"Quickly, invite him in." He naturally dared not be negligent. Although his military rank was higher than Lü He's, Lü He was in charge of half of the Imperial Guards and had a strong degree of independence, so he did not have to obey his orders.
Moreover, Lü He was Lü Gonggong's own brother, and Lü Gonggong was the Empress Dowager's most trusted eunuch, which made him feel a sense of closeness.
"Why is General Lü visiting so late at night?" Liu Ji greeted Lü He warmly upon his arrival.
Lu He smiled and said, "There's nothing I can do. The Empress Dowager has summoned Third Master to the palace, so I have no choice but to make the trip myself."
"The Empress Dowager is looking for me?" Liu Ji was taken aback. How come he hadn't heard a word about it before? "General Lü, do you know what it is about?"
Lu He shook his head: "How dare we, as her subordinates, speculate about the Empress Dowager's thoughts? Third Master, please set off quickly, lest the Empress Dowager wait impatiently."
Liu Ji wondered if it was related to what the Empress Dowager had mentioned a few days ago, that she was worried about any unusual activity in the capital and wanted us to keep a close eye on things.
Thinking of this, he cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Please wait a moment, General Lü. I will arrange things in the military camp and then leave."
“Of course.” Lu He didn’t urge him and tactfully went outside to wait.
Liu Ji then summoned his trusted generals and instructed them to stay behind at the camp and take precautions.
When those people learned that Liu Ji was going to enter the palace late at night, they all tried to dissuade him:
"My lord, be careful, this might be a trap."
"Indeed, why must the Empress Dowager summon me at such a young time, when she has something to discuss?"
"This matter is suspicious in every way, and we must be on guard."
...
Liu Ji laughed and said, "Actually, when I first heard this news, I also had these concerns, but since the person who came was General Lü He, all my doubts disappeared. If we talk about the most loyal person to the Empress Dowager in the world, it has to be Eunuch Lü. Lü He and Eunuch Lü have always had a very good relationship, so how could he harm me?"
Hearing him say that, no one could refute him.
Eunuch Lü was widely recognized as the Empress Dowager's loyal henchman, and the Lü and Liu families had always maintained a good relationship. So, when the other party came in person, there was indeed little to be wary of.
So Liu Ji quickly led a small number of trusted followers and followed Lü He toward the capital.
Lu He and he chatted and laughed along the way, enjoying each other's company.
After a while, Liu Ji suddenly looked around and saw that the place was remote and desolate, obviously far from the main roads and residential areas in the suburbs: "Huh, this doesn't seem to be the way back to the capital."
“The city gates close after nightfall. There’s a shortcut here that’s faster,” Lü He replied.
Liu Ji stopped walking forward and fell into deep thought. He wasn't stupid; he had just trusted Lü He too much before, but now he realized that was not the case.
Seeing this, Lu He couldn't help but sigh: "Of the three Liu brothers, only the third master is a talent. If I hadn't personally taken action, it would have been difficult to deal with you so easily."
Liu Ji's expression changed: "Lü He, why did you betray the Empress Dowager?"
"Let Third Master study this in the underworld," Lu He said, his face now icy cold. "Make your move!"
His soldiers were prepared and drew their weapons to attack Liu Ji's men.
Liu Ji's men were already few in number, and with the enemy's elaborate scheme, they had no time to react; most of them were killed in a single encounter.
...
Not long after, Liu Ji was covered in blood and only managed to stay upright by sticking his knife to the ground. He glared at Lü He with hatred: "You traitors, when the Regent returns, he will not let you off the hook."
He knew in his heart that Lü He had betrayed them, and that Eunuch Lü was most likely also involved. If the Empress Dowager was unaware of this, then the outcome would be dire.
The other side must have other plans. The Liu family is probably really finished this time. Now the only one they can rely on is Regent Zu'an.
It's laughable that my eldest and second eldest brothers actually wanted to sever ties with the Regent. I don't know what they were thinking.
"Regent, there's been no news for so long. He's probably already dead in the demon race's sealed land." Lu He didn't care. With a swift stroke, he severed Liu Ji's head.
Moreover, even if the regent were to return, there's nothing to fear, as they still have the empress. Given the empress's relationship with him, Zu'an would have no choice but to accept reality.
However, at this time, no one in the capital knew that this incident would set the stage for chaos throughout the land.
...
Achoo!
On the shores of the East China Sea, Zu An rubbed his nose and muttered, "Who's thinking about me?"
At this moment, he was wearing a disguise mask. It wasn't that he was afraid of the sea tribe, but rather that he was currently serving as the regent for both the demon and human races, and his sudden appearance on the sea tribe's territory might cause quite a stir.
At that time, most of the sea creature officials at all levels along the way will come to greet him.
He is now in a hurry to find the Divine Dragon Elixir of Immortality to save Qiu Honglei, and is unwilling to take any risks or waste any time.
He arrived at a small island near the sea, where there was a restaurant. He had heard Xiao Yaohou and Shang Liuyu mention it before. If you wanted to go to the sea tribe, you had to go to this kind of restaurant first. They would send a special boat to sea every once in a while.
Looking up at the restaurant in front of me, compared to the magnificent restaurants in the capital and even Mingyue City, this restaurant was far too simple. It was a stretch to call it a restaurant; it should be called a tavern more accurately.
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