Song Qi observed Meng Yilan's expression: "Are you very familiar with the Prince of Liang?"
Meng Yilan paused, then said casually, but a slight smile appeared on her lips as she mentioned it: "We're fairly familiar with each other, after all, we grew up together in the capital."
Although Meng Yilan herself didn't really want to laugh.
"Speaking of which..." Song Qi noticed and suddenly leaned closer, lowering her voice, "Which of Zhao Zhi and his brothers do you think is the best-looking?"
Meng Yilan was stunned for a moment, not quite reacting.
After all, this was hardly a topic that Song Qi would discuss.
"What's wrong?" Song Qi looked at Meng Yilan, his expression unchanged.
"It's nothing. I thought you weren't interested in this kind of thing," Meng Yilan smiled.
Song Qi laughed: "Why wouldn't I be interested? Everyone loves beauty, so who do you think is better looking?"
She mimicked the expressions of those little girls from the last world when they gossiped.
Meng Yilan thought for a moment and said, "Of course it's still the Emperor, then it's Prince Liang. Prince Rui is a bit short and a bit fat."
"Isn't it said that Prince Liang likes to eat? How come he's not fat?" Song Qi was somewhat surprised.
"Yes, I envy him so much," Meng Yilan sighed.
She casually cracked jokes and asked almost all the guests questions.
It was getting late when we left.
Based on today's conversation, she could roughly tell that Meng Yilan and the Prince of Liang had a better relationship, and there was likely some unknown story between them.
The already complicated situation has become even more complicated.
Fortunately, after Zhao Zhi had a "fight" with Prince Rui's faction in court, he finally managed to bring in Song Qi's people.
This can be considered a good thing.
Both sides were somewhat alarmed.
Although there are only a thousand people, these thousand people are all veterans of war, and they are ultimately different from the people selected from the noble children here.
Although Zhao Zhi said he trusted Song Qi, he was still somewhat uneasy.
The day after the people were transferred in, Song Qi went to meet with several key figures among the thousand people.
According to the setting, this group of people are absolutely trusting of themselves and absolutely clean, so there is no need to worry about betrayal. After all, the essence of this book is still a romance novel. If Song Qi hadn't cut countless romantic storylines, these struggles would probably only account for 5% of the whole book, but now they account for 95%.
When Song Qi entered the room, the group of people almost instantly knelt down on one knee in unison.
"General." The voice was subdued, carrying the distinctive air of a soldier.
"Get up, everyone, sit down, make yourselves at home," Song Qi said.
Several people glanced at the person standing next to Song Qi with unfriendly eyes.
Last night, Song Qi recalled the code words that Shao Jie and her men used, and then went over what she wanted to say again.
Then, while speaking ill of Zhao Zhidi, she secretly signaled to the watcher. Song Qi happened to be in that person's blind spot, and her movements were not very big, so she didn't have to worry about being seen.
I was initially worried that one of these actors might have poor acting skills and give themselves away, but it turns out they are all shrewd people who could win an Oscar.
“So, I reached a cooperation agreement with Consort Sun and the others. I have done enough for this country, but he doesn’t trust me at all.” Song Qi took a deep breath. “The palace is not suitable for me. I want to leave.”
“I have already learned about him. Prince Rui is a good person, and we can follow him.”
Song Qi reasoned with them and appealed to their emotions. Several people raised doubts during the conversation, but in the end, they all expressed that they would follow Song Qi forever.
A burly man, suppressing his anger, cursed, shedding two tears: "This is outrageous! Our general has done so much for that dog of an emperor, how could he do this to us!"
Song Qi: Isn't this older brother going a bit overboard with his acting?
However, that person had no suspicions whatsoever.
As they left, the faces of the group were heavy and resolute. Judging from the expression of the person monitoring them, he was completely convinced and even seemed somewhat moved by them. Song Qi wondered if he was mistaken, but the man's eyes were even a little red.
When Consort Sun found out, she was somewhat surprised, feeling that things shouldn't have gone so smoothly.
But I couldn't find anything else that seemed wrong.
