Chapter 293 The Peaceful Years Before the Storm

Xu Da snorted angrily, "This won't work, and that won't work either. Military Advisor, what do you think we should do now?"

Seeing all the soldiers looking at him, Xu Chengfeng advised: "General, the general is not subject to military orders when he is away. The war is imminent. In my opinion, for the safety of the imperial envoy, we should strengthen the protection."

Everyone: "What does the military advisor mean?"

Xu Chengfeng nodded decisively, "Yes, that's what everyone thinks."

By the time the eunuchs who came with them and the guy sent to replace Shen Yue discovered that their movements were restricted, it was too late. Their every move was under surveillance. No matter how scared or angry they were, they could not escape no matter how hard they tried, and not a single piece of news could be transmitted.

There was no response from Kyoto in the rear, and the enraged emperor felt more and more that what he thought was right. He felt deeply that his authority was challenged, so he summoned Prime Minister Qin for a secret talk overnight. It turned out that he intended to use the Shen family, who were under his control, to check and balance Shen Yue. The emperor's attitude was very cruel.

Unfortunately, a palace maid who had been favored by the Queen overheard the secret conversation.

The poor palace maid's hometown is in the north. All her family members and clansmen died tragically when the Hu Di people wreaked havoc. Naturally, she hoped that Shen Yue would avenge her.

To take both sides into consideration, the anxious palace maid took the risk of informing the Queen. After learning the truth, the Queen changed her face and did not bother to endure and lie dormant. For the sake of the king and for the sake of peace in the world, the Queen, who had never been involved in any matter, asked to see the Emperor overnight to give loyal advice.

"Your Majesty, the war in the north is tense. General Shen has served the country and the people. The Shen family has been loyal to Your Majesty and the court for generations. You must not take action against your family at this critical moment, Your Majesty."

The emperor was so angry that he laughed, "Ha, Queen, you know you are my Queen! Even a concubine like you is speaking for that kid. What's the matter? Do you think I am incompetent and that kid is extremely capable?"

"Your Majesty, that is not what I meant. I am just worried about you. Please do not be deceived by villains, which will cause the king and his subjects to be alienated and chill the hearts of loyal ministers and generals, Your Majesty."

The emperor's attitude became worse and worse. He sneered with disgust in his eyes, "Empress, the harem cannot interfere in government affairs. This is the iron rule of the harem. Have you forgotten it? Today is your first offense, so I will forgive you this time. Why don't you leave immediately?"

Seeing that she was being dismissed, the queen had no choice but to kneel down and beg earnestly, crying with every word, "Your Majesty, I know I was reckless and I am wrong. I accept the punishment, but I am also doing this for Your Majesty and for the sake of Dajing. I hope Your Majesty will reconsider."

"Shut up! For me?" The emperor looked at the queen with a mocking look, "Haha, I think you are doing this for your Cheng family, for that fellow Cheng En, right? Your good brother has made no achievements in the court, either pretending to be deaf and dumb or repeatedly opposing me. This time you come here so-called for me, dare you say it's not for your stupid brother?"

The queen was shocked, "Your Majesty, why do you say that? You and I are husband and wife, how can I, a concubine..."

"What's the matter?" The emperor saw that his wife was helping outsiders instead of himself and was stubborn and refused to admit it. He became even more angry and ignored the love they had for each other over the years. He waved his sleeves in anger.

"Come on, the Queen has violated the palace rules and attempted to interfere in government affairs. Pass on my decree. From today on, the Queen will be confined to the palace and reflect on her mistakes. The management of the palace affairs will be handed over to the Imperial Concubine."

Following the emperor's order, the empress was confined to the palace, and the eighth golden order was issued.

In the huge and cold palace, the emperor looked towards the north with a stern face and spoke in a cold voice.

"Nine has always been the highest number, the emperor's honor. Shen Yue, you are just a general and you are not worthy of it. If you refuse to accept my toast, don't blame me for being cold-blooded. I can only ask you to drink the penalty wine..."

