Ping Zhao Lu

Instantly, she collapsed to the ground, blood gushing out from her chest, staining the ground in a shocking red.

Chu Yunxiao waved his hand expressionlessly, signaling his men to drag her out.

"Zhao Dequan."

"The slave is here."

Zhao Dequan rushed over upon hearing the noise and was startled when he saw a pool of blood on the ground. He quickly knelt on the ground and said tremblingly, "Your Majesty, this..."

Chu Yunxiao's eyes were cold, as deep as the stars. He glanced at Zhao Dequan indifferently, and his low voice was as cold as ice: "Prove my decree that Lady Liu attempted to assassinate me, but after failing, she committed suicide."

Zhao Dequan was terrified, but outwardly remained respectful, not daring to show even a hint of surprise. He quickly replied, "Yes, I obey your command."

After Zhao Dequan left, Chu Yunxiao spoke again: "Shang Jiu."

Shang Jiu came upon hearing the sound and stood quietly aside waiting for the emperor's instructions.

Chu Yunxiao stood with his hands behind his back. His tone was as calm as a pool of stagnant water. He said without a ripple, "Anyone with the blood of the Liang Kingdom will be killed without mercy."

"Yes, sir." Shang Jiu answered without hesitation.

Overnight, the news that Concubine Liu had attempted to assassinate the emperor spread throughout the palace, shocking everyone.

The concubines in the harem couldn't even sleep well.

They originally thought that Liu was just trying to win favor, but they never imagined that she was actually seeking revenge and that her ambition had been hidden for so many years.

Actually, it has been twelve years since the fall of the State of Liang.

When Liang still existed, the empire was divided into nine parts, with Wei, Xia, and Zhou in a three-way balance of power. The remaining smaller states either formed alliances for self-protection or engaged in endless disputes and annexations.

At that time, in order to avoid invasion from other countries, the State of Liang decided to rely on the State of Wei, and marriage was the simplest way.

As a princess of Liang, Liu was sent to Wei to serve as a concubine to the Third Prince, who was Chu Yunxiao.

Later, the Wei emperor's health deteriorated, and no heir was appointed. Liang's spies learned of this and reported it to the Liang emperor, who seized the opportunity to join forces with Jin to attack Wei. Unexpectedly, the thirteen-year-old Chu Yunxiao personally led the army and conquered both nations in one fell swoop.

The Emperor of Wei was overjoyed, and finally issued an edict to appoint Chu Yunxiao as the crown prince in the remaining few days.

Less than six months after Chu Yunxiao ascended the throne, the Wei Emperor passed away. Chu Yunxiao then ascended the throne and made Liu a beauty. Initially, he intended to kill her to prevent future trouble, but the Empress Dowager and some ministers strongly opposed it, stating that a single woman could not achieve great things, and the plan was abandoned.

After that, Liu was indeed obedient and did not have any false thoughts.

As time went by, people gradually forgot his identity.

Unexpectedly, even today, Liu still took action.

……

child time.

Xu Zhouye lay flat on the couch, feeling uneasy.

Ever since the secret guard beside Chu Yunxiao left, he tossed and turned on the couch and couldn't fall asleep.

He knew that Liu would take action tonight.

He also knew that Liu would die.

Unlike her previous life, Liu did not have the opportunity to sleep with Chu Yunxiao. Instead, on the empress dowager's birthday, she used the excuse of performing a dance to assassinate the emperor with a sword.

This caused the birthday banquet to become a mess, and he was punished by Queen Mother Jiang. Originally, the person who organized the birthday banquet was Concubine Xian, but Queen Mother Jiang used his status as the head of the harem to make matters worse, and insisted that Concubine Xian had made mistakes even though she had done nothing wrong, and turned right into wrong in all kinds of ways.

So this time he simply dealt with this trouble in advance to avoid Queen Mother Jiang causing trouble later.

Now he is not afraid of anyone provoking him, but after all, it is better to have less trouble than more.

You also need to act quickly to avoid unexpected events that give others an opportunity to take advantage.

After all, everything that happened after rebirth changed because of him.

Instead of passively following the plot, it is better to take control of the situation.

Therefore, the chance encounter in the Imperial Garden was not a chance encounter.

