My brother entrusted his child to me, and I livestreamed raising the baby, making the Empress cry wi

Inside the Fengde Hall, the candlelight flickered, casting half-light and half-shadow on the faces of the officials below the steps.

Looking at the indifferent expressions of the ministers below, Shu Jingwei felt waves of anger rising within her.

Her chest heaved violently as she cursed Lin Ye and Wang Meng incessantly in her mind. Those vicious words surged within her, as if she wanted to spit them out of her throat.

Suddenly, the humiliating memory of having my true feelings exposed in public not long ago struck my mind like a cold bolt of lightning!

A chill ran down her spine, forcing her to swallow the curses back.

I dare not curse anymore.

She felt a lump in her throat, unable to breathe, which made her vision go black and her eyes roll back.

The head eunuch, noticing her pale face, quickly ran to her side, bent down, and whispered, "Your Majesty, your health is of utmost importance..."

Shu Jingwei waved her hand, signaling him to let everyone disperse.

The chief eunuch then straightened up, turned to the crowd below, cleared his throat, and announced in a loud voice:

"His Majesty has suddenly fallen ill, and today's banquet is adjourned. Gentlemen, please return to your residences and rest early."

The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. Soon, the sounds of rustling fabric and footsteps began to rise.

As the crowd murmured in hushed tones, the hall gradually emptied out.

The celebratory banquet, which had just been filled with toasts and laughter, ended in a somber mood.

Gao Fang practically ran back to the house.

He pushed open the door, rushed into the bedroom without even taking off his shoes, dragged a small wooden box from under the bed, and opened it—

Inside was a notebook with frayed edges, and several new iron daggers.

He poured all these things into a larger trunk, stuffed in a few ordinary clothes and some gold and silver valuables, and then carried them out the door without stopping.

He's going to the northern border to find Wang Meng!

Wang Meng is one of Lin Ye's men, so he must have a way to contact Lin Ye and get me to take another look at that book!

……

A moment later, the village south of the city was brightly lit.

The doors and windows of the main hall were tightly closed, and the curtains were drawn so tightly that not even a crack was left.

The air was filled with the scent of sandalwood and the faint smoke of burning candles.

The heads of the Wang, Chen, Li, and Zhou families sat at the head of the table.

Below, seven or eight heads of small and medium-sized aristocratic families sat quietly, each holding a teacup.

Wang Hong, the head of the Wang family, picked up his teacup, skimmed off the foam, took a small sip, and was the first to speak:

"Gentlemen," Wang Hong's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for everyone to hear, "you all witnessed what happened tonight?"

Chen Yong, the head of the Chen family, snorted coldly, leaned his fat body back in the chair, and the chair creaked under the weight.

"I see. Judging from the current situation, that person... probably won't be able to stay in that position for many more days."

Li Mu, the eldest member of the Li family, had some gray hair and spoke slowly, but his eyes were always gleaming with a sharp light.

"How much bribery did we offer to the palace recently in order to secure new iron? How many favors did we do for the court? Now, we need to seriously plan our next move..."

The head of the Zhou family, who was in his early forties and had a quick temper, slapped the armrest.

"Brother Li is right! Those things are already lost, but the key now is to distance ourselves from them as quickly as possible! If Wang Meng's people come to power and use this to accuse us of being part of the Empress's faction, then we're truly finished!"

"Brother Zhou is right." Wang Hong put down his teacup and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"Not only do we need to distance ourselves, we also need to find a way to get on Lin Ye's good side."

The room fell silent for a moment after he said that.

Everyone unconsciously glanced up at the ceiling.

The interior was isolated from the sky, and the beams were pitch black with nothing on them.

Wang Hong lowered his voice even further: "Lin Ye is in the sky, out of our reach. But what about Wang Meng? If he really has that new weapon... don't you want it?"

The group exchanged glances, all noticing the greedy desire in each other's eyes.

Zhou Huai suddenly stood up: "Then what are we waiting for? Tomorrow I'll send my trusted men north to buy weapons from him!"

"What's the rush? Haven't Shu Jingwei's elite troops already assembled there?" Wang Hong gestured for him to sit down.

"Let's send someone to check on the battle first. If Wang Mengzhen has new weapons and is confident of a great victory, then we can discuss the deal."

He thought for a moment and then advised, "Since this is our first meeting, we can't start by talking about buying weapons. Let's send some provisions and supplies first, and build a good relationship first."

The others nodded in agreement.

Once the route was determined, everyone instantly relaxed a lot.

Chen Yong picked up his teacup and took a big gulp, then suddenly laughed: "Speaking of which, that guy was really stupid."

"Back then, Ye Fan swindled such a large sum of money from us, and before we even had a chance to settle accounts with him, Yao Jingyuan submitted a memorial, and she actually dismissed Ye Fan from his post."

"That's right," Zhou Huai chimed in, his tone full of schadenfreude.

"Regarding Yao Jingyuan's affair, we merely added fuel to the fire, and she actually believed it. Tsk tsk tsk, doesn't she realize that without Ye Fan, what is she?"

Li Mu coughed and said, "I said back then that Ye Fan is capable, but too arrogant. Using Yao Jingyuan's case to teach him a lesson is just right."

"But that one, well, he was dismissed from office and imprisoned in the cold palace... Is that the way of an emperor?"

Wang Hong smiled faintly: "If she really had such abilities, why would we have been living so comfortably all these years?"

"After Ye Fan was dismissed from her post, if we hadn't vaguely heard that she had some trump cards and dared not act rashly, who among us would have allowed her to develop so well?"

"Exactly! I never expected that her trump card was also something Ye Fan left for her. Seriously, she's incredibly stupid!"

Chen Yong and the others all laughed.

Laughter echoed in the enclosed hall, mingling with the steam from the tea and the wisps of sandalwood incense, creating a hazy, lingering atmosphere.

After a moment, Wang Hong stopped laughing, and his expression returned to its usual calm.

"However, it's fine this way." His fingers stopped tapping, and his five fingers rested flat on the table.

"Now that her hand has been revealed, we have a better understanding of who will end up in that position."

Zhou Huai nodded repeatedly, then, as if remembering something, his eyebrows shot up sharply, and he said urgently, "We'd better get on Wang Meng's good side as soon as possible—if he really has the ability to seize the throne..."

His voice rose, his tone filled with undisguised urgency, "This opportunity to serve the emperor is a once-in-a-lifetime chance!"

Chen Yong took another sip of tea, his eyes lighting up: "The merit of following the emperor..."

Li Mu didn't speak, but the hand that was stroking his beard stopped.

Wang Hong glanced at everyone present, then raised his teacup in a gesture of respect:

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow, each of you will send your trusted confidants north to exchange information and avoid fighting independently."

"good!"

A few teacups clinked together lightly, and then everyone drank the tea in them.

……

On the sky, Lin Ye had already returned to the children's area.

Xiao Douzi and Duo Duo had already finished reading those books, so they asked the robot to bring them new ones.

He sat beside them, his eyes gently following the little girls. Seeing how happy they were looking at the picture book, a smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.

But what he heard at that moment was another clear conversation.