Quick Travel to the Clouds

Chapter 533 The Princess Who Wants to Compilation 30

This shocking news and the Queen's almost incompetent rage were like a bolt from the blue, instantly shattering the tranquility of the entire harem.

"It's actually Lord Luo Yun?!" In her own palace, the Queen couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth after her initial shock, and the resentment in her eyes almost turned into tangible light.

"So that's how it is... So the person in His Majesty's heart is so hidden, so hidden that even we, who have been by his side for many years, have been deceived!"

He almost laughed out loud, "What a Lan Guijun! What a trick!"

When the other nobles heard the news, they were shocked and felt mixed emotions.

The Queen's regard and pain for Luo Yunjun at this moment far exceeded the level that she should have for an ordinary royal servant. Her affection was so strong that it was shocking!

His past jealousy and desire to win Lan Guijun's favor all seemed ridiculous at this moment.

Everyone's gaze and all their resentment suddenly shifted their focus, like sharks smelling blood, locking onto the unconscious Luo Yunjun, whose status seemed far lower than theirs - and the ten-year-old princess behind him.

The young girl Huang Yunmeng, who seemed harmless at the palace banquet, was now standing ignorantly in the center of the storm. Her existence and that of her father became the most glaring and threatening existence in the eyes of all the "husbands" in the harem.

The secret report was transmitted silently again. Yun Chu was leaning on the warm couch, twirling a white chess piece between her fingers. Upon hearing the news, she showed no sign of elation. With a slight loosening of her fingertips, the white piece fell with a "click" into the jade chess box.

"Lord Luo Yun is asleep, and the 'truth' has been revealed. The anger and spearheads of the harem... have shifted." She whispered to herself, the candlelight dancing in her eyes, illuminating a cold calculation and a trace of imperceptible fatigue.

The Queen Mother's true feelings for Luo Yunjun were exposed to the public, which was a new barrier she built for herself - a target that was more solid than "absurd" and "spoiled", and would make other princesses and harem forces dare not easily kill her.

The fire in the study was still flickering, reflecting Yun Chu's unfathomable profile.

On the other side of the palace, a bloody storm caused by love has just begun to brew.

Outside the window, the wind and snow stopped at some point, and a pale winter moon hung alone in the dark sky, coldly reflecting the frozen white snow on the eaves of the palace.

***

two days later

The aroma of medicine filled the air, and the warm room was so quiet that one could hear the subtle crackling of silver charcoal.

Luo Yunjun leaned on several embroidered pillows, his face still pale, but his breathing was steady and long.

He slowly opened his eyes, his vision was a little blurry. After a brief moment of confusion, he met Queen Huang Yuqing's red eyes, which were filled with ecstasy and fear of regaining what she had lost.

"Luo...you're awake!" Huang Yuqing's voice trembled slightly, and she instantly grasped his slightly cold hand with such strength that it seemed as if she was afraid that he would disappear from her hand again.

She had been bedridden for days and looked haggard, but at this moment her eyes were surprisingly bright.

Upon seeing this, the imperial physician and palace maids standing in the hall breathed a sigh of relief and knelt down silently.

"Your Majesty..." Luo Yunjun tried to speak, but his voice was weak and hoarse, "Your Majesty..."

"Don't talk, just take care of yourself first." Huang Yuqing interrupted him, her voice so soft that water could drip out, but there was a complex undercurrent in the depths of her eyes.

She stared at the face before her, as pure and elegant as a lotus. The secret that had been revealed by her careless, gentle glance at the shocking palace banquet, the truth that had pushed him and the delicate girl in his arms to the forefront of public opinion...

After experiencing this hellish horror and the turbulent undercurrents in the government and the country, it is no longer possible to hide, and there is no need to hide.

For two days and two nights, every moment when Luo Yunjun's life was hanging by a thread was like a red-hot iron, burning Huang Yuqing's nerves and completely burning away the last trace of hesitation in her heart.

Since I can’t hide it, then... I’ll just announce it to the world!

On the third day after Luo Yunjun regained consciousness, a concise yet weighty imperial edict spread throughout the palace, and soon exploded like thunder in the imperial court and the harem.

"...Lord Luo Yun is a man of virtuous character, respectful and gentle, deeply endearing to me. I hereby promote him to the title of 'Lord Luo', grant him the residence of Yunyue Palace, and receive the proper etiquette and salary..."

