Back to the day I married my second wife, I turned around and married my ex-husband's uncle

That night, the emperor finally had a good sleep.

In the palace, Qin Chengqian was singing and dancing, hugging the dancer and drunkenly unaware of what was going on.

Jiang Xiru heard the noise and rushed into the room, "Everyone, get out!"

The piano music stopped abruptly and the dancer had to leave the room.

"Hey, why did you leave? Come back!" Qin Chengqian yelled drunkenly.

After the dancer left, Jiang Xiru closed the door and walked over to Qin Chengqian. "Your Highness, the King of Chu has just been buried, and you're still copying scriptures as punishment. You're dancing and drinking instead. If this gets out, do you think you can turn things around?"

Jiang Xiru was extremely angry. It was not easy for her to get to this point. She could not let Qin Chengqian ruin her plan to become the queen.

Qin Chengqian grabbed Jiang Xiru and pulled her into his arms. "Now that we've lost a powerful enemy, can't we have a few drinks to celebrate?"

"If you drive them away, then you can drink with me!"

As he spoke, Qin Chengqian poured Jiang Xiru some wine.

Jiang Xiru struggled to her feet, knocking over her wine glass. "It's just the death of the King of Chu. How can you compare to the Third Prince's current power?"

Now is not the time to be happy.

But Qin Chengqian felt even more frustrated when he heard this, and angrily threw the wine pot, "What do you want from me? Father punished me by confining me to copying scriptures, so can't I have a couple of drinks in my room?"

"If you don't tell me, who will know?"

During the time he returned to the palace, every time it was late at night and everyone was asleep, he could vaguely hear his mother crying.

It made him scared and sad.

Only when there are many people around can the sound disappear.

If the Queen Mother were still alive, she would definitely have a couple of drinks with him to celebrate.

But now, he is alone.

"There are so many eyes in the palace, there will always be someone watching you! Your Highness, you should be more cautious now!" Jiang Xiru said angrily.

Qin Chengqian suddenly became impatient and grabbed Jiang Xiru's hand and pulled her in front of him.

He raised his hand and pinched Jiang Xiru's chin with great force.

"Do you talk to Xie Yongan like this too?"

"You don't have Jiang Ningwan's scheming, nor Fan Ruoshuang's understanding. You have nothing, yet you dream of becoming the queen all day long."

"Do you understand how you should treat me now?"

Jiang Xiru was angered by these words and angrily broke free from his hand.

Two red marks were left on the cheeks.

"Your Highness, do you think I'm useless again? Your Highness, don't forget how you returned to the palace from the imperial mausoleum!"

"I advise Your Highness not to be too happy too soon, for the sake of our future!"

After saying that, Jiang Xiru left angrily.

Qin Chengqian's brows flashed with anger, and he overturned the table.

……

The death of the King of Chu caused the emperor to stay away from court for five consecutive days.

The imperial physician examined the emperor and said that he was too sad and his health was not good. The ministers successively advised the emperor to take care of his health and mourn with patience.

For the sake of state affairs, the emperor still went to court. All the officials sighed that the emperor valued brotherhood and was a benevolent monarch.

After the court session, Qin Chengqian and his followers immediately raised the question: "Your Majesty, the King of Chu is dead. If the news spreads to the north, it may shake the morale of the army."

"Moreover, the people of Da Yan may become ambitious and want to retake the Northland after learning of the King of Chu's death. The Northland has many mineral veins, which are the source of weapons for our Da Ning army. Such a crucial place must not fall into the hands of Da Yan."

"I believe that the most urgent task is to send someone to the Northland as soon as possible to replace the King of Chu, guard the Northland, and deter Da Yan."

Several ministers spoke up one after another and raised this matter.

The emperor looked serious. "Who do you think is suitable to be sent to guard the Northland now?"

The other party immediately replied: "Your Majesty, the best candidate to replace the King of Chu and guard the Northland is none other than General Jiang!"

"First, she is the Princess of Chu, and she can convince the soldiers of the North! Second, General Jiang's achievements and strength are well known to everyone. If he guards the North, he can deter Da Yan."

Jiang Ningwan was caught off guard. Qin Chengqian acted really quickly. Now that the King of Chu was dead, the next step was to drive her to the north and weaken the power of the third prince.

If she went to the north, the Lingwei Army would have to be handed over.

Jiang Ningwan immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I feel this is inappropriate."

Immediately, a minister questioned her: "General Jiang, you serve the country, can't you endure the hardships of the north?"

Jiang Ningwan retorted coldly, "I'm afraid you won't be able to rest easy if I go to the North."

Turning back, she slowly spoke, "Your Majesty, I am not afraid of the bitter cold in the North, but the North borders Dayan, and I am a good friend of the Dayan Crown Prince, who is also my cousin's brother."

"If I go to the North, I will do my utmost to defend it, but I am afraid that some people will suspect that I am colluding with Da Yan, which will cause trouble."

After these words were spoken, all the civil and military officials in the court fell silent.

The emperor nodded thoughtfully after hearing this, "It is indeed inappropriate to let you go to the North."

It would be inappropriate to put anyone in this crucial position in the North.

Jiang Ningwan knew that the emperor would definitely not let her go.

But the Xiao family will not be allowed to go.

The ministers in the court proposed many people, but they were all refuted and no final candidate was agreed upon.

In the end, the court was dispersed without any result.

After the court was dismissed, Qin Wenli followed Jiang Ningwan out of the palace.

The two of them got on the carriage and headed to the Ling family.

Jiang Ningwan asked, "It's been so many days since the King of Chu was buried, and the Emperor hasn't mentioned the issue of appointing a crown prince yet?"

Qin Wenli shook his head solemnly, "Not yet."

"But my father mentioned that he had already made some achievements when he was my age."

"Perhaps it's a hint that I haven't accomplished much yet."

Hearing this, Jiang Ningwan's brows furrowed with anger. "Haven't you accomplished enough in the past few years? Disaster relief, corruption investigation, flood control, road construction, trade, and even providing a way out for the people whose roads were blocked by heavy snow in winter."

"Although these are not great achievements, aren't they all achievements?"

"Look at what Qin Chengqian has done."

Even if she racked her brains, she could not name any achievements Qin Chengqian had made, and she was appointed crown prince simply because he was the eldest son.

Even though he has made so many mistakes, he can still participate in politics today.

Qin Wenli sighed helplessly: "People are different after all."

The carriage soon arrived at Duke Ling's mansion.

Everyone gathered at Ling's house at noon.

Qin Huaizhao and Ling Jinlan, Jiang Zhouye and Pei Xunzhi, everyone who should have come came, except that the King of Chu was missing.

They knew the secret of King Chu's fake death, so they were not sad to be together.

Everyone kept silent about the matter to avoid it leaking out.

They were just discussing how to help Qin Wenli win the position of crown prince.

The selection of the right person to guard the North is extremely important.

"Ning Wan cannot go to guard the Northland, but this candidate cannot fall into the hands of Qin Chengqian's people."

"If the North's heavy troops are controlled by them, it will be a threat to us."

Jiang Ningwan was also worried, "That's right, but we don't have any other manpower."

"Yan Yue has led troops for many years and is a suitable candidate, but Yan Yue is in the Zhenxi Army and cannot be moved."

Although Qin Wenli had made friends with many generals in private, he could not be said to have absolute trust in any of them.

And in this position in the North, you must absolutely trust reliable people.

The Ling family used to have quite a few old subordinates, but after the Ling family fell, those who followed General Ling all met with misfortunes one after another, and were either demoted or died.

Now it has come to the point where there are no generals available.