"Good grief!" Hua Yu exclaimed, a little exasperated and amused at the same time. "Didn't you say you weren't going to see me off?"

  This thing is his recent treasure, she knows he likes it, so she brought it to make a joke, but didn't expect him to really give it.

  Jiang Xuanjin turned his head and glanced at him, his dark eyes slightly sinking: "What do you want?"

  "This is it, I suppose this is what I wanted." Huai Yu scratched his head, "What gift should I give in return?"

  Put down the teacup in his hand, Jiang Xuanjin lowered his eyes and said, "I'll go back, you don't have to worry."

  The New Year's Eve banquet ended with a lively and noisy celebration, with everyone being drunk to the point of unconsciousness. The sound of firecrackers continued until midnight in the city, while outside the city, soldiers stationed there were also happily gathered around the bonfire eating meat and drinking wine, as if they were at home rather than on the battlefield.

  However, on the first day after the New Year, Li Huairan secretly ordered that Ning Zongdong be appointed as a general, and troops were deployed to the north of Ziyang, west of Pingling, and south of Changlin, in preparation for any unexpected needs.

  Ning Zhen Dong was previously the governor of Yinping Prefecture. After being seen through by Zi Yang Jun, he fled back to the capital overnight. This matter shouldn't have been his responsibility in the first place, as it was somewhat dangerous and wouldn't bring much credit if successful. Yet somehow, Your Majesty pushed him forward.

  Someone who knew what was going on whispered to him: "Ning Guifei has been out of favor for over half a month, and last time you handled things but didn't succeed, I suppose the Emperor is also angry."

  How could Wanwei fall out of favor? Ning Zhen Dong couldn't understand it. With her gentle and considerate nature, hadn't she always been in the emperor's good graces?

  Indeed, Ning Wanwei entered the palace at the age of 16. Although she was two years older than the emperor, she had always been favored and never declined. Many people in the harem wanted to compete with her for the position, but none succeeded. The people in the palace all felt that as long as the Ning family made some more achievements, the position of empress would surely fall to Ning Wanwei.

  However, Li Huailian has not been to Heji Palace for half a month now.

  It's not that he didn't want to go, but since the last time he had a tantrum and slapped her in the face, Ning Guifei hadn't taken the initiative to ask for his well-being. He had been sulking for several days and asked the palace eunuchs how things were going in the palace. The eunuch replied that the imperial concubine was doing very well.

  What does "very good" mean? Li Huailin felt very uncomfortable in his heart. He was the emperor, and he should be admired and remembered by others. Without his favor, how could she live a very good life?

  He had set up an ambush in Yīnpíng to capture Zǐyáng Jūn, intending to take him down directly. Who knew that Níng Zhèndōng was incompetent and not only allowed Jiāng Xuánjǐn to return to the main city of Zǐyáng, but also returned to the capital to plead for forgiveness. Lǐ Huáilún was very angry, thinking it over, he let Níng Zhèndōng make up for his mistake by achieving a new merit, and specially sent an imperial attendant to pass on a message to Xǐ Gōng.

  The implication of this message is very simple: if you displease me, I will be unkind to your family!

  Ning Guifei heard the news, her face turned pale, hesitated for a moment, tidied up her palace attire and hairpins, and still went to Longyan Palace to pay respects. She hadn't been favored for half a month, every time she went to pay respects was obstructed in all ways, today she didn't know if the eunuch had taken pity on her or what, but he actually let her enter the palace.

  With a gentle sigh, Ning Yuwei stepped forward and paid her respects: "Your concubine wishes you well, Your Majesty."

  Li Huailian sat on the dragon chair, his face cold: "Now it's useless to come and ask me, Changlin, Pingling, Ziyang, Danyang and other places have all shown signs of rebellion. The situation is already pressing, the court has no one to use, can only send Ning to go."

  Ning Guifei paused for a moment, feeling the emperor's indifference towards her. Her heart was slightly choked.

  From the beginning, she knew that Your Majesty only looked at her highly because she had a few points similar to Princess Chang, but after all, she had been by his side for two or three years. She thought that there would be some difference, but who would have thought that it was still the same? After one day of fading emotions, she and the people in the Cold Palace were no different.

  Lowering her eyes, Ning Guifei knelt down and kowtowed: "Your concubine has not seen Your Majesty for a long time, I came to pay my respects."

  It's been a long time since I've seen you. Li Huailian had a gloomy face, staring at the memorial on the table with displeasure, and after a while, he glanced at her with his peripheral vision.

  With this glance, I saw a pale face, with makeup that couldn't cover up its haggardness.

  Li Huailin's eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he furrowed his brow: "What's going on with you?"

  Ning Guifei did not know what he meant by these words and stood up straight, lowering her head to look: "Where is the concubine not suitable?"

  It's only been half a month, and it's already reduced to this state. Didn't you notice yourself? Or did you deliberately make yourself look like this to play the pitiful card in front of him? Li Huailin looked at him coldly, thinking that the latter possibility was greater.

  A surge of anger rose in his heart, and he said: "If you are not used to the luxurious food and clothing in He Xi Palace and cannot take care of your body, then it's better to move to He Ruo Xuan, which can also make room for Shu Fei."

