The days turned colder as the seasons progressed deeper into autumn, and even the passing winds were tinged with the smell of chrysanthemum. The lotuses in the Tai Qing Pond had long ago withered, with the wilted sycamore leaves flooding the entire pond. The whole hall seemed quiet, like an undisturbed late, as Sun Di’s voice rang out in the deafening silence, and like the smell of incense, his voice lingered beside everyone’s ears.

  “Princess Yunkang, Rank one Lady Huayang, Lady of Runan, Lady of Duanqing, Lady of Jingan, had all indicated their willingness to take care of the Emperor. In addition, King of Runan, King of Duanqing, King of Jingan, Master An, Master Yun, had all indicated their loyalty. The court is now split into two, with the generals mostly supportive of the King of Jingan, whereas the administrative officers were mostly in favor of the idea that the three ladies are to groom the Emperor together, and likewise the three Kings are to supervise the ruling together.”


  As the breeze blow past, the plants outside the windows were swaying. Sitting on the soft mat, Chu Qiao donned a white robe for indoors. As she leaned one hand on the window, she lifted her chin as she looked on at the night sky that was decorated with Sycamores. The broad sleeves were drooping down, revealing a segment of her snowy white arm. In her dark eyes, one could not tell what she was thinking.

  “The cavalry general Xie Xu led 70,000 of the Southern army and has already reached Sunset Mountains. They will be reaching the capital soon. This Xie Xu was a slave of the King of Jingan, and with him bringing his troops over, this man must be guarded against. I ordered General Xu Su to guard at Hanshui, and even if Xie Xu recognizes the new Emperor, he was to cross the Hanshui River alone without all of his soldiers.”


  “Xie Xu?” Leaning on the window, Chu Qiao did not even turn her head around as she firmly continued, “During the rebellion by the King of Luo, we had not heard anything from him. He suddenly became so patriotic?”


  Sun Di’s voice did not waver, as he replied firmly, “If we did not have a righteous cause, they would not be fully loyal, such is only logical.”


  Chu Qiao’s eyes finally turned, as she looked upon Sun Di from the corner of her eyes. She had already guessed what he wanted to say, yet she did not give a definite reply, and merely turned around and observed the waves outside. For a long time, she did not speak.

  “In addition, the son of Elder Liu, Liu Yuanzong, had contacted me. He indicated that when the time is right, he would like to contact some of the old allies of the Liu Family to assist you. Right now, all that they need is a good reason and an opportunity.”


  Suddenly, there was a wave of hurried footsteps from beyond the palace. The duo turned around suddenly, only to see the Emperor wearing a golden dragon blouse running barefoot, tears covering his face. He pounced into Chu Qiao’s embrace and started to cry. Two nannies followed behind, and upon seeing Chu Qiao and Sun Di, they knelt on the ground.

  The kid was small, and could only reach Chu Qiao’s waist. He cried while shouting, “Aunt! Mother had come to find me! Mother had come.”


  Chu Qiao pulled the young emperor up and wiped away his tears with her handkerchief, before asking softly, “Did the Emperor have a dream again?”


  The kid pouted, and continued to cry, “My Mother’s head was full of blood, and it all rubbed onto me.”


  Chu Qiao soothed him, “Emperor, do not be scared, that is merely a dream, and it is not real. Your mother loves you so, why would she try to scare you?”


  “Aunt–” Li Xiuyi continued to hug Chu Qiao in a tight embrace, refusing to let go.

  Looking upon the Emperor, Sun Di showed pity. “The Emperor is still so young. If he lands in the hands of someone who wants to manipulate him, who knows how much pain he would go through.”


  Chu Qiao suddenly started to feel annoyance at this man before her. She instructed, “The night is no longer young, and Master, it would be inappropriate for you to stay much longer. Meixiang, please send him off.”


  Sun Di did not seem very upset, and after saying some formalities, he turned and left.

  Meixiang seemed somewhat annoyed as she glared at Sun Di’s figure. Seeing that he had left, she said, “Miss, do not listen to this man’s nonsense! At most when the Fourth Young Master came, we would bring the young Emperor along.”