Yunyue Palace! Although it is slightly inferior to the Central Palace and the East Palace, it is adjacent to the Emperor's bedroom and is the most magnificent and noble palace in the palace besides the East Palace!

This decree is earth-shattering!

The masks of the gentlemen in the harem shattered in an instant.

The Queen smashed the most treasured mutton-fat jade ornament in the palace, unaware of the fragments embedded in her palm. Her eyes were as cold as poisoned ice: "Yunyue Palace... Yunyue Palace! What a 'deeply loved by me'! What a noble Lord Luo!"

This is not just a simple favor, it is simply telling the world that he is the most important person in the Queen's heart!

What was the previous Lan Guijun? What was this Jun Hou like?

joke!

What a joke!

The jealousy and fear of the other nobles reached a peak. Luo Yunjun! The man who used to be so low-key that he was almost forgotten, who only knew how to take care of young girls!

He had ascended to the top in a single stroke, towering over everyone else? And what about his daughter, Huang Yunmeng? Wasn't that...

Although not explicitly stated, the perceptive veteran officials in the court sensed a deeper storm brewing. The Empress's actions were tantamount to placing Lord Luo and the young princess on the hot coals.

But before the shockwaves of this decree subsided, another thunderous decree followed:

"...As the princesses grow older, they should share the burdens of the state."

"I hereby appoint the First Princess, Huang Yunjin, as Prince of Beijing, to lead the garrison in the northern border and to assume her fiefdom immediately; the Second Princess, Huang Yunli, as Prince of Dongning, to rule over the three counties of the East Sea; the Third Princess, Huang Yunqiong, as Prince of Xilin, to rule over the western forests; the Fourth Princess, Huang Yunlan, as Prince of Ximo, to rule over the western grasslands; the Fifth Princess, Huang Yunxuan, as Prince of Nanzhao, to rule over the misty Jiangnan region; the Sixth Princess, Huang Yunchu, as Prince of Anchen, to rule over the twelve counties of Canglan..."

The decree was resounding, cutting off the possibility of all adult princesses staying in the capital.

This is expulsion!

It is to clear all potential threats out of the center of power!

In particular, the eldest princess was exiled to the bitter and cold northern border. Although the second princess got the wealthy Dongning, she was far away from the imperial capital and her followers would inevitably suffer heavy losses. The intention was obvious.

The fiefs of the third, fourth and fifth princesses are different, and it is obvious that they are not the ones favored by the empress.

The sixth princess Yunchu, who was the focus of everyone's attention, was named "Prince Anchen".

The Twelve Counties of Canglan—a subtle reward.

The land in this county is not barren. It is located in the southern part of the heart of the empire, with convenient waterways and abundant resources. However, the terrain is flat and there is no strategic location to defend. The relationships between officials in the county are complicated, making it difficult to govern. It is also not a strategic military location.

It's neither a fertile land where power can be rapidly accumulated, nor a dangerous frontier where power is publicly promoted but secretly degraded. It's a typical... middle ground.

Compared with the bitter cold of the northern border, the wind and waves of the East China Sea, the humidity and heat of the southern Zhao, and the ruggedness of the western forest, Canglan is more like an exquisite cage.

Its apparent stability and prosperity told everyone that the Queen did not mistreat this "absurd" daughter, but she also did not hope, nor did she seem to worry, that her daughter would cause any earth-shattering waves here.

"What a 'An Chen'." When the imperial edict reached the Sixth Prince's Mansion, Yun Chu was half-kneeling beside the stove, slowly stirring the silver charcoal with tongs.

Yun Chu didn't even look up, a knowing, cold smile curling up at the corner of her lips. "To stabilize the capital, to alleviate the worries of the emperor... The title of Empress Mother was bestowed with good intentions."

She used a farce and a vicious plot to temporarily buy herself a respite and the opportunity to leave the huge cage of the capital.

Even if the Twelve Canglan Counties was a mediocre place, it was still Yun Chu's own territory! It was enough for her to plant the seeds of fire and wait quietly for the east wind to set the prairie ablaze.

The charcoal fire in the stove crackled, reflecting Yun Chu's deep eyes.

The dark clouds that had gathered over the capital due to Luo Guijun's promotion had already pressed down on the city, and another chess game that belonged to her had just been played in Canglan, far away from the center of the storm.

The ice and snow outside the window have not melted yet, but in the arena of human hearts and evil struggles, a cruel chess game with the country as the chessboard, power as the chess pieces, and flesh and blood as the stakes is slowly unfolding towards an even more unpredictable distance.