"Your Majesty, the northern frontier is suffering from drought. Your humble servant, the Idle King, implores Your Majesty to decree the opening of the granaries and the distribution of grain..."
The young woman on the dragon throne heard this and said coldly, "Since he is the Idle King I personally appointed, he will find his own way."
"Your Majesty..."
"If you have a memorial, present it. If not, retreat from the court!" the maid beside the young woman called out. The young woman then got up to leave.
"Your Majesty..." Li Chenxuan stepped forward, intending to stop the young woman.
"Lord Li, the court session has concluded. If you have any matters, please present them at the morning court tomorrow." The maid blocked Li Chenxuan's path.
"Your Majesty..." No matter how Li Chenxuan called out, the young woman refused to look back.
"Chenxuan..." Disappointed, Li Chenxuan turned around and saw Lord Lin. He respectfully said, "Uncle Lin."
"Let's step aside and talk." Li Chenxuan nodded and followed Lin Feng to a secluded corner of the imperial palace. Another person was waiting there, the Grand Judge Yu Ji.
"Uncle Yu..." Li Chenxuan offered a bow.
Yu Ji hurried over and said, "Your rank is now higher than mine. I dare not accept this bow."
Li Chenxuan was unconcerned. "You are an elder to me now. Rank is irrelevant."
Yu Ji sighed and said, "His Majesty has been rather... unusual lately."
As Yu Ji finished speaking, Li Chenxuan looked at him and said, "Uncle Yu, it seems His Majesty has been somewhat off since returning from Binzhou."
Lin Feng added, "His Majesty was never this arbitrary before, even though the person in the northern frontier is the Idle King."
Li Chenxuan slowly said, "His Majesty has always been someone who trusts those he appoints."
"Could His Majesty be the problem?" Yu Ji voiced his suspicion.
Li Chenxuan's gaze paused. Truthfully, he had felt that the Empress was acting strangely for some time.
His feeling was that the Empress was avoiding him.
Why would she avoid him?
"Since you harbor doubts, why not seek an audience with His Majesty?"
Just as Li Chenxuan was about to nod, Yu Ji shook his head. "I think it's best not to alert her."
Li Chenxuan knew Yu Ji was right. He could only plan for the long term, as suspecting the Empress was an act of great disrespect.
Upon returning to his mansion, Princess Huimin, Li Fanghui, stepped forward. Seeing her younger brother preoccupied, she couldn't help but ask, "Younger brother, what troubles you? Is something amiss?"
Li Chenxuan looked up and saw his elder sister. He shook his head. "Nothing."
Princess Huimin poured him a cup of tea and said, "Younger brother, though I do not understand court affairs, I know that every decision made in court has a significant impact on the people. Remember to be cautious!"
Li Chenxuan was taken aback. He looked at Princess Huimin and suddenly asked, "Sister, if the conflicts between family members are more important than the lives of the common people, which is more important?"
Princess Huimin replied, "It depends on the person. Some people prioritize conflict, while others have the welfare of the realm at heart. They would set aside personal conflicts..."
After saying this, she looked at Li Chenxuan and asked, "Chenxuan, is it because of the drought in the northern frontier?"
Li Chenxuan was startled. "Sister, you know."
Princess Huimin nodded, her brow furrowed slightly. "The day before yesterday, Xiu Mei cried to me, saying she wanted to go home because her family could no longer afford food. Her family is from the northern frontier."
Li Chenxuan was taken aback, his gaze turning cold. He then said, "Sister, in court today, I raised the Idle King's request to open the granaries, but His Majesty brushed it aside."
Princess Huimin was stunned, almost disbelieving. "Perhaps you didn't explain it clearly?"
Li Chenxuan shook his head. "I explained it very clearly."
Princess Huimin fell into thought. Li Chenxuan did not disturb her. After a while, Princess Huimin looked up and asked, "I recall that when His Majesty left the capital, she left a Fengyin with you."
Li Chenxuan's eyes brightened. "Sister, you have truly helped me immensely."
With that, Li Chenxuan walked towards the study.
Princess Huimin's smiling face slowly turned somber. She felt a sense of unease.
Inside the study, Li Chenxuan took a breath and called out, "Feng Ying, are you there?"
There was no reply. After a long moment, Li Chenxuan sighed. Just as he was about to call again, the window rattled, and a figure landed before him. "Lord Li, do you require something?"
Li Chenxuan looked at Feng Ying with excitement. "You... you are truly following me?"
Feng Ying looked at Li Chenxuan as if he were an idiot. "His Majesty's orders are what I must obey."
"I have something to ask of you now." Li Chenxuan said seriously.
Feng Ying heard this and looked up, asking, "What is it?"
"I wish to see the Empress."
Feng Ying was startled but quickly replied, "This is simple. Wait here, and I will go fetch His Majesty."
Feng Ying left the Li mansion and headed towards the imperial palace, directly to the Empress's Zhaoyuan Palace.
Outside the palace, Feng Ying saw Feng Jiu. Upon meeting, Feng Ying asked, "Are you going to see His Majesty?"
Feng Jiu nodded. "Lord Yu asked me to summon His Majesty."
"Me too," Feng Ying replied.
Feng Jiu curved his lips into a smile. "Then it seems it's a race to see who is faster."
The two headed towards Zhaoyuan Palace, one after the other.
Arriving at Zhaoyuan Palace almost simultaneously, Feng Ying and Feng Jiu stared at the closed doors of the sleeping quarters, somewhat taken aback. In their memory, the doors of Zhaoyuan Palace had never been closed.
Feng Ying stepped forward first and tried to push the door, but it wouldn't budge.
Feng Jiu also stepped forward and pushed with all his might, but the door remained unmoving.
The two exchanged glances. Since the door was impassable, they would scale the wall.
Leaping onto the top of the wall, Feng Ying's gaze turned cold. He shoved Feng Jiu aside with great force. Feng Jiu was pushed into a large tree beside Zhaoyuan Palace. Just as he was about to emerge, he heard Feng Ying's mental transmission: "Situation."
Feng Jiu remained still.
Through the dense leaves of the tree, he could still see Feng Ying being surrounded.
A figure landed behind Feng Ying and suddenly struck with a palm. Feng Ying had no time to dodge and was forced to retreat repeatedly. Feng Ying looked up at the person before him and trembled, "Feng Yu... you..."
"I am no longer Feng Yin."
Feng Ying's gaze flickered, and he clutched his chest. "Xue Yu, you..."
"Take him down..." Xue Yu commanded coldly, devoid of emotion.
Feng Ying was stunned. "Xue Yu, what is going on?"
Xue Yu stepped forward and said slowly, "You refuse the straight path and insist on walking into hell. I can only send you on your way."
He reached out towards Feng Ying's head. Feng Jiu, hidden in the tree, trembled and was about to intervene when he heard Feng Ying's mental transmission: "Do not come out."
Feng Jiu bit his lip, his eyes red as he watched blood slowly flow from Feng Ying's forehead. Xue Yu kicked Feng Ying away and said coldly, "A futile sacrifice."
Feng Ying laboriously raised his head and asked Xue Yu word by word, "You... have you forgotten our past vows?"
Xue Yu's brow twitched slightly. He turned and said coldly, "Forgotten..."
Feng Ying collapsed, unable to support himself. He slowly shook his head at the person in the tree.
Blood pooled on the ground.
The next day, a major piece of news came from Zhaoyuan Palace: Feng Ying, one of the Fengyin, had attempted to assassinate His Majesty and was executed on the spot.
"What are you doing?" Li Chenxuan asked as he opened the door, seeing guards outside.