Hold King Kang to Command the Region! (Double Rewards, Last Day to Vote for Monthly Tickets!)

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Consort Xi sat down in the seat of honor in the conference hall and asked, "What do you mean, what exactly happened to King Kang?"

After sitting down, she seemed to notice something wrong with her collar. Without drawing attention to it, she adjusted the neckline of her nightgown.

Once her hand moved away, that glimpse had vanished without a trace.

She then looked at Qiu Tu again, her gaze sharp and carrying the faint majesty of one accustomed to power. "I told you before that King Kang is ill."

Qiu Tu nodded, then sat down beside Consort Xi and asked, "What illness?"

Consort Xi paused before answering, "A coma."

Qiu Tu raised a brow.

A coma? That was rather interesting.

He could not help asking, "Does a coma count as an illness?"

Consort Xi gave him an expressionless look. "What if I told you he only wakes up for half an hour each day?"

Qiu Tu froze for a moment, just about to say, "But that means he wakes up for half an hour every day, doesn't it?"

But Consort Xi added, "And during that half hour... he cannot even get up. He can only lie blankly in bed, staring at the ceiling."

"His mind seems mostly fine. He can even communicate with us."

"But he no longer has continuous memories."

"No continuous memories?" Qiu Tu asked in confusion. "What does that mean?"

Consort Xi said, "It means that if I tell him today that the Kou Family intends to rebel, he will fly into a rage and condemn them for their treacherous ambitions."

"But... the next day, he will still summon Kou Xuan, assign him tasks, and encourage him to become a pillar of the shelter."

Qiu Tu cautiously asked, "Could it be that King Kang has not actually lost his memory?"

"But because the Kou Family is powerful and he is in poor health, he is not confident he can uproot them completely... so he is merely playing along and temporarily placating them?"

Hearing Qiu Tu's analysis, Consort Xi shook her head without the slightest hesitation. "Impossible."

"You do not understand King Kang's prestige in the Sixth Shelter."

"Though there have always been rumors that the Kou Family shares the realm with King Kang... King Kang is an iron-blooded ruler who built the shelter with his own hands."

"Everyone in the Sixth Shelter follows him. Even the Kou Family's rise was something he deliberately allowed, because he trusted them."

"So... if he truly wanted to deal with the Kou Family, there was no way he would be unable to do so."

At this point, Consort Xi paused, then added, "There is another important reason."

"If he were really only trying to lower the Kou Family's guard, then why would he summon the ministers while awake, hold meetings, and entrust every major and minor matter of the shelter to Kou Xuan?"

Hearing Consort Xi's words, Qiu Tu was genuinely stunned.

He could not help asking, "While awake, King Kang summons ministers and entrusts all kinds of affairs to Kou Xuan?"

Consort Xi gave a slight, expressionless nod.

Perhaps because she found this matter difficult to accept as well, her fair, exotic features were filled with anger.

Qiu Tu frowned slightly.

Just as he was about to say something—

Consort Xi added, "The Kou Family's ambitions are obvious."

"When they first learned that King Kang had fallen ill, they were rather cautious and uneasy."

"During those days, I was constantly hearing news of the Kou Family secretly mobilizing troops."

"Later, when they discovered that King Kang woke for half an hour every day, still trusted them, and had even handed the shelter's great authority to them, they completely put their minds at ease."

"After probing for a while longer, they began gradually replacing the guards of the inner and outer halls, and slowly took control of King Kang."

Consort Xi had perhaps been suppressing herself for too long. Having finally encountered someone she could confide in, she poured out all the grievances in her heart at once.

Qiu Tu nodded slightly upon hearing this.

The Kou Family's reaction was perfectly understandable—too many iron-blooded rulers maintained harmonious relations with their ministers while healthy, only to slaughter powerful officials once they fell ill in order to clear the way for their heirs.

The Kou Family had likely feared King Kang would become like that.

But as events developed, they realized that the current King Kang would not only refrain from slaughtering powerful officials, but would even help them consolidate their power.

That was what led to the subsequent series of changes.

And now that he understood the Sixth Shelter's current situation, Qiu Tu finally figured out the various Points of Doubt from before.

For example, how could a minister dare to attack the Personal Guards of a consort and place the consort under virtual house arrest?

Why was the Kou Family so utterly unscrupulous?

In the final analysis... not only did they hold overwhelming power in the Sixth Shelter, they were also holding King Kang to command the region.

In a sense, King Kang now stood on the Kou Family's side rather than Consort Xi's.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu said half-seriously and half-jokingly, "Consort, King Kang is supporting the Kou Family now. Even the inner and outer halls have been taken over by them."

