The abandoned concubine who transmigrated woke up shouting "Long live the widow!"

That night, the retired emperor arrived at Lengyan Palace with his entourage again.

At this time, Li was already fast asleep. Jing Zhiyuan noticed that someone had come and immediately took out the scalpel that Jing Xue had left for him.

When he saw the retired emperor standing with his hands behind his back in the courtyard, he quickly stepped forward and bowed.

The retired emperor remained silent and went into the same room as before, with two golden-armored guards standing outside.

Jing Zhiyuan reached out to light the lamp, when he saw the Emperor Emeritus slowly take out an object from his bosom, skillfully unscrew it, and a bright light instantly illuminated the entire room, making the originally dark room clearly visible.

"Sit down!" the Emperor Emeritus said softly, his tone calm yet carrying an unquestionable air.

"This subject dares not!" Upon hearing the Emperor Emeritus's words, Jing Zhiyuan quickly lowered his head and replied.

"Sigh... whatever you want." Seeing this, the Emperor Emeritus sighed slightly, no longer insisting, and sat down on his own.

Jing Zhiyuan stood quietly to the side, unable to fathom why the Emperor Emeritus had come in the dead of night.

After a moment of silence, the Emperor Emeritus finally spoke again: "I stayed at the Third Prince's residence for a few days and just returned today."

Jing Zhiyuan nodded silently to indicate that he understood, but still did not speak, only listening quietly.

The Emperor Emeritus paused for a moment, then continued, "I had no choice but to go this time! Your precious daughter is quite something; with her causing such a ruckus, she's probably turning the entire capital upside down!"

Jing Zhiyuan suddenly raised his head and looked at the Emperor Emeritus. "What did Xue'er do? Why?"

"Because he found the person who framed you."

"Who is it?" Jing Zhiyuan stopped paying attention to what Jing Xue had done and unconsciously looked at the Emperor Emeritus.

The Emperor Emeritus shook his head. "She didn't say who it was, only that it was a minister in the court. I think you and I both know who this person is."

Jing Zhiyuan remained silent.

"Zhiyuan, I never imagined your daughter was so capable. Fortunately, she harbored no evil intentions, otherwise she should not have been allowed to live!"

Jing Zhiyuan knelt down with a thud. "Your Majesty, Xue'er has learned some skills, but she only protected herself and did not harm anyone."

"I don't want to investigate where her skills come from, but she's a bit out of control, and I'm worried!"

Jing Zhiyuan knelt on the ground and said, "Then what does the Emperor Emeritus mean..."

“Last time, after they visited you, they encountered assassins as soon as they left the palace.”

Jing Zhiyuan suddenly raised his head, his hands clenched into fists as he braced himself on the ground. "Your Majesty, in this situation, if Xue'er doesn't fight back, are we just going to sit here and wait to die?"

"I've also checked the scene these past two days. The only things left at the scene were the bodies of the two remaining assassins, a dozen or so weapons, and pools of blood. Jingxue and her brother were unharmed."

Jing Zhiyuan breathed a sigh of relief. "Your Majesty, they're trying to wipe me out!"

The Emperor Emeritus shook his head. "I do think Jingxue must have done something else, otherwise the other party wouldn't have been so ruthless. However, your good son-in-law has already wiped out that assassin organization. Hehe, the two of them are quite a good match!"

Jing Zhiyuan sighed inwardly, recalling what Jing Xue had said: she had only learned some life-saving skills.

Yes! If Xue'er didn't have such abilities, she would have died several times over.

"Get up! Your precious daughter's abilities go far beyond this. There are some things the Emperor may not know, but I understand that once you're released, Jingxue will have no more scruples. She's capable of anything, so..."

"You should rest here. I'll come back and talk to you when I have time," the Emperor Emeritus said helplessly.

For some reason, Jing Zhiyuan sensed a sense of desolation in the Emperor Emeritus's words. What made the former ruler of a country so helpless?

"Your humble servant obeys!"