In his previous life, he had encountered Liu Shi dancing in the Imperial Garden, and Chu Yunxiao was not there. Later, he would occasionally see Liu Shi appear in the Imperial Garden or other places.

It’s a pity that the emperor didn’t pay attention.

And now he intends to lure Chu Yunxiao away in order to expose this hidden disaster in advance.

Sure enough, everything that happened tonight turned out just as he expected.

Liu is doomed to die.

But his heart was not at peace.

He was a little scared of himself now.

In order to achieve the goal, use tricks.

And put Chu Yunxiao's safety second.

……

During this period, he really wanted to go to the Golden Palace to find out what was going on.

But when I thought about the fact that the emperor was surrounded by experts to protect him, it would be unnecessary to go.

What's more, there are conflicts.

So he curled up on the couch, anxiously waiting for news from the Golden Palace.

He was relieved to know that the emperor was safe and sound.

But the chaos in my heart still hasn't been resolved.

He was also afraid. What if Liu succeeded?

How would Chu Yunxiao view him if he knew that he was the one who instigated all this?

How does he face himself?

Xu Zhouye frowned, and his irritable mood could not calm down for a long time.

Finally, a sleepless night.

*

Cining Palace

Queen Mother Jiang was dressed in gorgeous clothes and wearing a phoenix crown. She sat upright on the main seat, the Buddhist beads in her hand slowly turning, but her face was extremely gloomy, as if shrouded in a haze.

"Another fool." Queen Mother Jiang's voice was low and cold, filled with endless disappointment and anger.

The palace servants kneeling in the hall were silent as a mouse, not even daring to breathe heavily. They lowered their heads and their bodies trembled slightly.

Only Nanny Liu, who was standing aside, had a calm expression and said slowly and steadily: "Empress Dowager, please calm down. It's just a chess piece. If this chess piece is useless, then find another one. There will be more than one anyway." Her words were steady and gentle, with a hint of comfort.

Madam Liu's words softened Empress Dowager Jiang's expression slightly, but the anger in her eyes hadn't completely dissipated. She sighed softly and gazed into the distance, as if plotting her next move.

"Wei Xian's return cannot be delayed any longer," Queen Mother Jiang said expressionlessly, then changed the subject, "This Prince Huai is truly difficult to win over. If we can use the military power he holds, why go to such great lengths?"

"It is a foregone conclusion that General Wei won the battle. No matter how much Your Majesty delays, you will eventually have to let him return. Otherwise, you will be branded as someone with unclear rewards and punishments, which will chill the hearts of the soldiers guarding the border." Nanny Liu said with a smile.

"As for Prince Huai..." Nanny Liu put away her smile. "This old servant thinks that Prince Huai either has other intentions, or he is on Your Majesty's side."

Queen Mother Jiang sneered, "Even if they stand on the emperor's side, so what? I have my own way to make them feel resentful towards each other."

*

The next morning, Xu Zhouye, with a pair of dark eyes, called Qinghe to help him wash and dress.

As Qinghe entered the room, he was shocked to see his master looking listless. He almost asked the imperial physician to come and check on him.

"Your Highness, you didn't sleep all night?" Qinghe looked at Xu Zhouye in the mirror, his eyes full of worry.

She carefully tied her master's hair, her movements so gentle as if she was afraid of waking something.

Xu Zhouye's face was pale, with dark circles under his eyes, but his eyes were as clear as ever. He hummed softly, his voice a little hoarse, "It's okay. There's rouge on the table. I can use it to cover it up."

Qing He sighed softly, picked up the rouge box, and carefully applied it to Xu Zhouye. "This rouge was forced upon you by the eldest young master on the eve of your wedding. I originally wanted to tease you, but I didn't expect it to come in handy."

Xu Zhouye was startled, remembering that night. When his brother handed him the rouge, his playful expression and words seemed to still echo in his ears. Now, it had become a tool for him to mask his fatigue.

He pulled his lips into a wry smile and said, "Thank you so much, big brother. I wonder if I'll be able to catch up with him before he goes off to fight."

Qinghe stopped what he was doing and looked at the sky outside the window. "It's still not too late to rush to the city gate."

Xu Zhouye nodded, "Yes." Then he stood up and straightened his clothes, "Well, follow me to the city wall."

Qinghe smiled and replied, "Yes."