After receiving the news, Li Hua sat behind Zhongli Zhengzhen's desk, remained silent for a moment, and then asked Song Ci, "Have you finished the task I assigned you?"
"Reporting to Master, the matter has been taken care of. The coachman's family has all been sent out of Yindu, changed their names and appearances, and obtained new identities and travel permits. No one can catch them."
Li Hua nodded, closed her eyes briefly, and said, "If the Regent insists on entering the palace tonight, then take action."
“Master…” Song Ci began, her voice trembling slightly.
These past few days, Song Ci has felt that something is wrong, but he can't quite put his finger on it.
He had been following Zhongli Zhengzhen for a long time and had been observing his master for the past two days. He hadn't noticed anything unusual, but he didn't understand why his master would suddenly change the previously decided strategy.
Song Ci had been following orders these past few days, but today she couldn't help but ask Zhongli Zhengzhen, "Didn't Master intend to cooperate with the Regent? Why did you suddenly want to kill him?"
Li Hua opened her eyes, looked at Song Ci, lingered on his face for a moment, then turned her gaze away, snorted softly, her tone full of arrogance: "Why should I cooperate with him? He hasn't even opened the top-grade wound medicine I gave him; he has never trusted me at all."
“Even if he dies, Nanzhao will still be in chaos, or even in great chaos, which will be more advantageous for us.”
Zhongli Zhengzhen's original strategy was to secretly contact the King of Jingxi and conspire to claim that Jinchuan was willing to send troops to support the King of Jingxi's ascension to the throne, only asking that Jinchuan would stop paying tribute once the King of Jingxi took the throne.
Meanwhile, he also tried to feign cooperation with the Regent, using the excuse that the Jinchuan army would restrain the Jingxi King's power, and promised to help the Regent ascend the throne, also using the excuse that Jinchuan would no longer pay tribute.
The Kou clan is the maternal clan of the Empress Dowager, but the Empress Dowager has a secret relationship with the Regent and has been using the clan's power and resources to assist the Regent. Zhongli Zhengzhen is in contact with the Kou clan chief, intending to sow discord between them.
At that time, the three forces of Empress Dowager Kou, the Regent, and the King of Jingxi will fight each other like dogs, and in the end, he will reap the benefits and lead his troops to take control of Nanzhao.
Now that the regent is dead, Nanzhao will indeed be in chaos. However, without the regent holding the reins of the court and acting as a stabilizing force, the Empress Dowager Kou clan will lose an important ally.
At that time, the tripartite balance of power formed by the three largest forces in Nanzhao will be broken.
The King of Jingxi will definitely be eyeing the throne covetously. He might even disregard everything and use the pretext of "purging the court of corrupt officials" to attack the Kou family who control the emperor, which would actually be a rebellion.
By then, the Jinchuan troops will no longer be able to pass through Jingxi, making it extremely difficult to attack Nanzhao, and even more difficult to profit from the situation.
Song Ci felt that killing the regent now was not quite right.
Moreover, today's plan is obviously full of loopholes. If the Regent is really so easy to kill, how could he have maintained his position in the court until now?
If the other party finds out that they were the ones who interfered, they will no longer be able to stir up trouble in the shadows, which would be like playing with fire.
However, Song Ci dared not question her master's decision again, because the recent "Zhongli Zhengzhen" was too terrifying, and even a glance between them made Song Ci tremble.
He suddenly could no longer fathom his master's thoughts.
After receiving the order, Song Ci went to carry it out. After the door closed, Li Hua put down the teacup in her hand, closed her eyes, and sighed deeply.
Song Ci had already noticed something amiss. No matter how well he pretended, his true intentions were completely different from Zhongli's.
These days, everyone manipulating Zhongli Zhengzhen is doing it through Song Ci. Li Hua knows that if things continue like this, she won't be able to keep it a secret for long.
Killing the Regent is not so easy; since his last assassination attempt, the number of people around him has more than tripled.
According to Li Hua's speculation, this poisoning attempt is highly unlikely to succeed.
But it doesn't matter. Even if the Regent doesn't fall for it, he will become completely wary. He probably won't leave the palace easily until he finds out who has been targeting him.
As Li Hua had predicted, the person who worked for him was the last mole that Zhong Li had planted in the Regent's Palace. However, that person only had time to switch the medicine and deceive the physician, but the poison was discovered when the female physician who was applying the medicine to the Regent was sorting it out.
When the regent learned of this, he was furious and had several groups of servants in the inner and outer rooms killed. Finally, the investigation led to an old coachman.
At that time, the old coachman had already committed suicide by taking medicine, but the regent finally became extremely suspicious and the entire palace was placed under martial law. He also did not enter the palace that night.
When Song Ci came to report on the matter, Li Hua listened without any expression and simply told Song Ci to go and rest.
Even if it doesn't work out today, it doesn't matter. Li Hua has already spent a lot of money to gather a considerable number of bounty hunters. As long as the Regent dares to step out of his own palace, those bounty hunters will spare no effort to take his life.
Although the Regent was surrounded by many skilled fighters, those in the martial arts world were not to be trifled with. If they were to set their sights on someone, they would be like hyenas on the grasslands, always finding a way to leave their opponent covered in wounds.
After Song Ci left, the fierce look in Li Hua's eyes gradually faded.
He reached up and pressed his hand against his chest.
Inside was a letter, its edges curled up from being turned over, every word of which captivated Li Hua's soul.
Today is August 21st, and six days have passed since the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.
Li Hua only hoped that Princess Duanrong would come out of the palace soon. Only by seeing her safe and sound could Li Hua feel at ease.
Meanwhile, Gan Qiongying was in the palace, where her injuries had almost healed. The reason she hadn't left the palace or sent any messages back these past few days was that she was busy helping Gan Lin quit the nourishing soup.
Gan Qiongying and Gan Lin barely slept, day and night. She visibly lost a lot of weight, and her eyes were dark and she looked like a ghost.
The recipe for this nourishing soup has been obtained, and Physician Xiao is working diligently to prepare the antidote. However, even if the antidote is prepared, Gan Lin will still need to abstain from this soup.
Every day after court, Gan Lin would be tied to a chair. Although Gan Lin never made a fuss, if she was really disturbed, she would just tremble and softly call out for her elder sister.
But seeing him like that, Gan Qiongying felt extremely sad and grew to hate Kou Ning'an more and more.
Gan Qiongying had been keeping an eye on the news outside, but the information she could get was very limited. All she knew was that Li Hua had really held back the Regent, and she admired Li Hua to the point of prostration.
Even when Gan Lin went to court every day, the political climate in the court began to shift.
Some loyal ministers began to speak out, and because the regent was absent, some officials even impeached a group of the regent's close associates, causing a great commotion in the court for several days.
In Gan Lin's words, it was like a pack of mad dogs that had finally been unleashed.
As Gan Qiongying had predicted, the two mouthfuls of blood that day nearly killed the old witch, leaving her paralyzed in bed and unable to get up.
The Regent hadn't entered the palace for so many days, and the Empress Dowager must have heard about what had happened to him. She finally understood what it meant to be anxious, even though she had previously swallowed her blood and refused to show any weakness in front of others.
Finally, he humbled himself and sent someone to invite Gan Qiongying to the Yinian Hall to speak.
She pleaded with him many times, and even sent a royal carriage to fetch him, but Gan Qiongying remained unmoved.
Just when Dao Kou Ning'an was about to resort to desperate measures, Gan Qiongying finally condescended to meet her.
The old witch, heavily made up, lay half-reclined on the chaise longue, appearing relaxed, but in reality, she couldn't get up.
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