I was still a crown princess then. I crossed over half of the River Wan with Yang Yan in the daytime, and floated over the whole Jiuqu Gorge with Chu wang Qi Han at night, which made me shiver every time I saw flowing water.

It was the first norther tour Qi Sheng conducted since his ascension, so the display was more grandeur compared to the time when he was still a crown prince. But only a few senior ministers in the imperial court knew that Qi Sheng would lead the army in this northern tour, while the others only assumed that he was travelling at the government expense. Therefore, they turned indifferent to the matter, and some high officials even criticized the northern tour to be a waste of manpower and money.

Flies wouldn’t bite but their buzzing was super annoying!

I passed on a pile of documents to Qi Sheng and asked, “Could you find a way to shut them up?”

Qi Sheng indifferently flickered through and then throw the documents aside. He smiled, “They can say whatever they want. You just mind your own business. Why even bother listening to them!”

It sounded easy, but when you headed to the Northern Desert, I would be the one left in Sheng City to deal with them.

I looked at him sincerely and asked, “What if you bring them with you to the north. Then you’ll have someone to talk to when you get bored.”

Qi Sheng shot me a glance, and answered, “No. I’ve already brought too many people with me this time, so I’ll just leave them to you.

I truly believe it was only a question about whether he wanted to bring them or not rather than whether he could. He even brought Zhao wang and Chu wang with him, so did it really matter to spare some carriages for the high officials?

Right, Qi Sheng was bringing Zhao wang and Bathroom Lord with him in this north tour.

I was left in surprise for two seconds when I first heard the news, but I soon comprehended what he was up to. He didn’t trust the two of his brothers, so it was more reassuring keeping them beside him rather than leaving them in Sheng City.

Before they left, Bathroom Lord finally found a chance, overcame all difficulties and met me in the Empress Dowager’s, where he showed me an imperial edict which was even more real than the real one.

It was a fake imperial edict of Qi Sheng’s last will, written in Qi Sheng’s tone, which also listed his own crimes. A lot of emotions were embedded in the words and it was written with magnificent literary grace. A fact was concluded with simple words that the Emperor insisted on attacking the north regardless of all official’s discouragement, which led to his death in the battlefield.

Was the sentence too long? It was hard to read, wasn’t it? Don’t you complain about it. It was already a simplified version compared to the original one I read. At least, I had added a comma for you.

Thanks to Qi Sheng’s training of reading the classic style of writings, I was able to understand most part of the imperial edict.

In the last part of the imperial edict, he expressed the wish of passing the crown to his eldest son Qi Hao.

After I read it, Bathroom Lord took the imperial edict back from me and smiled, “For safety precaution, I would leave it to the Empress Dowager at the moment. If we don’t succeed in Jiangbei, Your Majesty just pretend you’ve never seen it. But if we do…”

He stopped right there and calmly looked at me.

I smiled and continued, “If you do, I’ll help the prince ascend the throne, and command you and Zhang Fang to help with government issues. However, you should be careful with it and don’t let the Northern Desert take the advantage. If they make use of this opportunity to attack us, it’ll be hard to drive them out again.”

Bathroom Lord nodded and said seriously, “I am also a descendent of Emperor Cheng. Surely I won’t let the Tartars cross Jingyang. And I hope Your Majesty will keep your words.”

Keeping words didn’t just depend on how you said it but how you did it. I didn’t say anything and I only raised the corner of my mouth, walking towards the door. When I just arrived at the doorstep, Bathroom Lord stopped me again. But when I turned around, he said nothing. He just looked at me in silence.

I asked, “Is there anything else?”

He faintly smiled and shook his head.

I couldn’t stand this kind of gestures, which only made me toothache. I turned around and returned to Da Ming Palace, with the two little beauties the Empress Dowager gave to me.

In the back chamber, Xie Yi had just instructed the maids to give Qi Wei and Qi Hao a bath, and it was like they had just finished a water fight.

Water was still dripping down from Xie Yi’s hair. Hearing my return, she came out and asked me concernedly, “Your Majesty, is everything alright?”

She only realized that I was followed by two unfamiliar beauties behind after she asked the question, and she couldn’t contain her surprised face.

I briefly introduced Xie Yi the two beauties, who were both extremely distant relatives of the Empress Dowager. They were allegedly sent to serve the Emperor and the Empress, but they both secretly wished that I could help them and changed their office to Qi Sheng’s bed.

Xie Yi pursed her lips. After they left, she told me, “I was wondering what the Empress Dowager wanted Your Majesty there. So she is sending seductresses here again. I think Your Majesty shouldn’t be tender with them. Keep them in the palace to serve you, and to see whether they could live till the time His Majesty returns.”

These two little beauties were about fifteen or seventeen, and they were as delicate as flower buds and feasted people’s eyes. I wanted to keep them beside me but they were sent by the Empress Dowager, so at least, I should inform Qi Sheng first.

Hearing the Empress Dowager sending another two of her distant relatives to his palace, Qi Sheng furrowed his brows, “How come the Empress Dowager has so many relatives. It is annoying.”

I lowered my eyes and said nothing. But in my mind, I didn’t think it was a big deal. If we were in modern times, you would be related to chimpanzees in Africa if you tried to deduct. They were all beauties, so you should be satisfied.

Qi Sheng shot me a glance and asked, “Another two beauties?”

I replied honestly, “They were indeed beauties. They were pretty, charming and attractive.”

Qi Sheng slowly nodded.

I asked tentatively, “Maybe you can bring them with you in this north tour?”

Qi Sheng shook his head, “I am going for a war, what do I bring women there for!”

I was deeply relieved but I still put on a smile, “Indeed. They say women shouldn’t be allowed in the army camp as it will bring misfortune. So let’s leave them in the palace.”

Qi Sheng looked at me dubiously and then frowned. After a while of consideration, he said, “Alright, I should bring them with me. It makes me more at ease.”

Since the Emperor had already asked, I didn’t dare to say no. So I replied yes, but in my heart, I despised his volatile temperament.