Chapter 723 Queen's Action

Liu Jian's body stiffened slightly, and he slowly stood up, but fine beads of cold sweat had already seeped out of his forehead.

The queen looked at him and suddenly sighed softly, her tone carrying a rare hint of kindness.

"Do you really think your mother knows nothing about what's going on in your mind? You've been in love with Jiaojiao for more than just a day or two."

Liu Jian suddenly looked up, his eyes full of shock.

The Queen seemed oblivious to his loss of composure and continued slowly, "Your Majesty knows that there is some connection between you two. That child, Xiao Zheng, should be three and a half years old this year. He's being raised in the northwest. Is he well behaved?"

This sentence was like a thunderclap, making Liu Jian's face turn pale as paper in an instant.

He could no longer hold on and fell to his knees with a plop, touching the ground with his head. His voice trembled: "Mother! Your son...your son..."

A huge fear gripped him. His mother actually knew about Sister Zheng's existence.

The safety of my sister and child...

"What are you panicking about?" The Queen looked down at him with a calm smile on her face. "Love between men and women, and the birth of children, is a natural human nature. Since you like her, then marry her. The daughter of the Marquis of Wuwei is worthy of you in terms of status."

Liu Jian looked up in disbelief, completely unable to understand his mother's true intentions at the moment.

The Queen stood up and slowly walked over to him. Her voice, lowered yet filled with a bewitching power, said, "If Jiaojiao becomes the Crown Princess, she'll eventually become the Queen Mother. Xiao Yan has guarded the Northwest for many years and has a strong foundation. Jiaojiao is his only heir... In this way, wouldn't military power in the Northwest legitimately fall into your hands? This is a win-win situation."

She leaned forward slightly, looking at her son's shocked expression, and continued, "Your Majesty can even allow you to take Jiaojiao and your children to live in the northwest for a while. Firstly, this will allow you to reunite as a family, and secondly, it will allow you to establish your prestige within the military and personally command the Northwest Army. Once the situation in the capital is stabilized, we will welcome you back to the capital with great fanfare. What do you think?"

Liu Jian's heart was beating like a drum, as if the scene described by the queen was so beautiful that he was too happy to react.

He spoke with difficulty: "Mother, why are you..."

"Why should I grant you your wish?" The queen stood up straight, with a complicated expression on her face. There seemed to be a flash of fatigue in her expression, but more of it was deep calculation and determination.

"Jian'er, you are the Queen Mother's son. As a mother, how can I not love my son? The Queen Mother has long seen your thoughts, but the time was not right before, so I didn't point it out."

Her voice softened again, as if she were an ordinary mother wholeheartedly planning for her son. "Now, I, the Queen Mother, will grant your wish. This will also put an end to your worries. In the future, please do not let me down."

The candlelight in the hall flickered, casting the shadows of mother and child on the cold palace walls. They were stretched out and intertwined, yet exuding a suffocating sense of alienation and coldness.

Liu Jian knelt there, and it took a long time before he could find his voice again.

He said in a trembling voice, "Mother, what if Father doesn't agree?"

"Your father will agree." The queen smiled, confident of victory and determined to win.

"Mother, Father, he—"

Liu Jian bit his lip and couldn't continue.

"Don't worry, your father is fine." The Queen said calmly, "We have been married for many years and have a very deep relationship."

The implication is that she will take action, but will not kill the emperor.

"Marquis Wuwei's words..."

"Don't worry, since the Queen Mother is willing to help you and Jiaojiao, she won't let you get caught in the middle. Besides, the Queen Mother is not a fool."

After a pause, the Queen continued, "My relationship with Madam Hou and Madam Jiang is very good, and those are not false."

Liu Jian seemed relieved.

"Jian'er, you must trust your mother. She simply wishes a better life for the people of the world, and has no selfish motives."

Liu Jian nodded and said, "I believe in you, my queen, and I will follow you."

A satisfied smile finally appeared on the queen's face.

She wouldn't take that seat herself.

At least not now.

She wanted to use Liu Jian as a buffer for a few years so that she could establish a deeper foundation.

Just as the emperor had already noticed her changes, the queen could also notice the changes in the emperor's attitude.

So the queen was very uneasy.

She decided to strike first.

Hence the current situation.

The emperor was hiding in a cave with Xiao Yan.

In the cave, the flames flickered, barely dispelling the bone-deep chill.

The emperor, wrapped in a robe torn by branches, faced the crackling fire with a listless expression, still looking deeply shocked and heartbroken.

"Xiao Yan, tell me, why did she treat me like this?" The emperor's voice was nasal, whether from the cold or from heartbreak. "Back in the Qiandi Palace, I was just an unloved prince, and it was she who stayed with me, through those difficult times time and time again. What I remember most clearly is one time when I was seriously ill, and she stayed by my side for three days and three nights without taking off her clothes... Was that friendship all fake? Does power really corrode the mind so much that she doesn't even want me anymore?"

Xiao Yan added a piece of wood to the fire, sparks flew up, illuminating his expressionless profile.

He was too lazy to listen to the emperor rehashing the same old stories over and over again. He tried to hold it back, but couldn't help himself and replied sternly, "Your Majesty, now is not the time to dwell on the past. The Empress has the knife at my throat. You should think about how to break the impasse."

"Break the impasse? How?" The emperor suddenly looked up, his eyes reddened. "That's my first wife! The mother of Jian'er, Yu'er, and Yuanyi! She just had a momentary mistake. I don't believe she would really want to take my life!"

He became increasingly agitated as he spoke, even adding a touch of self-consolation in his confidence, "Yes, she won't. She must have been bewitched by her subordinates, or... or perhaps she has some unavoidable reason. She will definitely spare my life!"

To be honest, he had never believed that the Queen would really take action.

Even now, he is still comforting himself.

Xiao Yan was speechless, thinking to himself: Spare your life? Imprison you as a puppet emperor, or simply depose you as a commoner, is this what you want by "sparing your life"?

Your Majesty, do you have any misunderstanding about "good"?

It's true... he has never seen a truly good woman, so he treats these leftovers as treasures.

Please eat something good.

He was too lazy to persuade her anymore, so he just kept silent and fiddled with the fire, but his mind had already drifted away.

Qi Niang is in the capital at the moment, and she must have heard the news. I wonder how anxious she must be.

She seems open-minded, but in fact she values ​​friendship the most, and this also involves the Queen... I just hope Daya can calm her down and don't do anything impulsive.

He wanted to go home, to see her immediately, to tell her that everything was fine and that she need not worry.

At this moment, a subtle noise came from the cave entrance. A guard dressed in black, blending into the night, came in silently and knelt on one knee. "Your Majesty, all the attackers have been captured. Please give your instructions."