"Your flesh and blood should have been dedicated to the barren wilderness, not here."
The girl's voice was very light, so light that only he could hear it.
Wu Dakang trembled all over. After a long while, he cupped his hands with all his might, "Your humble servant understands."
"Return to the palace!" The girl turned and walked towards the entrance of the manor.
"We bid farewell to His Majesty!"
At the entrance, the boy stood there.
Li Chenxuan restlessly rubbed his hands, watching the slender and tall figure walk step by step towards him.
His heart was filled with excitement.
He truly never expected the Empress to come.
Not only did the Empress come, but she punished Aunt Qiao, enfeoffed his elder sister as a county princess, nullified her marriage, and finally made his elder sister the head of the household.
How could he ever repay her?
"Why are you here?" Xue Zining saw Li Chenxuan and asked softly.
"I..." Li Chenxuan looked up and saw those eyes, clear as water, reflecting only his shadow.
His heart pounded uncontrollably. He turned his face away in a panic, bowed, and said, "Your humble subject thanks His Majesty for coming here. Your Majesty's great kindness is something I can never repay."
"Repay?" The girl's cherry lips parted, and she raised an eyebrow, asking.
Li Chenxuan's heart skipped another beat. Then he heard the girl say, "You are朕's person now. What 朕 has done is only right."
Feng Wu, who was behind him, frowned. Didn't this sound familiar? Almost as if heard before?
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Li Chenxuan choked up a little.
"If you want to thank 朕, then quickly return to the palace and accompany 朕," the girl's cheerful voice came.
Li Chenxuan felt his heart beat even faster.
"Your humble subject obeys!"
Only when he could no longer hear the girl's voice did Li Chenxuan slowly stand up. Seeing the empty doorway, he couldn't help but feel a sense of loss.
"Younger Brother." Li Fanghui came out.
Li Chenxuan turned to look at Li Fanghui and said, "Elder Sister, why did you come out too?"
"Younger Brother, what exactly is going on?" Li Fanghui asked in a low voice.
Li Chenxuan couldn't help but smile. "Elder Sister, I told you His Majesty was very good, but you didn't believe me. Do you believe it now?"
Li Fanghui recalled the woman's bearing and couldn't help but say, "Younger Brother, she is not simple."
Li Chenxuan nodded. "Naturally, how could an Empress be simple?"
Li Fanghui wanted to remind him again, but seeing her younger brother's infatuated expression, she couldn't bring herself to say anything disheartening.
After all, the Empress had genuinely helped her.
However, was it really good to let her younger brother fall so deeply like this?
Ming Xuan
Li Shengming had settled Aunt Qiao and looked at her in her near-death state. How could he not feel heartache?
The Aunt Qiao whom he had cherished normally lay there, how could he not hate?
But what he hated even more was that Fanghua, whom he held in the palm of his hand, was to become a concubine to that brute Wu Dakang.
Seeing Fanghua's hateful gaze at him in the end, Li Shengming felt utterly dejected.
"My lord, His Highness wishes to see you," a servant reported.
Li Shengming waved his hand. "Tell him I am unwell and will go tomorrow."
Regent's Manor
Xue Wenjie's gaze grew colder and colder as he heard the report from the messenger.
His advisor Jin Ming shook his head. "Your Highness, this is not a good start."
"How could I not know? But with so many people present, how could I intervene?" The Empress must have foreseen this, which is why she dared to act so brazenly.
Jin Ming frowned and said, "Your Highness, Lord Li and Deputy General Wu can no longer be entrusted with important tasks."
Hearing this, Xue Wenjie slammed his hand on the table and said angrily, "Am I just going to let that girl ride all over me like this?"
"Your Highness, please do not be angry. Do you not still have an important candidate?"
Xue Wenjie frowned. "You mean Yan Zhao?"
Jin Ming nodded. "Currently, only Yan Zhao can approach the Empress. As long as Yan Zhao can win the Empress's affection, other things will not be difficult."
Xue Wenjie's displeased expression improved somewhat. He remembered something and asked, "Have there been any reports from the Gu Family Army?"
Hearing this, Jin Ming said, "The Gu Family Army is currently leaderless. Why doesn't Your Highness send someone trustworthy to take charge of the Gu Family Army?"
Xue Wenjie frowned at this. "I heard that the Gu Family Army only recognizes the Gu family's token! And I do not have this token."
"Your Highness, if you don't have the token, you can have someone forge one," Jin Ming said.
Xue Wenjie's eyes lit up. "You are right."
However, Xue Wenjie quickly added, "I have never seen the Gu family's token, so how can I forge it?"
Jin Ming said, "Your Highness, please rest assured. I will handle this matter."
"Good, thank you, Young Master Jin. If this great undertaking is successful, Your Highness will not treat me poorly," Xue Wenjie said, patting Jin Ming's shoulder.
"Thank you, Your Highness! I shall take my leave now!" Jin Ming bowed respectfully.
Xue Wenjie nodded and sat down in his chair. His gaze suddenly turned cold. "Come out."
Soon, a figure appeared at the doorway. Seeing the person, Xue Wenjie's gaze chilled. "Yunlan, you are here?"
Xue Yunlan bit her lower lip. "Father, tell me, are you plotting something?"
Xue Wenjie's gaze froze. He stood up and walked to Xue Yunlan, saying coldly, "What have you heard?"
Xue Yunlan trembled all over. "I..."
"Yunlan, there are some things you should forget, like everything you just heard," Xue Wenjie said coldly.
Xue Yunlan bit her lip. "Father, can't you avoid being enemies with the Imperial Sister?"
"Yunlan, you are my daughter. If I ascend to that position, you will be a princess, and you can possess your own power. Don't you envy Xue Zining's actions today?"
Xue Yunlan's body stiffened. Yes, she envied Xue Zining's decisive actions today.
Xue Wenjie continued, "But if I am the Regent, you will forever only be a county princess and cannot become a princess. Yunlan, don't you crave power?"
Xue Yunlan trembled all over and took a step back. "Father, I..."
"Yunlan, go back and think carefully..."
"Father..."
Xue Wenjie interrupted her. "Yunlan, don't make a decision too soon. I know you like Yan Zhao."
"Father, please don't mention it again..." Xue Yunlan's expression was filled with pain.
Xue Wenjie sighed. "I heard that the Empress doesn't like Young Master Yan at all and makes him kneel in the outer hall every night."
"How... how is that possible?" Xue Yunlan took several steps back in shock.
Xue Yunlan shook her head. "No... it can't be. Father, you must be lying to me."
"Yunlan, not everyone is necessarily so simple. If you don't believe me, you can inquire about it, and you will know whether what I say is true or false."
"I..."
Returning to her room, Xue Yunlan sent a trusted subordinate to inquire about matters in the palace.
Soon, the subordinate returned. Hearing the news about Yan Zhao, Xue Yunlan froze.
After a long while, she tightly clenched her fingers. Xue Zining, why did you do that?