  Ning Wanwei's face turned pale, and she stared blankly at the embroidered flowers on the carpet, her fingers pinching her sleeve.

  He built the He Xi Palace for her, and now he's going to let someone else have it without batting an eye.

  Are all imperial families as ruthless as this?

  "Isn't anyone going to speak up?" After a long while without getting any response, Li Huailian became somewhat impatient.

  She slightly lowered her head and said in a low voice: "All the glory I have is given by Your Majesty, if Your Majesty wants to take it back, I will not complain."

  The eunuch standing beside her gave her a sideways glance.

  I've never seen a more foolish imperial consort than her. If it were Consort Shu, she would have begged for mercy by now. But not her, she really thinks Your Majesty is going to punish her.

  Li Huairan's face sank even further, and he knocked on the imperial desk with his hand, saying indifferently: "The Empress is magnanimous and generous, I should also fulfill her wishes. Move out of the He Xi Palace immediately. As for Ning Gong, the Empress can still go see him off. Who knows when they'll meet again?"

  Ning Wanwei's whole body was stiff, and she slowly kowtowed to him, then got up and stumbled out.

  Upon hearing the news, the palace maid who accompanied her supported her as they walked, saying: "Yue Guan Feng Jun has not entered the capital to report for duty, and Taichang has already reported his crime of treason. At present, the largest vassals of Northern Wei, led by Purple Sun Jun, have formed an alliance, and it's possible that a battle will break out at any time. It is truly a matter of life and death for you to lead the troops and deploy the formation at this moment."

  Suddenly becoming dizzy, Ning Yuwei asked: "Weren't you fine just before? How did you suddenly turn against?"

  The palace maid said in a low voice, "I heard that it was because of the crime of Pingling Jun, who had been previously agreed upon by General Si Tu and Prime Minister Qi. The emperor sent people to capture Pingling Jun, but they were intercepted by the combined forces of Changlin, Ziyang, and Nanping, resulting in a clash at the border city of Pingling."

  This fight is on, no matter what the facts are, several of the princes have already gotten into a boat.

  Actually, even Long Lin Jun and the others themselves were not very clear how they suddenly became part of Zi Yang Jun's faction. But Zi Yang Jun was a reliable person, did things thoroughly, and following him, the several sealed kings no longer had to pay taxes to the capital, and in just one short month, they had made a lot of money and grain, each with a happy face.

  People in the world are all for their own benefit. Jiang Xuanying was very clear about this truth, so he didn't deliberately win them over, but just let these people clearly know that being friends with him would bring many benefits.

  However, Chang Linjun had one concern, that is, what if they really fought, their territory was vast, adding up to half of the Northern Wei's territory, but since it wasn't justified, with what name could they confront the imperial court and wash away the shame of rebellion?

  This problem ushered in a turning point on the third day after the New Year.

  This year, Eastern Jin broke off relations with Northern Wei and there were no diplomatic exchanges. However, Bai Hua Jun entered the territory of Northern Wei, taking a boat directly from Pingling to Yicheng.

  "What did you say?" Li Huaiyu thought she might have misheard, "What king?"

  "Qīng Sī repeated: 'Bǎi Huā Jūn.'"

  The real ruler of the Eastern Jin, Mu Rong Qi, also known as Bai Hua Jun, who was as famous as Zi Yang Jun of Northern Wei, did not go to the capital this time. Instead, he came to the princess's mansion, representing the Eastern Jin.

  Hua Yu was so frightened that she almost fell off the bed. She hastily pulled on Qing Si's sleeve and said, "Quickly prepare the sedan chair! And let Zhuo and others bring some people to keep watch!"

  "Sir, everything is ready since early morning, don't worry."

  "No, no, no, he didn't prepare enough." Huaiyu shook her head repeatedly.

  Xu Chuyang looked on curiously and couldn't help but ask: "Why are you so nervous?"

  "You don't know." Huai Yu sighed with a face full of worry, "This Bai Hua Jun is sick!"

  She had a dispute with Jiang Xuanjin over the reception etiquette before. It was just that one time, and later she never disputed again, because it turned out that Jiang Xuanjin understood Murong Qi better than her. This private daughter of the Eastern Jin dynasty's first emperor, who had been through more than ten years of dark palace life, had a strange temper that ordinary people could not adapt to. For Jiang Xuanjin, she was obedient and submissive, but every time she came to the palace, she would make things difficult for Li Huaiyu.

  What kind of temper does Princess Danyang have? Looking at her being so unpleasant, she directly confronted her with the attitude of a bully on Chang'an Street. In the seventh year of Daxing, she even fought with Baihua Jun in Feiyun Palace, from the courtyard to the palace gate, although it was a double defeat, but she injured his face, and Murong Qi said to her with a sullen expression: "This lord will come again next year."

  Unfortunately, in the eighth year of Daxing, Princess Chang passed away.

  Zhen Xun has already figured it out, but she's still alive, and the news is already out. When Murong Qi arrives, he'll definitely want to settle last year's accounts with her. If she doesn't prepare a bit more, how can she be anyone's match?

