Xia Yixin looked at the boy beside her—no, he should be a man. He was dressed in a long black robe with dark gold dragon patterns that were faintly visible. The gold and black belt made him look even more slender. He seemed to have lost some weight. He sat upright with his back straight and his aura was calm and restrained.
This boy, who is not even eighteen years old, has grown faster than he ever imagined.
In fact, since he was able to let her come back today, he probably calculated that she would come to dissuade Xia Jingfeng, right? Even when he had her under house arrest in the palace, he never thought of hiding this matter.
He really was taking things one step at a time.
Xia Yixin's plan to Xia Jingfeng was actually quite simple: use the Tiger Tally to secure their retreat, splitting into two groups. One group would strike at Grand Commandant Shen's location to undermine him, while the other would instigate conflict, making Grand Commandant Shen believe they had completely fallen out, thus provoking trouble, and then they would seize the opportunity to leave.
Because Grand Commandant Shen was waiting for an opportunity to lead the thirteen warlords in rebellion, they were just giving him that "opportunity".
The tiger tally, on the other hand, reassured Qi Yu.
But even as the words were on the tip of her tongue, Xia Yixin didn't know how to break the deadlock.
Night fell, the wheels of the carriage made a rumbling sound as they rolled, and outside the carriage seemed to be another world, bustling with activity and noise.
As they drew closer to the palace, she could no longer hold back her words, but instead, it was Qi Yu who broke the silence first.
"Do you resent me?" Qi Yu asked this question with surprising composure.
Xia Yixin knew it was time for the two of them to confront each other. She was also tired, so she calmly met his eyes.
“I have nothing to blame you for. In fact, you did nothing wrong. You are the emperor, and you have your reasons for everything you do. If there is anything wrong, it is that I underestimated our alliance. I considered Qi Yu a friend and a confidant, but I did not expect that I was just a pawn. If there is any fault, it is Qi Yu. Your Majesty is not at fault.”
Qi Yu clenched his fists tightly and urgently defended himself, "I did send the people to the festival, but I never thought you would get hurt. You were never my pawn, Wan'er."
“Your Majesty has no need to lie, I believe you. I believe you saved me out of the blue, and I am grateful to you for saving me, but he is my father. If you were me, what would you do?”
She really didn't want things to turn out like this with Qi Yu.
Every word she said was meant to be understanding, but Qi Yu would rather she get angry or scold him.
Qi Yu was like a taut bowstring, ready to lose her temper at any moment. Her calmness showed that she didn't care about him.
Until he saw her take something out of her sleeve, take his hand, and place it in his palm.
Qi Yu's pupils contracted slightly.
It is a tiger tally.
No matter how deep Qi Yu's calculations were, he never expected that Xia Jingfeng would place the Tiger Tally with Xia Yixin.
"Qi Yu, you've been meticulous in your planning, but you've misjudged people's hearts. This tiger tally is useless to us. I already got it from Father before the ceremony. You didn't need to go through all this trouble, but since things are as they are now, take it, and we'll call it even." She paused, then decided to lay her cards on the table.
“Actually, I know what you meant by keeping me under house arrest and all the things you did during this time, but Qi Yu, after the assassination attempt at the festival, there is no possibility between us.”
The tiger tally, a palm-sized bronze token with tiger stripes, seemed to mock Qi Yu in his palm.
Qi Yu was initially incredulous, then laughed self-deprecatingly, but his heart grew colder and colder.
As expected, the result was even worse than he had imagined; he had been too clever for his own good.
Qi Yu's chest heaved, his throat tightened, and he coughed several times. His face, which had just recovered, turned slightly pale again. "I won't let you leave."
Her heart sank slightly. "Qi Yu, don't force me to be your enemy."
The car stopped, and before he could answer, Xia Yixin jumped down.
The Northern Martial Guards who had returned with her immediately protected her inside.
She rushed back to Phoenix Palace without looking back.
"Ding, the host has handed over the Tiger Tally, effectively reducing the possibility of Xia Jingfeng being killed. The main storyline progress has increased to 80%."
She clenched her hands tightly, telling herself she had done the right thing. Since they would have to part ways sooner or later anyway, it was better to make things clear.
What she didn't know was that in the Prime Minister's residence...
Xia Jingfeng then summoned more than a dozen skilled bodyguards.
"When the incident occurs, you must seize the opportunity to kill that young emperor. We cannot leave any future troubles."
"Xiahou, rest assured, we will certainly not fail in our mission."
Xia Jingfeng's plan was actually very simple: to feign an attack on one front while secretly advancing another.
First, they made the "conflict" between Qi Yu and the Xia family appear to escalate, and spread some rumors outside, causing Grand Commandant Shen to misjudge that "the time was right".
In reality, Qi Yu controlled the Tiger Tally, commanding the three armies, and then annihilated them in one fell swoop when they launched a coup.
Of course, neither Xia Jingfeng nor Qi Yu mentioned the matter of Du Ming that they both knew about during the ceremony.
Xia Jingfeng himself also had his own selfish motives. He knew that the Northern Martial Iron Cavalry might suddenly turn against him when the incident occurred, and he wouldn't let Qi Yu truly sit firmly on the throne.
If you're going to create chaos, then create complete chaos.
Xia Jingfeng was able to take advantage of the chaos to leave the capital. Even if Qi Yu quelled the rebellion, it would take at least five or six years before he could "settle accounts" with him again, and he would have no legitimate reason to do so.
As for Xia Yixin, she used a death ruse, burning everything to the ground, and then she could change her identity again.
Xia Jingfeng naturally didn't tell Xia Yixin about these plans. He was worried that Xia Yixin wouldn't be able to let go. Although she appeared calm, Xia Jingfeng could see clearly that it was impossible for her to have no feelings for Qi Yu at all.
Xia Jingfeng was unaware that one of his assassins, under cover of darkness, had given a note to a "beggar" in an alley. The man had a birthmark the size of a coin on his neck, and it was none other than An Wu.
Both sides harbored their own ulterior motives, and a large net was quietly being cast.
Qi Yu was depressed and fell ill that night, but he still insisted on attending court the next day. However, all the officials could see that Qi Yu was in a bad mood. After court that day, Xia Jingfeng went to the imperial study.
Xia Jingfeng left calmly, while Qi Yu, for the first time ever, drank all night.
At dawn, he went to Phoenix Palace, where he was stopped and even got into a fight with the Northern Martial Guards.
Separated by the palace walls, Xia Yixin clenched her hands tightly inside the room, trying her best to ignore the calls of "Wan'er" from outside.
More than an hour later, the farce finally ended when Empress Dowager Xiaode arrived after hearing the news.
Even within the palace, there are places the emperor cannot go.
Empress Dowager Xiaode was furious, but there was nothing she could do. She ordered the Imperial Guards to take the crazed Qi Yu away.
Xia Yixin thought one night would be enough, but unexpectedly, for three consecutive days, he acted as usual during the day, but drowned his sorrows in alcohol at night. However, he later became smarter and did not confront the matter directly, but instead sneaked into Fengqi Palace under the cover of night.
But while he could evade the Northern Martial Guards, he couldn't evade the sleeping pills Xia Yixin had put in him.
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