He Jingyan heard his crying and saw his tearful appearance, with snot even running down his face.
Looking at him like this, you'd think his wife had died.
Thinking of this, the veins on He Jingyan's temples throbbed again. He couldn't take it anymore and took a step outside.
He Jingyan rode away, not heading directly towards the city gate.
Instead, he put on a cloak, dismounted in front of a restaurant, and then silently went inside.
The door to the side room was locked, the windows were closed, and several guards were lurking around.
He Jingyan knocked on the door and then slowly pushed it open. He saw a woman wearing a cloak standing in the closed room. The edges of the cloak were embroidered with blooming lotus flowers in fine stitches.
After He Jingyan closed the door tightly, the woman standing by the window slowly turned around and reached out to slowly take off her cloak.
A slender face appeared at that moment, with a faint smile always on her well-maintained face, and her eyes, as calm as an ancient well, contained kindness and compassion.
Upon seeing the woman before him, He Jingyan knelt down and bowed to her, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
The Empress Dowager lowered her eyes slightly, concealing the expression in them: "You did not handle this matter well."
Upon hearing this, He Jingyan tensed up instantly.
He changed his kneeling position from one knee to both knees, and then nervously explained to the Empress Dowager: "The Crown Prince and Song Xizhi are too clever, which led to this accident."
"And He Yunce is extremely foolish, which is why I failed to obtain the military tally."
The Empress Dowager's slender fingers were still twirling a Buddha image. She recited a couple of Buddhist verses before asking, "Won't He Yunze cause trouble?"
Upon hearing this, He Jingyan revealed a contemptuous smile: "He's just an idiot. He has no idea what's going on and won't cause any trouble."
"He made so many jokes in the past, and he even had a crush on his sister-in-law, which led him to harbor rebellious intentions. That's why he insists on me retrieving the puppet's corpse now."
“As long as I retrieve the body and let him see it, and then give him some encouragement, he will definitely be the first to rush forward in righteous indignation. At that time, the Huang family and the Marquis of Anding will have no choice but to submit to us.”
In fact, the Empress Dowager and He Jingyan initially looked down on cooperating with this fool.
However, because of the importance of the Huang clan to their plans, things could only succeed if the Huang clan members submitted to them.
Once they obtain all of Marquis Anding's troops, coupled with their original plan, and considering that the Crown Prince's forces are still on the frontier and cannot be of immediate help, everything will be as easy as catching a turtle in a jar.
The Empress Dowager listened to He Jingyan's words in silence, thought for a while, and then said, "If He Yunce falls in love with Song Xizhi at first sight, that would be a good thing."
"The Marquis of Anding has always been loyal, but he has few children. If only one son wanted to rebel, he would never agree. But if his two sons joined forces to rebel, the Marquis of Anding would have no choice but to agree."
"Now we just have to wait and see just how deep He Yunze's love for Song Xizhi really is."
He Jingyan nodded, his expression full of certainty: "Your Majesty, rest assured, once He Yunce and Marquis Anding see the corpses, that will be the time for them to hand over their troops."
"As for the Crown Prince, just as he said, he used the real Song Xizhi's life as a threat to force him to obediently go to the executioner's block and commit suicide to atone for his sins."
He Jingyan knew that although the Crown Prince said he would commit suicide to atone for his sins if he could not find Song Xizhi in five days, such a strong-willed person would not die.
We will fight them with our backs against the wall.
However, if the real Song Xizhi were to appear and use this as a threat, the Crown Prince would have no choice but to back down.
This is the crown prince's only weakness.
The Empress Dowager naturally understood this principle as well; Song Xizhi was a crucial piece in this game.
No matter what situation you're in, as long as you bring her out, you can immediately turn the tide of battle.
She couldn't bear to see Song Xizhi die.
The Empress Dowager pondered for a moment, then turned the prayer beads in her hand again, and looked up at He Jingyan to ask, "Now that the Crown Prince is missing, it means he has gone to look for Song Xizhi, so that we can pin a charge of fleeing from justice on him."
"In that rush, where did you hide Song Xizhi? You didn't let the Crown Prince find him, or did Song Xizhi escape?"
Upon hearing this, He Jingyan smiled confidently: "I have hidden Song Xizhi in a place that the Crown Prince will never be able to find."
It's both far away and right in front of you; no one could have imagined that location.
“Once the Crown Prince dies, the great undertaking will be ours. Then Song Xizhi can truly die.”
Seeing his resolute expression, the Empress Dowager finally felt relieved: "In that case, you may go."
"Bring back the puppet's corpse, bring it back in a grand display. Let the officials and people of the capital witness this scene, and let me stir things up again."
"Also, we need to get the military tally as soon as possible. Once we have it, the Marquis of Anding's soldiers will be willing to obey your orders, and then we will be victorious."
He Jingyan nodded, his eyes shining brightly: "Within seven days, we'll take down the big project!"
…………
After the Empress Dowager left, He Jingyan changed into white clothes and rode quickly to Fengning County.
He watched as the people he had incited surrounded General Zeng's temple day and night, and he couldn't help but feel a surge of secret joy.
He stopped his horse in front of the temple, then fell heavily off its back, speaking each word with a sharp, mournful tone, his voice powerful and tragic:
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