Chapter 306 The Storm Arrives
Chu Jichen nodded, a relieved smile in his eyes: "That's what I think too. What's done is done, and no matter how much we regret it or how much pain we're in, we can't change anything."
"We still need to move forward, right? So, let's treat Yue Ning even better from now on, and let's just let this matter go. Don't think about it anymore, okay?"
Shen Qingci responded softly, buried her face in his chest, and nodded gently.
Chu Jichen lowered his head and gently kissed Shen Qingci's trembling eyelids, his movements extremely tender.
Shen Qingci bit her lip, her eyes flickering. Chu Jichen was right; she had to look forward. In the future, she could give Chu Yuening all the best things to make up for it.
But right now, she shouldn't be wallowing in grief. She should pull herself together, handle everything properly, and absolutely not let Chu Yuening's blood be shed in vain.
Thinking of this, Shen Qingci immediately raised his head, his expression regaining its calmness and wisdom: "I think that during the three years of the late emperor's seclusion, in addition to recruiting soldiers, he must have also secretly contacted many court officials, and may even have planted spies in various departments."
"I have already set up the Shen family's intelligence network, focusing on monitoring the movements of several important officials in the court, as well as those key officials who usually keep a low profile. If there is any unusual activity, whether it is a secret meeting at night or correspondence, we can react immediately."
"I have also arranged people in various parts of the city."
"They mostly disguise themselves as beggars, homeless people, or street vendors and deliverymen. These are the most inconspicuous people, but they are also the best at gathering information."
"They will keep an eye on all parts of the capital, looking for any signs of people secretly gathering, discussing, or converging on a particular spot recently."
"If any discovery is made, it will be reported immediately through special channels."
Chu Jichen nodded, his eyes dark and deep, like the calm before a storm.
He reached out and stroked Shen Qingci's hair, saying softly, "My Qingqing is so good. She always thinks ahead of me and does things more thoroughly than I do."
Shen Qingci thought for a moment, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything else important to report or discuss with him, then reached out and nudged Chu Jichen: "I'm really fine now, you should go back quickly."
"Although you managed to leave the palace and avoid being seen by others because they didn't know that your legs had recovered considerably and you could walk quite far."
"But if you are gone for too long, the spies in the palace will surely notice something amiss."
"Now is a critical moment; it would be bad if we alerted them."
Chu Jichen sighed, looking resentful: "I knew Qingqing didn't miss me at all. As soon as I arrived, Qingqing kept urging me to leave, as if she couldn't wait for me to go."
Shen Qingci bit her lip. This person! Even at a time like this, he's still acting cute!
She felt both helpless and amused. She lowered her head and kissed Chu Jichen's lips, whispering, "Of course I miss you."
"I was thinking when you came here just now. No wonder I felt that time was passing so slowly after I left the palace, and every moment felt like torture. It was because you weren't by my side."
"But we're not in a hurry, are we? This must be the last time we're apart for such a long time."
"Once this matter is completely resolved, and peace reigns throughout the land, I will surely be able to be with you every moment. At that time, please don't find me annoying or tiresome."
Chu Jichen's eyes were filled with emotion, and the corners of his mouth curved up. His eyes were full of affection: "Hearing Qingqing say that she misses you is really not easy. It's harder than winning a battle."
"How could Qingqing think that I would be annoyed? I should be the one saying that."
"I've liked Qingqing for so long, since I was young. Now that I've finally won you over, naturally I want to be with you all the time, to have you by my side. Qingqing, please don't get tired of me..."
After he finished speaking, he reluctantly turned his eyes away, took a deep breath, and stood up: "I have to go. In order to be able to be with Qingqing all the time as soon as possible, I have to clear away all the obstacles for Qingqing as soon as possible!"
"Wait for me to come back."
Chu Jichen turned around and strode out of the room, his back view resolute and determined.
Shen Qingci watched the direction he left in, silently praying in her heart: He must return safely.
Over the next two days, the atmosphere in the capital grew increasingly tense, as if an invisible net was slowly tightening.
The Shen family's intelligence network continuously transmitted various reports, most of which were trivial, but Shen Qingci still managed to keenly detect some anomalies.
For example, several large boxes suddenly appeared in the home of a normally incorruptible censor; for example, the rotation time of the city defense battalion seemed to have changed slightly; and for example, unfamiliar carriages and horses were seen coming and going in some secluded alleys late at night.
Although these clues are scattered, they come together to point in a disturbing direction—the remnants of the late emperor's faction are gathering, and on a considerable scale!
Recently, Qingming's military training in the camp outside the city has become increasingly large-scale, and the number of people participating in the training has also increased.
She felt that it was impossible for the late emperor's men to remain calm.
Sure enough, just two days before Qingming was to conscript troops to go to the border, the late emperor's men could no longer sit still.
It was an evening when Shen Qingci was examining a secret message sent by Zhuque under the lamp. The guards had arrived, bringing with them some news.
“Our people have been keeping an eye on all parts of the capital. Although there seems to be some activity in the capital, it is actually not very big.”
“But our secret agents stationed at the city gates have noticed that there seems to be an increase in the number of people leaving the city recently. And those people leaving the city seem to be approaching the military camps outside the city.”
Shen Qingci narrowed her eyes, then looked up, a hint of surprise in her expression: "There are more people leaving the city?"
This was something she hadn't expected.
Logically speaking, shouldn't the late emperor and Huo Yunting have already fallen into Chu Jichen's hands?
Their people will likely gather secretly, but their main destination should be the palace.
After all, the late emperor and Huo Yunting were clearly imprisoned in the palace.
Their goal should have been to save lives.
Because of this speculation, she and Chu Jichen placed most of their troops near the palace.
There are indeed some secret forces left behind by Qingming and the Shen family outside the city, but most of the troops are those recruited during this conscription.
Most of these soldiers lacked actual combat experience. Even though Qingming had started training them according to their requirements, the training had only lasted a few days and there was no way to actually send them to the battlefield or defend against attacks.
Could it be that the late emperor's troops discovered this, which is why they chose to send a large number of troops out of the city to prepare for a night attack on the training camp outside the city?
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