My chat group is full of female losers

Chapter 329 Take action
The news that Chu Lu had gone to great lengths but returned empty-handed spread throughout the court and the country at an astonishing speed.

The atmosphere in the prime minister's study was oppressive.

The crowd exchanged glances, and finally, Jia Ruhui, the Minister of Revenue, spoke first: "So His Majesty went to all this trouble, mobilizing so many Imperial Guards and sealing off half of the southern city, only to arrest the wrong person? What kind of nonsense is this?"

"What do you mean, wrong person arrested? Lord Jia, haven't you figured it out yet?" Minister of Rites Wen Yutang gritted his teeth and said, "His Majesty isn't arresting any real culprit at all; he's deliberately stirring up trouble. His blood sacrifice formation is probably already complete!"

These words sent shivers down everyone's spines.

"In that case, we can't afford to be slow any longer," an official said excitedly. "We must act immediately!"

At this moment, another official sighed and said, "Who doesn't know that? But if we want to take action, we must first win over Huo Qi. But Huo Qi is so stubbornly loyal that he just won't listen to advice!"

"If you ask me, let's ignore Huo Qi!" an impatient official said. "If we join forces with the imperial guards in the city, we can still purge the court of corrupt officials!"

"Foolish!" another civil official immediately retorted, "Huo Qi holds the power of the Imperial Guards. How can the Imperial Guards, with their meager numbers, possibly stand against us? Without his approval, we won't even be able to enter the palace gates; we'll be killed on the spot!"

"Then let's unite all the loyal and righteous men in the court and go to Huo Qi's residence together. I refuse to believe that with so many of us, we can't persuade him!"

"It's no use! Last time, even when Prime Minister Shen personally intervened, he was completely unmoved. Do you think all of us combined are more important than Prime Minister Shen?"

For a time, the study was filled with arguments. Some advocated a direct assault, some suggested a clever strategy, and others sighed in despair.

Just then, Shen Shi'an finally spoke, his voice not loud, but it drowned out everyone else's: "Alright, stop arguing, everyone, there's no need to worry."

Everyone stopped simultaneously, their gazes instinctively drawn to Shen Shi'an.

Shen Shi'an sat upright in the main seat, showing no sign of panic, and even had a confident smile on his lips.

He said slowly and deliberately, "When I went to see Huo Qi last time, although he was tough on the surface, he was already wavering in his heart. Now that His Majesty has done such an absurd thing again, his mindset will surely change again. Don't worry, it's only a matter of time before he changes his mind."

After saying that, Shen Shi'an let out a confident laugh.

The laughter seemed to have infinite penetrating power, not only echoing in the study, but also crossing the study's doors and windows, crossing time and space, and arriving at Huo Qi's residence.

Huo Qi stood alone in the study, his brows furrowed, his expression one of painful struggle, as if he were making an incredibly difficult decision.

# # # # # # #
Under the inky black night sky, in an inn in the north of the city, Changhong stood alone in front of a bronze mirror, her smug smile reflected in the mirror.

She kept replaying Chu Lu's bewildered, annoyed, and helpless expression from earlier that day in her mind, and felt incredibly happy.

—That's more like it! How could they possibly outsmart me!
With a creak, the door was pushed open, and Yun Que tiptoed in, carrying a bowl of steaming lotus seed soup, saying, "Princess, it's time for a midnight snack."

Changhong responded, took the warm porcelain bowl, and slowly stirred it in circles with a silver spoon.

Seeing her mistress's satisfied expression, Yun Que couldn't help but ask, "Princess, what do we do next? It's quite fun to play tricks on that emperor, but it doesn't feel quite satisfying. When are we going to kill him?"

Changhong scooped up a spoonful of glistening lotus seeds, slowly put them into his mouth, and savored them. After a long while, he lazily said, "No rush. After all this fuss, those officials in the court should have reached their limit. Wait a little longer, and it should be almost done."

"Do we have to wait?" Yun Que pouted, complaining somewhat unhappily. "It's so boring. The capital is in such chaos right now, there are soldiers everywhere, it's inconvenient to go out, and there's nothing fun to do."

