Chapter 225 -

Chapter 225: Chapter

Wenzhe instantly caught onto her thought, his dark brows pulling into a tight, stubborn frown.

"No," Wenzhe said flatly, his voice hard and uncompromising. "This is not going to work. I will not involve Lanyin in this dangerous mess."

Yueqing let out a long, weary sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Wenzhe, nobody is putting Lanyin in danger. It is just a cover story—"

"I said no," Wenzhe repeated firmly. "She is innocent. We leave her out of this."

Seeing him stand his ground so stubbornly, Yueqing decided not to push the issue for now. She picked up her cup, took a sip of warm tea, and turned her attention back to the royal mess at hand.

"Fine, we will figure out another way into the palace," Yueqing muttered. She tilted her head, looking over at Xiao Chen with a confused expression. "Honestly, why on earth is the Emperor so indecisive anyway? He already named the Crown Prince as his heir years ago. Why is he still keeping you in mind for the throne?"

Xiao Chen paused, his chopsticks hovering in midair as he looked up at her in silence.

Yueqing quickly held up her hands in surrender. "Don’t look at me like that! I’m just stating the obvious! It doesn’t make any sense."

Wenzhe did not seem to care about royal feelings at all. He casually picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth.

"The answer is simple," Wenzhe said plainly, his tone completely nonchalant. "It is probably because he still misses his late wife, your mother. According to my own mother, the Emperor was deeply in love with her."

The moment those words left Wenzhe’s mouth, the room fell into a cold, heavy silence. Xiao Chen’s face darkened instantly, his jaw clenching tight as a flicker of pain and resentment flashed through his eyes.

[Deeply in love my foot!] Yueqing shouted furiously in her mind, her jaw tightening as bitter memories surged up. [That hypocrite of an Emperor is the exact same person who sentenced "me" to death back then!]

Right beside her, Wenzhe’s hand froze mid-air. His ears picked up her loud, chaotic inner thoughts clearly, catching that single, strange word instantly.

["Me"?] Wenzhe thought to himself, his eyes widening in pure confusion.

He slowly turned his head, staring straight at Yueqing’s annoyed face with a puzzled look. Why on earth did she just refer to Xiao Chen’s late mother as "me"?

Yueqing was so focused on smoothing over the awkward moment that she completely missed Wenzhe’s bewildered stare. Seeing Xiao Chen’s mood drop to rock bottom, she quickly stepped in before a fight could break out.

"Anyway! Moving back to serious matters," Yueqing said loudly, tapping her teacup against the table to pull their attention back. "We know the Empress and Duke Xi are already making secret moves for this rebellion. When exactly do you two think they plan to strike?"

Xiao Chen took a deep breath, forcing his dark mood down as he composed himself. He set his teacup down, his expression turning sharp and focused once more.

"The Emperor’s grand birthday banquet is coming up in six months," Xiao Chen replied in a low, serious voice. "Every major official, high-ranking general, and royal family member will be gathered inside the imperial palace. The entire city will be celebrating. Security will be relaxed, and everyone will be focused on the feast. No one would ever see a strike coming on that night."

Wenzhe slowly dragged his eyes away from Yueqing, forcing his racing thoughts about her weird slip-up to the back of his mind for now. His dark eyes narrowed into sharp slits as he focused on the Third Prince.

"Six months..." Wenzhe said deeply. "That gives us enough time to gather our evidence, but not enough time to make a single mistake."

"I haven’t agreed to help you yet," Wenzhe said suddenly, his deep voice cutting through the quiet room.

Xiao Chen raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what is holding you back, General?"

Wenzhe set his chopsticks down, looking at the prince with a sharp, serious gaze. "First, I need to know your strength. Do you actually have people in the court ready to back you?"

Xiao Chen smiled proudly, leaning back in his chair with complete confidence. "Of course. I have already secured a good amount of high-ranking officials on my side. Even the Prime Minister himself supports me."

"The Prime Minister?" Wenzhe repeated, nodding his head slowly in approval "Hmm i see, What about your military force?"

"I have ten thousand loyal imperial guards ready to move at my command," Xiao Chen revealed, his smile fading into a grave look. "They are well-trained, but to stop a full-scale rebellion... they won’t be enough on their own."

Wenzhe nodded, his expression turning heavy. "My father commands fifty thousand soldiers in the main army. They are battle-hardened, ruthless, and heavily equipped. If they strike, your ten thousand guards won’t stand a chance."

"That is exactly where you come in!" Xiao Chen said, leaning forward across the table. "You are the supreme general. The soldiers respect you just as much as your father. If we combine my ten thousand guards with the loyal troops under your direct command, we will have more than enough force to crush the Empress and stop this madness."

Beside them, Yueqing wasn’t paying attention to their intense military talk at all. She was sitting comfortably in her chair, her cheeks puffed out like a little squirrel as she continuously stuffed her face with delicious fried fish and tender pork belly, nodding along absentmindedly to every word they said.

[Host, do you have any dignity left at all?!] Nine’s high-pitched, electronic voice suddenly squeaked inside Yueqing’s head, sounding utterly exasperated. [These two powerful men are literally sitting right beside you planning a bloody imperial coup that could change the history of this entire empire, and all you can do is stuff your mouth like a starving squirrel?!]

Yueqing nearly choked on a piece of steamed pork belly, her eyes widening in surprise as she chewed frantically to swallow her food.

[Shut up, Nine!] Yueqing argued back in her mind, taking a small sip of jasmine tea to wash the meat down. [I’m taking in vital nutrients! Brainwork takes energy, okay?! Besides, they are talking about military numbers and troop deployment. What do I know about leading fifty thousand soldiers? My job was to bring them together, and I did it!]

[You are unbelievable,] Nine grumbled, letting out a robotic sigh that echoed in her mind. [Just look at your husband staring at you!]

Yueqing blinked and slowly glanced to her side. Wenzhe had paused his conversation with Xiao Chen. He was looking at her puffed-out cheeks, his dark eyes softening with a rare, quiet amusement. Without saying a word, he reached out his broad hand, picked up a clean napkin, and gently wiped a tiny dab of sauce off the corner of her lips.

"Eat slower, my wife," Wenzhe whispered softly, his deep voice carrying a trace of fondness. "Nobody is going to steal your fish."

Xiao Chen looked across the table at the two of them, shaking his head with a amused sigh. "Lady Su, it seems your appetite is as strong as ever."

Yueqing’s face flushed pink, but she quickly smoothed her expression, setting her chopsticks down with a graceful clink to act totally dignified.

"Of course," Yueqing said smoothly, clearing her throat. "Now that we know our numbers, we need a concrete plan to get those soldiers into the capital without alerting Duke Xi or the Crown Prince before the birthday banquet."