Since she and Song Qi formed a partnership, Song Qi has had many more spies around him.
Song Qi was well aware of this, so he did very ordinary things every day and never met with anyone in private.
Occasionally, they would visit the emperor and bring back some useful information.
Therefore, Consort Sun ultimately attributed all of this to Song Qi's personal charisma.
As Zhao Zhi's birthday approached, Song Qi, who didn't really want to help, couldn't bear to see Meng Yilan busy with all the work and decided to lend a hand.
"When is your birthday?" Song Qi asked, following Meng Yilan.
“In July,” Meng Yilan smiled at Song Qi, “if you had come back earlier last year, you could have attended my birthday banquet.”
"Participating this year is the same."
Song Qi said, "I just don't know if I'll be able to participate smoothly this year."
Meng Yilan's eyes also flashed.
The two of them had their own thoughts.
Song Qi has been practicing swordsmanship even more diligently lately, and he's been forcing Meng Yilan to go out with him every day for a stroll in the Imperial Garden.
Meng Yilan had a feeling that Song Qi knew something.
She panicked a little, but couldn't say anything.
The King of Liang returned ahead of schedule, and a family banquet was prepared in the palace.
This was the first time Song Qi had ever seen this person.
He is indeed quite good-looking, with a gentle appearance, and he looks like a refined gentleman, completely different from Zhao Zhi's simple and honest appearance.
It has to be said that the fact that they can grow up to be fair and tender in such a remote place shows that the food is quite good.
She took a sip of her drink and glanced at Zhao Zhi.
Zhao Zhi's acting skills are also top-notch. Although he wished he could stab his younger brother and older brother to death with a sword, he still maintained a smile on his face.
Song Qi found the back-and-forth between the two of them rather boring, so he finally turned his attention to the dancers in the middle of the hall. He had to admit that they were all very beautiful.
Meng Yilan glanced at Song Qi several times.
Then he looked down at his glass and downed the wine in one gulp.
Meng Yilan: Is it really that good-looking?
For the first day or two after the Prince of Liang returned, he did nothing else, mostly just wandering around the streets and alleys of the capital. Every day, his secret guards would report what he had eaten.
"What do you think is wrong with the Prince of Liang?" Zhao Zhi asked.
Song Qi looked up at Zhao Zhi and said, "I think the roast chicken he ate today must have tasted pretty good."
Zhao Zhi: ...
Is that all you wanted to say?
“What else is there to say? There are probably some kind of communication methods we don’t know about. Maybe there are secret passages under his palace. Perhaps the different dishes he orders every day have different meanings.” Song Qi rubbed his shoulders. “Do you know who the Prince of Liang is in contact with? By the way, you can’t possibly not have found out about this kind of thing by now?”
Zhao Zhi frowned: "We've found out."
"By the way, how many royalists are left now?"
Zhao Zhi: ...
Song Qi clicked his tongue: "I have to say, you really failed as emperor."
“We should have enough troops.” Zhao Zhishen took a deep breath. “If the King of Liang is going to make a move, it will probably be around this time. He needs to get rid of me before the King of Rui returns, and then he can form an alliance with Chen Xiu and Fang Zhu.”
Song Qi calculated the troop strength, but how exactly should he calculate it?
There don't seem to be many soldiers in the capital to begin with, and then we have to deduct the number of Prince Rui's soldiers as well.
"To be honest, hearing your weak voice and seeing your meager forces, I was tempted to defect as well." Song Qi looked at Zhao Zhi as if he were a piece of trash.
Zhao Zhi took a deep breath: "Don't worry, we have enough soldiers. There are more military camps around the capital than just the ones you see."
Song Qi nodded: "That's good."
She didn't ask where the others were, since it wasn't really her concern anyway.
If I ask, Zhao Zhi will probably overthink it again.
She was always sensible. After leaving the Imperial Study, Song Qi "bumped into" the Fourteenth Prince, whispered a few words to him, and then went to help Meng Yilan with her work.
And then.
On the third day after the return of the King of Liang, chaos broke out in the palace.
