Quick Wear: Under the Skirt, All Beings Are Equal

Chapter 454: The Traitor: Bright Moon, Drinking Alone in the Autumn

It was winter again, and the palace urgently summoned him.

This time, the old emperor really couldn't hold on any longer.

Ever since Xue Nanyin came back, she has been helping the emperor to regulate his body, using all kinds of poison to fight poison herbs to prolong his life. In addition, the old emperor always felt that the prince's character required more imperial ruthlessness, and he has been worried.

The atmosphere in the hall was heavy, and everyone knelt on the ground.

The skinny finger under the quilt moved, and then the old emperor's face was filled with vitality.

Everyone knew that this was a last gasp.

The old emperor was supported by the empress and had been living a life worse than death for so many years. Now that he is really dying, the old emperor can't tell whether he is relieved or reluctant.

He glanced around and frowned. He felt like there was a phlegm stuck in his throat, making it extremely uncomfortable for him to speak.

"Where's Tang Ran?"

"Your Majesty, I have sent someone to urge them."

The emperor nodded. He wanted to see Tang Ran again.

After talking everything out last time, Tang Ran never entered the palace except for necessary meetings. She also would not go out of her way to find some good things to give to the old emperor as she did before.

The old emperor now looked a bit scary. He looked at the prince and said, "Changyi, come here."

"My time has come. The future of Northern Qi will be handed over to you. You are the king that Tang Ran and I have nurtured. Father rarely praises you, but you are really great."

The old emperor looked at Li Changyi and was very satisfied with this prince. He thought he was a qualified king and it was also his explanation to the people of Northern Qi.

The old emperor believed that Li Changyi would be a benevolent ruler who loved his people like his own children.

He is kind, knows how to endure, and has learned the ways of an emperor. The only thing he lacks, he makes up for it in ruthlessness.

Li Changyi knelt in front of the bed, crying inconsolably.

In fact, the old emperor seldom praised him, but rather played the role of an extremely strict father.

In the memories of all the princes and princesses, he mostly just looked at them coldly. He never touched their heads gently like the other concubines, nor did he speak to them in a soft voice.

Praise and recognition from their father are what they want most when they are young.

Feeling that he didn't have much time left, the old emperor held Li Changyi's hand tightly.

"You must bring your third sister home." The old emperor's eyes swept across Li Changyi's face inch by inch, and his voice suddenly rose: "She is your sister, a hero of the entire Northern Qi, not a witness to the shame of the cowardice of Northern Qi men. You must bring her home and let her live a carefree life for the rest of her life. "

The old emperor's wrists were so strong that one couldn't tell that he was already at the end of his rope.

Li Changyi nodded: "Father, rest assured. Even if it costs me my life, I will definitely let Jin Yu come back. If those civil and military officials don't allow it, then there is no point in keeping them."

The old emperor then smiled with satisfaction, stretched out his hand, and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.

He said in a hoarse voice: "My child, there is really too little that your father can do for you. Don't cry. You will be the king of Northern Qi in the future. You must create a clear sky for the people of Northern Qi."

He asked again: "Where is Tang Ran? Has she entered the palace?"

The old emperor kept stretching his neck to look outside the door, hoping to see the person he wanted to see.

The eunuch sent to the Prime Minister's Mansion knelt on the ground and cried, "Your Majesty, a group of refugees appeared outside the city early this morning. The Prime Minister went to investigate in person, and now they are still outside the city. He has sent someone to hurry up and inform them."

The old emperor's eyes, which had suddenly lit up, dimmed, and he forced a bitter smile, and finally sighed heavily.

It seems that I won’t see that boy again.

"Chang Yi, I want you to promise me one thing."

The old emperor had tears in his eyes as he looked at Li Changyi. “Father begs you to do this. In the future, you must save Tang Ran’s life. Tang Ran has suffered so much.”

“Don’t listen to what a person says, but look at what he does.”

The old emperor glanced around and his eyes fell on Li Limu and Li Wenqing.

If Tang Ran were given the identity of a royal consort, would there be a slight increase in the possibility of saving his life in the future?

At that time, the princess will use her status as a princess and all her wealth and glory to shut up all the civil and military officials.

The old emperor felt more and more bitter. He had reminded Tang Ran countless times that he must leave a way out for himself, but the child was too stubborn. He bore countless insults and blocked all his ways out.

