“Hmm?”
Xu Ming didn’t quite understand Wu Yanhan’s words.
The imperial palace wasn’t entirely under the Wu Emperor’s control? Given the emperor’s grip on power, that seed unlikely.
It was understandable that the imperial court had its share of factions, but within the palace itself, the Wu Emperor should have had absolute authority.
Wu Yanhan shook her head, not delving further into the topic. “It’s complicated. Let’s just say that many people in the palace once served my mother.
Even after she passed away, while they may appear to be working for my father, in reality, they take their orders from .
There’s nothing my father can do about these people.
The dical cultivators I asked for help before—including those from the palace—would never have reported anything to my father.
That’s why he remained completely unaware of Shengsheng’s situation.
I could have kept it hidden indefinitely…
But the incident at my manor was too big to cover up. The defensive formations activated fully, and since they’re linked to the formations of the imperial palace, my father naturally realized sothing had happened.”
Wu Yanhan smiled at Xu Ming. “When I t my father in the Imperial Study, I wasn’t entirely sure how things would go. But luckily, everything turned out fine. That’s all that matters.”
Xu Ming nodded and then asked, “How long was I unconscious?”
Wu Yanhan thought for a mont. “Seventeen days. If you hadn’t woken up soon, I was considering using other thods to force you awake.”
Shengsheng chid in, “Yanhan-jiejie (Sister Yanhan) personally prepared and fed you dicine every single day—she never missed a single dose.”
Xu Ming glanced at Wu Yanhan.
She turned her head away, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks. “I was just worried you’d die, that’s all.
If you died, it would be a huge loss for Wu Kingdom.
Not to ntion, what would happen to the Jinyiwei? In the end, all the responsibilities would fall on .
I have no interest in managing such a massive organization—it sounds exhausting.”
Hearing her tsundere-like response, Xu Ming chuckled but didn’t say anything more.
Their relationship was already well past the ambiguous stage—they had even crossed certain boundaries.
Yet, Wu Yanhan still got shy about it sotis, with a bit of that prideful stubbornness.
It was kind of cute, honestly.
“By the way, there’s sothing important I need to tell you. Sothing feels off,” Wu Yanhan suddenly changed the topic, her expression growing serious.
“What is it?” Seeing her look so grave, Xu Ming knew it wasn’t sothing trivial.
“The Grand Assembly of Ten Thousand Arts is happening in fifteen days,” she said directly.
“The Grand Assembly of Ten Thousand Arts…”
Xu Ming knew exactly what that was. It was the event where all the sects within Wu Kingdom sent their higher-ups to et with the Wu Emperor.
They would report their activities and—most importantly—make a symbolic show of loyalty to the emperor.
“This year’s Grand Assembly of Ten Thousand Arts is happening a year early?” Xu Ming imdiately picked up on the issue.
“That’s right,” Wu Yanhan nodded. “It’s been moved up by an entire year.”
Xu Ming furrowed his brows, thinking for a mont. “What about the Jinyiwei? Have they received any new orders?”
“So far, no. The only directive we’ve received is to maintain order in Wu Capital.”
Wu Yanhan shook her head.
“Over the past few days, sect mbers have been arriving in Wu Capital one after another.
So conflicts have broken out between sect disciples and common citizens, but we’ve managed to handle them well.
At this point, our Jinyiwei has made quite a na for itself among the sects—hardly anyone dares to cause trouble for us.”
“They’re just sending elders and disciples?” Xu Ming asked.
Wu Yanhan shook her head. “No, it’s the sect leaders themselves. Every single sect master in Wu Kingdom has arrived because my father said he’s going to announce sothing important.
But no one knows what it is yet.
Besides that, I also heard so news—Fang Ling, the forr Pri Minister, has returned to Wu Capital.”
“…”
Xu Ming didn’t know much about this forr Pri Minister.
His only interaction with him was back when he was heading out for training, and Xu Pangda was traveling to his post in Baihe County. Coincidentally, they escorted Pri Minister Fang for part of the journey.
What left the deepest impression on Xu Ming wasn’t Fang Ling himself, but rather his wife—she looked incredibly young, with no visible signs of aging.
Back then, Xu Ming had even sensed traces of demonic aura from her.
Although he noticed sothing was off, he didn’t say anything or ask any questions.
If he could sll the demonic aura, then the Wu Emperor and the other officials surely knew as well. Since they all chose to turn a blind eye, there had to be a reason.
Other than that, his most distinct mory of the journey was the old pri minister’s constant muttering.
Fang Ling would always grumble that if Mister Xiao was lying to him, he wouldn’t let it go—even in death, he would haunt him.
It was likely that Mister Xiao had made so kind of promise to the old pri minister, and now, the ti had co to fulfill it. That must be why Fang Ling had returned to Wu Capital.
“Yanhan, prepare a carriage for . I need to visit the Pri Minister’s residence,” Xu Ming said seriously. “Right now.”
“Xu-gege (Brother Xu), you need to rest and recover.” Shengsheng looked at him with concern.
It was only then that Xu Ming realized—Shengsheng wasn’t stuttering anymore.
And more than that, she seed… just like any ordinary girl.
Wu Yanhan agreed with her. “Shengsheng is right. You were already badly injured, and on top of that, you just woke up—you’re still incredibly weak.
You should stay here and recover. If there’s anything you need to do, wait until you’ve healed.”
“It’s fine,” Xu Ming smiled, ruffling Shengsheng’s hair. Then, he looked at Wu Yanhan. “There are so things I need to confirm.
If I wait until I’m fully recovered, it might already be too late.”
“You already have a guess about what’s happening?” Wu Yanhan asked, studying him closely.
“No. But…” Xu Ming shook his head, his gaze darkening. “What happens next might be far beyond what either of us can imagine.”
His mind drifted back to his ti in the Northern Sea Dragon Palace—and the words of Mister Xiao’s old classmate, Mister Lu.
“If… I’m saying if… If one day, Xiao Mochi is about to die… I hope you’ll stand by and do nothing.”
“Hah…”
Xu Ming exhaled softly, feeling a deep helplessness.
Could it be that that day had finally arrived?
And if it had…
Could he really just stand by and watch?
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