"Sister Ruyi, do you have any idea how disgusting the way he looks at me is!" Yang Ying grumbled to Ren Ruyi.
"A man lost in lust always looks like that, you needn't take it to heart. He doesn't have many days left to enjoy himself anyway." Ruyi picked up her cup and took a sip of tea.
At this moment, Ruyi and Yang Ying unexpectedly found themselves amused; they exchanged a glance and simultaneously turned their gazes toward the only man in the room.
For a moment, Li Tongquang felt guilty under the scrutiny of their eyes. "Why are you looking at me? I am nothing like him." With that, he picked up his cup of tea and took a sip.
The ultimate tactic of psychological warfare is to find what your opponent desires most and then give it to them.
Ever since Ren Xin's previous uproar, the Emperor of An had already lost face and the respect of his ministers.
Why must the former Empress Zhaojie—once known as Ren Xin—have died? Precisely because their existence challenged the authority of the Emperor of An.
He relished the feeling of standing on high and looking down upon others, so they would simply indulge him.
"Do you think the Emperor of An will really let us lead troops to the border?" Yang Ying was still somewhat worried, feeling that the justification she had given the Emperor of An was still a bit shaky.
"If it were the Emperor of An of the past, perhaps he wouldn't, but as for him now—" Ren Ruyi smiled faintly, leaving the sentence unfinished.
Meanwhile, in the palace of An Kingdom, Noble Consort Chu walked with two maidservants, who carried food boxes in their hands.
"Greetings, Your Ladyship." The eunuchs stationed at the door bowed in salute.
"Rise. Go and announce my presence; I've prepared some broth for His Majesty to help him refresh himself," Noble Consort Chu said, gesturing for the maidservants to lift the lids of the food boxes.
The guards stationed at the door came over to inspect the contents. The eunuch specially tasked with testing the Emperor's food for poison also came over, tasted it, and shook his head at the guards, indicating everything was normal.
The Emperor of An was a man of that sort: selfish, yet cautious. Because he was a vicious person himself, he naturally guarded against others using tricks against him, even those sharing his pillow.
After the eunuch went inside to make the announcement, his expression turned rather unspeakable, and he stammered,
"His Majesty... His Majesty is taking a nap. Would Your Ladyship..."
"Speak your mind, what is there to beat around the bush for?" asked Noble Consort Chu's maidservant, somewhat puzzled.
"His Majesty said Your Ladyship may enter on your own." The eunuch finished speaking and looked at the maidservant beside Noble Consort Chu.
"Very well." Noble Consort Chu reached out, took the food box from the maidservant, and walked into the room alone. The eunuch merely opened the door and did not follow her inside.
Carrying the food box, Noble Consort Chu walked cautiously inward. The sound of a woman's giggles gradually drifted to her ears. She seemed to be forcing herself to keep calm.
Noble Consort Chu kept her head down—this was the etiquette she had been taught in the past: one must not raise one's head when granting an audience to the Emperor. Bearing the sound of laughter, she walked all the way to the desk.
"Greetings, Your Majesty," Noble Consort Chu said, dropping to her knees in a salute.
"My beloved consort... rise." The voice of the Emperor of An sounded somewhat detached.
When Noble Consort Chu raised her head again, she saw only the Emperor of An leaning back against his dragon throne. The front of his robes was wide open, revealing a patch of his chest, upon which a figure was sprawled, burying its face against his chest as if doing something.
Noble Consort Chu instantly turned her head away, her face flushing crimson with shame and anger, not knowing what to say.
The Emperor of An left her kneeling there, and after a long silence, he finally spoke. "I heard the consort brewed some soup; I must certainly have a taste."
With no eunuchs present in the room, Noble Consort Chu had no choice but to pick up the soup bowl herself, walk around the desk, and present it to the Emperor of An.
The Emperor of An had both arms wrapped around the waist of the woman on his lap, showing not the slightest intention of letting go. Gritting her teeth and hardening her resolve, Noble Consort Chu used a spoon to scoop up some soup and tremblingly held it to the Emperor's lips.
She was already standing very close; the woman's amorous posture was completely visible, and she could even easily catch the alluring scent emanating from the woman's body.
