so many students and teachers are a huge expense. In addition to the annual maintenance costs for the academy, just to keep the academy running, a conservative estimate puts the yearly expenditure a...Chapter 1442: The Sixteen Riders of Yan Yun, Arrive!

My mind is like a bowl of mush.

Zhao Qinglan closed her eyes, feeling the world around her grow dark, but the chaos in her mind showed no signs of abating.

She knew that after this meeting, she and her father Zhao Xuanji were completely estranged.

The relationship between parent and child is no longer a partnership, nor kinship, but merely adversaries bound by mutual interest.

We're not enemies yet, but the relationship has cooled down to near freezing point.

She knew she couldn't possibly be Zhao Xuanji's opponent; she knew him too well.

In this world, if it comes to ability, skill, and cunning, there are certainly people who excel over Zhao Xuanji in their respective fields.

But combining these three qualities, plus a touch of ruthlessness, Zhao Xuanji would be the most outstanding politician in the world.

It was precisely these factors that allowed Zhao Xuanji to rise from obscurity and step by step ascend to his current lofty position.

Even the mighty emperor and the current prince, though finding him a thorn in their side, couldn't bring themselves to deal with him.

Even with a disposition and methods like that of the crown prince, he couldn't be killed, and was even given the position of Minister of Rites.

Is the crown prince incapable

No, it's that Zhao Xuanji had already, over decades of persistent effort, laid a solid foundation for himself, as unshakable as an ironclad.

This foundation is unshakable. Whether it's the emperor or the prince, if they want to touch him, they have to pay a cost much greater than what he was worth when he was alive.

Therefore, the emperor cannot kill Zhao Xuanji, nor can the prince.

And Zhao Qinglan witnessed with her own eyes how Zhao Xuanji wove everything step by step.

Therefore, Zhao Qinglan understood better than anyone just how terrifying Zhao Xuanji truly was.

Clenching his fists, Zhao Qinglan suddenly felt very tired.

In such a vortex, she was utterly powerless to protect herself, yet she had no influence over anyone.

All she could do seemed to be going with the flow.

Under the torment of this powerlessness, Zhao Qinglan felt her heart was breaking.

"Your Majesty."

A gentle summons from the maidservants around him pulled Zhao Qinglan back to reality.

"What's the matter" Zhao Qinglan asked wearily.

The chambermaid whispered, “Your Majesty doesn’t look well. Should I call a physician to check on you”

"No need."

Zhao Qinglan said softly, "This palace's illness is incurable."

These eight short words, however, terrified the palace maidservant in charge.

All the people up and down in Fengxi Palace were personally arranged by Li Chen.

And as the head palace maid, her most important duty was to observe Zhao Qinglan at all times, recording everything she did. Should anything out of the ordinary occur, she was to immediately report it through the Dongchang's secret channels to His Highness the Crown Prince.

This channel is inaccessible to anyone except the prince himself, and it's completely confidential and only visible within the Eastern Palace.

The palace maid thought that the Empress was truly ill, perhaps even terminally so. Frightened and panicked, she dared not be negligent or delay for a moment. After attending to Zhao Qinglan's rest, she immediately recorded the information and, through an already established channel, had an expert from the Dongchang deliver it to the Crown Prince at the fastest possible speed.

And when this intelligence departed from the capital, Li Chen was at Yueya Pass City Lord's Mansion listening to Wu Ban Shan's report.

Just as the report was halfway through, a scout came with news.

"Your Highness, the Sixteen Riders of Yan Yun, under the command of King Ning, have arrived thirty miles outside Yueya Pass!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chen rose abruptly.

Has King Ning arrived yet

"g. If King Ning doesn't catch us, he will go mad absolutely. Right now, we are using Cai He's identity as King Ning's concubine to stay safe for a while, but if he truly goes mad, the people below won...