Xue Zining knew she could no longer ignore it.
"Your Majesty..." Xue Yan called softly from the side.
Xue Zining hummed, looked up, and met those sharp, piercing eyes.
A hint of coldness emanated from them.
She took a few steps forward, coming before Xue Wenjie, and said, "Imperial Uncle."
Xue Wenjie watched her coldly, his chilling gaze making her shiver.
After a long pause, he spat out a few words from between his teeth, "Your Majesty, you are here too?"
Each word carried a chill.
Xue Zining nodded.
In an instant, the chill radiating from Xue Wenjie intensified.
She couldn't help but furrow her brows.
This aura made her deeply uncomfortable.
"Imperial Uncle, a love for beauty is universal, it's nothing to be ashamed of."
Hearing this, Xue Wenjie's expression turned even uglier.
Xue Zining, as if oblivious to his darkening face, continued, "However, no one expected the beauty to turn into a man..."
Xue Wenjie gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty..."
"Lord Yu..." Xue Zining suddenly called out to Lord Yu.
Lord Yu bowed and said, "Your humble servant is here."
"Are the criminals who attempted to assassinate the Regent King not being taken away yet?"
Lord Yu seemed to have a sudden realization, waved his hand, and coldly commanded, "Take them away!"
Lord Yu's subordinates quickly dragged Qiao Qiao away.
Just as Xue Wenjie was about to speak, Xue Zining stepped forward and said, "Imperial Uncle, rest assured, Lord Yu will surely provide you with an explanation. What say you, Lord Yu?"
Lord Yu smiled with cunning in his eyes, "Your Majesty, rest assured. With me here, justice will undoubtedly be served for the Regent King."
"Good, very good..." Xue Wenjie said, gritting his teeth and forcing these words out. His face was as cold and bleak as the thick frost of a winter night, utterly unyielding.
Finally, he flicked his sleeve and left.
He took with him an oppressive aura.
Xue Zining couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
She turned to Lord Yu, her gaze also chilling, "Lord Yu, I appointed you to assist me, not to harm me."
Upon hearing this, Lord Yu slowly bowed and knelt on the ground, offering a solemn kowtow, "For today's events, we owe it all to Your Majesty. This humble servant, along with the Qiao family, thanks Your Majesty for saving our lives."
Xue Zining blinked her eyes and asked, "What do you mean?"
Lord Yu looked up and asked, "Your Majesty, do you still remember the old General Qiao who guarded Dongling Pass?"
Xue Zining was taken aback. She thought for a moment and then said, "Are you referring to General Qiao's family, who were executed for treason and whose entire clan was annihilated?"
Lord Yu nodded, "Precisely."
Her gaze turned cold, "Lord Yu, the execution of the entire clan was an imperial decree from the former Emperor."
Lord Yu looked up and stated with solemnity, "Yes, it was the Regent King who ordered the confiscation of their property."
Xue Zining was startled.
Lord Yu continued, "That day, the Qiao family was in hell."
"It was horrific, wasn't it?" she asked.
Lord Yu neither nodded nor shook his head, merely stating, "From the elderly to the newborn infants, not a single soul was spared."
In truth, even without Lord Yu's words, she could already guess some of it.
"Then she..."
"This young master Qiao was protected by this humble servant," Lord Yu lowered his gaze.
Xue Zining stood up, walked beside Lord Yu, and extended a hand.
Lord Yu was taken aback and looked up, perplexed.
"Get up." Seeing the girl's clear and beautiful face, he felt an unyielding coldness.
"Your Majesty..." For the first time, he felt no subservience.
The young girl's lips parted slightly, and she slowly said, "You had calculated everything for today's events, didn't you?"
Lord Yu trembled, "Your Majesty, what are you talking about?"
The young girl lowered her head, meeting Lord Yu's gaze. He saw the girl's clear eyes filled with a chilling coldness, as clear and icy as water.
"From the moment I stepped into the Lin residence, I was already walking into your trap. Upon seeing the Regent King's carriage entering your scheme, and then entering the Huan Chun Tower, I was already ensnared."
Lord Yu's gaze paused, and he suddenly smiled, "Your Majesty's foresight is unmatched, this humble servant is truly unworthy."
"Lord Yu, you are the first to have schemed against me," the girl's voice was as cold as frost, carrying a biting chill.
Lord Yu's smile froze, and his expression became uneasy, "Your Majesty, this subject did not intend to, but only Your Majesty could save that child."
Hearing this, the young girl said without mercy, "Save him? How can I know that he won't attempt to assassinate me one day? I do not wish to keep someone by my side who poses a constant threat to me."
"Your Majesty..." Lord Yu kowtowed, "I implore Your Majesty to agree. This humble servant is willing to dedicate his life to your service until death."
The young girl let out a cold laugh, "If I refuse, would you, Lord Yu, be tempted to defect?"
Lord Yu was startled and quickly replied, "How could this subject ever do such a thing?"
"The person is in your hands; you decide what to do, but I will not keep him by my side."
Keeping a dangerous individual who might erupt at any moment was not something she would be so careless about.
Lord Yu watched as the young girl stood up as if to leave, and urgently said, "Your Majesty, young master Qiao holds a military decree from Dongling Pass."
But the young girl did not even blink, "And so what?"
"It can assist Your Majesty in governance," Lord Yu stated, word by word.
The young girl smiled coldly, her brows conveying a frigid detachment, "If military decrees were useful, why would he be unable to protect himself?"
Lord Yu was still unwilling to give up. Just then, a voice drifted over, "Uncle Yu, it's useless."
The young girl looked up and saw the young man entering from outside.
He had already changed his clothes, and though he wore only a simple robe, it could not conceal his inherent charisma.
"Wei Hai pays his respects to Your Majesty," Lord Yu said.
Qiao Wei Hai looked at the girl. He had previously felt an indescribable disappointment upon learning that the country was managed by a young girl, and he had never thought highly of her from the beginning.
However, just now, seeing the girl calmly and rationally analyze Uncle Yu's plan, he couldn't help but question his past judgments.
At this moment, he saw the girl looking down at him, her gaze clear and piercing, transparent to the very bottom.
He slowly straightened his back and knelt, saying, "Your humble subject Qiao Wei Hai pays his respects to Your Majesty."
"Rise!" the girl said faintly, her tone laced with coldness.
Qiao Wei Hai rose, and the girl spoke again, "Your life is the result of the efforts of all your family members. Whether you cherish it or not is your own concern, but you have drawn those who care about you into danger. Do you not feel ashamed, young master Qiao?"
Qiao Wei Hai was stunned.
The young girl sneered, "To harm those who care about you for your own selfish desires, I cannot keep such a person by my side. Young master Qiao, take care of yourself."
With that, the girl turned and left.
Lord Yu still wanted to stop her, but Qiao Wei Hai shook his head.
"Wei Hai, why don't you explain? It was clearly the Regent King who discovered your whereabouts and relentlessly pursued you, forcing you to seek refuge here out of desperation."
"Uncle Yu, Her Majesty the Empress made it very clear; she does not need someone like me by her side."
"However, I cannot protect you," Lord Yu sighed.
"If it is better to die a single honorable death than to live ignobly one day..."
A glint of sharp light flashed in Qiao Wei Hai's eyes.