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

The next day, 10,000 troops each from the capital, border troops, and rebel forces escorted the late emperor back to the capital.

The battle was won, the war was not.

More Qu troops gathered at the border, and some invaded from the west, passing through neighboring countries. General He, who guarded the northwest, and General Hong, who was newly appointed to the northern border, were on high alert and did not dare to relax.

Zhao Huaisheng was appointed as the mighty general and rushed back to Huzhou with more than 100,000 rebel troops recruited by the imperial court to suppress the still rampant rebellion.

Some forces in Sichuan and Shu were ready to make a move. Concubine Hui stayed in the north and recommended the old Marquis of Anyang, who had been unemployed for many years, to go to Shu and take charge.

Fei Wan also appointed Liu, Lu Guinian's best friend and partner when he was a censor, as a commendation envoy, and led the Tiger Guards to Qiongzhou to commend and confer titles on the female chieftain Lady Aqi, and to pacify the various places along the way, including Fanzhou and Fuzhou, and remotely control the southeast coast.

In midsummer, the whole team returned to Beijing.

The capital was in mourning inside and outside, and the relatives and officials who remained in the capital lined up outside the city gate and knelt to welcome the late emperor.

Wearing white flags and plain clothes, the entire team slowly passed through the city gate, crossed the long street, and arrived at the palace like a silver dragon pressing down on the ground.

The late emperor was enshrined in the De'an Hall on the east side of the palace, where his body remained for 49 days before being sent to the imperial mausoleum through a ceremony.

This window period when the old emperor has passed away and the new emperor has not yet been appointed is the period when various forces compete fiercely for the throne.

"Prince Qing of Huaizhou has raised an army. In just two or three days, he has 50,000 soldiers and is currently sweeping and conquering the prefectures and towns surrounding his fiefdom."

On the third day after returning to the palace, just as she had packed up and settled down, an urgent secret report woke Queen Yan from her sleep. She quickly came to Chunxi Palace to discuss with Fei Wan.

Fei Wan was sitting at the large desk in front of the window, reviewing memorials. There were faint dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he had not had a good sleep for several days.

"I already knew it yesterday. Please be at ease, sister."

She finished reviewing the memorial in her hand, then stopped writing and looked up at Queen Yan.

He said slowly, "Prince Qing is not the son of the old Prince Qing, but the bloodline of the old Prince Qing's concubine and her cousin. Prince Liu has already sent his son to Huaizhou with a copy of the Imperial Clan Jade Disc and five thousand soldiers from the Suzaku Camp in southern Beijing. He should arrive in seven days at most.

I also wrote a decree to Prince Liu, telling him that if necessary, he could mobilize troops along the way and recruit soldiers from the people, as he saw fit. I also privately promised him that if he succeeded in this expedition, he would be allowed to establish a new palace, with two princes under one family. All the property and land of Prince Qing would be his, as would the soldiers he recruited.

Queen Yan took a deep breath, shocked by Fei Wan's well-informed information and decisiveness.

When a prince of the royal family rebelled, another prince would go to fight against him. The Xiao family would solve their own problems, and the fiefdom and property would be taken over by another prince. For the imperial court, this was like transferring money from one hand to the right.

Regardless of whether Prince Qing is of Xiao family blood or not, Prince Liu will do his utmost to make this matter a reality and make it known to the world in order to obtain his fiefdom and title. How could an illegitimate bastard have the right to raise the banner of "killing the evil concubine and supporting the Xiao family" and lead an army in rebellion?

The uprising was fundamentally untenable, and if the mob he organized was defeated, the rebellion would fail.

Moreover, if the Prince of Liu was sent, he would definitely do his utmost. The Emperor had originally plotted Gu Shu'er's miscarriage, having both Prince Liu and the old concubine involved in the scheme, forcing them to cooperate. Those who feigned illness, those who pretended to be dead, those who bore a stigma, had completely tarnished the reputation of the Prince of Liu's mansion.

Now that Gu Shu'er has returned to the capital with the dragon seed in her womb, the late emperor's painstakingly crafted plan has been revealed to the world. Because no one dared to mention the absurdity of this plan publicly, they privately laughed at the Prince Liu's mansion for cooperating with the plan.

The old Prince Liu and his descendants are eager to avenge the humiliation and make meritorious deeds, and they will definitely do a good job.

"But... my sister gave the military power to Prince Liu. What if he becomes a vassal king with his own army?" Queen Yan was worried.

"That's fine. In the next six months or a year, there might be other members of the Xiao family who might stir up trouble. Prince Liu is our best weapon. There are also border campaigns, and he can go and make contributions there. When the war subsides one day..."

Fei Wan poured Empress Yan a cup of hot tea and said, "We can divide his military power and disintegrate it. The old Prince Liu's family is in the capital, so he probably won't have any second thoughts. Besides, I have something I want to tell my sister."