The chaos came sooner than Song Qi had imagined.
She thought something even more surprising would happen, but in the end, at a small banquet, Prince Liang suddenly launched an attack. According to the system's live broadcast, Zhao Zhi was almost stabbed to death, but because of the male protagonist's halo, he dodged it and was unharmed.
The emperor is now trapped in his palace, struggling desperately with the help of his secret guards.
Song Qi didn't know why, but he was actually a little disappointed.
How did someone like this become the male lead in a romance novel?
Song Qi changed into clothes that allowed for easy movement, picked up his longsword, and went out.
The palace maids looked at Song Qi and exchanged bewildered glances, but they all panicked.
Because of the Prince of Liang's actions, Consort Sun's original plans were completely disrupted, leaving her in a state of utter disarray.
What a coincidence, both of them wanted to rebel, and the timing was almost the same.
Song Qi was the first in the inner palace to know the news, but because the main hall was too noisy, the others belatedly realized that something had happened. Moreover, the Prince of Liang's men had already rushed in and started a massacre.
The entire palace was filled with screams and the sounds of palace maids and eunuchs fleeing.
Song Qi quickly met up with her people somewhere in the palace. This was something they had arranged beforehand, and thanks to the protagonist's halo, their thousand-strong group would not be discovered for the time being.
The location was selected by the system.
After all this time, this thing has finally done something good.
"General, what do we do now?" Everyone looked at Song Qi. Although it was dark, she could still feel the trust in their eyes.
Song Qi stroked his chin. "Approximately how many people does the Prince of Liang have?"
"Ten thousand men have arrived at the palace, but the strength of the troops outside is still unknown."
Song Qi pursed his lips: "Even the dog emperor didn't tell me how many cards he still has up his sleeve."
This is very troublesome.
Hearing the screams and firelight coming from afar, she frowned and suddenly remembered that there was someone in the palace. Although there should be secret passages in the Empress's palace, she had a feeling that Meng Yilan would not leave obediently: "You two go over there and stir up trouble. I'll go and bring someone out. Xiao Lin and Xiao Yu, you two come with me."
"ah?"
"that's all."
Anyway, the dog emperor won't die anytime soon.
"Just call everyone you meet 'brother,' split up, and meet up with Zhao Zhi in two incense sticks' time." After saying that, Song Qi ran out. "Well, first save your own lives, and try to provoke a war between the other two factions."
"Yes!" The group exchanged glances.
Meng Yilan sat calmly on the soft couch, listening to the shouts outside and looking at the book in her hand. She looked quite calm, but in reality, her whole body was trembling.
In the end, the book fell to the ground. She wanted to drink water, but she couldn't hold the cup steady.
"I thought you wouldn't be afraid of death."
Meng Yilan took a deep breath: "Of course I'm scared."
"Once you're dead, it's all over. Enjoy this experience, and see if you dare to act so recklessly next time."
"Oh, they're here." System NP smiled.
Meng Yilan felt a chill run through her body.
A person kicked open the door of Meng Yilan's palace.
Consort Sun walked in with a dark face, and before Meng Yilan could react, she grabbed her and pulled her up: "You traitor! You betrayed me?"
Meng Yilan smiled at Consort Sun, suppressing the fear in her heart and trying her best not to tremble in her voice: "Yes, you're only realizing this now."
Consort Sun took a deep breath, grabbed Meng Yilan by the neck, and stared intently at her.
Meng Yilan stared unblinkingly at Consort Sun, her face flushed red from difficulty breathing.
On the surface, she is Consort Sun's person, and has been helping Consort Sun arrange people for many years by taking advantage of the Empress's position. However, according to the setting, she has a deep affection for Prince Liang, so she is arranging people for Consort Sun while also arranging people for Prince Liang.
Moreover, because Meng Yilan had been cooperating with them for a long time and knew more, she was, in a sense, a key figure. Every time she knew something, she would tell Liang Wang everything.
The reason why Prince Liang acted ahead of schedule was because Meng Yilan told her about Consort Sun's plan.
