Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

Early the next morning.

The emperor was still enjoying his delicious meal in his sleep when he suddenly heard a panicked voice:

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!!"

The emperor awoke with a start, his face contorted with rage: "What are you yelling about? I almost tasted rolled cold noodles in my dream just now! Damn it, all of that is gone because of your bastard yelling!!"

"The Song family has now completely rebelled and has already seized five cities in Da'an!"

Zhao Gou trembled, completely panicked.

He attended the morning court session in place of His Majesty every day, but he dared not make any decisions on such matters.

If things go wrong and the Da'an Dynasty falls, he, as the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, will not fare well either.

His sisters will probably suffer as well.

Waaah, fate is so cruel...

The emperor was stunned: "The Song family was prepared all along?"

"That shouldn't be the case. On the day the Empress was beaten to death, I listened to Pei Yuan's advice and dispatched most of the Black Hawk Guards. Logically speaking, the Song family should have been caught off guard..."

Zhao Gou said with a bitter face, "Your Majesty, I don't know how the Song family found out about the Black Hawk Guard's trip to the border. They set up a series of traps in advance, which caused the Black Hawk Guard to be routed."

"They even raised the banner of eliminating the sorceress and purging the court of corrupt officials, intending to rebel."

"The Crown Prince died yesterday. If the Song family finds out, they'll likely become even more arrogant. Your Majesty, you must make a decision as soon as possible!"

The Song family's 100,000-strong army has won many battles. If they hear that the crown prince is dead, they will definitely intensify their attack.

If we fight our way to the capital, which currently only has 20,000 imperial guards, then with 100,000 against 20,000, we have no chance of winning.

The emperor squinted, his expression inscrutable.

After a long while, he waved his hand, signaling Zhao Gou to step down.

"Black Hawk," he called softly.

A black eagle dressed in black appeared beside the emperor like a ghost.

How many Black Hawk Guards are still available?

"Only five thousand people."

Black Hawk answered calmly.

The Black Hawk Guard was a secret force under the emperor, an elite army, each member capable of fighting a hundred men, hence its small size, only 30,000 men.

To ensure everything goes smoothly on this trip to the border, the Black Hawk Guard dispatched the majority of its forces.

Now only five thousand people remain.

As the commander of the Black Hawk Guard, Black Hawk was in a heavy mood. He had a premonition that if the Song family really attacked the capital, the Black Hawk Guard and the Imperial Guard alone would not be able to stop them.

The emperor clearly understood the current situation.

He remained silent for a long time, finally frowning as he said, "What if we flee north, recruiting soldiers and stockpiling provisions along the way?"

Before Black Hawk could speak, another shout came from outside the hall: "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!!"

"It's terrible, Your Majesty—" Zhao Gou stumbled in.

The emperor raised his eyes impatiently, his eyes blazing with intense anger.

It's bad, it's bad, it's bad again.

It's so early in the morning, can't you say anything nice at all?

Zhao Gou trembled slightly, and spoke under immense pressure: "Your Majesty, the Liao envoy has disappeared. It seems... he left overnight!"

"They're gone??" The emperor's eyes widened.

"Yes, the people from the Ministry of Rites only discovered it this morning..."

The emperor was furious, clenching his fists and pounding the bed with all his might.

The Liao envoy left without saying goodbye, and fled overnight; there must be something going on.

Nine out of ten...

"Oh no!" The emperor was furious. "The third prince of Liao is probably going to send troops to seize Lady Shen!"

Beset by internal and external troubles, nothing good has come of it; it's absolutely dire.

Black Hawk, his face grim, said, "Your Majesty, in that case, we cannot go north."

"To the south lies the Song dynasty, and to the north, the Liao dynasty. What am I to do? What am I to do!"

The emperor looked distressed. He had originally planned to lead everyone to escape to the north, but now he couldn't run away, and he couldn't just stay here and wait to die, could he?

"Your Majesty, I have a solution."

"explain."

"The Song family army is using the pretext of eliminating the demoness and purging the court of corrupt officials. If we just hand the demoness over, the Song family army will have no legitimate reason to fight," Black Hawk said.

emperor:"???"

"Lady Shen is not a demoness, she is clearly a fairy!!" the emperor shouted.

Asking him to hand over Lady Shen would be worse than killing him.

Zhao Gou, who was kneeling on the ground, breathed a sigh of relief: "Your Majesty is wise. Lady Shen is just a fairy who can cook. She did nothing, so naturally she cannot be handed over."

"What's more, if Madam Shen is gone, all the grilled sausages, pot-boiled chicken, sparkling drinks, cold noodles, grilled gluten, and a whole bunch of other novel foods will be gone."

Black Hawk: "..."

He thought that Lady Shen sounded even more like a witch.

She killed the Crown Prince with a single palm strike yesterday; this enchantress is definitely not simple, and may even be a member of the martial arts world.

"Your Majesty, the situation is urgent. Whether she is a demoness or a fairy, she is just a woman. Handing her over to the Song family will appease their anger, and there might still be room for maneuver. Our Da'an will also be spared from internal strife."

"If all else fails, we can hand this woman over to the Liao Dynasty. Perhaps then they won't attack us."

"We can take this opportunity to borrow troops from the Liao Dynasty and annihilate the Song rebels in one fell swoop!"

Black Hawk's analysis, as heard by the Emperor and Zhao Gou, amounted to only five words: "Hand over Lady Shen."

But handing over Madam Shen was worse than death for them.

"Black Hawk, you don't understand." The Emperor waved his hand, looking helpless.

"No matter what, I will not hand over Lady Shen. Without Lady Shen, I will truly die."

They either died of hunger or starvation; there was no hope left for them to continue living.

Zhao Gou chimed in, "Madam Shen is beautiful and kind-hearted, and completely innocent. Although the situation is dangerous, we cannot let Madam Shen be sacrificed."

Black Hawk: "..."

Well, all that analysis was for nothing.

"Your Majesty, let's hand over Lady Shen for now. Once the situation stabilizes, we'll take her back."

"Your Majesty, please wake up! If you don't, Da'an will perish!!"

Black Hawk's words can be described as both blunt and audacious.

But every word he spoke was sincere; he was truly considering the emperor's best interests.

He lost both his parents at a young age and wandered the streets. It was the emperor who saved him and sent people to teach him to read and practice martial arts. He has always regarded the emperor as his second parents.

He really didn't want to see Da'an perish because of a woman.

The emperor remained silent for a long time before finally drawing a conclusion.

Black Hawk didn't understand; Black Hawk didn't comprehend his feelings.

So he raised his eyelids slightly and said, "Black Hawk, let me take you to try Lady Shen's cooking."