After marrying a sickly and powerful official, Jiaojiao cries every day

The wind and snow pressed down on the city, chilling the bones.

The cavalrymen braved the cold wind and reported the military intelligence they had received in a respectful voice, "Feng Qiwu led hundreds of thousands of black-armored cavalrymen south from the imperial city. They have traveled thousands of miles without sleep and are now near Yizhou."

The Moka lotus rolled up a thin gauze, the cold wind blew it, the snow dyed his eyebrows and eyelashes, the purity of the white snow made him look like an isolated monk who was detached from the world, compassionate and kind, with a constant smile.

He spoke, his tone as gentle as usual, "We have reached Yizhou so soon. You are worthy of being the Beilang God of War. You are still as brave as ever."

After a moment of silence, he looked up at the falling snow and said with a smile, "It's just that it's freezing cold, and we've been traveling for days without rest. We must be exhausted, but we've been in Liangzhou for a few days, so we're full of energy and morale. It's better to take advantage of the victory now than to confront them head-on in the future, which will be difficult to intimidate."

His intention was to launch a surprise attack while the enemy was hungry, cold and exhausted, and kill him by surprise.

The cavalrymen were not lazy people, and they knew clearly in their minds, "Please give the order, sir."

Moka Lianhua had already known the terrain of Beilang by heart, and could speak it out without even looking at the map. "Send a cavalry force southward to attack the gate of Yizhou City, creating the impression that a large army is pressing down on the city. The rest of the people will follow me to the Fu River. When all their forces are concentrated at the gate to fight the enemy, we will go up from the moat and launch a surprise attack."

"To prevent future troubles, after the surprise attack on Yizhou, send an elite force to search for the enemy's food and fodder. Once found, set it on fire. Anyone who tries to stop us will be killed on the spot."

"With two fronts like this, and no food or fodder to fill his stomach, and it's snowing heavily, how long can Feng Qiwu hold out?"

Moka Lianhua spoke in an orderly manner, but by the end, there was no warmth left on his face, only Ling Han's murderous intent.

The north wind blew violently, bringing with it goose-feather snowflakes that entered my collar, followed by a bone-chilling cold.

The cavalrymen did not feel cold after hearing his words, but instead became full of fighting spirit. An unconcealable excitement filled their heads and spread throughout their bodies.

"Subordinates take orders."

After receiving the order, he immediately stepped back to check the troops. Countless elite troops from the Western Regions were ready to go, with flags unique to the Western Regions fluttering. For a moment, the awe-inspiring voices went straight up to the sky, and the momentum shook the world.

In the same month of the same year, the Queen Mother became seriously ill.

That night, a fine snow fell in the Beilang Imperial City. A cold wave quickly swept through, making people shiver.

The underground heating was lit in Shou'an Palace, and the cold and lonely palace became warm.

The maid who served her personally was preparing medicine outside the hall. When she entered the hall with the bowl of medicine, she suddenly noticed that the continuous coughing in the hall had stopped at some point.

The huge palace was silent. The north wind blew against the window frames, and the sound made people's scalps numb.

"Her Majesty, Her Majesty——"

The maid was frightened. She took small steps and called a few times through the curtain with trembling voice, but heard no response.

She felt even more uneasy and anxious, and could only commit the crime of disrespect by lifting a corner of the curtain with trembling hands. In an instant, a face that looked pale in the dim light came into her sight. There seemed to be black bruises on the lips, and the eyes were wide open, as if he would die with his eyes open.

The maid plucked up her courage and tried the empress dowager's breath.

"what--"

She withdrew her hand, screamed in horror and ran away. In an instant, she collided with Helian Yue who was about to enter the hall.

The counselors around Helian Yue angrily scolded: "You are such a bold servant. Instead of serving the Queen Mother, you are so arrogant as to make a scene and offend Prince Yongqing. How can you be so shameless?"

"Why are you so panicked?" Helian Yue looked displeased.

The maid heard this, as if she had found a life-saving straw, and said with a trembling face, "Prince, the Queen Mother has passed away——"

"nonsense."

Helian Yue obviously didn't believe it. He sternly brushed away the maid who was blocking his way, and then came to the empress dowager's bed with a few quick steps. However, what he saw was that the empress dowager had her eyes closed, her face was pale, and her lips were black and blue.

