The Empress Dowager recalled that some time ago, the Emperor had mentioned to her that Sun Ming, the husband of Princess Yi Xiang, was quite capable in military strategy and had been loyal and dedicated to his duties all these years, never wavering. He wanted to promote him to be the Commander of the Imperial Guards.

  "The position of Jingying General is vacant, and there are several old generals, but I don't want to make them work hard... Sun Ming is after all a relative of the imperial family, slightly promoting him will also make my sister's face look good!"

  At that time, the Empress Dowager only said to let him go to the battlefield, with real knives and guns, to fight for merit, but unexpectedly, the Emperor's expedition this time brought away only 20,000 Beijing camp soldiers, leaving more than 50,000 people to guard the capital, and even quietly took over the power of maintaining law and order.

  Yuanyi made this move, it can be said to be ruthless and cunning, silently and quietly, the Empress Dowager was left empty-handed in trivial civil affairs ---- The suspicion between them had already become as deep as a chasm!

  The empress dowager was after all a seasoned strategist, although she was already seething with rage in her heart, she exerted herself to not show it on the outside. She merely gently swayed her painted fan, and the pearl 'flower' in her hair, under the window, cast a charming red glow that seemed about to drip.

  A heavy atmosphere spread throughout the hall, several cabinet ministers looked at each other with a knowing glint in their eyes, all of them sat with their hands hanging down.

  The empress smiled lightly, breaking the awkward silence. Her face was warm and gentle, as if nothing had happened. She only smiled and said: "Poor thing, I've seen Sun Ming, this child is indeed loyal and reliable, but a bit dull, can he subdue those arrogant young masters?" Qi Rong coughed, lifted his head, and finally looked straight at the empress. His eyes, slightly puffy from drinking, shone with a sharp light.

  "Please rest assured, Empress Dowager. Sun Ming is a man of simple and diligent nature, but he has also experienced battle and led troops before. I am certain that he will be able to lead the Imperial Guards and protect the capital!"

  The empress listened, smiled slightly, her face hidden in the shadows. Nothing could be seen clearly.

  "I was just worrying for nothing, it seems. In that case, you may all rise for now!"

  She sat upright. Coldly watching the officials pay their respects and bowing out in a line, only three words escaped her lips: "Old rascal!"

  Yeh's aunt hobbled forward, handed her a cup of ginseng tea, and comforted her: "Master, don't bother with such petty people. If you get angry and hurt your body, it would be just what they want!"

  The Empress Dowager silently took it, sipped a mouthful, and felt the mellow bitterness within. Her spirit was also shaken. She sighed and said: "If it were a few years ago when I was in power, who would dare to speak to me like this? Qi Rong is just doing his duty as a dog, barking twice for the Emperor to show loyalty!"

  She sat in the dimness, with a cold smile ---

  "The Emperor is so guarded against me. What a waste of effort..."

  Her voice was low and mysterious, as if it came from a distant place. Aunt Ye listened, and couldn't help but shiver.

  She stepped forward and leaned against the empress's ear, whispering a few sentences.

  "Are you kidding me?! Does he really want to die?!!"

  The empress dowager was enraged, her breath caught in her throat, and her heart was wracked with another spasm of pain.

  Ye Aunt hastily stepped forward and rubbed her hands together, carefully saying: "Perhaps the King of Jing is just casually socializing with a few people..."

  The empress slowly shook her head, and the pomegranate-red beads on her hairpin quivered in the darkness, dazzling with a brilliant light.

  "This child is too impatient... If he doesn't suffer a bit, he won't know how to restrain himself." It's settled, just a few scattered soldiers, desperately resisting, on the mountain slope where the green grass was lush, red and black bloodstains were all over the ground, fallen war horses, corpses, and abandoned weapons and equipment, the peaceful surroundings had been dyed into a hellish landscape.

  He took a deep breath, but the smell of blood was hard to shake off. Yuan Qi felt a bit dizzy, but unlike some new recruits, his face didn't turn pale and he didn't feel like vomiting. He touched the armor on his body, feeling the scars from swords and the stains of blood, and excitement rose up from the bottom of his heart.

  Regret not generating Han and Tang dynasty characters...

  The fervent blood in Yuan's heart was all boiling for this, he had followed the way of being a ruler since childhood, emphasizing elegance and solemnity, but no one knew that under his calm and reserved exterior, there was still a fierce and ambitious desire to go to war!

  He turned around and said to Chen Lu: "You seem to be used to such a killing scene..."

  Morning 'dew' played with the feathers in her hand and said faintly: "On the rivers and lakes, there is also a fierce battle..."

  She narrowed her eyes slightly, gazing at the scorching sun in the sky, but felt that above the boundless azure, the golden light was extremely gorgeous.

  "In the mortal world, no matter when or where, it is always so... The reasons for all things can be worn away by time, and countless lives are reduced to ink and brushstrokes. But the struggles between people will never cease..."

  She inexplicably felt a sense of desolation, gazing out at the unknown depths of the vast expanse: "The Buddha says that turning back is reaching the shore, but for us ordinary people, where can we find a shore to return to?!"

  The emperor gazed quietly at her, feeling dizzy under the bright sunlight, as if there was an endless gloom around the young woman, entwining her like a silken cocoon.

  Her whole person was pale and transparent...

  Yuan Qi was astonished, but then heard the soldiers sweeping the battlefield exclaim: "What a formidable barbarian!"

  He looked up and saw a burly man standing by the northeast path, who appeared to be a general. He held a large, oddly-shaped bow in his left hand and a shiny black short sword in his right hand. Amidst the fierce cries, he struck down two more men in succession.

  He was covered in blood, with some wounds so deep that bone could be seen, and it was a terrifying sight.

  The great Han was still brave and fierce, but his strength had already been exhausted. He panted heavily, although he could still injure people one after another, it was already the last arrow of a strong crossbow. Morning dew also concentrated her mind to open the way, Yuan Qi only heard her muttering: "Indeed so..."

  That big Han's body was getting more and more sluggish, having suffered several more knife wounds, he fell to the ground powerless, the surrounding soldiers cheered in unison, ready to move forward.

  Only to see this big Han, loudly read a sentence what, forcibly broke open the opponent, 'pulled' out iron arrow, actually was towards own throat stabbed down.

  Before he could finish speaking, a golden light flashed by, and everyone felt as if they had seen a flower. When they looked again, the big man's iron arrow had been pierced through the middle by a small golden hairpin, breaking it into two pieces.

  Chen 'Lu' slightly bowed his head to the Emperor: "Please forgive me, your humble servant, for being presumptuous. There are still some doubts that need to be settled on this person!"

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