The old emperor thought that if future generations looked back on this history thousands of years later, they would be able to see that Tang Ran turned the tide, but at the moment, everything he did was unacceptable to the world.

It’s not that the emperor thinks he is superior, but that the people are so ignorant that they can’t think of the deeper meaning.

They only knew that Tang Ran had destroyed the imperial examination system, bought and sold official positions, and created many corrupt officials who exploited them, even though these corrupt officials were not the ones who bought the positions from Tang Ran.

They only knew that Tang Ran dug up people's ancestral graves, which was a heinous act. Regardless of whether the graves were dug up by their own family or not, the people would burn incense and worship Buddha at home day and night, cursing Tang Ran to death because of the tradition that had been passed down for millions of years.

The old emperor has always been thinking about staying alive. In addition to hoping for stability in Northern Qi, he also wants to bear the stigma of being a tyrant on his own and protect Tang Ran.

Li Wenqing's political acumen was very strong, even not inferior to Tang Ran. When she saw the old emperor's eyes sweeping over her and the legitimate princess, she knew what the old emperor was thinking.

Li Wenqing stepped forward and said gently, "Father will surely live a long life. My daughter and Tang Ran love each other and I am hoping that your father will grant us a marriage. I hope you can help my daughter take care of her grandson when the time comes."

The atmosphere in the hall became tense.

Li Wenqing seemed not to notice anything. He ignored the angry looks and smiled as he begged the emperor to grant him a marriage.

The old emperor laughed heartily, but felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Mr. Wen, I know you are smart. Well, whatever, I will grant you and Tang Ran a marriage."

"My beloved daughter, Li Wenqing, is now of marriageable age. She is dignified, beautiful and intelligent..."

After saying this, the old emperor seemed to have lost his last bit of energy and slowly closed his eyes.

When Li Wenqing saw this scene, his eyes became slightly moist. He lowered his head and watched the teardrops leaving marks on his clothes.

Among the princesses, she was the one who made the most small moves, and even several officials in the court were her people.

But Li Wenqing knew that these were all allowed by the old emperor. Sometimes, the old emperor would even secretly help her wipe out the traces left behind.

Her father, the emperor, had never been angry at her for reaching out to the previous dynasty, nor had he ever looked down on her for being a woman.

Her eyes were blurred with tears, and she vaguely saw the time when she was a child, sitting anxiously in the bedroom when she first used a trick to kill the son of Lord Chen.

It was a sunny afternoon that day. Her father looked at her nervous expression, smiled, held her hand and walked through the imperial garden with her, speaking mostly to her instructive words.

Later on, her actions became more and more decisive and efficient, clearing up many traces and making it impossible for anyone to trace her back.

Li Wenqing's eyes suddenly turned red. He looked up and saw that it was Tang Ran.

Tang Ran looked at the old emperor's body and closed her eyes slightly.

He thought he should cry loudly, but his eyes hurt so much that he couldn't cry at all. He could only look at the old emperor's body quietly, and then slowly knelt down.

"Father said that you would want to see him again, so he didn't allow the palace maids to move."

Tang Ran remained silent, and then heard Li Wenqing speak again: "Tang Ran, I don't know what happened between you and the emperor, but it can't be changed. The emperor really treats you as his own child. His love and kindness to you make us, who are the continuation of his life, envious."

"I know."

Tang Ran silently buried the old emperor and saw Li Changyi ascend the throne. Those who wanted to take advantage of the new emperor of Northern Qi ascending the throne to do evil things all became obedient under Tang Ran's iron-blooded methods.

But Tang Ran knew that sooner or later it would explode completely.

Seeing that Li Changyi wanted to do something, Tang Ran acted just like she did when facing the old emperor, and there were only the two of them in the spacious hall.

"Your Majesty, you have just ascended the throne. You should consolidate your power and gain experience in this position. As for the rest, I will take care of it."

The peace treaty between Northern Qi and Chen State did not last for eight or ten years. Instead, in the fourth year, Chen State tore up the treaty and sent a large army to invade Northern Qi.

Tang Ran was not surprised to hear the news.

Li Wenqing hurriedly came to Tang Ran and asked in confusion: "Didn't Chen Kingdom just come down from that meat grinder battlefield? How dare they send troops to Northern Qi at this time?"

