I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 460 Buried Together

"I came to find you." Xiao Jingfan sneezed from the spicy smell, pulled Chu Liuzheng outside, and said as they walked, "Just tell me what you want to eat, why did you have to come all the way here?"

"I'm worried they won't be able to make it taste the way I want." Chu Liuzheng followed him. "Smell it, doesn't it smell delicious? How about we have hot pot for lunch?"

"Hmm." Xiao Jingfan stopped only when he could no longer smell the smoke, and said, "Send one to Wanshou Palace."

"Okay." Chu Liuzheng nodded. "I'll have the imperial chef cook a less spicy broth and send it over later."

Hopefully, the Empress Dowager will find it palatable.

Xiao Jingfan wanted to take her back, but Chu Liuzheng was preoccupied with her hotpot. She coaxed the emperor a few times, and after he left, she turned around and went back to the imperial kitchen to continue giving instructions.

At noon, Wanshou Palace received a hot pot set meal, which included not only a delicious broth but also dishes prepared according to the Empress Dowager's preferences.

These dishes were all retrieved from the system by Chu Liuzheng to avoid making any mistakes.

At first, the Empress Dowager thought it was a special gift from the Emperor to show her respect, and she ate it quite happily. However, halfway through the meal, she realized that it was Chu Liuzheng who had prepared it, and suddenly the meat and vegetables no longer tasted good.

She put down her chopsticks and ordered Zhao Mama to bring Dr. Wu over. She wanted to ask when her son's hidden illness would finally be cured. She couldn't spend her whole life just watching over Chu Liuzheng, who knew the inside story.

Indeed, when Xiao Jingfan returned to Wanshou Palace for dinner last time, he mentioned his temporary impotence in order to stop the Empress Dowager from nagging.

The Empress Dowager was so anxious that if Xiao Jingfan hadn't stopped her, she probably would have summoned all the imperial physicians to give the Emperor a thorough examination.

Although they didn't get to see it, they still sent a lot of kidney-tonifying and aphrodisiac products to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Even though Xiao Jingfan didn't want to disappoint his mother's love for him, he didn't eat a single bite. He was afraid that if he ate too much, he would get a nosebleed and be laughed at by Chu Liuzheng.

Chu Liuzheng doesn't smile; she's been quite troubled lately.

What's there to worry about?

The emperor eats a lot but doesn't gain weight.

Three main meals, two snacks, and a late-night snack a day, yet the emperor didn't gain a single pound. If he were a pig farmer, he would definitely lose a fortune.

Chu Liuzheng racked his brains every day, trying to find ways to give the emperor extra food.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, the Tatars' reply arrived.

When confronted with Xiao Jingfan's questioning, the Tatars responded by feigning ignorance and turning the tables on him.

Our Prince Huk is with the Khan every day and has never left him for half a day. The one in the Great Sheng territory is definitely an imposter and has nothing to do with us. Don't make false accusations.

In other words, it's cheating.

Xiao Jingfan was so angry he laughed, and Chu Liuzheng was also amazed.

[The Tatars are really something! Instead of quickly kneeling down to apologize and offer compensation, they're turning around and blaming others. Are they deliberately trying to start a war with the Great Sheng?]

[I remember the friction between the Tatars and Gaochang has intensified recently, and it looks like a major war is about to break out. Aren't they afraid that the Great Sheng and Gaochang will join forces to encircle and annihilate them?]

While ordering someone to serve the emperor cooling tea, Chu Liuzheng opened her system to search, wanting to see what the Tatars were up to. [Oh ho, they've really gotten to it! The Tatars have actually joined forces with Western Xia, planning to set a trap for the tyrant.]

Xiao Jingfan chugs the cooling tea, eager to hear what pitfalls await him.

[Let me see. The original plan was for the Tatars to lead their troops to attack Gaochang, making the tyrant mistakenly believe that the Tatars' target was Gaochang. Then, they would use Prince Cheng's rebellion to attract the tyrant's attention, and while the tyrant was sending troops to suppress it, the Western Xia would join forces with the Tatars to raid the tyrant's homeland, catching him completely off guard.]

