T/N: Thank you so much for the Kofi donation, Cocole! Here’s two chapters for you!

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On the first hunting day, Liu Zhenqing almost always followed the twins while Liu Qiao guarded them from the shadows. It was warm and peaceful, as if yesterday’s rebellion hadn’t happened at all.

Huo Fenglie led some Huo Family troops to patrol the surrounding area and ensure nothing would go wrong. Even though the hunting location was in the wild, whether it was a steep mountain cliff or a well-developed river channel, he would eliminate external risks as much as possible.

Liu Zhenqing watched the sunset, then called the two children back and took them to the camp for a barbecue. Liu Qiao had secretly caught fish for Liu Zhenqing, then hid back in the darkness.

The aroma of roasting meat was fragrant, and attracted unwanted guests.

“Wow, it smells so good, ah.”  Li Jinshu strolled over.

Liu Zhenqing was actually a little impatient to get rid of Li Jinshu. Because of Huo Fenglie, he no longer had any psychological pain regarding the past, but he still wasn’t thrilled to see him.

Naturally, the two children weren’t thrilled to see him either.

“Prince Li must be hungry. There should be an Imperial chef over there in the square preparing roasted meat for the guests. Prince Li should go get some right away.”

But Li Jinshu was thick-skinned, and directly said that he wanted to eat here.

“That won’t be possible,” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile.

“Oh? Young Master Liu is so stingy,” Li Jinshu said.

“It’s not that I’m stingy, but that my general is the jealous sort. He said that from now on, the food made by my hands can only be given to him and his family. If he knew I was roasting meat for the prince to eat, he would definitely be angry with me,” Liu Zhenqing bullshitted.

When the two children heard this, the corners of their mouths twitched. When had their second uncle said that, ah? But they still had to present a united front, so they kept nodding their heads to certify that their second uncle had said this.

The smile on Li Jinshu’s face showed no signs of fading, and instead grew brighter.

“Young Master Liu is such an interesting person. It’s really like we’re old friends at first sight, likely because I have a natural affinity with your Liu family. If you are interested in visiting our Kingdom of Xiheng in the future, I will certainly provide you with warm hospitality.”

Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “Then I’ll really have let Prince Li down. As the future general’s wife, I certainly can’t leave Great Zhou casually.”

Li Jinshu regarded Liu Zhenqing with a half-smile and said: “Don’t worry, there will be a chance.”

Liu Zhenqing felt that there was deeper meaning in Li Jinshu’s words. He was probably overly ambitious, and had dreams of one day annexing Great Zhou or defeating Huo Fenglie.

Liu Zhenqing was perfunctory with him, and Li Jinshu didn’t linger.

After a while, Huo Fenglie took the time to return and listen to the dragon and phoenix twins chatter about what had just happened.

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing with a furrowed brow. He felt that Li Jinshu was paying too much attention to Liu Zhenqing. But Li Jinshu was entirely unaware that he was the real thing, so there was no possibility of him recognizing him. Could it really be that Liu Zhenqing’s character and behavior had aroused Li Jinshu’s interest?

“I’ll send another team to protect you,” Huo Fenglie said.

Liu Zhenqing wanted to refuse, but upon seeing Huo Fenglie’s earnest expression, he couldn’t refuse his good intentions.

Huo Fenglie picked up the grilled fish and began to remove the bones. It was clear that all of his rest time had been spent catching fish for Liu Zhenqing, but Liu Zhenqing didn’t object, and held up a speared piece of fish for Huo Fenglie to eat.

The two of them fed each other like this, and the two children couldn’t bear the sight of it.

As a result, they heard their second uncle tentatively ask Liu Zhenqing if Li Jinshu had eaten his roast meat just now. Liu Zhenqing was all smiles, and simply gave him more food.

It was actually true? How appalling.

When Huo Fenglie was about to leave, he happened to cross paths with two palace ladies who had come to deliver a message. At a glance, Huo Fenglie recognized one of them as belonging to the Empress Dowager. He immediately stopped walking and looked back.

