Huo Xi's words nearly enraged Prime Minister Yan to death. He said sternly, "Now is not the time to act rashly. The Northern Chu army is poised to strike, having already captured two cities. The morale of the Southern Frontier soldiers is low; they are exactly where we need..."
"Prime Minister!" Huo Xi interrupted him, his face cold. "It was just a fluke. Has the Prime Minister considered that once the Seventh Prince regains military power, he might go easy on us, or even turn against us?"
Prime Minister Yan's expression darkened, and he said in a low voice, "The Seventh Prince is not that kind of person."
The two started arguing again.
Neither of them would yield to the other.
Huo Xi didn't take Prime Minister Yan seriously at all. Even when summoned by Empress Yan, he simply said that a general in the field might not accept orders from the army.
"This humble general cannot betray His Majesty's trust. With a formidable enemy at hand, I beg Your Majesty to be patient. When the time is right, this humble general will certainly obtain the antidote for Your Majesty."
"You!" Empress Yan clutched her chest, furious.
Unfortunately, the poison flared up again, and she could only watch helplessly as Huo Xi walked away. She was in so much pain that she was covered in cold sweat, and she gritted her teeth and cried out, "Huo Xi!"
Qingzhi stepped forward to support Empress Yan: "Your Majesty, why don't we have a private talk with the Seventh Prince? Perhaps we can come up with another solution?"
Empress Yan was in excruciating pain, her consciousness gradually fading, and she could no longer recover. Seeing this, Qingzhi boldly went to find the Seventh Prince.
Unfortunately, he was stopped by the guards before he could get close.
"General Huo has ordered that no one is allowed to approach without authorization."
Qingzhi stamped her foot: "This servant is here on the orders of Her Majesty the Empress! How dare you disobey the imperial decree!"
The guards ignored him, which made Aokiji so anxious that he was about to barge in.
Wow!
The guard drew his sword, its cold light flashing.
Startled, Qingzhi immediately retreated: "You! How dare you! I will go and report to the Empress and punish you!"
The guards remained calm and composed.
They didn't take Empress Yan seriously at all.
Another day
Empress Yan slowly awoke, and upon opening her eyes, she saw two imperial physicians with worried expressions. Empress Yan was extremely anxious: "Has the antidote still not been developed?"
"Your Majesty..." The two knelt down to beg for forgiveness.
One of them said helplessly, "It is this old minister's incompetence that is the fault. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Empress Yan no longer had the strength to be angry.
She discovered that every time she got angry, it triggered toxins in her body, and each time it was more severe than the last. If this continued, she would really die from the pain.
Empress Yan took a deep breath, sat up, and glanced out the window: "Has there been any commotion outside today?"
"Your Majesty, there is none at the moment." Qingzhi carefully stepped forward to help her up.
"Where is Huo Xi?"
"General Huo and several deputies are discussing matters outside."
Empress Yan curled her lips into a cold smile: "I used to think it was a pity that such a talent was buried, but now it seems that he is nothing but a figurehead and a strategist."
No one dared to respond to these words.
The city has now been taken over by the Huo family army. Who dares to say a word against the Huo family?
"All of you, leave." Empress Yan waved her hand, unwilling to look at these people any longer.
After everyone had left, he turned to Qingzhi and asked, "Have you met the Seventh Prince?"
Qingzhi shook her head in surprise: "General Huo sent people to watch the Seventh Prince, but I have not seen him."
Empress Yan's breath caught in her throat. She forced herself to calm down, determined not to get angry. Sitting by the window, she looked at the cramped courtyard and felt a sense of suffocation.
How did she end up trapped here?
Am I really inferior to Zhao Jiahua?
No, Empress Yan took a deep breath. It was just a pity that she didn't have any military power to command; otherwise, she would have been a thousand times, ten thousand times better than Zhao Jiahua.
I don't know how long I sat there.
"Go and invite Father here."
Aokiji nodded.
A moment later, Prime Minister Yan arrived looking furious. Empress Yan knew from his appearance that he must have been angered by Huo Xi.
As expected, Prime Minister Yan had barely sat down when he began to berate Huo Xi for being arrogant and disrespectful.
"The young and arrogant general has always been suppressed by Prince A-Yin, and his skills have had no chance to develop over the years. Now that he has finally gotten a chance, how could he be willing to give it up?"
Empress Yan poured a cup of tea and handed it to him: "Father, since the Huo family is so arrogant, there are some things we don't need to tolerate."
Prime Minister Yan's eyes lit up with interest.
"Huo Xi is filial, and Huo Yun is still in Jincheng. It wouldn't be difficult to deal with Huo Yun." Empress Yan's fingers, gripping the cup, turned white. "Also... Huo Xi can't stay under our noses and get in the way."
"Huo Xi doesn't listen to us at all."
"Does he still dare to defy the imperial decree?" Empress Yan narrowed her eyes and sneered, "Father, there's no need to argue with Huo Xi these days. Just wait patiently."
Empress Yan whispered a few words, and Prime Minister Yan frowned: "What if the Seventh Prince is unwilling?"
"He has a soft heart and can't bear to see the people suffer, so he will definitely agree. Father, just do it. In short, the Huo family cannot bully me!"
Prime Minister Yan gritted his teeth: "Your Majesty is right."
Half a month later
The Northern Chu army attacked again.
Huo Xi led his troops to meet the enemy.
Just like last time, the Northern Chu army repeatedly teetered on the edge of probing, but Huo Xi, having learned from experience, took the initiative to attack.
The two armies clashed.
They then sent men to encircle the Northern Chu from behind, attempting to completely surround it.
The two armies were evenly matched in battle.
After several days of fierce fighting, Huo Xi was finally surrounded by the Northern Chu army. Huo Xi's deputy general was furious: "I have sent someone to Prime Minister Yan to request reinforcements, but Prime Minister Yan is pretending to be sick and has not come to see me for a long time."
"That bastard!" Huo Xi cursed.
Seeing the Northern Chu army growing larger and larger, Huo Xi raised his hand: "Retreat!"
At a single command, countless troops from the southern frontier retreated.
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