Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Gu Qingyan and Kui Ruo were having a private conversation. Outside the hall, Qin Wei stood looking dazed. For several days now, Qin Wei had been somewhat absent-minded.
That night he drank with Perrin, and he actually got drunk...
Since he began serving the emperor, he has almost never touched a drop of alcohol, only occasionally having a small drink when he returns to his residence outside the palace.
What made Qin Wei even more uneasy was that when he regained consciousness, he was all alone in the courtyard.
As his memory began to drift back to a few days ago, Qin Wei still felt a lingering fear when he thought about it.
He wasn't awake on his own; he was awakened by Wanji, who served the Empress Dowager.
He deliberately used the excuse of going to the Bai residence to stay overnight outside the palace. He did not expect that the Empress Dowager would be so cautious. Just as dawn was breaking, she had Wanji personally knock on the gate of his residence.
When he was awakened by the knocking on the door, he was covered in a cold sweat.
"Why has Eunuch Wan arrived at this time?"
Qin Wei was not fully awake yet, until he saw Wan Ji's smiling face, his pupils suddenly contracted.
"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager heard that you, Eunuch Qin, stayed outside the palace last night. Seeing that it was almost time for the morning court session, and considering that His Majesty still prefers to be served by you, Eunuch Qin, she specially sent this servant to call you."
As Wanji spoke, he peered through Qin Wei to get a clear view of the courtyard.
On the stone table was a wine cup and a pot of wine.
"Oh, did Eunuch Qin have a few drinks last night?"
Qin Wei turned around and saw all of this, and breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Pei Lan had already taken care of it for him. "Master has been busy lately, so we servants have to be more careful. Last night, I couldn't help but drink some."
"It's alright."
Wanji's smile became even more gentle, and Qin Wei followed Wanji directly into the palace.
But the more Qin Wei thought about it afterward, the stranger it seemed.
Why did Perrin leave without saying goodbye? And... he was drunk, and Perrin didn't even settle him down properly, not even helping him into the house to sleep.
"Eunuch Qin, Eunuch Qin..."
Qin Wei was startled awake by the young eunuch. "Eunuch Qin, the Emperor is calling for you!"
"oh."
Upon hearing this, Qin Wei hurriedly went into the palace, leaving the little eunuch full of doubt. Why was Eunuch Qin acting so strangely lately, always seeming absent-minded?
The atmosphere in the hall immediately made Qin Wei's heart jump. Gu Qingyan and Wei Ruo were both staring at the map in silence. Qin Wei bowed even lower. "Does Your Majesty need anything from this servant?"
"Qin Wei, immediately summon all the officials to the palace."
Gu Qingyan's expression was serious. If there were any problems with the food supplies at this time, things could get really serious.
After saying that, Gu Qingyan turned to look at Wei Ruo and asked, "How long can the current food supplies last Uncle?"
After pondering for a moment, Wei Ruo slowly said, "Your Majesty doesn't need to worry too much. The current food supplies can last for at least half a month. If Marquis Dingyuan can eliminate the Great Wei within half a month, then there will be no impact."
The only fear is that... it can't be resolved within half a month.
Gu Qingyan visibly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, "Half a month is fine."
They clearly believed that the Great Wei would inevitably be defeated within half a month.
......
Three days later.
The Daqing army stood ready, staring menacingly at the walls of the Dawei city, but the Dawei side made no move.
"My lord, something seems amiss." Chang Qing tightened his grip on the reins. "The Wei army is delaying our engagement. Is there some conspiracy brewing?"
Jiang He frowned, and suddenly, he saw a figure walking out from the city wall. It was Marquis Lingzhen.
"Marquis of Dingyuan".
Lord Lingzhen shouted loudly, "Actually, I admire you quite a bit. In every battle, you always charge at the very front of the troops." A mad glint flashed in Lord Lingzhen's eyes. It's a pity that such a talented general is destined to perish today.
"Silence is golden. All of you, obey my orders."
Jiang He raised his long sword high, his eyes blazing as he aimed directly at Lord Lingzhen.
However, Lord Zhen laughed loudly, and the soldiers of Wei slowly appeared behind him. A great battle was about to break out. In a place that Jiang He could not see, a small group of archers from Wei were holding long arrows covered with poison, and the arrows were aimed at Jiang He.
If this had happened before, given Jiang He's keen senses, these arrows would not have been able to hit him at all.
But today, they were waiting for Jiang He to be distracted.
As the two armies clashed, Lord Zhen opened the city gates and charged to the front of the ranks. The Great Wei also dispatched all its remaining troops, determined to fight the Great Qing to the death.
The two armies fought fiercely, and the distance between Zhenhou and Jiang He grew ever closer.
"Jiang He, she's dead."
When Ling Zhenhou suddenly spoke, Jiang He, who was already in a bloodthirsty frenzy, couldn't hear a word Ling Zhenhou was saying.
"So many people die on the battlefield, you have to die too!" As he spoke, Jiang He's long sword pierced the body of another Wei soldier.
“I’m talking about your own sister, the Empress Dowager of Daqing.” A bloodthirsty smile flashed across Lingzhen’s face. “She died in her previous life, killed by Gu Qingling.”
In an instant, Jiang He's hand holding the longsword paused, and immediately arrows shot out and flew towards Jiang He. Jiang He quickly dodged, saying, "You're talking nonsense."
But the words Gu Qingyan said when he was drunk that day kept replaying in his mind.
“Uncle, Mother suffered too many injustices, and... she was even killed by Gu Qingling. I want to kill Gu Qingling.”
"Hahahaha!" A mad glint flashed in Ling Zhenhou's eyes. That woman hadn't lied to him after all!
"Not only that, in your past life you broke ties with her, letting her suffer endless torment until her death, and you never returned to the capital." Marquis Lingzhen looked at Jiang He, his eyes beginning to turn bloodshot. "Marquis Dingyuan, even if you destroyed the Great Wei, so what? In your past life you were a sinner who couldn't even protect his own sister."
"shut up!"
Jiang He roared to the sky, his head beginning to feel uncontrollably torn apart.
Swoosh—
An arrow pierced Jiang He's back. With his last bit of strength, Jiang He, despite his shattered head, seized the opportunity when Ling Zhenhou was off guard and thrust his longsword into Ling Zhenhou's left chest.
Then, Jiang He lay down on the horse's back.
"My lord!"
"My lord!"
Both armies' commanders were wounded, and the chaotic battle quickly ended. Both sides retreated while protecting their respective commanders, resulting in heavy losses for both sides.
At the same time, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and large raindrops pelted the ground.
The Mi River rose sharply, and the flood swept through the border town of Daqing and most of the Eastern Qing Kingdom.
The stench of blood filled the air. The Daqing military camp was deathly silent, every soldier's eyes fixed on the main tent, anxiously awaiting news.
Inside the tent, the army doctor, covered in sweat, pulled the arrow from Jiang He's back, but upon seeing the black bloodstains on the arrow, he was speechless.
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