It was already 4 PM when they returned to the White Egret Hotel.
Gu Junwan specifically instructed Xu Zhao not to assign any work to Jiang Xinyue today, letting her rest for half a day before deciding based on her physical condition tomorrow.
In Gu Junwan's plan, she only needed to use Jiang Xinyue's ability tomorrow anyway.
With the sudden incident at noon, it was just as well to let her recuperate in her room.
Honestly, when Shen Han and Zheng Jinbo were in a standoff earlier, each sticking to their own story, Jiang Xinyue's action of stepping out made the Empress see her in a new light.
She knew Jiang Xinyue strongly resisted physical contact with others.
She wasn't just afraid of Alphas, but also had a slight aversion to n.
In that situation, facing dozens of tense Alphas outside the infirmary and a male doctor who had touched her, Jiang Xinyue didn't retreat.
She overca her inner fear and chose to stand with her teammates.
"Your Majesty!"
Jiang Xinyue's sudden call made Gu Junwan and the others, who were about to board the elevator, pause.
The guard team mbers, guards, and several hotel staff responsible for reception all focused their attention on her.
Before Gu Junwan could inquire, Jiang Xinyue apologized: "I'm sorry. If it weren't for , today's incident wouldn't have happened."
With hotel staff present, Jiang Xinyue didn't ntion anything related to the training camp.
But all those in the know understood what she ant and could sense her self-reproach.
Gu Junwan looked up at this fragile yet resilient subordinate and answered clearly: "You didn't do anything wrong. You don't need to apologize."
"Moreover, you perford very well afterwards. Sotis fate kisses with pain; you don't need to respond with a song."
The Empress's pronunciation was crisp and clear, her lodious voice conveying an inspiring strength.
Jiang Xinyue's previously dim eyes instantly lit up with new brilliance.
She couldn't help but ask: "Then what should I do?"
Gu Junwan: "Fight back."
Hearing this, all listeners first froze, then felt an uncontrollable surge of passionate energy.
Shen Han's ears perked up, her eyes brimming with tender affection.
This was the Oga she deeply loved!
After this small interlude outside the elevator, everyone imdiately returned to their duties, resuming work.
Shen Han found a gap to sneak back to her room for a quick shower and change of clothes before returning to her post.
Her Oga cared so much about "impure scents," so she needed to be especially mindful in the future.
Jiang Xinyue, given half a day off by the Empress, returned to her room and fell into a deep sleep.
When she opened her eyes again, the sky outside was pitch black.
She had no appetite for food but didn't want her physical condition to hinder the team's work progress.
So she called room service to have a simple dinner sent up.
As she ate, Jiang Xinyue suddenly rembered sothing.
At noon, when she and Xu Zhao were still in the infirmary, Ning Xi had violated discipline by kicking and breaking that Dr. Zheng's arm.
After so thought, Jiang Xinyue decided she should thank her.
She found Ning Xi's work phone number in the guard team's contact list and composed a ssage to send her.
[Hello, this is Jiang Xinyue.]
[Thank you. If the incident at noon has caused you any trouble, I'm willing to accept any punishnt on your behalf.]
Ning Xi, who had just finished changing shifts with a teammate, felt her pocket vibrate twice.
She walked towards her room while sliding open her screen to check the ssage.
It was from an unfamiliar number.
Ning Xi curiously opened it, and seeing the two paragraphs, she paused in her steps.
These two ssages were just like the impression Miss Jiang gave people.
Polite, distant, yet very responsible.
After swiping her key card to open the door, Ning Xi stood by the doorway and lit a cigarette.
In the dim haze of the flickering cigarette tip, she quickly replied to Jiang Xinyue: [No big deal, don't worry about it. Get so rest.]
......
Second District, First Retirent Ho.
This was a relatively quiet residential area with a good location and excellent transportation.
The area didn't have many high-rise buildings, mainly consisting of two-story villas with individual yards.
Residents included not only retired military officials but also their widows or parents.
Because several generations of Empresses had placed great importance on the retirent of ritorious individuals, generous benefits had always been provided in this regard.
The entire First Retirent Ho had a harmonious neighborhood atmosphere, full of joy and harmony.
In the innermost house of the second row of villas, an elderly man with graying temples stood in the information security zone of his study, using an encrypted communication device to make a call.
The call was quickly answered, and a young man's voice spoke first: "Takeda-kun, I don't think you should be contacting
at this ti."
The old man called Takeda-kun's real na was Takeda Ken'ichi.
But all his neighbors and forr colleagues only knew his Federation na: Li Jianye.
