Lu Huai, who was far away, was unaware of this matter. He only knew that Emperor Yuxian had removed the defenses at his father-in-law's residence, sent his father, who had become a commoner, inside, and no longer guarded it as before.

Burning the letter in his hand, Lu Huai smiled mockingly and called out to the person beside him, "Ayu."

Ayu immediately stepped forward, "Your subordinate is here."

"Send Su Ying and his shadow guards to guard the residence and prevent anyone from entering. Protect them at all costs." Lu Huai's expression was gentle. "Keep a close eye on Emperor Yuxian. Report any disturbance to me immediately."

"Yes." A-Yu agreed, then glanced at Lu Huai hesitantly, "Young Master, are all the Shadow Guards going?"

Lu Huai hummed in agreement. "Go, all of you. Make sure to protect them well and that nothing goes wrong."

That's no small number; it must be at least several dozen people.

Ayu inwardly marveled, and his respect for Prime Minister Qin and Minister Lu grew even stronger. For the young master to dedicate all his shadow guards to their protection, they must be incredibly important.

As if he had just thought of something, Lu Huai said, "Keep an eye on the imperial court. If they try to transport military supplies here, intercept them. Then send them to Dongcheng, and have the soldiers from Dongcheng deliver them here."

Ayu: "Yes."

He finished speaking and left, leaving Lu Huai alone in the room. He looked at the letter that had turned to ashes and curled his lips into a smile.

...

...

Emperor Yuxian canceled the morning court session and dismissed his ministers, leaving him with little official business to attend to. Logically, he should have plenty of time to visit Qin Xi.

However, he rarely set foot in Qixian Palace, for no other reason than that the riots had intensified.

As mentioned earlier, even General Qin was forced into a series of defeats; it's uncertain how the others fared.

Emperor Yuxian had thought that entrusting this matter to General Qin would put his mind at ease, but he never expected such an outcome. After weighing the options, he had no choice but to summon Li Ningqi to the palace again.

Li Ningqi, who was promoted in the autumn examination two years ago, has risen step by step from Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to the youngest prime minister of Yu Kingdom through his own abilities.

Upon receiving Emperor Yuxian's summons, he immediately went to the palace from his residence, proving himself to be a loyal and devoted subject.

Upon entering the imperial study, Li Ningqi immediately lifted his robe and knelt down, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!"

"My dear minister! My dear minister, please rise!" Emperor Yuxian hurriedly stepped forward and personally helped him up. "Someone, bring him a seat!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Ningqi smiled. "I wonder why Your Majesty is in such a hurry to summon me to the palace?"

Emperor Yuxian sighed, "My dear minister, do you still remember what you said in the palace earlier, to send Tan Yu to suppress the rebellious people?"

Li Ning nodded, "Your subject remembers."

"This method is excellent." Emperor Yuxian glanced at him, "but I didn't expect that Tan Yu was forced to retreat thirty miles by the rebels and now dares not advance even a little bit. What should we do?"

Li Ningqi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is that so? Even General Qin has suffered defeats?"

Emperor Yuxian shook his head, "I don't know why this is happening either, I'm quite puzzled."

“I have never seen General Qin lose before.” Li Ningqi pondered for a moment, “I think… there is something slightly strange about this matter.”

Emperor Yuxian quickly pressed, "My dear minister, please tell me, what is the strange thing?"

Li Ningqi frowned. "General, you are invincible against well-trained soldiers. Why are you treating these rioters like this?"