The An Emperor gave a cold snort.

Ning Chen smiled wryly. Honestly, you couldn't blame her for being angry.

What Yuan Long and the others had done showed no regard for imperial authority or for the law of the Great Xuan... Suppose the An Emperor were a suspicious, bloodthirsty ruler.

Then moving troops without an edict would be enough, on its own, to have them executed.

Ning Chen bowed. "Your Majesty, your subject has an urgent matter to report. Could Commander Nie and the others step outside?"

Whenever other people were around, Ning Chen showed the An Emperor every proper respect.

An emperor's authority could not be allowed to slip.

She was no longer the carefree, innocent Ninth Princess.

She was the Emperor of the Great Xuan now, the ruler of a nation.

No one was permitted to trespass on an emperor's authority, not even the An Emperor's own man.

The An Emperor waved a hand. "Nie Liang, Feng Qizheng, you may go!

Heye, you too."

The three of them bowed and took the order. "Yes!"

Ning Chen called after Feng Qizheng as he went out, "Old Feng, nobody outside can know I'm alive yet. Don't go shooting your mouth off."

Feng Qizheng said, "Oh. Relax. Nobody keeps a secret better than me."

The corner of Ning Chen's mouth twitched. Feng Qizheng's mouth was as loose as the waistband on a pair of padded trousers... but the simpleton knew what mattered. Whenever Ning Chen told him to keep something quiet, he kept it quiet.

Once the three of them had gone, Ning Chen walked up to the dragon desk and blinked at the An Emperor.

The An Emperor glared at him. "You want to plead for Yuan Long and the others?"

Ning Chen gave her a fawning grin. "Your Majesty truly is beauty and wisdom together."

The An Emperor said crossly, "Yuan Long moved troops on his own. That's a serious crime, and it can't be let off lightly!

You know as well as I do. By tomorrow, I'm afraid half the memorials on this dragon desk will be impeaching…