  Before Chu Qiao could even reply, Li Xiuyi lifted his head up and asked, “Aunt is going to leave?”


  Chu Qiao lowered her head and looked into the pitch black eyes of the kid, as though she could see the silhouette of a certain someone through his eyes. She seemed to be able to see that scene again, when snow filled the whole scenery with razor-like cold winds bellowing, as that man ignored the questions of doubt from the entire country and sent his army to Longyin Pass. Through that, he saved her. She could still feel his freezing cold armor that she leaned on as they left the scene, as he shielded her from the fightings and war, like an infallible wall that would never fall.

  Withdrawing her arms, Chu Qiao tightly hugged the kid.

  As the candles continued to burn, the nights of the palace seemed ever so long. Sun Ti walked out casually from the side door of the Tai’an Gate, his loose robes fluttering in the wind. In the corner, Tie You squatted as he waited for Sun Di to come out. Seeing that Sun Di had finally come out, Tie You walked over calmly. Sun Di calmly looked at Tie You with a slight smile hanging by his mouth, and casually asked, “Is General Tie going to invite me for a drink?”


  “Did you kill the Emperor’s Mother?” Tie You’s voice was firm and deep, and his gaze was undisturbed as he suddenly questioned.

  Sun Di’s composure was utterly undisturbed as a light smile hung by his lips and confidently replied, “What do you mean, General Tie? Empress Yuan committed suicide by smashing her head on a wall. The entire scene was witnessed by many, and even you were present. How was that in any way related to me?”


  Deeply furrowing his brows, Tie You remain unfazed as he continued, “I was told that on the night before the incident, you sent out a letter while still in prison to Lady Yuan. After reading your letter, she went to the Emperor’s residence until the incident occurred. The servants who were serving her said that she cried the entire night, and did not even eat her meals. What exactly did you tell her in the letter?”


  “What can I say? Obviously, I cautioned her to be careful of the Zhan siblings.”


  Tie You suddenly stepped up, and glaring at Sun Di, he bellowed, “If that was so simple, why did you execute the two eunuchs who had delivered the letters to her? And searched the entire Yixin Palace last night?”


  Sun Di’s face finally froze up. Turning around, he coldly declared, “I don’t know what you are talking about.” As he said that, he lifted his feet and went to leave.

  “Sun Di!” Tie You suddenly bellowed, alerting some guards even from afar. With his chest heaving up and down, Tie You quietly continued, “If you do not want other people to know, why did you even do it? There are thousands of eyes observing you. Do you think it would be possible to make it perfect?”


  The cold moonlight spilled onto the straight back of Sun Di. With his green clothes fluttering, a certain type of aura was emitted from this young man.

  Slowly turning around, he looked deep into Tie You’s soul as he replied without skipping a beat, “Tie You, do you not remember how lowly you were born?”


  Tie You was slightly taken aback, and following which a sense of unpleasantness flashed past his eyes as he coldly stated, “Tie You was born as a normal civilian, and would naturally be unable to compare to Master Sun Di’s noble birth.”


  “I am not comparing my bloodline with you.” Sun Di casually brushed aside that remark. In the pale moonlight, his handsome features seemed even a little cunning. Upright and unwavering, his clothes fluttered in the passing winds, as he continued, “I wanted to say, could it be that you have already forgotten what His Majesty had done such that we both could rise to such power?”


  Tie You was taken aback once again, but he immediately turned cold again. “So your method of repaying His Majesty is by killing our young Emperor’s mother before inciting a rebellion?”


  “What else can I do? Let our young Majesty be throned with his mother assisting? Hmph, if that is the case, without even three years, the entire Tang Empire would be in control of the Jingan King, Zhou Yun.”


  The corner of Sun Di’s mouth curled up as his eyes sparkled with cunningness that seemed befitting of a fox. In a moment he seemed like he was not from this world.