"Meng Yilan, you really have a lot of nerve." Consort Sun was old after all, and her hands were no longer strong. She let go of Meng Yilan, took the sword from her subordinate, and wished she could cut this woman into a thousand pieces.
When Song Qi entered Fengyi Palace, she felt uneasy upon seeing the corpses on the ground. The palace doors were wide open, and she saw shadows reflected in the windows.
The sword shadow was very clear.
Without a second thought, she smashed through the window and thrust her sword through Consort Sun's chest.
Everything happened in an instant.
Meng Yilan was startled. Blood splattered on her face, and she looked at the person who had suddenly appeared, somewhat at a loss.
"You promised you wouldn't give up the struggle." Song Qi didn't turn around.
Meng Yilan bit her lip.
System NP: "What's wrong with this female lead? Why is she even bothering to interfere with you?"
Meng Yilan remained silent.
System NZ now only regrets that he is not on the same channel as System NP, otherwise they could all complain together.
Although the mission completion rate was very low, System NZ had to admit that watching Song Qi fight was quite enjoyable.
Seeing that Consort Sun was injured, the others immediately attacked, but they were no match for Song Qi.
In particular, Song Qi's aura made them afraid to get close, and Xiao Lin and Xiao Yu also surrounded them from behind.
She's furious right now.
Meng Yilan sat on the ground, staring intently at Song Qi, her mind in turmoil.
When Song Qi finished dealing with them and turned around, Meng Yilan was already in tears.
"Get up." Song Qi pulled Meng Yilan up and looked at the two people standing beside him. "Take her out of the palace and then keep an eye on her."
"yes."
Meng Yilan bit her lip and timidly called out, "General."
Song Qi ignored her and left the palace; there wasn't enough time.
The system is issuing a high-energy alarm over there.
Zhao Zhi has been forced out of the palace and is now almost surrounded. If it weren't for the fact that all the secret guards around him are experts, he would probably be dead already. Song Qi's men have also gone up to help, and it's like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
Although he was told to protect his own life, he still rushed forward when he saw Zhao Zhi was about to be killed.
When Song Qi arrived alone, he happened to encounter Zhao Zhi's reinforcements.
He was a general she didn't recognize.
The two looked at each other but neither spoke.
Another chaotic battle ensued. Zhao Zhi's martial arts skills were incredibly weak, and Song Qi desperately tore a hole and rushed in.
Zhao Zhi looked at Song Qi and breathed a sigh of relief: "You've finally arrived."
I feel somewhat at ease.
With a blank expression, Song Qi picked up Zhao Zhi, then stepped on someone else and flew over him.
During this time, some people shot arrows at her, but no one hit her.
I used to encounter this situation when watching boring TV dramas, but I never thought I would experience it myself one day.
When will she be able to possess this physique in war, then she will be invincible.
Zhao Zhi felt this was the most humiliating moment of his life.
He was grabbed by the collar by a woman and thrown to the back in a very ugly manner in front of tens of thousands of people.
Yes, it's throwing, not putting down.
He did want to have some opinions, but in the end, he was so frightened by Song Qi's murderous gaze that he shut his mouth.
The melee continued until noon the following day.
The entire palace reeked of blood, and the outside was hardly any better.
The men of Liang and Rui encountered each other outside and started fighting. When they were exhausted, Zhao Zhi's men seized the opportunity.
Song Qi counted the heads on his side.
Thirteen people died.
She was somewhat unhappy, because those whom Shao Jie could bring back from the frontier were all his closest confidants.
Zhao Zhi sat in the cleaned imperial study and looked at Song Qi: "Thank you very much this time."
Song Qi looked up at Zhao Zhi: "I've always had a question."
"you say."
"Is one of the reasons you don't let Fourteen and Seventeen learn martial arts because your martial arts skills are too rubbish?"
Zhao Zhi's smile froze for a moment, and the others exchanged glances, holding back their laughter.
"Shao Jie," Zhao Zhi gritted his teeth.
