Chapter 106: Dragon One

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Storming in angrily to seize the dog, they returned with bruised and dirty faces. The Empress Dowager was furious to the point of near collapse!

Again it was Shen Fuyu! And again it was that shameless woman who had incited her son to let the matter drop without resolution, wasn’t it? Listening to the complaints from the eunuchs, the Empress Dowager felt as if she had never been so enraged in her entire life.

“Everyone, leave now.” Ruowei sensed something was amiss and hurriedly dismissed the bruised eunuchs.

The Empress Dowager was indeed very angry. Shen Fuyu—if you called her thoughtless, every incident bore her mark; but if you called her shrewd, she focused obsessively on trivial matters.

Yet it was precisely these trifles that drove people mad, and made it impossible to vent their anger properly!

“Send a message to my elder son,” the Empress Dowager said, pressing her fingertips to her brow, her face dark with displeasure. “No more leniency toward the Shen family.”

“Also, go and admonish Consort Shu. Act swiftly—such a calamity as Shen Fuyu must not remain in the palace any longer!” Whether from outrage or fear, the Empress Dowager’s son had grown increasingly distant from her since his recovery, doting on an undisciplined woman and neglecting the Cui family in favor of the Shens.

Her eyes widened in disbelief—that was her son, the one who should be closest to her!

“Su’er must be of age now, right?” After a moment’s pause, the Empress Dowager’s mind shifted, “Bring her into the palace at Mid-Autumn Festival.”

“Yes,” Ruowei nodded, “The Third Miss is already thirteen.”

“There’s no sense waiting until the spring’s selection. Better to start her near me than from a low-ranking consort. Su’er is clever; she must serve as a replacement for that wretched woman.”

With these words, the Empress Dowager had made up her mind to eliminate Shen Fuyu once and for all.

Meanwhile, Qin Zhiyi abruptly relieved the commander of the imperial guards, replacing him with the deputy commander.

“It seems, Your Majesty, my worries were for naught. You have handled everything perfectly.”

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Rong Xuan stepped out from behind the screen, having personally witnessed Qin Zhiyi’s dismissal of the imperial guards’ commander. Calmly, he seated himself before Qin Zhiyi and asked, “Your Majesty, what are your next plans?”

“For now, we hold position,” Qin Zhiyi replied. “Every step I take is as if on thin ice. Having moved against the guard commander, who knows what changes may come next.”

Both Rong Xuan and Qin Zhiyi knew well why the Empress was so feared for so many years—not merely because the Yun Jing dynasty was powerful at the time. Jing Lanxi had been beloved in Yun Jing, and rumors had long circulated that her household maintained male favorites. As a princess of Yun Jing with a foothold there, it was clear that the men she dealt with in the bedchamber were no ordinary folk.

Qin Zhiyi had endured Jing Lanxi for three years, secretly gathering information. Naturally, the imperial guard commander could no longer remain, and this was the perfect opportunity to remove him.

Though it appeared he was standing up for Shen Fuyu and frustrated with the guard commander’s incompetence, in truth, he was confining Jing Lanxi entirely within the Grand Xun harem.

“In my humble opinion, Your Majesty has done remarkably well. I see a bright future ahead.” Rong Xuan refrained from elaborating further. Over the years, he had never chosen the wrong ally. “But once you take this path, there is no turning back.”

“I understand,” Qin Zhiyi nodded slightly. “Some things are inevitable.”

He needed to accelerate his plans from here on out.

Fingering the Dragon Shadow Token he had reclaimed from Jing Lanxi, Qin Zhiyi contemplated the Dragon Shadow Guards. Numbering only a hundred, passed down from the late emperor, this elite force was highly coveted. Wherever they went, no enemy survived. Though small in number, each member was a master of martial arts. Since the founding of Grand Xun, every emperor had wielded this trump card—a feared secret guard said to be invincible.

“What does the National Advisor think? How many can we still rely on?” Qin Zhiyi asked, eyeing the Dragon Shadow Guards. Since they had passed into other hands, he needed to test their loyalty.

“About half, I’d say,” Rong Xuan sipped his tea, narrowing his eyes. “During the late emperor’s reign, the Dragon Shadow Token was repeatedly contested. The deposed Crown Prince, the Fifth and Seventh Princes all meddled with it. If memory serves, before dying, the late emperor even had the Dragon Shadow Guards undergo a blood purge to eliminate several who had turned traitor.”

“Because of that, after the late emperor’s death, I used the Dragon Shadow Guards to stabilize Yun Jing. The token was given to the Empress, passed through her hands. So this hundred-strong unit is not easily trusted,” Qin Zhiyi frowned. Aside from the Dragon Shadow Guards, he found it difficult to cultivate his own faction secretly.

Without further delay, taking advantage of the quiet moment, Qin Zhiyi summoned the commander of the Dragon Shadow Guards who had remained on standby.

“Commander Long Yi of the Dragon Shadow Guards, Your Majesty,” announced the attendant.

Long Yi’s arrival was slower than expected. He had led the Dragon Shadow Guards since the late emperor’s time. Qin Zhiyi had met him once before the emperor’s death, but soon after, the Dragon Shadow Token had to be handed to Jing Lanxi.

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Blood trickled down his facecloth onto the floor. One of Long Yi’s eyes, visible from the outside, was swollen as if struck by someone. His whole body appeared heavy and battered, clearly injured.

“Your Majesty! While out for a walk, I noticed someone lurking suspiciously outside the Golden Throne Hall!”

Suddenly, the window was pushed open and Shen Fuyu leapt inside, beaming with pride. “So I gave him a good beating. Believe me, that guy was tougher than the imperial guards around you!”

As she spoke, the eyes of Qin Zhiyi, Rong Xuan, and Long Yi all turned toward her. Shen Fuyu was dressed in exquisite palace attire, adorned with pearls and jewels, her fingertips freshly painted crimson with vermilion. Such a dazzling beauty...

“So you’re the one who struck him?” Qin Zhiyi pointed at Long Yi in disbelief.

Shen Fuyu looked away.

How could she have known he was one of their own? He was sneaking about in the trees; she just couldn’t help but throw a punch.

“I meant well!” Shen Fuyu declared shamelessly. “What if he had been a bad guy? I was only concerned for Your Majesty’s safety!”

“I thank you for that,” Qin Zhiyi said, exasperated. Hadn’t he spoken to her about the Dragon Shadow Guards before?

Even Rong Xuan was surprised. Looking at Long Yi’s bruised face and then at Shen Fuyu’s unscathed, radiant appearance, the Dragon Shadow Guards’ reputation was undeniable. He shook his head and said, “...Your Majesty, the Empress has quite the skill.”

“It’s just an accidental injury,” Shen Fuyu shrugged, pulling out a bottle of medicine and tossing it to Long Yi. “I’ll cover the cost of the treatment.”

“Enough. Why did you sneak out again this time?” Qin Zhiyi looked at Shen Fuyu with some impatience. He didn’t know the details, but whenever Shen Fuyu showed up, trouble was guaranteed.