Chapter 2040 [Shang Xie]

Although both of them avoided the topic of the emperor leading the army in person, the time for the expedition was inevitably getting closer.

Nowadays, Changsun Chi spends more and more time in the imperial study and is very busy every day, but the strange thing is that the busier he is, the better his spirits seem to be, and he has been coughing less and less recently.

Some ministers of the royalist party were naturally very pleased to see such an emperor. Only Lian Tang and Qingze, who knew the inside story, became more and more silent day by day.

On this day, Changsun Chi invited two people to the imperial study alone.

He sat on the chair and looked at his subordinates, one serious and the other expressionless, and said lightly,

"Who are you trying to show off to by having such a sour face all day? Fu Yi has been asking me these past two days if I've docked your salary."

The two of them lowered their heads in silence. Chang Sun Chi had no expression on his face for a while, but suddenly he smiled lightly. His voice was lazy and carefree, but the words he asked scared the two people below to death.

"What? You act like this in front of me all day long, are you trying to remind me that I'm going to die at any time?"

The two men immediately knelt down, their knees hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

"Master, please be careful with your words!"

"Then don't keep that expression on your face all day. If Fu Yi notices something's wrong again, I'll really dock your salary."

The two of them agreed reluctantly.

Chang Sun Chi slowly put away his smile. He lowered his head and rubbed his fingers, thinking while saying,

"Speaking of which, Fuyi has been ill for two days. He has been taking medicine and eating medicinal food every day, but his condition has not improved at all."

He looked out the window and gradually narrowed his eyes.

“Is this really a wind chill?”

Lian Tang and Qing Ze looked at each other silently.

"What do you mean?"

"Although this illness may prevent her from going to Yan Gui, but..."

A fierce look flashed across his narrowed amber eyes, but it was only for a moment. He turned his head to look at the two of them and said lightly,

"Send someone to monitor all the palace servants around Fu Yi, and keep them under observation day and night."

He knocked on the table, his voice cold.

"I suspect her illness was man-made."

The two men accepted the order and were about to turn around and leave when Changsun Chi called them again.

The man seemed to remember something, frowned and was silent for a moment, then slowly said,

"Especially the maid she personally took in."

Lian Tang and Qingze looked at each other in surprise.

After leaving the imperial study and walking for a while, Lian Tang asked in confusion,

"Why would Your Majesty doubt Fu Yan? I think she's a good girl. When Your Majesty was alone in the Purple Palace, Fu Yan went to tell His Majesty stories every day. At that time, she didn't know Your Majesty's identity and only thought that He was a guard like us."

Qingze didn't care at all, just smiled faintly and said,

"The most fickle thing in this world is the human heart. When Your Majesty was a guard, she might have told stories every day out of kindness, just to entertain herself. But now that Your Majesty is His Majesty, her former kindness may have become a bargaining chip for her self-righteousness."

"What chips?"

"In exchange for status and power, even as a bargaining chip for His Majesty's affection."

As they were talking, the two of them had already reached the steps of the Zichen Palace, just in time to see Fu Yan coming out carrying a basin of water.

Qingze looked at the figure from afar and smiled faintly.

“What a pity.”

Lian Tang had understood, so he also sighed.

“What a pity.”