  Xu Chunian nodded in understanding after listening, then reminded her: "Your Highness, you now have Zi Yangjun protecting you."

  What else are you preparing for?

  Hua Yu was taken aback for a moment, then slapped her thigh heavily: "Right!"

  Jiang Xuanchen still has it in his hand, what's he afraid of others coming to take revenge?

  With a sudden surge of confidence, Huaiyu rolled up her sleeves and asked, "Where is he now?"

  Qing Si said: "At the door, your master's intention is for you to rest well and come see him again after lunch."

  Bai Hua Jun's return to the first line of the city is, without mentioning other things, absolutely a loud slap in the face of the Northern Wei imperial family. The Northern Wei imperial family and Eastern Jin had no diplomatic exchanges this year, yet the Eastern Jin envoy actually went to his fiefdom.

  This is equivalent to turning the land of Ziyang into an independent country.

  Li Huilin received the news when even blocking was not in time, and could only raise objections to the actions of Eastern Jin, writing a national letter condemning the intention of Eastern Jin to split the territory of Northern Wei.

  The Eastern Jin did not respond.

  "This busy can be considered as helping the heavens." Murong Qi sat in the main hall, looking at Jiang Xuanzhen and smiling, "How do you thank me?"

  Jiang Xuanjin said in a light tone, "Don't try to take advantage of even an inch."

  In order to get her to come over, he gave quite a lot of things. This person got a good deal and still pretended to be clever, as usual, being difficult to deal with.

  "Ah, I heard the news that you got married and changed a lot. But now that I see you, why are you still like this?" Murong Qi shook his head, "There's still long grass on the iceberg, but you're good, cold from the inside out."

  Bring it up. Jiang Xuanjin's expression eased slightly: "Did you find out who I'm marrying?"

  "I've heard of her, Bai's fourth sister," Murong Qi said, "I came this time specifically to see her. Let's take a look at what kind of beauty she is, to have captured a man like you."

  Jiang Xuanjin nodded and said: "I'll let her see you later."

  "Right, and also invite Danyang Chang Gongzhu." Murong Qi gritted his teeth. "This good-for-nothing, didn't die properly but still wants to drag me down, telling people that I gave her the Lock Soul Jade Pendant which is a life-saving treasure, causing my estate to be raided by the Emperor!"

  One of them couldn't help it, Jiang Xuanjin hooked up his lips.

  "Ah----" Murong Qi's eyes widened as he sucked in a breath of cold air, staring at him, "You're laughing?"

  She had visited Northern Wei several times before, but she had never seen a smile on Ziyang Jun's face.

  Is it going to rain blood?

  He curled up the corners of his mouth, and Jiang Xuanjin suddenly said, "Go invite Madam over."

  Riding the void and leading the order to leave, Yu Feng stood on the ground watching the shocked expression on Bai Hua Jun's face, thinking what was there to be excited about? Staying in the princess's mansion for a few more days would be fine, it's not strange at all!

  No one would have thought that Ziyang Jun, who was once as cold as ice and frosty for thousands of miles, would now curve his lips when mentioning a woman.

  When he went to invite people in a virtual way, he kindly reminded Li Huaiyu: "Baihua Jun said, please ask the Princess and your wife to go together."

  Hua Yu raised an eyebrow, and then suddenly realized. Outside rumors were circulating wildly, but very few people truly knew that Bai Si was actually the Princess of Danyang. It was obvious that Murong Qi wasn't quite clear about it either.

  She giggled twice, deliberately didn't bring her jade hairpin, hugging her belly and walking with lotus-shaped tiny steps, entered the main hall.

  Jiang Xuanjin raised an eyebrow when he saw no one was around her and walked over to support her, slightly annoyed: "Aren't you afraid of falling?"

  "Look at you, so tense. How could I be afraid of falling with you here?" Li Huaiyu's voice was no longer rough and loud as it usually was, but instead soft and melodious as she smiled and grasped his hand, her tone sweet enough to squeeze out water.

  The back of the wind suddenly became a thrill, and his whole body was covered with goosebumps.

  Jiang Xuanjin slightly raised an eyebrow, but was drawn in by her use of the word "your concubine".

  Before, Bai Xueqi had called herself that, and he found it very annoying, feeling that this title was somewhat nauseating.

  However, now hearing it from her mouth, Jiang Xuanjin objectively felt that this self-proclaimed was accompanied by a different kind of gentle softness.

  He relaxed his expression, murmured a low "hmm", and helped her sit down beside him.

  Murong Qi's face was like he had seen a ghost.

  "Ah, so this is the Eastern Jin's Hundred Flowers Gentleman?" Huai Yu said softly, grasping the armrest, "I've long admired your great name."

  "Ah, I've met your wife." Murong Qi bowed his hands slightly unnaturally.

  To be honest, she was very comfortable dealing with Jiang Xuanjin because he valued etiquette and only restricted himself, not her. Dealing with Li Huaiyu was even more comfortable for her as she had no rules to follow, and neither did Li Huaiyu, they could fight at any time and place.

  However, facing such a weak and fragile girl, Murong Qi had an urge to get up and run away.