"What are you still struggling for?"

"There was practically no hope of turning this around."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Consort Xi's willow-leaf brows rose sharply as she glared at him. "King Kang has merely been bewitched. He isn't truly muddleheaded."

"I believe that once he wakes up, he definitely won't allow the Kou Family to remain this arrogant."

Resting his chin on his hand, Qiu Tu asked curiously, "But what if, after waking up, he still decides to continue supporting the Kou Family?"

Consort Xi's expression stiffened, and she fell silent.

Seeing this, a smile crept onto Qiu Tu's face.

In his mind, the "personality model" he had built for Consort Xi was nearly complete.

That was right. His several encounters with Consort Xi, including everything he had done with her tonight, had all been deliberate.

Because during their earlier encounters, Qiu Tu had already sensed that something was off.

Consort Xi appeared to be concerned about King Kang and searching for ways to save him, but... her motives did not seem so "pure."

For example, she always brought up how detestable the Kou Family was, how they held sway over the court, and how they harbored treasonous ambitions. (Chapter 492)

For example, whether she was facing Ai Li or Qiu Tu, the first thing she expressed was her condemnation of the Kou Family, rather than concern for King Kang's safety. (Chapter 499)

In truth, that did not fit the mindset of a normal woman.

When a woman truly loved her husband and he fell gravely ill, would her greatest concern be "neighbors" and "relatives" coming to seize the family fortune?

No. What they would care about more was their husband's safety.

After buying some time, their first priority would definitely be treating their husband's illness.

Some decisive women might even sell off part of their family assets in exchange for their husband's survival.

So... during their earlier encounters, Qiu Tu had already begun to "suspect" Consort Xi.

Thus, when Consort Xi had threatened him last time, Qiu Tu had threatened her in return, saying he would expose the matter and see how she could continue to conduct herself in the Sixth Shelter. (Chapter 500)

Yet Consort Xi had actually endured it.

At that point, Qiu Tu had formed a certain guess regarding Consort Xi's "identity."

This woman was absolutely a political creature.

To her, King Kang's grave illness was not "her husband falling ill," but an enormous "political crisis."

More precisely, it was a political crisis that could turn all the wealth and glory of her and her child into nothing but bubbles.

And the terms she had offered—the Super Grade official post, the opening of the national treasury for the Eighth Shelter to choose from at will—were not payment for treating her husband. They were political exchanges.

Once he had clarified that point, the entire matter became completely different.

With King Kang seriously ill and the Sixth Shelter almost entirely under the Kou Family's control, Consort Xi was now "borrowing a chicken to lay eggs."

Like Qiu Tu in the past, she was using things that did not belong to her as bargaining chips.

So after seeing the true nature of the matter, Qiu Tu began dragging things out with Consort Xi—he was using this method to further compress her room for maneuver and increase his own bargaining power.

And the two bold actions he had taken when they met tonight had also been Qiu Tu testing Consort Xi's bottom line.

—Having determined that Consort Xi and King Kang were more like allies than husband and wife, Qiu Tu needed to find out exactly what Consort Xi could accept.

That was also why he had just discussed the possibility of "King Kang waking up and continuing to support the Kou Family" with Consort Xi.

And now... he knew.

With that thought, Qiu Tu clasped his hands on the table and continued probing. "Consort Xi... actually... I want to help you too."

"But... as you can see, the situation has already deteriorated beyond recovery."

"Not only might we fail to save King Kang, but even if we can save him, can you truly be sure of his Thoughts?"

"If he continues trusting the Kou Family, if he intends to abandon the Bicameral Monarchy, or even plans to retire himself, what will you do?"

Consort Xi did not readily reveal her emotions. She sat upright without saying a word.

But silence itself was the best answer.

Having once again grasped Consort Xi's thoughts, Qiu Tu finally began trying to break through her bottom line. He deliberately hesitated for a moment before saying, "This matter isn't entirely without a chance of resolution."

Sure enough, Consort Xi could not help but turn her imposing gaze toward Qiu Tu.

Qiu Tu did not directly state his judgment. Instead, he asked, "How much direct power do you have in the Sixth Shelter, Consort Xi?"

The reason Qiu Tu guessed that Consort Xi was not alone was not only because she was a political creature, but also because her child, who was over a year old, was not with her.

If Consort Xi had no direct forces at all in the Sixth Shelter, she would certainly have kept her child by her side.

Moreover, for her to remain safely alive despite being surrounded on all sides by the Kou Family, she definitely had forces of her own to rely on.

