The next day.

When Guan Zhiyue woke up in bed, the sun was already high in the sky.

"You're awake? How are you feeling?" Li Qiji stood in front of Guan Zhiyue, holding a bowl of porridge, and asked softly.

Guan Zhiyue nodded and said, "Yeah, it's alright. Why are you still here? Shouldn't you be busy?"

"I have already given all the instructions. I want to spend a little more time with you. We are leaving the day after tomorrow."

Are you sure you don't want me to go?

Li Qiji shook his head. "It's too dangerous. I don't want you to take the risk with me. Just stay here and wait for my triumphant return."

"Yes, I'll wait for you."

"Then get up and have some porridge?" Li Qiji sat down by Guan Zhiyue's bedside, helped her up from the bed, let her lean against him, and slowly fed her porridge.

For the past two days, Guan Zhiyue has been acting strangely, pestering Li Qiji day and night, wanting...

Li Qiji was the kind of person who spoiled his wife endlessly, and now look what happened! The man is still full of energy, but the woman can't even get out of bed anymore. It's so embarrassing to talk about it.

----

Outside the tent, Li An paced back and forth, wanting to ask the Emperor what his plans were and whether he should be taken along.

"Seventh Prince, what's going on?" Ji Wu asked, looking at the people pacing back and forth.

Li An stopped in his tracks, looked at Ji Wu with a long sword at his waist, then at the tent entrance, and sighed heavily, "Alas, Ji Wu, you don't know how I feel."

Ji Wu: I'm not a tapeworm in your stomach, how would I know?

"Seventh Prince, why don't you tell me about it?"

Li An readily agreed, saying directly, "I wonder what my imperial nephew is planning? Will he allow me to go or not?"

"It seems that Your Highness has given the order. Why don't you go back and make preparations?"

When Li An heard Ji Wu say that, his eyes immediately lit up.

"Is that really true?"

Absolutely!

Li An left satisfied, not bothering to look for the person anymore. He went back to pack his things in a cheerful mood. Li Qiji came out of the house, looked at the departing Seventh Prince, and said indifferently, "Get the person off the ship before the ship departs the day after tomorrow."

"Have Ji Shang lead the men to take action."

Ji Wu quickly clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes, Your subordinate obeys."

"And where are Ji Shang and the others?"

Ji Wu quickly reported, "Your Majesty, we have arrived at Yanglong Village and will arrive tonight."

Li Qiji thought for a moment, then said, "Let them arrive as soon as possible, rest for a day tomorrow, and set off the day after tomorrow."

Ji Wu reached out and took the bowl, respectfully clasping his hands in a fist and saying, "Yes, Your subordinate obeys!"

Li Qiji turned around and went back inside.

-----

In the capital city.

Last time, there were many ministers involved in the coup, and now many positions are vacant. After we remove all those ministers;

There are now many vacant positions, and most of the hardworking and reliable people below, who are not related to the royal family, have already been promoted.

From then on, many new nobles emerged in the capital. All the concubines in the harem were sent away, resulting in a severe reduction in personnel. The families of officials who committed crimes were all imprisoned, while those who did not commit crimes were all sent home.

This matter was handled by the Empress Dowager. The current situation in the capital is one of widespread panic, and no one dares to mention anything about the various concubines who have been sent home.

The carefree prince even issued a special imperial edict, declaring that any family that dared to mistreat a woman released to her home would be defying royal law and would be imprisoned.

The women who were released were allowed to return home and marry as they pleased. Before leaving the palace, a midwife would verify their identity, thus proving their innocence and allowing them to remarry.

Li Qishang was in a bind. He had never encountered anything like this before. This was unprecedented. It seemed that he would only marry one princess in the future, and all others would be in vain.

If you bring it back, you still have to figure out how to get it back. Isn't that a headache?

"Alas, I wonder how my royal brother is doing now?" Li Qiji plopped down on the steps of the Golden Palace, looked up at the bright sun, and looked on with a melancholy expression.

How did he end up stuck in this position? He was the carefree Prince, a man who lived a life of unbridled freedom!

Hua Quan, standing not far away, watched the unseemly Prince Xiaoyao, his lips twitching uncontrollably. He still missed his emperor terribly!

I wonder how the Emperor is doing now? Where is he? Is he alright? The battle report from a few days ago said that the Crown Prince of Japan was killed by them.

Now they're preparing to attack Japan again. I wonder if that's going well?

Hua Quan was very worried, after all, he had been with Li Qiji since he was a child and had been together for more than ten years, so naturally he was very worried about him.

Li Qishang, in a very bold manner, spread his legs wide and sat half-reclined on the stone steps, his right hand still fanning himself with a fan. He turned his head and saw Hua Quan looking melancholy.

"Hey, Eunuch Hua, what's with that expression?"

Hua Quan quickly ran up and respectfully said, "Your Highness, this servant had no expression at all!"

"Your face is practically dripping with sweat, and you're still okay?"

Hua Quan took a deep breath and slowly said, "This servant misses His Majesty."

"Sigh, that makes me think about it too, it's so frustrating!"

The two chattered on for a while, then Li Qishang turned and headed towards his palace with his hands behind his back.

-----

Guantao County at night.

Li Qiji, dressed in black, stood before the crowd and quietly gave instructions on the upcoming work arrangements.

"Jishang, you lead a team to protect the Empress's safety here, and the rest of you will follow me to fight the enemy."

The group of men in black all knelt down on one knee with a thud, clasped their hands in unison, and replied in a low voice, "Yes, Your subordinate obeys."

"Jishang, you've led the people to join forces with the Tianji Pavilion, so you must take good care of the Empress's safety," Li Qiji said with great concern.

Ji Shangming clasped his hands in a fist salute and raised his hand to swear, "Your subordinate will be loyal to Her Majesty the Empress and follow Her Majesty's lead!"

"Yes, I hope you can keep your word."

****

Nothing was said that night, and the next day...

Li Qiji got up early and personally brought food to Guan Zhiyue, helped her wash up, combed her hair, and drew her eyebrows.

"Why do you have time to help me wash up and change clothes today?" Guan Zhiyue asked curiously.

Li Qiji smiled and said, "Because I will be setting off tomorrow, and I will be at sea for at least half a year. We are taking ten large ships with us this time, so you don't need to worry."

Guan Zhiyue took out the invisibility cloak from her spatial storage and said softly, "That day, you kept asking me where I went."

"Whether I was secretly helping you or not, I'm telling you now, yes, I was wearing this invisibility cloak and helping you."

Li Qiji was somewhat surprised, but there was no greed in his eyes; instead, there was more worry.

"Take this; it might even save your life if necessary."

Li Qiji shook his head, "If you give it to me, what will you use it for? You can keep it yourself!"

Guan Zhiyue shook her head, "You can use it. I'm doing fine in the military camp."

"Alright then! Come on, I'll take you for a walk around the city. I'm leaving tomorrow, and I don't know when we'll see each other again."

The two walked hand in hand toward the door...