The sudden serious illness of Hui Guiyi not only caused a stir in the Northern Sai Palace, but also spread back to the capital after a few days, making the imperial palace no longer peaceful. Lin Yuanyuan stayed in her small dark room every day with her head hung low and her heart full of resentment, unable to come out. Outside, only Wen Pin was left to serve the emperor, and during the last month that Tuoba Hong stayed in Northern Sai, Wen Pin's exclusive favor almost rivaled that of the Chu sisters in the past. Lin Yuanyuan didn't need to ask around to guess what had happened - she was already furious at being taken advantage of by someone who had seized the opportunity after her misfortune, and she felt like vomiting blood with rage.

  At this time, in the golden tent of Emperor Long, Tuoba Hong's mood was not good. As soon as he thought of the young and ruthless new king of Mongolia, he became furious.

  Yuanye was only made Khan two years ago. When his father was in power, Tuoba Hong got along with him, and he was also a good fighter, but he had a broader vision and was a qualified king in Tuoba Hong's eyes. Now this one is the youngest son of the old Khan, who killed all eight of his brothers for the throne without regard for the other seven tribes taking advantage of the situation, and also slaughtered civilians to subdue the remaining tribes. It is said that even elderly women and pregnant women were not spared. This kind of person Tuoba Hong looked down on the most.

  Now this man, for the sake of a woman, dares to provoke the emperor of Great Qin. If he wanted an imperial princess or something, Emperor Taizong would have given it to him, but instead he comes and slaps him in the face, wanting to take his wife. If word gets out, where will the dignity of the Great Qin royal family be? Doesn't he understand how much Mongolia needs Great Qin right now? Isn't he afraid that the Xiongnu will seize another opportunity? And isn't he afraid of tearing apart diplomatic relations in a fit of rage? He is so arrogant and selfish, so ruthless and cunning. A person like this doesn't deserve to be an emperor; being a bandit leader would suit him just fine.

  Tuoba Hong sighed and said, "This despicable guy can't be offended. The other side doesn't care about the overall situation, but he can't not care."

  He sighed, took the osmanthus tea handed over in front of him and took a big gulp, raised his eyes to the person holding the tea and said: "Empress, in your opinion, should I really let go of Hui Guifei?"

  Whether in the capital or Beiping, the empress was the only woman who could enter and exit the emperor's bedroom with justification. The Empress Zhao of Emperor Jingzong of Qin was even allowed to participate in politics, and now Empress Xiao, although not favored by Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei, was still willing to trust her and discuss matters with her when necessary.

  Xiao Huanghou was not a weak woman either. Lin had been ill for so many days, and the Emperor had devoted himself to Wen Pin, rarely spending the night in her palace. Without favor or children, she would not have lost her composure, having just enough respect and trust, and future matters could be planned slowly.

  However, upon hearing the Emperor mention Lin's name, her already withered heart began to feel jealous. Now that it has come to this, he still calls her "Guī Yí" (Noble Lady) and Taizong of Northern Wei had no intention of sending her away!

  She suppressed her emotions, slightly loosening her tightly clenched fingers: "The Zhou had Xi Shi enter Wu, the Han had Zhaojun leave the border, for the sake of the great Qin and the people's livelihood, it is also reasonable for Lin to be married off... As for the imperial family's face, following the example of the high ancestor, falsely claiming that Consort Xue died of illness and secretly presenting her to another country is also a viable strategy."

  The queen let out a light breath and calmed down in her heart. In fact, Lin's staying behind wasn't bad at all; she was still counting on this girl to suppress Xiangfei... what she feared was that she might actually surpass Xiangfei and become an even more formidable opponent.

  It's just...the sorrow is hard to calm.

  Tuoba Hong listened to the empress's words, but his brow furrowed even tighter. After a long while, he spoke in anger: "The current prosperity of Da Qin is far beyond what our ancestors had achieved, and we don't need to humiliate ourselves by seeking peace. Moreover, the matter of forming an alliance through marriage is always difficult to conceal; Princess Xue was made the Duchess of Gaoyang and married off to King Dali - in the end, everyone under heaven will know about it."

  "The Emperor said so, let Concubine Yong think of a way." The Empress did not argue either.

  The empress was served by Yao Fusheng and left the golden tent in the dead of night. Outside the camp, she indeed saw Wen Pin, who had come to pay her respects, and unlike previous days, Shen Zhaoyuan also brought the crown prince today.

  Several people asked for peace, but their expressions were different. The empress didn't even look at Wen Pin and walked straight to Shen Zhaojuan: "In the deep night, the dew is heavy, so it's better not to bring out King Zhao, lest you catch a cold."

  Shen Yunrong just smiled lightly: "Yan'er is already seven years old after the New Year, at this age, according to the rules, she should have entered the front court to listen to politics." As she spoke, her laughter became more moving: "The emperor agreed yesterday, allowing Princess Zhao to enter and exit the imperial study. The emperor works hard for national affairs, and it is only right that Princess Zhao accompanies him, I will also take the opportunity to send some midnight snacks over."

  The queen's face was tense, fortunately it wasn't very visible under the cover of night.

  She was suppressing her anger, but when she raised her eyes, she saw the girl hiding behind the Crown Prince. Empress Xiao's eyebrows rose, and she said coldly, "Why did Fan Yu Emperor also come with King Zhao?"

  Fan Yu fell to her knees with a thud.

