At this moment, the person who knocked on the gates of Changmen Palace was definitely not Invincible Iron Fist Shi Chengtian.
The Emperor had promised the Empress that if Shi Chengtian was able to help defeat the barbarian envoys, he would not look into that incident. Furthermore, he would allow her to deal with Changmen Palace.
However, this would only happen after the barbarian envoys left.
Right now, the most important thing was still to resist the barbarian envoys. Before that happened, there could not be any new problems.
The one who had come to Changmen Palace was the thirteenth princess, Xia Jingjing, who had unexpectedly gotten acquainted with Chun Fei on the night that Black and White Impermanence were killed.
However, beside the thirteenth princess was a young man.
The young man seemed very similar to the thirteenth princess in appearance. He was extremely handsome but did not seem frivolous in nature. Moreover, he was extremely steady and walked with a majestic gait.
He was young and seemed to be about twenty years old. However, he had a murderous and determined aura, as if he was a general who had been on the battlefield before!
"Little Jing, why are you here?"
When Chun Fei saw the thirteenth princess, she was both happy and shocked.
After all, Changmen Palace was the cold palace. Furthermore, she had not reconciled with the Emperor, and their relationship had even become more strained. Thus, the thirteenth princess's arrival at this time would have repercussions.
After they bade farewell last time, Chun Fei had warned the thirteenth princess to not think about coming to Changmen Palace.
Chun Fei did not care much about this, but she was afraid that visiting her would be disadvantageous to the thirteenth princess.
"Aunt—"
On the contrary, the thirteenth princess only showed joy as she bounced about. She wanted to go up and pull on Chun Fei's hand.
However, she was pulled back by the young man beside her, who chided her, "You should call her Her Majesty Chun Fei!"
"Brother, Her Majesty Chun Fei is our aunt!" The thirteenth princess raised her head and refuted her brother with dissatisfaction.
"We are from the imperial family. How could we use the titles of ordinary people?" the young man asked in a serious tone.
Chun Fei did not care about the quarrel between the young man and the young woman. Instead, upon hearing this, she walked to them and looked at the young man. Then, she said with surprise, "Are you Little Yu?"
Back then, Senior Concubine Li had given birth to a son and a daughter with the Emperor.
They were Ninth Prince Xia Qiyu and Thirteenth Princess Xia Jingjing, respectively.
"Xia Qiyu is here to visit Chun Fei."
Even though the ninth prince looked at Chun Fei with a gaze full of excitement, he still followed etiquette and bowed properly.
Chun Fei was crying tears of joy. When she looked at the young man and woman in front of her, she was extremely sentimental. How great would it be if her sister was still alive? Chun Fei did not know how happy her sister would have been if she saw that her children had grown to become such handsome and beautiful adults.
After a brief moment, Chun Fei restrained her emotions. Then, she pulled the two of them into the palace before rebuking them, "Don't call me Chun Fei! Call me Auntie! You are from the imperial family, and there is nothing wrong with paying attention to etiquette in front of others. However, there are no outsiders here, so there's no need to do so."
When Xia Qiyu looked at Yun Su and Lin Ping at the side, there was some hesitation in his eyes.
Chun Fei shook her head.
This child was extremely vigilant. He had probably experienced many hardships over the past few years.
However, this was good as well. The imperial compound was unpredictable; everyone was fighting and scheming against one another. It was often right to be more careful and cautious.
Furthermore, she had heard that even though Xia Qiyu was young and was only in his early 20s, he had gone to the battlefield and clashed with the barbarians at the northern frontlines. Furthermore, he had even attained military achievements.
From the look of things now, this was not a lie.
Not only was this child cautious, his cultivation base was not weak either. He already had a grade-4 cultivation base at such a young age.
"Relax. Changmen Palace is unlike the other palaces, and everyone here is our own people. There are no outsiders, and there's no need to be vigilant," said Chun Fei with a smile.
Only then did Xia Qiyu nod and solemnly say, "Yes, Auntie."
"Little Jing, why did you bring your brother to Changmen Palace today? Didn't I tell you that my circumstances are far from good? You should draw a clear line between yourselves and me as much as possible and not have any contact with me. Otherwise, you will face unnecessary trouble," said Chun Fei in an accusatory tone.
Xia Jingjing lowered her head and did not say anything.
"Auntie, I was the one who wanted to bring my sister here," said Xia Qiyu out of his own initiative. However, he immediately changed the subject. "In reality, I didn't intend to come to Changmen Palace tonight. However, my father looked for me and asked me to bring my sister to visit Auntie."
When the happy but concerned Chun Fei heard this…
…her expression instantly changed.
However, the people in front of her were the children of her sister. She would definitely not treat them like how the Emperor treated them.