"They'll come to visit again in a couple of days. You, you should try to persuade Jingxue."

Jing Zhiyuan: What am I supposed to advise? My two children were almost killed. Am I supposed to advise them to just sit and wait to die? Besides, they didn't provoke anyone.

But he still agreed verbally.

"Cangbei is sending a delegation to visit, saying they want to open a border trade market."

Jing Zhiyuan was still lost in thought, not quite snapping out of it. He casually replied, "That's a good thing!"

"Actually, no one understands Cangbei better than you, it's a pity..." The Emperor Emeritus tapped the table twice.

The two sounds brought Jing Zhiyuan back to his senses. "Opening up border trade is beneficial to both countries, but negotiations are similar to war, requiring you to know yourself and your enemy."

The Emperor Emeritus nodded in agreement. "In fact, the document sent by Cangbei this time also mentioned that in order to ensure the safety of personnel from both sides and to establish mutual trust, they requested that the delegation exchange hostages with our side during their visit until they leave Shangjing."

Upon hearing this, Jing Zhiyuan had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, the Emperor Emeritus then said, "Their delegation has brought two princes and a princess, and they want to exchange princesses with us. I have discussed it with the Emperor and we want to send Jingxue to make the exchange."

Jing Zhiyuan clenched his teeth tightly, sighing inwardly, "My daughter!!"

"Don't worry! Your daughter is not only capable, but also incredibly shrewd. She will definitely not suffer any losses; it will only be others who suffer."

Jing Zhiyuan thought to himself with a heavy heart, "How can this sinful subject be at ease with Xue'er?"

"There are only two princesses in this dynasty. Besides Jingxue, there is the second prince's principal wife. Not to mention the principal wife, even if all the second prince's women were added together, they would not be as good as Jingxue."

Jing Zhiyuan: Please don't flatter my daughter. I'd rather she were useless, at least she wouldn't have been chosen to go into that wolf's den.

But who can say no to the emperor's decree?

"The problem that the Emperor and I are having now is whether your daughter will agree. Even if she does, she'll have to make some conditions, like letting you out. That's definitely not going to work out, so you'll have to persuade her. Only you can convince her; even Mu Chen can't."

Jing Zhiyuan looked at the cunning and calculating Emperor Emeritus and thought, "You've flattered my daughter and now you're putting the same compliment on me. My son and I have nowhere to escape."

“Your Majesty, you also know the saying ‘a general in the field may not be able to give orders to his troops,’ so I may not be able to persuade Xue’er,” Jing Zhiyuan said.

To everyone's surprise, the Emperor Emeritus's eyes flashed with a sharp look. "Don't you still have your wife?"

Upon hearing the Emperor Emeritus's words, Jing Zhiyuan immediately said anxiously, "Your Majesty, how can my wife know about this? She is pregnant. What if she gets worried and something goes wrong?"

"Then you try to persuade him!" the retired emperor said in a gruff voice, clearly losing patience.

"This humble subject will try his best to persuade them!" Jing Zhiyuan said helplessly.

"Alright, I'm leaving now. I have people here. If there's anything urgent, just let them know, and they'll report back to me as soon as possible." The Emperor Emeritus stood up and picked up a flashlight.

"Respectfully seeing off the Emperor Emeritus!" Jing Zhiyuan said, bowing and cupping his hands.

Watching the retired emperor fly out of the palace walls with two golden-armored guards, Jing Zhiyuan sighed and returned to his room. He did not immediately go back to his bedroom, but sat alone in the darkness.

The day after tomorrow is the due date for the two children, and Madam Li has already started talking about it these past few days. Perhaps it's because she's more than a few months pregnant, but he feels that Madam Li is a bit anxious, worrying about this or that. He can only patiently comfort her.

He never expected that someone would try to assassinate Jingxue and Jingze; he could only imagine how dangerous the scene must have been.

If she could wipe out all the assassins, is she really his daughter?

He let out a sigh of relief. Let everything take its course!

All I can do is pray to the gods and Buddhas to bless my two children with health and safety!