[But now the situation has changed. Prince Cheng has gone mad, and the tyrant has sent people to his fiefdom to bring him back to the capital for treatment. He also ordered the garrison to take over the fiefdom. Rebellion is clearly out of the question, so the Western Xia had no choice but to change their battle plan, using the Tatars to distract the tyrant.]

So, Prince Huk was just cannon fodder thrown out by the Tatar Khan. No wonder he was sent to rescue Prince Li; Prince Li probably doesn't know he's also part of the plan. Even if Prince Huk himself didn't expose himself, the guards who came with him to rescue him would deliberately expose him to the tyrant at the Khan's behest.

The Tatars deliberately delayed their reply until now, their aim being to better provoke and provoke the tyrant, inciting him to send troops against the Tatars in a fit of rage. In this way, the plan would succeed.

[The Western Xia would secretly lend troops to the Tatars to tie down the Sheng's forces, then feign cooperation with the Sheng to create the appearance of attacking the Tatars and gain the tyrant's trust... How ridiculous! Last year, when that flirtatious Wei Mingliang visited, he proposed cooperating with the tyrant to deal with the Tatars. Was this all just a prelude?]

If the tyrant truly believed that scoundrel Wei Mingliang, wouldn't he have fallen right into the trap set by the Western Xia and the Tatars?

Chu Liuzheng belatedly felt a chill run down his spine, rubbed his arms, and continued to roll down.

[The Western Xia not only allied with the Tatars but also persuaded several small states surrounding the Great Sheng to send troops to harass the Great Sheng border while the Great Sheng was waging war against the Tatars, thus diverting the Great Sheng's forces. Then, the Western Xia could coordinate with the Tatars from within and without, catching the Great Sheng army off guard and achieving a surprise attack on the battlefield. They could then advance unimpeded through the breach and invade the Great Sheng...]

[Oh dear, this is a series of interconnected schemes. Whether it's a tyrant or a general leading an army who falls into the trap, the price is always tens of thousands of lives!]

Chu Liuzheng rubbed her arms again. The weather was still hot at the end of summer, but she felt cold all over.

She glanced at Xiao Jingfan furtively, her mind racing.

Although the tyrant may not necessarily fall for it, it's never a bad thing to give him a heads-up. How should I tell the tyrant about this?

Xiao Jingfan was thinking about how he could turn the tables and dig a pit for Western Xia and Tatars.

Since we're already here, let's bury us all together.

Chu Liuzheng opened the system again, trying to find a solution within it.

[Speaking of which, Wei Mingliang, that playboy, is utterly useless! He actually let a commoner's illegitimate son become the crown prince! What happened to your schemes and tactics? So you're completely helpless against the Western Xia emperor's favoritism? Let's get this started!!]

[Huh? The fake princess is doing quite well lately. Although she's not well-liked by Wei Mingliang, she's managed to win over Wei Mingliang's mother through her own abilities, and now she has someone backing her up in the vast inner palace. After Yin Taiyu returned to the country, her princess status was confirmed, and he even sent another dowry.]

[The butterfly...]

[Oh, why am I so happy to see the playboy get his comeuppance? Hahaha, that illegitimate child may not know how to do anything else, but he's got a whole repertoire of disgusting people. That playboy's face is so dark, hahaha, serves him right!!]

[The butterfly... uh, wait a minute, what was I looking for?]

Chu Liuzheng, who was enjoying the gossip too much, finally realized that he had gone off-topic and quickly brought his attention back to the topic and started searching again.

Forced to listen to a bunch of embarrassing stories about Wei Mingliang, Xiao Jingfan sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation. What was he even expecting? He should just keep thinking about how to trap those two scoundrels.

While the two were busy with their own tasks, a secret letter, delivered by express courier, arrived at the Wenhua Hall.

(End of this chapter)