108: Chapter 108 Puppet Crashes

[ The topic has been put to rest. ]

[ The day Wei Feisen left, his footsteps were heavier than when he arrived. ]

[ You stood under the corridor, watching him walk along the palace path. The sunset light fell on his back, stretching his shadow very long, shrinking bit by bit, and finally disappearing at the corner of the palace gate. ]

[ You withdrew your gaze and turned back to the hall. ]

[ Your robes fluttered gently in the evening breeze. ]

[ — — ]

[ In the following months, you closed the palace to Cultivate, and your cultivation base climbed steadily. ]

[ The barrier of the Great Grandmaster Peak was like a sheet of transparent paper. You could feel that thing right in front of your fingertips, a thin layer that seemed breakable with a push, but every time your True Qi struck it, it was like a fist hitting cotton, unable to find a point of leverage. ]

[ Every time you felt you were almost there, you were always just a little short. This could be said to be torturing you to death. ]

[ Earthly Immortal. ]

[ Just missing that one breath. ]

[ Now you finally understand why there are so few Earthly Immortals in the whole world; it is truly difficult. ]

[ However, it is useless to be anxious. For things like Realm, once you reach this level, relying on brute force to rush through will only lead to Qi Deviation. ]

[ But the winds outside the palace are changing regardless of whether you are anxious or not. ]

[ The third month. ]

[ A secret report from an undercover agent was delivered to your desk. ]

[ You unfolded the note and read it once under the lamp. ]

[ The content was very brief: There is unusual activity within the Black Tiger Division. The Grand Commander has recently secretly met with three vice-generals of the Imperial Guard, with a very strong intention of probing between the lines about why the marriage is delayed and what the Imperial heart intends. ]

[ After reading, you placed the note over the candle flame. ]

[ The paper curled, turned yellow, and caught fire. The firelight reflected on your face, flickering on and off. ]

[ The ashes fell into the copper basin. ]

[ You dusted the ash off your fingers and picked up the memorial again. ]

[ Two days later, the second secret report was delivered. ]

[ This time the content was even shorter, only one sentence: ]

[ " The Grand Commander has begun to check the entire roster of the Black Tiger Division, verifying the depth of the relationship between the commanders of each battalion and Your Majesty one by one. " ]

[ You put down the note and tapped your fingers lightly on the edge of the desk twice. ]

[ He is no longer probing. ]

[ He is weeding out people. ]

[ On the third morning after the secret report was placed on your desk. ]

[ You read that roster from beginning to end carefully. ]

[ Among the people Wei Feisen is investigating, six were promoted by you personally, three were selected by you from former subordinates, and the rest are all old men who followed him from the Black Tiger Gang from the very beginning. ]

[ He is categorizing them. ]

[ Your people, his people, and the people who are involved with both sides. ]

[ And after categorizing? ]

[ You couldn't help but sigh; in the end, it still came to this point. ]

[ You closed the roster and set it aside. ]

[ " Someone come in. " ]

[ The female official pushed the door and entered, lowering her eyebrows and bowing her head. ]

[ " Tell the Imperial Cuisine Bureau to prepare a private banquet in the inner garden side hall tonight at the Hour of the Bo, with dishes according to the Grand Commander's taste. " ]

[ " Yes. " ]

[ " Also tell the Clothing Bureau. " You stood up, walked to the dressing table and sat down, looking at yourself in the bronze mirror, " Prepare the clothes. " ]

[ Your voice was very soft. ]

[ As if speaking about an insignificant trifle. ]

[ — — ]

[ The Hour of the Bo, inner garden side hall. ]

[ Over a dozen candles were burning, the halo of light orange and warm and ambiguous, the gauze curtains half-hanging, four small dishes and a pot of warm wine placed on the table. ]

[ You changed into a cloud-smoke colored plain dress, your hair bun loose, only adorned with a white jade hairpin, the whole person having three parts less imperial majesty than usual, and three parts more of the softness of an ordinary woman. ]

[ The palace door pushed open. ]

