After a long pause, she finally spoke, "Please, Master, cast another divination for me. Will my wish be fulfilled?"
Here she did not refer to herself as "this palace," but rather as "I," clearly indicating that she did not want to communicate in the manner of an empress.
Xuanmu pushed a bamboo tube towards her, "Your Majesty, please draw a fortune stick."
Empress Wang raised her hand, her gold-inlaid jeweled nail guards contrasting sharply with the simple bamboo tube, and her well-maintained slender fingers took out a bamboo skewer from the tube.
She didn't look at the contents of the fortune sticks, but handed them directly to Xuan Mu and asked him to interpret them.
Xuan Mu glanced at the contents of the bamboo slip and said to Empress Wang, "Congratulations, Your Majesty."
Despite drawing a favorable lot, Empress Wang's delicate face showed no smile. She simply rose gracefully, thanked Master Xuanmu, and turned to leave.
Xuan Mu placed the bamboo stick in his hand on the table, with the side with the inscription facing up.
"After the storm has passed and the waves have calmed, all the predestined relationships will finally be fulfilled."
The phoenix perches on the parasol tree. Two years ago, the bricklayer Wang's daughter came to worship Buddha. As she passed by the parasol tree, she woke up the young man who was hiding under the withered yellow leaves.
The commoner girl, unaware of the emperor's identity, revealed her true nature and argued with the young man. Although she was the daughter of a bricklayer, she had a beautiful and graceful appearance, an innocent demeanor, and her cheeks flushed slightly when she argued with him, making her charming and adorable.
The story of a bricklayer who rose from humble beginnings to become a phoenix overnight, and the first meeting between the current empress and emperor, has become a beautiful tale and is widely circulated among the people.
While Feng Ziyi was deep in thought behind closed doors, Shu Yun secretly summoned Si Ming once at night, asking her to analyze the situation in Lan Chao. She was capable of doing so, but when it came to the whole chaotic world, she was somewhat powerless to help.
Summon the God of Fate and ask him to reveal some directions; it will save you both time and effort.
According to the diviner, Suixian and Zaoyang are two crucial places. Suixian and Zaoyang form the Suizao Corridor, a strategic location that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.
When the time comes, she'll see which warlord takes over this place, then she'll drag Feng Ziyi to join him. That person will definitely be the king supported by Feng Ziyi.
The King of Chu has secretly amassed his forces, and the newly established Jing Kingdom in the west is also stirring. According to Si Ming, the downfall of the Lan Dynasty is imminent.
Feng Ziyi received a message from Wan Yang, informing him that she was temporarily staying at Jiangyuan. After he became the Imperial Censor, His Majesty bestowed upon him a residence, but he did not invite Wan Yang back, as he had not yet been able to sort out his own thoughts.
His Majesty's expression has become increasingly gloomy in court lately. The national treasury is empty, powerful families hold sway, and there are very few capable civil and military officials.
Feng Ziyi probably understood why his master and Wan Yang had been guiding him from the very beginning. With his master's wisdom, he had probably already seen through the deep-rooted power of the Lan Dynasty, but unfortunately, he was born in a chaotic era and had no time to let the Lan Dynasty clean up its own house.
The decay had been deeply embedded in the inner and outer parts of Lanchao for a long time, and the ending of Lanchao always went in one direction.
But he still wanted to stay and do his last bit for Lan Chao, to witness Lan Chao's fate with his own eyes.
Wan Yang seemed to know his thoughts. In her second letter to him, she told him to wait patiently for the final moment of the Lan Dynasty. After the Lan Dynasty was destroyed, she hoped that he could go with her, choose a wise ruler to serve, and strive to end the war as soon as possible so as to bring peace to the people of the world.
Every word in the letter captured his innermost thoughts, and he couldn't find any reason to refuse.
As expected, the State of Chu launched an attack on the border of the State of Lan the day before the start of winter, and urgent letters were continuously presented to the young emperor of Lan.
The King of Chu raised a heavy cavalry force that was invincible wherever its banners pointed, and its fame spread far and wide. The Kingdom of Lan suffered defeat after defeat, losing tens of thousands of acres of territory in just one month.
The King of Chu was tyrannical. Whenever he won a victory and captured a city, he would order the massacre of the city. Wherever the Chu heavy cavalry went, rivers of blood flowed and corpses littered the fields, making the people of Lan Kingdom turn pale at the mere mention of it.
After all the court officials had left, Feng Ziyi was summoned alone to the Imperial Study.
The emperor sat on his throne, his thoughts in disarray. "The court officials have offered various opinions. Some say to cede territory to sue for peace, while others say to make peace through marriage. In the end, it's nothing more than submitting to the State of Chu. What do you think?"
Feng Ziyi, dressed in a vermilion official robe, with his black hair tied up with a jade crown, had a handsome face and a gentle demeanor. He bowed to the emperor and said, "Retreat."
Wei Qin's eyes darkened, his tone ambiguous, "You also said you'd back out."
Feng Ziyi stood silently at the lower end. With the country in crisis, the powerful families were all looking for a way out. How could the court, whose military pay had long since rotted away, let go of such a good opportunity? Those greedy villains had no idea that no one could escape unscathed when the nest was overturned, and they were still shamelessly plundering wealth.
If the military pay doesn't reach the front lines, how can the soldiers defeat the fierce and powerful army of Chu? What else can they do but retreat?
“Sui Zao.” After the two men looked at each other in silence for a long time, Feng Ziyi suddenly spoke up, “Arrange for the people in Sui County and south of Zao Yang to evacuate as soon as possible, and heavily guard the Sui Zao Corridor. As long as this place is not conquered by the King of Chu, there is still hope for Lan Kingdom.”
The candlelight flickered in the hall, and Wei Qin's gaze was drawn to the jade seal on the imperial desk. Throughout history, countless people have fought for this jade seal, for the position and supreme power he held. He too had struggled for a long time in this vortex of power struggle.
Let's do it this way.
When Fengzi arrived at his residence after leaving the palace, a familiar figure was standing in front of the gate.
"Miss Wan Yang."
There was a hint of surprise in his eyes as he took a few steps forward, "I..."
Shu Yun lifted a corner of her veil, revealing her face. "What's wrong? Why are you stammering?"
“I still don’t agree with what the girl told me last time.”
He remained silent in his residence for many days. He admitted that because of his master, he had been biased in his view of Jiang Yan. "Jiang Yan cannot be compared with His Majesty. Although you said that he suffered in his childhood, my master adopted him and gave him the opportunity to study under Mr. Guan Qin. I am not afraid that Miss Wan Yang will laugh at me, but Jiang Yan is several times better than me in the art of diplomacy and strategy of Mr. Guan Qin."
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