Just as Guan Zhiyue was furious, Bilu came over from the main hall. Seeing that her empress seemed to be doing something to calm herself down, she quickly stepped forward and draped the cloak she was holding over her shoulders.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Bilian's gentle yet worried voice rang out, and Guan Zhiyue turned to look at her.

"How is the Emperor? What is the situation inside the main hall?" Guan Zhiyue asked.

Bilian said, "It's nothing, everything is fine now. Is there anything wrong, Your Highness?"

Guan Zhiyue remembered what she had just overheard. She needed to tell Li Qiji about it first, so she said, "It's okay, let's go! We need to go back first, I have something to do."

Bilian didn't say a word, but followed Guan Zhiyue happily as they walked together into the main hall of Zhaoyang Palace.

——

"Yue'er, you're finally back! I was so worried about you."

Upon hearing this, Guan Zhiyue retorted irritably, "Don't worry, he's not going to die yet."

"Come closer, I'll tell you something," Guan Zhiyue said softly in Li Qiji's ear as she sat down next to him.

Upon hearing Guan Zhiyue's words, Li Qiji quickly moved closer, almost whispering in her ear. The ladies and young women below, seeing the Emperor and Empress so affectionate, felt a pang of envy.

Their emperor is far too devoted; he's so good to the empress, it's practically...

"Yue'er, what's wrong?"

Guan Zhiyue raised her hand to cover her mouth, almost touching her lips to Li Qiji's ear, and slowly said, "Someone wants to arrest me."

Upon hearing this, Li Qiji immediately sat up straight and shouted, "What did you say?"

The sound was heard by everyone nearby, and they all looked at the two of them. Guan Zhiyue reached out and pinched Li Qiji's stomach hard where no one could see.

"Let you make a fuss, what's there to make a fuss about?"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, are you alright?" the Empress Dowager inquired.

Guan Zhiyue quickly said, "Mother, it's nothing. Your Majesty and I were just joking around!"

Empress Dowager Xin looked at the two of them with affection and nodded slightly.

"Keep your voice down, don't alert them!"

Li Qiji instantly became like a well-behaved child, quickly bringing his ear close to Guan Zhiyue's lips again, and then asked, "What's going on? How did you know?"

Guan Zhiyue then proceeded to tell Li Qiji what she had overheard outside.

Li Qiji's eyes narrowed instantly, taking on a thoughtful and intriguing quality.

The kingly aura emanating from him gradually emerged, giving people a sense of extraordinary power!

Guan Zhiyue sat next to him, and it seemed as if an aura was pushing her away. She turned her head to look at Li Qiji and saw that the man had an icy expression on his face, as if everyone below was his enemy, as if he wanted everyone inside to explode on the spot.

"Hey, what are you doing!"

Guan Zhiyue reached out and tugged at Li Qiji's sleeve, signaling him to calm down and not to act impulsively; this was not the time to be impulsive.

Li Qiji snapped out of his daze and looked at Guan Zhiyue, saying, "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to me."

Guan Zhiyue shrugged nonchalantly and said, "I have a secret weapon, you know that."

Still feeling uneasy, Li Qiji stood up from the dragon throne and loudly said to Hua Quan, "Hua Quan, come with me to the back for some fresh air!"

The ministers below, as well as the overseas friends, all looked in Li Qiji's direction. At this moment, the hall was still filled with singing and dancing, and the ministers dared not speak. They just watched as Li Qiji led Hua Quan towards the back.

Guan Zhiyue stood up from her seat, picked up her wine glass, and called out loudly to the ladies, "Ladies, I have been very busy and have not had time to hold various banquets. I hope you can understand. Today, on the occasion of His Majesty's birthday, I hope you all eat, drink, and have fun!"

The ladies of the court quickly stood up, raised their wine glasses, toasted Guan Zhiyue, and then drank it down.

Little Tuantuan suddenly spoke up inside the space: "Master, there's a handsome guy peeking at you!"

"And there's more than one!"

Xiao Tuantuan's voice rang in Guan Zhiyue's mind, still in that very teasing tone, which gave Guan Zhiyue a feeling that she couldn't quite explain.

"Who is it? Who dares to spy on me?" Guan Zhiyue communicated with Xiao Tuantuan telepathically.

Little Tuantuan laughed happily in the space, then said, "On your right."

Guan Zhiyue looked up and saw that the men were sitting right next to her. It seemed the Japanese were about to make their move.

The crown princes of Japan and Korea were looking at Guan Zhiyue with probing eyes. Guan Zhiyue felt extremely uncomfortable, as if she had needles sticking out of her back. It was utterly disgusting!

The Crown Prince of Goryeo leaned back in his chair, lazily reaching out to pick up a wine glass from the square table. He slowly and deliberately toasted Guan Zhiyue, the mole on the corner of his mouth radiating a dazzling and dizzying charm.

Guan Zhiyue picked up her wine glass and responded from a distance, then quickly turned her head away. She felt as if this man possessed some kind of magic, as if anyone who stared at him would be drawn into his alluring vortex.

"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! Little Tuantuan, is this person crazy? How can he make people feel dizzy?" Guan Zhiyue looked down at the wine glass in her hand and said to Little Tuantuan with her mind.

Xiao Tuantuan looked around in the space and then said, "He has a bewitching Gu on him!"

"Bewitching Gu!"

Guan Zhiyue was deep in thought, while Li Qiji had already sent someone to summon Guan Hongsheng and his two sons, Li Qishang, Su Xu and others to another hall after he left. He wanted to discuss countermeasures with them.

"What? Your Majesty? Is this matter reliable? How dare these petty villains?" Guan Hongsheng was the first to stand up, his face full of disbelief. It was simply too despicable.

"Yue'er heard about it when she left her seat to change her clothes."

"They also have an operation code name!"

"What code name?" the three asked curiously.

Li Qiji said in a cold voice, "Plan to seize Ying!"

Li Qishang: "Hmph, what a big mouth! Using the Oriole Plan as leverage, they completely disregard our country! This is nothing short of banditry."

"More than that, this is a contest between nations. It seems these people want to take the Empress away, or perhaps these high-yield products have aroused their malice."

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, we should strike first!" Su Xu said.

Li Qiji stood there, gazing into the distance at the crisscrossing houses of the capital, lost in thought, and remained silent for a long time.