[ When Wei Feisen entered, his gaze first swept the four corners. ]

[ Then his line of sight fell on you. ]

[ It stopped. ]

[ You sat behind the desk, one hand supporting your chin, the candlelight illuminating half your face warmly, the other half hidden in the soft light, looking at him with a smile in your eyes. ]

[ Wei Feisen stood at the door for a second. ]

[ His Adam's apple moved once. ]

[ Immediately he walked in and sat down opposite you. ]

[ " Rare. " He spoke, his voice a few degrees lighter than usual, " Your Majesty actually has the leisure to invite me to drink. " ]

[ " Why call me Your Majesty. " You personally poured him a cup and pushed it over, " Tonight there is no Your Majesty, only Shuang Wan. " ]

[ Wei Feisen took the wine cup, did not drink it immediately, rubbed his fingertips on the cup wall, and looked at you from above the rim of the cup. ]

[ There was suspicion. ]

[ You raised your cup and clinked it against the rim of his, drinking a sip first. ]

[ The wine entered your throat, warm. ]

[ " I have thought about this for a long time. " You put down the wine cup, your voice slow, " Regarding the marriage... I have delayed it for too long. " ]

[ Wei Feisen's fingers tightened slightly. ]

[ " The matters in the Northern Frontier are almost done, and the new laws have been implemented by seventy percent. " You raised your eyes to look at him, your gaze open and frank, " If I delay any longer, it really wouldn't be justifiable. " ]

[ He did not speak, his eyes nailed to your face, as if trying to discern how much of your words were true. ]

[ You did not give him time to discern. ]

[ You put down your chopsticks, stood up, walked around the desk, and walked to his side. ]

[ You leaned over. ]

[ Lowering your voice, you whispered in his ear: " The marriage is set for next spring. By then, I will have the Ministry of Rites draft an edict to announce it to the world... You have waited for me for so many years, I will not let you wait anymore. " ]

[ Your leaning action caused your collar to open slightly, the cloud-smoke colored plain dress appearing almost transparent under the candlelight, a flash of snow-white at the collar flickering in his peripheral vision. ]

[ Wei Feisen's breathing became chaotic. ]

[ He raised his head to look at you, the light in his eyes frighteningly bright. ]

[ " You said that? " His voice was hoarse. ]

[ " I said that. " You straightened up and smiled at him. ]

[ You sat down again and poured yourself a cup of wine. ]

[ " Drink. " ]

[ Wei Feisen picked up the cup and drank it in one gulp. ]

[ After that cup of wine went down, his edges softened, and the string between his brows that had been taut for so long relaxed. ]

[ After three rounds of wine, your beautiful eyes moved slightly, as if you had thought of something. ]

[ Immediately you stood up and called the palace attendant waiting outside the hall: " Go and ask the Black-robed Puppet to retreat to the outer garden. Tonight, there will be no close guards in the inner garden. " ]

[ Wei Feisen did not think too much and raised his hand to make a gesture. ]

[ Outside the palace door, heavy footsteps sounded. The figure of the Black-robed Puppet flashed out from the shadow of the corridor pillars and moved towards the outer garden. ]

[ You pricked up your ears and listened to those footsteps. ]

[ Further away. ]

[ A bit further. ]

[ There. ]

[ You raised your wine cup to your lips, and under the guise of drinking, you spat out a string of syllables between your lips and teeth, extremely lightly and quickly. ]

[ That was the Puppet control incantation that Wei Feisen had taught you back then. ]

[ Two commands landed on the Puppet at the same time. ]

[ One was Wei Feisen's " retreat to the outer garden " just now. ]

[ One was your " stop and stay in place ". ]

[ Contradictory instructions. ]

[ In the direction of the outer garden, those heavy and even footsteps stopped. ]

[ Your ears captured that moment of stillness. It did not continue to move, it did not turn back, it just stopped, like a mechanism being pulled by two opposite forces at the same time, jammed in place. ]

[ Your heart gave a " thud ". ]

[ Immediately followed by an irrepressible joy. ]

[ So that's how it is. ]