Talks in the Imperial Palace

Upon hearing Mo Yunxuan's order, Gao Lan hesitated, a rare occurrence, and voiced his own opinion:

"Your Grace, Commander Li has already taken all the Nascent Soul cultivators to carry out the mission."

"If we pull the Imperial Guard now, there will be a gap in your security."

Mo Yunxuan gazed at the Elite Vanguard outside the window gap, clad in heavy armor, holding long halberds, and wearing long sabers at their waists, and said calmly:

"Rest assured, no one in the Imperial City dares to make a move against me during this sensitive period, not even that Empress who suppresses Dagan."

"Security will be temporarily handled by the Elite Vanguard. Maintain minimal defense. With Uncle Wang's Peak Spirit Transmutation strength, that's enough."

"Yes! Your subordinate obeys."

Seeing that Mo Yunxuan had made up his mind, Gao Lan said no more. He found Qiao Heng and began relaying orders, waiting only for Mo Yunxuan to return to the residence before leading the Imperial Guard to carry out the mission.

Mo Yunxuan ate a fruit that felt both unfamiliar and familiar. Its sweet, crisp, and refreshing taste jolted him fully awake.

At this moment, inside the Imperial Palace, Empress Ji Ruxue lay languidly on her side on the bed, listening to news delivered by a sword-wielding woman in green robes. Her expression showed some surprise as she said:

"Qing Li, are you saying that brat Mo Yunxuan ordered Fang Liang killed? He could be that decisive?"

The sword-wielding woman called Qing Li nodded and spoke unhurriedly:

"Yes, according to intelligence, shortly after the Duke of Wei and a group of Imperial City Imperial Guard generals entered the Council Hall, those generals dragged the corpse of Commander of Left Wei Guard, Fang Liang, out of the hall. It appears... there was internal conflict."

"Heh~"

After hearing Qing Li's report and analysis, Ji Ruxue let out a cold laugh and said disdainfully:

"With that Fang Liang's arrogant and overbearing nature, he was probably chopped down for putting on airs during the handover meeting."

Ji Ruxue paused mid-sentence and sighed regretfully: "Sigh, I only recently discovered that Fang Liang's attitude within the Imperial City Imperial Guard system was ambiguous."

"I was originally planning to use Fang Liang as a breakthrough to fully control the fifty thousand troops of the Left Wei Guard! What a pity! Before I could make a move, Fang Liang was directly eliminated."

"Tell me, was this a coincidence, or did Mo Yunxuan secretly discover something and use this opportunity to get rid of Fang Liang outright?"

Faced with Ji Ruxue's question, Qing Li furrowed her brows, lowered her head slightly, and said, "Your subordinate does not know."

Instead, a woman in a red dress beside Ji Ruxue smiled playfully and teased: "Who doesn't know that although Mo Yunxuan isn't exactly a wastrel, he's completely clueless about family affairs?"

"Even the Old Duke's funeral was barely completed with the help of the butler, Wang Yuan. How could such a person possibly know whether Fang Liang was loyal or not?"

"Could it be that Your Majesty's heart is stirring, and you've taken a fancy to that Mo Yunxuan, so you're giving him credit?"

Ji Ruxue shot the red-dressed woman an exasperated glance and said irritably: "Then I'll send you, Hong Yu, to Mo Yunxuan's bed to serve him first, how about that?"

Hong Yu smiled faintly, didn't take the bait, and instead brought up another matter: "Speaking of which, has Your Majesty heard? That kid Tianxiao was quite impressive today."

"Not only did he break off the engagement with Li Qinghan face-to-face, but he also forcefully demanded the return of the betrothal gifts!"

"They say the onlookers blocked the entire street. It was quite a lively scene."

Qing Li had witnessed this scene today and said seriously: "Yes, I saw it today. Jun Tianxiao seemed to have completely lost all feelings for Li Qinghan."

"His attitude toward breaking the engagement and demanding the gifts back was very firm, as if he had become a different person."

Hearing Qing Li's words, Ji Ruxue and Hong Yu both narrowed their eyes slightly. Ji Ruxue even murmured to herself: "Became a different person..."

Feeling the sudden silence in the atmosphere, Qing Li belatedly looked at Ji Ruxue and asked, "Your Majesty, is there anything else?"

Ji Ruxue, interrupted from her thoughts, looked at her clear but somewhat dull eyes, twitched the corner of her mouth, and said helplessly: "Nothing else. But you still need to observe Tianxiao."

"Apologies, Your Majesty. There seems to be an expert with Peak Nascent Soul strength providing close protection around Jun Tianxiao."

"To monitor Jun Tianxiao under such watchful eyes with my Nascent Soul Middle Stage strength would be easily discovered."

Upon hearing the order, Qing Li had initially planned to accept the mission directly. But recalling the young man who had blocked Lin Fan's attack at the end, she compared her own strength to his and found herself completely outmatched. Helpless, she could only admit her inadequacy.

When Ji Ruxue heard Qing Li's explanation, a flash of murderous intent, almost tangible in her eyes, flickered past. She wanted to give some order, but ultimately held back.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room grew heavy.

Finally, Ji Ruxue dispelled the killing intent in her eyes and looked at Qing Li, asking: "I recall you said earlier that the position of Left Wei Guard commander was temporarily shelved?"

Qing Li hadn't noticed the shift in the room's atmosphere, only wondering curiously why everyone had stopped talking. Suddenly questioned, she answered somewhat nervously: "Y-yes, according to the intelligence, the Duke of Wei will dispatch a new candidate to take over the position of Left Wei Guard commander in one month."

After answering Ji Ruxue's question, Qing Li's face remained cool, but inwardly she breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't quite understand why His Majesty was so jumpy today—it almost scared her to death!

Receiving a confirmed answer, Ji Ruxue nodded with satisfaction. Then she turned her gaze to Hong Yu and asked with interest:

"What do you think the odds are if I send a fierce general to forcibly take over the Left Wei Guard on the grounds that an army cannot be without a commander for a day?"

Hong Yu lowered her head in thought for a moment, her tone no longer as light as before, and said flatly: "The odds of successfully taking office are 100%. The Duke of Wei will most likely not openly refuse Your Majesty's decree."

"Even after taking office, the generals of the Left Wei Guard will actively cooperate with his work."

"However, given the Duke of Wei's conduct during this appointment, in the few days before the commander chosen by the Duke of Wei assumes his post, the general Your Majesty placed there might die in some accident."

When she first heard the first half of Hong Yu's words, Ji Ruxue felt a bit smug, silently marveling: The Duke of Wei knows his place—very good!

But the second half sent Ji Ruxue plummeting into hell. After quietly listening to Hong Yu's analysis, she lowered her brows, her expression somewhat dejected, and couldn't help sighing:

"Alas, if only the Duke of Wei and the Imperial City Imperial Guard were loyal to me instead of the Dagan Dynasty, how wonderful that would be!"

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