As his voice faded, he suddenly felt the temperature around him drop sharply.
It was the dog days of summer, yet he felt as if he were in an ice cellar.
This was a sign that the man was getting angry.
The shadow guard had no idea what he had done wrong, but to save his own skin, he quickly knelt on the ground and begged for forgiveness.
"Forgive me, my lord."
The man's face was full of impatience.
"She never gets involved in such things. Why does she suddenly want to go to the South this time? Did someone else tell her to go?"
Everyone but a fool knew who the "someone else" in Cui Qizhou's words referred to.
With such a major event brewing, if the Shi family were to intervene, the whole situation would become even more troublesome.
Thankfully, this time, the Shi family was not involved.
"Don't worry, my lord. It was the Empress Dowager herself who told the Emperor that she wanted to go to the South to console the common people."
"Alright, I understand. You may leave."
With a wave of the man's hand, the shadow guard disappeared completely.
He sat back in his chair, his fingers drumming on the table as his mind raced.
That woman knew very well that going to the South at this time was likely to be a suicidal mission. Why did she insist on going? Was it just her old nature resurfacing?
Yes, that woman had been bloodthirsty before. It was very likely that her recent behavior had just been for show.
No, he would never allow anyone to cause trouble for the common people again.
Thinking of this, he immediately stood up and walked outside.
"Steward, prepare the carriage. I'm going to the palace."
...
In the palace, the young emperor was a bit helpless when facing this man.
"My mother also wants to go this time. National Preceptor, please stop causing trouble. Someone is needed to assist me in the capital city of Changjing."
The man was not angry at the emperor's words. Instead, he looked calm and composed.
"Your Majesty, I think it's inappropriate to let the Empress Dowager go alone. After all, I was there when the Empress Dowager went to show concern for the people in the South before. How about I accompany her this time? The Empress Dowager has no martial arts skills and might encounter danger. With me around, she will be safer."
Since he had said so, and Ji Heng was just worried about not finding a suitable person to accompany the Empress Dowager, it was a good thing that someone volunteered.
So when they set off, Shi Muyuan saw an unexpected person.
"Is the National Preceptor very idle?"
"The Empress Dowager has misunderstood. I'm just following the Emperor's order to accompany you and protect your safety."
Shi Muyuan rolled her eyes. This man didn't need to go at all. His sudden offer must have other motives.
Thinking that this man had not shown any hostility towards her before, she decided not to think too much about it.
Anyway, he wouldn't do anything to her openly.
The group arrived in the South smoothly. When they saw the aftermath of the great battle, they couldn't help but feel worried.
The ground was littered with corpses. They wondered how the people in the South were doing.
Shi Muyuan tightly clutched the handkerchief in her hand, got off the carriage, and slowly approached the city gate.
She didn't let anyone support her. In modern times, she had only seen such heart - wrenching scenes on TV.
War was cruel, and no one could escape unscathed.
Scenes of her getting along with the common people flashed through her mind. She suddenly lost the courage to push open the door in front of her.
If the scene behind this door was even more cruel, what should she do?
She didn't dare to think further. If she really faced the corpses of countless common people, she might not be able to bear it and would collapse.
But just as she hesitated, a long, slender hand reached past her and placed itself on the door.
At the same time, a deep voice sounded in her ear: "The Empress Dowager used to kill without batting an eye. Now she can't even bear to look at this. If you really can't handle it, you might as well go back early."
Was she being blatantly looked down upon? This man was not only sharp - tongued but also didn't give her any face in front of everyone. Didn't he see so many people behind them?
However, just as she was about to retort, she noticed something else.
There were corpses everywhere outside the city, but inside the city, there were people walking around, and guards patrolled the city wall from time to time. Seeing that so many common people were safe, she let out a sigh of relief.
Just then, an official walked out from inside. Seeing them, he was extremely surprised and overjoyed to the point of tears.
"Empress Dowager! National Preceptor! You've finally come. I thought... I thought I had to hold on alone."
There were snot and tears all over his face, but Shi Muyuan didn't show any disgust.
It was the best news to see that they were still alive.
"Tell us quickly. What's the current situation in the city? And what about those corpses outside?"
The official also noticed his inappropriate behavior and quickly wiped the traces on his face clean.
"Then please follow me, Empress Dowager. I'll tell you all the details. By the way, don't worry. Those corpses outside are not the bodies of our city's common people."
Both of them let out a sigh of relief and followed the official to the county yamen.
From the official, they learned what had happened.
Wu Lin, the mastermind of the mutiny, had launched a mutiny outside the city and incited a large number of common people. However, there were still some people who were willing to trust the royal family and the court of the Great Liang Dynasty. During the mutiny, some people's relatives threatened them with their own lives and forced them to leave the city, thus saving the whole city and the common people.
But before they came, Wu Lin had completely brainwashed those common people outside. Now those common people only believed in Wu Lin and didn't even trust their own relatives.
After hearing the whole story, Shi Muyuan's face turned ugly.
"The court has promised that it will never abandon them. Why did they still do this?"
"No one knows what they were thinking. By the way, there's another thing. Qin Feng suddenly disappeared two days ago."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.
Aunt Xiao received the news and came to find her mistress. This was the scene she saw. She felt a bit self - reproachful.
"It's my fault. I was negligent, which gave those people a chance."
Shi Muyuan quickly helped her up from the ground.
"This has nothing to do with you. You've done a great job. I think this matter is not that simple. Maybe Qin Feng's disappearance is because there's an insider in the city."
"I think so too, but after checking everyone, we still haven't found the reason."
Since this matter couldn't be investigated, everyone could only focus on Wu Lin for the time being.
"For now, we should solve the problem of Wu Lin first. The common people he leads won't be easy to deal with."
The official also thought so, but now, there was still a biggest problem.
"Your Majesty may not know. The city is now short of troops. We really don't know what to do."