Chang Lili sat blankly on the steps, an ant crawling around her feet.

"Is Boran dead?" she asked Aunt Lu, who was walking over.

Aunt Lu said, "She died protecting us, and this is one of my many regrets."

Chang Lili smiled bitterly, dusted herself off, turned and walked into the house, shaking her head and saying, "Her family is still waiting for her, and this wait seems endless."

"You feel sorry for her, but why don't you feel sorry for the Great Shun Dynasty? Those surrendered civilians, the elderly, women, and children—that dog emperor spared not a single one! So many people died tragically, I can't even count them all! And the Empress—"

"What's wrong with her? Why won't she continue?"

Aunt Lu is unwilling to talk about what the Empress went through before her death; it is that hatred that has sustained her to this day!

"I hope you don't know." Aunt Lu coldly uttered a sentence, took out the Great Shun military tally that she had been carrying for a long time, and solemnly handed it to Chang Lili.

"This is my Great Shun's 50,000 troops. Although it is not enough to contend with the Yun Kingdom, the death of the dog emperor is a good opportunity for revenge!"

This small military tally weighs millions of pounds. Chang Lili can handle a latte, but she can't hold this tally steady at all. It's a military tally that embodies everyone's hopes.

"This is yours, you shouldn't give it to me, I don't want to..."

Aunt Lu tightened her grip on her hand, and Chang Lili gritted her teeth to stop crying out in pain. Aunt Lu said coldly, "You are the princess of Da Shun, and you should shoulder the responsibility of restoring the country."

Chang Lili opened her mouth, but under Aunt Lu's firm gaze, she ultimately said nothing.

When questioned by the emperor, Meng Yuxiu simply said he didn't know.

The emperor stormed off, clearly distrusting him, but refrained from taking action due to Meng Yuxiu's authority. Many of those attending the banquet were his subordinates.

"General, what should we do now?" his lieutenant asked him.

Meng Yuxiu gazed at the ruins scattered on the ground: "Have all the brothers come to my study to see me, but don't let anyone else see them."

Meng Yuxiu summoned his generals and soldiers and talked in his study all night long.

The next morning, shortly after the city gates opened, a soldier dressed as a commoner headed straight for the border, carrying a sealed envelope from Meng Yuxiu.

"I want to see Chang Lili." Meng Yuxiu arrived at the Lu family pawnshop and went straight to the point.

The shopkeeper naturally refused to let him see her, saying that Chang Lili wasn't there. But somehow, news of Meng Yuxiu's arrival reached Chang Lili's ears.

Chang Lili was both surprised and delighted. She ran straight out of the foundry, turned the mechanism, and appeared in front of Meng Yuxiu. When she was about to touch him, she hesitated. She wanted to go forward, but she didn't dare to.

"What are you doing here?" Aunt Lu asked coldly as she caught up.

Meng Yuxiu said, "Now that I'm here, I will naturally stand with her through thick and thin."

Aunt Lu sneered, "You are the Grand General of Yun Kingdom, how can you advance and retreat together? Are you going to rebel?"

"Why not?" Meng Yuxiu didn't seem to care much. He gazed tenderly at Chang Lili, gently pinching her cheek with an extremely sincere expression. "My army is ready to go. I've also sent a message to the barbarians, saying that I've found the woman's whereabouts. If they're willing to cooperate, the territory that the court has seized will be returned after the matter is settled."

Chang Lili was stunned, and Aunt Lu looked at him with an expression that said, "Are you crazy?"

Chang Lili sighed, "A general is a general. He can just give up such a promising future like that."

Meng Yuxiu laughed and said, "With you, what do I need all those fancy things for? When you become successful in the future, don't forget your husband who has shared joys and sorrows with you."

Chang Lili punched his chest and scolded him, "Don't you even know where you are? You make all sorts of jokes."

Aunt Lu could tell that he wasn't faking it, and pondered for a moment, saying, "Although we have troops, we lack an opportunity. If we don't have a legitimate reason to overthrow him, someone else will overthrow us."

Meng Yuxiu said, "It's not difficult. The emperor despises the Three Pages Sect to the extreme. Using this matter as a pretext will surely cause public resentment, and that will be the opportunity."

Aunt Lu seemed to be deep in thought.

Three days later, Xiao Shu'er hanged herself in her residence, leaving a suicide note saying that she had done many wrong things, that she had poisoned the emperor, that Consort Lan was her scapegoat, and that the scars on her face were a punishment from heaven, and that she had no face to live in the world anymore.

The emperor remained silent for a long time, his face revealing sorrow.

Chu Moyu said, "Your Majesty, please accept my condolences."

Xiao Shu'er was poisoned and would die anyway. He just made the cause of death more plausible. The emperor only needed to investigate Bai Mei to know everything she had done. At that time, he would not delve into the cause of her death.

"Step down."

The emperor dismissed Chu Moyu and summoned Bai Mei, who served Xiao Shu'er, into the palace. Bai Mei knelt down, weeping, and confessed everything Xiao Shu'er had done, begging only to save her life.

The emperor ignored her pleas, waved his hand, and immediately someone dragged her away. After a while, Xiao Lingshou entered the palace.

The emperor sighed, rubbing his forehead: "Shu'er has passed away. I have neglected her in the past, and now that she is gone, there is no chance to make up for it. I want to build a temporary palace, and I entrust this matter to you."

Xiao Lingshou accepted the decree: "Your subject will certainly not fail to live up to Father Emperor's expectations."

Chang Lili was not like before; she couldn't show her face in public and spent all her time in the underground palace, her interest waning: "Have you thought about what to do? If we're going to incite public outrage, innocent people will inevitably be sacrificed. This kind of thing..."

Chang Lili hesitated to speak, unsure whether to support him or not.

Meng Yuxiu flicked her forehead: "We haven't decided on this matter yet, but as I see it, your brain is more suited to forging weapons. Why are you getting involved in these military matters? Be good, you only need to forge soft armor and the necessary weapons. As for the rest, don't worry about it."

"Okay." Chang Lili lay down again.

On the open land, tall scaffolds were erected. Urged on from above, the workers sped up, pulling ropes to carry up wooden poles one by one.

The foreman looked up and directed them as they built the eaves: "Left, left, yes, that's it, make sure it's secure!"

The workers put down their work, and a gust of north wind picked up, causing the roof to sway twice. The workers below didn't pay much attention and continued working together. The wind picked up even more, and suddenly! The half-built palace tilted completely and crashed down with the swaying motion.

"Run!"

The foreman shouted, but it was too late. In the end, the whole structure collapsed, and most of the people were buried under the stone wall.

The news quickly reached Xiao Lingshou's ears, and he immediately sent people to investigate the cause. In less than half a day, he was summoned to the palace by the emperor.

The emperor was furious: "You are usually so careful, how could you make such a huge mistake? The laborers worked for the royal family, and most of them died tragically. If this gets out, how can I explain it to the people?!"

"Your subject is incompetent." Xiao Lingshou lowered his head. "Your subject sent people to investigate and found that the problem was with the foundation, and the trees were of poor quality, which caused insects to bore into them and make them unable to bear the weight."

The emperor didn't believe it and asked, "The materials are all personally selected by the Ministry of Works before they can be put into storage, so how could there be a problem?"

"Your subject is unaware. Your subject will do his utmost to investigate and clarify the matter, allocate the funds, and appease the people."

Xiao Lingshou wanted to suppress the matter of the imperial palace, but the news seemed to grow legs.

Within a day, everyone in the capital knew about it, including Chang Lili. She subconsciously looked at Aunt Lu, who shook her head.

She didn't do that.