Yuwen Xian's gaze fell on the palace. A young Taoist boy stood at the palace gate, dozing off. A small eunuch bowed and spoke to him briefly before leaving. A moment later, the door opened, and Master Qingxu emerged from within.

At that moment, a sharp arrow shot straight towards Master Qingxu, three arrows in quick succession, pinning him to the palace gate behind him.

Not feeling safe, Yuwen Xian aimed again and fired an arrow straight at his brow.

Seeing the young Taoist priest terrified and running off to find someone, Yuwen Xian immediately went downstairs.

What real person? He's just a charlatan!

When the Emperor trusted him, he could be a true man, but now that the Emperor is on his sickbed, there is no need for him to stay.

The news of Master Qingxu's death spread quickly, startling the people in the Imperial Medical Academy. They thought to themselves, "We used to have someone to rely on, but now that he's dead, if we can't cure the Emperor, wouldn't our entire families be in danger?"

Upon hearing this, King Xuan looked at Yuwen Xian, but seeing that the other party had no expression, he looked away.

Sigh... He has an older brother who's always ready to rebel, a second brother who's bedridden, and a disobedient younger sister. He's really exhausted!

Sigh! Why is life so miserable for him?

Before he could react, Yuwen Xian instructed Li Wei, "Go and invite the Prince of Xiaoyao to the palace."

Li Wei was taken aback, but still did as instructed.

King Xuan asked, puzzled, "What use is it for you to let him into the palace?"

"Third Brother, don't you think that only by reinstating the Xie family can we continue to preserve the Yuwen family's throne?"

King Xuan was speechless. That was indeed the case, but the Xie family had been so deeply hurt by the Yuwen family, how could they possibly still be willing to stand on their side?

He previously said that Consort Shu's betrayal of Xie Wanqing was a despicable act, but wasn't Yuwen Wuji no different? Indeed, two kinds of people can't sleep in the same bed!

Although he didn't do it, it was his elder brother who did it, and now he felt a little ashamed to ask the Xie family to come out of retirement.

"That's what they say, but will the Xie family agree?"

“The Xie family cares about the country and its people. They are more concerned about the common people than personal grudges,” Yuwen Xian said. “As long as the Xie family is willing to help us stabilize the court now and prevent the country from falling into chaos, they don’t care if I have to kowtow and apologize in the future.”

King Xuan suddenly felt that his younger sister had grown up in an instant. Her sense of responsibility and demeanor far surpassed those of Yuwen Wuji.

"Okay, when that time comes, I'll kneel down with you!"

After saying that, he felt he had been impolite, "When asking for a favor, one should have the proper attitude. I will personally go to the palace gate to meet Xie Liwei!"

After saying that, he personally went out of the Qiankun Palace.

Although the guards at the entrance of Qiankun Hall had been cleared out, some people were still squatting on the palace road waiting for news.

As soon as he came out, all the concubines in the harem surrounded him.

"Prince Xuan, how is the Emperor?"

"Your Majesty, please tell me how His Majesty is doing. I wish to go and attend to him!"

The constant female voices buzzed in King Xuan's ears, and he was so frightened that he grabbed his cane and waved it wildly.

"Get back! What are you doing! You are my imperial brother's men, don't get so close to me! I have a family! Get away! Get away from me! Are you all just sitting around doing nothing? Who gave them permission to leave the inner palace!"

After King Xuan made a series of incoherent shouts, he finally scared all the women away.

He was terrified. He didn't want rumors to spread that he had designs on the women in his harem so soon after his elder brother's collapse. Besides, he loved his queen most of all!

Xie Liwei had never actually left; he had been waiting for news from inside the palace in his carriage outside. Upon hearing the summons, he entered the palace.

It was getting dark, and if he entered the palace now, he probably wouldn't be able to leave that night, so he sent someone back to deliver a message to Song Yaozhu.

Everyone watching the palace was getting restless after learning of Master Qingxu's death and Xie Liwei's entry into the palace.

"What does Your Majesty mean by this? Does he think that his vomiting blood is related to Qingxu, so he had Qingxu killed to vent his anger? What is the meaning of his summoning Xie Liwei? Does he want to kill the Xie family before he dies, to clear the way for the princes to follow?"

"I don't know. Logically speaking, Qingxu had already gained the Emperor's trust. It's impossible that the Emperor wouldn't summon Qingxu after falling ill, so he just killed him like that."

"This is so strange. Qingxu died from being shot by four arrows. The case has been taken over by the Dali Temple. Now we can only wait for news. It's such a pity that such a good pawn as Qingxu was lost!"

“It’s really not easy to cultivate a Qingxu, and now it’s all gone wrong. I just hope that after this, our plan will work.”

The group discussed amongst themselves, then gradually fell silent. Among them, the most heartbroken was Wang Xuan. Qingxu was the most outstanding child of their Wang family's generation; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to know everything from astronomy to geography and gain the emperor's trust.

Alas, his remains cannot be brought back to the Wang family yet!

"Tomorrow we'll go to the palace together to put pressure on Prince Xuan. I don't believe he'll refuse to let us see the Emperor!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The following day, several cabinet ministers went to the palace to meet the emperor, but this time they were even stopped at the palace gate.

"My lords, His Majesty has decreed that he had a long talk with Lord Xie last night and only rested when the first light of dawn. He requests that you return to the palace this afternoon."

Wang Xuan and the others exchanged glances, wondering if the Emperor was alright.

Wang Xuan was suspicious. This shouldn't be the case. Even if the dosage of those pills couldn't kill Yuwen Wuji, it should at least render him speechless and unable to move his hands!

But he was currently alone in the palace and had no way of knowing the Emperor's condition, so he had no choice but to leave first. There must have been some unexpected event, and it was related to Xie Liwei.

No sooner had he left than the imperial edict appointing Xie Liwei as regent was issued.

Everyone was shocked, especially Wang Xuan, who felt a deep resentment at having been the one to benefit from others' efforts. They had done so much, yet Xie Liwei was the one who reaped the rewards!

"What exactly is going on? Aren't these people forging imperial edicts?!"

"No, we must see the Emperor. I can't wait a moment longer!"

Yuwen Wuji had consolidated power in recent years, so much so that this decree was issued directly without the approval of their cabinet, catching them completely off guard.

In the afternoon, they entered the palace again, arriving at the entrance of the Qiankun Hall with great momentum.

Chengcheng ordered his men to search them, humiliating them while kindly explaining, "There have been assassins in the palace recently, and Master Qingxu has died a violent death. Please don't take offense, gentlemen."

How could I not mind? I'm madly in mind!

That lackey, he'll be the first to die when the new emperor ascends the throne!

Several ministers were groped and groped before being allowed to enter the main hall, where they smelled a strong medicinal odor.