Liu Zhenqing wasn’t very surprised at Yao Hua’s invitation for him and the children to come over. It felt like the Empress Dowager was just taking care of the military leader’s family. But seeing Huo Fenglie’s hesitant expression in the distance, he was inexplicably amused.

Why was Er-gou still jealous of Yao Hua? It was obvious that he and Yao Hua had never even had an affair, not to mention that he had regarded Crown Prince Jingyang as an older brother and Yao Hua as a sister-in-law. He didn’t know why Er-gou was so uneasy.

Liu Zhenqing waved at Huo Fenglie, indicating for him to go about his business. Then he took the dragon and phoenix twins to tidy up before heading to Yao Hua’s camp.

Yao Hua still wore the same amiable face as she asked about the twins and took care of Liu Zhenqing, but as she kept them chatting and laughing at her camp, Jian Shuang was nowhere to be seen.

The straightforward Huo Yunci inquired about her directly.

The smile on Yao Hua’s face was a bit unnatural: “She’s feeling unwell and is resting in her tent.”

“If the Taifei is feeling unwell, shouldn’t she stay in the palace? Why did she travel so roughly to get here?” Huo Yunci said doubtfully.

Yao Hua smiled and said: “I also tried to dissuade her, but she…..didn’t listen. There may be a reason why she came. By the way, there are also fireworks at night, and the best view is here with me. Don’t go back for now, stay and watch the fireworks first.”

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes darkened slightly when he heard this. This was a disguised attempt to keep them here, for protection or for…..

They had never been able to discover who was standing behind King Jing. Liu Zhenqing selfishly hoped it wasn’t Yao Hua. They were friends, after all, but Yao Hua wasn’t completely ignorant at the moment.

He silently took a sip of tea. In fact, no matter how the situation turned out, there would basically be no personal safety issues for them as members of the Huo family. After all, whoever became emperor would have to rely on Huo Fenglie to guard the country, whether they liked it or not.

Unless Huo Fenglie threatened the emperor’s safety. But everyone knew that the Huo family was absolutely loyal to the emperor, and with Huo Fenglie’s temperament, no one would believe that he would seek power to rival the emperor, nor wrest away control of the throne, ah. Thus, when it came to being implicated or imperiled, their safety was basically guaranteed.

But by the looks of the current situation, it wasn’t going to be a peaceful night.

Liu Zhenqing decided to wait and see.

The Empress Dowager’s tent was very large, with a border around the area outside. The twins grew tired of staying inside and went out to play. Liu Zhenqing went to follow them, but was stopped by Yao Hua.

“I heard that yesterday, you informed General Hua in time for him to save the emperor. Thank you so much.”

“It’s what this one should have done,” said Liu Zhenqing.

“The emperor will grant you a marriage soon. You can be considered a golden match. Don’t worry about the rumors in the outside world, just live your own life,” Yao Hua said.

“Many thanks, Your Highness,” Liu Zhenqing said respectfully. When he looked up again, he found Yao Hua staring at him in silence, seemingly in a trance. “Your Highness?”

Yao Hua regained her senses and said helplessly: “The two of you really look alike.”

“Do you know who I’m talking about?” Yao Hua asked.

Liu Zhenqing nodded.

Yao Hua smiled: “You don’t dare mention his name either.”

Liu Zhenqing hid his awkwardness and kept smiling.

“Do you…..think he was a bad person?”

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback. He considered the question, then said: “There are no absolute good or evil people. For example, General Huo is a good person in the hearts of the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but a bad person in the hearts of Xiheng’s people.”

Yao Hua was surprised by his use of this analogy. She said with a smile: “You’re especially similar to him in this way, like you’re always able to stand on the outside to observe and evaluate.”

Liu Zhenqing didn’t comment. It didn’t seem right to say more.

Yao Hua suddenly said: “But in my heart, he was a good person. He truly didn’t act on his own behalf, but rather on behalf of the nation’s people. It’s a pity that not only do good people not live long, they also…..”

