Chen Tang Guan and Hua Cheng had been subdued. Qing Yao sent a letter to her father, requesting the imperial court to send reinforcements to cooperate with Huang Mu Yang and Lu Zhan Yun. She believed that people would arrive soon.
After a brief rest, they would continue north.
Because Chen Tang Guan and Hua Cheng were lost, the other countries became envious. The Dan Feng Kingdom was now facing problems not just from one nation, but several surrounding countries had begun to take action simultaneously.
Yun Cang Kingdom and Qing Luo Kingdom joined forces and seized two cities from the Dan Feng Kingdom.
Shang Guan Hao could no longer sit idly by and also seized one city. xxs12
The Dan Feng Kingdom lost five cities at once, causing panic and unease in the imperial court. The Empress aged several years, her hair turning white. At this time, Hua Wen Bo returned to the palace, kneeling before the Empress to beg for her forgiveness, admitting he had failed to protect Chen Tang Guan and had lost Hua Cheng.
The Empress's gaze was sharp as she stared at him. It seemed all her everything was ruined by this man. His former ethereal beauty was gone, replaced by a terrifying disfigurement. A long scar ran from his eye down, extremely gruesome. One eye was destroyed, the lids fused together, a horrifying sight.
"How dare you show your face here again?"
The Empress's voice was chilling, as if emanating from hell, devoid of any warmth.
"Losing Chen Tang Guan and Hua Cheng, and with the Fifth Princess dead, wasn't all this your doing? If it weren't for you, why would the Empress of Xian Yue have attacked the Dan Feng Kingdom?"
At this moment, the Empress had completely lost her reason, her eyes bloodshot, her expression eerily alluring and terrifying.
Hua Wen Bo's deep-set eyes grew colder by degrees. His face was ruined, and he was more distressed and pained than anyone. Losing Chen Tang Guan was also not his intention. He never expected that in the end, this woman would shift all the blame onto him. The scar on his distorted face became even more ghastly.
"Empress, I simply did not expect Mu Qing Yao to be so formidable."
He murmured, "One thing conquers another. Perhaps my retribution is truly upon me. Otherwise, why would everything fall apart the moment I encountered that woman? My wealth and status, my dreams, everything is gone. Now even my sole remaining appearance is completely ruined..."
"You didn't know? You didn't know? Your harem has caused trouble again and again, and now you say you didn't know? You've caused me to become a deposed monarch."
The Empress seemed to foresee her future, losing all face to meet her ancestors. The more she thought, the more hateful she became. She kicked him, and Hua Wen Bo dared not dodge. He took the blow directly, sent flying by the Empress, hitting the wall and falling to the ground. He struggled briefly, blood seeping from the corner of his lips.
In the end, he laughed. So, this woman was even more heartless than him. All the favor she had shown him was merely treating him as a plaything. He had thought she might still cherish their marital bond, after all, they had lived together for over twenty years. To find out in the end that he wasn't the cruelest one, how could he not laugh?
His laughter made the Empress even more furious. She yelled outside, "Guards, drag this destructive demon out and have him beheaded!"
"Yes," immediately, fierce imperial guards rushed in, lunging at Hua Wen Bo. Hua Wen Bo did not move, letting them drag him out. The reason he was here was for another matter; otherwise, these few people could not have harmed him in the slightest.
Just then, a figure entered the study door, the delicate Ji Xue.
She knelt carefully in the center of the study, "Mother Empress, Ji Xue knows her sins are grave, but I beg for death."
"You too! It is you who has ruined my great enterprise!" The Empress was so enraged she spoke incoherently, her heart surging with blood. Her eyes rolled back as she slumped to the side. The nearby imperial guards and the Empress's personal maids cried out in alarm, "Empress! Empress! What's wrong with you?"
Ji Xue and Hua Wen Bo exchanged a look and smiled subtly. It seemed heaven had not abandoned them.
Ji Xue leaped to the Empress's side, pushing aside the crowd, and cried out sharply, "Quickly, send for the imperial physician! Hurry and send for the imperial physician!"
She reached out and held the Empress, then flashed towards the sleeping quarters. In an instant, chaos erupted as people scrambled and collided. At this moment, Hua Wen Bo, who had been standing, suddenly spoke, "Everyone be quiet, be quiet. Don't panic, don't panic. Come, take a deep breath, don't be nervous..."
His voice seemed to possess magic. The previously panicked individuals quieted down, their gazes unfocused. They even forgot about summoning doctors, as if they had forgotten about the Empress's situation.
In the sleeping quarters, Ji Xue quickly put down the Empress. During the bumpy journey, the Empress miraculously woke up. Upon seeing Ji Xue, her brow furrowed, and she spoke with disgust, "What are you doing here? Get out."
Ji Xue's heart had softened initially. Although this woman was not her biological mother, she had called her Mother Empress for over twenty years and considered her a birth mother. Now, to kill her made her uneasy. But who knew that the moment this woman opened her eyes, she would utter such an infuriating remark? Her gaze darkened, and a chilling smile appeared on her lips.
With swift movements, she took out a packet of white powder and forced it into the Empress's mouth. The Empress's eyes widened in anger, and she desperately shook her head, but she could not break free from Ji Xue's hand, which was tightly gripping her throat, making it difficult to breathe. She opened her mouth wide, and the powder was swallowed entirely. Ji Xue waited for a moment, until the Empress's breathing grew weaker, and then she cried out towards the outside, "Someone! Someone! Where are the imperial physicians? Why haven't they arrived yet?"
Outside the sleeping quarters, someone immediately went to find the imperial physicians. Meanwhile, in the study, Hua Wen Bo calmly waved his hand, "The Empress is gravely ill. Hurry and summon the imperial physicians."
Those present were stunned. It was as if the events of moments ago had not happened, and they had no suspicion. They flew off to summon the imperial physicians, and others went to notify the court ministers.
Soon, the imperial physicians arrived, followed by the ministers. The imperial children also rushed over.
The sleeping quarters were filled with people, all looking at the imperial physician. He frowned deeply, and finally shook his head powerlessly, "The Empress has passed away."
As the words fell, gentle crying filled the sleeping quarters. Ji Xue threw herself onto the Empress, wailing, "Mother Empress, it is all daughter's fault! I should not have come to ask for forgiveness, causing Mother Empress to die of anxiety."
Crown Princess Ji Xue's cries were like thunder. In the sleeping quarters, everyone knelt in unison, a chorus of mournful sounds.
A generation's formidable woman ultimately died amidst internal imperial strife. The Empress was murdered in such a manner, yet it remained undetected.
With the Empress's death and no imperial decree, Crown Princess Ji Xue naturally ascended the throne.
However, many ministers found the Empress's death strange and therefore disagreed with Ji Xue's enthronement. They jointly submitted memorials, requesting the Sixth Princess to ascend the throne.
Unfortunately, as soon as this suggestion was made, the leading ministers died in their homes, and the Sixth Princess was rendered mute. Everything was self-evident. The entire Feng Lian City was shrouded in a blood-red mist, and everyone lived in fear. Many knew clearly that the Dan Feng Kingdom was truly doomed.
Ji Xue successfully ascended the throne, becoming the new Empress of the Dan Feng Kingdom. Immediately upon her enthronement, she mobilized heavy troops to prevent Mu Qing Yao and her companions from advancing north.