  “Indeed, His Majesty had already predicted that such a thing might happen and that the Zhan Siblings might try to usurp power, and made countermeasures for such things. I am afraid I cannot follow those orders, and I must stir up a mess in the Tang Empire. With Zhan Ziyu dying on the hands of General Xiuli, even if Empress Yuan had not committed suicide that day, I would make sure that she died after that. She was pretty smart, and made the right choice, saving me much trouble. Only when the entire matter turns into an utter mess, Master Chu will follow my plans, and not follow Zhuge Yue and leave the Tang Empire.”


  Tie You was completely stunned by this plan. At that instance, the tall walls of the castle seemed ever so suppressing. As the nocturnal birds flew past the palace, they let out shrieks that jolted everyone back to their senses. With his brows tightly frowning, Tie You’s mouth was agape, and only after a long while did he finally muster a reply, “You must be crazy.”


  “No, I am not.” Sun Di lifted his head, his figure seemed upright as he pointed into the skies in the North, and with a sharp gaze, he spoke to Tie You, “Haven’t you heard? The calls of war begun in the North, and there were millions of bodies that were left to rot by the gates of Yanming Pass. The Xia Empire is about to disintegrate, and the talented and ruthless Yan Xun rules over Yan Bei. The only reason that the Xia Empire had not fallen was because, as the King of Qinghai, Zhuge Yue opened up another front. The instant that Zhuge Yue leaves, how could Zhao Che alone face the onslaught of Yan Bei? In the first place, Xia was plagued by an internal power struggle, and each power is trying to grab the most power for themselves. Zhao Yang is not someone satisfied to remain someone else’s command. The instant that the Xia Empire is conquered, we have lost our Northern buffer. By then, we will face Yan Bei from the west through the waterway of the Southern Borders, and the land forces of Yan Bei from the North. Also, to our East, there is Nalan Hongye who is a long-standing ally of Yan Bei. Not only that, with internal forces like The King of Jingan, Zhou Yun, trying to usurp power, how could the Tang Empire survive?”


  Tie You was completely stunned. Sun Di continued, “In the battle with the King of Luo, the Tang Empire had lost much. After His Majesty left, there was a multitude of powers within the country wishing to take the throne. If the West Meng continent remained in such a divided state, we would still be safe. However, once Yan Bei manages to defeat the Xia Empire, that will be the doomsday for Tang. We owe much gratitude to His Majesty, and now that he is no longer around, do you think I can sit and watch the entire Tang Empire be destroyed?”


  “Even……even then, you should not have killed Empress Yuan. Ultimately, she was the concubine of His Majesty, and was the young Emperor’s mother!” Tie You’s face was completely red as he bellowed.

  “She is but a useless woman.” Sun Di snorted in disdain, as he bellowed, “As of now, the only way for us to survive is to ensure somehow that the Xia Empire can survive. If we are unable to annihilate the Song Empire before Yan Bei defeats the Xia Empire, we will certainly fall into a deadly trapt.” As he said that, a trace of passion and zeal could be seen in his eyes.

  Turning around, Sun Di glared deep into Tie You’s eyes as he bellowed with a low voice, “As long as Master Chu stays even one more day in the Tang Empire, Zhuge Yue will delay his return to Qinghai. As long as he does not leave, Yan Xun cannot afford to send all his forces to attack Yanming Pass in fear of infiltration from Cuiwei Pass. As long as the Xia Empire remains, the Tang Empire will have time to revitalize, and considering Master Chu and her relationships with Zhuge Yue and Yan Xun, we will obtain some form of support from those two powers. And in the future, if any internal powers wish to seize power, they must consider how Zhuge Yue and Yan Xun would respond. With that, the young Emperor’s power could be consolidated, and even if King of Jingan wishes to bend things to his will, he needs to consider the potential repercussions. In the first place, the Xiuli Army possesses extraordinary fighting prowess and loyalty, and is in no way inferior to His Majesty’s elite Wolf Army, and would be the prime choice for the bodyguard of the Emperor. In addition, Master Chu herself is a person of exceptional military and political talent, and as a woman, she has little to none of those passion or desire for power. We can get such a suitable person like her to assist our Emperor. Can you ever find a second person like her?”


  Tie You was utterly dumbfounded by his colleague, as he looked on as though they were strangers.