Yao Hua paused mid-sentence. “But I believe that right and wrong will come to light one day.”

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but frown upon hearing this, and a strange thought flashed through his mind. At this moment, a eunuch suddenly arrived at the camp and reported that the emperor had summoned him.

Liu Zhenqing was puzzled, but Yao Hua’s expression changed. She asked: “What does the emperor want with Young Master Liu?”

The eunuch’s reaction was normal as he said: “He has invited Young Master Liu to play chess and discuss his future marriage.”

“He wants to discuss it with me?”

If the emperor wanted to discuss it, shouldn’t he go to Huo Fenglie? How could Liu Zhenqing have the status to discuss it with the emperor, or to even play chess with him? He shouldn’t be considered a talent.

The eunuch smiled and said: “Yes, ah. Young Master Liu should hurry, the emperor is waiting.”

Although Yao Hua wanted to stop him, she couldn’t find a suitable excuse. She ultimately said: “This one is also interested. How about we go together?”

In the end, Yao Hua and Liu Zhenqing indeed went together while the twins stayed in the Empress Dowager’s camp. Liu Zhenqing naturally left their Huo family army there to guard them.

But when Liu Zhenqing arrived at the royal tent, he found that the main force of the Huo Family Army was guarding the royal family. Among the surrounding guards were Huo Fenglie’s right-hand men, Mo Qi and Mo Yu.

They were here to protect the emperor with the greatest strength and to guard against outside assassins. After all, an attempted assassination had just occurred. This action was reasonable, but Liu Zhenqing felt a sense of uneasiness the moment he was about to step into the camp.

This kind of intuition that grasped his heart allowed Liu Zhenqing to instinctually predict a crisis.

He was uneasy, truly, uneasy, as if he knew something was about to happen – not to him, but to Er-gou.

Everything was peaceful when they entered the tent. Only the emperor and a serving eunuch were inside, and a chess board had been set up. Yuan Jue was unsurprised to see Yao Hua coming with him. After all, he had sent someone to Yao Hua to request this person.

“Why is the Empress Dowager here as well?”

“I heard that the two of you were going to discuss the marriage. This is a big, happy event, so this one also came to join in the fun,” Yao Hua said with a smile.

Yuan Jue smiled and invited Liu Zhenqing to sit down and play chess.

Liu Zhenqing cupped his hands and said: “This one is truly unskilled at the game, and fears ruining Your Majesty’s refined tastes.”

“No matter. It’s mainly for casual chitchat. This emperor is in a poor mood and wishes to pass the time.”

If he was in a bad mood, it was naturally due to the rebels, so why did he want to pass time with him?

Liu Zhenqing had to think deeply about Yuan Jue’s behavior. After all, ever since this person was eighteen years old, he would be scheming every time Liu Zhenqing looked away.

It was naturally impossible for Liu Zhenqing to expose his flaws, so he would just play. It wasn’t difficult for him to pretend to be an ignorant new chess player.

According to Yuan Jue’s capabilities, he could defeat Liu Zhenqing within a stick of incense time. But Yuan Jue seemed to be slowly playing around him, never blocking him on the board.

As he said, his attention was not on the chessboard, but on the discussion of marriage.

“Zhanyuan and I are like brothers. I used to think he would never marry, and never expected that you would come into the picture. Young Master Liu must have some extraordinary qualities.”

Yao Hua smiled and said: “Your Majesty is curious about why Zhanyuan likes Young Master Liu?”

Just as Liu Zhenqing was about to speak, he heard Yuan Jue say: “No, I’m more curious about why Young Master Liu chose Zhanyuan. After all, my Imperial edict cannot be withdrawn once it is issued.”

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback, and  looked up to see Yuan Jue regarding him seriously. Inwardly suspicious, Liu Zhenqing still said: “Your Majesty, this one has been obsessed with General Huo from the beginning. Everyone in the capital is aware of this.”

“Didn’t you lose your memory?” Yuan Jue said with a smile. “When you lost your memory, you didn’t remember him or know you liked him.”

