The legitimate daughter was reborn, and the emperor’s little Jiaojiao went crazy.

Chapter 997: Can Changping Jun not afford to lose?

"boom!"

With a loud bang, the chessboard was suddenly overturned, and the black and white jade pieces splashed and rolled down the steps of the palace.

The originally clear boundaries were now shattered into chaos, and it was no longer possible to tell who was winning or losing.

Emperor Zhaowu's body shook, and the blood from his mouth splashed onto his clothes like ink, spreading a glaring black and red color on the bright yellow dragon robe.

He lost.

He lost in the chess field that he had been immersed in for years, and in the small world that he was most proud of in his life.

This is the most fatal blow, more painful than a sword cutting out the heart, more humiliating than being deprived of the throne.

Dusk flooded into the palace like a tide, engulfing the man's stiff figure, his pride, and the dignity of the emperor.

Shi Anxia couldn't see his face clearly, but she heard the sound of finger bones.

She knew that at this moment, that clear and gentle face must have been distorted like a Shura ghost.

In the corner, Xiao Shuzi lit the lantern with trembling hands.

The candle flame flickered, illuminating the mess on the ground and the emperor's shadow on the wall.

Like a broken sword.

Emperor Zhaowu staggered a step, his five fingers convulsively grasping at the mess on the ground.

"Zheng!" A chess piece broke through the air, tearing through the stagnant air and going straight through the palace lantern.

Bang! The glass lampshade exploded, and the flying fragments reflected thousands of starlight in the last leap of the candlelight.

The candlelight suddenly went out. Darkness poured down like a tide, swallowing up the entire hall again.

"Ah!" The chess piece bounced back from the fragments and hit Xiao Shuzi's eyebrow hard.

The young eunuch staggered back, covering his face and screaming, warm blood seeping out from between his fingers.

"Get out!" The emperor roared like thunder, shaking the dust off the beams.

Xiao Shuzi rolled and crawled out of the hall, but tripped over the threshold.

He didn't dare to look back, only to hear the calm voice in the darkness behind him, "Can't Lord Changping afford to lose?"

Snap! Emperor Zhaowu crushed a chess piece, not knowing whether it was white or black.

The emperor's wrath is as powerful as thunder.

Xiao Shuzi's face was covered with blood, tears, and fear.

At that time, An Xia sat quietly and dignifiedly in the darkness, motionless like a rock.

Emperor Zhaowu slowly raised his hand and rubbed his thumb across the corner of his lips, rolling away the scarlet mark.

The taste of rust permeated between his lips and teeth. He chuckled to himself, his Adam's apple rolled, and he swallowed the remaining blood. His voice was hoarse like a rough blade, "I just want to marry you, I never thought of hurting your mother."

Shi Anxia raised her head slowly, her tone still calm, "But you've already been hurt."

The silence was deafening.

After a long while, Shi Anxia spoke again, his voice like an undercurrent beneath the ice: "Who gave the emperor this idea?"

Emperor Zhaowu did not answer and his expression looked extremely ugly.

"Lin family? Gui family? Guo family or Qin family?" Shi Anxia listed them all. Without waiting for his answer, she continued, "The power of the aristocratic families is not trivial. When my father was in power, he tried his best to balance them. However, they are deeply rooted and cannot be shaken."

The Lin family in Guangnan, the Gui family in Yunxi, the Guo family in Subei, the Qin family in Huaidong. The names came out of her lips one by one, like heavy hammers hitting the ground.

These huge monsters occupying all directions are the foundation of the North Wing, but also their shackles.

There were two reasons why the court did not take action against them earlier.

First, the Northern Wing needs these centuries-old families to check and balance each other and maintain the political situation; second, when the mountains and rivers were broken in the previous life, even though they had many faults, they never betrayed the country.

This is fundamentally different from the party of Empress Dowager Jiqing.

However, when the new emperor came to the throne, disputes among the aristocratic families arose.

The Lin family of Guangnan wanted to offer their legitimate daughter to the palace, the Gui family of Yunxi secretly mobilized troops to show their loyalty, the Guo family of Subei married court officials to form cliques, and the Qin family of Huaidong controlled the grain transport to hold the emperor hostage.