"Your Majesty, there shouldn't be any problems with Prince Rui, right?" Song Qi asked, directly changing the subject.
Zhao Zhi nodded: "Yes, half of the confidants he thought were close are actually my people."
"So, you don't need my help anymore."
“How can you say you don’t need it?” Zhao Zhi looked at Song Qi, frowning.
"You've already let me into the palace, doesn't that mean you don't need me?" Song Qi looked at Zhao Zhi expressionlessly.
Zhao Zhi opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
"Remember when I told you that if you finished this business, you had to promise me one thing?"
"you say."
"I want to take Meng Yilan out of the palace."
Zhao Zhi was taken aback for a moment: "Want to go out of the palace to play? You could have done that before."
"It means someone who leaves the palace permanently and never returns." Song Qi looked at Zhao Zhi.
The people around were stunned for a moment.
"The Meng family deserves to die," someone said in a low voice.
Song Qi glanced at the person who spoke, and smirked, "I haven't received any rewards in all these years, can't I even have a woman?"
Zhao Zhi: It's that strange feeling again!
The others also looked at Song Qi with some strange expressions.
"General, don't you want us anymore?"
“Even if I stay, I’ll probably just be a caged bird,” Song Qi said, looking at his deputy. “You are capable enough to protect this country.”
The lieutenant looked up and glared at Zhao Zhi with extraordinary audacity.
Zhao Zhi: ...
"So, Your Majesty, is that alright?" Song Qi asked Zhao Zhi.
"If I disagree, you'll do the same thing, right?"
Song Qi raised an eyebrow: "Your Majesty, I only asked you for permission because I thought it would save face for you."
Zhao Zhi: This woman is his nemesis.
Zhao Zhi rubbed his temples: "Okay."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Song Qi smiled.
System NZ: "The mission is almost complete, but you can stay here a little longer if you wish."
"You seem to be getting easier to talk to lately."
System NZ chuckled twice: "At least you've completed 35 percent of the task."
The supporting actress next door has completed 10% of her task.
There are systems that are even worse off than it; it feels like its entire system is much more comfortable now.
Song Qi went to the place where Meng Yilan was settled.
Meng Yilan had changed her clothes and was drinking tea in the courtyard. When she saw Song Qi come in, she stood up somewhat awkwardly.
“General,” Meng Yilan called out, “I…”
Song Qi looked at Meng Yilan: "Do you really like Prince Liang?"
Meng Yilan's eyes widened: "I don't like it! I don't like it at all."
"Well, that's good. I was originally planning to take you to see the scene of his beheading."
Meng Yilan froze.
"Has His Majesty said how he plans to deal with me?"
Song Qi poured himself a glass of water, took a sip, and said, "The Emperor has given you to me."
"Huh?" Meng Yilan was taken aback, thinking she had misheard. "General, what are you saying?"
Song Qi tapped the table: "Your whole family is in jail, but I've gotten you back."
Meng Yilan was somewhat at a loss: "Aren't you angry?"
"What are you angry about?" Song Qi looked at Meng Yilan, as if seeing another person through this body. "Tell me, where do you want to go for fun in the future?"
Meng Yilan continued to look at Song Qi, her whole being somewhat dazed.
"Didn't you say you wanted to see the beautiful landscapes of our country?"
"You still remember?" Meng Yilan recalled that she had only mentioned it once or twice.
"Well, see, I brought you out now, didn't I?" Song Qi smiled at Meng Yilan.
Meng Yilan covered her mouth and burst into suppressed sobs, then threw herself into Song Qi's arms: "General..."
Song Qi didn't move, letting her hug him: "Don't get your tears and snot on me, I really like this dress."
"I know." Meng Yilan used her sleeve as a cushion.
Song Qi patted her on the shoulder.
A few people stood at the door and exchanged glances.
"Isn't something wrong with the general?"
"I think so too."
"Is it because you've been spending too much time surrounded by men?"
The group lowered their voices, then silently turned off their phones and left.
Although the matter seemed somewhat alarming to them, they didn't think much of it when it involved the general.
Because he was a general.
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