The Empress has abandoned me? I'll support a new emperor and destroy your kingdom!

Those withered hands possessed astonishing strength; their nails almost dug into Liu Jin's flesh.

"Liu Jin..." The emperor stared at him, his gaze like that of a dying tiger, filled with icy scrutiny and...killing intent. "My calming soup...tastes...somewhat different?"

Liu Jin trembled violently, his face instantly turning deathly pale, cold sweat pouring down his back: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty... This servant wouldn't dare! This servant would never dare! It must be those quack doctors from the Imperial Hospital..."

"A quack?" The emperor abruptly shook off his hand, panting, but his gaze turned to the curtain. "Summon... Su Zhe... immediately... to see me!"

"Your Majesty!" Liu Jin looked up in alarm.

"Go!" the emperor roared with all his might, followed by another fit of coughing.

Liu Jin dared not speak further and scrambled out to deliver the imperial decree.

In the instant he turned around, a deep resentment and fear flashed in his eyes.

……

Half an hour later, Su Che, dressed in a blue robe, entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation, led by several eunuchs.

He kept his eyes straight ahead, seemingly oblivious to the heavy atmosphere and the pervasive smell of medicine in the hall. He calmly walked ten paces to the imperial bed, bowed, and said, "This humble subject, Su Zhe, greets Your Majesty. Your Majesty is unwell and has summoned me late at night. What is the matter?"

The emperor leaned back on the soft pillows, staring intently at Su Che, as if trying to see through him.

After a long while, he waved his hand, signaling all the imperial physicians, eunuchs, and palace maids to leave, leaving only Liu Jin by his side.

Only three people remained inside the hall.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it was suffocating.

"Su...Zhe..." the emperor's voice was hoarse, "I heard...Jingguo almost died at Baimadu."

"I have also heard of this. Fortunately, thanks to Your Majesty's great fortune and the soldiers' valiant efforts, Your Highness is safe and sound," Su Che replied with his eyes lowered.

"Unharmed?" the emperor sneered. "Feng Kun is the Vice Admiral of the Navy, a third-rank official of the court! Without my decree, would he dare to attack the imperial envoy? Without someone instigating him, would he dare to be so blatant?!"

Su Che remained silent.

"The person who ordered him..." The emperor's gaze flashed like lightning as he turned to Liu Jin, who stood with his hands at his sides, "Was... you involved too, Liu Jin?"

"Your Majesty! I am innocent! I am loyal to Your Majesty, as Heaven and Earth can attest! Someone must have framed me!" Liu Jin knelt down with a thud, banging his head on the ground and wailing.

"Framed?" The emperor pulled a small porcelain bottle from beside his pillow and smashed it hard in front of Liu Jin!

The porcelain bottle shattered, spilling a small amount of colorless powder onto the ground. "What...what is this?! What...what did your godson...try to put in my medicine last night?!"

Liu Jin was struck dumb, collapsed to the ground, his face ashen, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word.

"Was it the third prince... who sent you to do this?" The emperor took a step closer, his voice low and menacing, "Was it him... who promised you that after I died, when he ascended the throne, he would make you the Grand Eunuch, giving you absolute power?!"

"Your Majesty...this servant...this servant..." Liu Jin was terrified and could only kowtow.

The emperor stopped looking at him and turned to Su Che, his eyes filled with deep weariness and a near-desperate clarity: "Su Zhe... I know you... are no ordinary advisor. The Jing Kingdom's current state owes much to you... Your contributions are indispensable. I... My days are numbered."

He was panting as he fumbled under his pillow for a piece of bright yellow silk that had been written on beforehand and stamped with the imperial seal, and tremblingly handed it to Su Che.

"This... is my secret decree. If... anything happens to me, or if there is a major upheaval in the court, you... can use this decree to mobilize... the 'Dragon Soaring' and 'Tiger Warrior' guards remaining in the capital, as well as... the portion of force I secretly entrusted to Jingguo... You must... ensure the safety of Jingguo, and ensure... this empire does not fall into... the hands of a rebellious son!"

The Dragon Guard and the Tiger Guard are the emperor's most mysterious and loyal secret guard forces. They are few in number but each one is elite and is responsible only to the emperor.

The emperor actually entrusted Su Che with the secret edict to mobilize these two guards! What trust, what a... entrustment!

Su Che accepted the secret decree with both hands; it felt heavy to the touch.

He looked up at the emperor's eyes, which shone with an alarming brilliance before death, yet quickly dimmed.

"Your Majesty's entrustment is weighty, and Su Zhe... dares not refuse even at the cost of his life. He will do everything in his power to protect Your Highness and safeguard the nation."

"Good...good..." The emperor seemed to have finally put his mind at ease, his whole body slumped down, his eyes began to glaze over, and his voice was almost inaudible, "Jingguo...I...entrust it to you...Third Prince...if he...remains obstinate...then...let it be..."

The voice gradually faded until it could no longer be heard.

The emperor's head lolled to the side, and he fell into a coma again.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Liu Jin scrambled to his feet in a panic.

Su Che stood up, not even glancing at Liu Jin, but speaking only to the imperial physicians and eunuchs who rushed in upon hearing the commotion.

"His Majesty has fainted due to a sudden surge of anger. Take good care of him. Eunuch Liu," he coldly swept his gaze over Liu Jin, who was slumped on the ground, "You will remain in the Hall of Mental Cultivation until His Majesty wakes up. Do not go anywhere else. If anything happens to His Majesty, you will be the first to be executed."

Liu Jin's face turned ashen, and he trembled violently, daring not to utter another word.

Su Che didn't linger any longer. Holding the secret decree in his hand, he turned around and strode out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Outside the palace, a biting wind howled, and the night sky was starless.

The emperor has finally reached the final moment.

And the Third Prince is probably about to... do something desperate.

The news of Baima Ferry should have reached the Third Prince's ears by now.

Feng Kun fled, and the assassination attempt failed once again.

When Liu Jin's drugging was exposed, he was effectively placed under house arrest.

His inside man in the palace lost an arm.

More importantly, before falling into a coma, the emperor revealed his last trump card to himself.

With these, whether it's increasing one's own strength in Jiangqiong or overthrowing Lin Chu's Tianming in the future, it will be a great help.

Third Prince, what other cards do you have to play?

Su Che looked up, gazing in the direction of the Third Prince's residence, his gaze as cold as the chilly night of December.

"It's time for you to taste... what it's like to be at your wit's end."

His figure disappeared into the darkness, as if he had never been there.

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the unconscious emperor's lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

A murky tear slid down from the corner of her eye and soaked into the pillowcase.

No one saw it.