To his surprise, Xia Jingfeng remained remarkably calm, merely staring coldly at Grand Commandant Shen.
Commander Shen quickly succumbed to Xia Jingfeng's fierce gaze and hurriedly left, still harboring the illusion that Xia Jingfeng had seen through everything.
After Grand Commandant Shen left, Xia Jingfeng looked at the empty dragon throne.
Xia Jingfeng's eyes were filled with murderous intent. He hadn't expected Qi Yu to have such great ambitions, especially with Wan'er involved...
If he wanted to rebel, he would absolutely not be soft-hearted again.
On the other side, Grand Commandant Shen was far less composed than before. He paced around his study several times. This time, the young emperor had taken advantage of the situation, and the Shen family had suffered heavy losses. If the Shen family continued to remain inactive, they would be swallowed up by the young emperor Qi Yu sooner or later.
After the court session, Grand Commandant Shen returned to his residence and had his family's secret guards deliver a letter to each of his three sons, who were in various places persuading the feudal lords to form an alliance.
This time, Grand Commandant Shen actually sent out not only Shen Shaoyang to persuade the feudal lords, but also two other sons whom he considered more outstanding. He sent Shen Shaoyang out simply because he was, after all, the eldest son, and although he was born out of wedlock, he still had to maintain appearances. He didn't have much hope, since he had been a playboy for so many years.
Even though Qi Yu was usually calm, he felt somewhat guilty after the court session that day.
After court, he specially found some interesting things from the national treasury to bring over that evening.
Just as they were about to go to Zhengyang Palace, Cao De hurriedly reported this.
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Empress Dowager has been attacked!"
Empress Dowager Xiaode was on her way to Zhengyang Palace when, unexpectedly, assassins appeared out of nowhere and killed two of her maids in broad daylight, frightening Empress Dowager Xiaode so much that she fell ill.
After learning the whole story, Qi Yu's face turned terribly gloomy.
This is a warning; Xia Jingfeng's men are still in this palace.
The assassination attempt on the Empress Dowager was a major event. The Empress Dowager was temporarily frightened and rested in Zhengyang Palace. The assassin and the nanny who was assassinated were both dead, and there were no clues.
Qi Yu rushed over, and Xia Yixin was helping Empress Dowager Xiaode drink her medicine and lie down.
The two looked at each other in silence, but they both knew in their hearts that the fig leaf they had used to cover up the truth had been removed.
A storm is brewing.
Sure enough, not long after, Xia Jingfeng sent someone to say, "Prime Minister Xia is very worried about the Empress Dowager's attack, and he is also worried about the safety of the Emperor and Empress. He requests that more Northern Martial Guards be sent to the palace to protect them day and night."
This morning everyone was saying that Xia Jingfeng hadn't protected her properly, and this afternoon a problem arose in the palace. The Northern Martial Guards weren't there this time.
For a moment, even the officials who had previously followed Lin Sikong felt a little embarrassed.
It should be noted that many of the Imperial Guards were recruited by Lin Sikong.
After drinking the medicine for two days, Empress Dowager Xiaode recovered, but then Xia Jingfeng was told that he was "unwell" and had stopped attending court.
With none of his opponents showing up, Qi Yu was at a loss.
Ultimately, they had no choice but to release her, and Yunxia also returned to Fengqi Palace and went to visit her outside the palace.
He personally accompanied Xia Yixin to the Prime Minister's residence.
After several days of "grateful return" care from Xia Yixin, Qi Yu recovered a lot. Although he had a lot to do, he looked to be in good spirits.
Xia Jingfeng stood at the door early, waiting for Xia Yixin. He looked somewhat haggard because of what happened before and after the festival.
"Father!" Xia Yixin saw him as soon as she got off the carriage, and felt very sorry for him when she saw how haggard he looked.
Xia Jingfeng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his daughter was unharmed and looked well, but his face quickly darkened when he saw Qi Yu.
The proper etiquette still had to be observed, but Xia Jingfeng quickly found an excuse to leave Qi Yu standing in the front hall.
Xia Jingfeng hurriedly led Xia Yixin to the study.
He first inquired about her situation at Zhengyang Palace these past few days with concern, and only felt relieved after learning that Qi Yu had not made things difficult for her.
“Wan’er, the matter of the festival is now clear. It was all a play orchestrated by that brat, just to use it as an excuse to cause trouble. Today in court, he even brought up the Tiger Tally through Old Man Lin. He's ambitious and no longer satisfied with just being allied with us. Wan’er, I don’t understand love, but he managed to trap you in his schemes and put you in danger. Such a man is not worthy of your lifelong commitment.”
Xia Jingfeng was worried that Xia Yixin still couldn't forget her old feelings for Qi Yu.
Actually, Xia Yixin had already figured it out on the way here. It was the original owner who liked Qi Yu. Xia Yixin initially treated him like a younger brother, and later thought of him as a friend. She had also trusted him before.
The pain I feel now is probably more from disappointment.
There were other emotions that she deliberately ignored.
She wanted to take this opportunity to distance herself from him.
"Father, don't worry, I understand what you mean. We are now serving different masters, and there's nothing we can't let go of."
"Good, good, that's good too." Xia Jingfeng breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "Don't worry, after we return to Beiwu, your father will definitely find you someone better. But now we need to think about a way out. Your father is thinking of simply tearing off the mask and killing him."
As a military man, Xia Jingfeng had long harbored resentment. After all, he had been quite lenient with Qi Yu, but two years later, the little wolf cub had grown up and was about to turn on him.
"Father, you can't kill him yet." Xia Yixin quickly stopped herself from acting impulsively.
Xia Jingfeng frowned. "Wan'er, is she still..."
“It’s not that I’m reluctant, it’s just not the right time. There’s still a jackal watching us from the sidelines. We can’t rashly break the balance. If Father were to take action against Qi Yu, it would be exactly what they want.” Xia Yixin also had her own considerations, after all, she still had to be wary of Grand Commandant Shen.
Xia Jingfeng gradually calmed down. "So, what Wan'er means is..."
Xia Yixin looked at Xia Jingfeng seriously and told him about the plan she had thought of over the past few days.
After she finished speaking, she saw Xia Jingfeng's eyes light up, and then he smiled, but then seemed to think of something and shook his head with a sigh.
She asked curiously, "What's wrong, Father?"
"Father smiled because he was pleased, and sighed because he regretted that Wan'er was a woman. If she were a man, she would surely be an extraordinary general."
Xia Yixin raised an eyebrow. "Who says a woman can't be a great general?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Jingfeng was taken aback at first, then his eyes lit up. "That's right. My daughter, Xia Jingfeng's daughter, should be this proud!"
After the two discussed the details in more detail, Xia Yixin did not dare to stay any longer and returned to the palace with Qi Yu before dark.
Before leaving, Xia Yixin told Xia Jingfeng not to act impulsively, and to take good care of his injuries. She also left him three porcelain bottles of medicine for his wounds.
"Father, these are pills I made in the palace. They're much better than medicinal food. Take three a day, and they'll help you recover." She felt sorry for his haggard appearance.
Xia Jingfeng took it and asked, "Was this specially made for me?"
Xia Yixin was a little puzzled, but she nodded nonetheless. The middle-aged man with a full beard opposite her immediately smiled and put away the pills.
It wasn't until after they left that Xia Yixin realized, a beat later, that she had prepared three portions of everything, whether it was medicinal cuisine or anything else: one for Xia Jingfeng, one for Empress Dowager Xiaode, and one for Qi Yu. So, even though her father was over fifty, he was still like a child.
The carriage on the way back was mysteriously silent.
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