After the failed attempt to pretend to be dead, the sickly child was favored by the treacherous mini

The eunuch who announced the imperial decree came with the imperial edict. Xia Ling, who was waiting in Prince Ling's mansion for Xia Hong to summon him into the palace to inquire about Xie Nanxing, had a dazed look on his face.

My heart, which was filled with excitement amidst the worry, now feels a little empty.

As he had expected, Xia Hong would summon Shen Jinmo to the palace for interrogation in order to reassure him, and he took advantage of the situation to pin all the charges on Zhong Luan.

Naturally, he also has to bear the crime of not being able to judge people well.

This crime might land him in the inner prison for a few days, but it certainly wouldn't last too long.

Because in his original plan, when Shen Jinmo found him privately, he would say that these things were done by Xia Hong.

When Shen Jinmo and Xia Hong develop resentment, Xun Lan will negotiate with Han Shu on his behalf and try to win over Han Shu to conspire with him.

The bargaining chip is the revenge of the Zhongqin Marquis Mansion and Shen Jinmo's life.

Killing three birds with one stone, Xia Ling reaped all the benefits.

However, this imperial decree today was like a slap in the face to him.

He was not as important as he thought.

The fact that the secret guards he sent out to kill Xie Nanxing were completely wiped out did not have as much impact on Shen Jinmo as he imagined.

At this moment, Xia Ling began to doubt whether Shen Jinmo really loved Xie Nanxing that much.

But if he didn't love her, how could he have used so many Qiling troops to cover Xie Nanxing's evacuation?

Xia Ling, who asked Xun Lan to personally check the forest, regarded all the dead secret guards as Qi Ling's army.

The counselors in the palace were brought before Xia Ling one after another. Without avoiding the eyes of spies, they openly discussed how to break the impasse regarding this imperial edict.

Dusk had arrived, and Xun Lan, who was reorganizing Xia Ling's secret guards and gathering strength, was urgently summoned back to the mansion.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be well and safe."

"No courtesy, sit down."

Tea and pastries were served, and Xia Ling repeated to Xun Lan what he had said to all his counselors.

"Today, my father sent someone to convey his order, asking me to kneel down and ask to marry Han Shu at the Marquis Zhongqin's mansion."

"As long as Han Shu does not respond, I will kneel until she agrees to my request. The imperial edict for promotion to the throne of the Eastern Palace will be sent to you together with the imperial edict granting marriage."

"Xun Qing, what do you think the king should do?"

The hand hidden in the sleeve was clenched into a fist, and the pain of the fingertips digging into the flesh made Xun Lan reach out and pick up the teacup at hand to calm his mind.

The tea lid lightly skimmed off the tea foam, and Xun Lan's eyes were filled with surging emotions.

Han Shu's lifelong ambition is to rather die than be foolish and to fight for his country on the battlefield with a sword.

However, when he returned from a great victory and heard about the death of his brother, power struggles arose again and he had become the center of conspiracy.

Carrying a blood feud and trapped in the Marquis' Mansion, her current situation has already cut off all her escape routes.

Unable to die, she could only survive and enter the cage set for her.

The deep palace that she had hated all her life eventually became a poor alley that she had to enter.

His gaze fell on Xun Lan, who had remained silent in front of him, and doubts arose in his heart yet hid invisibly.

"Xun Qing, can I trust you?"

He stood up from the soft stool and knelt towards Xia Ling: "I was overthinking just now, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

With a gentle smile, Xia Ling supported Xun Lan, and the master and the minister stood opposite each other.

"Then how do you think I can marry Han Shu without letting the world think I am a useless man who kowtows for a woman?"

Their eyes met, and Xun Lan lowered his head first.

Since it is a cage and there is no sunlight, Xun Lan will destroy the cage for her and welcome the sunlight.

"General Han is a heroine. Your Majesty is not kneeling for the women and children in the boudoir, but for the general who sacrificed his life to protect the country and the people."

"Since Your Majesty is going to kneel, you should kneel with great fanfare, so that everyone in the world can see your sincere heart."

