Late at night, the imperial study was brightly lit by candlelight, and the piles of memorials on the golden nanmu desk cast swaying shadows.
The autumn wind outside the window was bleak, and it made a low, mournful sound as it passed through the palace corridors.
The iron bells on the eaves clashed, one after another, shattering the silence of the imperial city night.
The court, which had just begun to stabilize, was completely turned upside down when news came that the Second Prince, Qin Jingheng, had declared himself king in the southern border.
The candle wax piled up, casting a hazy glow on the bronze lampstand with the dragon holding a pearl, making the faces of everyone before the imperial desk appear dim and indistinct.
Besides Qin Zhaoyue, he was also lounging on the couch.
She had been thinking that if her second brother had been in Fengjing at the time, it would have been a troublesome variable.
Unexpectedly, the storm that arose from his absence was even more devastating.
The answer to how to deal with it has already been decided.
Meng Jian, the vanguard general of the Meng family, led 10,000 imperial guards south in the afternoon.
The Left Junior Supervisor of Xuange Division, who was in charge, was a step behind and needed to lead the troops along the way to gather forces before joining up with the vanguard.
At the same time, all the Xuanji Guards of Linhai Prefecture were mobilized to the southern border to secretly cooperate and gather military intelligence.
The war in the north had not yet ended, and the heavy cavalry dared not move rashly, but they had already sent messengers to deliver a message, ordering them to prepare their troops and await orders in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
However, the northern troops were transferred to the south, which involved long and arduous journeys. The south was also characterized by towering mountains, dense forests, and deep valleys, making the heavily armored cavalry like dragons trapped in shallow waters.
Supplies and provisions, terrain advantages and disadvantages, marching routes...
A myriad of issues, like an invisible giant net, bound the newly assembled team, leaving them breathless.
Qin Zhaoyue remained silent.
The Third Princess and Yin Zhe repeatedly asked her for advice, but she only lowered her eyes and said that she was not familiar with military affairs and dared not speak rashly.
On the emperor's desk, a huge map of the southern border was unfurled, with ink strokes outlining mountains, rivers, and cities, and vermilion brushstrokes depicting military formations.
The possible routes the rebels might take, the strategic passes our army should defend, how to allocate troops, how to procure autumn grain...
The national treasury, which had just been filled by eliminating the four great families, will now be filled with even more gold and silver once war breaks out.
The discussion continued until the very end, but no conclusion was reached.
The eldest princess, the most knowledgeable in military affairs among the imperial heirs, is far away in the northern frontier; the rest are merely armchair strategists.
Qin Zhaoyue knew that further discussion was pointless, but she did not interrupt.
Only when the noise subsided did she raise her eyes and ask softly:
"After all this discussion, I'll just ask one question: is it possible to retake the southern border in the short term?"
The room was completely silent.
The candlelight crackled and burst into a tiny spark.
Princess Qin Zhaowan pursed her lips tightly, and after a long while, she said, "I'm afraid it's impossible."
During the afternoon's private meeting, Yin Zhe, under Qin Zhaoyue's instruction, revealed the truth about the illegal iron mining and weapon forging in the southern region.
The Second Prince has the support of powerful families behind him, and his success is not something that can be achieved overnight.
This sudden attack is the result of years of preparation and planning.
With the northern border still unsettled, the imperial guards of Fengjing dared not be entirely transferred south.
It is already difficult to reach a stalemate; to quell it in one fell swoop would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
"Sixth Sister's question...is it related to saving Mother Empress?"
Qin Zhaoyue nodded without hesitation: "Yes. If the Southern Border is in turmoil, the Empress will surely die."
Although she had reached the third rank, she was not made of iron.
Even if you can stay awake for ten days or half a month, there is always a limit.
With the southern border unstable, "national peace and prosperity" is out of the question, and merit points will be difficult to accumulate.
The life-giving poison in the Empress's body was even more potent than that that her elder sister had been poisoned with. Qin Zhaoyue didn't know how many merit points she would need to completely cleanse herself of the poison.
Fifty or sixty thousand... that probably isn't enough.
If it cannot be cleared all at once, then the merit points are a complete waste.
With the country shattered and its fortunes declining, this was an almost impossible task.
The air inside the Imperial Study was heavy and oppressive.
Although no one knew the secret of the merit points, they all knew that Zhao Yue's abilities were connected to the fate of the nation.
The division of territory and the fragmentation of land will inevitably harm the nation's destiny.
The Third Princess suddenly clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white: "Then let's mobilize the entire nation and fight a desperate battle!"
The Fourth Princess shook her head: "Let alone the odds of winning, even if we win a Pyrrhic victory, the people will be impoverished and the land will be devastated."
The Empress has painstakingly managed the country for fourteen years, resulting in the strong and peaceful nation we see today.
Even if she were to give everything to awaken her mother, would she really want to see things turn out this way?
There was a deathly silence, as if they were trapped in a dead end no matter what.
The candlelight gradually dimmed, the gauze curtains swayed in the wind like breathing, and the water clock dripped, each tick striking the deepest part of people's hearts.
The sky outside the window was as black as an inkstone, with no stars or moon in sight. Only the lanterns of the patrolling guards on the palace walls occasionally flickered by, like eerie will-o'-the-wisps.
The tea on the imperial desk had long since gone cold, and a ring of astringent marks clung to the rim of the celadon cup, like dried tears.
Finally, Qin Zhaoyue's long sigh broke the suffocating silence.
"There is only one way: kill my second brother."
Whether Qin Jingheng was a puppet willingly or forced into it, his existence was a "legitimate" banner.
If this flag falls, the rebels will be nothing but rebels, their morale will collapse, and the people's spirit will fall.
She shouldn't have been the one to suggest killing the prince, but she did anyway.
Princess Qin Zhaowan stood before the imperial desk, her shadow stretched long by the candlelight, swaying gently like a reed in the wind.
Her fingertips dug deeply into her palms, her lips lost their color, and her eyes surged with turbulent emotions.
A sudden gust of wind rose outside the window, whistling through the nine-layered palace, like the low weeping of wronged souls.
After more than ten breaths, all the struggle in her eyes subsided and transformed into a resolute determination as cold as iron.
“Fate—” Her voice was hoarse, yet each word was as firm as iron, “The Xuanji Guard assassinated the traitor Qin Jingheng.”
She gave the order, thus taking full responsibility for this enormous matter.
Even though this is the most rational choice at present, if the Empress Dowager is healthy in the future, the struggle for the throne will inevitably become a target of criticism.
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