In the study, Lin Qingya was reviewing a memorial. The light shone on her cold face, reflecting a barely perceptible fatigue in her eyes. Outside the window, the cold wind blew the window paper with a slight rustling sound. She put down her pen and gently rubbed her brows. It was not because of the work on the memorial that made her tired, but because she sensed a crisis lurking in the dark.
Li Chengqian was deposed, but his remnants are still making moves in secret. In recent days, there have been several seemingly isolated incidents in the court: several officials were assassinated, several warehouses caught fire, seemingly accidental, but all pointed to Li Chengqian's old subordinates. Lin Qingya put down the memorial in her hand, and a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. "Li Chengze, you can't hold your temper after all." She whispered to herself, her slender fingers tapping the table lightly, making a crisp sound. In the study, there was only the sound of her gentle breathing.
Sure enough, within a few days, news came: Li Chengze secretly contacted Li Chengqian's old subordinates, preparing to use them to create chaos, fish in troubled waters, and profit from it. When Lin Qingya received this news, her expression was as calm as water. She calmly ordered the guards: "Secretly monitor Li Chengze's every move. I want to have evidence of all his actions." Her tone was calm, but it was unquestionable. The guards took the order and left. The footsteps disappeared at the end of the corridor, and the empty study returned to silence again.
In the next few days, Lin Qingya seemed to handle the affairs of state calmly, but secretly laid a trap to lead Li Chengze into a trap step by step. She used the intelligence provided by the spies who had been planted around Li Chengze to accurately grasp his movements and contact methods. She also induced him to put all his chips on the line by releasing false news. Under her secret dispatch, the guards cleverly collected the ironclad evidence of Li Chengze's conspiracy with Li Chengqian's old subordinates. These evidences were enough to make Li Chengze irreparable. And all of this was under Lin Qingya's control.
Finally, Li Chengze was caught in a secret transaction. With the evidence confirmed, Li Chengze had no choice but to admit his guilt. The news shocked the government and the public, and Li Chengze was quickly arrested, his family was confiscated, and he would never be able to turn over again. This shock made Lin Qingya's position more stable, and Li Heng's trust in her reached a new height.
At the same time, Li Rui chose this moment to publicly express his admiration for Lin Qingya, and wrote directly to the emperor, stating that he and Lin Qingya would jointly govern the government. He stood beside Lin Qingya in a gentle and elegant manner, looking at the emperor with a firm gaze. This move surprised many ministers, but it also further strengthened Lin Qingya's position in the court, and also invisibly shocked those who coveted her position. Li Heng looked at the second person with a complicated look in his eyes, and finally nodded slowly.
Lin Qingya looked at all this and smiled calmly. Her goal was not just power, but to protect this country and the people she loved.
"It's over." Lin Qingya said calmly.
The cold north wind still howled over the imperial city, rolling up the snow. Lin Qingya, wearing a thick fox fur coat, stood in the imperial study, watching the snowflakes dancing outside the window, but her thoughts were far away. She learned from the guard leader that the remaining forces of Li Chengze were colluding with the Northern Di, preparing to cooperate with the outside, intending to launch a rebellion in the spring of next year. Lin Qingya's slender fingers tapped the table lightly, making a slight sound. Her eyes were deep, as if she could see through the conspiracy behind the flying snow.
"General Li," Lin Qingya turned around and said to the guard commander in a deep voice, with an unquestionable firmness in her tone, "Inform General Li Rui of this matter immediately and ask him to make border defense arrangements. At the same time, secretly sneak into Li Chengze's old subordinates to stir up discord and create internal strife among them." Her tone was calm, but with irresistible majesty, and a cold light flashed in her eyes. General Li clasped his fists to accept the order and retreated, and the sound of his footsteps echoed in the spacious imperial study.
In the next few days, Lin Qingya still handled state affairs on the surface, but in fact she was secretly making plans. She used the spies planted by Li Rui to accurately grasp the movements and material relations of the various factions of Li Chengze's old subordinates, and cleverly spread false information to provoke conflicts and suspicions among them. At the same time, she also secretly dispatched troops and made secret deployments to prepare for the war that might break out in the future. The guards outside the imperial study patrolled back and forth silently, and the atmosphere was solemn, foreshadowing the coming storm.
Under Lin Qingya's meticulous plan, cracks began to appear in Li Chengze's remaining forces. They were suspicious of each other and suspected that each other was a spy planted by the court. Some small-scale conflicts broke out and even evolved into annexations. Lin Qingya watched the situation develop quietly, and released some key information at the right time to intensify their internal strife and reap the benefits. She stood in front of the window of the study, looking at the night outside the window, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised, and her eyes flashing with wisdom.
Eventually, Li Chengze's remaining forces were severely damaged by internal strife and lost the ability to launch a rebellion. Lin Qingya took the opportunity to order a quick resolution of the crisis. At the same time, she used this incident to shock the opposition forces in the court and consolidate her position.
The border crisis was resolved quickly with lightning speed. The army led by Li Rui fought bravely, defeated the Beidi army that attempted to invade, and defended the border of Da Zhou. In the court, Emperor Li Heng looked at the victory report presented to him and looked at Lin Qingya who was sitting steadily on the dragon throne with admiration.
"Qingya, you did a great job." Li Heng's voice contained a hint of relief and admiration that was hard to conceal.
Lin Qingya just nodded slightly and replied calmly: "Everything is for the Great Zhou." Her eyes were firm and calm as water, as if everything was under control.