Currently, there were only three people at the rank of Medical Sage, the top three of the medical academy's Council of Elders.
Forget about the head elder, it was difficult to invite the second and third elders, especially when it came to inducing labor, which was forbidden by Medical City.
But since General Chu had brought it up, it meant it was possible.
"Third Elder Shen showed up recently because of the dispute between Pill Fiend Pharmacy and Medicine City. How about …" General Chu asked.
Chu Yunyi rejected the idea. "This is a serious matter. We have to be 100% certain, or else we'll lose everything."
This didn't just affect the success of inducing labor, but the secrecy of the matter as well. If someone leaked the news, the Chu Clan would be despised by the world.
They'd decided to induce labor out of fear that the situation might change, but they'd rather hold out for three more months if they weren't 100% certain.
"There is one person we can trust," General Chu lowered his voice and said a name. "Lady Lianxin."
Everyone in Cloud Realm Continent knew about the events in Medicine City. Lady Lianxin and Han Yunxi's group had long been at odds with each other. The Mu Clan had been suppressed to death in Medicine City, so it'd be difficult for them to rise again. If Lady Lianxin could ally with them, they'd be able to take revenge and have some support outside of the medical academy.
She was an intelligent woman, so she wouldn't refuse.
Although Lady Lianxin was only a Godly Doctor, with her ability, it was still possible to invite a Medical Sage Elder. Moreover, she knew best which Elder would be the safest.
Chu Yunyi rejoiced. "There's no time to lose. You should go personally. Qingge has Witch Aunt by her side, so you don't have to worry."
Long Fei Ye hadn't even arrived in Western Zhou yet, but the Chu Clan was already panicking. They were even planning to induce labor for Chu Qingge. What would happen if the Long Fei Ye really showed up?
Currently, Chu Qingge had no idea about the labor. She was pregnant with Emperor Tianhui's child, but her heart was still pining for His Highness Duke of Qin.
In the dead of night, Chu Qingge leaned against the window sill and stared at the moon in deep thought. Witch Aunt sat behind her, mixing medicine.
"The 15th of next month. There are still 20 days left," Chu Qingge muttered.
"You're not worried that he'll imprison your big brother. I thought you'd hate him instead?" Witch Aunt was displeased.
Chu Qingge turned around and stared at Witch Aunt for a while before she spoke with a cold smile. "Shouldn't I be happy?"
If she wanted to hate someone, she should hate her father and brother the most!
Witch Aunt was going to scold her, but when she saw Chu Qingge's tears streaming down her cheeks, she couldn't bear to do so. After all, she was Chu Qingge's aunt and had raised the girl single-handedly.
After a moment of silence, Witch Aunt said faintly, "If you want to hate someone, hate yourself for loving the wrong person."
"No!" Chu Qingge suddenly grew agitated. "That's right! Even if everything could be redone, I would still love him! I only hate Han Yunxi. If it weren't for Han Yunxi, I wouldn't have fallen to this state today. If it weren't for Han Yunxi, he might have taken a look at me! "
If it hadn't been for Han Yunxi, she wouldn't have played the zither at the empress dowager's birthday banquet and caught Old Thief Tianhui's eye. If it hadn't been for Han Yunxi, Long Fei Ye wouldn't have rejected her immediately with her background, looks, martial arts skills, and talents!
If it hadn't been for Old Thief Tianhui, her father and brother would have pushed for her to be with Long Fei Ye instead.
Thus, all of this was Han Yunxi's fault.
Witch Aunt looked at her nearly insane niece and recalled Han Yunxi at the poison grounds. She couldn't help but shake her head.
"Qing 'er, if you hate her … you might as well hate yourself."
Chu Qingge was too caught up in her own grief to hear Witch Aunt's words. Witch Aunt poured the medicinal powder in her hands and handed it to her. "Hurry and drink it, it's good for your body. If your body collapses, you'll have no way to fight against Han Yunxi. "
Chu Qingge didn't even look at it, much less drink it.
