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

"You and me..."

Fei Wan looked into Empress Yan's eyes and whispered, "You and I have already been trapped in this game. Whether he suspects us or not, he will let us complete it. Before the dust settles, no matter how deep his suspicions are, he will not touch us."

Queen Yan understood.

A faint smile floated on her lips, and her expression was as relaxed as the petals of jade beads on her temples. "Am I the one who is impatient, or is it my sister who is calm?"

She was smiling, but there was a flash of sadness in her eyes.

The Duke of Zhenguo stabbed her with a knife, and Princess Qinghe would rather go into seclusion and take the blame. She was not allowed to speak out. It was equivalent to being abandoned by her parents. How could she not be in pain?

But we are already halfway there, there is no turning back, and it is impossible to turn back. We can only move forward.

The further she went, the further away she became from her family and loved ones.

It was just a brief moment of restlessness, she was already strong enough.

Fei Wan didn't try to persuade her, because this was a personal pain that no one else could persuade her about. She could only wait for her to heal the wound herself. Fei Wan gently held Yan Hou's hand, guiding her to focus on the road ahead.

"Sister, based on my observations these past few days, and judging from the memorials and imperial edicts, His Majesty is extremely eager to send troops to Beiqu. Sending Lord Lu as an envoy is probably just a delaying tactic. I'm watching him, and he might actually send troops this year."

Empress Yan raised her brows and tapped her nails, coated in phoenix balsam juice, lightly on the table. She pondered, "If we're going to send troops this year, wouldn't summer be the best time? If summer passes and we enter autumn and winter, the north will be cold and unsuitable for marching in Daliang. Besides, autumn and winter are the seasons when the Tartars are most likely to invade our borders, and right now, they're busy nomadically roaming in lush lands and have no interest in fighting."

"Sister, you are absolutely right."

Although the Qu State had been established longer than Daliang, its geographical location meant that most of its people remained nomadic, unable to cultivate or settle down. In summer and autumn, the Qu people were busy herding cattle and sheep. Only in the harsh winter, when snow blanketed the land and food became scarce, did they flee south to raid for food and supplies. If Daliang were to send troops, this would be the best time. The Qu people, preoccupied with their cattle and sheep, were reluctant to respond to their lord's call to arms.

Empress Yan suddenly thought: "Could it be that he sent an envoy to deliver the letter as a pretext, and actually..."

Fei Wan whispered, "There's no evidence yet, but he seems to be moving his troops."

Queen Yan took a deep breath.

His face couldn't help but become serious.

Even though she had only recently begun to monitor the court and the situation in Daliang, she had already realized that Daliang's military wasn't as formidable as it appeared. Following Fei Wan's initial warning, Empress Yan had deliberately dispatched personnel to investigate military activity across the country, discovering widespread instances of unpaid salaries and neglected military preparations. To call it a hollow facade was a bit of an exaggeration, but the situation was indeed worrying.

If we send out envoys this year and prepare for war in secret, it will be safer to start the war next year or the year after.

If we start this year, it would be too hasty.

Before learning the truth, Empress Yan always resented the emperor for being spineless and not fighting back when the Tartars invaded the capital.

Now, he was being blamed for being rash. "If he really wanted to take action soon, then he's really... overestimating his own capabilities!"

Fei Wan deeply agreed.

She was a reborn being, and knew Beiqu's ambitions were undeniable. It was best to prepare for a counterattack as soon as possible, but it wouldn't be good if she did it too early.

but……

One thing...

"Sister, please keep a close eye on the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion and don't let him attack Shu'er again. Shu'er's pregnancy is most important. Moreover, she is discussing with Lu Guinian about improving the equipment of the Firearms Battalion, which is also very important. She must not be harmed."

Empress Yan's eyes lit up. "You mean, she can help the Firearms Battalion make better weapons and increase their chances of victory?"

"It's hard to say, but she's definitely been trying."

"Okay, then I will keep a close eye on the Duke of Zhenguo, and you protect her!" Queen Yan decided.

After a pause, he added, "Your Majesty can no longer use her."

"Yeah." Fei Wan nodded slightly.

Speaking of which, the emperor has been taking advantage of Gu Shuer a little too much recently.

Gu Shuer pretended to have a miscarriage and was taken to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. If Fei Wan and Queen Yan had not arranged it in advance, and if Gu Shuer herself was not smart, sneaking around and pretending to be a ghost, she would have escaped the disaster and forced the Duke of Zhenguo to reveal himself. What would she do if something went wrong while she was pregnant?

Fei Wan did not let Gu Shuer move out and continued to live in Chunxi Palace in order to protect and take care of her.

The emperor is already irresponsible enough, and they must protect Shu'er and the baby in her belly.

Back in Chunxi Palace, under the bright sunshine of early summer, Gu Shuer, wearing a light pink shirt, was holding a tasseled round fan, giggling and catching butterflies in the yard.

Several maids surrounded her, afraid that she would get out of the way.

Gu Shu'er stopped immediately when she saw Fei Wan coming back. Like a child caught doing something bad, she walked over with some embarrassment, "I didn't run much, I was just walking around. The doctor said that walking more during pregnancy will give you more strength for giving birth later."

She was indeed in good physical condition. She was still able to walk very fast even though she was pregnant. Her movements in catching the butterflies just now were smooth and her footwork was not at all messy. It seemed that the sword dancing she practiced during that period was of some use.

But you still need to be more careful.

Fei Wan smiled and sat down under the grapevines. "You can walk around, but you can't dance around. If you make a mistake, it will be too late to regret. As a punishment, you can't have a midnight snack tonight. Go hungry and you'll remember this lesson."

"what?!"

Gu Shuer looked bitter.

As she got older, she ate more and more, five or six meals a day, and she became noticeably plumper, yet she kept complaining about being hungry. Not allowing her to have midnight snacks was a huge blow to her.

She rushed to Fei Wan, hugged Fei Wan's arm and begged for forgiveness.

Fei Wan waved her hand, sending the palace servants back to their respective duties. With no one around, her expression grew slightly more serious as she warned Gu Shu'er, "I understand your complicated feelings towards the child in your belly. You can't bear to give up the child, but you're not ready to be a mother yet, right? That's why you sometimes don't care, as if you want to let fate decide whether the child lives or dies. But have you forgotten that you constantly criticize our backward conditions here, and the conditions for childbirth are naturally backward as well? What if something goes wrong? Not only will you lose your belly, but you won't be able to save yourself either?"

Gu Shuer bit her lip and lowered her eyes.

The eyelashes cast a shadowy shadow under the eyes.

Fei Wan examined her expression and frowned, "You don't want to live anymore?"

Gu Shuer glanced at Fei Wan quickly and said nothing.

Fei Wan slammed the stone table and shouted, "Wake up! Even if you're going to die, you can't die in such a tragic way that there will be two deaths. You cry even when you get a cut on your hand. Do you know how painful it is to have a miscarriage or the death of both mother and child?"

Gu Shuer bit her lips even tighter.

It was because she was afraid of pain and death that she hesitated to make up her mind and lived until now.

I was barely surviving, yet I was also vaguely anticipating death. Even when I was drawing designs, I found joy and a sense of being alive, but I still felt out of place in this world.

"Sister Wan, do you know there is a sentence that can particularly describe my current state?" She suddenly spoke.

"What?"