Chun Fei furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "Little Yu, so are you planning to plead on behalf of your father and advise me to forgive him?"
Xia Qiyu seemed to have thought about his strategies in advance. After thinking about what he should say, he shook his head and said, "I have no intentions of doing so."
Chun Fei's expression was slightly better. Then, she asked, "Then what are your intentions?"
Xia Qiyu did not speak. Instead, he looked at Yun Su and Lin Ping who were standing at the side.
Upon seeing this, Yun Su was immediately prepared to withdraw. She said, "I will go and boil tea."
It was very obvious that Xia Qiyu had some secrets to tell Chun Fei privately.
However, Xia Qiyu smiled and said, "You should be Auntie Yun Su, right? I remember seeing you when I was young. Auntie Yun Su, you need not see yourself as an outsider."
When Yun Su heard this, a smile appeared on her face. Then, she said in a gratified tone, "The ninth prince's memory is very good."
Immediately after, Xia Qiyu looked at Lin Ping, who was acting as a passer-by, and ordered him, "Eunuch, go and boil some tea for me."
Other than the legendary "hidden expert", the people present in Changmen Palace on the surface were not a secret in the imperial compound.
There were Chun Fei, her personal imperial maid Yun Su, and an unknown eunuch who swept the floor.
Yun Su and Chun Fei had a strong relationship with each other. They were disciples of the Taixu Sect, and their combat cultivation bases were not weak.
However, the eunuch was really only a eunuch.
Thus, Xia Qiyu did not pay any attention to him. He was prepared to dismiss Lin Ping and send him away.
However, he never thought that after he finished speaking, Chun Fei and Yun Su's expressions suddenly changed and became very ugly.
On the contrary, Lin Ping did not think much of this as he was not interested in listening to the contents of the following conversation. He immediately nodded his head and retreated from the room.
When Chun Fei saw that Lin Ping had left with a normal expression and did not look angry, only then did she sigh in relief.
However, she still warned Xia Qiyu, "Little Yu, you cannot be so impolite later on!"
Xia Qiyu was extremely smart and could definitely sense that something was not right.
He silently gasped in shock. Could it be that this unknown eunuch who swept the floor was actually that hidden expert?
It couldn't be, it couldn't be, right?
"Auntie, this person is…?" Xia Qiyu hurriedly asked.
However, Chun Fei did not want to say much. She waved her hand and changed the subject. "You still didn't say what your objective of visiting here today is?"
Xia Qiyu temporarily suppressed the guess in his heart and said in a low voice, "I heard that there is a hidden grade-9 master in Changmen Palace. Today, I came to invite this mysterious senior to come out of obscurity!"
Bang!
Chun Fei banged the table and said in a cold voice, "Then why did you still say that you weren't sent by your father to persuade us!"
Xia Qiyu shook his head and said in a clear, loud voice. "My invitation for this grade-9 master to come out of seclusion has nothing to do with my father. It is for the Grand Xia Dynasty! To resist the barbarians!
"Auntie, I know that over the past few years, you have experienced many injustices in the cold palace, and you have a lot of resentment in your heart.
"However, Auntie, if you have the opportunity to go to the frontlines one day and see how the northern barbarians are killing the soldiers and civilians of the Grand Xia Dynasty, you will understand that personal resentment is nothing compared to a national cause!
"Furthermore, the barbarian envoys are coming to the capital not simply for a visit, but to survey us! If the Grand Xia Dynasty is unable to display strength to scare them this time, they will be unbridled next time and launch a massive attack on us!
"When that time comes, we will be plunged into an abyss of misery! Today, I came not to ask Auntie to forgive my father. I simply want to ask the mysterious grade-9 master to consider the Grand Xia Dynasty and the people. I hope that he can generously offer help to resist the barbarian envoys!"
Xia Qiyu was excellent in his voice and expression throughout. Furthermore, he was very loud.
As a result, even Lin Ping who was outside could hear him clearly.
Chun Fei was already prepared to properly reprimand her nephew.
It was not that Chun Fei could not forgive the Emperor. However, if it were their mother, Senior Concubine Li, who had died from an injustice, the senior concubine would never forgive him! Now that Xia Qiyu came to persuade them on behalf of Xia Jianshen without any conscience, how much distress would their mother be in if she knew about this?
However, after listening to Xia Qiyu, Chun Fei could not help but fall silent.
Even though her heart was filled with anger and resentment, she could not vocalize these feelings…
…even though she did not agree with Xia Qiyu's point of view.
However, she felt that this child… was a good child.
How patriotic!
Perhaps it was because of this patriotism that he continued to be loved by the Emperor and managed to grow to his current status after her sister's death.