Qiqi's expression chilled at Hu Xiaotian's words. "I don't need friends." She turned her pretty face away, but before long, she could not help asking, "Did you really save Li Tianheng?"
Hu Xiaotian shook his head. "Li Tianheng wasn't injured at all. Why would he need me to save him?"
Qiqi sighed. "That old scoundrel really is cunning, using a trick like this to shift the blame onto the Imperial Court."
Hu Xiaotian said, "If Lin Zefeng and Zhao Yanjiang's rebellion hadn't been exposed, Li Tianheng would probably be dead by now." Inwardly, however, he thought it was a case of the thief crying, "Catch the thief!" Neither Li Tianheng nor Long Xuan'en was any good.
Qiqi said, "Circumstances have forced our hand. If we can't recover Western Sichuan, Great Kang may well be finished." Deep sorrow seeped into her voice.
Hu Xiaotian said, "Your Highness may not know that someone attempted to assassinate the Prince of Zhou in Western Prefecture."
"What?" Qiqi exclaimed. She clearly knew nothing about it, but immediately realized that, if this was true, the Old Emperor must have been involved. Eliminating the Prince of Zhou would strip Li Tianheng of the trump card in his hand. Yet to strike at his own son-his methods were truly ruthless.
Hu Xiaotian said, "Moving against Li Tianheng and assassinating the Prince of Zhou were both part of His Majesty's plan. He never intended to let the prince survive."
Qiqi fell silent. The emperor's methods were even colder and more merciless than she had imagined. On the surface, he had handed power over to her, repeatedly declaring that he would withdraw from court and no longer concern himself with government affairs. In reality, nothing he had done suggested any intention of relinquishing power. Had he merely regarded her as