Aunt Meijiang walked up with the best desserts from Zhaoyang Palace, wearing a beaming smile. She was extremely polite. "Your Highness, please enjoy them at your leisure."
Huo Wei cast a downward glance. "There's no need to curry favor like this."
Du Gu Luanyue dragged her bright red dress and walked up to him. She sat on the chair beside him. "Why did you help me?"
Huo Wei propped his head up with his hand and drawled lazily,
"You followed the protocol of the queen and came to celebrate my birthday. I should give you something in return.
Du Gu Luanyue, I did help you yesterday. We're now even.
From now on, you go your way, and I'll go mine. When it's time to kill you, I won't show any mercy."
Du Gu Luanyue pursed her lips. Her expression was unusually calm. "Okay, I understand."
Huo Wei had thought he would hear her heart - broken pleas to stay, but all he heard was her cold reply.
Suddenly, he retracted his long legs from the table. He stared intently at her. "Your answer is beyond my expectations."
Du Gu Luanyue let out a faint smile.
"What's so unexpected about it?
His Highness the Prince of Yuzhang helped me today, making my matter known to the Crown Prince of Dongning. The Emperor had no choice but to intervene. Don't I also help the Prince of Yuzhang in a way?
The Zhao family has now handed over the last half of the military tally.
Although it didn't end up in your hands, now in the Imperial Guard, you're the one who calls the shots."
Huo Wei's black eyes flashed. He stood up and was about to leave. For some inexplicable reason, he felt a bit vexed.
He walked a few steps. He was almost out of Zhaoyang Palace, but still didn't hear anything else.
He stopped in his tracks without turning back. "I'm leaving."
Du Gu Luanyue replied, "Your Highness the Prince of Yuzhang, take your time. Be careful on your way out of the palace."
Huo Wei didn't reply to her. After staying up all night, he returned to his mansion to rest as soon as he left the palace.
He always felt that something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
This Du Gu Luanyue must be up to something new. How could she change so suddenly? He just couldn't figure it out for the time being.
He buried his face in the brocade quilt. Suddenly, a familiar scent wafted over. It was the fragrance on that woman.
Sweet and charming, it lingered delicately.
Only then did he remember that Du Gu Luanyue had slept in his bed yesterday, which was why her fragrance remained on the bed.
Someone knocked on the door outside. "Your Highness, it's me."
Huo Wei pulled his head out of the brocade quilt and sat up. "Come in."
Shen Guilan, the disciple of Huo Wei's master and his senior brother, was now his military advisor.
Wearing a simple cloth robe and carrying an old, yellowed book in his hand, he walked in wearing a pair of cloth shoes.
The slightly faded blue cloth robe had no creases. With his handsome face, there was a faint trace of worry between his scholarly eyebrows.
"Your Highness, why did you secretly help the Empress Du Gu?"
Huo Wei said, "I didn't help her. I just wanted to seize the last half of the military power from the Zhao family through this incident."
Shen Guilan said, "As your military advisor, I think this move of yours is quite risky. Now that you're the only commander of the Imperial Guard and you've made great military achievements, this might easily arouse the Emperor's suspicion.
As your senior brother, I feel that you seem to care too much about the Empress Du Gu?"
Huo Wei's black eyes flickered. "I'm just turning their scheme against them."
Shen Guilan sighed. "What about that medicine bottle?"
Huo Wei raised his eyes and looked outside the door. Good for you, Meng Tan. You have a gossipy mouth.
Then he smiled casually.
"I pretended to show kindness to the queen to see what she was up to. Only then can we have a better chance of killing her next time we lay a trap."
Under Shen Guilan's calm expression, his worry didn't fade.
"Our people have found out that the legitimate eldest princess from Southern Chu has a very complicated background. The Emperor and Empress of Southern Chu have been raising her as a crown prince since childhood.
Moreover, Your Highness, you've set up two traps to kill her. Has any of them been successful?
The Empress Du Gu is definitely not as simple as we think. I'm afraid Southern Chu has other motives."
Huo Wei's expression suddenly turned solemn. He composed himself a bit. "I'll surely keep what the military advisor said in mind."
After Shen Guilan left, Huo Wei placed his hand on his forehead.
Yes, what was he thinking? Why did he interfere in the affairs of that demon queen Du Gu Luanyue?
The great plan of revenge couldn't be delayed at all. No one could become a stumbling block on his path.
The matter of Murong Min standing up for the queen had caused quite a stir. Even the position of the commander of the Imperial Guard had been changed.
People were talking about it. They said that the demon queen was really capable. With a bit of pillow talk and a few tears, she made the Zhao family fall so badly.
Now, the Zhao family in the court had started to behave with extreme caution and were very low - key.
In the harem, the concubines also began to pay their morning and evening respects. They came and left in an orderly manner.
Du Gu Luanyue didn't pay attention to the concubines in the harem anymore. Instead, she wanted to take advantage of the presence of the Crown Prince of Dongning to put an end to Northern Yan's idea of invading the south.
From time to time, she would think of Huo Wei.
Aunt Meijiang replaced the small hand - warmer for her.
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid the Prince of Yuzhang didn't just want to deal with the Zhao family this time, right?
I feel that the Prince of Yuzhang really came to help Your Majesty that day."
Du Gu Luanyue said, "Didn't he say himself that he came to return the favor? From now on, we're even. When it's time to kill me, he won't hesitate."
Aunt Meijiang then asked,
"But Your Majesty, the Prince of Yuzhang showed some kindness to you. Today was such a good opportunity to thank him. Why did you let it go so coldly?"
Du Gu Luanyue let out a soft laugh. There was a hint of charm in the corners of her upturned eyes.
"Who said I let him go?
A wild beast like Huo Wei can't be fed all the time. We have to starve him from time to time.
When the wild beast is full, it will become disobedient, lazy, and arrogant. Only by starving him occasionally will he know what it means to be itching with desire.
That's how we should deal with men. Let them get something occasionally, and let them fail to get it occasionally. Only then will they have emotions and follow you."
Aunt Meijiang felt relieved.
"I was worried that Your Majesty would not want to continue the plan to deal with the Prince of Yuzhang because you were wronged in his mansion."
Du Gu Luanyue adjusted the gold - wire peony flower in her hair. Her smile was still sweet and charming.
"They were just a few unpleasant words. It doesn't hurt me physically. Why should I remember them?"
Yu Zan had been standing behind the dressing table. She asked in a low voice,
"Your Majesty the Queen, after this plan succeeds, where will the three of us go?"
Du Gu Luanyue looked at her. "Naturally, we'll return to Southern Chu."
Yu Zan let out an "oh". She thought about the crimes her family had committed in Southern Chu. If she returned, could she still be the wealthy young lady she used to be?
She fell into silence as she pondered.
Aunt Meijiang glanced at her.
"Don't think about useless things. Do your job well. Using your wiles to win the Emperor's favor is your only way out and also the way for your family to atone for their sins."
Yu Zan lowered her head and scraped the skin on the back of her hand with her fingertips, one stroke after another.
As the New Year was approaching, Xie Xuanjin, the Crown Prince of Dongning, said that he wanted to stay in Northern Yan for the New Year before leaving.
As the queen, Du Gu Luanyue naturally had to represent Northern Yan to warmly entertain the guests. However, behind this hospitality was the game among the three countries.
One day, the snow stopped, and the sun peeked out from behind the white clouds.
It was a rare sunny day in the severe winter of Northern Yan.
Du Gu Luanyue and Murong Min were also basking in the sun in the imperial garden. However, basking in the sun wasn't her purpose.