All sects work

Chapter 204 The incident came to light
Qu Shan took a deep breath and followed the eunuch to the imperial study with a calm expression, but his mind was racing with thoughts.

There was no clue along the way, and Qu Shan felt more and more uneasy as he walked.

"Oh, why are you sweating so much, my Lord?" The eunuch saw his sweaty collar and asked with concern, "Why don't you have someone carry you..."

"No need!" Qu Shan tried to explain himself with a dark face, "I suffered a backlash for predicting the fate of the country a while ago, and my injuries are too severe. I can't go to see His Majesty, so I'd better walk!"

Hearing these righteous words, the eunuch naturally flattered him.

Qu Shan was flattered and felt that his brain suddenly became bright. Since Chen Jizhi was one of the Seven Stars and could not be missed, could Liu Xiang be allowed to go?

Don't look at Liu Shuji's current appearance as a fallen scholar. He was also a military general in his early years, but he was not so conspicuous under Xiao Mengyu's fame. What's more, his real strength is that of a martial arts master! If he goes to the battlefield and becomes Xiao Hongfan's superior, wouldn't it be easy to kill her?
No, no! To break the luck of the general star, he would have to kill the seven stars first. If he sent Liu Shuji to the southwest, wouldn't his life be hanging by a thread?
Qu Shan thought about it and his mind became a mess again.

However, when Emperor Qu asked about the war situation in the southwest, he answered naturally: "The southwest has become a battlefield for cultivators. The situation is complicated and it is difficult to predict the future trend from the celestial phenomena."

Emperor Qu did not doubt Qu Shan's words. The initial intervention of the cultivators caused the Xu and Qu states to lose two generals overnight, making the situation in the southwest war even more turbulent. He knew very well that even if anyone was sent, no one would be able to do better than Xiao Hongfan, but he was too reluctant to use Xiao Hongfan.

It has long been no secret that Xiao Hongfan is a rising star. Nowadays, most people do not take it seriously. This is of course due to Emperor Qu's manipulation of public opinion. After so many rumors spread, even he himself almost forgot the importance of the rising star to the State of Qu.

Seeing that Emperor Qu was distracted, Qu Shan rolled his eyes and said righteously, "The fate of the southwest has been mixed up with the cultivators. No matter how we use our military, it will be in vain. In this case, I am willing to go, even if I have to use up all my life's skills to put order out of chaos!"

"You are my great leader, how can you take risks?" Emperor Qu felt that what he said made sense, and said thoughtfully, "Send a few capable people to go."

A capable person?

Qu Shan felt bitter in his heart. His left and right arms were kidnapped by that thief woman! How could he have any capable people?
He wanted to go to the southwest in person, and in fact, he also wanted to find out the woman's background.

Although she was bought into the palace as a princess of the Little Chen Kingdom, and the divination later showed that she was Chen Wenjiang, she claimed to be a paid killer the night she escaped...

As far as he knew, Chen Wenjiang was just an ordinary, weak and timid woman. It was impossible for her to have such a terrifying aura, let alone be a grandmaster!

Apart from anything else, if Chen Wenjiang was a grandmaster, she could have come and gone freely when Qu's army invaded the palace of the small Chen Kingdom, instead of just begging and watching her mother being beheaded.

If his hexagram was correct, then the answer was obvious - she was Chen Wenjiang, and not Chen Wenjiang.

"Your Majesty, but Daqu..." Qu Shan wanted to say that Daqu was about to be destroyed, but he swallowed the words back when they came to his lips.

Emperor Qu obviously did not intend to change his decision, and changed the subject directly: "You said in the court that the left prime minister might be the 'protector star'? What's going on?"

He leaned back slightly, leaned against the back of his chair, and said quietly: "Many years ago, someone said... Xiao Mengyu is the guardian star."

When Xiao Mengyu was alive, he was like a knife hanging over his head. But when the pleasure of having all the power in his hands was replaced by exhaustion, that man's figure became clearer and clearer.

Many years after his death, Emperor Qu felt that he missed him more and more, especially today. Qu Shan felt frightened and gritted his teeth to calm himself down, making sure that he would not show any abnormality. After a pause, he slowly said: "I don't know what happened at that time, but the star that protects the emperor is not the only one."

A king will have many companion stars throughout his life, and each of them may sacrifice its life to protect the king. However, not all companion stars can become "king-protecting stars" by meeting this condition.

Natural treasures and their companion creatures complement and restrain each other. There must be an antidote within five steps of a deadly poison. The same is true for the relationship between the king and his guardian star. The two complement and check and balance each other. If they can find a balance, they will be invincible. If they lose balance, they will kill each other.

Once the guardian star appears, it is a test and opportunity for the king.

In Qu Shan's opinion, only the son of Heaven could get such great opportunities again and again, and there was probably only one Guardian Star! But strictly speaking, no one knew if it was the only one, so Qu Shan was not afraid of being questioned on this matter.

After the court was dismissed, Emperor Qu summoned Qu Shan alone, which attracted the attention of countless people.

No one knew what they talked about. After Qu Shan left the palace, Emperor Qu issued an urgent imperial decree with a distance of 800 miles, agreeing to the Northwest Army's withdrawal and sending the imperial guards with food and fodder to support them.

There was a lot of discussion about this matter in the government and the public.

In the past two months, the Right Prime Minister has gone to see the Emperor almost every day to ask for the Northwest Army's withdrawal. His hair has turned white and his originally straight back has become much more hunched. The Emperor was as calm as a rock and indifferent. Why has he suddenly changed his mind now?

However, the Northwest Army has been out of contact for more than two months. The Northwest has been suffering from a severe drought for so long, with no water or food supply, they should have died out long ago!
Everyone in the court conceded that the Northwest Army was gone, no matter how loyal they were and defended Pingcheng Pass to the death, or how they escaped secretly. There would no longer be the Xiao family army in Daqu in the future.

"Hurry!" The Minister of Rites rushed to the Imperial Study and grabbed the eunuch guarding the door. "Go and report to His Majesty that the Shao family is missing!"

The officials who returned from the peace talks were all in low spirits, and Shao Jin was no exception, so he asked for leave to go home and rest. The Minister of Rites did not think much about it and readily agreed.

Who would have thought that more than ten days had passed and Shao Jin still hadn't come to work. The Minister of Rites sent someone to inquire about it, and found out that the Shao family's door had not been opened for so many days.

He felt something was not right, but he did not want to open the door and search it in a big way, so he ordered a martial artist to climb over the wall and go in to check. What he saw was shocking: How could there be another person in the house? !
The eunuch went in to report and came back, bringing the Minister of Rites inside.

Soon, the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground, accompanied by Emperor Qu's roar, was heard from the imperial study.

For decades, he never regretted getting rid of Xiao Mengyu, nor did he stop suppressing the Xiao family army. However, those people stabbed him in the back the only time he showed mercy.

"Someone come!" Emperor Qu's eyes were red, "Pass the secret order... Arrest Xiao Hongfan, if there is resistance, kill him on the spot!"

……

"Why hasn't the truth been exposed yet?" Shi Xuanying sat cross-legged on the Pingzhou city wall, tapping her knees with her fingers irritably.

All the plans have been finalized. Once Emperor Qu takes action, she can take the heartbroken general away. Why is there no movement after so many days? If she waits for another ten days or so, the Restoration Army will probably be destroyed!
"Is Shao Jin so invisible?" she muttered with resentment.