Upon hearing this, Changhong put down his spoon, smiled, reached out and patted her head, gently comforting her, "It's almost over. Patience is for a better outcome."

Then she paused, thought for a moment, and said, "How about this, let's wait a few more days. If there's still no movement, then we'll give them a push."

"Okay, okay!" Yun Que became excited again.

Seeing this, Chang Hong smiled slightly, then opened the chat group interface and asked directly, "Who is the current commander of the Imperial Guards in the capital? Where are they stationed?"

Su Wanqing replied to the message almost instantly: "The commander-in-chief is Huo Qi, who lives in Wudefang in the west of the city."

"Okay." Changhong, satisfied with the answer, closed the interface.

Several days later, the situation continued to deteriorate rapidly.

Devastating news from the front lines flooded the capital like snowflakes. Many defensive lines collapsed without a fight, large numbers of soldiers abandoned their weapons and fled in panic, and even entire units, led by their generals, surrendered to the Kingdom of Dajiang.

The vanguard of the Great River Kingdom will arrive in the capital in a few dozen days at most.

In the imperial court, the officials finally could no longer bear it.

They abandoned their previous respect and began to publicly submit memorials, vehemently accusing Chu Lude of being unworthy of his position and acting perversely, demanding that Chu Lude immediately issue an edict of self-reproach to appease the people. Some even went so far as to directly request Chu Lude to abdicate and yield the throne to a more worthy successor in exchange for the forgiveness of the Great Jiang Kingdom.

Chu Lu's only response was: "Shut up."

This tough stance was like pouring boiling water into hot oil, instantly triggering even greater discontent.

Inside the Prime Minister's residence, a gloomy atmosphere hung heavy.

"It's all over! It's completely over now!"

"I think that emperor has gone mad; he's trying to drag all of us down with him!"

"Prime Minister Shen, please give us some advice! If this continues, we might as well pack our bags and run away! Staying here means certain death!"

Shen Shi'an remained unmoved, letting the wailing buzz around him like flies. He slowly stood up, his calmness almost frightening, and merely glanced at the crowd: "What's the panic? The time has come. I'll go find Huo Qi now; this time, he won't refuse." In an instant, all eyes in the room fell on him: "Prime Minister Shen, we're counting on you!"

At Huo Qi's residence.

When the servant came in to report, Huo Qi's face stiffened.

What's meant to happen will happen eventually. His expression was solemn, but he didn't show any wavering in his heart. He waved his hand to the servant and said, "Take him to the reception room."

A moment later, the two met in the reception room, the atmosphere so heavy it was suffocating.

Without uttering a single wasted word, Shen Shi'an presented Huo Qi with the latest battle reports, memorials from his ministers, and the chaos in the capital.

"General Huo, look for yourself!" The prime minister's voice boomed like thunder. "With the border gates wide open, the enemy could reach the capital at any moment! Look at these memorials; every official in the court considers His Majesty the culprit who has brought disaster to the country and its people! And look inside and outside the city; the common people are barely surviving! How long are you going to keep deceiving yourself for him?!"

The black and white words on the paper seemed to radiate a strong light, making Huo Qi unable to look directly at them. He guiltily looked away.

Even so, he stubbornly retorted, "I know all these things. His Majesty must have his reasons..."

"Dilemmas?!" Shen Shi'an let out a sneer full of contempt. "You're about to die, and you're still talking nonsense! If he really had the ability to repel the enemy, why would he hide it? If he truly cared about this country and its people, would he just stand by and watch the capital fall into such chaos?!"

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Shi'an suddenly stood up, his eyes looking down at him: "Huo Qi! Wake up! The one you're serving now isn't a wise ruler at all, he's a beast who's going to kill us all!"

The last trace of color drained from Huo Qi's face, and he looked as weak as if he had just recovered from a serious illness, but he still stubbornly shook his head: "No, I can't do that."

