Past Affairs

"Ah?" Jin Li was dazed for a moment.

"I'm in the Attire Forbidden Area now, and I've subdued a group of underlings.

"These underlings should be fairly capable. Beating Sima Ting shouldn't be much of a problem.

"Do you want me to send them over to help you?" Qi Yuan had always kept Jin Li's situation in mind.

Now that he had subdued the Attire Division Imperial Guards of the Attire Forbidden Area, he should hurry and send them to help Jin Li. Delaying even a single day could easily lead to regrets beyond remedy.

"Ah?" A tremendous surge of joy flooded Jin Li's heart. If Qi Yuan were by her side, she did not dare imagine what wild—or perhaps somewhat presumptuous—things she might do at this moment.

She dared to offer herself to him, yet feared that she was unworthy of him.

"Happy now?" Qi Yuan said smugly. "I'm giving you cheat codes."

All of a sudden, he felt like a player who had splurged millions of yuan.

Jin Li was an ordinary player.

An ordinary player was precisely the game experience of a yuan-spending player.

Of course, more than that, when he had been seriously ill and living alone, Jin Li had been the only ray of light he had seen.

"But if I send them over, they'll probably be pretty slow, and they'll have to attack from outside the city. With no one protecting you, Sima Ting might leap over the wall in desperation.

"How about this? Build a God Sacrifice Platform and perform a sacrifice. The Attire Division Imperial Guards will then appear.

"About three days should do!"

Qi Yuan spent roughly half an hour explaining in detail to Jin Li how to summon the Attire Division Imperial Guards.

Qi Yuan was exhausted to the extreme, and only then did he log off.

Little Bride quietly held Qi Yuan in her arms, remaining utterly motionless, as though Qi Yuan were her entire world.

"Summon the Attire Division Imperial Guards!" A smile appeared in Jin Li's eyes.

Within it was both the joy of surviving a calamity and the joy of being able to see... Qi Yuan.

"Someone, summon Minister of Rites Kong Qi..." Jin Li said, then added another name, "Summon Duke Yu as well!"

About half an hour later.

Within the palace hall, Kong Qi and Duke Yu stood below the throne.

Aunt Qin, Hua Xian, and the others stood to one side as well.

They all looked at Empress Jin Li, their eyes carrying a trace of puzzlement.

"Minister Kong, I wish to build a God Sacrifice Platform. Here are the blueprints. How many days will it take to complete?" Empress Jin Li handed a blueprint to Hua Xian, who passed it to Kong Qi.

Jin Li had drawn this blueprint herself.

Kong Qi accepted it and examined it carefully.

After looking for a while, confusion filled his eyes. "Your Majesty, this God Sacrifice Platform can be built in four to five days.

"May I ask what purpose Your Majesty has in building it?"

Kong Qi was deeply perplexed.

Duke Yu beside him was equally confused.

Sima Ting now harbored the heart of a wolf and the ambition of a wild beast. Should they not be considering how to respond—or escape? Why build this God Sacrifice Platform?

Jin Li's expression changed, becoming cold and imposing. "Just do it. Do not ask why!"

"This..." Kong Qi's face grew troubled. "Though this minister is the Minister of Rites, the Ministry of Rites... is in truth entirely under that traitor Sima Ting's control.

"If this minister wishes to mobilize manpower and resources to construct the God Sacrifice Platform, I must also find a suitable reason."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Qin was somewhat displeased. "Even a personal decree from Her Majesty is not enough?"

Though she too did not understand why Her Majesty wished to do this.

Whatever Her Majesty did, however, she would certainly support it.

"A reason... Say that I wish to offer sacrifices to Heaven and my ancestors. Is that reason sufficient?" Jin Li said, though her heart felt somewhat pained.

Indeed, she held no control whatsoever over the Six Ministries.

She was like nothing more than an auspicious ornament.

Her life and death depended entirely on Sima Ting's mood.

"Your Majesty... I fear... that will not do." Kong Qi knelt upon the ground, his entire body prostrate, his face filled with shame. "This minister has failed Your Majesty's grace!"

Though he was a great sage with a renowned name throughout Southern Qian, he could not even keep the Ministry of Rites in his grasp.