All forces fought openly and secretly, all wanting to become the new emperor's sharpest knife, and also wanting to be the chain that ties up the real dragon.

They are not vying for favor, they are taming dragons.

Shi Anxia suddenly sneered, "Your Majesty, why don't you think about this? When your father and Empress Dowager Jiqing were fighting to the death, why did the noble families hide away and just sit on the mountain and watch the fight?"

They neither helped the Empress Dowager to succeed nor helped Emperor Mingde to seize power, but just pretended to be deaf and dumb. They were just waiting for an opportunity for the fisherman to benefit from the quarrel between the snipe and the clam.

Who doesn’t want to take advantage of a bargain?

"Only when the emperor and the emperor emeritus are in solidarity can the noble families be stabilized and their ambitions be curbed." Shi Anxia changed the subject, "But they broke the situation with just one move. Your Majesty must have people from several noble families around you. Go find whoever gave you this bad idea. Otherwise, you are destined to be a puppet in this game of power."

In order to reassure the new emperor, Cen Yuan withdrew all his people from the north wing. In order to make the new emperor stronger, the emperor reduced his own power.

All this is just to ensure that Beiyi can have a wise ruler who can rule the country!

All that needed to be said was said. Shi Anxia stood up, her skirt not disturbed at all. Then she bowed and performed the proper ceremony, as if the confrontation had never happened.

"I am at home, waiting for my mother to return." Her wide sleeves fell down, and her fingertips dug deep into her palms.

This is a gamble.

I bet on the clarity that remains in the emperor's eyes, and on the original intention that has not yet been extinguished beneath the emperor's dragon robe.

This may be her last trust in him.

The wind outside the palace was howling, like a sigh, like a mockery.

Shi Anxia turned around neatly, and the hem of her skirt drew a decisive arc.

"The prince consort is dead!" Emperor Zhaowu's roar caught up with him, hoarse as a blunt knife scraping bone, "Don't you want to marry me even though the prince consort is dead?"

She didn't stop.

As she crossed the palace gate, the night wind filled her sleeves, blowing away her sigh-like response, "The prince consort is not dead."

The emperor sat down in the darkness, crushing these words between his teeth, tasting the self-mockery in his mouth full of the taste of blood and rust.

She was giving him the truth.

But he thought she said, "The Prince Consort will always live in my heart."

She hadn't finished her words yet, and said resolutely, "Even if the prince consort dies, it's impossible for you and me."

It was like this in the previous life.

Emperor Zhaowu's face turned ashen, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

When Anxia left the palace, it was already late at night.

There was a huge crowd of people waiting outside the palace gate. When they saw her figure appear, the tense atmosphere relaxed a little.

Her little nephew Shi Chaoxi was held in the arms of his brother Shi Yunqi. When he saw her, he immediately twisted his little body, opened his arms, and called in a baby voice, "Auntie, hold me, little auntie!"

Shi Anxia reached out to take Shi Chaoxi and kissed his little face with her cheek, "Little Chaoxi is so good."

The child giggled, his little hands tightly hugged her neck, and his warm breath brushed past her ears like a breeze that dispelled the haze.

Shi Anxia suddenly missed the children far away in Tiema City, and also missed their father.

The carriage rolled over the bluestone road, and amid the sound of the wheels, no one mentioned anything about the palace.

After returning to the Duke Heguo's Mansion and staying for a while, Shi Anxia turned around and went back to the Young Master's Mansion.

Qiu Hongyan had been waiting at the door, and had been looking out since dusk. From the time the evening clouds gathered to the time the stars gradually brightened, she paced in front of the steps clutching her handkerchief, and from time to time she looked toward the end of the long street.

Mu Lan said that her neck stretched a little.

Qiu Hongyan held the ginseng tea carefully and said, "Sister Xia'er, drink it and you will fall asleep."

Shi Anxia was indeed tired. After drinking the ginseng tea and washing up, she fell asleep.

This game of chess took up too much of her energy.