Liu Zhenqing’s expression changed slightly. “When something happened at home later, I went to the general for help and my heart was moved again.”

Yao Hua laughed and said: “This was probably fate. Things that are destined to happen will eventually come to pass. But has Young Master Liu not recovered his memory yet?”

“I’ve recovered a little, but not much,” Liu Zhenqing said vaguely. “Sister-in-law says I’ll recover slowly.”

He was naturally referring to Li Xingruo.

Yao Hua was quite pleased to see that they had a good relationship, but Yuan Jue’s eyes were unmoved. Black stones fell to completely encircle the white ones, and the game was decided.

“Your Majesty wins,” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile.

In fact, Yuan Jue had never beaten Liu Zhenqing in chess before. When he was a child, he would get angry and sulk, saying that Liu Zhenqing wouldn’t let him win even though he was the emperor. But when he got older, he gradually became silent. He would only ask Liu Zhenqing to help him review the game, saying that he would win against him the next time.

The last time he played chess with him was during the initial chaos of the Three Kings Rebellion.

They didn’t finish that round, and put it aside for the time being, but then the chance to finish it was lost.

“Of course I won.” Yuan Jue dropped the piece in his hand and smiled, his words wildly arrogant. Liu Zhenqing’s heart trembled slightly.

At this moment, someone came to report that the Taifei was there to see the Empress Dowager.

Yao Hua stiffened. Yuan Jue turned his head slightly to glance at her and murmured, unsmiling: “It turns out to be the Taifei.”

“It seems the Taifei is in good health.”

“This emperor can finally rest assured.”

With that said, the Taifei was asked to come in.

Following Jian Shuang was a eunuch with his head lowered. The atmosphere in the tent seemed to condense, as if everyone was quietly waiting for something.

Jian Shuang sent Yao Hua a slightly startled glance: “Jiejie is here too.”

Yao Hua looked up at her with a blank expression. Jian Shuang avoided her eyes.

Naturally, Jian Shuang paid no heed to Liu Zhenqing’s presence.

“Your Majesty, I have something to say.”

Yuan Jue smiled. He went to stand up, but suddenly, his body became unsteady and he collapsed to the ground. At this sudden change of events, the eunuch attendant opened his mouth to shout. As a result, before he could make a sound, a bloody gash appeared in his throat and he breathed his last.

The one responsible was the eunuch following Jian Shuang.

Yao Hua stood at once, and was held hostage by the eunuch. But with a look from Jian Shuang, the eunuch released her, then walked over to the emperor and picked him up with one hand, throwing him onto the couch.

He then turned to kill the eunuch attendant and Liu Zhenqing, who had originally been with the emperor.

Jiang Shuang said: “Don’t touch them. One will serve the future emperor and one will control General Huo, so they mustn’t be touched. Be silent, step aside, and don’t move!”

Liu Zhenqing recognized the eunuch the moment he saw him. It was the old man who’d ambushed them during the first case, the former number one assassin.

The instant Liu Zhenqing came to this conclusion, he was abruptly dragged toward the edge of the tent by the eunuch attendant, as if to protect him.

“You…..poisoned me?” Yuan Jue wore a look of disbelief.

Jian Shuang turned toward Yao Hua: “Did Jiejie touch the chess pieces?”

Yao Hua just looked at Jian Shuang silently and said nothing.

“It’s good that you didn’t touch them. Jiejie, sit down and don’t talk. Otherwise, I don’t know what my men will do to the emperor,” Jian Shuang said.

These words stunned Yao Hua and Liu Zhenqing.

Yao Hua hadn’t touched the chess pieces, but Liu Zhenqing had.

Yao Hua looked at her without responding. As she was being held down by the eunuch attendant, pretending to be immobile like Yuan Jue, she seemed to understand something.

Liu Zhenqing also understood. He glanced at Yuan Jue on the couch, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.

So Yuan Jue was luring the snake out of its hole? Why on earth would he take such a risk? And why have Liu Zhenqing come here?

