The crimson hue, like an ominous sign, flashed by at the point where the three people's auras converged, and the vague and profound Daoist charm dissipated afterward.
Chu Xinglan's expression suddenly became extremely solemn, as if it had been instantly covered by ice and snow.
Qin Zhaoyue did not do anything deliberately throughout the process, and the flow of true qi in her body was not disturbed. Everything seemed to be spontaneously responding to that mysterious book of merit.
However, in that instant when the crimson light flashed, she seemed to see some extremely blurry yet unsettling images.
Galloping cavalry, blood-stained spears, merciless slaughter...
The shattered scene, intertwined with a tragic atmosphere, though fleeting, left a heavy shadow in her heart.
"What...what happened just now?"
Qin Zhaoyue asked subconsciously, her voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible tension.
Chu Xinglan's gaze turned serious, and her voice, which had lost its usual coolness, carried an unprecedented severity:
"The inference points to Yan Wujiu, who is currently in Zhenbeiguan in the northern border region."
The border conflict... may be about to undergo a major upheaval!
Upon hearing this, everyone present turned extremely grim.
Separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, is it really possible to use magic to deduce the situation on the border thousands of miles away in an instant?
Such methods are simply too outrageous.
However, it was not someone else who said this.
If Jiang Wuyai had said it, the crowd might still have had doubts.
The sect leader of Tianyan Sect is unpredictable, and his trustworthiness is questionable.
But the one making the judgment at this moment is Chu Xinglan, the official who has been stationed at the Ziwei Terrace of the Daqian Imperial Palace for a full fourteen years.
The weight of their words is completely different.
Moreover, this is the result of the convergence of the Heaven, Earth, and Man plates, the joint deduction of two second-grade sorcerers and a third-grade Divine Martial Realm cultivator who possesses the Heaven plate. Who can easily assert that it is false?
On the soft couch, Qin Minghuang, whose breath was already weak, suddenly changed her expression.
She struggled to sit up a little, her voice hoarse as if sandpaper were being rubbed together:
"Are you... sure?"
Each word took a tremendous amount of her energy.
“The aura is locked, and the cause and effect are intertwined; it shouldn’t be wrong,” Chu Xinglan said confidently.
The atmosphere in the imperial study instantly plummeted to freezing point.
The aftermath of the imperial examination paper replacement had barely subsided, and the shock of the palace assassination was still fresh in everyone's minds when devastating news arrived that something might be amiss on the northern border...
Each and every one of these events makes it hard not to connect them and see them as a huge conspiracy that has been brewing for a long time against the Daqian Dynasty.
Just then, Qin Zhaoyue's heart skipped a beat as she remembered something extremely important.
She immediately diverted a sliver of her attention to the Book of Merits in her mind.
On the newly turned page, the four characters "国泰民安" (meaning "peace and prosperity for the nation") remained unchanged.
However, the merit points that should have slowly increased over time have now completely stagnated.
Her face instantly turned extremely pale, and she exclaimed:
"This is bad. It's probably true. The nation's fate is being damaged."
"I... can't fix it!"
She subconsciously didn't want to reveal the details of the Book of Merit, so she used Jiang Wuyai's previous explanation about "luck" to explain, since the meaning was roughly the same anyway.
Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the Imperial Study suddenly became incredibly heavy, as if even the air itself had stopped moving.
Princess Qin Zhaowan clenched her fists tightly, her nails almost digging into her palms.
He trembled uncontrollably from extreme shock and worry, his voice even trembling with the urge to cry:
"Sixth Sister! What...what should we do now?!"
Qin Zhaoyue's face was equally gloomy, as if it could drip water.
He immediately turned to look at his mother, who lay on the bed, her face withered and her breath faint.
If the Empress were to pass away at this moment, the Great Gan would lose its leader and inevitably fall into unprecedented turmoil.
They were far too unprepared.
The two most prestigious princes were both far away on the frontier. Although the third sister, who remained in the capital, was good, her prestige and foundation were not enough to immediately intimidate the entire situation.
In addition, the sudden outbreak of war in the north will immediately stir up the ambitions of those who are lurking in the shadows.
Moreover, there is the enormous hidden danger that the former crown prince may still be alive.
If he were truly alive, he could jump out right now, raise his arms, and accuse the Empress of bringing disaster to the country and causing the borders to fall and the people to suffer...
The consequences would be unimaginable!
No, absolutely not!
An unprecedented seriousness and determination appeared on Qin Zhaoyue's face. She looked at Qin Minghuang and spoke with unwavering resolve:
"Mother Queen, there is only one way to deal with this!"
You must immediately fall into a deep sleep to minimize the consumption of your life force.
We're going to take a gamble, betting that your children will have enough time to stabilize the situation.
"Bet on us, we can buy you enough time!"
The imperial study was completely silent, with everyone's eyes focused on the dragon bed, awaiting the emperor's final decision.
At this moment, Qin Minghuang slowly pulled out an extremely faint smile on her aged and haggard face.
That smile carried endless weariness, deep remorse, and a hint of indescribable...relief.
Children... will eventually be pushed to grow up.
"It was the Queen Mother... who didn't think things through..."
Her voice was faint, yet it reached each child's ears clearly.
"I haven't had a chance... to let you grow up safely and securely until you are fully grown..."
"We're going to force such a heavy burden onto your shoulders..."
"Mother Queen!"
Upon hearing this, the imperial heirs were all heartbroken and knelt down in unison, crying out in grief.
Qin Minghuang shook her head very slightly, and with difficulty raised her hand to wave.
"Don't kneel...all of you...come closer..."
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