The queen is sober in the world, and she is winning every step of the palace fight.

"You don't understand what I say, and I don't understand what you do. We, father and daughter, have never truly understood each other."

Empress Yan scoffed, but she was too lazy to argue with the Duke of Zhenguo. When he was about to open his mouth to refute, she directly brought up the most important thing.

"My Lord, I have a question for you. When I was attacked on my way to the Western Hills, you visited the bandit camp at night. What were you doing there?"

The Duke of Zhenguo shuddered.

His eyes then became deep.

Empress Yan met his gaze and smiled faintly, "I haven't reported this to His Majesty yet because I want to hear the Duke's explanation firsthand. If the Duke continues to evade and prevaricate, then I can only despair and conclude that you are determined to deceive me to the end and are waiting for an opportunity to take my life. I will return and explain everything to His Majesty. Even if I die because of your conspiracy, dying at His Majesty's hands is better than dying at your hands in vain!"

A murderous look appeared on Queen Yan's face.

The Duke of Zhenguo's expression was uncertain, and he suddenly turned his gaze to Fei Wan, who had been sitting beside him as a background.

"The Queen has probably been bewitched by someone and has misunderstood me!"

Fei Wan's face was calm, neither anxious nor annoyed. "My Lord, don't rush to drag others into it. First, explain your actions clearly to the Empress. You and your daughter are of the same mind. Are you afraid of an outsider like me to stir up trouble?"

The Duke of Zhenguo gritted his teeth, lifted his skirt, and knelt before Empress Yan.

"I have never harbored any ill will towards Your Majesty. We have been father and daughter for over a decade, and blood is thicker than water. How could I possibly harm Your Majesty? My leg wound is still very serious, and it was all caused by the bandits. How could Your Majesty misunderstand that I was colluding with those villains? Who did Your Majesty hear that I was meeting with the bandits at night? This person's heart is mortal. Your Majesty, please do not be deceived!"

Empress Yan had no expression on her face as she looked at the wound on the Duke Zhenguo's leg that had been broken open by his kneeling, and the bright red blood that had stained his clothes.

"I saw it with my own eyes. Duke, although you were injured, you were walking smoothly. You know better than anyone how you got that leg injury."

The Duke of Zhenguo's eyes flickered slightly.

I really didn't expect that Queen Yan saw it with her own eyes.

But still stubborn to the end.

"I absolutely did not do it. I think Your Majesty may have had eyes that were blurry during the night. Do you need me to cut open your heart and show it to you?!"

Queen Yan closed her eyes slightly.

Then he opened his eyes quickly.

"Sister Zhao, let's go back to the palace."

Fei Wan stood up and followed Queen Yan out.

The Duke of Zhenguo stepped forward and grabbed Empress Yan's skirt. "Your Majesty, this is such a huge misunderstanding. You must clarify it before you leave! Do you really want your family to kill each other? If you don't believe me, I am willing to open my heart as a witness!"

He actually pulled out a dagger from his boot.

Queen Yan was so frightened that she quickly took two steps back.

It was common for military commanders to carry short blades for self-defense. But the Duke of Zhenguo hadn't taken off his armor when he welcomed Empress Yan to visit her relatives today, which made people wonder.

Empress Yan said coldly, "Drop your knife! Duke Zhenguo, do you want to assassinate the emperor?"

The Duke of Zhenguo grabbed Empress Yan's clothes with one hand, held the dagger with the other, and shed tears in excitement.

"Your Majesty, you just said that if I really had evil intentions, why would I harm the dragon fetus in Lingpin's belly? Wouldn't it be better to help her ascend to the throne? This doesn't make sense emotionally or logically, so there must be something fishy. Your Majesty, don't let yourself be deceived by outsiders, instead alienating your blood relatives and committing suicide to harm yourself!"

Queen Yan scolded him to let go.

"I have seen through your evil ambitions, yet you are still quibbling? Ordinary powerful ministers are accustomed to supporting the new emperor as a puppet and holding sole power themselves. But you are not a powerful minister at all. Above you is His Majesty, who holds absolute power, and below you are the censors and civil officials who are watching you, a few high-ranking nobles. Moreover, you have enemies with many people, including the Yu family. If you make the slightest move, they will pounce on you and stare you down.

You originally had a fleet under your command, and for the past six months, His Majesty has been favoring you. But suddenly, you discovered that I no longer obey you and no longer want you to be a face, a spy, or a tool for bearing princes in the palace. And His Majesty, after favoring you, quickly supported new military forces to challenge you veterans for power.

You are restricted in every way, your future is bleak, and you have a premonition that your position is likely to be unstable in the future, so -

You choose to retreat while the going is tough and use retreat as a way to advance!

Get rid of Shu'er, get rid of me, and let people think you have lost your support in the palace, so they will lower their guard against you. At the same time, get rid of Concubine Zhao and those who are friendly with her. Next, wait for an opportunity to eliminate the Yu family, who have no support, and cut off the roots.

You see Imperial Noble Consort Zhao as a thorn in your side. Eliminating her will allow you to place your own people within His Majesty's harem. If you lose me, Shu'er, and the heir, and if you lose some power in the military, you'll become a weakling, a figure you can't even worry about. His Majesty will actually feel pity for you, and you'll have a better chance of making a comeback, using the strength you've accumulated during your period of dormancy to reach a higher position than you currently hold.

As for what position that is, you have imagined it yourself.

And you never took those bandits and even the Qu people seriously, you just used them to achieve your goals!

Was my prediction correct, Duke Zhenguo?"

Queen Yan spoke harshly.

The Duke of Zhenguo couldn't control his expression, which turned extremely dark.

He wore a pained expression.

The tears flowed even more, and the hand holding the knife trembled uncontrollably, just like the whole body.

"Your Majesty, what are you talking about? This is all just your own speculation, Your Majesty... I have never thought of this...

Rou'er, Xiaorou, you are my eldest daughter, the one I most hope for, the one I love the most. Do you still remember when you were little, Daddy held you in his arms in the car while we went to the Lantern Festival together? You were so adorable back then, hugging Daddy's neck and saying you loved him the most, even more than Mommy...

Dad would rather go back to that time when you were not the queen, but just my daughter. You know how sad and desperate Daddy is when you misunderstand me like this..."

He leaned towards Queen Yan while crying, and crawled forward on his knees regardless of the bleeding wound on his leg.

Like an old father who longs for his daughter's understanding.

But, when the distance is close enough.

A knife was raised.

He stabbed Queen Yan's heart fiercely.

"Sister, be careful!"

Fei Wan had long been wary of the Duke of Zhenguo's actions.

The moment he raised his hand, he immediately pushed Queen Yan aside.

At the same time, he kicked him.

But the strength of the Duke of Zhenguo was beyond Fei Wan's expectations.

She kicked him hard, but failed to kick him away. Instead, it was like kicking an iron plate, and the recoil made half of her leg numb.

Queen Yan was pushed to the ground and dodged the knife.

But the Duke of Zhenguo immediately changed his actions, and in a flash, he stabbed Fei Wan several times.

One force can defeat a thousand tricks.

He has amazing strength.

Fei Wan's blocking and dodging were ineffective.

His face was full of murderous intent, and he was actually going to kill Fei Wan in an instant!

Everything happened so suddenly. There were no palace maids or guards in the room. Fei Wan was busy dealing with the attack, and Queen Yan fell to the ground and had not yet gotten up.

Before the two could call for help, the Duke of Zhenguo had already put the knife to Fei Wan's chest.