Joy of Life: Invincible Starting from Basic Swordsmanship

Chapter 29: Oh dear, I'm so scared

While Zhan Doudou and Haitang Duoduo were chatting, the little eunuch suddenly came to report.

"Your Majesty, the Grand General and Lord Xiao request an audience!"

"Sean and Uesugi Tiger? They arrived so quickly?"

Although Zhan Doudou had guessed that Sean and his son would come, she didn't expect it to be so soon.

She guessed that the two of them would not arrive until at least after the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet.

Zhan Doudou sighed and said, "Alas, if it were only Uesugi Tiger, I wouldn't be afraid, but with Sean around, he was once a figure who could rival Chen Pingping!"

Zhan Doudou knew that Sean must have guessed something to arrive so quickly.

"Rise, my dear minister. May I ask what brings the General and Lord Xiao here today?"

Zhan Doudou is very friendly to Sean and Shangshan Hu.

The reason is simple: putting aside Xiao En, Shang Shanhu alone is far too important to Northern Qi.

Unlike the Southern Qing, the Northern Qi had a constellation of brilliant generals, with only Uesugi Tiger holding the fort.

For example, in the recent battle between Nanqing and Beiqi, even though Shangshan Hu was defeated, he was merely recalled to the capital.

Even among the officials and civil servants of the Northern Qi court, no one blamed Shang Shanhu.

Including the death of Sean in the original novel, Shen Zhong should not have died, but the moment he killed Sean, Shen Zhong was already doomed.

Now that all the capable people in Northern Qi have been preserved, Zhan Doudou feels that she may also have the potential to become the emperor of a unified empire.

Ah, if I could bring Ye Chengfeng under my command, I would be even more confident in unifying the world.

Zhan Doudou only thought about it; given Ye Chengfeng's abilities, she wasn't confident she could control him.

"Your Majesty, these are the people Hu'er selected from the army. Each of them is exceptionally capable. This old minister humbly requests Your Majesty to promote them."

Sean presented a memorial, and he spoke quite eloquently.

These people were clearly Uesugi Tora's confidants, but in Sean's words, they became talents discovered by Uesugi Tora.

Zhan Doudou gestured for the eunuch to bring over the memorial, and looked at the list on it.

She was shocked; they were all mid-level military officers.

There were as many as thirty or forty people.

With so many mid-level generals, one can imagine the extent of Uesugi Tora's control over the border troops.

If this continues unchecked, she will have no power to resist Uesugi Tora if he rebels in the future!

"Fortunately, I had the foresight to use Uesugi Toraga's defeat as a pretext to place him under house arrest in the capital!"

"Lord Xiao is too kind. What reward would you like, Lord Xiao? I will grant it to you."

"This old minister dares not take credit; this is merely my duty. I am already satisfied that I have been able to assist Your Majesty."

"That won't do. It would be unfair if someone didn't reward their merits. Please feel free to make any requests, sir."

Sean was just waiting for Zhan Doudou to say those words!

"Since Your Majesty says so, then this old minister will only make one small request."

Zhan Doudou was not surprised at all by this; she would have been worried if Sean hadn't made any requests.

"Please speak, sir."

Zhan Doudou's smile deepened.

"Your Majesty, perhaps you are unaware of this, but this old minister has a descendant who was deceived by Chen Pingping and whose whereabouts are currently unknown. I beg Your Majesty to help this old minister rescue my poor grandson."

Zhan Doudou pretended to think, then said somewhat awkwardly, "Old Master, are you talking about Yan Bingyun?"

"It is indeed Yan Bingyun. Although he harmed our Great Qi, he was unaware of it. As the saying goes, ignorance is no excuse. I hope Your Majesty will pardon his crimes."

Sean was neither humble nor arrogant; no, he was in tears.

"This is a bit difficult. As you know, my Great Qi and Nanqing have already reconciled. The purpose of the Nanqing delegation this time is to take Yan Bingyun away. If we force him to stay, we may lose the trust of the world."

Zhan Doudou seemed to be in a difficult position, but in fact, she also wanted to keep Yan Bingyun in Northern Qi.

