Chapter 3054: Psychological Warfare
Nan Yan asked, "What's the matter?"
Tingfu said, "Those people outside just brought back that Mr. Xu. He seems to have fainted."
"oh?"
Nan Yan raised her eyebrows slightly when she heard this, but she didn't say anything immediately. Instead, she sat on the bed and thought for a while before saying, "Let's go and take a look."
After she finished speaking, she stood up, and Tingfu and Qingting followed her.
As soon as I went out, I saw a mess outside.
Next door was Xu Shizong's room. No one knew where he had returned from. The door was full of people, including the servant named Xiaoman beside him, some soldiers in the army, and some who seemed to be Zhu Chengjin's attendants. The small room was already crowded with people. Those who couldn't stand gathered at the door, talking about something in a flurry.
Nan Yan stood at the door and listened for a while, and got the general idea.
Today, Xu Shizong seemed to have left the city early in the morning to supervise the battle by the river. However, before he reached the river, the battle on the river had already ended.
Of course, it ended with Xu Shifeng's failure.
Xu Shizong learned the news halfway through his journey, but he still insisted on going to the riverside and standing on the dock where the wind and waves were strong, looking at the broken wreckage of ships and some corpses floating on the river.
He looked for a long time and left only when it was almost dinner time.
However, perhaps because he was worried about his brother or because he had been exposed to the wind for too long on the river bank, he fainted in the carriage halfway. Xiaoman only discovered it when they returned to the palace. He was so scared that he immediately sent someone to ask Zhu Chengjin for instructions.
After a while, several doctors instructed by Zhu Chengjin also came over.
They gave Xu Shizong acupuncture and medicine, and after a while they were busy, he finally woke up.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
In order to avoid blocking the room and disturbing the patient's rest, everyone dispersed after seeing that he was fine. Several doctors discussed for a while, gave him a prescription to leave in the room, and then left.
Nan Yan had been standing outside the crowd and only walked to the door at this time.
Xiaoman was sitting on the bed with red eyes, feeding Xu Shizong water while sobbing, "Sir, your body really can't stand the bumps and bruises. Please stop being so stubborn."
After hearing this, Xu Shizong lowered his eyelids tiredly.
"If I don't show my strength, do you want me to show weakness?"
“…”
"Now is not the time for me to show weakness."
Hearing this, Nan Yan couldn't help but sneer.
Although Xu Shizong was ill, his ears were very sharp and he heard it immediately. He opened his eyes and saw Nan Yan standing at the door. A smile appeared on her pale lips. "Thank you for bothering the imperial concubine to come and see me in person. It's cold outside, so please come in and sit down."
Nan Yan turned around and told Tingfu and Qingting to stay outside, and walked in alone.
Xiaoman fed Xu Shizong a few more sips of water. After Xu Shizong finished drinking, he raised his hand and shook it gently. Xiaoman then took the bowl and carefully retreated.
Nan Yan walked to the bedside, looking down at him as he lay limply on the bed like a hollowed-out sack, and said with a smile, "It seems that what I said before is about to come true."
Xu Shizong raised his eyes to look at her: "What did you say, Madam?"
"He died before achieving his goal."
“…”
"Didn't Master Xu say that those medicines were for you to keep you alive? But I think that with those medicines, Master Xu won't be able to hold on for much longer."
“…”
"I just don't know why you're holding on to your breath so hard. Just to fight for yourself. Isn't that a sign of weakness?"
Xu Shizong coughed a few more times, covering his mouth. He felt as if every time he coughed, his body was shaken like a dilapidated building, and he didn't know when it would collapse. He looked up at Nan Yan and smiled faintly, "Your Majesty, what you said is both right and wrong. I really don't want to show weakness. But I don't want to show weakness for my own sake."
Nan Yan raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at him.
Xu Shizong said, "As the saying goes, good people should be good to the end, and they should be sent to the west. Since I want to uphold the orthodoxy of heaven's mandate, I must naturally send this person back to his rightful place."
Nan Yan narrowed her eyes.
This is not surprising.
Even Zhu Chengjin was already very proud and couldn't wait to tell herself that he wanted her to enter his harem to serve him. Then, it was clear what he wanted to do next, that is, to return to Jinling City and retake the Jinling Palace.
Nan Yan sneered, "You want to support him to ascend the throne?"
Xu Shizong smiled faintly and said, "No rush."
“…”
"Back then, after your partner took over the Jinling Imperial Palace, he also first eliminated obstacles and appeased the ministers, waiting until the situation was stabilized before ascending the throne. I think he is very clear-headed on this point."
Nan Yan sneered, "You say you're not in a hurry, but I see other people are very anxious."
“…”
"He couldn't wait to have me enter his harem, to serve him, and to watch him regain everything."
"What?!"
When Xu Shizong heard this, he frowned.
As if to confirm Nan Yan's words, a few people suddenly came outside the door and said a few words to Xiaoman and the others outside. Xiaoman immediately walked in and said, "Sir, someone is coming from the other side."
The side he was referring to was naturally Zhu Chengjin's side.
Xu Shifeng asked, "What are you sending people for?"
Xiao Man said, "Yes, the Yikun Palace has been cleaned up, and the Imperial Concubine is invited to move in tonight."
Xu Shizong's brows furrowed.
He had indeed previously instructed that the Yikun Palace be cleaned out for Nan Yan to live in, but that was because Nan Yan was already a noble concubine, and living in the row houses in this area for a long time, surrounded by men, would be disadvantageous to her. Although the two were enemies, he did not want to humiliate a woman in this regard, especially one who was once highly praised by Empress Renxiao. In fact, Nan Yan and his daughter Xiaoxiao had always gotten along well.
However, the person who came to invite her now was Zhu Chengjin's man.
Once Zhu Chengjin spoke, the meaning of the matter became different.
Xu Shizong frowned, one hand stroking his chest. He wanted to say something, but his face had turned frighteningly pale. Nan Yan, standing aside, only glanced at him, then said to Xiao Man calmly, "Go out and tell the people outside that I'm talking to Master Xu about moving to Yikun Palace. We'll talk about it later."
Na Xiaoman looked at Xu Shizong hesitantly. Xu Shizong hesitated for a moment, but nodded slightly.
Xiaoman immediately went out to pass on the message.
Soon, the news reached Zhu Chengjin's ears. His face darkened as he said coldly, "Did she say she couldn't go, or did the military advisor say she couldn't go?"
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