"Chief Qian, why aren't you on patrol or on duty? What are you doing in my bedchamber?" Fortunately, Feng Guang didn't have the habit of sleeping naked, otherwise she would be wrapped in a blanket and completely lose her composure by now.

Qian Qiu was followed by his imperial guards. He smiled kindly and said, "I am worried about Your Majesty's safety, so I have come to protect Your Majesty."

"Could it be that another assassin has appeared in the palace?"

"The assassin has not yet appeared. I am only doing this as a precaution."

Feng Guang clutched the blanket tightly, "Where are Xiao Wo and the others?"

"Your Majesty, rest assured, those four palace maids accidentally fell asleep. As close attendants of the Empress, how could they be so careless? I have sent these four palace maids to the Imperial Prison for a period of time on Your Majesty's behalf, so that they will remember this mistake and prevent them from repeating it." Qian Qiu's words were full of consideration for Feng Guang, and he did not have the authority to arbitrarily deal with the palace maids around the Emperor, but he seemed to deliberately ignore this fact.

Feng Guang's eyes darkened, but he still wore a carefree smile. "Are the little ones really just asleep?"

"Of course, they drank the water and then accidentally fell asleep."

She chimed in with a laugh, "That's right. I usually spoil them too much. If Commander Qian can help me manage these disobedient maids, I can save myself a lot of trouble."

"Your Majesty, why don't you ask what kind of water they drank that made them fall asleep?" Chief Qian said slowly as he slowly walked towards the dragon bed.

Feng Guang barely managed to suppress the urge to yell "Get out of here!" and then followed up by asking, "What kind of water did they drink to fall asleep?"

"Your Majesty, of course it's water laced with sleeping potion." Qian Qiu finally walked to the bedside. He stared at her for a long time with a gloomy look in his eyes. Suddenly, he reached out and lifted her handsome chin, looked her up and down, and exclaimed, "Your Majesty may not be very smart, but this face is truly rare in the world. If you were not the emperor, you would be a beauty who would bring ruin to the country."

Feng Guang got goosebumps all over. She felt disgusted, but she knew she couldn't provoke him now, so she smiled and turned her head away, "I will take Commander Qian's words as a compliment."

Chief Qian withdrew his hand, stroked his beard, and sat down on the edge of the bed quite naturally. He spoke in the tone of an elder talking to a younger person, saying, "However, although I often feel that Your Majesty is incompetent and tyrannical, whenever I think Your Majesty is beyond redemption, Your Majesty can do many things that are truly impressive. For example, you have opened more schools, supported agriculture, and even sent a wandering swordsman who has no connection with the officials in the court to transport money and goods for disaster relief... Your Majesty, sometimes I can't help but ask, are you really stupid or are you just pretending to be stupid?"

Just like now, he's making his coercion so obvious, yet she's calmly and methodically dealing with him.

Feng Guang gave a dry laugh. "I'm just an ordinary young girl. Commander Qian is overthinking things."

"Your Majesty, I have little to say," Chief Qian continued. "May I ask who Your Majesty is waiting for to rescue you?"

The more unhurried she seemed, the more he believed she was stalling for time to wait for reinforcements. However, he had already taken control of everyone in the palace when she personally led the expedition.

Feng Guang said, "What is Commander Qian talking about? Why do I have to wait for someone to rescue me for no reason?"

"It's alright if Your Majesty doesn't say anything. I've already guessed it. Besides Prince Qian, who else would want to protect you, the empress who's known as a tyrant?" Qian Qiu said confidently. "But unfortunately, Your Majesty will be disappointed. No one in the palace will inform Prince Qian, so he won't know."

"Commander Qian is quite confident." A gentle and pure voice rang out, followed by a man of divine appearance slowly walking into the palace.