The Eternal Beauty of the City of Wealth

Before Zixuan finished speaking, a group of beautiful women came in from outside.

They were playing and chirping happily like a group of little magpies.

As soon as they entered the house, the princesses surrounded Zixuan and said, "Mother, if Zijin doesn't marry, we won't marry either..."

Zixuan looked at the daughters of the same company and was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling: "Okay, okay, if you don't want to get married, then don't get married. Just stay with your mother. Your mother can support you, haha."

"Okay, okay, mother, from now on, your daughters will stay with you for the rest of your life, to take care of you in your old age..."

Zixuan thought: I wonder who will be the one to see whom off to the end, haha...

"Who said they won't get married? Grandma will remember this for you, just don't cry when the time comes."

At this time, the queen walked in with a smile, supported by her maid.

He joked with his granddaughters as he walked.

The queen is almost sixty years old this year, but she is in very good health, thanks to her daughter's care and love for her.

When the princesses saw their grandmother coming, they hurried forward to help her sit on the sofa.

The queen looked at these beautiful granddaughters with eyes full of doting, and the love in her heart was beyond words.

Ziyu lay on her thighs and said coquettishly: "Grandma, I also like the hairpin you gave to Zizhi yesterday. Can you give Yu'er one too?"

The queen stroked her hair lovingly and said, "Okay, okay, tomorrow grandma will give one to each of you."

The princesses all chirped and thanked her: "Thank you, Grandma, thank you, Grandma, thank you..."

When Zixuan saw his mother coming, he said seriously, "Mother, Bo Yuan just reported that the Left Prime Minister Bo Qu has passed away."

The queen was stunned for a moment, then sighed again: "Alas, my dear old Lord, you are not young anymore, it is normal for you to die."

"Xuan'er, my dear Lord has passed away. Is there anyone who can take his place as the Left Prime Minister?"

"Mother, Xuan'er has considered it, and in terms of loyalty, the Bo family is the first."

"I intend to have Bo Yuan's father, Bo Yi, take over his position as Left Prime Minister. What do you think, Queen Mother?"

The queen nodded and said, "Well, Xuan'er, I think it's okay. The loyalty of the Bo family is one of them."

"Secondly, we should also take care of them for the sake of the king and queen. This way, we can feel at ease holding power firmly in the hands of our own people."

"Yes, mother. Now my Fugui City is a powerful and wealthy holy place among the vassal states."

"In such a good place, there are always people with ulterior motives. They might do some dirty things unknown to the public to undermine the stability of the court."

"If the power of the prime minister falls into the hands of someone else, it will be very detrimental to the government."

"Well, Xuan'er is right. Over the past decade or so, those old ministers have died or retreated, and there are very few left."

"Newly selected officials cannot be entrusted with important tasks yet. We must conduct more secret investigations to prevent problems before they occur."

Zixuan nodded. After finishing this, everyone surrounded Zixuan and the queen and walked towards the court.

In the Wu Palace of Linzi City, Duke Zhuang of Qi was walking around the room in boredom.

He was about to order a carriage to Cui Zhu's residence when a eunuch came in and announced, "Your Majesty, the Jin official Luan Ying requests an audience."

Duke Zhuang of Qi was stunned. Luan Ying was a high-ranking official of the royal family of Jin. What was he doing in Qi?

He waved his hand: "Please come in, Doctor Luan!"

“Yes!” The eunuch agreed and left the hall to bring Luan Ying in.

Luan Ying bowed deeply to Jiang Guang and said, "Your Highness, I, Luan Ying, pay my respects to you, Your Majesty."

Jiang Guang quickly supported him with his hand: "Doctor, there's no need to be so polite. Please stand up quickly. Someone, come and bring the tea!"

After the two sat down, Jiang Guang asked, "Doctor Luan, you have come a thousand miles to see me. I wonder what advice you have for me?"

Luan Ying sighed, "Your Majesty, I have suffered a great disaster. I have come to Qi to seek refuge and serve Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty to accept me."

Duke Zhuang of Qi was delighted and said, "I wonder what hardship has befallen you to have to leave your homeland?"

"Your Majesty, you may not know that after my father died, my mother committed adultery and swallowed up all the family property."

"My mother was worried that the foreign ministers would come after her for this, so she teamed up with my grandfather and uncle to falsely accuse him of plotting rebellion."

"Afterwards, he and his officers and soldiers drove him out of the State of Jin, so the foreign minister went to the State of Chu first."

"But the Duke of Chu was timid, fearing he would offend the State of Jin, so he didn't dare take in a foreign minister. That's why Luan Ying ended up here."

After saying this, he bowed deeply again and said, "Luan Ying comes to me with sincerity, and I hope Your Majesty will take me in."

Duke Zhuang of Qi stroked his chin and thought for a moment, "Doctor Luan, I admire your talent, but this matter is of great importance."

"I will discuss this with the ministers and make a decision. What do you think?"

Luan Ying nodded hurriedly: "Very good. Then, I will wait for good news."

After Luan Ying left, Duke Zhuang of Qi sat at his desk, drinking tea and thinking.

He knew Luan Ying, a kind and charitable man with a chivalrous heart and many followers.

He also supported many retainers in his mansion, so outsiders respectfully called him "the retained scholar."

Moreover, he had many highly skilled warriors in his fiefdom "Quwo".

If I take him in and help him fight back to Jin, wouldn't I be able to get a share of the spoils?

In fact, he had long hoped to create another legend for the State of Qi, but he had no chance.

This is a great opportunity for the rise of Qi State, and we must not miss it.

Since the death of Duke Dao of Jin, his relationship with the State of Jin has returned to its previous cockfighting state.

Everyone is disgusted with each other and wants to find an opportunity to destroy them. Isn't this the opportunity? Haha.

The next morning, at court, Duke Zhuang of Qi had just sat down when a eunuch came to report that an envoy from the State of Jin wanted to see him.

He sneered, "You come really quickly. Just look at how I can play with you guys in the palm of my hand."

After the envoy entered the palace and paid his respects, he said impatiently, "Your Majesty, my king has heard that the traitor Luan Ying has fled to Linzi."

"I, your humble servant, am entrusted by the various vassal states to sign an agreement with you."

Duke Zhuang of Qi looked at him curiously and asked, "What is the agreement? Tell me quickly."

"Your Majesty, the King of Qi, this alliance is led by the Great Jin State. It requires you to imprison the traitor Luan Ying and hand him over to the Jin State."

Duke Zhuang of Qi pretended to think for a moment, then looked around at his ministers and said, "My lords, I have decided to imprison Luan Ying. What do you think?"

The ministers thought for a while and responded in unison: "We second the motion, we second the motion..."

In this regard, Duke Zhuang of Qi and the vassal states headed by Jin signed this agreement.

After the envoys left, Duke Zhuang of Qi chuckled and said to his ministers, "My dear ministers, I do not intend to imprison Luan Ying and send him to the State of Jin."

"The reason for signing this agreement is simply to confuse the State of Jin."

"I have decided to take Luan Ying in and help him fight his way back to Jin."

"When the time comes, I will personally lead the army and follow them, seizing the opportunity to invade Jin and destroy it. What do you think?"