Chapter 8 Concerns

After a week of recuperation, Liu Yan looks much better.

The Grand Court Assembly was a large-scale court ceremony held annually and was highly valued by the emperor.

During the court assembly, neighboring countries, including the three northern kingdoms, would send envoys to present gifts. At the same time, princes and princesses from neighboring countries would also come to participate in this grand event.

Every year, various competitions are held during the court assembly, including polo, archery, and many more.

This year, the emperor also issued an edict early on, summoning He Qing to the palace so that he could guide the princes to win the competition at the court assembly.

It's rare for He Qing to condescend to personally instruct Liu Yan, it seems he's determined to help the Fifth Prince seize this opportunity to press his advantage and establish a firm foothold in front of the Emperor.

Suddenly, the imperial city was filled with many "idle people" who were an eyesore to His Majesty. Even Huo Lin was detained in the palace and led the Imperial Guards on patrols every day.

There is a jujube tree by the wall of Yihuai Pavilion, and now that the season has come, it is laden with fruit.

Zhi Xiang and the palace servants played a few rounds, but Liu Xi got bored and told them to disperse. She then played with the pole below for a while.

Seeing that no one was around, Liu Xi hesitated for a moment, then simply climbed up the jujube tree and sat on a thick branch.

A crooked branch caught on her skirt; she tried to lift her foot and push, but couldn't break free.

Liu Xi became a little anxious and reached out to tug. With a ripping sound, a corner of the light pink gauze was torn off her clothes.

A sudden autumn wind arose, blowing the thin veil into the air before it slowly fell back down.

Liu Xi followed the direction the thin gauze had drifted away, and after the pink faded, what appeared before her eyes was Huo Lin's breathtakingly beautiful face.

Huo Lin reached out his hand, and the lotus powder landed perfectly in his palm.

"Princess, it's dangerous up there, come down quickly."

A call brought Liu Xi back to her senses. Her face flushed red and then turned pale. For some reason, she picked a date and threw it in Huo Lin's direction.

With a thud, it struck Huo Lin precisely on the forehead.

"Why don't you try to hide?"

Seeing the red mark left on his fair forehead, Liu Xi burst out laughing.

Huo Lin squatted down, picked up the dates that were rolling around on the ground, and wiped the dust off them with his sleeve.

"Your subject thanks the princess for her generous gift."

Liu Xi propped her chin up on her arm and stared at Huo Lin with great interest.

"Young general, are the dates sweet?"

Huo Lin nodded, but tucked the dates into his pocket.

Liu Xi leaped lightly down from the tree, the jujube tree swayed, and a few round jujubes fell onto the grass.

Across a palace wall, Liu Xi's voice drifted over.

"General Huo, please come in and speak with us."

Liu Xi specially hosted Huo Lin in the small pavilion in the center of the garden, where several plates of snacks and a pot of tea were laid out on the stone table.

"Will General Huo stay in the palace for about a month?"

Originally, Liu Xi had some concerns, wondering who should be invited to the palace to teach Liu Yu riding and archery.

Heaven knows who sent such a precious gem like Huo Lin to Liu Xi, solving a major problem for her.

Huo Lin was happy to oblige, though he had no intention of asking any further questions.

After all, as a man from another family, he had very few opportunities to enter the palace and see the princess, so he couldn't wait to find all sorts of excuses to stay by Liu Xi's side.

Liu Xi never expected Huo Lin to agree so readily, and she didn't utter a single word of what she had prepared to say to persuade him.

She picked up the teacup and took a sip of the tea.

"I heard that the day before yesterday, an adjutant of the Flying Tigers was escorted back to Beijing."

Although the serious crime of embezzling military funds was thus scapegoated, it does not mean that His Majesty did not harbor resentment.

"He Guang's position as commander-in-chief is probably not going to last long."

"His Majesty has long been wary of He Qing's military power. After this incident, the Flying Tiger Army may change hands."

Liu Xi looked up at Huo Lin and said, "General Huo is the best candidate, as he is both capable and trusted by His Majesty."

However, if Huo Lin were to take over the Flying Tiger Army, Liu Xi would lose an ally who could have helped her stir up trouble in the previous dynasty.

Huo Lin noticed Liu Xi's concerns.

“The Huo family needs someone to guard the capital. As long as my brother is still leading the Huo family army to guard the frontier, I will not leave the Huo family.”

Liu Xi subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

"I will try to persuade Your Majesty to disband the Flying Tiger Army, which will not only relieve the pressure on the front line's food supplies, but also reduce He Qing's military power."

This is a win-win situation, a truly good idea, and the emperor has no reason not to agree.

With He Qing having lost power in the previous dynasty, if the Imperial Concubine's pregnancy were to cause trouble at this time, Liu Xi did not believe he could remain calm.

It's hard to say how He Qing will secretly recruit those Flying Tigers who were ostensibly disbanded.

"With the grand court assembly approaching, His Majesty is unlikely to choose this time to begin the surgery. Let's wait until after the New Year."

Huo Lin hummed in agreement, lowered his head, picked up the flower cake that had been bitten into a crescent shape from the plate, and couldn't help but chuckle.

The two sat idly for a while when Zhixiang suddenly rushed in and whispered something to Liuxi.

"It's terrible, Princess! The Empress Dowager fainted for no reason today. After waking up, she suddenly started talking nonsense, muttering that the wicked woman has reappeared."

Liu Xi quickly realized what was happening.

The Imperial Concubine has made some progress; this time, she has learned to target the Empress Dowager.

Unfortunately, she miscalculated. If the Empress Dowager knew that she had been used by someone with ulterior motives, she would certainly not let it go.

Liu Xi glanced at Huo Lin a few times, and he immediately understood that the princess wanted to see the guest off, so he got up to take his leave.