Just as he was thinking, he saw Jian Shuang take a seat on the couch. Yuan Jue seemed to try to shout something, but he was gradually unable to make a sound. It was even difficult for him to raise his head.

In the end, he could only utter one word: “Why?”

Jian Shuang said: “Your Majesty, don’t look at me like that. I’m obeying the Imperial edict of the late emperor.”

Liu Zhenqing stared blankly. A posthumous edict? What edict? Where had it come from?

When he looked at Yao Hua, she didn’t seem surprised.

Jian Shuang directly told the old man to pretend to be a eunuch and ask the Imperial Physician to come.

At this time, the hesitant voices of several ministers sounded outside. 

Jian Shuang told the old man to let them in.

So far, everyone was either a member of the royal family or a minister, so the guards outside didn’t notice anything wrong at all.

The ministers who entered were almost all veterans, many of whom were influential. Some possessed real power, while others only possessed prestige. When they came in, they all looked around covertly, as if trying to clearly understand the situation.

When they saw the emperor lying down, the Empress Dowager sitting to the side, and the Taifei sitting next to the emperor, they all came to a conclusion and breathed sighs of relief.

Liu Zhenqing silently observed. They all looked uneasy, and he knew in his heart that these were all members of the enemy force in the capital.

One came forward and said disingenuously: “What is wrong with His Majesty? This minister wants to help.”

“The emperor suddenly collapsed and cannot speak or move. A physician has been summoned.”

Just as they were speaking, the head of the Imperial Hospital walked inside quickly, a layer of cold sweat on his forehead. He didn’t appear as calm as those ministers, so he must have been threatened by the Taifei.

However…..

Liu Zhenqing waited to see what would happen. The Imperial Physican took the emperor’s pulse and said in a trembling voice: “This sudden illness is a blockage in the brain, and cannot be cured for the time being. Recovery may take several years, Your Highness…..”

The Imperial Physician knelt down as he spoke, as if helpless.

But his diagnosis immediately aroused discussion amongst everyone. After all, the country couldn’t exist without its ruler for one day.

But Liu Zhenqing’s heart became clear.

Yuan Jue knew there would be poison, so how could he not have dealt with the Imperial Physician? This was all a game from the beginning, waiting for Jian Shuang to enter the scene along with her forces.

Yuan Jue’s intent was very simple. He wanted to know the identities of those behind the scenes and catch them all. Or perhaps he also had other goals.

Very soon, Jian Shuang summoned all of the cabinet ministers to discuss the situation, and also sent someone to get King Jing.

Unexpectedly, King Jing arrived faster than the others. He had clearly been hiding in a tent since early morning, having long absconded from the clan manor.

The moment King Jing entered and saw the fallen Yuan Jue, he almost couldn’t hold back his laughter, but was frightened into silence by a look from Jian Shuang.

When the other uninformed ministers came in, they were all dumbfounded.

“Everyone, there has been an unexpected development. I have arranged for you to discuss it secretly.” After Jian Shuang spoke, she asked the Imperial Physician to explain the situation.

But who among those ministers didn’t possess extensive experience? When they saw that King Jing was here and that the emperor was gravely ill, what couldn’t they understand?

The only military official who could attend such a meeting was Huo Fenglie, but he wasn’t present.There was only Liu Zhenqing in sight.

Some ministers could only say: “Although such a major event must be kept secret from the outside world, the general who guards the country must be present!”

Many others echoed this statement.

“I sent people to find him quite a while ago. If you don’t believe me…..” Jian Shuang told the old man to order the Huo Family soldiers outside to go find General Huo, clearly not at all worried about Huo Fenglie’s arrival.

Mo Qi and Mo Yu outside had originally been suspicious of the strange comings and goings from the royal tent. And people had also escorted King Jing inside, which confused them. But as guards, they were not allowed to act without authorization. So when they were ordered to send people to find the general, all of their doubts were immediately suppressed and they were able to breathe sighs of relief.

But such a move took Liu Zhenqing by surprise. Jian Shuang’s fearlessness proved that Huo Fenglie must have fallen into a trap.

