Chapter 280 The Commander of the Shen Family's Private Army Pays an Audience
Chu Jichen looked at her with a smile, nodded, and then gently kissed her smooth forehead.
"Qingqing is so good." He exclaimed in a hoarse voice, then changed the subject, a hint of grievance and dissatisfaction appearing in his deep phoenix eyes, "It's just a pity."
What a pity.
Shen Qingci understood the meaning of those three extremely subtle words almost immediately!
Her cheeks flushed bright red in an instant!
She reached out, both embarrassed and annoyed, and gave his strong chest a light push: "Forget it! All you ever think about are those dirty things! I'm not massaging your legs anymore! Let Yuanbao do it!"
Upon hearing this, Chu Jichen chuckled softly.
He grabbed her mischievous little hand, placed it to his lips, and gently kissed it, his voice full of playful innocence: "That won't do."
“I only let Qingqing massage my legs.” He looked at her, his deep eyes filled with undisguised dependence and love. “Qingqing massages them the best.”
"Please, please clear it up."
Shen Qingci looked at him and felt a sudden urge to facepalm.
She thought to herself: I'm afraid no one in the world would ever imagine that the new emperor, who is so ruthless and powerful, is actually like this in private.
She finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
"Alright." Her voice was full of helplessness and indulgence. "I'll go and ask someone to prepare some medicinal soup for you to soak your feet and give you a massage while I'm at it."
Soon, hot water and medicine packets were brought in.
Shen Qingci personally removed Chu Jichen's boots and socks, and slowly placed his long, strong legs into the warm medicinal liquid.
To prevent the man from having any more inappropriate thoughts, Shen Qingci massaged the acupoints on his legs while proactively bringing up a topic that would never easily arouse any romantic notions.
“Oh, right,” she looked at him, her voice full of calculation, “I’ve thought of a way to lure Huo Yunting out of his true colors.”
A knowing smile flashed across Chu Jichen's eyes.
"Oh?" He looked at her with a half-smile, his voice full of mockery. "Qingqing really goes to great lengths to prevent me from having any bad intentions."
"At a time like this, you have to bring up Huo Yunting, that irrelevant person, to spoil my mood."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci gave a light snort and pressed a pressure point on his leg with a light touch!
"I'm going to bring it up!" She looked at him, her clear phoenix eyes filled with utter defiance. "Are you going to listen or not?"
"Listen to this!" Chu Jichen immediately raised his hands in surrender, his voice filled with doting affection and helplessness.
Shen Qingci then withdrew his hand with satisfaction, his voice carrying a hint of solemnity: "We can make use of the 'Shen family's private army' once again."
"Huo Yunting's greatest reliance now is the secret guard left to him by the late emperor. But to this day, we still don't know how many people are in that secret guard, or what their abilities are."
“In that case,” a cold glint flashed in her eyes, “we will also bring out a sufficiently mysterious power as a countermeasure, to test him.”
Chu Jichen raised his eyebrows slightly: "But the Shen family's private army doesn't exist at all."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci smiled.
“Yes.” She looked at him, her clear phoenix eyes filled with confidence and cunning. “The Shen family’s private army does not exist. But the Shen family’s secret service does exist.”
"Although it doesn't yet reach the size of an army, Huo Yunting doesn't know that."
"I then used the Shen family's secret forces to impersonate the Shen family's private soldiers. For Huo Yunting, this was a force he knew nothing about and could not control."
"He will either become wary and try every means to completely eliminate this force."
“Or,” a chilling glint flashed in her eyes, “they will covet this power and try every means to seize it for themselves!”
"No matter which one it is," her voice was full of certainty, "he will definitely make a move!"
Shen Qingci tilted her head, looking at him with a calculating glint in her eyes: "In any case, His Majesty has already exonerated the Shen family. So, could His Majesty also use the same method he used to expose Huo Yunting to the public to expose my 'Shen family private army' as well?"
“I’ll say it,” a sly smile played on her lips, “that since we married, this ‘private army’ has been at your service, accomplishing many important tasks and earning considerable merit. So, shouldn’t you reward them for their service?”
"How about we also bestow the title of second-rank general upon the commander of that secret service?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Jichen smiled. His laughter was deep and melodious, filled with endless admiration and affection.
“As expected,” he looked at her, his deep phoenix eyes filled with undisguised pride, “the person I’ve liked for so long.”
"He truly deserves to be the person who, back in the military camp, could deduce military strategies with me and discuss them all night long."
"This plan is brilliant."
He looked at her, his voice filled with an undeniable determination: "Do as Qingqing says."
“Tomorrow morning,” his eyes were full of indulgence and pampering, “you will come with me to the palace and witness this scene in the Golden Hall.”
Shen Qingci agreed and immediately wrote a letter. He then summoned Yuanbao and asked him to arrange for someone to secretly deliver the letter to Qingming.
...
The next day, the atmosphere in the Golden Palace was solemn and dignified.
Chu Jichen sat upright on the dragon throne, his black dragon robe making his face even more handsome and unparalleled. In his deep phoenix eyes, there was only the domineering and majestic aura of a ruler who reigned supreme.
Shen Qingci sat slightly lower beside him, her expression indifferent, already showing the air of an empress.
The prince and his civil and military officials stood on both sides, all with their heads bowed and silent as cicadas in winter.
"Summon—Qingming, commander of the Shen family's private army, to an audience!"
As the eunuch's high-pitched and drawn-out greeting rang out, everyone's gaze, without prior agreement, turned towards the outside of the golden hall with curiosity and inquiry.
The Shen family's private army? Does such a force truly exist?!
Just as everyone was filled with doubt and uncertainty, a figure dressed in black and wearing half a silver mask walked slowly into the hall with steady and agile steps.
The newcomer was clearly a woman, tall and slender, with a chilling, ruthless aura unique to soldiers. Although her full face was obscured, her cold, sharp eyes, visible beyond her mask, were enough to reveal that she was no ordinary person.
Qingming walked into the hall, knelt on one knee before the two people on the dragon throne, and said in a clear voice: "Your subordinate Qingming pays respects to Your Majesty! Pays respects to Her Majesty the Empress!"
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