Saknu suddenly spoke: "Let him come, I’m curious to see what other sly schemes that slut has!"
Shortly afterward, Nangong Shi, the Crown Prince of the Great Jin Nation, wearing an apricot-yellow four-clawed dragon robe, walked over. He smiled lightly and said, "Your Highness, the Great Prince, is utterly devoted. If An Le, you’re lamenting, could know from the heaven, she would surely be comforted!"
Saknu gave him a sideways glance, saying bluntly: "Nangong Shi, if you’re here for such platitudes, you can leave now!"
Nangong Shi laughed and said: "Prince, have patience, I didn’t come to prattle. Today, I only wish to persuade you. The departed are gone. It may be better to focus more on the living. I heard that my little sister Zhao Yang feels resentment because you can’t forget about An Le. Now, she is even plotting to break off her engagement with you. Maybe you should spend some time with her to prevent her from having other ideas. Otherwise, you may end up becoming a lonely man in the end!"
Hearing this, Saknu burst into unrestrained laughter, startling a flock of birds in the forest.
After laughing his fill, Saknu suddenly sobered, and said ominously: "She wants to break off the engagement? Unless she can bring An Le back to me, even if she dies, her corpse will belong to me, Saknu!"
Nangong Shi laughed and said: "Great Prince, you should know that my little sister Zhao Yang is a legitimate princess, and the power of her maternal family is not to be underestimated. If they want to meddle in the matter of breaking off the engagement, I’m afraid even you, a mighty dragon, will find it hard to suppress the local snakes."
Saknu sneered: "She won’t get the chance. Tomorrow morning, I’ll return to Liaodan. Whether she wants to or not, her life is mine. She has to follow me..."
Inside the Jinxiu Palace
Sitting cross-legged on the Fulu Xishou Six Pillar Bed, Empress Jin Guifei was rejuvenating with her eyes closed. Two palace maids, kneeling before the bed, were carefully painting her nails with Phoenix Fairy Flower.
Li Hai’er walked in, whispering, "I just got news from the Crown Prince that Saknu will be leaving for Liaodan tomorrow. Even if Princess Zhao Yang dies, she has to follow him back to Liaodan."
Empress Jin Guifei scoffed with her eyes still closed.
"The Dowager Empress probably doesn’t know about this yet. Find a way to get this message to her. She is the mother and daughter after all, so it would be appropriate to let them meet one last time, it’d be like our palace granting them that familial love."
"But, my empress, the Queen is always cautious. Now that she’s under house arrest, will she go to see Princess Zhao Yang?" Li Hai asked in a hushed voice, twirling her fingers.
Empress Jin Guifei slowly opened her eyes, a hint of mockery in them: "I’ve been her rival for decades. I know her character best. On the surface, Mo Yuehua appears cold and indifferent, but in fact, she is quite soft-hearted. Her children are her weakness; if her daughter is going to die, how can she just stand by and watch?"
Li Hai laughed, "Oh, my, if the Queen were to disobey the Imperial decree during her house arrest by sneaking out and the Emperor learned about it, isn’t that serious?"
Jing Guifei said: "Isn’t it, though? The scandal created by Zhao Yang has already disgusted the Emperor; if he finds out that she disobeyed his orders to secretly meet her shameless daughter, he will certainly be furious. I bet, hehe..."
Li Hai laughed along: "I bet, she might lose her position as the Queen!"
Empress Jin Guifei lifted her well-maintained jade hand, observing the fingernails wrapped with mulberry leaves, and let out a lazy chuckle: "Considering the improper upbringing of the princess by the Duke Li Guo’s mansion, and their attempt to interfere with the Liaodan and our Great Jin Nation alliance, do you think the Emperor will spare them?"
Li Hai fawned: "My empress, think about it, if the Queen goes down, and the Duke Li Guo’s mansion is also finished, can King Qin keep his peace and continue the war in Lingbei? If he can’t concentrate on the war and suffers a defeat, what consequences do you think will follow?"