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

The night in late November was getting colder.

The north wind was howling outside the tent, carrying dead leaves. The candlelight inside the tent was swaying in the wind, making Gongsun Yi's face look gloomy and difficult to distinguish.

He sat at the desk, picked up the pen and dipped it in ink, quickly wrote a few lines on a piece of gold-embossed letter paper, then took out his private seal and pressed it heavily at the end.

When the ink dried, he folded the letter, stuffed it into an exquisite brocade bag, sealed it with wax, and stamped it with his own coat of arms.

"Someone come here!" Gongsun Yi shouted coldly.

A deputy envoy dressed in barbarian attire immediately walked into the tent and respectfully clasped his fists, "What are your orders, sir?"

Gongsun Yi handed the letter over, his eyes dark. "Take my handwritten letter and deliver it to the Emperor of Chu personally. Make sure he sees it with his own eyes."

The deputy envoy took the letter and whispered, "Sir, now that the Crown Prince Chu Ning is in power, if we go directly to the Emperor, will we be able to find out about Chu Ning?"

"Just go."

Gongsun Yi sneered: "Although the Emperor of Chu is about to abdicate, he is still the Emperor after all. There are some matters that the Crown Prince may not be able to make the decision on."

The deputy envoy said no more, put the letter close to his body, turned around and strode away.

He jumped on his horse, flicked the whip, and the horse neighed and galloped towards the imperial city.

Gongsun Yi looked at the other person's departing back, lowered his head to look at the wound on his chest, and a cold look appeared on his face.

This time he came to Chu State, he came with a mission.

I wanted to give Chu Ning a warning first before we can talk.

He didn't expect that there was such a master in the State of Chu. If the tip of the spear had penetrated a little deeper, he would have died here today.

If you become enemies in the future, be sure to be careful of this general named Zhao Yu!

Half an hour later, the deputy envoy arrived at the main gate of the imperial city.

It was late at night and the palace gates were closed. Only the torches on both sides swayed in the wind, reflecting the stern faces of the imperial guards.

The deputy envoy reined in his horse and shouted, "The deputy envoy of the Scorpion Clan is ordered by Lord Gongsun to see His Majesty the Emperor of Chu. We have important matters to discuss!"

The centurion of the Imperial Guards glanced at him and said indifferently, "Your Majesty has been away from state affairs recently. All military and national affairs are decided by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Besides, after the Lantern Festival, His Majesty will abdicate. If you have any questions, please go directly to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace."

The deputy envoy frowned, but still refused to give up: "This matter is of great importance and must be presented to His Majesty the Emperor of Chu!"

The centurion of the imperial guards sneered: "I told you to find the prince."

The deputy envoy gritted his teeth, suddenly took out a silver ingot from his sleeve, and quietly handed it over: "General, please do me a favor."

"Qiang!"

With a flash of cold light, the imperial guard's spear suddenly pressed against the deputy envoy's throat.

The centurion's eyes were sharp and his voice was as cold as ice: "The Chu Imperial Guard will not accept this. Either go to the East Palace now, or - get out!"

The deputy envoy's face suddenly changed, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes, but in the end he did not dare to force his way in.

He slowly backed away, his face gloomy as he said, "Good, very good! I hope you won't regret it later!"

After saying that, he jumped on the horse and whipped it hard on the buttocks. The warhorse neighed and rode away in a cloud of dust.

"Pooh!"

The centurion of the imperial guards spat fiercely at his back: "A barbarian dog, do you think you can run wild in the imperial city?"

He turned to the officer beside him and said, "Go to the East Palace and report this to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

The sergeant clasped his hands together and accepted the order, then quickly disappeared into the night.

In the East Palace, the night pearls and candlelight in the hall illuminated the entire hall.

Chu Ning sat upright in the main seat, with many memorials piled on the desk.

It was a deep night, and the East Palace was brightly lit by candles. Chu Ning was working at his desk reviewing memorials when he suddenly heard steady footsteps outside the palace.

"Your Highness, the captain of the imperial guards requests to see you." The eunuch reported in a low voice.

Chu Ning didn't even raise his head and said calmly, "Spread it."

The imperial guards sergeant walked in quickly, knelt on one knee, and clasped his fists, saying, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, just now the deputy envoy of the barbarian tribe brought a letter written by Gongsun Yi, requesting to see Your Majesty. I refused him according to your orders, and he became angry and left after leaving harsh words."

Chu Ning paused for a moment with the red brush in his hand, then sneered, "I understand, please step back."

"Yes!" The captain clasped his fists respectfully, stood up and left the hall.

When the palace door closed again, the pearl curtain in the side hall moved slightly, and a graceful and elegant figure walked out slowly.

Wu Zhao was wearing a dark phoenix robe, with a smile on her lips and deep eyes, looking at Chu Ning with a half-smile:

"It seems that this General Gongsun is very obsessed with your Chu State's emperor."

"I just suffered a loss during the day, and now I want to secretly contact your Emperor Chu at night."

Chu Ning put down his pen, looked up at her, and raised his lips slightly. "Your Majesty, what do you think about the Scorpion Clan's envoys insisting on seeing my father?"

Wu Zhao chuckled, her fingertips casually stroking the teacup on the table. She said, "I don't know much, but seeing how confident they are, they are probably certain that your father will agree to certain conditions."

Chu Ning nodded slightly, his eyes cold. "The delegation I sent was detained by them. Even their Khan was unable to rescue them. This shows that there has been a change within the tribe for a long time. The leaders of more than a dozen tribes are probably all harboring their own thoughts."

Wu Zhao raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Why do you think so?"

Chu Ning sneered, "It's winter now, and the grasslands are short of food. If their Khan can't supply enough food, the tribal leaders will inevitably fight each other and fend for themselves."

"Gongsun Yi's arrival this time appears to be a display of force, but in reality... I'm afraid he's coming on behalf of the Scorpion Khan to beg for food from our dynasty."

Wu Zhao's eyes flashed with admiration, and she nodded slowly: "You do have a point, but since the other party came to ask you for help, why do you still want to intimidate you?"

"What's more, your Chu delegation hasn't returned yet. This doesn't seem like an attitude of 'asking for something'."

Chu Ning's eyes turned cold, and he tapped the table lightly with his knuckles. He said in a cold voice, "The delegation must still be in their hands. They want to use our envoys as hostages to force me to submit."

"If I don't agree, they will kill the envoys and then turn the tables, accusing Great Chu of disregarding the envoys' lives and provoking disputes between the two countries."

Wu Zhao's red lips curled slightly, as if she was smiling: "Then... do you want to agree?"

Chu Ning raised the corner of his mouth slowly, a hint of coldness: "You want my food? Sure, but it depends on what they can offer in exchange!"

A cold light flashed in his eyes, "I am not someone who will suffer any loss."

Wu Zhao chuckled, a hint of amusement flashing in her eyes: "Interesting, then how do you plan to deal with it?"

Chu Ning stood up, hands behind his back, and looked out at the deep night outside the palace. He said calmly, "Since they want to play, I will play with them to the end."

He turned his head to look at Wu Zhao, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light, "Your Majesty, are you interested in seeing what these prairie wolves can do?"

Wu Zhao raised her red lips slightly and said leisurely, "I will wait and see."

Outside the hall, the cold wind was howling, and there seemed to be an undercurrent surging. A silent game had already begun.