Chapter 73 From then on, the king no longer held court early

Qi Xuan quickly distributed the power he had taken back to his trusted men. With power, his mind became more active, and he unnoticedly pushed Xi Helan into everyone's sight.

He promoted her position and rewarded her with numerous gold, silver and jewels. At the same time, he exempted her from paying respects on the grounds that she was not feeling well, and he only visited her two or three times a month.

Although these favors are unique among nobles and inevitably make people jealous, they did not cause much waves.

The reason was that Qi Xuan had done too much work in the past, whether he was really in love with the queen or later he used the queen to stir up Concubine Gao's jealousy, so that the concubines in the harem didn't pay much attention to this foreign woman who had been in the palace for so long. In addition, she was a tribute from a foreign country to the Great Qi to seek peace, without any help from her outside family. Besides, as for her appearance, everyone had seen her once when she entered the palace, and their impression was that she was just a little novel. As for beauty, there were many women in the harem who were prettier than her.

In the eyes of all the concubines in the harem, the one they are most jealous and envious of has always been the Queen, the woman who has received the most love and care from the Emperor since she entered the palace.

Gao Baoxi thought so too.

She had always believed that her only rival in love was the Queen, the woman who monopolized all of the Emperor's attention. So even after knowing that Xi Helan had become the concubine who slept with the Emperor the most besides the Queen and herself, she still didn't care about her at all. She even continued to pay attention to the Queen, waiting for an opportunity to find something to hold against her and defeat her.

However, few people knew that Qi Xuan apparently spent half of the month in the imperial study, but during the other half he secretly went to Xi Helan's place, without anyone noticing. Even when he was resting in the palaces of the Queen and the Imperial Concubine, he was really sleeping under a brocade quilt.

While Gao Baoxi was still thinking of bad ideas, Jiang Zhen had already discovered something was wrong.

It is actually very easy to tell whether a man truly loves you or is just pretending to love you, especially for someone as rational and careful as Jiang Zhen. She had already had doubts when Qi Xuan provoked Gao Baoxi's jealousy by provoking her, because his actions were too deliberate, as if he was deliberately performing in front of Gao Baoxi.

Although Jiang Zhen suspected Qi Xuan, she soon found a reason. She thought Qi Xuan was afraid of General Gao's contribution to the emperor and wanted to use the Left Prime Minister's Mansion to check and suppress him. Jiang Zhen, who thought she understood his intentions, cooperated with him very well.

However, she didn't expect that her cleverness would backfire. Her father's rights were taken away, and then the emperor treated Xi Helan specially. When she thought about the fact that Qi Xuan had not had sex with her for a long time, Jiang Zhen realized that things were not that simple.

She secretly arranged for her trusted maid to monitor Xi Helan's courtyard, and soon she received a lot of shocking news - after just a few months of not seeing her, Xi Helan had become very beautiful for some reason, and she was faintly showing a tendency to outshine all the other beauties. Moreover, her character was completely different from the humble and cowardly one when they first met. She was gentle but also heroic, intelligent and confident. What surprised her most was that the maid said that she often saw someone entering her palace in the middle of the night. Because the distance was too far and the night was too dark, she could not see the person's face clearly, but she vaguely heard the voice of the emperor's personal eunuch, Eunuch Zhang.

Jiang Zhen was heartbroken, she did have love for Qi Xuan, although she had learned from childhood that it was natural for a man to have three wives and four concubines, not to mention that this man was the emperor of Da Qi. She had never expected to be with an emperor for the rest of her life. She knew that was just a fairy tale in storybooks. Her requirements were very low, just to fall in love with the emperor and give birth to a prince. In this way, even if more beauties came into the harem in the future, even if the emperor no longer liked her, as long as she had a child, as long as she was the queen of Da Qi, she would learn to see through the world and not care about the emperor's love.

But she never expected that this love would be so short and full of exploitation and conspiracy. Jiang Zhen was very sad, but she was smart and rational. She knew that if you don’t love someone, you don’t love them and you can’t force it. But the emperor’s actions also made her alert, and she began to make plans secretly.

Qi Xuan had been resting in the imperial study for nearly a month, using the excuse of being busy with state affairs. As for the real situation, of course, he was taking advantage of the night to have a tryst with the woman in Xilan Palace.

Xi Helan was so favored that it was only a matter of time before she became pregnant. If she became famous because of her son, coupled with Qi Xuan's love for her, she might be promoted to the position of queen. Then, she would definitely become a victim, and her family might also...

The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. Jiang Zhen immediately wrote a letter to her father and soon received a reply. In the letter, her father also wondered why the emperor had been in poor spirits recently. He came to court later and later, and it was common for him to doze off and be dazed in the court. He would walk away if something went wrong, and his temper was very bad and irritable. The changes in him were too numerous to list.

Qi Xuan had changed so much in such a short period of time. Jiang Zhen couldn't help but think that Xi Helan had changed as well. A guess popped up in her mind - all this was Xi Helan's trick.

She had heard that foreign nations were famous for witchcraft, and now it seemed to be true. So for the sake of her family and herself, she had to take a risk.

Over the past few months, Qi Xuan and Xi Helan have been making love every night, and he loves it very much. The feeling is like flying in the clouds, making him intoxicated and happy like a god.

He found himself falling in love with her more and more, and wanted to possess her and make her belong to him completely. No one except himself knew how beautiful she was. Her body was like a poppy that obsessed and addicted him. When he saw her, he wanted to hold her in his arms and love her. Gradually, attending the morning court every day became the most painful moment for him. He just wanted to hold the beauty in his arms and not care about the world.