When the war in the north was raging, the eighth golden order with a threat arrived at the camp. At that time, Shen Yue was leading his troops to fight in the front and was not in the command tent in the rear. The golden order was received by military advisor Xu Chengfeng. When he saw the content on it, Xu Chengfeng's face changed drastically. He disregarded his manners and cursed the emperor for being shameless.

The war was at a critical moment. If the commander was confused, the army would be in chaos. One hundred thousand soldiers, and even another hundred thousand soldiers who joined the allied forces, would be in danger of losing their lives. In this difficult situation, Xu Chengfeng risked the world's disapproval and sent Shadow One and Shadow Two to lead Shen Yue's trusted shadow guards to Xinjing to rescue the commander's family. At the same time, he worked with the soldiers who knew the order to conceal the responsibility.

The eighth golden order fell into oblivion from then on. Only the secret agents sent by the emperor brought back news of the army's successive victories. The emperor sitting in the palace was holding these news with a terribly gloomy face, as if he had already seen the near future when this young commander, respected by all the people, would trample on himself, the emperor, and become arrogant.

No, he would never allow this to happen!
At the same time, Hu Di was in a tough battle behind him. Jueluo Luo sent a letter to angrily rebuke Qijir. Qijir was anxious and went to Prime Minister Qin to force him to set a deadline. Prime Minister Qin had no choice but to rush into the palace again. After discussing with the emperor, the situation was completely out of control.

In Kyoto, at the lakeside behind Xinhai Pavilion, in the middle of several Dongjia courtyards, at dawn, there was a noise coming from the courtyard. Ji Mo, who had settled down in the courtyard next door, knocked on the door of his own courtyard early in the morning.

After washing up, Yu Meixue, who was dressed neatly, came to open the door in person. Seeing that it was Ji Mo, Yu Meixue smiled, "Brother Mo is here."

Ji Mo smiled and bowed, politely saying, "Good morning, auntie."

"Hehe, An, An, Mo Ge'er, wait a moment, I'll go and wake Guang'er up."

"Please, Auntie."

"Don't bother me, don't bother me. Auntie has to thank you for always thinking about Guang'er. Please wait a moment."

After settling Ji Mo down, Yu Meixue went straight to the east wing, pushed the door open, and went to the bedroom. Looking at the person who was still sleeping soundly on the bed, Yu Meixue smiled softly, walked over and sat down beside the bed, gently shaking the person in the quilt.

"Guang'er, Guang'er..."

The weather is getting cooler. It's so nice to sleep in the morning. But someone disturbs your sweet dreams so early in the morning. Li Yaoguang decisively turned over and covered his head with the quilt.

No, she couldn't hear anything.

Yu Meixue, who was calling softly, was amused by her niece's actions. She raised her hand and slapped Li Yaoguang's raised butt twice in annoyance.

"This kid, you're already a grown-up girl but you're still lying in bed. Everyone should get up. Brother Mo has come here early and is waiting for you in the yard. Hurry up and get up."

His ears were filled with the nagging of his aunt, whose attitude was too firm to admit of refusal. Li Yaoguang rolled over on the bed, feeling extremely regretful in his heart.

If she had known that this incident would allow her aunt to evolve from a gentle beauty into a strong woman, she would never have agreed to Shen Yue's request and brought her uncle home earlier!

Unfortunately, it is too late to know this earlier. My aunt has already set out on the path to becoming a strong woman and will never come back.

Being pulled up by her own aunt, Li Yaoguang dared not say anything. She stared blankly and felt very depressed as she looked at her aunt who was trying to put clothes on her.

She doesn’t dare to complain to her evolved aunt, but that doesn’t stop her from complaining and resentful about someone.

"Is my eldest brother crazy? As the master of Qiji Hall, isn't he busy with so many things? He even has time to keep an eye on me."

"What nonsense are you talking about." Yu Meixue slapped her niece in anger. "Brother Mo is doing this for your own good! If he didn't treat you as his own family, who would think of you all the time and want to teach you self-defense? And you blame him. Guang'er, don't do this again! We were all worried about you when you got into trouble before. It's rare that Brother Mo doesn't keep anything to himself. You have to learn from him carefully, so that we won't be scared when you go out next time."