Li Jianye was not affected by the other's words and spoke calmly in Japanese: "Yesterday, Gu Junwan had a secret eting with Yu Xiao. No one heard the specific content."
"But there's a crucial piece of information. When Gu Junwan left, Yu Xiao shot one of his subordinate military doctors!"
The man on the other end of the phone reacted flatly.
"So? What conclusion have you drawn this ti? Don't forget that in the previous two operations, due to your mistakes, they almost rooted out all our moles planted in the Federation's army groups."
Li Jianye frowned deeply: "Failure is failure. I won't deny my mistakes, but one thing is one thing. Gu Junwan's trip north and this eting are just a smokescreen. She's preparing to make her move. We can't do nothing!"
The voice on the phone replied: "Do you know how much money we lost cooperating with your decapitation mission last ti? Just the high-level rcenary item alone was an astronomical figure."
"The Great Empire of Yamato's military expenses are tight. We won't allocate funds to assist your side's operations in the short term."
No funding ant that no matter how ingenious Li Jianye's plans were, they couldn't be well-executed.
After all, he couldn't rely on just his words to manage relationships up and down, purchase equipnt and weapons.
Sensing the military's dissatisfaction with him, Li Jianye thought for a mont and could only choose to compromise.
"I request to imdiately initiate the secret relocation plan. Just in case, if my identity is exposed, the military must ensure I can safely withdraw at the first opportunity!"
"Agreed."
After ending the call, Li Jianye remained standing, motionless for a long ti.
At this mont, his mind was conducting high-speed analysis.
A sense of danger hung over his head like a Damocles sword.
He didn't know when that beheading sword would fall, which inevitably bred a hint of anxiety and imperceptible fear in his heart.
After about half an hour, Li Jianye called for his fake wife who was busy in the kitchen.
"I hear the Empress has been receiving Federation military and political officials as well as rchants at the White Egret Hotel these past few days."
"With the New Year approaching, let's go give her a potted plant. You make preparations first, and I'll notify you when I've made an appointnt."
The fake wife was his partner and subordinate, who had lived with him for many years under a false identity and mask.
Hearing his instructions now, she imdiately understood what he wanted to do.
She wiped her damp palms on her apron and respectfully asked: "Sir, you've tried before and were unable to hypnotize or influence the Empress's thoughts. In the current situation, isn't it too risky for you to suddenly appear before her?"
Li Jianye pulled up a chair and sat down, pinching his brow: "Now I can only make a risky move."
"Moreover, even if I do nothing and just stay holed up here, is it absolutely safe?"
"Go make preparations as I said. Let
think carefully about what to do next."
In recent days, Gu Junwan had been receiving guests at the White Egret Hotel.
There were two main purposes.
First was to screen the military and political personnel who had appeared in the conference room corridor area on the day of the formal eting.
Second, she indeed needed to obtain the information she wanted from various visitors.
The guest list was compiled by Xu Zhao, who had formally invited each person.
Due to their identities and positions, less than a third of those on the list had accepted the invitation.
This result was within Gu Junwan's expectations.
But there was nothing to be done about it. They could only screen a portion first and formulate the next step based on the screening results.
The Empress's movents were naturally observed by various forces.
Gu Yuwei withstood pressure and rejected advisers' and officials' suggestions and requests to restrict Gu Junwan's actions.
Although she didn't know the specific thods, she knew the other was identifying that Awakened who had appeared at the border.
Gu Yuwei also wanted to catch that person and had no reason to hinder her sister's plan.
As for the resources and intelligence the other might gain in the process, she could only turn a blind eye.
If that Awakened and the hidden adversaries weren't found, the entire Federation would not know peace.
This understanding had been reached between the sisters months ago.
They had also considered holding another eting to gather all those present that day.
But that wouldn't conform to eting procedures.
After all, a summit between heads of state wasn't like a company eting that could be called at any ti.
Of course, forced arrangents weren't impossible, but that would likely reveal their intentions to the other side, alerting them.
On this day, just after Gu Junwan had t with a representative of a certain financial group in the Second District, she heard Xu Zhao report beside her: "Your Majesty, there are no more visitors from the list this morning, but your schedule still includes eting Mr. Li."
Gu Junwan thought briefly and recalled this was an old cadre from her grandmother's tenure.
After retiring, he had begun researching potted plants and even written a book combining floral art with ancient Federation culture, which had received recognition and praise from academia at the ti.
In her mory, that elderly Mr. Li would personally visit the Empress's residence in the Peace Palace every year as the New Year approached, presenting carefully cultivated potted plants.
Unexpectedly, even in this situation, he still rembered her, which was rare.
Retracting her thoughts, Gu Junwan nodded to Xu Zhao: "Please show him in."
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