A month later, three battles had broken out at the border between Donglin and Dachen, with countless minor skirmishes. The Donglin forces arrived suddenly, but Dachen was not unprepared, so Donglin made no progress for a long time.

The canal in Da Chen was used for transporting grain for the first time after it opened to navigation, doubling the speed of previous transport and greatly improving support for the front lines. What worried Xie Liwei most was: what if King Xuan rebelled at this time?

The powerful families in the imperial court all follow the lead of the Wang family. Although the Xie family has now re-entered the court and many people are switching their allegiance to the Xie family, these people are like grass on a wall, not united enough.

When Xie Liwei returned to the palace exhausted, the lights were still on inside, and Song Yaozhu was waiting for him.

She smiled when she saw him return.

Are you tired?

"Of course I'm tired. I don't know if I'm seeing people or ghosts every day." Xie Liwei sighed and then rested his head on Song Yaozhu's lap.

Song Yaozhu rubbed his temples and said, "I plan to go to Yunzhou."

Xie Liwei was taken aback, opened his eyes and looked at her. After a long while, he said, "Then you must take good care of yourself."

They didn't need words to understand each other. They both feared that the Prince of Yan might rebel at this time, and if he did, Yunzhou would be a crucial city to stop his cavalry. Song Yaozhu had rich practical experience; back then, when the world was in chaos, she and the Xie family had supported Yuwen Wuji. Now, she was confident that she could keep the Prince of Yan under the control of Yunzhou.

"I will, and so will you. There are so many wolves and tigers in the capital; you'll have to be careful when you're alone."

Xie Liwei held her hand and kissed her palm.

"How could I be alone? So many members of the Xie family are with me."

Song Yaozhu pressed her forehead against his. She had already told Xie Lu about her trip to Yunzhou. Xie Lu was actually very against her going to Yunzhou. He had finally managed to get his precious daughter back, and he couldn't bear to let her put herself in danger again.

But he also understood that this was just his daughter's personality; once she made up her mind, she wouldn't change it. If she didn't accomplish what she wanted to do, she would definitely feel regret, pain, and remorse.

Xie Lu couldn't understand how someone with his personality could have given birth to such a stubborn daughter. But he respected her choice.

"Take Xie Mingyue with you when you set off. That kid is full of bad ideas, he might be able to help you."

So, Song Yaozhu secretly took Xie Mingyue south.

Xie Liwei remained in the capital city, and during this time, the imperial examinations were held as scheduled. This time, the palace examination was jointly overseen by the Grand Secretariat and Xie Liwei.

Wang Xuan and his group naturally wanted to promote scions of aristocratic families, but Prince Xuan and Xie Liwei both supported the entry of scholars from humble backgrounds or commoners into officialdom. In their view, only those from the lower classes could do more things that would benefit the people.

However, in the eyes of the aristocratic families, these people lack vision, skill, and courage. Even if they become officials, it will be of no use; they are just occupying positions without doing anything.

Yuwen Wuji has been vying with the aristocratic families for so long without achieving the outcome he desired, let alone Xie Liwei.

Therefore, the day after their conflict broke out, all the officials jointly requested to see the emperor.

"Xie Liwei, is this truly the Emperor's decree, or did you, Xie Liwei, coerce the Emperor into making this decision? We still haven't seen the Emperor. Is he really still alive?!"

"We want to see the Emperor! Xie Liwei, are you trying to use the Emperor to command the other lords?"

In an instant, the powerful officials united and demanded that the emperor be forced to come out.

Wang Xuan and the Empress Dowager, who had orchestrated all of this, stood behind these people, watching quietly. Three months had passed, and Wang Xuan still didn't believe Yuwen Wuji was alive.

Those monitoring the Qiankun Palace never let their guard down, and the imperial physicians went in less and less often. According to Qingxu's previous reply, Yuwen Wuji's dosage of medicine had already depleted his body, and even if he could use elixirs to prolong his life, it wouldn't last long.

Several months have passed, and he doesn't believe that Yuwen Wuji is still alive.

Seeing everyone pressuring Xie Liwei, and Xie Liwei's continued refusal to let Yuwen Wuji show himself, he became even more convinced that Yuwen Wuji might already be dead.

Given the current situation, Xie Liwei could have stopped the commotion if he had simply shown Yuwen Wuji. But even now, he hasn't let Yuwen Wuji out. Therefore, Wang Xuan believes that Yuwen Wuji is likely in grave danger.

Let them make a scene! The bigger the scene, the better, so that he can move forward with his next plan.

Xie Liwei guessed what he was planning, and he thought the same thing, preparing to turn the tables on him.

Xie Liwei consistently prevented them from seeing Yuwen Wuji, which led to the rumor that "Yuwen Wuji is dead." This gossip stirred up the entire court.

Wang Xuan didn't know how he persuaded the deposed Crown Prince Jing Wang to allow the Tao family to risk their lives by leading their troops away from Jianzhou Road and heading straight for the capital.

Wang Xuan shouted the slogan of "purging the court of corrupt officials" and wanted to kill Xie Liwei. They labeled him as a treacherous minister who wanted to usurp the throne and wanted to use his blood to sacrifice for their flag.

Once Xie Liwei dies, the Xie family will lose their leader and will scatter! Without the Xie family, the Wang family will become the number one family!

Once that brainless Prince Yan ascends to the throne, the Wang family can completely control him.

The royal family may not be emperors, but they must be the guiding light for each dynasty!

The day of the palace coup was as peaceful as usual. After finishing his official duties, Xie Liwei went to the Qiankun Palace to see Yuwen Wuji.

Now, he is emaciated, his eye sockets are sunken, and he is just a skeleton.

How have you been today?

When Li Wei saw him coming, he stood up and bowed.

"He drank some ginseng soup, but he's still hanging on as usual."

"A little ginseng soup isn't enough. We'll feed them more rice porridge later. If they refuse to eat, we'll force-feed them."

Li Wei nodded.

The handsome young man with a thousand faces, already dressed, touched his face and said, "To cooperate with you guys, I lost a full twenty pounds! After this is all over, I want a feast! I want boiled shrimp, steamed sea bass, osmanthus duck, roast goose feet..."

"Stop reciting the menu!" King Xuan spat. He'd lost weight lately, too!

"Get ready to fight! They're at the gates, and you're still thinking of making the cook work overtime? You might as well send him out to shovel people away! One shovel at a time, and once he's done, just heat up some oil and kill them all!"

vomit......

Xie Liwei rubbed his forehead. Cheng Cheng entered the hall in heavy armor, his face solemn. With a great battle imminent, he was naturally very nervous.

"Anyone who plots rebellion today shall be killed without exception."