Quick Transmigration: Why did you provoke him? He's love-struck!

Liu Su was so angry that he trembled all over, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, ready to strike.

Xiahou Che glanced at his little gesture, showing no fear whatsoever: "I know you are very angry and wish you could kill me, but I advise you to think twice."

If you help me ascend the throne, in the eyes of others, it will at most be seen as eliminating dissidents with ruthless means and supporting the prince you favor to take the throne.

If you were to execute me now before my father's spirit, I would be a traitor, a usurper, and a rebel. The Liu family has been loyal ministers and generals for generations; do you really want to ruin such a good reputation for so many generations by your own hand?

Liu Su: "..."

Xiahou Che's words, spoken repeatedly, all hit him where it hurt.

He could not disregard the lives of the more than two hundred members of the Liu family, nor could he allow the Liu family to be destroyed in his hands; otherwise, he would have no face to meet his ancestors a hundred years from now.

But the thought that the child he had painstakingly raised over the years was actually a demon who instigated discord between fathers and brothers and killed his own compatriots and relatives made his blood boil.

Having fought so many wars over the years, and having seen the most vicious and cunning opponents, he was ultimately fooled by a child.

Upon thinking of this, Liu Su's knees buckled, and he knelt before the late emperor's spirit tablet, suddenly spitting out a mouthful of blood.

With the late emperor's memorial tablet so close, his eyes widened in fury: "I, Liu Su... was blind to your worth!!!"

Xiahou Che looked down at him, who was filled with regret but had no choice, and smiled slightly: "Since Master has made his choice, please bear with me. After all, we are in the same boat from now on. We will share the same fate, and we will share the same fate."

-

Yan Zhen had no time to pay attention to the undercurrents in Fengtian Hall and Qianyang Hall. She sent the nearly mentally broken Consort back to Yongchun Palace.

Although the Imperial Concubine had been in charge of the six palaces for many years and had seen all sorts of despicable methods in palace intrigue, this was the first time she had ever seen a living person have their head chopped off right before her eyes.

Moreover, with the Jin Emperor killed, the fate of the Jin Dynasty was about to change, and she would no longer be the mistress of the six palaces.

Overwhelmed by shock and anxiety about the unknown future, she nearly fell several times on her way back to Yongchun Palace.

Back at Yongchun Palace, the Imperial Concubine sat on the couch wrapped in a quilt, unable to come to her senses for a long time.

The nanny brought her a calming soup and served it to her, after which she drifted off to sleep.

Yan Zhen did not leave until the Imperial Concubine was fast asleep.

It was already afternoon when they left Yongchun Palace. The news that Liu Su had led his troops to surround the palace and that he had enthroned the eleventh prince as the new emperor had spread throughout the inner palace.

Yan Zhen noticed that all the guards in the harem had been replaced with new faces.

Back at Yihua Palace, Yan Zhen removed her hairpins and jewelry, washed up, and prepared to rest.

She was exhausted after staying up all night.

But lying on the couch, she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

She knew Xiahou Che was bold, but she didn't expect him to be this bold, daring to scheme against even Liu Su.

Liu Su commands 300,000 troops. If he does not resist Xiahou Che's coercion and instead kills him, Xiahou Che's nearly six years of planning will be ruined.

Fortune favors the bold, and now he has succeeded, but his plans have become somewhat tricky.

Her original plan was to instigate a fight between the second, third, and fifth princes and the Emperor of Jin, and once they were severely weakened, she would then work with Xiao Dingfang to support a weak prince to ascend the throne, and as empress, she would secretly control the government.

When the time is right, send this puppet emperor to his death, and change the dynasty of the Xiahou family to the Xiao family.

With both military and political power under her control, and backed by Xiao Dingfang's 600,000 troops, who in the court would dare to disobey her?

Xiahou Che was the puppet emperor she had chosen, but she did not expect that this prince, who in her eyes was "a little clever but not much," would not only kill off all the direct and collateral branches of the Xiahou clan who were eligible to inherit the throne, making himself the only viable option, but also trick Liu Su, who had 300,000 troops, onto his pirate ship.

Now that Liu Su has joined forces with Xiahou Che, it's a question whether she can control Xiahou Che. If she wants to kill Xiahou Che and take his place, Liu Su, that old-fashioned man, will be the first to disagree.

Although she could mobilize Xiao Dingfang's troops to fight Liu Su fiercely, she secretly did not want to see that situation.

They were all soldiers of the Jin Dynasty, fighting amongst themselves. Even if the Xiao family won in the end, they would leave her with a dynasty devastated and its people suffering. It would take her decades or even longer to restore the people's livelihood.

She wanted to win, but not in this way.

With his mind in turmoil, Yan Zhen sighed and rubbed his temples.

Never mind, let’s get some sleep first.

Yan Zhen didn't sleep well. When she woke up, it was already dark outside.

The inner palace was quiet. Yan Zhen threw off the covers and sat up, calling out, "Green Pearl."

The next moment, the curtain was lifted by a hand with distinct knuckles. The person who came in was dressed in plain mourning clothes, and his handsome features, still carrying a youthful air, smiled when he saw her: "You're awake."

It is Xiahou Che.

He had been there for an unknown amount of time. He moved a mahogany armchair and sat outside the bed curtains. The palace maids inside the palace knelt on the ground, each holding their breath and not daring to raise their heads.

Yan Zhen paused for a moment, then casually got out of bed and asked, "Why are you here?"

The late emperor's funeral has not yet been held, and the new emperor's ascension to the throne is still undecided. At this time, he is either keeping vigil in Qianyang Palace or busy to the point of being unable to put his feet down in Fengtian Palace.

Xiahou Che picked up his outer robe and naturally draped it over her shoulders: "There are some things I need to discuss with you."

"You said."

"The Imperial Observatory has submitted an auspicious date for the coronation, set for seven days from now. I think it would be better to hold the empress's investiture ceremony at the same time. What do you think?"

A palace maid brought up some tea for rinsing her mouth. Yan Zhen was about to reach for it when Xiahou Che picked up the teacup first, lifted the lid, and presented it to her.

Yan Zhen paused, then took a sip of tea from his hand to rinse her mouth.

"You decide what to do, I have no objection."

Seeing her say this, Xiahou Che hesitated again: "Seven days is a bit rushed. I'm worried that the Empress's ceremonial robes made in a hurry will not be exquisite enough. Moreover, the border is far away, and my father-in-law may not be able to return to the capital within seven days."

Yan Zhen rinsed her mouth and watched as Xiahou Che personally wrung out a hot towel and handed it to her to wipe her face, his movements so practiced it was as if he had done it countless times.

"Then let's wait a little longer, there's no rush."

Xiahou Che frowned and blurted out, "I'm in a hurry!"

Yan Zhen looked up at him.

Xiahou Che seemed to realize he had said the wrong thing and tried to save face, saying, "I don't like these formalities. Let's do them all at once so we don't have to go through all that trouble again later."

Yan Zhen saw through his little scheme, threw the handkerchief back into the basin, waved his hand, and signaled the others to leave.

Once only the two of them remained in the inner hall, Yan Zhen sneered, "You haven't even ascended the throne yet, and you already want to be a tyrant?"

Xiahou Che was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"When an elder in an ordinary family passes away, one must abstain from sex and meat to observe a hundred days of mourning. The late emperor is lying in the Qianyang Palace and has not yet been buried, yet you are already driven by lust and driven by erotic desires. What is this if not the behavior of a tyrant?"