After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

"Your Majesty, I have already informed the delegation that you are staying at the Queen's place. I expect they will react soon. Should I intercept you?" Dian Wei asked in a deep voice from outside the door.

“The matter of Beiwu is none of our business. I only want to see how the princess will handle it. You continue to arrange for people to keep an eye on things. If the delegation makes any moves, report back immediately. If there are no moves, send word to the high priest to come over and say that the princess wants to see her.”

"Here."

Dian Wei left, and Chen Futu, attended by his maids, arrived at the royal court.

Before he could even settle into his seat, Li Yuanfang rushed over and said, "Your Highness, Master Zhou Qingzhi has passed away."

"what?"

Chen Futu was greatly surprised.

"Last night, Mr. Zhou left Longcheng and asked Military Advisor Zhang to arrange for several attendants to escort him back to the capital. He also took with him the heads of the Daqian delegation and the Red Moon Tower assassins, as well as your proclamation to the Daqian Emperor denouncing the traitors."

Li Yuanfang repeated it with a wry smile.

Chen Futu's expression changed slightly, and he immediately called for Zhang Liang.

Upon seeing Li Yuanfang, Zhang Liang guessed the inside story and then told Chen Futu everything.

Chen Futu said unhappily, "Why didn't you stop that old man?"

“Your Majesty, one cannot stop a person who is determined to die. Even if I stop him today, he may still drink poison and commit suicide tomorrow.”

Zhang Liang's attitude remained unchanged. At this point, Zhou Qingzhi was certain to die. The key question was how. Since he had voluntarily returned to Daqian as a messenger, it would be better to preserve his reputation. Given the nature of the Daqian emperor, he would surely kill him. If he died, Daqian's reputation would be completely ruined.

Chen Futu looked at Zhang Liang, who was speaking eloquently, and finally sighed helplessly, "Fine, let the Embroidered Uniform Guard infiltrate the capital. If the old gentleman dies, bury him in Zhongshan."

"I have made all the arrangements and am just waiting for news from the capital."

Zhou Qingzhi's trip to the capital is like a bomb. The Emperor of Daqian has no choice but to set it off. As long as he dies, all eyes will be on him, and the negative impact of Chen Futu's ascension to the position of King of the Northern Frontier will be transferred to Daqian.

Therefore, Zhou Qingzhi truly deserves to be called a great Confucian scholar; he was truly courageous in his pursuit of revenge.

After Zhang Liang and Li Yuanfang left, Chen Futu summoned Mao Xiang.

Mao Xiang whispered, "As Your Majesty predicted, after the banquet last night, Military Advisor Zhang went to see Zhou Qingzhi and discussed this matter in secret. The old gentleman was determined to die, so the Military Advisor devised a plan to stir up trouble in the capital and promised to take care of his grandson in the Northern Frontier."

"What a Zhang Liang..."

Chen Futu had a slight headache.

His subordinates were too radical, and even at his advanced age, he couldn't have a good end.

When Zhou Qingzhi took the blood-written letter to the capital and publicized the crimes of the Great Qian Emperor, his final fate awaited him.

After midday, Dian Wei returned to the royal court, saying, "Your Highness, the Grand Wizard has disappeared."

"Gone?"

Chen Futu put down the document in his hand, slightly surprised.

Dian Wei then said, "It's absolutely true. She must have disguised herself as a commoner and left Longcheng early on. According to the mission, she had urgent business to attend to in Beiwu, and the mission has already begun its journey."

"Where's the princess?"

"They are still resting and are unaware of the situation."

"Go and wait until she wakes up, then tell her about it in person."

"Here."

Dian Wei accepted the order and left.

Chen Futu changed into ordinary clothes, and then asked Guan Xing to leave the royal court together.

"Do you know what I asked you to do?" Chen Futu asked casually, and Guan Xing, whose face was covered by a light veil, immediately replied, "To make the group..."

"you know?"

