They were in charge of being beautiful, and she was in charge of taking the hits.

Chapter 190 The beginning

"After all, she never treated us as her children."

"You saw that letter too." She looked at him coldly.

It seemed like many years had passed since they had sat so peacefully in a room and talked like real siblings.

"Since she's determined to wipe us out, we'll have no choice but to play along and trust them this once."

"Fine, if I die at the banquet, then you must go back and seize the throne!"

"Don't worry, unless I'm the one who poisoned you, they won't kill you."

After saying those two sentences, they fell silent again, just looking at each other, and then suddenly laughed.

That bitter, piercing laugh was unexpected; the final battle would end in such a way.

She poured him a cup of tea: "You haven't really fallen for that woman, have you?"

"real."

Qi Zeyun sighed. In an instant, her younger brother had become so docile; she was even a little unaccustomed to it.

I still prefer the younger brother who always mocks me the moment we meet and whose words are always sharp and sarcastic.

"So... how do you plan to explain this to her?"

"Things will work themselves out; they don't like me anyway."

"We could ask the Emperor of Wu Dynasty for an imperial decree at the banquet, so that she can become a son-in-law of our Xiao Rong royal family."

"Need not."

"But she doesn't seem very smart when it comes to relationships."

"If you don't fight for it, it will be difficult for the two of you to overcome your differences. You just said you wanted a lot of money? What did you mean by that?"

"Life outside is so carefree and enjoyable. You be the emperor, and I'll spend the money. Isn't that wonderful?"

Isn't this a kind of understanding?

Xiao Rong Kingdom Royal Court

The empress behind the curtain was clearly exhausted.

Almost all the letters we received from the outside world were intercepted.

Meanwhile, the weapons being transported were stuck at the border and couldn't be delivered anytime soon, and her son and daughter had also disappeared without a trace in the Wu Dynasty.

"Qi Eryu, instruct the army to change into Wu Dynasty uniforms, and remember to make sure they speak the Wu Dynasty language well."

"Go and harass the border of Beirong. Remember to do it cleanly and leave no evidence."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Have you sent any news back about my two foolish sons?"

Qi Eryu did not receive any secret letters, but he did hear some rumors and gossip from the border.

However, these rumors were not enough to reach the Queen's ears.

"Your Majesty, no."

"My two stupid sons! It doesn't matter anymore. We're beset by internal and external troubles right now, and we can't take care of them at all."

"The only thing we can do is try to draw Bei Rong's troops toward Wu Chao, which might alleviate some of the pressure at home."

How could Qi Zeyun and Qi Zexuan not know about Xiaolong's situation?

With a small territory, a large population, and insufficient resources, coupled with frequent border harassment by North Rong, the situation is dire.

They wanted to annex their country, but they also wanted to change the domestic situation.

"Are the soldiers we sent out being brought back alive?"

"What do you say?"

"I understand. What about their families?"

Qi Tian just glared at her. Did she really need to ask him about this? Didn't she know how to nip things in the bud?

On that day, a serious conflict occurred at the border of the three kingdoms of Wu, Xiao Rong, and Bei Rong.

However, the soldiers of the Wu Dynasty themselves did not even leave the city gates.

Why were there so many more wounded when the final count was done?

General Situ is stationed here, along with Chu Feng and Chu Ling.

I find this incident quite suspicious. While they do have frequent minor border skirmishes, large-scale skirmishes like this are indeed rare.

Let's first draft a letter and send it back to the capital to see what Wu Chengji has to say.

They sat together looking at the sky, and then thought about how the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet in the capital was just around the corner, and it was a pity that they couldn't attend.

The streets of the capital have been very lively these past few days, decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers to welcome visitors from outside.

After all, many small and medium-sized countries also send gifts to attend the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet, which is ostensibly for chrysanthemum appreciation but in reality for pilgrimage.

Every year, the Agricultural Bureau introduces new varieties of chrysanthemums.

Each and every one of them is a treasure, as precious as gold and jade.

During this period, many jade-carved chrysanthemums, wooden-carved chrysanthemums, or potted plants will appear on the streets.

Even ordinary chrysanthemums are snapped up by outsiders and sell very well.

For ordinary people, this is a holiday; for important figures, it is a day of intrigue and backstabbing.

Gossip about the Liu and Li families, and think about what gift to give.

At the banquet, they were overwhelmed with questions about who to befriend and which prefectures and counties to contact.

When Wu Ziyan returned to her residence, she was actually quite conflicted.

She could only bring one standard male companion to the banquet, and many unmarried men would also accompany their mothers.

It could also be described as a large-scale matchmaking event.

Because the day of the banquet is fraught with danger, if she were to bring Sima Lingchuan along, she, being a weakling, wouldn't be able to protect him if they encountered any danger.

Chu Qiu will also appear at the banquet with Chu Yu, but under what pretext will he come to her side?

Han Yuxiu did not receive an invitation, but he was on Wu Ziyan's list.

Fine, then take all those men with you?

After some thought, I'm afraid it still won't work. As the principal wife and the prime minister's eldest son, Sima Lingchuan is obligated to attend the banquet.

Moreover, she wouldn't allow other wealthy young men or members of the royal family to mock him.

As for the others, Chu Qiu and Changsun Boyou will definitely go with their families.

Mo Baiyun will protect him in secret, and Huang Ziliang will be taken away by Wu Chengye.

Aren't Fang Yuerong and Han Yuxiu the only ones without connections?

She couldn't possibly bring those two people to live with her, so if they didn't want to go, they didn't have to go; it wasn't a big deal anyway.

Chu Qiu returned to his residence at this time, since he couldn't accompany Wu Ziyan as a bodyguard to the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet.

He went there as the fourth son of the Situ family.

Lost in thought, she held Sima Lingchuan's hand and stroked it repeatedly.

He would sigh from time to time, and Sima Linchuan, being of one mind with him, knew what was troubling him.

"Are you worried about your younger brothers?"

"Not really, but tomorrow's banquet will be very dangerous, and some things will happen that will likely be quite shocking. Please trust me as always."

"It's okay, I believe you."

"If anything happens tomorrow, remember to protect yourself. Of course, I will also have Xiaoyun arrange for someone to protect you secretly."

What will happen?

"event!"

This kind of thing can't be explained in words, it can only be understood intuitively, and she wasn't at ease with it.

What if someone in the house is listening? So the only option is to rely on the other person's tacit understanding.

Sima Lingchuan leaned on her shoulder, which looked quite strange.

Wu Ziyan nudged him; it was more appropriate for her to lean on his shoulder.