The Western Xia Kingdom was a neighboring country west of Anguo. It was a relatively weak small country that relied on the power of the Great Zhou.

The emperor of the Western Xia Kingdom was conservative and the country basically had no contact with neighboring countries, and people from other countries were unable to enter the Western Xia Kingdom.

It was also because the previous commander of the Tianwei Commander did not investigate this matter, and was finally dismissed from his position by the enraged father.

After Mu Ci replaced the previous commander, Tianwei continued to investigate secretly, and the fact that Xiao Ling's mother was from the Western Xia Kingdom was also the result of Mu Ci's investigation.

As for what happened next, there was no progress.

Because Tianwei was unable to infiltrate the Western Xia Kingdom, he knew nothing about the situation in Western Xia over the past twenty years and had no idea at all.

Xiao Ling suddenly became excited because he thought Mu Ci had made some progress on this matter.

She didn't know why her mother didn't go to the capital with her father at that time, but she really wanted to see her mother.

Very much.

Recalling the things he had learned from his father, Xiao Ling couldn't help but tear up.

As if noticing the change in the emperor's expression, Mu Ci hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.

"Your Majesty, I haven't made much progress regarding the Empress Dowager's affairs. However... Your Majesty knows that I have seen the Empress Dowager's portrait from the higher-ranking commander, so..."

Mu Ci paused for a moment before continuing to explain, "I have always felt that Madam Chu is somewhat familiar, and it was because of General Shi's guidance that I thought of the Empress Dowager."

"I only learned of the Empress Dowager's portrait from a high-ranking commander back then. Duke Rong was one of the generals who accompanied the late emperor on his campaigns. He had personally seen the Empress Dowager's face, so General Shi also knew about this."

After hearing this explanation, Xiao Ling calmed down, and his originally excited mood was like a bucket of cold water poured down on him.

She returned to the dragon throne and sat down in a daze.

"is that so……"

The hall fell into an eerie silence for a while.

Finally, Shi Qingxue followed suit and reminded, "Your Majesty, regarding this matter, I'm afraid it's better to suppress it for the time being. Otherwise, if it's not handled properly, it might cause unrest..."

"...I know," Xiao Ling nodded, his mind somewhat distracted.

"Regarding stabilizing the situation in Guanzhong, I'll have to ask General Shi to help. My intention is to integrate those 70,000 soldiers and form a new Beijing camp to supplement the Beijing army."

Shi Qingxue responded, "I understand."

After everything was explained and Shi Qingxue left, Xiao Ling let Mu Ci stay.

Mu Ci was in a complicated mood.

Looking at the person in front of me who looks like a man but is actually an empress who has deceived everyone in the world, I didn't know where to start.

"Mu Ci, you know, I always feel very tired sitting in this position."

Seeing that Mu Ci didn't say anything, Xiao Ling spoke softly.

Hearing this, Mu Ci hesitated for a moment, "I understand your majesty's thoughts."

"From the time the late emperor ascended the throne until his death, Your Majesty had only one heir. There must have been some hidden agenda. All I can say is that the late emperor's decision did, to a certain extent, prevent a repeat of the mistakes made by the late emperor."

"Father is a selfish man," Xiao Ling said, "but at least we have safely weathered the greatest crisis facing Anguo. Everything is peaceful and stable, I guess."

She said this in a very relaxed tone, with a hint of joking in her voice.

Mu Ci was stunned again when he heard this, and then his face was filled with emotion.

"Your Majesty is forced to do so. It's truly... not easy."

"Mu Ci, you misunderstood. What happened between Chu Qing and I was consensual. It wasn't like we were forced into anything." Xiao Ling explained.

"Is that so? Your Majesty... aren't you worried that Lord Chu is only giving in temporarily? The relationship between Chu Yi and Your Majesty has only lasted less than six months. Will he really give up the throne just because Your Majesty is a woman?"

Mu Ci didn't seem optimistic about the current situation. "Besides, I don't think Chu Yan will let it go..."

Xiao Ling looked towards the windowsill of the imperial study, where the setting sun had already left traces.

"That... maybe."

In fact, she did not tell Mu Ci at this time that she could willingly give the throne to Chu Yi.

But... Chu Yi didn't seem to want it.

Could it be that the Chu thief is a very strong-willed man who would not accept charity?

Xiao Ling was not sure about these things, but considering her current relationship with Chu Yi, it could be considered good news.

…

After the court meeting in the afternoon, the Beijing military camp was in an uproar.

Everything that happened in the court shocked the generals of the Beijing camp, especially the attitude of the Minister of Personnel towards the emperor, and the fact that their own generals did not even attend the court meeting. These completely opposite situations were unbelievable to them.

After the court session, they learned that Chu Yan had arrived at the camp, and a group of subordinates hurried over to inquire about the news.

"General Chu! Your subordinates are truly baffled!"

When all the people gathered in the Beijing camp, seeing their general's gloomy face, Cheng Xianjun, the deputy governor of the Central Army Governor's Office, finally raised his doubts.

"We were clearly in control of the situation, so why did they suddenly withdraw their troops last night? Did something mysterious happen in the palace?"

Someone broke the silence first, and the other generals couldn't help but come over.

"Yes, General, we have only just met you. General Chu, you must explain things clearly to your subordinates..."

When the generals gathered together, there wasn't much confusion.

They felt aggrieved and just wanted to find out what was going on. If they hadn't been afraid of Chu Yan's power, they would have started shouting out of dissatisfaction.

Seeing that the originally quiet camp began to become noisy, Chu Yan finally raised his head.

Then he looked at the people sitting below with a gloomy face.

"You're all very dissatisfied?"

With this sentence, everyone who asked the question looked at each other again.

Then, someone couldn't help but nodded:

"Of course, General Ai of Chu, our army has already entered the imperial city, but suddenly an inexplicable order was issued to evacuate the capital. What's going on?"

"Yes, General, today was supposed to be the coronation ceremony for Lord Chu, but..."

Some people say it directly without any hesitation.

"The soldiers saw their titles and honors were right before their eyes, but the meat that was about to be delivered to their mouths flew away. Anyone would be very dissatisfied."

These subordinates were venting their inner dissatisfaction one after another.

Finally, at this time, Chu Yan patted the table.

"I know you're not satisfied!"

"But think about it carefully. Do I feel good about this?"