However, Kong Qi raised his head again. "Your Majesty, the urgent matter is to leave the imperial capital.

"Building a God Sacrifice Platform is no great matter.

"I beg Your Majesty to place the greater picture first, discuss a plan to leave the capital, proceed to Yanbei Pass, and order the Heavenly Revelation General to suppress the traitors!"

In Kong Qi's view, what use was building a God Sacrifice Platform...?

The urgent priority now was for Your Majesty to leave the capital.

As long as the Heavenly Revelation General remained loyal to Nanqian, Your Majesty would still be Your Majesty!

Jin Li said nothing.

Building the God Sacrifice Platform was important.

But she could not reveal that it could summon the Attire Division Imperial Guards; otherwise, word might reach Sima Ting's ears.

It sounded bizarre, like a fairy tale—but what if Sima Ting became cautious, even for a moment?

Duke Yu, standing to one side, also said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, it would be best to leave the capital now.

Only by leaving the capital is there a sliver of hope for survival!"

Although most of those present knew that Your Majesty had almost no chance of successfully leaving the capital.

It was still the only possibility of finding life amid death.

Jin Li's face darkened. "Build the God Sacrifice Platform!"

At this moment, she had to stubbornly stand her ground and take a hard line!

Seeing this, Kong Qi felt somewhat disappointed in Empress Jin Li.

Though the late emperor had also been stripped of power, he had always sought to break free from the cage, and his conduct still bore the air of a wise ruler.

But Empress Jin Li...

Bitterness filled Kong Qi's heart. Seeing Jin Li stubbornly persist, tears streamed down his aged face. "This humble minister is useless and cannot share Your Majesty's burdens. I am willing to offer three hundred and seventy taels of fine silver to help fund the construction of the God Sacrifice Platform."

Three hundred and seventy taels of fine silver was a great deal to ordinary people, but it was still not enough to build the God Sacrifice Platform.

Hearing this, Duke Yu beside him let out a long sigh. "Your Majesty intends to sink together with the nation!

I am willing to offer eighty thousand taels of fine silver and eight hundred craftsmen to build the God Sacrifice Platform for Your Majesty. It may also count as this old man's... final deed for Nanqian."

Back then, his daughter, Consort Xi, had been six months pregnant, and the Empress had also conceived. The two had been admiring flowers together when a palace maid brought over a bowl of apricot blossom snow and a bowl of ordinary soup.

Consort Xi had always loved apricot blossom snow, so the Empress shared some with her.

Yet who could have known that the soup had been drugged? After Consort Xi drank it, she miscarried, and in the end, she died of grief and melancholy.

It could be said that if not for Consort Xi, the one who drank that bowl of soup would have been the Empress. In that case, Empress Jin Li would never have been born.

It could be said that Consort Xi and the child in her womb had taken a death meant for Empress Jin Li.

Of course, rumors outside claimed that Consort Xi had been poisoned to death out of the Empress's jealousy, but Duke Yu understood that it had been Sima Ting's handiwork.

That was why, when Empress Jin Li had come to Duke Yu's residence to borrow books, Duke Yu had defied propriety and made Jin Li kneel vigil before his daughter's spirit.

Because his daughter, along with the grandson he had never met, had died in Empress Jin Li's stead.

Sometimes, he even regarded Empress Jin Li as his own granddaughter.

Naturally, Jin Li knew none of this. Hearing Duke Yu's words, joy rose in her heart.

"Thank you, Duke Yu!"

Silver was important, but craftsmen were even more important.

With Duke Yu providing eight hundred craftsmen, nearly every problem had been solved.

How could Jin Li not be pleased?

Duke Yu looked at Empress Jin Li, rose to his feet, and said, "Your Majesty, this old man does not know what purpose you have in doing this.

But this old man wishes to say that your life was bought with the sacrifices of countless people!

Your Majesty's life and death concern the safety of the Nanqian Kingdom!

Please place the realm first. This old man will remain in the palace and build the God Sacrifice Platform!"

What he meant between the lines was that he would serve as a decoy, constructing the God Sacrifice Platform while Empress Jin Li secretly left.

Hearing this, even as foolish as Empress Jin Li might be, she understood Duke Yu's meaning. She said, "I understand."