“My men aren’t just sitting around doing nothing. The king has been resentful about the Grand Wizard’s visit, so I arranged for people to keep an eye on her. It’s said that she abandoned the delegation early this morning and disguised herself to go out alone. Don’t worry, my men are following her in the shadows. If you want to catch her, it’s not too late.”

"That woman had ulterior motives. She tricked Liu Longyue out of something quite important. I suspect that it was just bait thrown out by Empress Dugu. The one who was really targeting Liu Longyue was actually the Great Wizard."

Chen Futu said irritably.

Although he didn't want to get involved in Beiwu's mess, Liu Longyue was, after all, his nominal queen. So the delegation shouldn't leave yet. He should leave them with Liu Longyue and try to win her favor when she wakes up.

Soon the two arrived at the mission's residence. At Chen Futu's command, the Tiger Guards stopped the mission's group from fleeing.

Yemo, riding on horseback, said sullenly, "Your Majesty, what brings you here?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to ask the delegation to stay a couple more days. The Princess will see you off."

"No need, we have already bid farewell to the Princess and will be returning now."

"Guests are always welcome. The Central Plains has always valued etiquette. How can we let the delegation leave empty-handed? Please wait a moment. I have already ordered people to prepare return gifts."

"Ah this..."

Chen Futu himself came and stopped them from leaving, but Mo had no choice but to bite the bullet and make the delegation stop.

Chen Futu accompanied the delegation back to their lodgings and instructed the Tiger Guards to convey a message to the royal court, urging them to prepare more specialties from the Central Plains. He also mentioned in front of the delegation that the northern lands were desolate and life was hard.

The mission officials were speechless, but dared not refute.

The Grand Wizard has already left; they don't dare to challenge Chen Futu.

Meanwhile, in a separate courtyard within the royal palace, Dian Wei scratched his head and paced back and forth. He couldn't understand why the Crown Prince wouldn't let him wake the Queen, even though the situation was clearly urgent.

Just then, Consort Ge went out. The arrow and sword wound she had sustained was in her leg, but fortunately, it didn't break any bones, so she can move around now.

Upon hearing Dian Wei mention this, she said strangely, "The King is teasing the Queen. What if she wakes up naturally and finds that the sky has fallen? Wouldn't that be interesting? By then, the Great Wizard will probably have already run far away."

“I don’t understand the King’s thoughts, but you seem to have become smarter by following the King’s side,” Dian Wei said in a serious tone.

Ge Fei raised an eyebrow and said, "Do you think I'm a fool like you? I'm very smart."

As the two were talking, the door suddenly opened, and Liu Longyue, who had already washed and dressed, looked at them blankly and asked, "Where is the King?"

Dian Wei clasped his hands in a fist salute. "Your Highness, the King said that the Grand Wizard disguised himself and left Dragon City as soon as possible, and the delegation will also depart soon."

"what!"

When Liu Longyue heard that the Grand Wizard had left Dragon City long ago, her face turned ashen.

She remembered what Chen Futu had told her last night, suspecting that the great wizard was deceiving her. At the time, she didn't believe it, but now it seemed that it was probably true!

"Has the mission left?"

Liu Longyue rushed over nervously, trying to grab Dian Wei, which startled Dian Wei, who quickly stepped back to keep his distance. He dared not touch the king's woman.

Consort Ge quickly stopped Liu Longyue and said in a deep voice, "His Majesty has left the rest of the delegation behind and is waiting for you to come over."

"Take me there quickly!"

Liu Longyue couldn't wait any longer, so she lifted her skirt and ran out in a hurry.

Dian Wei muttered to Ge Fei, "It seems you guessed right. The princess is indeed getting angry, and the king wants to see her make a fool of herself."

"The king has never liked her, yet she has used the name of the alliance to occupy the position of queen. Now that she has been betrayed by the high wizard, let's see how she handles this situation."

Having followed Chen Futu for a long time, Consort Ge had developed some political insight.

Does the great wizard's betrayal mean that the relationship between the two places is crumbling and far from being as solid as it was said during the marriage alliance?

If Liu Longyue cannot be salvaged, she may become a discarded pawn, and at that time there will be no place for her in the world.