Hot steam rose from the tea bowl, and Fei Wan's jade-like face was shrouded in mist. Her long eyelashes were moist, and her eyes were clear, with stars dancing in their depths. "To conquer Northern Qu in the future, we will need a group of people with noble blood or outstanding reputations to guard the country, so as to suppress the powerful families of Qu State. If Prince Liu is capable, he can lead the troops to the north and carve out a new world. This is better than dismantling his military power."

Queen Yan was shocked when she heard this.

"Sister, are you interested in Beiqu?"

Fei Wan asked back, "Sister, why are you so timid? We have Concubine Qing as a divine envoy, and we have the Prince of Xihe of Beiqu helping us fight. The Emperor of Qu has also acted perversely and forcibly provoked a war, which has lost the support of the people. With such a good opportunity, why not seize it and take Beiqu? It would be a shame to only take back the small territory that Taizu gave away in the alliance. After all, we have fought a war, so let's fight it thoroughly and bring another century of peace to Daliang!"

Yan Hou's heartbeat quickened and he slowly clenched his fists, feeling excited and confused.

Wanmeimei is very thoughtful, unexpectedly and frighteningly so.

She was afraid that if she failed, she would be completely ruined.

"Sister, is it worth keeping the prince?"

"If they are unfit, replace them. Daliang is full of talented people, but they were suppressed in the past and could not display their talents. Let's give them opportunities, let them break through and test themselves. If one person falls, there are hundreds or thousands of others who will stand up. As long as we, the sisters, who are at the pinnacle of power, dare to hold up our own country, there is no need to worry about the country being without talented men."

Queen Yan stood up, her eyes sparkling with tears.

"Sister, I listen to you, I listen to you!"

All the grievances and frustrations that had been felt for many years under the suppression of the late emperor were swept away at this moment.

It turns out that after killing the king, one does not have to worry about being attacked for having gained the throne illegitimately, nor does one have to rack one's brains to figure out how to keep the fruits of victory.

It turned out that in Wan Meime's eyes, their shocking behavior was just the beginning.

The next day, several retired ministers jointly wrote a letter to inquire about the arrangements for the emperor's funeral.

The implication between the lines was actually a question: the emperor left behind a principal empress and a dual-titled imperial concubine, both of whom were childless. In the future, whether the concubine gave birth to a prince or adopted a young son from a relative, the two of them would have to choose a candidate for empress dowager.

Fei Wan kept the memorial and did not send it out.

A few days later, the old minister Zhufushan entered the palace.

He knelt down in front of Fei Wan and asked, "Your Majesty, I dare to ask for your guidance. Between the Empress and you, who will take over the Ciyun Palace in the future?"

Fei Wan didn't beat around the bush.

He directly showed him the handwritten letter that the emperor had written before his death, which conferred the title of "Queen of Heaven".

"Master Zhu, please tell those with impure intentions after you leave that I and the Empress will be given the title of Empress Dowager. After the Concubine Shu gives birth, she will be given a higher title. This is the result of our three-party agreement. Anyone who disagrees can resign and return home. From now on, the new emperor will be young, and I will serve as regent. Anyone who disagrees can raise an army and kill me now. If you cannot kill me, I will exterminate all his clans."

Zhufushan broke out in a cold sweat.

For the first time, I realized that this Imperial Noble Consort was no longer the weak and pitiful little palace maid whose life experience was even questioned by others.

Her decisiveness in killing is far superior to that of the late emperor.

Fei Wan walked around Long Shu'an and helped the old minister up with his own hands.

He smiled and said, "My Lord, you are kindhearted and have been used as a scapegoat by them. Don't be so foolish in the future. You are old now, so you should focus on correcting the misjudgment of the blood test. This will benefit the present and future generations, so you must not slack off."

Zhufushan took his leave in shame.

Fei Wan was afraid that his communication range would be limited if he was alone, so he specially asked someone to spread his conversation with him throughout the capital and beyond.

Be messy.

Anyone who wants to rebel against her, do it quickly.

The more people who oppose it, the better; the more chaotic the situation, the better.

Eradicate the cancer that has plagued Daliang for many years at one time, and after the chaos, there will be great order.

Fei Wan is not afraid at all that her foundation is unstable and she is weak.

Most of the emperor's trusted court officials had been lost in the war, and she was ordering the conquest and removal of the few who remained in the capital. She had appointed a number of new officials, and among the generals currently fighting outside, many were newly promoted by her.

The world is bustling with people all seeking profit. Among officials, some are loyal to the old forces, while others are quick to respond and attach themselves to the new forces.

There are people who will take the initiative to fight for Fei Wan, because fighting for Fei Wan is fighting for themselves.

Fei Wan increasingly understood why Xiao Yu kept trying to strike a balance.

Because it is so easy to rule.

"But Your Majesty, when I take my place at the throne, I will definitely not become another you. Because..."

Fei Wan smiled towards the sky.

Because Shuer told me a lot of things about the future.