Jin Guifei thought to herself, Saknu’s wild and arrogant nature was not something the prince could control.
She drummed her fingers on the table helplessly, "It’s a shame we couldn’t take her down with such a good hand of cards. It seems we can only hope for the situation in Lingbei now. As long as King Qin loses disastrously in Lingbei, the Emperor will certainly take it out on her. At that time, we can stoke the fire a bit more, we won’t worry about the Emperor not deposing her!"
Nangong Shi said, "Mother consort speaks wisely. Although we failed to take down the Empress immediately, Imperial Father has already become suspicious of her and the Duke Li Guo’s Mansion, and has grown to dislike her more. He just overlooks it for the sake of Third Brother’s face and temporarily preserves her queenhood. When the Third Brother suffers defeat and no longer has face or favor, her title of queen will naturally reach its end!"
After hearing her son’s reassurances, Jin Guifei felt slightly better, but still asked with some worry, "Have all our people been arranged properly?"
The prince responded, "Everything’s arranged perfectly in response to the Mother Consort, and we’ll surely make the Third Brother suffer a loss."
Jin Guifei said, "Hmmm, we mustn’t be careless this time. Duke Li Guo’s Mansion has been a respected family for hundreds of years, with deep roots. As we can see from this incident, Duke Li Guo’s Mansion is not that easy to deal with. We must handle them carefully. Otherwise, we might fail again time!"
"Yes, the son has made note of it!" the prince bowed and replied.
Jin Guifei looked at her cautious son, and spoke in a low voice, "Mother Consort has heard that you have recently taken a fancy to an opera actor and are keeping him in Mao’er Alley. Is this true?"
The prince’s face changed slightly, his ears turned slightly red, and he said in a low voice, "Mother Consort is worrying unnecessarily, the son realizes his mistake."
Jin Guifei said, "In principle, your mother consort shouldn’t interfere in your personal matters, but you are the prince now, and all the officials in the court are watching you. If you do something immoral, and it’s discovered by Duke Li Guo and his people, they would make a big fuss about it. It would not only make it difficult for your Imperial Father, but what if he becomes disappointed in you because of this? You should go back, kill that actor, and stop doing these disgraceful things!"
The prince stiffened, thinking of the opera actor’s charming little face, soft figure, gentle and courteous disposition, and exceptional skills, his face showed a troubled expression.
Jin Guifei glared at him fiercely, and said in frustration, "All these quails, monkeys, opera actors, are nothing but playthings for people. What’s there to be reluctant about? You are destined to be a man of great deeds in the future. If you don’t have even this bit of ruthlessness, how are you going to protect the world that your mother and I fought so hard to secure?"
The prince was reprimanded by Jin Guifei, and he had no choice but to reluctantly respond, "Yes, this son obeys!"
"If you are obedient, then quickly go and do it. Remember not to disobey me behind my back..."
Jin Guifei gave a wave of her hand, dismissing her son. She is still in a rush to go to the Emperor’s alchemy room to deliver some tonic soup that is good for the body. Not that she is being overly cautious, but ever since the Emperor started favoring Master Li Guo, his treatment of her has not been as good as before. She has to step up her efforts to keep the Emperor’s heart. After all, their mother and son’s wealth and honor are all given by the Emperor!
As the sun set in the west, the evening glow in the sky was at its peak, painting the sky in strands of red, just like a thin veil, covering over Qingyun Town, the ancient border town. The town was bathed in a faint red light, making it seem like a paradise, distant and tranquil.....
In front of "Zhou Ji’s Roasted Meat", various kinds of skewered meats filled the long iron stove burning with charcoal. The young master of the restaurant, Zhou Jiujin, was skillfully fanning the roast, while on the other side, Cai Wei was directing a temporarily hired clay worker to construct a temporary stove and placed a large black pot on it.