Chapter 97 Love Turns to Hate: You Have No Heart
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. With the King of Qin in such a state, even Heaven is blessing His Highness Jing to ascend to the throne," the confidant said obsequiously.
“My Jing’er is His Majesty’s eldest daughter, so she is destined to be blessed.”
Feng Qing was quite pleased with his confidant's compliment and chatted with him for a few more minutes. Then, as if remembering something, he asked him a question.
"By the way, has the medicine I gave you been used on the King of Qin?"
The confidant said, "That barbarian deserves to die. That Prince Qin is a formidable figure. He manages the palace so meticulously that it's like a solid iron plate, without any gaps."
"We have tried many times, but have been unable to find an opportunity to strike. We intended to try again by focusing on procurement and other aspects, but then the assassination attempt on the Prince of Qin occurred. The Prince's residence is now heavily guarded, making it difficult to take any action. Please forgive us, Your Majesty."
Feng Qing did not blame him upon hearing this, but simply shook her head slightly.
"Get up, I don't blame you."
"Qin Wangqing is the son of the eldest prince. He has been influenced by his father since childhood and has learned his methods. Of course, he is difficult to deal with."
"We can postpone the administration of the drug for now and wait and see if the King of Qin has a chance to wake up before making a decision."
...
However, Feng Qing's good mood did not last long.
He soon received devastating news.
“Master, the enemy has something to report…” A servant knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling.
This attendant was someone Feng Qing secretly sent to take care of his mother. He was responsible for bribing officials along the way to ensure that they would look after Sun Shijun and do him a favor.
Looking at this person's expression, Feng Qing's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and a bad premonition arose for no reason.
"My lord, please accept my condolences."
"My lord, on his way to Qianzhou, unfortunately... unfortunately passed away." The attendant prostrated himself on the ground, weeping bitterly.
"I heard the news a few days ago that my mother was perfectly fine, so how could she suddenly have an accident now?"
The attendant trembled, not daring to look up at him, "You barbarian, you barbarian dare not say more..."
Feng Qing unconsciously took a few steps forward. Looking at the attendant's timid and speechless appearance, a thought suddenly emerged, making his expression sharp.
"Tell me honestly, how exactly did Mother die?"
The attendant recounted the events with a heavy heart.
Sun Shijun's death was not due to anything else, but was ordered by Yuan Hao himself.
Although Yuan Hao, out of consideration for Yuan Jing, Feng Qing, and other factors, only exiled Sun Shijun on the surface, she had no intention of letting go of this former high-ranking official who had formed cliques and pursued personal gain.
Moreover, Sun Shijun is also Feng Qing's mother and Qi Wang's maternal grandfather. Her existence is a stain on Qi Wang's reputation, and Yuan Hao does not want to keep her around to cause trouble in the future.
Therefore, after exiling Sun Shijun, Yuan Hao secretly had her executed en route.
Upon learning this inside story, the attendant was both shocked and terrified, extremely unsure whether he should tell his master, Feng Qing.
"Since Your Majesty has already exiled Mother, why must you still order her death? Mother is already very old and doesn't have many years left. How heartless Your Majesty is, not even leaving me this last thought." Feng Qing gripped the phoenix chair tightly to support herself.
"Your Majesty, I only now realize that the Sun family and I were just pawns you casually discarded... How cruel you are!" His voice was hoarse, each word carrying a deep sorrow.
The attendant was startled by the hatred in his words and vaguely sensed what Feng Qing was thinking. The attendant quickly kowtowed.
"Now that things have come to this, please, Your Majesty, take heed of your grief. For the sake of His Highness Prince Qi, Your Majesty must not afford to create discord with His Majesty at this time."
Feng Qing's face was still wet with tears, but she gradually calmed down and almost burst into laughter.
Yes, Your Majesty is the ruler of the Phoenix Kingdom, how could you be wrong?
Even though his mother was forced to commit suicide, he could only pretend that nothing had happened and swallow his anger and resentment.
"I understand. I will handle today's matter myself, and it will not affect the overall situation."
Feng Qing dismissed his attendants, but sat in the shadows of his bedchamber for a long time before summoning his trusted confidants again.
"Take back the medicine I gave you earlier; I have other uses for it," he said in a low voice.
...
Yuan Yan, who appeared to be seriously injured and unable to recover in the eyes of outsiders, was currently inside the house listening to the report from his guards.
"Your Highness, we have followed your orders and brought Duan Xuchao's family back from Wu Kingdom," Zhuiying reported, bowing her head.
News of Duan Xuchao's capture and execution by the Phoenix Kingdom spread throughout the Wu Kingdom, and her father fainted on the spot.
Duan Fulang held his daughter and wept uncontrollably. Looking at the old man and the little girl beside him, his heart was filled with even more grief.
His wife passed away, leaving him and his father to depend on each other for survival. This mansion was filled with their beautiful memories, and whenever he thought of the loving times he spent with his wife, he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with sorrow.
If it weren't for his daughter being so young, Duan Fulang probably wouldn't have been able to hold on and would have wanted to follow Duan Xuchao in death.
It was at this moment that Zhuiying, Zhuiyue, and the others arrived, handed the token to Duan Fulang, and informed him that Duan Xuchao was still alive.
Duan's husband was both shocked and delighted upon hearing this. He was shocked that his wife had defected to the enemy country, but delighted that no matter what, his wife had at least survived, and the family still had a chance to reunite.
"I, I'll go with you..." Duan Fulang was a man who put his wife first, and he agreed nervously without much hesitation after hearing this.