"If you want to fight against Han Yunxi, you'll have to nurse your body back to health! You still have a long road ahead of you! "Witch Aunt coaxed.
This was indeed a nourishing medicine that Witch Aunt had prepared herself to help Chu Qingge's body recover before she gave birth. Chu Qingge wasn't clear-headed yet, but Witch Aunt knew that the Chu Clan would cast her aside as soon as she was useless.
Only then did Chu Qingge reluctantly drink the medicine, leaving Witch Aunt feeling both heartache and helpless.
"Does Emperor Tianhui know about the Duke of Qin's visit to Western Zhou?" Witch Aunt asked.
"Those imperial princes have already asked to see him a few times, but they were all stopped. Even if they went in, Tianhui wouldn't be able to hear a thing," Chu Tianyin was useless in other areas, but he had Emperor Tianhui firmly under his thumb.
Chu Qingge would leave a mark in the annals of femme fatale history.
"That's good."
Witch Aunt didn't want to scold Chu Qingge, either. With her personally watching over Western Zhou, there shouldn't be any major problems. She figured it'd be better to leave Chu Qingge with some lingering hopes. She'd seen the Duke of Qin's elegant demeanor with her own eyes and experienced his methods. She knew very well that few women could forget a man like him.
It wasn't just Western Zhou that was paying attention to Long Fei Ye's visit, but Tian An City as well.
Long Tianmo couldn't sit still and went to General Mu's estate in person.
"What does the Duke of Qin mean by this?"
"Zhen was going to invite him to Tian An ages ago, but you all tried to stop me. Now that he's gone to Western Zhou, the Chu Clan should be proud of themselves!"
Mu Qingwu stood on one side without a word while General Mu respectfully offered him tea. "Your Majesty, the Duke of Qin is going to Western Zhou, not Tianning. Please keep calm."
"What's the difference between him going to Western Zhou and Tianning?" Long Tianmo asked.
"Father, this matter … the Duke of Qin's actions are truly surprising." Mu Qingwu and Long Tianmo stood on the same side.
"Emperor Kang Cheng allowed the Chu Clan to come through the marriage alliance in the first place. Wasn't he afraid that the Chu Clan would rise to power? Once Tianning falls into Western Zhou's hands, we'll become the target of a multitude of arrows if we befriend the Duke of Qin!" Long Tianmo said angrily.
His considerations weren't wrong. The Chu Clan controlled half of Western Zhou's military power, but Emperor Kang Cheng still allowed the Chu Clan's daughter to marry into Tianning. This meant that the emperor had enough power to suppress the Chu Clan.
Thus, the Chu Clan would only end up in Western Zhou's hands. Once Western Zhou took control of the ten northwestern prefectures and befriended the Duke of Qin, Tian An would be surrounded by enemies from three sides.
Long Tianmo hadn't even stabilized the foundations of his new kingdom yet. How could he withstand such a blow?
Naturally, he was anxious.
However, General Mu was in no rush. "Your Majesty, please keep calm. There's no rush to discuss this matter after the Duke of Qin leaves. As this old subject sees it, the Duke of Qin must have a reason for his sudden visit. Please, Your Majesty, listen to this old subject one more time. "
Long Tianmo didn't understand. General Mu had always been rash and impulsive. His whipping of Han Yunxi was the best example, but when it came to matters of state, he was calmer than anyone else. Could it be that he'd been acting all along?
Of course, Long Tianmo wouldn't voice his suspicions. He still trusted General Mu for now. After all, the Mu Clan was the only thing he could rely on. General Mu's calmness had always been the right thing to do when it came to important matters.
