Remarried to a top-tier playboy, her reborn ex-husband is filled with regret.

Xiao Fang already had a good idea of ​​what was going on before he even arrived at the imperial mausoleum.

After the Wing King was demoted to a commoner, the land around him was filled with his people.

A living person cannot simply disappear from an imperial tomb.

By the time he arrived, the stone house had already been mostly burned down.

The tomb keeper was so frightened that he knelt by the roadside, not daring to even lift his head.

Mingrui emerged from the ruins and whispered.

"Your Highness, there is only a charred corpse in the room. It is dressed in the clothes of the Fourth Prince, and its size is about the same."

Xiao Fang didn't even glance at the corpse.

"Bring the people from the Ministry of Works here."

His voice was calm, revealing no emotion.

Lu Zhao immediately led his men to arrest the person.

In less than half an hour, the Vice Minister of Works was dragged to the outside of the imperial mausoleum.

He knelt on the ground, his head covered in sweat.

"Your Highness, this humble official knows nothing!"

Xiao Fang looked at him.

"When was the secret passage to the imperial tomb built?"

The Vice Minister of Works turned pale instantly, but did not reply.

Xiao Fang took another step closer.

"After the Fourth Prince was demoted, your Ministry of Works was still willing to risk your lives for him. What are you after? What else can he give you?"

The Vice Minister of Works remained silent, but sweat poured down his forehead.

Xiao Fang looked at him as if he were looking at someone who had already confessed everything.

What incriminating evidence do you have against me?

Although this sounds like a question, it's actually a confirmation.

"You just need to explain to your uncle the secret passage you opened for him and helped him escape."

I won't pry into your other matters.

The Vice Minister of Works suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with struggle.

Xiao Fang didn't press him any further.

You only have this one chance.

The Vice Minister of Works' lips trembled as he finally bowed down.

"This humble official...is willing to go."

The Imperial Study.

After hearing the testimony of the Vice Minister of Works, the old emperor's face turned extremely gloomy.

"What a fine Long Yuanming!"

I spared his life, sending him to guard the imperial tomb as repentance. But he dared to dig a hole in the tomb and escape!

This is utterly lawless!

The Vice Minister of Works knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Your Majesty, I was forced into this! The Fourth Prince is threatening my entire family; I dare not disobey!"

The old emperor closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, all that remained in his eyes was coldness.

"Drag him out, dismiss him, and put him in jail."

The matter of the Ministry of Works' collusion with the Fourth Prince has been handed over to the Censorate for a thorough investigation.

The guards stepped forward and dragged the already limp Vice Minister of Works out.

The old emperor took a breath and suddenly asked.

"Is everything alright with the Zhao family?"

The chief eunuch hurried back.

"Consort Zhao has been living in the Cold Palace, and things have been relatively quiet these days."

The old emperor remained silent for a long time.

"He was given poisoned wine."

The head eunuch was taken aback, then lowered his head.

"Yes."

Not long after, the eunuch who had been sent to the Cold Palace came running back, tumbling and crawling.

"Your Majesty! Consort Zhao... Consort Zhao died yesterday!"

The old emperor's gaze suddenly darkened.

"How did he die?"

The young eunuch lay prostrate on the ground, his voice trembling.

"A fire broke out in the Cold Palace, and Consort Zhao died inside. Now only a charred corpse remains..."

The Imperial Study was eerily quiet.

The old emperor slowly leaned back on the dragon throne, without uttering another word.

Burned to death again? Just like Long Yuanming in the imperial tomb, he died in the exact same way, even on the same day.

Who believes?

The Northern Hu King's Court.

The wind howled outside the king's tent, like the howling of wolves rolling across the grass from afar.

Inside the tent, the firelight flickered, and a yellowed sheepskin map lay on a table.

Gu Jinghuai stood in front of the map, his figure so thin that he could barely fill out the old robe given to him by the Northern Hu people.

His right arm hung down unnaturally, his fingers curled up, and it was already useless.

Princess Saren leaned against the throne, toying with a curved knife in her hand.

The Northern Hu King sat at the head of the table, his expression sinister, sizing up Gu Jinghuai.

Several Northern Hu generals sat on either side, none of them speaking first.

"The deployment map you brought was indeed useful before."

The Northern Hu King slowly opened his mouth.

"But the people of Daliang already know that you have pledged allegiance to me, and they also know that you have that picture in your mind."

The Zhenbei Army will not be unprepared.

Gu Jinghuai raised his head.

"They can't defend against it."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was extremely steady.

"The border defenses of Daliang rely on cities and passes. Those passes and city walls have long been built."

It was impossible for him to dismantle the city walls and redeploy the defenses in just a few days.

Even if changes are made, it will only be minor adjustments to troop deployment.

These minor adjustments won't affect our ability to advance unimpeded.

The Northern Hu King narrowed his eyes.

Princess Saren also stopped turning the knife.

"So, you mean this diagram is still useful?" she asked.

"Of course it's useful."

Gu Jinghuai nodded.

"And it's not just pictures."

He paused, then continued.

"There is one more thing you should do."

"Immediately send an envoy to the capital of Daliang to submit a peace treaty."

The Northern Hu King's face darkened.

"Peace talks?"

"We fought against Daliang for thirty years, and the blood debt is numerous."

The Prince of Zhenbei just died at our hands, and Xiao Fang is so angry he wants to eat us alive.

Now you're telling me that the Great Liang will agree to peace talks?

Isn't this like offering your face up to be trampled in the mud?

Gu Jinghuai was not intimidated by the darkening expression on the face of the Northern Hu King, and instead made a definitive conclusion.

"They will definitely accept the peace talks, and our delaying tactic will surely succeed."

Because... when the peace envoys arrive in the capital of Daliang, the old emperor will suddenly fall seriously ill.

And he will pass away three months later.

The king's tent fell silent immediately.

The Northern Hu generals exchanged glances, all seeing surprise and doubt in each other's eyes.

Princess Saren slowly straightened up.

She stared at Gu Jinghuai, as if trying to see the slightest hint of guilt on his face.

How did you know?

Gu Jinghuai met her gaze, his expression calm.

"I can foresee the future."

The tent became even quieter.

Princess Saren scoffed.

"you?"

She laughed, a sharp and sarcastic laugh.

"You can't even foresee when someone will cripple your hand, yet you expect to predict the future?"

Several generals also laughed.

Gu Jinghuai didn't laugh.

He stood before the sheepskin map, his gaze slowly sweeping over the crowd.

The firelight illuminated his face, making the word "slave" branded on it appear particularly grotesque.

"You'll find out in another month."

"Arguing about this now is pointless."

His tone was so calm, so calm, that it sent chills down my spine.

Princess Saren's smile slowly faded.

She looked at him as if she were meeting him for the first time.

"Can you really see what will happen in the future?"

"I can see some."

Gu Jinghuai looked down at his useless right hand.

"For example, if you Northern Hu lose again this time, you will never have a chance to recover."

These were harsh words, but he spoke of them lightly.

The Northern Hu King's expression also changed.

"You've brought ruin upon yourself and your family to death for helping us Northern Hu. What else could you possibly want? Revenge on Xiao Fang?"

Gu Jinghuai shook his head.

"I don't want revenge."

His voice softened.

"I'm alive because I want to see her one more time."

Say "I'm sorry" to her again.

Gu Jinghuai's previously calm and composed expression finally showed signs of change.

His eyes gradually reddened, his body trembled slightly, and his chest heaved violently.

It seemed as if he was suppressing some extremely unbearable emotion.

No one spoke for a long time inside the royal tent.

But everyone could feel an extreme sadness emanating from him.