He didn't care which country his wife served; he only knew that his child needed a mother, and he needed his wife. The world was so vast, but only where his wife was was his home.
So, thanks to the efforts of the chasers, the family was secretly and quickly sent out of the city that very day.
After several days of travel, they finally entered the capital and met Duan Xuchao.
"You've done a great job. Go and collect your reward with Zhuiyue and the others." Yuan Yan nodded and rewarded Zhuiying and the others.
She then summoned Xue Lang, and after thinking it over, gave him instructions.
"Xue Lang, go and make arrangements to have my villa prepared and Duan Xuchao's family settled in. The land deed should also be given directly to Duan Xuchao's husband. Consider it my gift to General Duan's family for settling down."
Xue Lang understood that His Highness wanted to win over Duan Xuchao and help her establish herself firmly in the Phoenix Kingdom. He obeyed the order and said, "Yes, Your Highness. I will have someone do it right away."
The people below acted very quickly, and soon Yuan Yan heard the system's announcement.
[Congratulations, host! You have recruited another powerful general, adding talent to your ranks. Your control level has slightly increased to 54.3%.]
The system happily reported the situation to Yuan Yan: [Duan Xuchao and her husband have now settled in the courtyard. It seems she is very grateful to you and has thoughts of submitting; her loyalty is currently 67.]
Yuan Yan smiled slightly, "Okay, I understand."
Yu Liulai reported to her, "Your Highness, His Majesty's investigation into the assassination has led back to the Kingdom of Wu."
Yuan Hao was furious when he learned that it was the people of Wu Kingdom who were responsible.
Those people from Wu Kingdom have been secretly lurking in the capital, developing their power for so long, eyeing the Phoenix Kingdom, and stirring up trouble. Now they even dare to assassinate the King of Qin in broad daylight, they simply don't respect her, the Phoenix Empress.
Yuan Hao immediately ordered a thorough investigation of the capital and dispatched a large number of troops to hunt down and eliminate the Dark Pavilion.
"Continue to investigate this matter. I want to see if there are any other people involved."
Yuan Hao even suspected that the organization called Dark Pavilion in Wu Kingdom had quietly grown so large in Huang Kingdom that its assassination attempt on the King of Qin was due to collusion between officials and Dark Pavilion, who were covering for it. This speculation left Yuan Hao feeling uncertain, and he suddenly had many suspects. King Qi Fengqing, aristocratic families, the Lady Attendant... even the forces behind the other princesses—everyone who might have been involved was placed under investigation by Yuan Hao's orders.
Within a few days, the capital was filled with an atmosphere of unease, and many sensed the unusual tension. Yuan Jing dared not make any major moves and remained quiet for two short days.
However, seeing that Yuan Yan had not yet woken up, she began to feel restless and eager to make her move.
Upon hearing Yu Liu's report, Yuan Yan tapped his index finger lightly on the table, lost in thought.
"Very well, just as I thought. Let's proceed according to plan."
Yuan Yan's goal was to muddy the waters in the capital.
It has only been a few days since she was assassinated, and Yuan Yan does not plan to wake up so soon. She intends to remain silent for a while and slowly "recover".
Yu Liu responded and stepped back.
Almost simultaneously, a sound came from outside the door.
Yang Lingyi had just left at this time to handle affairs in the mansion.
Shen Lianzhou originally wanted to stay by Yuan Yan's side. However, Yuan Yan saw that he not only had to manage affairs but also had to stay here to serve, and that he was now somewhat bruised and dark, so he insisted that he go back to rest.
"Your Highness, those male servants may not be reliable. Perhaps we should leave this servant behind." Shen Lianzhou was worried that the servants in the mansion might leak information, and she was also concerned that assassins might infiltrate the mansion and harm Yuan Yan. She hesitated and refused to leave.
"Don't worry, Lianzhou. I'm just pretending to be unconscious; nothing's really wrong. These male servants and guards are all people I trust, so nothing will happen," Yuan Yan reassured him.
Even if an assassin did come, Shen Lianzhou, a mere man, couldn't do anything about it.
He was just too concerned to think clearly. He became somewhat irrational when it came to matters concerning Yuan Yan, and all he wanted was to stay by Yuan Yan's side.
Shen Lianzhou still didn't leave, hesitatingly shaking her head: "My concern isn't just about this..."
“Besides, Zhou’er has been exhausted for a long time. If this continues, her body will definitely not be able to take it. These days, the manor has relied entirely on you and Zhengqing. If you collapse, wouldn’t you be even less able to help me?” Yuan Yan patiently coaxed.
"Only when Zhou'er is well-rested will she have the energy to assist me in managing the affairs of the manor. You should go back and rest first, and come back tomorrow."
After several attempts to persuade her, Shen Lianzhou finally returned home.
The footsteps led inward. Yuan Yan thought it was Yang Lingyi returning, but to his surprise, it was Lu Lingyue who pushed open the door this time.
In the past few days, in order to show outsiders that the Prince of Qin was unconscious and needed someone to take care of him, Yuan Yan had never been separated from his side.
Yang Lingyi, Shen Lianzhou, and a few male servants took turns guarding Yuan Yan. Lu Lingyue came many times, but was mostly turned away by Yang Lingyi.
But Lu Lingyue did not give up, often waiting silently outside the courtyard. It was as if he would wait until late at night if Yang Lingyi wouldn't let him in to see Yuan Yan.
The servants in the manor saw this and gossiped about it among themselves. Lu Lingyue, however, seemed not to hear anything and continued to stand there, her figure thin and lonely.
The sky was overcast that day, shrouded in dark clouds. A sudden rumble of thunder followed, and then it began to rain.
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