"Young general, come again tomorrow."

Huo Lin's lips curled up slightly, his smile barely concealed.

Huo Lin's departure also took Liu Xi's smile with him. She took a deep breath and slowly sat down on the chair.

"The Imperial Concubine is so impatient; does she really think I'm some clueless young girl?"

"How are the preparations for the matter I arranged for Zhu Zheng progressing?"

Zhi Xiang placed a prescription in front of Liu Xi.

"The Imperial Physician Zhu said that the Consort has been taking this prescription for several days. Now, all that is needed is to add one ingredient, Five Elements Herb, to create the illusion of pregnancy."

After years of trying to conceive without success, the Imperial Concubine was finally pregnant. She no longer had the time or inclination to focus on the slander against Liu Xi.

"Let him do it. With me backing him up, he doesn't need to worry."

A few words of slander are not enough to prove anything; the Imperial Concubine must have a backup plan.

Liu Xi hurriedly asked Zhi Xiang to help her with her hair and clothes before setting off for Shou'an Palace.

People were coming and going at the entrance of Shou'an Palace, mostly maids and eunuchs from various palaces who came to pay their respects. They were all stopped by Aunt Wen.

Liu Xi didn't go forward. Instead, she went around to the side gate and waited for Zhi Xiang to sneak into the courtyard to find out what was going on.

Zhi Xiang quickly brought back a handful of dregs of medicine, followed by Xia, who was already disguised.

"Your Highness, judging from the Empress Dowager's symptoms, it should be due to poisoning."

"However, drug interactions can also cause such toxicity, and based on the current clues alone, it is impossible to determine the methods behind it."

Liu Xi sneered.

"The Empress Dowager has Imperial Physician Wang by her side, who claims that the medicines are incompatible. Do you believe him?"

The Empress Dowager is in a deep sleep, and His Majesty is entangled in the affairs of the previous dynasty, which seem to be heading towards a dead end.

This is only the first step for the imperial concubine. Without anyone to restrain her, she will become even more unscrupulous.

Sure enough, only half a day later, news spread throughout the palace that evil spirits had caused the Empress Dowager to faint for no reason.

Behind this, Liu Xi's secret assistance was indispensable.

Of course, it's better to make a big fuss about it, otherwise how can we force the Imperial Concubine to restrain herself and buy Liu Xi time to fake her pregnancy?

When the news reached the emperor's ears, His Majesty was furious and ordered a thorough investigation into the source of this absurd statement.

The Consort's subordinates made numerous mistakes, which in turn implicated Consort Xiao and Consort Wang.

It was just a few gossipy women who gave His Majesty a headache, so he punished two of them, demoting one and confining the other to his quarters.

Liu Xi listened with great interest to the palace servants relaying messages in Yi Huai Pavilion. Before her stood Huo Lin in the courtyard, guiding Liu Yu in archery.

"Go and send a message to Xiangying. It's time to let the Imperial Concubine hear some good news."

One or two people in the courtyard weren't paying enough attention, especially Huo Lin. Liu Yu hadn't even fully drawn his bow, and Huo Lin, as her master, didn't discipline her. Instead, he kept looking at Liu Xi's side.

As Liu Xi was sipping her tea, she heard a soft shout from afar.

Liu Yu's improper bow-drawing posture resulted in a rather deep cut on his finger.

He called her "sister" softly twice, which sent a chill down Huo Lin's spine.

"Zhixiang, quickly go and get the wound medicine."

Liu Yu pursed his lips, watching with delight as Liu Xi applied the medicine to him.

"It's my fault, it's my fault. I was too eager to succeed, and that's why I made a mess of things."

He glanced at Huo Lin almost imperceptibly, and muttered an extra sentence.

"I suppose it's because I lack talent. I hope General Huo can be more patient and not look down on me."

Huo Lin was speechless, and the words "It was my oversight" that he was about to say were stuck in his throat.

Liu Xi glanced at Huo Lin helplessly and shook her head gently.

"He won't; patience is the last thing he lacks."

After saying that, she walked over to Huo Lin and looked him up and down thoughtfully.

"When I was a child at the Huo family mansion, I had the good fortune to witness the young general's inhuman patience."

For three whole hours, General Huo remained motionless hidden in the pile of firewood. Those who knew him would think the children were playing tag, but those who didn't would have thought a kidnapper had broken into the Huo residence and abducted the young master.

Huo Lin's ears turned slightly red.

"Princess, do you still remember those things from your childhood?"

"Of course, because it just so happened that I was the one playing the ghost in that round!"

Liu Xi raised her voice, almost jumping up and down.

"I searched for you for two hours! Two hours! In the end, I ran to General Huo's arms and cried, thinking you had really been taken away by a ghost."

Finally, all the servants in the Huo household were mobilized, and they turned the Huo mansion upside down.

To hide even more deeply, Huo Lin changed locations several times along the way, and finally fell asleep in the woodpile in a daze.

These all happened when she was a child, and Liu Xi had almost forgotten them.

Liu Yu, standing to the side, listened to the connection that had already been established between the two, and felt a little envious.

He silently lowered his head, staring at the finger that was wrapped in bandages and looked like a thick, bony finger, seemingly lost in thought.

"Let's stop practicing here for today. Xia, escort the Seventh Prince back to the palace. General Huo, I have something to say to you."

Although Liu Yu was reluctant to leave, he still showed extreme obedience and well-behavedness, and left after saying goodbye to Liu Xi.

To prevent eavesdroppers, Liu Xi gestured for Huo Lin to follow her into the hall to talk.

"I wonder if General Huo's medical records and prescriptions from back then still exist?"

"And can the general guarantee that the medical records have not been altered by anyone else, and that the prescriptions are complete and reliable?"