarians and Dugu Xin, but there has been no news.

Now the barbarian delegation suddenly came to visit, and Deng Hongwen's whereabouts were unknown - if he really fell into the hands of the barbarians,

Then this mission's trip is probably far more than just a simple "explanation"!

A cold light flashed in Chu Ning's eyes. He suddenly clenched the token and whispered to himself:

"Gongsun Yi...if you dare to touch my people, I will let you know what true violence means!"

"However, before that, I still have to go to see my father."