"And I will seize this opportunity to help the prince firmly grasp the hearts of the people in this divine capital."

Xia Ling has always known Xun Lan's bottom line and principles. Today, his act of stepping on a woman to win the hearts of the people is indeed unlike Xun Lan's usual style.

Thinking of Xun Zhan who had not yet been reinstated and had not been summoned by Xia Yu, he thought of the favor Xun Xiang had done for him behind Xia Hong's back.

Xia Ling asked: "Has Xun Xiang put any pressure on Xun Qing recently?"

Xun Lan lowered his head and said in a deeper voice, "I am the prince's eunuch, and I shall make plans for the prince in everything."

It is a proud submission to power and the current choice of the prime minister's family.

Take Xia Ling and abandon Xia territory.

As night fell, the unlit study was shrouded in darkness.

Xia Ling asked again: "What is the purpose of this move, father?"

"I think this is not an act of the Emperor, but an act of revenge by Lord Shen."

Standing up in the darkness, Xun Lan exposed the current situation: "The emperor agreed to such things that damage the royal family's reputation. The emperor tacitly acknowledged the prince's last value, which is the complete collapse of military power."

"After this matter is settled, none of you and your fellow ministers will have a good ending."

The teacup in his hand fell suddenly to the ground, and Xia Ling stood up suddenly to look down at Xun Lan, whose words were extremely unpleasant to the ear.

Finally, Xia Ling swallowed his anger secretly, and took the tinder to light the candle in the house.

"Do the secret guards in my hands have the strength to fight?"

Yu Xialing sat down, and the master and his ministers, who had broken the last layer of window paper, gave up their guard against each other for the first time.

"The Imperial Guards, the Imperial Front Command, and the Secret Guards are too powerful. Nine out of ten assassinations at ordinary times will fail."

His fingertips tapped the desk repeatedly, and Xia Ling closed his eyes and thought about his last wedding night.

Marrying the daughter of a vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue was already such a lively event, and now marrying Han Shu, a man with meritorious service, must be even more exciting.

If Xia Ling had killed Xia Hong directly before Shen Jinmo made a move on him, then this powerful and favored minister who had lost his protection would have been retaliated by his past actions.

As the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace who has won the hearts of the people, he will lead his troops to kill Shen Jinmo personally and will naturally ascend to the throne smoothly.

But the prerequisite is that he can hit the target with one shot.

"If you assassinate me on the night of my wedding, what are the chances of success?"

Xun Lan: "If we get married in the East Palace, we will have a 40% chance of success. If we get married somewhere else, the chance will be at most 20%."

It is not easy to keep secret guards under Xia Hong's nose. Too many forces were lost in the pursuit of Xie Nanxing, and the effect achieved was too low, which resulted in Xia Ling not being able to guarantee even a 50% chance of winning.

Taking such a risk is tantamount to sending one's head away.

"If we can get the help of the Tiger Power Army, how will the outcome be?"

Xun Lan: "Lord Shen will not give the prince much time to prepare for the wedding. The general family is willing to kill Shen Jinmo, but they will not kill the king."

The time is too short, and the people in Han Shu's hands will definitely not be used by Xia Ling.

"It's enough for her to bring people to contain Shen Jinmo."

After a long silence, Xia Ling exhaled deeply and finally said something with an ambiguous meaning: "But if I don't take action first, I will be the one to die..."

After Xun Lan left, Xia Ling sat in the study room until midnight. A black figure entered the study room from the window and said, "Master, Shen Jinmo has been preparing for the emperor's trip to the south."

The black shadow retreated, and the gloomy face as dark as ink was stained by the candlelight. Xia Ling paced back and forth in the room for a long time.

"Come here, submit a memorial to the palace tomorrow morning. I want to see my mother."

Some plays need to be rehearsed first so that they can be watched smoothly when they officially start.

But there were too few people on hand, which was ultimately a major concern for Xia Ling.

Where can he borrow people from to make himself the last one to survive?