Remarrying Chun Yuan

Chapter 434 Obsession

Yuwen Chan's domineering arrogance forced the subjects of the Mongol Kingdom to bow their heads.

He naturally wouldn't listen to the people around him and continued to head to the capital of Daqi according to the original plan.

He also brought along a statue of the Mongol deity, intending to have Liu Yuechu have Song Ziwen carve one.

She could carve statues for the people of Yan, so why couldn't the people of Meng? He was just hoping that Chu and Qi would make trouble so he could bring Liu Yuechu back to Meng.

This woman is his lifelong obsession.

He wouldn't give up until the very last moment before he closed his eyes.

……

The people of Yan were no exception.

However, they weren't as excited as the states of Chu and Meng upon hearing the news. They simply sent people to Daqi to retrieve the statue, because Liu Yuechu had already sent word that the statue was finished.

Ever since Liu Yuechu learned that the Chu Emperor was going to Daqi, she has never had a moment of peace.

She even made a special trip to the palace to meet Emperor Qi Xiao. Emperor Qi Xiao told her that she could only postpone the event and everything would proceed as usual, but the atmosphere should be lively and festive so that people from other countries wouldn't have anything to complain about.

Liu Yuechu simply set the date for the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th. "...Let's just hold it on that day, along with the Lantern Festival. It will be lively and show that our Great Qi has depth. Most importantly, combining the two events will save money."

This last one is the most important.

The reasons were so compelling that even Emperor Qi Xiao had no way to refute them.

That's how it was settled.

The Ministry of Rites also posted a notice to announce it to officials in various regions.

The two hundred craftsmen who were originally waiting to participate in the final carving competition could take a break for the time being. The garden provided wood for everyone to practice with, and the money from the sale was split in half, which allowed the Ministry of Revenue to collect a small sum of money.

Liu Yuechu fiddled with the abacus, making a clattering sound.

The Liu family's trading company and horse farm were also busy with this matter, as everyone wanted to earn more money. Even several other large official merchants approached Liu Yuechu, hoping to discuss their business as well. After all, this was the first time since the founding of the Great Qi that the states of Chu, Meng, and Yan had come to the Great Qi to participate in a grand event.

If the deal goes through, it will be no small sum.

So, in addition to being busy with the carving competition, Liu Yuechu also had to manage silk, paper, and medicinal materials, making her even busier.

"...If I didn't calculate how much money I could earn, I really wouldn't be willing to be this exhausted." Liu Yuechu lay flat on the bed at night, feeling that her limbs were completely weak, and even her ten fingers were swollen like little radishes. She was just too tired.

Yuan Cuo was also exhausted, his eyes were glazed over, and his head was throbbing.

He had been relentlessly urging the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works to produce new weapons. Apart from the State of Chu, the States of Meng and Yan also came to the State of Qi to see the strength of the State of Qi, not just to participate in a carving competition.

"Tell me, what would they do if we took the children and the money and ran away right now?" Yuan Cuo suddenly asked.

Liu Yuechu stared in disbelief, "Run? Where can you run to?"

Beyond the Great Qi, there are only the states of Chu, Yan, and Meng. Wherever they go, they will be watched, and they have no way to escape.

“It takes a stretch of waterway to travel from Yan to Zhao, but unfortunately our ships are not capable of such long voyages,” Yuan Cuo lamented. “It’s a pity I didn’t save more money over the years, otherwise I could have built bigger and stronger ships and wouldn’t be here as a duke doing manual labor.”

Liu Yuechu: "..."

"If His Majesty heard you say that, I wonder if he would be so angry that he would faint."

The dignified Duke of Baoguo actually calls himself a "laborer." Isn't this a case of getting a good deal and then acting innocent? He's no longer the scholar who couldn't even afford a betrothal gift back then.

Yuan Cuo suddenly rolled over and snuggled closer to her, "Actually, I'm not that tired..."

"Get away quickly, or you'll kill me!" Liu Yuechu felt his warm breath on her face and immediately pushed him aside. She was already so exhausted, and he still wanted more?

Yuan Cuo refused to let go, saying, "You don't have to move..."

"Ugh!" Liu Yuechu rolled into the blankets and wrapped herself up like a worm. "You should think carefully about how to deal with that Emperor Chu. She is your birth mother. She must have impure motives for coming to Daqi. I wonder if that prince you met before will come with you."

Liu Yuechu didn't remember Chu Lan's name, only his arrogance and haughtiness.

Arriving before Yuan Cuo, he was arrogant and conceited, as if he was certain that Yuan Cuo would curry favor with the State of Chu. However, he was proven wrong.

"Actually, he deliberately provoked me, deliberately trying to make me hate the State of Chu." Yuan Cuo had already investigated Chu Lan's background.

Liu Yuechu was surprised. "Deliberately? What does that mean?"

Yuan Cuo's attempt to steal a kiss failed, so he could only tell Liu Yuechu about Chu Lan's background, "...He was not born to the Chu Emperor, but was an adopted prince. The Chu Emperor himself had no children."

"???" Liu Yuechu sat up abruptly from the bed, but because she was wrapped up too tightly, she couldn't sit up straight and fell back down!

"So, you are the only bloodline of the Chu Emperor?"

Yuan Cuo nodded. "That's true."

"My goodness!" Liu Yuechu exclaimed. "So, her trip to Daqi this time might be for you... or rather, it's for you."

Yuan Cuo did not deny it, saying, "Perhaps it's not just for me."

"Then who else could it be for? It couldn't possibly be for His Majesty." Liu Yuechu gloated. "I wonder if His Majesty will be able to sleep soundly these days, after all, he will soon be seeing the person he has been longing for day and night."

“Whether he can sleep peacefully or not, I don’t know, but the Empress and the concubines certainly won’t be able to sleep peacefully,” Yuan Cuo said with a smile. “Actually, to protect yourself, you might as well stir up some trouble in the inner palace.”

"Do I need to start a fire? The Palace Attendants Bureau has been incredibly busy lately. Even though the Imperial Household Department isn't providing any funds, the ladies have been paying out of their own pockets to make the best palace dresses and jewelry, all to compete with the Emperor Chu." Liu Yuechu had, of course, heard the gossip. She specifically entrusted this matter to the Crown Princess, since the Crown Princess was idle anyway.

Yuan Cuo was momentarily stunned; it seemed he had underestimated the fighting power of women.

The couple chatted casually, and it's unclear when they finally fell asleep.

But at this moment, in Fukang Palace, the Empress was unable to sleep. Even when she managed to doze off for a short while, she would suddenly wake up with a start.

Startled, Granny Chang rushed in from outside. "What's wrong, Your Highness? Have you been frightened by another nightmare?"

The Empress wiped the sweat from her brow, looked around, and realized it was a dream, not something that had actually happened.

"Sigh..." she sighed deeply.

"I only dreamt of the scene twenty years ago when the Empress Dowager drugged me."

The Empress pounded her chest, which felt heavy, and felt a pang of self-reproach. "Tell me," she said, "if I hadn't pretended to be stupid and had instead stopped the Empress Dowager, would she have escaped in a less miserable state, and wouldn't have hated the Great Qi so much that it led to twenty years of continuous war and countless deaths?"