The Emperor of An swallowed the spoonful of soup, seemingly without even glancing at Noble Consort Chu, entirely focused on the person in his lap.
Noble Consort Chu's hands were trembling, her eyes red, and tears swirling in her eye sockets. She came from a noble family; she had never imagined she would one day find herself in such a scene.
"I intend to make the princess of Wu Kingdom the Empress, yet you went smashing cups and bowls in the palace. What is this? Are you questioning my decision? Hmm?"
At the Emperor of An's question, Noble Consort Chu was so startled that she dropped the bowl, crashing to the floor as she fell to her knees. "Your concubine wouldn't dare!"
"Remember this: everything you have is given by me. If I choose not to give it, you cannot take it away. Understand?" The voice of the Emperor of An was calm, yet carried a powerful coercion.
All the way back to her palace, Noble Consort Chu's tears never stopped. The palace servants along the way could all see the stains of the leftover soup on the hem of her skirt—a picture of unspeakable wretchedness.
Once she returned to her own quarters and the doors were shut, she took a deep breath, and the expression on her face changed abruptly. Reaching out, she wiped away the traces of tears, replacing them with a fierce, murderous intent.
That afternoon, the Emperor of An issued a decree ordering Duke Chu to lead troops on a campaign to "reinforce" Wu Kingdom.
When the decree was delivered to Yang Ying's residence, Deng Hui and a squad of his Zhuyi Guards arrived along with it.
"Commander Deng, long time no see," Yang Ying said upon seeing him.
"Your Highness Princess Li, it has indeed been a long time. I never expected..." Deng Hui looked Yang Ying up and down, his eyes instantly locking onto a maidservant standing behind her, before quickly shifting his gaze away.
"His Majesty has a decree: Your Highness is to go to the frontlines to oversee the campaign. To ensure Your Highness's safety, my subordinates from the Zhuyi Guards will personally escort and protect Your Highness."
Both Yang Ying and Ren Ruyi behind her understood completely. The Emperor of An had agreed to let her accompany the army to the An-Wu border, but he had indeed sent a team to keep them under surveillance.
Deng Hui continued, "Duke Chu will command the troops as general this time, with Marquis Changqing as deputy commander. Your Highness and the others can rest assured."
Yang Ying exchanged a glance with Ren Ruyi behind her. Seeing this, Deng Hui took two steps forward, leaning in close to their ears. "Noble Consort Chu is indisposed. His Majesty has already summoned Princess Chu Yue into the palace to keep Noble Consort Chu company."
Hearing this, Ren Ruyi and the others finally understood. This was the Emperor of An's ultimate safeguard.
...
Three days later, the Shabu Tribe army assembled, with Duke Chu and Li Tongguang both clad in battle armor and seated on warhorses. As soon as Duke Chu gave a rousing cry, the army began its march toward Wu Kingdom.
To the outside world, An Kingdom claimed that Princess Li enjoyed the special favor of the Emperor of An, and troops were specifically dispatched to assist Princess Li in quelling the civil strife in Wu Kingdom and jointly resisting foreign enemies.
Only those in the imperial court who truly understood the Emperor of An knew that this was no rescue mission—it was merely taking advantage of someone's misfortune to loot a burning house.
Sitting inside her carriage, Yang Ying looked out the window at the distant gates of Andu receding behind them.
"I truly hope that once I leave on this trip, I will never have to return," Yang Ying whispered.
"Naturally," Ren Ruyi replied, half-reclining beside her to rest.
"And that hateful Emperor of An! I hope I never see him again!"
"Rest assured, he doesn't have much time left to live," Ren Ruyi said in a certain tone.
Back in Noble Consort Chu's palace, Princess Chu Yue had spent the entire day venting her frustration and anger, finally falling asleep from exhaustion. Noble Consort Chu left the bedchamber for the side hall, where a petite woman was already waiting.
Noble Consort Chu appeared and drew a small bottle of fragrant oil from her bosom, handing it to the woman.
"You must hurry," Noble Consort Chu said.
"Understood." The woman bowed in salute, hid the item in her robes, and left Noble Consort Chu's bedchamber under the cover of night, heading toward the bedchamber of the Emperor of An.
That evening, the Emperor of An issued a decree—a decree exactly as Ren Ruyi and the others had anticipated.