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

The cold wind carried fine snowflakes, swirling on the bluestone pavement of the imperial city.

Six-year-old Wu Xiuning wrapped the collar of her fox fur coat tightly. The white breath she exhaled condensed into frost in the cold air, but it could not hide the excitement in her eyes.

Three-year-old Chu Tian was held by her hand, his little face red from the cold, but he stubbornly refused to shrink into the mink hood, his dark eyes curiously looking at the unfamiliar street scene outside the palace gate.

"Uncle Jia, look!"

Wu Xiuning suddenly let go of Chu Tian's hand and pointed at the icicles hanging from the palace wall.

"Does it look like Prime Minister Di's beard?"

She giggled, picked up a ball of snow from the ground and threw it at Jia Yu.

The snowball drew an arc in the air, but suddenly exploded three feet away from Jia Yu, turning into fine snow that fell down.

Jia Yu shook his head helplessly, the dark patterns on his black cloak faintly visible in the snow.

The captain behind him kept his left hand on the soft sword at his waist, and his eyes swept over several suspicious shadows on the street corner.

"Princess Xiuning, it will be dark if you keep making noise." He deliberately put on a stern face, but saw Wu Xiuning already jumping towards the gilded carriage parked not far away.

The bronze bells hanging from the eaves of the carriage jingled, and the "Zhou" emblem on the shaft glowed dimly in the twilight.

Wu Xiuning had been learning martial arts from the imperial guards' instructor since he was young. He could jump onto the shaft of a cart with a somersault, and his deerskin boots embroidered with gold thread left shallow marks on the snow.

"Brother Chu Tian!" She turned around and stretched out her little hand wearing rabbit fur gloves, and the silver bell on her wrist rang crisply and pleasantly.

Chu Tian raised his red, frozen face, then suddenly squatted down and made a snowball.

Just as Jia Yu was about to speak out to stop him, the child stuffed the snowball into the back of his collar, shuddered, then giggled and grabbed his sister's hand.

Wu Xiuning exerted force with her wrists, and the smooth lines of her muscles were faintly visible under the narrow sleeves embroidered with dark patterns - who would have thought that this six-year-old girl could lift a ten-pound stone lock with one hand?

"Sit tight!"

When Jia Yu jumped onto his horse, the jade pendant on his waist collided with the scabbard, making a clear clanging sound.

He caught a glimpse of the corner of a black armor robe flashing in the shadow of the palace gate, and the corners of his mouth relaxed slightly.

As expected, His Highness Zhao Yu's close confidant came along.

As he waved his right hand, twelve guards in plain clothes immediately spread out in a fan shape. Their seemingly random positions protected the carriage perfectly.

Inside the carriage, Wu Xiuning was leaning against the carved window lattice and looking out.

The aroma of roasted lamb wafting from the street tavern made her stomach growl, but she was more concerned about the inn in the distance with the flags of the Three Kingdoms hanging on it.

"I heard that Pei Daru from the Tang Dynasty can break a rock on his chest."

She poked Chu Tian's soft face and said, "Let him perform for you later, okay?"

Chu Tian took out a pine nut candy from his purse and stuffed it into her mouth: "Sister, have some candy. Uncle Liu said that great scholars are... are..."

He frowned and thought for a long time, then suddenly his eyes lit up: "They are all paper tigers!"

This made Wu Xiuning burst into laughter, and her laughter like silver bells startled the crows perched on the pine trees by the roadside.

She naturally didn't know what kind of conversation her parents were having in the warm room of the East Palace about this "sudden" trip.

......

The agarwood floor heating in the East Palace was burning brightly. Wu Zhao walked barefoot on the cashmere blanket tributed from Persia, and her skirt flowed, revealing the little-known phoenix tattoo on her ankle.

When she took the teacup handed to her by Chu Ning, she pinched the other's palm with her fingertips lightly.

"You let two kids test the Three Kingdoms scholars?"

Her Majesty the Empress blew away the foam, and the tea soup reflected her upturned eyes.

"Aren't you afraid that old-fashioned Pei Yanzhi will hit Xiuning's palm with a ruler?"

Although she said so, a smile played on her lips - during the autumn hunt last year, she had seen with her own eyes her daughter use a slingshot to knock off the caps of several Confucian scholars.

Chu Ning leaned against the window frame and chuckled, the plum branches outside the window cast slanting shadows on his shoulders.

The empress is here to call for justice.

We have to find a way to convince her!

His eyes rolled and he suddenly had an idea.

"Your Majesty, do you know what the three great scholars are doing at the inn today?"

Chu Ning said with a serious face: "They are debating whether a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent."

He deliberately paused for a moment, and indeed saw Wu Zhao narrowing her eyes - this female emperor had once refuted all the great scholars in the court speechless during the palace examination.

Besides, the empress is also a woman, and this kind of topic is obviously aimed at powerful women!

He knew the empress too well. Once this topic came up, Wu Zhao would not have any good feelings towards those three people.

The sound of the night watchman could be heard faintly outside the warm room. Chu Ning suddenly turned around and put his hand on Wu Zhao's shoulder: "How do you think Xiuning will deal with them?"

As expected, Wu Zhao narrowed her eyes, a cold gleam flashed across them, and she sneered, "A great scholar like you is still discussing this kind of thing. You are living like a dog at your age!"

He glanced at Chu Ning and said, "Since you dare to send them both over, you must have made full preparations!"

"Well, I'm looking forward to how those three will respond!"

If you dare to say that a woman’s virtue lies in her lack of talent, then let Xiuning give those three old guys a good beating!

The two smiled at each other, as if they had already seen the scene of their daughter tearing "Instructions for Women" into kites.

……

Posthouse.

Outside the inn, the wind and snow gradually subsided, but the cold was still biting.

Jia Yu dismounted from his horse, his black cloak fluttering in the wind, and the token hanging around his waist shone coldly in the light of the snow.

He leaned slightly to the side and reached out to lift the curtain. Wu Xiuning jumped out of the carriage first, and his deerskin boots made a slight "crunching" sound as he stepped on the snow.

She tilted her little face up, and looked at the three old men in front of the inn with curiosity in her big black eyes, with a sly smile on the corner of her mouth.

Chu Tian followed slowly behind, his little hand tightly grasping his sister's sleeve, but his eyes fell on the bronze wind chimes hanging on the eaves of the inn, and he seemed quite interested in the crisp sound.

The three great scholars had been waiting at the entrance of the inn for a long time. When they heard that it was the Princess of Da Zhou and the Crown Prince of Chu who were coming in person, they did not dare to be negligent. They straightened their clothes and hurried forward to greet them.

Pei Yanzhi was the oldest, with white hair and beard and a solemn face.

Sima Hui was thin, with eyes as sharp as a knife, and holding a feather fan.

Cui Gaoxuan had a smile on his face and seemed gentle, but there was an unfathomable shrewdness in his eyes.

The three of them looked at each other, and were all shocked - the purpose of their trip was not simple to begin with, and now Chu Ning actually took the initiative to send two children here, there must be something fishy.

"I, Pei Yanzhi, greet Princess Xiuning and Prince Chutian."

Pei Yanzhi was the first to bow in a steady voice, followed by Sima Hui and Cui Gaoxuan, who also bowed respectfully.

Jia Yu stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm. He glanced at the three people's faces one by one, and said with a smile:

"There's no need for formalities, three great scholars. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince feels that you are a rare visitor to Great Zhou and possess profound knowledge, so he has consulted with the Empress and sent the Princess and the Crown Prince here to seek advice."

"Before the coronation ceremony, the two of you will visit the posthouse at irregular intervals every day. I hope you will be able to offer your guidance."