The Queen Mother had already lost her voice, her body was stiff, and she was as cold as the snow in the north, piercing her hands and freezing her bones.

"Mother, how could you bear to leave me alone?" Helian Yue was stunned for several moments before he burst into tears. His eyes were red and he cried sadly, which was particularly moving.

"How could this be? My mother's illness is clearly just a minor one. Why is it that the medicine prescribed by the Imperial Hospital has no effect at all?" He collapsed in front of the Empress Dowager's bed, feeling so grief-stricken as if a thorn was stuck in his heart.

The counselor felt something was wrong and picked up the overturned medicine bowl on the ground. He tried it with a silver needle again and his expression suddenly changed.

"Your Highness, there is something strange about the Queen Mother's death. This bowl of medicine can't cure the disease, but it can take someone's life." He handed the blackened silver needle to Helian Yue.

When Helian Yue saw this, his expression kept changing, and finally his eyes were bloodshot, his body was filled with coldness, and his eyes were filled with hatred.

"Who poisoned me?"

The counselor said at the right time: "How dare a mere imperial physician prescribe medicine to the queen mother? There must be someone in a high position behind the scenes who is instructing him. The new emperor is suspicious of the prince and has no tolerance for others. He can kill the emperor and seize the throne, and he can also poison people. I am afraid he will take action against the prince one day."

Helian Yue's eyes were bloodshot, and every word he said was full of tears. "Feng Qiwu, you killed my brother, and now you are killing my mother. I will repay you a hundredfold for this."

After saying that, he drew the long sword from his waist and chopped off the burning palace lantern at the head of the bed.

The lamp fell to the ground, throwing up a few sparks. The maid had never seen such a scene before. She whimpered and was about to run away, but a long sword with a cold glow was suddenly placed on her neck.

"Tell me, was it Feng Qiwu who instructed you to poison my queen mother?"

The maid looked at Helian Yue's ferocious face, trembling with fear and at a loss. She just kept shaking her head, "Slave, slave..."

Before she could finish her words, the sword pierced her heart.

The maid's eyes widened and her body fell to the ground like fine snow, without any sound.

Helian Yue raised the blood-stained sword, with the tip of the sword pointing at the most majestic palace in the imperial city, and his hoarse voice was full of sinisterness.

"The new emperor is unkind, and we have risen up to attack him, just to clear up the chaos and restore order—"

The throne should have belonged to the Helian family. What does it have to do with that villain Feng Qiwu?

The counselor immediately knelt down and expressed his loyalty, "We swear to follow the prince till death!"

That night, Helian Yue assembled a large number of elite troops.

The solitary moon was dim, snow was flying, and the dark armor of the cavalry tore through the sky, broke through the dark night, and marched straight into the north gate of the imperial palace. The swords, spears, and halberds were covered in the snow, bringing with them a chill and bloody murderous intent.

The entire imperial city was silent. When the elite troops broke into the city, there was not a single guarding officer. The northern gate of the imperial city was also as solid as paper.

Helian Yue looked at the lax defense without any suspicion. After all, Feng Qiwu led the army in person and the troops had already been dispatched to the battlefield in Liangzhou. There were no troops deployed in the imperial city, so it was naturally like paper, vulnerable to any attack.

It was precisely because the defenses were weak that he was able to take advantage of this opportunity to restore order and regain the Helian family's territory.

"Continue the attack and enter the Hall of Supreme Harmony—"

Helian Yue spoke in a loud voice, the ambition in his eyes almost unable to be hidden.

At that moment, the broken north gate of the imperial city suddenly closed with a dull sound. Before Helian Yue could react, there were slight noises coming from the tall and majestic city wall.

Immediately afterwards, a dazzling sharp light flashed by.

The white snow was falling, and Helian Yue looked up suddenly, only to see countless archers deployed on the city wall at some point. They drew their bows and arrows, and the cold and sharp arrow tips gleamed silver in the moonlight, which made people's scalps numb.

The leading woman was wearing a bright red dress with golden bells adorning her waist. She looked like a bright and delicate flower, but she had a stern and murderous look. Her eyes were like those of a seductive and poisonous creature, with an overwhelming and captivating aura.

"Prince Yongqing, I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Wen Ranyan stood high on the city wall and looked at him with a smile.