Gradually, he became more and more addicted to this life of drinking and sex. Unconsciously, he distributed the power in his hands to the people recommended by Xi Helan. He even ignored the advice of the ministers and promoted Xi Helan to the rank of Defei. He played with her every day and night, and couldn't stand her coquetry, so he secretly taught her to review memorials and participate in state affairs...

It was not until then that Xi Helan was truly feared by the other concubines, and Gao Baoxi realized that what the Queen had said before was true, and that she had always chosen the wrong rival in love. In anger, she began to frame Xi Helan, but she escaped every time. Not only was she unharmed, but she also made the Emperor hate her, until the Emperor deprived her of her title and gave her a cup of poisoned wine.

Of course, her family was also implicated. The men were exiled to the frontier and the women were made slaves. Under Xi Helan's sweet words, power was naturally dispersed to her own people. Qi Xuan was still indulging in beauty, completely unaware of the storm that was about to come.

The emperor was extremely absurd, incompetent and everyone from the court to the officials was complaining about him. At this time, Qi Xuan was still lying on the couch with his arms around Xi Helan. He was pale and listless. His handsome face was terribly gloomy, and his half-closed eyes were bloodshot. He gently stroked the face of the person beside him, his movements were gentle and compassionate.

He knew that people outside called him a tyrant, but he didn't care. The only thing he cared about in his life was the woman in his arms. As long as he could be with her, what did it matter if he didn't become the emperor?

Thinking of this, Qi Xuan immediately told Xi Helan to follow him out of the palace, hide their identities, and become a pair of mandarin ducks who would be happier than gods. Xi Helan smiled and said nothing. She poured a glass of wine and handed it to his mouth. Qi Xuan drank it in one gulp and asked anxiously again.

Unexpectedly, Xi Helan, who had always been gentle and considerate, suddenly pulled out her hand and looked down at him condescendingly, her eyes full of contempt and disdain, without a trace of admiration.

At this moment, Qi Xuan felt a burning sensation in his heart, a fishy taste in his throat, and a mouthful of dirty blood spurted out. Then his body stiffened and his mind gradually lost consciousness. In a trance, he heard a conversation -

[Ding Dong!] Congratulations to the host for completing the ultimate mission of the Concubine Development System "Love Beauty More Than Power". The reward has been issued, please check it yourself. ]

[System, immediately spend all the dragon energy to upgrade to the "Wu Zetian Training System". I can't wait to become the emperor. ]

[Upgrading is temporarily unavailable. The army led by the Queen and the Left Prime Minister is currently fighting the host's army. To upgrade, you need to complete the task of "pacifying the Queen". ]

…

"I can't hear what else she said afterwards. I only know that this woman is not simple. Now that I think about it carefully, there are many doubts. The most frightening thing is that when I see her, I will unconsciously indulge myself, like a puppet controlled by someone. I have no thoughts of my own and can only do what she says." Qi Xuan frowned and expressed his doubts word by word. "As for the system and the host, I really don't understand it very well, but it is definitely not a good thing. I guess it is the so-called system that controls me invisibly..."

Xie Fei drank his tea calmly, occasionally flipping through the book in his hand. After a long time, he looked up at Qi Xuan and said, "I checked Xi Helan's Book of Life and Death and looked through some information. I found out something very interesting, but it may be unbelievable to you. Do you want to know?"

"Please give me some advice." After pondering for a moment, Qi Xuan nodded firmly.

"Xi Helan came to Da Qi from a foreign country. He couldn't adapt to the climate there and was also anxious about leaving home. He died within ten days." Xie Fei said lightly.

"What?!" Qi Xuan's eyes widened in shock, and he asked in disbelief, "Then, who is Xi Helan in the harem..."

"She is a ghost from another world. By chance, she entered Xi Helan's body and obtained a system called "Pampered Concubine Cultivation". This system is extremely powerful and can completely transform a person out of thin air, as long as the person signs a contract with it."

After a pause, Xie Fei continued, "This system can also sense other people's likes and dislikes of the host. When it grows to a certain level, it can even read everyone's mind, so its host can deal with everyone perfectly. At the same time, the host selected by the system has a very strong attraction to the target, so it can easily suppress the fluctuations of your brain's thoughts, and subtly influence or even change your thoughts, so that you make the decision she wants you to make."

"No wonder..." Qi Xuan shook his head in a trance, muttering only "No wonder".

"The purpose of this system is not simple. No, it should be said that the person who created it is not simple." Xie Fei's cold eyes drooped slightly, and his slender fingers tapped the table rhythmically. "It chooses the target as the person of destiny in order to absorb the dragon energy. It can even be upgraded to the "Wu Zetian Cultivation System", which means that the dragon energy of the person of destiny can no longer satisfy it. It wants to absorb the dragon vein of a country... This system is of great importance. This behavior is against the will of heaven. It seems that someone wants to change his fate against the will of heaven."

Qi Xuan was somewhat confused by Xie Fei's mumbling. After a long while, he tentatively said, "Sir, can you help me protect the country of our ancestors? I can give everything for this."

"You only have your soul to pawn." Xie Fei waved his sleeves lightly, and Judge Cui appeared beside Xie Fei in the blink of an eye.

"Give him the signature." Xie Fei said calmly.

Judge Cui nodded, waved his hand and handed over a book of evil spirits and a pen. Qi Xuan smiled gratefully, took the book and pen, signed his name solemnly, and turned into a wisp of light smoke and disappeared in an instant.