And those forces were most likely not small. That was why even the Kou Family was somewhat wary of acting rashly, only daring to control Consort Xi rather than deal with her outright.

Sure enough, after hearing Qiu Tu's words, Consort Xi was silent for two seconds before she finally said, "Over the past few years at King Kang's side, I have cultivated some confidants."

"Especially several great talents I recommended to King Kang. Some command troops, while others are stationed in local regions."

"Later, when King Kang fell gravely ill and the Kou Family gained power, some of those who supported King Kang and the Heir Apparent also came to me."

"However, most of them are mid- to high-ranking civil officials in the central administration. They do not possess much actual power."

Qiu Tu stroked his chin and pondered.

The woman before him was clearly no simple figure. She had planned ahead long ago and cultivated her own power.

And what she had just said was most likely not the whole picture.

Considering the identities of both this woman and her child, it was no wonder the Kou Family had reservations.

With that in mind, Qiu Tu made a rough estimate of both sides' strength before slowly saying, "Consort Xi, this force of yours is actually not weak."

"To a certain extent, it could already influence the entire shelter's political situation under special circumstances."

"So..." Qiu Tu paused before continuing, "have you considered learning from the Kou Family?"

"Learn from the Kou Family?" Consort Xi's face plainly showed her astonishment.

Qiu Tu said calmly, "Yes."

"Since King Kang is uncontrollable, why not follow the Kou Family's example and Hold King Kang to Command the Region?"

"If the Kou Family can do it, why can't you?"

At Qiu Tu's words, Consort Xi's face turned livid.

Pointing at Qiu Tu, she angrily cursed, "You wolf-hearted schemer! Traitor!"

"I thought I had found a helper, but I never expected to bring in a hungry wolf!"

"Get out! Get out of here!"

Qiu Tu was not particularly surprised by Consort Xi's intense reaction.

He even reached out, took the hand she was pointing at him with, and lightly patted it. "Please calm down, Consort Xi."

"My proposal is entirely for your benefit."

"And don't put it so harshly."

"What wolf-hearted schemer? What traitor?"

"You need to understand that I'm not from your Sixth Shelter. I'm not one of King Kang's subjects at all. To me, he is merely a stranger."

"So I have no loyalty to him."

"And..." Qiu Tu paused, then continued, "it is precisely because of that identity that even if I help you obtain the highest authority in the Sixth Shelter, I cannot pose a threat to you."

"Because I do not even possess the legitimacy to rule."

Consort Xi's expression remained agitated, but seeing that she had not pulled her hand back, Qiu Tu knew she had taken his words to heart.

With that in mind, Qiu Tu pressed his advantage. His gaze swept over Consort Xi's flushed face as he said, "As for my purpose... Consort Xi, have you heard the story of Da Yu'er and the Royal Uncle?"

"During this time, you should have learned something about my reputation. Me? I only desire women, not kingdoms."

"After all, in my heart, beauties are far more important than kingdoms."

Consort Xi's expression became even uglier.

Seeing that, Qiu Tu knew he had provoked her enough for tonight.

So, smiling, he released Consort Xi's soft, smooth hand and said, "Consort Xi, since you have no interest in this proposal, then consider me too forward."

"I will follow the original plan and pass your message on to Old Tang."

"But whether he agrees, and how the Kou Family responds, is no longer something I can decide."

"Take care of yourself."

Having said that, Qiu Tu ignored Consort Xi's reaction and left the dream directly.

Watching Qiu Tu slowly vanish before her, the ugly expression on Consort Xi's face gradually faded, replaced by a blank mask.

She simply sat there, regal and dignified, in the vast, empty palace conference hall for a long time.

A Night Without Words.

The next morning, Tang Feifei woke him up.

When she saw Qiu Tu awaken, her amber eyes narrowed slightly as she provocatively said, "I dreamed about you last night."

Qiu Tu smiled. "I dreamed about you too."

Tang Feifei smiled even more brightly. "Then let's count it as a pre-battle pep talk for me."

Qiu Tu asked curiously, "There's already a result?"

Tang Feifei gave a cool "Mm." Her wheat-colored face was brimming with ambition. "My grandfather called me this morning and formally issued the orders."

"You will remain in New State as the nominal commander-in-chief, directing this cleanup operation."

"As the person in charge of the Military Department, I will lead New State's Military Department forces, split into two routes, enter the Cataclysm Zone, and begin clearing out the leaderless Cataclysm Zone."

"My grandfather's goal is to take another thirty-two cities and carve out two more states."

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