Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhizhi immediately became excited, "Does that mean I won't be eliminated?"
[Private message from Marseille, Zizi-chan: That's not how it works. It's because very few people have mastered the Northern Darkness Divine Art, and you performed exceptionally well, so the main system granted me the permission to increase my health.]
"Once you master the Northern Darkness Divine Art, I will give you a chance to avoid being wiped out." The system switched to a funny voice pack and explained to Zhou Zhizhi in detail.
However, completing my mission doesn't guarantee you a chance to avoid being eliminated. It depends on the mission's difficulty. If the mission is easy, you'll only receive Life Shards. Three Life Shards grant one chance to avoid elimination.
"You guys are really good at this!" Zhou Zhizhi exclaimed. "It's like getting extra lives in a game, but I'm not an NPC in a game, I'm a living, breathing person!"
However, being given a chance not to be eliminated is already a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune.
Zhou Zhizhi suddenly felt full of motivation again. She could work late into the night to memorize the remaining moves of the Northern Darkness Divine Art and start practicing them immediately tomorrow. The reward of not being eliminated was too tempting to resist.
Zhou Zhizhi returned to her room and called Xiaoyue.
"Prepare plenty of candles for me, light them all, and also prepare several pots of strong tea. I'm going to work late into the night."
"Yes, I will do it." Xiaoyue went to prepare after receiving the order.
Outside, the moon was bright and the stars were few; inside, the candlelight flickered, and the surroundings were extremely quiet, with only the occasional sound of Zhou Zhizhi reciting and turning the pages of a book.
Unlike the quiet atmosphere of the Imperial Preceptor's residence, a lively discussion was taking place inside Consort Lan's palace.
"My son, your mother has already met with your father." Consort Lan was eager to tell Xiao Dongyang what she knew, which is why she summoned him late at night.
"How did Mother meet Father?" The eldest prince was deeply moved. He knew that his mother had always doted on him and placed high hopes on him since he was a child.
This time, she went to great lengths for him and was able to see her father, the Emperor. You should know that the court officials were almost driven crazy because the Emperor was seriously ill and no one was holding court in the morning. The Eastern Depot controlled the government.
Impeachment memorials were written one after another, but no one could get them to the emperor's side, and they did not receive a single word from him.
What even the court officials couldn't accomplish, his mother, a frail woman, managed to do.
"My son, let me tell you the story in detail." Consort Lan was also a little proud at this moment.
After all, being able to see the Emperor at this time not only proves that the Emperor still favors her, thus influencing the political choices of the court officials, but also makes the Empress even more wary of her.
“The Golden Palace where your father recuperated was heavily guarded. I was stopped before I even reached the palace gate when I brought the chicken soup I had made myself.”
Consort Lan began to slowly recount the events to Xiao Dongyang.
"I had expected this long ago. After all, everyone in the palace already knows that there are heavy guards around the Golden Palace."
“But I have already informed your uncle, General Lan Yuanlong, to come to the Golden Palace with the gold medal bestowed by the Emperor and tell him that the war in the Northwest must be reported to the Emperor immediately.”
"Mother, isn't the court controlled by the Eastern Depot? My uncle used the war in the Northwest as an excuse. How could the soldiers guarding the palace, who are actually the henchmen of the Eastern Depot, let you in?" Xiao Dongyang listened carefully to Consort Lan's words and raised his question.
“Mother, of course you know this too. You only asked your uncle to say this to lure out the person behind the scenes.”
"After all, even if the people of the Eastern Depot wield immense power and want to monopolize the Great Xiao Kingdom, they still don't want foreign countries to come and share in the spoils." A hint of smugness flashed in Consort Lan's eyes.
"The guards at the gate were clearly flustered when they heard what the general said. Although they had been in the palace for a long time, these soldiers were still selected from the best soldiers of that time."
"They have a natural tendency to obey the general's orders, but due to their current duties, coupled with General Lan's angry rebuke, they suddenly panicked."
"They didn't report up the chain of command, but went directly to the Golden Palace and notified Eunuch Cao."
It should be noted that quite a few people have recently seen the Emperor, and the guards at the gate intercept a group of ministers every few days. As a result, the Eastern Depot directly ordered that no one should visit the Emperor and that guards should not relay messages on his behalf.
"But because General Lan said the situation was urgent, and the guards were in a panic, Eunuch Cao rushed out immediately after hearing their embellished report."
Xiao Dongyang's heart jumped when he heard this, and he unconsciously held his breath.
"And then? Mother, what did you say to Eunuch Cao?" Xiao Dongyang asked anxiously.
The first thing Eunuch Cao asked was, "The Xiongnu from the northwest have attacked? How long can your army hold out?"
He then added, "The court can first allocate some military pay and provisions to General Lan. Please come to the study to discuss the remaining details with General Lan."
He then looked at Consort Lan, who was standing to the side, and made up an excuse to send her away. "Consort Lan, His Majesty has been unwell recently. Please go back."
"I won't leave. I want to stay here and pray for His Majesty." Consort Lan was also a skilled actress, and she immediately knelt down.
“Alright, there are too many people here and too much gossip. Please lead the way, Eunuch Cao.” Lan Yuanlong nodded, agreeing to Eunuch Cao’s suggestion. After all, he held a very private secret about Eunuch Cao, which Eunuch Cao probably didn’t want others to know.
They decided to find a quieter place and said to each other in private, "As the saying goes, leave a way out for others, so you can meet again in the future."
Upon hearing General Lan's words, Eunuch Cao nodded, ignoring Consort Lan kneeling on the ground, and gestured for General Lan to go to the study.
"Winter is just around the corner. The Xiongnu are short of supplies and want to invade our Central Plains. However, this time they have chosen to negotiate peace first, and they want five cities, ten thousand taels of gold, one hundred thousand dan of cloth, and one hundred thousand tons of grain."
When the two entered the study, before Eunuch Cao could even ask any questions, General Lan preemptively struck.
"They have such a huge appetite!" Faced with this unreasonable demand, Eunuch Cao was clearly furious.
"At first, I refused them outright, but they offered many things in exchange," Lan Yuanlong continued.
"What is it?" General Lan's words clearly piqued Eunuch Cao's curiosity. After all, for the general to personally deliver a message, and with such an outrageous demand, the item in exchange must have some special value.
"It was a pure gold box, with Eunuch Cao's private seal engraved on it."
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