Meng Tan was one of Huo Wei's men. Although he respected Military Advisor Shen in his heart, he was still in awe of the decisive Huo Wei.
He picked up the rope and walked out of the room, then tied up Shen Guilan tightly.
Shen Guilan flushed with anger:
"Huo A'man, how dare you! Just wait and see if I don't tell Master that you've fallen for the old emperor's woman, the one you call Mother Queen!
This woman is full of false words. You've been blinded by her beauty!"
A'man was Huo Wei's childhood nickname, and there were few people in the world who knew it.
Huo Wei didn't like to hear this. His face also flushed red. He grabbed the rope binding Shen Guilan and roared:
"Fall for her?
I'll never fall for a woman like that in my life. I, Huo Wei, can have any woman I want now.
She's calculating, sly, and full of tricks. I'll never fall for this woman!"
Shen Guilan laughed out loud, with a hint of sarcasm in his gentle eyes:
"Then why are you explaining? And why explain so much?"
He knew that Empress Dugu had special means. Now, Huo Wei didn't even listen to his words.
If things went on like this, even Master might not be able to control him.
At first, Huo Wei had planned to kill the empress, but he hadn't heard about this plan for a long time.
Huo Wei ordered his men to lock Shen Guilan in the accounting room. After a few hours, the two brothers calmed down and met again.
Huo Wei said, "Do you still remember the battle when we were destroying the Western Liao Dynasty and suddenly faced a shortage of military rations?"
Shen Guilan nodded. "I remember."
Huo Wei's eyes were cold and fierce. When recalling the past, there was a chill in his voice:
"That shortage of military rations almost cost all of our lives.
The quantity of military rations couldn't have changed suddenly. If we didn't know about the change, it could only mean that someone in the court was secretly trying to deal with me.
Elder Brother, while Empress Dugu is scheming, I'm also making my own plans.
In the future, when I lead troops to war, if there's no one behind me but the brothers who charge into battle with me, once something goes wrong in the rear, our whole army will be wiped out.
In the Northern Yan court, which is entirely controlled by the nobles, no one will stand up to help you and me. "
Shen Guilan stared at him:
"But what you're doing will slow down your plan to march south, or even delay it indefinitely. Huo Wei, how long are you going to delay your revenge?"
Huo Wei walked behind Shen Guilan and untied the rope for him. He said in a low voice:
"Revenge is indeed important, but the lives of us who are still alive are even more important.
I can't treat the lives of myself, you, Master, and the brothers who follow me into battle as if they were dust."
Shen Guilan took a few deep breaths, hung his head, and thought for a long time:
"I know you care about the brothers who have fought with you through thick and thin, but why didn't you discuss this with me? Instead, you discussed it with Empress Dugu.
Don't you know who she is?"
Huo Wei thought, If I discussed it with you, would you agree?
Shen Guilan sighed:
"What Empress Dugu is doing will only make you completely offend the nobles of Northern Yan. The people you select to enter the court will probably have a hard time.
Master wrote a letter last time, saying that if you still can't achieve your goal this year, he will come down the mountain in person next year. The time I can cover for you is running out."
What he meant was that the attack on Southern Chu could be delayed at most until next year.
Huo Wei said in a low voice, "I understand."
Shen Guilan watched Huo Wei's departing figure. His already melancholy eyes became even more worried.
He went to the palace every day, much more diligently than before.
At first, he thought it was because the imperial guards were hard to manage. Later, he found out that the imperial guards had already been under control. The rest of the time, he was in the harem, having something to do with the empress.
Shen Guilan began to feel scared. Empress Dugu seemed to be difficult to deal with. If Huo Wei was really deceived by her one day and couldn't bear to attack her mother country, the great plan of revenge would be severely damaged.
He had to come up with a way to make Huo Wei completely give up on Empress Dugu and return to the right path.
Spring had finally arrived in Northern Yan. The soft golden sun lazily shone in the imperial garden. A warm breeze blew, bringing down the light - pink cherry blossom petals, which landed on her loose hair.
Dugu Luanyue was lying on a lounge chair, basking in the sun. There was still a bright yellow canopy symbolically propped above her head.
The bright sunlight fell on her fair face, making her red lips look even more alluring.
She said lazily, "I heard that His Majesty was late for court again these days?"
Yu Zan replied, "Yes, Your Highness. Miss Su Rou and the others have tried their best.
But the rumors in the harem have spread again. Although we've been so careful, we still can't stop some people from noticing."
Dugu Luanyue pressed her temples and said with her eyes closed:
"When the concubines in the harem are neglected, all kinds of rumors will spread.
The weather is nice today. After His Majesty finishes court, I'll accompany him to drink and play hide - and - seek."
She was just waiting for Murong Min to have fun before looking at the memorials. He would surely be very perfunctory.
She was thinking about whether she should persuade Murong Min to cultivate a crown prince to share his workload and then divide his power.
But among Murong Min's many princes, which one was capable of doing something and easy to control?
She fell into a deep sleep. She didn't know how long she had slept. When she opened her eyes, she saw Huo Wei sitting on the stone table in front of her, with many test papers beside him.
Dugu Luanyue sat up and said with a smile, "Bring the test papers here. I'll take a look."
Huo Wei squinted his eyes in the sunlight and handed over the test papers. His face was gloomy, and he didn't say a word.
Dugu Luanyue took the test papers and asked while flipping through them, "What's wrong with you? You look so unhappy."
Huo Wei pressed his temples. "It's nothing."
Dugu Luanyue gave him a sidelong glance and didn't say anything else. She continued looking at the test papers:
"There are quite a lot of them. I definitely can't finish looking at them in a short time. You should quickly find someone to secretly make copies.
After I finish looking at these test papers, I'll make another set of comments for you. Then you should report the detailed personal information of these candidates to me. Do you understand?"
Huo Wei watched Dugu Luanyue, who was thinking clearly, speaking concisely, and arranging things in an orderly manner. Suddenly, he found that she was extremely different from her usual deliberately charming and smiling self.
At this moment, Dugu Luanyue looked serious. She had a regal bearing, was shrewd and calm, and extremely dazzling. He nodded slightly. "Okay."
Dugu Luanyue walked over and poured him a cup of tea:
"I can see that you're unhappy. Tell me. You must have encountered quite a lot of trouble with the spring imperial examination."
Huo Wei was a person who never liked to pour out his troubles. From childhood to adulthood, even Shen Guilan was not the one he would confide in. He had no one to talk to.
When he was in the most pain, he could only swim in the river until he was exhausted.
She peeled an orange for him and handed it over:
"There's actually nothing we can't talk about between you and me.
The selection of talents in the spring imperial examination is a very important layout for you in the court in the future. Maybe there won't be any significant changes in the short term, but when the time comes, it will be the wings that will help you soar to great heights."
Huo Wei said in a low voice, "It's not the spring imperial examination that has a problem. There are some problems in the court."
Dugu Luanyue patted the back of his hand on the stone table and comforted him, "Okay, tell me. I'm listening."
Huo Wei's black eyes looked at the back of his hand, then at the orange in his other hand.