  Since Lin Wan had an accident, Shan Yu lost her reliance and was very frightened every day. The emperor sealed Lin Wan's mouth, and she could vaguely guess why, but in her heart, she became even more desperate, thinking that this time Lin Niangniang might not be able to turn over a new leaf, then how would she spend the rest of her days? She tried to win over Lin Wan, not expecting Lin Niangniang to really become her reliance, just thinking that when she first entered the palace, at least there was a place to settle down, and someone who had some good feelings towards her on the side to give her some advice, after passing through the most difficult period of time.

  After Ke Lin's "serious illness", she obviously didn't even have a place to live, and later moved to Shen Zhao's residence temporarily according to the emperor's will. Although Lin Niangniang was not good to her, at least she wouldn't harm her, and being provided with food and shelter was not bad either. But Shen Zhao was different, she had been taken advantage of several times after staying there for over a dozen days, if she didn't do things according to Shen Zhao's intentions, the consequences would be very serious.

  Shan Yu clenched her teeth and persevered day after day. Just like today, she knew the Empress was here, but still had to come.

  She lowered her head and stammered to the empress: "The midnight snack sent by Princess Zhao was personally made by me..."

  The words were cut off before they could be finished. If there was one thing that Empress Xiao didn't need to endure, it was being confronted by Shan Yu. Her face turned cold and stern, and she swept a glance over her, saying: "You're just a fallen palace maid who doesn't understand the rules. How can you compare yourself to the imperial prince? Can you even enter the golden tent?" She raised her hand and ordered the palace maid behind her: "Make Fan Yu, the imperial princess, kneel here for two hours. You all attend to her."

  When they arrived at the outer felt door, the empress turned around again and said disdainfully: "Since you are already an imperial princess, don't do such lowly things anymore. If you want to prepare a midnight snack for the emperor, just let the servants do it."

  Xiao Huanghou had a strong and dignified personality, rarely being overbearing in her speech. However, when it came to Shan Yu, she could freely vent her frustrations, knowing the Emperor would never blame her. The Shan Yu before her was the daughter of Gan Shi, the assassin who had attempted to poison the Empress Dowager but had instead caused her to miscarry and left her with a lifelong illness that made her infertile. Even if Xiao Huanghou went too far, the Emperor would only remember the suffering she endured after being poisoned and hold her in even greater esteem.

  ***

  Lin Wan had been locked in the small black house for over ten days, and the peaceful days made her think she would be imprisoned for a lifetime. No one came to deliver any messages, let alone any imperial decrees. But this only made her more anxious, as she felt that Emperor Tuoba Hong might abandon her, and once they returned to the capital, he would throw her into the Cold Palace. The palace staff outside did not mistreat her, and although the food was not sumptuous, they would not let her starve; however, these people were really too apathetic, like wooden puppets, only watching her to prevent her from dying, but otherwise ignoring her completely.

  Lin Yanzhen felt that being banished to a cold palace was her own fate. Isn't that worse than death?!

  Just as she was thinking about how to climb out of the cold palace, on this day, October 15th, in the dead of night, several unfamiliar eunuchs and palace maids pushed open the door and without saying a word, carried her out of the house and stuffed her into a small green sedan chair outside.

  The snow outside was two feet deep and still falling. Lin Yu and the sedan chair bearers were all frozen to a pale complexion.

  Lin Wan rubbed her hands, although she had guessed where they were going, but her heart was still a bit confused. She pulled out the golden hairpin from her head and handed it to the palace maid who followed the sedan chair, politely asking her something. As expected, the other party pushed away her hairpin, coldly not saying a word.

  But Lin Wan's palm had an extra white strip when she withdrew her hand.

  She opened it and found that it was indeed a message from Xiao Zhen, but her face turned increasingly ugly. The Right Chancellor would never make a losing deal, and now she had lost all value, so how could she get his help in return?

  Xiao Zhen was a person who was meant to be used later, but she didn't expect the unexpected turn of events to come so quickly, and she had no choice but to make her move ahead of time. Lin Yuan's eyebrows gradually furrowed, such impatience would only lead to losing the best opportunity, but she also couldn't do anything about it...

  Hmph, since we can't discuss morality, let's talk about chips instead! Does Xiao Zhen think that a partner without value can be kicked away with just one foot? How nice! She twisted the hairpin open and stuffed another white note inside, then handed it out again. This time, the palace maid finally accepted it.

  She handed Lin Wan a rabbit hair warmer at the same time, and turned back silently. Although this palace maid was an undercover agent bought by Chuxue, she was doing something for the emperor this time, and it was a secret matter, so she didn't dare to reveal any flaws in front of others. Lin Wan also didn't dare to ask her, using her sleeve to block her view as she took it over and put it on her hand, turning it over and looking at it for a while before discovering that there was a jade word sewn inside.

  She couldn't help but feel a sense of regret, after all, she was only an eight-year-old child, and her heart wasn't mature enough. Now that she had fallen into such a difficult situation, she could no longer provide any value to anyone, and yet the child still came to visit her. Just look at how clearly the Right Chancellor saw through the situation, how well he calculated his interests... That child must be having a tough time too, right?

  It seemed like just a flash of time, and the small sedan had lightly traversed the imperial palace of Qin, advancing to the city gate in a desolate desert. Outside the pass, the flames of the torches ignited with a pungent and intense fire, casting a faint red glow on the dark sky; In the distance, there were countless iron hooves trampling the ground with a "rumbling" sound, and looking out into the distance, only a vast expanse of horses and men could be seen.