And Huo Fenglie was indeed delayed. When he led a team to patrol the borders, they were ambushed in the night.

But such an ambush would be dealt with by Huo Fenglie eventually. It was only a matter of time.

Up in the trees, Zheng Wei said to Qin Yu: “Go.”

Qin Yu hesitated: “You really intend to delay Zhanyuan?”

“It’s for his own good. The show over there cannot be interrupted. It will be over soon,” Zheng Wei replied.

Qin Yu thought this over and, as expected, vanished into the night and began shooting arrows from a distance to obstruct the team. Because of his natural understanding of Huo Fenglie’s martial arts skills, he knew how to interfere most effectively, but it was only a matter of time.

But as Zheng Wei observed, he realized that something was wrong. There seemed to be a crisis lurking in the grass in the distance.

In an instant, dozens of sharp arrows flew from that direction, the arrowheads glowing with phosphorescent poison.

Zheng Wei’s expression changed. Just as he was about to take action, he glimpsed a figure flying with haste toward Huo Fenglie.

On the other side, Jian Shuang had begun to appeal to logic and emotion, asking her ministers to begin persuading the others. It was clear that the emperor was in trouble, so King Jing should be asked to take over the throne on a temporary basis.

When the argument reached its peak, some sunk their teeth in and refused to let go.

Jian Shuang said: “Actually, it is orthodox for King Jing to inherit the throne.”

Everyone naturally began to make a racket when she said this.

Then Jian Shuang took out the Imperial edict.

Everyone, including Liu Zhenqing, were shocked. There really was a posthumous edict?

It was from the late emperor.

Liu Zhenqing’s expression changed as he came to a realization.

Yao Hua was unsurprised by the edict in Jian Shuang’s hands. So back then, the late emperor actually took precautions to guard against them not saving Yuan Jue and instead usurping power, and in the event that his paranoia was founded, he left an edict to pass the throne to King Jing in order to resist that person and Huo Feihan!

Liu Zhenqing was so angry that his head hurt. Wasn’t this just adding to the chaos?

Sure enough, all of the ministers present were stunned.

“Did the Empress Dowager know about this edict? Then why was His Majesty the one who succeeded the throne? His succession was also through an Imperial edict.”

“When the late emperor was on his deathbed, I happened to be there in place of my jiejie, who was feeling unwell. The late emperor was worried for the future generations, so he specifically left this last edict to pass the throne to King Jing. But later, under Liu Zhenqing’s instigation, he established a different person as emperor. Because of this change, I was unable to bring forward the posthumous edict. After all, the Three Kings were rebelling at that time and Liu Zhenqing and Huo Feihan were in power. I was alone and powerless, so I dared not make any trouble. If it hadn’t been for today’s incident, I wouldn’t have taken out the edict. I only want the ministers to understand that King Jing also has the right to inherit.”

When it was mentioned that Liu Zhenqing had instigated him, it seemed as if Yuan Jue had taken the throne through fraud under Liu Zhenqing’s control and manipulation. The expressions of the other ministers instantly changed.

The official who had just been promoted to succeed the prime minister suddenly asked: “Then Liu Zhenqing knew about this edict back then?” 

This abrupt question took Liu Zhenqing by surprise. Was this person involved in this matter?

Just as Jian Shuang was about to reply, Yao Hua said: “Even I only learned about the secret edict in the Taifei’s hands by accident. Prime Minister Liu was unaware of it, so there was no reason for him to persuade the late emperor to change the successor to the throne for his own benefit.”

Jian Shuang’s expression changed as she stared at Yao Hua. She said in a somewhat gloomy tone: “Jiejie…..”

Yao Hua closed her eyes, saying: “How many other things have you framed Liu Zhenqing for in the past? Heh, you clearly worked together a lot back then, and you knew his intentions best, but you’re saying he wanted to control the government. I don’t believe it. Why not make it clear today? Right, the officials following you are probably the main ones who framed Liu Zhenqing back then. Tell me, how much more dirty water do you intend to pour on him?”

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Chapter 139 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 141