Ten Mile Thunder

The sun rises early in early summer, and before the morning hour, the palace servants are already busy.

But today the sky was oppressive and the clouds were dark and unsettling.

No one noticed that a soft sedan was carried in from Humen and went straight to the Qianqing Palace.

"Eunuch Qiu."

The leading man dressed in eunuch's clothes was waiting at the side with his head bowed, his hunched body hiding his originally tall figure.

Qiu Ling glanced around and found no suspicious people inside or outside the palace wall, then signaled the man to put down the sedan chair.

"Princess, please."

A pair of delicate hands opened the curtain, revealing a pair of eyes as bright and thoughtful as the blue sea, and between her brows there was a heroic spirit that was different from that of an ordinary woman.

Not an easy one to deal with.

Qiu Ling looked at the woman in front of him imperceptibly, and soon made up his mind, but he remained expressionless. He lowered his eyes and invited her into the Qianqing Palace.

"You can't come in."

Cheng Tianfeng, who was standing at the palace gate, frowned and coldly stopped the man. No one knew what the emperor was talking about, but he hurried out too.

*

"The Third Princess of Xixia, Tuoba Xuetu, has come to see Your Majesty and wishes Your Majesty the best of health."

Tuoba Xuetu bowed respectfully to Ji Mingxiu, who was wearing a black dragon robe and sitting behind the desk.

"Your Highness, there is no need to be so polite."

Although Ji Mingxiu said this, he had no intention of giving Tuoba Xuetu the throne.

Tuoba Xuetu didn't care. He stood up straight and stood in the middle of the hall to chat with Ji Mingxiu.

"I should have come to see Your Majesty earlier. I am being rude."

During the imperial court meeting last year, she was supposed to be the one to marry, but the eldest sister of the emperor was reluctant to let her go, so she used a lot of connections to persuade father to replace her with a fake princess.

As a result, the fake princess never even got to see the Great Xuan Emperor, and died in the turmoil in the Western Hunting Ground.

The cause of death was not determined until the end, and Tuoba Xuetu couldn't figure out who wanted to ruin the marriage, or whether Emperor Daxuan saw that this was a fake princess and chose to use this method to punish them.

Whatever the reason, she and her eldest sister had no time to wait.

They have to take this chance and not sit idly by.

"Your Majesty must know the purpose of my visit to Daxuan this time."

Ji Mingxiu naturally knew about it. During the Wanchao Conference, the Western Xia delegation had tried to contact him about this matter, but he was still hesitant at the time and did not give a clear answer. As a result, there was no further movement.

Until a few days ago, Xixia suddenly sent news, saying that it wanted to discuss marriage.

I'm afraid the marriage is just a lie, and the real purpose is to use him to seize power and usurp the throne.

Ji Mingxiu recalled the intelligence sent by the Imperial City Bureau. Since the King of Western Xia became seriously ill the year before last, the internal struggle for the throne within Western Xia had become intense.

The eldest prince Tuoba Yan is the most likely to ascend the throne, both in terms of bloodline and qualifications. In addition, there is the eldest daughter Tuoba Mingzhu. It is said that this girl has been active in the battlefield and officialdom since she was thirteen years old. She has been very good at business for decades and has many supporters.

Although Western Xia allowed women to serve in government and join the army, Wang Chu had never seen a woman do so before, so Tuoba Mingzhu turned her attention to him.

"Princess, you are straightforward, but this is a major issue for both countries. Moreover, Daxuan is now caught in the pain of war, and I am really powerless."

All the money was used to fight the war, so there was no money left to support Tuoba Mingzhu in starting a civil war in Western Xia.

"Your Majesty, my sister has worked hard for so many years and has long been the crown prince that the people of Xixia want. But Tuoba Yan, relying on his male body, wants to take away everything from my sister."

Thinking of Tuoba Yan's arrogant face, Tuoba Xuetu was so angry that her teeth itched. But she soon remembered that her sister had been carefully planning for so many years, working too hard and getting sick at such a young age, but she still could not defeat the so-called orthodoxy.

She took a sudden step forward, then half-knelt in the cold hall, and promised with a firm look in her eyes.

"I swear in the name of the gods that if this is successful, the Western Xia will never forget your kindness, and will serve the Great Xuan Emperor as our ruler for generations to come, and will never disobey your will."

Given Tuoba Yan's vindictive nature, he would definitely not tolerate his sister if he ascended the throne. Even if his father had issued an imperial decree prohibiting fratricide, he would most likely send her and her sister to marry the Xiongnu.

She was done for. Her sister's strong character would undoubtedly push her into a dead end.

"Princess, why did you do this..."

Ji Mingxiu was still a little hesitant, after all, this was a rather risky thing to do.

"Your Majesty." Tuoba Xuetu gritted his teeth and said with determination, "Tuoba Yan has close ties with the Xiongnu, and I boldly speculate that the assassin who killed Your Majesty in the Western Hunting Ground was also related to him."

"What?"

There was a dull explosion outside the window, and the dazzling light broke through the oppressive darkness, as if daylight had arrived.

*

The rain curtains in the distance merged into one, blurring the green of the mountains.

The lights in the Qianqing Palace were not on, only a faint light coming through the windows cast a hazy glow.

Ji Mingxiu sat silently at the table, his dark robe as heavy as his heart.

In the end, he did not agree to the marriage. Firstly, he had no intention of filling his harem, and secondly, a woman's marriage was a big deal, and he was not willing to use it as a bargaining chip.

Since Tuoba Xuetu was willing to use her body as a hostage in exchange for his trust, there was no need for him to sacrifice the rest of her life.

This tall red wall is the prison of youth for many women.

"His Majesty."

Su Yuanbai walked out from behind the curtain, his figure covering one side of the window. This made Ji Mingxiu's whole body cut into hazy light and shadow, half pale and half dark.

"She is not a weak woman. Is your Majesty's action too rash?"

"Of course I know."

Ji Mingxiu frowned impatiently. Perhaps it was because of the weather, he was in a much more depressed mood than usual.

He summoned the Imperial Master to discuss the matter because he trusted him. In addition, the Imperial Master lived in the palace and would know about Tuoba Xuetu's affairs sooner or later.

However, Su Yuanbai's questioning tone at the beginning made him feel an inexplicable resentment in his heart, and he began to consider moving the imperial teacher out of the palace.

"Your Majesty, you are plotting against a tiger!"

The dim environment made it difficult for Su Yuanbai to see Ji Mingxiu's face clearly, which made him somewhat unable to understand Ji Mingxiu's thoughts.

But his years of teaching habit had made him blurt out a more severe lesson, without even a chance to regret.

"Why not her?"

Ji Mingxiu stood up suddenly, raised his head and looked into Su Yuanbai's eyes without giving in.

His figure had not yet reached Su Yuanbai's shoulders, but the determination in his eyes had already begun to be clearly separated from the gentle boy in Su Yuanbai's memory.

It seemed as if Su Yuanbai understood so clearly for the first time that the person standing before him was the young emperor of Daxuan.

He possesses the calmness, ruthlessness and ambition of a qualified king.