"How's the battle going?"

"And how is the third sister?"

Li Wenqing knew that Tang Ran had the most detailed information.

Tang Ran did not hide anything from her and handed the information in his hand to her.

Although the two were engaged, Tang Ran used the excuse that he had to observe mourning for the late emperor, so the two did not get married.

Li Wenqing read the intelligence at a glance, frowned slightly, and finally sighed softly, saying: "I'm glad that Third Sister is okay. It seems that this war between the two countries cannot be avoided. This Zhao Lianye is indeed very scary, but he forgot about his sons."

Tang Ran shook his head. "It is precisely because he did not make any mistakes that he was prepared to fight to support the war. Moreover, the current development of Northern Qi has already made him wary. He will never allow Northern Qi to become a major concern for him again, because he does not have the time for that."

If Zhao Lianye was still the same as he was more than 20 years ago, he would dare to ignore Northern Qi. Even if Northern Qi was stronger than it was more than 20 years ago, he would have the confidence to destroy Northern Qi.

However, Tang Ran appeared in Northern Qi.

Tang Ran disrupted all his plans and forced him to rethink Northern Qi.

Li Wenqing glanced at Tang Ran and naturally knew that the person Zhao Lianye feared the most was Tang Ran.

Tang Ran didn't notice her gaze, and said excitedly: "But you are right, Zhao Lianye is indeed anxious, and his sons can be used."

Looking at Tang Ran who wanted to discuss something with her, Li Wenqing remained silent. People outside were saying that she and Tang Ran got along well, were deeply in love, and were in love with each other, but in fact, they got along like a boss and subordinate.

Moreover, Tang Ran used her very smoothly.

Not only because Li Wenqing is resourceful and good at making money, but also because he doesn't have to be paid and can be exploited to his heart's content, he is simply the perfect subordinate.

Li Wenqing was so angry that his teeth were itching, but he was still unconsciously attracted by Tang Ran's voice and followed his thoughts to think about the available resources.

Not only Li Wenqing, but also Tang Yan and other counselors have been thinking about how to deal with the aggressive Chen Kingdom.

Hearing the news of the war between the two countries, Xue Nanyin found Tang Ran and said, "Tang Ran, I'm leaving."

Tang Ran turned around and watched silently, waiting for Xue Nanyin to continue.

"I'm going to the border."

Xue Nanyin chuckled and said, "Don't forget, I'm still a doctor."

"Now that the two countries are at war, there will be countless casualties. I really can't stay in Bianjing City."

She said: "It just so happens that Li Limu is also at the border, and I want to go see her too."

She did not ask for Tang Ran's consent, but just wanted to notify Tang Ran and say goodbye to her.

She likes Tang Ran, but that doesn't mean she has to lose herself or give up the things she likes. Now that the two countries are at war, there are more important things waiting for her to do.

Tang Ran suddenly smiled and nodded: "Xue Nanyin, be careful on your way."

"By the way, take the doctors you trained to the border for training. Of course, they have to be willing to do so."

Xue Nanyin hummed softly and looked at Tang Ran deeply.

A few years ago, she heard with her own ears that the old emperor had granted Tang Ran a marriage. She was present at the scene at that time and felt as if she was surrounded by ice and snow. Her heart seemed to have a hole in it. The biting cold wind blew in and she shivered constantly due to the cold.

Although she didn't know why, she knew in her heart that Tang Ran didn't like her and would not like Li Wenqing either.

But they are engaged after all.

Xue Nanyin didn't know what to do with herself, and had even packed her luggage to leave the Prime Minister's Mansion.

At this time, Tang Ran kept her.

Tang Ran built a medical school and invited himself to be a teacher, making adequate preparations for today's war early on.

Most of the time, she stayed in the academy, and sometimes she would come back to check Tang Ran's pulse and remind him not to overwork.

Perhaps the only thing worth being happy about is that in recent years, they have both participated in each other’s birthdays, and each time they had a bowl of hot longevity noodles.

It’s simple indeed, but very happy.

Looking back over the past few years, Tang Ran and Li Wenqing seem more like friends.

Xue Nanyin felt that she was despicable. She secretly observed the relationship between the two from outside the door. She was delighted with her discovery and even prayed that the two would not fall in love with each other.