Chapter 209: Tension

His Majesty has passed away, and the entire nation mourns!

His Majesty has passed away…

The messenger shouted hoarsely as he sprinted madly towards the Lord’s Mansion in Anyang City. From a distance, his voice had already reached inside the mansion.

Li Xian and the others, who had been discussing Anyang’s development plans, were all stunned.

Xia Qingqing was even more dumbfounded, her face blank as a few tears slowly trickled down. Although she had long known that this outcome was inevitable, when the tragic news truly arrived, she still couldn’t accept it.

Li Xian was momentarily dazed before suddenly frowning, “This isn’t right. Only three months have passed. It’s far from the predicted four and a half months! That old imperial physician initially said he could hold on for four and a half months!”

No one could answer this question.

But Li Yuanming had his own perspective. “Young Master, after analyzing all of His Majesty’s past actions, I suspect… His Majesty committed suicide!”

“Pfft…”

Such an outrageous statement naturally drew contempt from everyone.

Li Yuanming, however, remained unfazed and explained matter-of-factly, “Do you remember when I mentioned that there might be a poison master beside His Majesty? Or that His Majesty himself could be a poison master? Although Master Li Yulong dismissed it as a scheme by the ministers, I still have my doubts.

The downfall of the Great Xia Kingdom happened far too quickly—unbelievably fast. It’s impossible for there not to be something wrong. After much deliberation, I have reached this conclusion: His Majesty was committing slow suicide.

Only through such a method could he drag the entire Great Xia Kingdom down with him; only this kind of suicide could explain many things.

From the way His Majesty arranged matters for the Crown Prince, we can see that he was not entirely incompetent. This arrangement revealed His Majesty’s true capabilities. A ruler who could make such intricate plans—how could he allow the country to decline and fall into chaos so recklessly?

So, after careful consideration, I believe His Majesty carried out a planned, chronic suicide. By continuously exacerbating the collapse of the kingdom, he ensured that Great Xia would be thrown into utter turmoil. And once it was in complete disarray, it would lose all vitality—completely buried!

Don’t forget, for an emperor, death is not the end. In the realm of departed souls, they have another chance! If His Majesty believed Great Xia was beyond saving, then dragging the entire nation down with him in exchange for a strong foundation in the afterlife would make perfect sense.

So, Your Highness, you need not grieve. As an emperor, he still has a second chance.”

No one spoke; they were all clearly pondering the matter.

Eventually, Xu Ren slowly nodded. “You’re right. The situation in Great Xia must have been orchestrated by His Majesty. But we must confirm this with the Master.”

By suggesting consulting Li Yulong, Xu Ren was indirectly saying: I suspect the Master is the chief strategist behind all of this—or at the very least, he understands the situation.

As the group discussed, the messenger from the imperial capital had already entered, his sorrowful cries echoing through the Lord’s Mansion of Anyang.

The messenger was not only here to deliver the news of the emperor’s passing but also to convey orders—His Majesty had passed, and all officials were required to return to the imperial capital to pay their respects.

“I must go back!” Xia Qingqing’s expression was resolute.

Li Xian hesitated for a moment. “I’ll go with you.”

But Xu Ren firmly opposed it. “Young Master, you cannot return. You are currently ‘gravely injured and in critical condition,’ so you must not go back.

The imperial capital will inevitably be drenched in blood this time. Since His Majesty intended to drag the entire Great Xia Kingdom with him, there must still be schemes in play. Those who head to the capital now will likely not make it back alive!”

Li Xian glanced around and saw that whether it was Li Yuanming, Beichen Yuqing, or even Yan Ze’an, they all subtly shook their heads. Clearly, none of them supported him returning to the capital.

Ling Zhifeng performed a divination on the spot, and the result was ominous—great misfortune. If Li Xian returned to the capital, the consequences would be unpredictable.

As for Xia Qingqing, everyone opposed her return as well. Going back now would only lead to disaster. Their biggest concern was that someone might “strongly invite” Xia Qingqing to stay as a guest. The most likely suspect was the First Prince, who also had the best excuse to do so.

“Will my father be in danger?” Li Xian asked, his primary concern.

Xu Ren smiled. “Master will not be in danger. We don’t need to worry about him at all. What we should focus on now is this:

First, Young Master must continue to feign illness—under no circumstances should you leave Anyang. We must wait for the situation to change.

Second, send an envoy with 100,000 taels of gold as a burial tribute to His Majesty.

Third, prepare for war!

Expand the army, revise military laws, and draft battle plans.”

Li Xian sighed slightly, “Things have developed to this extent. Then let’s proceed as you suggested, sir. Additionally, His Majesty has treated my Li family fairly well, so let’s add a blueprint of an internal combustion engine to the burial goods. Perhaps it will be of some use in another world.

As for Qingqing, let Xiao Tao go on your behalf… and take one hundred thousand taels of gold as well.”

Xia Qingqing could only nod sorrowfully. Her father, the emperor, had passed away, but due to the complex political environment, she was unable to return to the imperial capital. It was a helpless situation. However, she also understood that if she returned, she would likely be required to participate in various funeral ceremonies. In the process, there was a high chance that one of the three princes would forcibly “invite” her to another location as a guest.

Especially the first prince—he was someone who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. In the past, he had even disregarded the interests of the Great Xia Kingdom for his own benefit. So it was entirely possible that he would forcefully invite Xia Qingqing.

A little later, Anyang dispatched two aircraft, carrying a total of two hundred thousand taels of gold. Chen Jinbing and Xiao Tao were entrusted with full authority to represent Li Xian and Xia Qingqing on this mission. To prevent their personnel from being detained, Li Xian did not even dare to send Xu Ren and others. The current Great Xia Kingdom was already filled with lurking dangers. With the emperor’s death, all ambitious individuals would act without restraint!

At the same time, white banners were hung in Anyang City, and Xia Qingqing took charge of a simple memorial ceremony.

However, while Anyang appeared to be in mourning on the surface, tension was already brewing underneath.

Wu Peng had begun working tirelessly, conducting counterintelligence efforts against all external forces infiltrating Anyang.

The military was also occupied with strategic deployments, expansion, and mechanization improvements—all progressing rapidly.

In the commercial sector, the government had begun regulating businesses in Anyang. Although the market was still largely free, the invisible hand of the government had started making adjustments.

On the legal front, efforts were being made to draft laws as quickly as possible, aiming to complete the legal framework soon. For aspects that could not be finalized in the short term, “provisional regulations” were being used as temporary measures.

But the busiest place of all was the Brilliant Star Group—more precisely, the research and production base in Qingyun Valley! With the successful development of computer technology, the group had become even more overwhelmed with work.

Tasks such as computer miniaturization, function enhancement, and the development of related software and hardware were being assigned one after another. Xiao Yuquan was completely buried under the endless orders from Li Xian. He had barely had time to celebrate the success of the computer project before being thrown back into new research.

However, the first technological breakthrough following the success of the computer still managed to spark an earth-shattering cheer within the tense Brilliant Star Group.

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