Seeing his unyielding attitude, Shen Shi'an could hardly believe his ears. He took a step forward, grabbed Huo Qi's arm, and almost pleaded, said a few more words: "Huo Qi! If we join forces, there is still a glimmer of hope! If we delay any longer, it will truly be utter destruction! Do you really want to watch this capital city be stained with blood?!"

"Enough!" Huo Qi abruptly shook off his hand. He turned his head away, not daring to look at Shen Shi'an, and angrily ordered him to leave: "Someone, show him out!"

Shen Shi'an was stunned. He stared in astonishment at Huo Qi, who dared not show his face, never expecting him to be so stubborn at this critical moment.

An intense anxiety shot through his body like an arrow released from a bow. He instinctively wanted to continue persuading him, but at that moment, Huo Qi, as if anticipating this, raised his hand in advance, signaling the other party to stop talking.

Seeing Huo Qi's refusal to communicate, Shen Shi'an stood there helplessly for a while, then sighed and turned away with a look of disappointment.

After the prime minister left, Huo Qi was left alone in the large reception hall. He seemed to have all his strength drained away, slumping weakly into his chair, his hands burying his head in his hands, letting out heavy sighs repeatedly. He didn't want to be like this, but he could only tell himself again and again: "I must be loyal to the Emperor… His Majesty's actions must have a deeper meaning that we cannot fathom… He could never be that kind of tyrant…"

He told himself this over and over again, as if trying to convince himself.

Just then, a clear, unfamiliar female voice suddenly rang out from ahead: "General Huo, is your so-called loyalty to be proven with the lives of all the people in this city?"

Huo Qi suddenly looked up and saw a pretty young girl who had appeared outside at some point, quietly watching him with a faint smile on her face.

It's a lark.

Prime Minister's Mansion.

After returning by carriage, Shen Shi'an went back to his study. He sat down with a headache, unable to understand why Huo Qi, that blockhead, was so stubborn.

—Does he really not even care about his own life? Are there really people like this in this world?
"Utterly foolish! Utterly foolish!" he couldn't help but mutter angrily, picking up the teacup on the table and smashing it heavily on the ground.

He leaned back, his eyes fixed on the table, breathing heavily.

He was forcing himself to calm down.

He was getting on in years and knew very well that venting his anger endlessly was pointless; he needed to calm down and think of a solution.

Huo Qi and his Imperial Guards are not to be ignored. It's either capture them or destroy them; there is no third option.

What should I do myself?
Shen Shi'an's mind raced with calculations.

—Sending assassins in secret? No way! We don't have any such assassins on our side. The chances of successfully recruiting them and forcing an attack are extremely slim. Even if we were to succeed by chance, without military authority, the capital would be leaderless. If the Imperial Guards were to fall out of control, the capital would only descend into greater chaos.

—To turn Huo Qi's generals against him? Even more impossible! Huo Qi has a very high prestige in the army, and most of those generals are his confidants. Making contact rashly would only alert Huo Qi.

—So… all we can do is wait for the enemy to breach the city and for that tyrannical ruler to complete his blood sacrifice formation?
No! Absolutely not!

Shen Shi'an suddenly stood up and paced anxiously in the study. His gaze swept over the battle reports on the table, and the image of the approaching Great Jiang Kingdom allied forces flashed through his mind, a hint of madness appearing in his eyes.

—At this point, there's no foolproof solution. Since we can't take the right path, we have no choice but to take risky measures!

He thought about it again and again, and finally gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

Even if the chances of success are slim, it doesn't matter. Assassination! Tonight!
Just as he was feeling troubled, a servant suddenly announced from outside the door: "Prime Minister, General Huo... Huo Qi requests an audience!"

Shen Shi'an was astonished, almost thinking he had misheard. He quickly got up and hurried out to greet him.

Outside the mansion gate, Huo Qi stood there in full military uniform, his face unusually calm, as if all his anxiety, entanglement and distress had been completely removed, leaving only an empty shell.

Upon seeing Shen Shi'an, he didn't exchange any pleasantries. He simply stared straight at the other man and said in an almost deathly tone, "I agree."

Shen Shi'an was taken aback at first, then a joyful smile spread across his wrinkled old face.

(End of this chapter)