If Yan Bingyun stayed in Northern Qi, she could use him to subdue Xiao En.

"Your Majesty, that is my only relative. I beg you, Your Majesty, you must help me!"

As he spoke, Sean knelt down and pleaded with Zhan Doudou with a sorrowful expression.

"Your Majesty, if you can save my nephew, I swear to be forever loyal to the royal family and never betray him!"

Uesugi Tora couldn't bear to see his adoptive father so humble, so he knelt down and begged Zhan Doudou.

"Please rise, my two esteemed subjects."

Zhan Doudou immediately signaled to the little eunuch to help the two of them up.

As the two stood up, they saw that Zhan Doudou seemed to have made up her mind about something.

With gritted teeth, he said, "My two beloved ministers, I understand your desire to save your loved ones. If I do not, wouldn't that break the heart of the pillar of my Great Qi?"

Then, Zhan Doudou went on to talk about the specific plan.

"My two ministers, what do you think of this? The Empress Dowager's birthday banquet is about to begin. I can invite Fan Xian and the envoy's guards into the palace. You two can take this opportunity to rescue Yan Bingyun."

"Your Majesty is benevolent, and this old minister is deeply grateful. This old minister once again bows to thank Your Majesty."

"Haha, you jest, sir. Why must we, as ruler and subject, be so formal?"

"In that case, this old minister will take his leave to return and prepare for the rescue!"

"Very well then. Someone, go and see the old master off!"

The eunuch beside Zhan Doudou was very perceptive and immediately stepped forward respectfully to help Shangshan Hu support Sean as they left the palace.

Back at the General's mansion, Sean looked at Uesugi Tiger helplessly and said, "Tiger, you're foolish! Why did you say such things?"

"I cannot bear to see my godfather begging the young emperor in such a humble manner."

Sean was helpless; the words had already been spoken, and there was no way to take them back.

"Ah, actually, even if you hadn't said those things, or even if we hadn't done anything, the young emperor wouldn't have let Bingyun leave Northern Qi."

Sean's words were not without reason, but if he did not show his loyalty, Yan Bingyun would be left in Northern Qi, but he would also lose his life.

Inside the palace, after Sean left, Zhan Doudou laughed heartily once again.

"Junior Martial Aunt, this may be the time for the rise of our Great Qi. Go and invite Ye Chengfeng here. I want to thank him properly."

Haitang Duoduo rolled her eyes, and Zhan Doudou's thoughts were obvious.

"I think you're really lovesick, girl. I have to remind you that you are the Emperor of Great Qi. Every decision you make affects the lives of hundreds of millions of people in Great Qi."

After being so bluntly warned by Haitang Duoduo, Zhan Doudou became more sober.

"Junior Aunt is right. I was too emotional. But I still need to meet Ye Chengfeng to see if he has any other plans."

"It's good that you understand."

Zhan Doudou breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "Then I'm going. You think about how to deal with that treacherous Ye Chengfeng."

Inside the inn, Ye Chengfeng was extremely relaxed. So far, everyone's behavior was exactly as he had predicted.

"Once they start fighting, they definitely won't have time to care about my Dongyi City, so I can focus on my cultivation."

Ye Chengfeng took a sip of tea and lay leisurely in the rocking chair, muttering to himself.

"That's a good idea. But what if the people of Nanqing, or even Emperor Qing, find out about this?"

Crabapple blossoms fluttered down, and she stood on the railing, glancing down at Ye Chengfeng.

Ye Chengfeng, however, did not care at all, and was even less worried about what Haitang Duoduo had said.

The situation described by Haitang Duoduo is simply impossible.

Even the arrogant Emperor Qing only had Si Gu Jian in the entire Dongyi City who could catch his eye.

Emperor Qing had been planning to eliminate the other three Grandmasters.

"Oh dear, I'm so scared. What if Emperor Qing gets angry and treats my Dongyi City as a mortal enemy, and then just stands by and watches Northern Qi develop?"

Ye Chengfeng's flamboyant manner made Haitang Duoduo blush with anger.