But this time, Long Tianmo couldn't keep his cool. He was about to speak when Mu Qingwu spoke up first. "This soldier just remembered something. When the Duke of Qin refused Western Zhou's marriage alliance, Tianhui had to pay a hefty price to turn the matter into a small one. With Emperor Kang Cheng's temper, it's unlikely that he'd invite the Duke of Qin of his own accord. And with the Duke of Qin's temper … even if he did go on an official visit, it might not necessarily be to make friends, right? "
Actually, Mu Qingwu was thinking of Han Yunxi as he spoke, while Long Tianmo was thinking of her as well.
It'd been a long time since he'd seen her.
Chu Qingge's words successfully calmed Long Tianmo's restless heart. General Mu watched from the sidelines, clearly dissatisfied, but he could do nothing about it.
After exchanging a few words, he changed the subject. "Your Majesty … you're not young anymore. You should think about having children."
Long Tianmo hadn't taken a single concubine since he'd founded the country. He only had one woman, Mu Liuyue.
With Mu Liuyue as empress, the mad Empress Li naturally became the empress dowager, while Empress Dowager Li became the grand empress dowager. Long Tianmo was a filial son who obeyed the mad empress dowager's every whim. Moreover, the mad empress dowager especially liked Mu Liuyue and wanted Mu Liuyue to serve her. How could a madwoman be so easy to serve? Mu Liuyue's three meals a day were filled with grievances!
Her father and older brother urged her to have children as well, but she didn't dare tell them. Long Tianmo hadn't even touched her yet.
"Mm, Zhen will think it over!" Long Tianmo said Coldly. He wasn't in the mood to stay any longer and left soon enough.
The situation in Cloud Realm Continent could be considered stable, but the Duke of Qin's actions could easily cause panic among the various powers. Even Northern Li's Emperor Ruiwu was paying close attention to the situation.
But Emperor Ruiwu didn't seek out the Ministry of War, but Jun Yi Xie's master, Bai Qingyan.
As the head of Cloud Realm Continent's strongest military force, Emperor Ruiwu was always clad in armor even when he wasn't on the battlefield. He was close to 50 years old, but he didn't seem to have aged at all. Instead, he looked valiant and domineering, like a tiger full of vigor. His sharp eyes were like a heavenly general!
Dressed in a simple grey robe, Bai Qingyan seemed like a wild crane in front of him. However, this leisurely aura far suppressed Emperor Ruiwu's aura. Behind this leisurely aura … was a hidden and frightening power.
"Tianning's Duke of Qin is in big trouble!" Emperor Ruiwu had already criticized Long Fei Ye like this more than once.
Western Zhou and Tianning had been working together to stop Northern Li's cavalry from heading south for years. Now that Tianning's northern regions were divided into Tianning and Tiannan, their internal conflicts were complicated. Their relations with Western Zhou were complicated as well. Emperor Ruiwu was waiting for a chance to send his troops south.
With such an advantageous situation, he couldn't allow Long Fei Ye to cause trouble.
"Just let him be. A man's calamity is no match for a woman's calamity. Your Majesty, just wait for a good show," Bai Qingyan smiled.
Emperor Ruiwu wasn't a brat like Long Tianmo. He laughed out loud. "A woman's calamity? Interesting! Very interesting! Zhen will wait! "
As for what Bai Qingyan meant by a woman's calamity, only the two of them knew.
When Jun Yi Xie entered the room, the two of them tacitly stopped talking.
Everyone was waiting to see Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi head to Western Zhou.
Currently, Han Yunxi's group was indeed on the road. They could've taken the main road, but Tang Li's group had taken a detour instead.
After Aunt Ru and Tang Zijin were fooled by Tang Li's fake tracks, they finally began to suspect Long Fei Ye.
Long Fei Ye's side was the most dangerous place, so they never expected Tang Li to follow Long Fei Ye.
But even though they knew Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi were on their way to Western Zhou, they still couldn't find them. Instead, it was Tang Li's fiancée's faction that found them.
They didn't want to cause any trouble on this trip to Western Zhou, so they could only hide.
"Hey, what's your fiancée's background?" Han Yunxi asked curiously.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
