Chapter 585 Li Sanqi's Ambition

"You mean Commander Yu has sorted out the mess in Jiangnan and come to a conclusion?" Qiao Qinghe asked in surprise.

Previously, because the Earl of An'nan, who was guarding the West Pass, and the Feng clan members in Shang'an had rebelled one after another, Emperor Xiaozhao urgently recalled the Earl of Enping and ordered him to lead troops to quell the rebellion.

The unfinished business in Jiangnan was handed over to Yu Rui, the third son of the Yu family, who was punished because of the incident at the Shun'an Prince's Mansion.

"Hmm." Li Sanqi nodded solemnly. "The case in Jiangnan seems to be beyond our expectations. More importantly, the Crown Prince is also involved."

"Father fainted from anger before he could even finish reading the memorial."

"Now that the person is awake, however..."

After hesitating for a long time, Li Sanqi finally said, "But the left side of my body is immobile."

"It's that serious?" Qiao Qinghe found it hard to believe.

Li Sanqi nodded: "Actually, more than two years ago, when the Crown Prince knelt outside the Imperial Study to ask for Zhong Liuniang's hand in marriage, Father Emperor was so angry that he fainted once."

“There were already signs at that time.”

"Later, when the marriage alliance went wrong, the Emperor realized that all his plans for the past half of his life had come to naught, and he fainted once again."

"However, the imperial physicians saved him in time both times."

"This time, it was lucky that they survived. Most of the time, the imperial physicians were helpless."

Qiao Qinghe was greatly alarmed.

If Emperor Xiaozhao's illness persists, the Crown Prince should rightfully assume the role of regent.

If something were to happen to Emperor Xiaozhao, wouldn't everything be set in stone?

However, Emperor Xiaozhao's illness was caused by the crown prince. Would Emperor Xiaozhao allow the crown prince to smoothly oversee the country, or even succeed to the throne?

Judging from Emperor Xiaozhao's actions in recent years, the answer is clearly no.

However, after serving as the crown prince for over twenty years, would he willingly accept being deposed at the last minute? The answer is undoubtedly no.

Therefore, internal strife is inevitable!

However, these are not the most critical issues!

The most critical issue is that the rebellion of the Earl of Annan and the Feng clan of Shang'an has not yet been quelled, and Xi'er is also eyeing the situation covetously from the sidelines.

There had been rumors before that the Earl of Annan wanted to join forces with Xi'e. However, for some reason, Xi'e had not yet agreed.

However, if the news of Emperor Xiaozhao's serious illness were to spread at this time, Xi'er would probably not be able to hold back.

With such internal and external troubles... Da Yan is probably in danger!

Qiao Qinghe broke out in a cold sweat.

"The princess has arrived..."

Li Sanqi looked at Qiao Qinghe with hope in his eyes, "I want the old lady to step forward and invite Doctor Mu to the palace to treat my father's illness."

"Hibiscus?"

“Yes.” Li Sanqi nodded. “The only doctor I can think of whose medical skills are even better than the imperial physician is her.”

"Please grant my request, Madam."

Qiao Qinghe frowned. To be honest, it wasn't difficult to invite Mu Jin to the palace to treat Emperor Xiaozhao.

If Li Sanqi himself steps forward, Mu Jin will likely not refuse.

But why go through the roundabout way of asking someone through her?

Seemingly noticing Qiao Qinghe's confusion, Li Sanqi clenched his fist and looked at the only maid in the room, A Shuang, "Would you please go out for a moment, Miss A Shuang?"

A Shuang glanced at Qiao Qinghe, and Qiao Qinghe nodded.

Ah Shuang curtsied and withdrew.

Before Li Sanqi could speak, Qiao Qinghe raised her voice and ordered, "Zhuxi, go and invite Doctor Mu to the main courtyard yourself."

"Yes," Zhu Xi, hidden in the shadows, replied and slipped out of the house.

When A-Shuang said at the door, "Madam, Zhuxi has left," Qiao Qinghe then signaled to Li Sanqi that he could speak.

"This secret guard..."

Li Sanqi looked at Qiao Qinghe with some doubt, "The old lady doesn't seem to trust this bodyguard very much."

Qiao Qinghe smiled and said in a calm tone, "This is His Majesty's person."

Li Sanqi's heart skipped a beat, as if he had just escaped death.

She looked at Qiao Qinghe in astonishment. "Did the old lady guess what I was going to say? That's why she deliberately sent everyone away."

Qiao Qinghe neither nodded nor shook her head, but simply looked at Li Sanqi with a smile, "Princess, you can speak now."

Li Sanqi bit his lip, his eyes hardening. "I want Doctor Mu to treat my father. If possible, I hope that Doctor Mu can leave some backup plan while treating him."

Qiao Qinghe's eyes deepened, "Does the princess intend to..."

Li Sanqi's face was cold and stern, and his eyes held a complex mix of emotions that were hard to describe.

After a long silence, she said in a cold voice, "I want to control my father's life and death!"

Qiao Qinghe felt a chill run down her spine and couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

Upon seeing this, Li Sanqi suddenly smiled and asked, "Does the old lady think I'm crazy?"

Qiao Qinghe shook her head. "No. I just think the princess's move is too risky."

Li Sanqi chuckled lightly, "I don't care."

"This is my best chance!"

"I used to be naive and innocent. I thought everyone would pamper me and love me, so I naively thought that I could live a carefree life like this."

"But reality has taught me time and time again that I am nothing in the face of power, in the face of my father and the Crown Prince's grand strategy!"

"The Crown Prince can easily betroth me to someone I don't like, and he can easily cancel my engagement."

"My father kept saying he loved me, but in the face of his ambition and schemes, he didn't hesitate to send me to my death."

"And the King of Chu, when he saw me being bullied by the Crown Prince, would speak up for me and say he would go to the Crown Prince to demand an explanation."

"But in the end, he scolded me, admonished me, and confronted me because of a useless Min Pan'er."

"Even my mother and the Empress Dowager, who loved me the most, could watch me die without saying anything and keep everything from me!"

Li Sanqi looked at Qiao Qinghe with tears streaming down his face, asking with each word piercing with anguish, "Madam, what did I do wrong? Why are they treating me like this?"

Qiao Qinghe opened her mouth, but didn't know how to comfort her.

All I can say is that Li Sanqi's mistake was being born into the royal family.

However, even those born into ordinary families still have worries about daily necessities.

Haha, didn't she herself also face many hardships along the way?

"I want the supreme power in this world!"

"I want no one in this world to ever dare to arbitrarily decide my life, control my thoughts, or determine my life or death again!"

"I will firmly grasp my own destiny in my own hands!"

Li Sanqi still had tear stains on his face, but his eyes were firm, his expression solemn, and his words were powerful and heartfelt.

At this moment, Li Sanqi made Qiao Qinghe feel her determination to go all in and her absolute trust in her.

"Madam, please, help me!"

Li Sanqi bowed deeply to Qiao Qinghe.

Qiao Qinghe remained silent for a long time.

Li Sanqi remained in the bowing posture and did not rise.

Finally, Qiao Qinghe stood up and reached out to help Li Sanqi up.

"good."

She uttered a single word softly.

A word that carries immense weight.

A word that gambled with the lives of her and everyone in the Qiao family.