Wang Qian spoke softly: “The Imperial Guards and City Defense Forces are in your hands. They have intentions but no power to cause trouble.”

Fu Ling Chuan shook his head: “Someone like Hu Yan Bei who is intent on making a move has placed his two capable sons in the Northwest, bringing only his youngest son here. This way we cannot act against him rashly—if anything happens to him here, the Northwest would immediately erupt in chaos.”

“Unfortunately, the Queen wants to stay at White Horse Lake,” Wang Qian sighed. “Her decision is very disadvantageous to you, and it will be too easy for others to approach her.”

Fu Ling Chuan snorted: “Isn’t that exactly her calculation?”

What calculation? The calculation to see more ministers from outside? Wang Qian pondered: “If the Queen is determined to move out of the palace, why did she extend the case investigation period for your benefit?”

If this had happened more than half a year ago, Fu Ling Chuan would have thought Long Le still cared about their sibling relationship. But the longer he interacted with her, the more he understood this woman’s thoughts were not easy to fathom. “Long Le wants to tell everyone that she remains neutral and doesn’t favor either side.”

Wang Qian was also intelligent and caught on immediately: “Yes, if she remains neutral, there’s the possibility of being won over, which allows her to gain more bargaining chips.” He took a breath, “Her move to White Horse Lake gives Hu Yan Bei and others more opportunities to approach her.”

What was infuriating was that the current State Preceptor Fu had no grounds to object. If he dared to confine her within the palace walls, the court ministers and noble families wouldn’t stand for it, nor would the people of the Kingdom—the Queen who personally oversaw the case had now risen to prominence, watched by countless eyes and listened to by countless ears. She was no longer the stagnant water that could be concealed as she had been just days ago.

“Clever to the point of being supernatural. Long Le is smarter than Fei Yuan, but she doesn’t see as clearly as Fei Yuan.” Fu Ling Chuan sighed deeply. “At the pinnacle, one faces many storms. Why put herself on the highest floor of the jade tower? What’s the point of her struggle?”

After returning from court to his residence, father and son Hu Yan did not even eat, but closed the study door to deliberate.

Hu Yan Bei’s expression was solemn: “Regarding the Queen, we’ve all misjudged. I had heard Princess Long Le was an ordinary person, but observing her supernatural abilities today, they don’t seem like something that could be cultivated in just a year or two.”

Hu Yan Long also said: “Looking at her techniques, they seem more inclined toward shamanic and illusory arts. She has been on the throne for over a year, showing neither mountain nor water, and we didn’t catch the slightest wind of it. Otherwise, we could have made preparations earlier.”

“Since she is a practitioner, and her cultivation appears quite advanced, our plans must be completely revised.” Hu Yan Bei sighed, “This introduces too many variables. Damn it!”

“What should we do now?” Hu Yan Long lowered his voice, “But we’ve already promised…”

“Concentrate our forces and topple Fu Ling Chuan first,” Hu Yan Bei’s voice was deeply suppressed. “He is the biggest obstacle. I see the Queen’s dissatisfaction with him is overflowing. These two barely maintain even a superficial harmony. The Queen has no real power, which is perfect for us to ally with her to deal with Fu Ling Chuan first.”

“Indeed, does the Queen show any interest in you?” His son was handsome and dignified, the dream lover of countless young women. If they could capture the Queen’s heart, their plans would proceed much more smoothly.

“I can’t tell. She is polite to me but seems very concerned about Yu Lin Lang.”

“Put some effort into pursuing her.”

“Yes.” Hu Yan Long thought of Queen Long Le, feeling a slight warmth in his heart. They say beauties are like jade, but she was not jade—she was the most splendid peony in the garden, a vermilion phoenix soaring in the sky, easily arousing the desire to conquer in the hearts of powerful men.

As they were speaking, a guard knocked on the door and passed in a note.

Hu Yan Bei read it at a glance, his expression drastically changing.

“Father?” Hu Yan Long sensed the unease.

“Not good.” Hu Yan Bei handed the note to his son. “People have begun checking household registries and secret accounts in our territory. Probably sent by Fu Ling Chuan.”

His expression turned so cold it almost frosted over: “Before Fu Ling Chuan, we must strike first!”

Feng Miao Jun, however, was in good spirits.

Almost as soon as she issued the command, Chen Da Chang took her imperial decree to attend to matters at White Horse Lake. Working under her, he had become increasingly reliable over the years and had developed quite a network of people. Within just an hour or so, he had the lakeside lodge cleaned up, cleared out all idle personnel, sent people to patrol the surroundings seventeen or eighteen times, and confirmed there were no traps, formations, or even blood-sucking insects before finally welcoming Feng Miao Jun in.

The servants stationed here were all personally selected by Chen Da Chang. Only two palace attendants were brought along—elderly nannies who were temporarily selected and directly brought to train the new servants here.

Within the palace and around the Queen, Fu Ling Chuan’s eyes and ears were everywhere. Now that she had come to White Horse Lake, she wanted to remove all his influence from her proximity.

Normally, White Horse Lake would have people sailing on the azure waves or singing merrily, deserving the character of “elegance.” Now that the Queen had moved in and driven everyone else away, this valley immediately returned to tranquility.

Feng Miao Jun wandered through the valley, seeing white birds on sandy shores, fish jumping to eat lotus flowers, strange rocks hidden among the forests, and a crescent moon hanging among sparse paulownia trees—a scene of serene freedom.

She had sat in this position envied by all for over a year, yet rarely had the opportunity to enjoy such comfort and ease. Thinking about it, the most carefree and worry-free time was when she stayed with the Feng family, accompanying her foster mother during that idle period. Every day she would wake up to accompany family members, appreciate flowers, and play with birds, completely unburdened.

Feng Miao Jun casually kicked away a small stone as she walked. Since she now had a family business she couldn’t bear to part with, she should take good care of it and develop it well. If she could just get past this current hurdle, she would still have plenty of time to be as leisurely as she was by the lake today.

Before her thoughts were complete, a small stone rolled back from the shadows ahead, stopping right at her feet.

It was the very stone she had just kicked away.

“Who’s there!” Feng Miao Jun called out sharply.

A figure emerged from behind the trees, tall and straight. The white moonlight filtering through the leaves only illuminated half his face, the shadows accentuating the delicacy and depth of his features.

Yun Ya.

Feng Miao Jun was not surprised by his arrival, only curious: “Where have you been hiding these days?”

“Between waking life and dying dreams,” he sighed softly. “Unable to see you, shouldn’t I find an opportunity to drown my sorrows in wine?”

Yun Ya had his back to the moonlight, but Feng Miao Jun could see his eyes were bright as if they could glow in the night. He came closer, taking out a peony from behind his back and gently tucking it into her hair. “In your garden, this is the most beautiful bloom.”

The garden was hers, and the flowers were hers too. Using her things to win her favor—what kind of gesture was that? Feng Miao Jun slightly pursed her lips: “Cruel hands crushing flowers.”

Among the garden of blooming peonies, he had specifically chosen one that had bloomed three times, half-open and half-closed, with a gentle and reserved charm.

“You’re wrong,” he said earnestly. “This is what’s called cruel hands-crushing flowers!”

With that, he lowered his head and captured her lips, giving a proper demonstration.

In this small flower grove by the lake, there was finally a truly poetic and picturesque scene.