sbdcsierra Chapter 286
Chapter 286
Xie Qian'an was far less happy than Concubine Zhou and her daughter.
He knew that if he had not returned seriously injured this time, the defeat at the border would certainly not have been let go so easily.
As for this mission, he took advantage of his injury and made some secret moves to get his father to agree.
Xie Qian'an lowered his eyes, a hint of coldness flashing across his eyes.
After all, my father is too partial. Changing the commander in the middle of the battle is such a humiliation. If the person who was defeated this time was Xie Nanyuan, my father would definitely not be willing to let him fall into such an embarrassing situation.
Seeing that he had a sullen face and no sign of joy at all, Concubine Zhou and Princess Anle finally realized that something was wrong.
Concubine Zhou looked at Xie Qian'an, a look of worry on her face, "An'er, is there something wrong?"
Otherwise, why is it that when it is clearly a happy thing, he doesn't show any joy at all?
Xie Qian'an sneered with a sullen face, "Mother, you actually still hold out hope for Father. How did I get this job? Others don't know, don't you know it too?"
"If Father really valued us, why would he have sent Xie Nanyuan to the border to replace me? Why would I have gotten myself into such a mess?"
"Even this mission... Haha, it's just a gift from my father."
After Xie Qian'an finished speaking, Concubine Zhou and Princess Yongle fell silent.
Although this may not sound good, it is the truth.
Concubine Zhou seemed to have lost all her strength at once.
Princess Yongle was unwilling to give in. She stepped forward, grabbed Xie Qian'an's sleeve, and said, "Brother, are we just going to admit defeat like this?"
"I'm unwilling to accept this. Didn't you say before that you wanted me to marry Brother Fu Chen? Did you lie to me?"
She has been staying in the palace obediently since last year, just for the promise her brother made to her.
If the royal brother cannot ascend to the throne of the crown prince and become the emperor, how can he grant her a marriage with Brother Fu Chen?
Didn’t the previous promise become empty words?
If the emperor's brother cannot become the crown prince, the position of crown prince will fall to Xie Nanyuan.
If Xie Nanyuan ascends the throne in the future, he will definitely arrange a marriage between Brother Fu Chen and that bitch Luo Xiyao. What should I do then?
Thinking that her long-cherished wish might come to nothing, Anle couldn't help but feel an urge to scream.
Fortunately, Xie Qianan spoke before she lost her mind, "Give up? There is no such thing as giving up in my life!"
He touched the top of Anle's head and said softly, "Don't worry, my brother will definitely make your wish come true. It won't be easy for Xie Nanyuan to return safely from the border this time."
Unfortunately, after so many times, Anle obviously didn't trust Xie Qian'an anymore. "But what if he comes back safely? If he makes great contributions this time, then the emperor will definitely make him the crown prince."
Xie Qian'an paused, his dark eyes concealing a devastating storm, his voice as cold as frost, "If it really comes to that, don't blame me for being unjust. The throne can only be mine!"
……
The news that the emperor ordered Prince An to go to the Ministry of Revenue to dispatch food and fodder caused a stir in the capital, but soon calmed down.
Shen Qionghua listened to the news that Fuling had heard from outside. Prince An seemed to have become much quieter all of a sudden. He assisted the Minister of Revenue in handling affairs every day, leaving home early and returning late.
The gatekeeper of Prince An's mansion did not accept any of the invitations sent by those who wanted to curry favor with Prince An, and closed the door to visitors, as if Prince An was really busy, busy making up for his crime. His low profile was so low that even Shen Qionghua found it abnormal.
At the same time, my vigilance increased a bit. If something is abnormal, there must be something wrong. This person must be planning something bad.
In this eerie silence, a battle report from the front broke the atmosphere.
The first battle that King Rui fought against the State of Chen after taking over was lost!
This incident immediately caused an uproar in the capital.
You know, since King Rui took command of the army alone, he has lost no more than one battle, but now he was defeated as soon as he arrived at the border. It has only been more than two years since he last fought with the State of Chen. When did the soldiers of the State of Chen become so strong?
What if even Prince Rui, the Duke of Zhenguo, and General Lin cannot resist the army of the State of Chen?
Perhaps it was because Prince An had suffered several defeats at the border before, and the people thought it was because Prince An had little experience in leading troops, and believed that if Prince Rui took over the leadership, he would be able to avenge the previous defeat.
But now things have gone against our wishes, and many rumors have spread in the capital.
No matter what, even the battle-hardened King Rui couldn't defeat the army of Chen State. No wonder King An was defeated.
In this case, it cannot be entirely King An’s fault that he was defeated before. It was because the Chen army was too strong.
Prince An did not have as much experience in leading troops as Prince Rui, but it was already very good that he had won a few battles before. He was better than Prince Rui. At least he did not suffer a defeat as soon as he went to the border.
Shen Qionghua could tell who was behind the remarks that were meant to discredit Prince Rui and praise Prince An just by thinking with her toes.
But she couldn't act rashly. She could shut up one or two people, but she couldn't stop the gossip of everyone.
Fortunately, the only thing that made Shen Qionghua feel relieved was that the emperor did not seem to be as furious as she had imagined.
Perhaps the emperor had confidence in Xie Nanyuan, or perhaps this was only Xie Nanyuan's first defeat, and he was not defeated repeatedly like Prince An before. It was still within the emperor's tolerance range, and he wanted to wait and see, so he did not change the commander again on the battlefield.
Some people say that the emperor is partial. Prince An was recalled after he was defeated, but Prince Rui was let go after he was defeated.
Some people also say that victory and defeat are common in the military, and one defeat does not mean anything. It is not like King An who lost several battles in a row, so why should he change?
Shen Qionghua didn't know what the other ministers were thinking, but she knew that Prince An's party was obviously the former.
There were even some people who thought that it was an honor for King Rui to lose the battle. Shen Qionghua really had no idea what was going on in their minds.
Just like this day, Shen Qionghua received the news that Pei Liangchuan had returned from collecting grain, so she took a car to Shidinglou.
Before he could even go up to the second floor, he bumped into Xie Qian'an, Zhou Lingyi and Lin Xiyan as soon as he entered the door.
A pause in his steps.
Lin Xiyan has been visibly happy these days. Prince Rui was also defeated, which means that it was not Prince An's problem, but that the army of Chen State was too strong. Then she can stand up straight again.
In the past few days, Lin Xiyan has been going out of the house more often.
What made Lin Xiyan even happier was that although her father was still at the border, Prince An returned safely. Although he was seriously injured, he was almost recovered and was given the task of dispatching food and grass.
And because his father was still at the border, Prince An was more considerate to his fiancée, taking care of her in every way and treating her much better than he treated Zhou Lingyi.
Previously, Shen Qionghua said that Prince An had an affair with Zhou Lingyi. Now it seems that he was really talking nonsense, trying to sow discord between her and Prince An. Fortunately, she did not fall for it.
Before, Lin Xiyan had suffered a lot of humiliation from Shen Qionghua for various reasons. Now that she felt proud of herself, she started to shake herself and took a step forward to stand in front of Shen Qionghua.
Shen Qionghua: “…”
There really wasn't a single one of these three people that she didn't dislike.