The ministers fell silent!
A single sentence from Female Emperor Wu of Zhou left them dumbfounded!
What on earth?
To attack the Great Qin, you are driving the wolf to devour the tiger.
Not only are you sending a prince into a marriage alliance.
You are also opening a gap at the border to let the plainsmen through?
This single sentence practically paralyzed everyone with shock!
Prime Minister Di Qingyun was instantly drenched in sweat and cried out.
"Your Majesty, absolutely not!"
"The plainsmen are inherently brutal and overly ambitious. They are capricious villains!"
"Once they are allowed through the border, if they turn around and bite us instead, wouldn't that be inviting wolves into our own house?"
He knew Female Emperor Wu of Zhou was unconventional, but regarding such a matter, let alone an incompetent ruler, even a foolish emperor would not dare to put the nation in such peril.
Betting on the plainsmen to obediently follow your orders is worse than directly deploying troops to attack the Great Qin.
Facing Di Qingyun's earnest pleas, Female Emperor Wu of Zhou remained unmoved. Instead, she furrowed her brows and shouted coldly.
"Lord Di, is this the tone you use to speak to Us?"
She was also angered.
Slapping the dragon desk, she stood up.
"Why do you think We are doing this? Is it not for the sake of Our Great Zhou empire?"
"Do We not know that We could directly dispatch troops to attack the Great Qin? But have you considered the immense cost of moving provisions before the army even marches?"
"All the nations of the world are watching. If our campaign starts poorly, the consequences will be unimaginable!"
"Why can't we borrow the hands of the plainsmen to annihilate the Great Qin?"
"It is now the beginning of winter, and the plainsmen need food. We are pointing them to a clear path. They will be too busy being profoundly grateful to ever turn around and bite Us!"
As she spoke, her gaze filled with a murderous aura.
"Our decision is the imperial decree. Whoever dares to advise against it will be guilty of treason!"
"Issue the decree! The major tribes of our Mobei plains will deploy troops against the Great Qin! We will provide them with sufficient food and military supplies, guaranteeing their logistics!"
The entire hall fell silent!
Everyone was stunned by the female emperor!
Female Emperor Wu of Zhou sat back on the dragon throne, her face returning to its calm and confident state.
She swept her gaze over everyone, seeing them all lower their heads with no one daring to object again.
She smiled faintly and made the final decision: "Then the matter is settled!"
"Court dismissed!"
As her words fell, the female emperor stood up and left directly.
The ministers looked at each other in dismay, able only to sigh as they walked out of the great hall.
Only Prime Minister Di Qingyun remained deeply worried.
He could only hope now that those plainsmen would not turn around and bite them!
Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable!
Before long.
The news about the prince being sent for a marriage alliance spread throughout the entire Great Zhou.
Countless scions of noble families were all dumbfounded.
No way, brother, are you kidding me?
On the contrary, the women cheered and jumped for joy.
They openly praised Her Majesty's mighty and domineering spirit, doing what even men wouldn't dare to do!
Suddenly, the image of Female Emperor Wu of Zhou grew even more towering and magnificent in their hearts!
Meanwhile.
A carriage carved with dragons and painted with phoenixes slowly left the imperial palace, heading in the direction of the Great Qin.
Inside this carriage sat a young man with delicate features and an outstanding temperament.
He looked gentle and refined on the outside, like an elegant scholar, but a touch of arrogance and majesty lingered between his brows.
But at this moment.
The young man held the imperial decree in his hands, his face pale and bloodless, his entire body trembling.
"What... they want me to go for a marriage alliance?"
He muttered to himself in disbelief, suddenly looking up ahead.
As the carriage curtain fluttered in the wind, he could see the Great Zhou imperial palace growing further and further away.
He was truly going for a marriage alliance!
At this moment, the young man finally broke down completely!
A tremendous sense of humiliation washed over him, driving him nearly mad!
From ancient times to the present, when has a prince ever been sent for a marriage alliance?
He was the first prince in history to do so, destined to be infamous for ten thousand years!
"No! I don't want this!"
"I just want to lie flat and be an idle prince. I don't want to be any emperor, nor do I want the Li-Tang empire anymore. Why won't Her Majesty spare my Li-Tang imperial family?"
"No!"
The wails from inside the carriage grew increasingly mournful.
But the eunuch sitting outside the carriage remained expressionless, completely unmoved.
The coachman was equally numb, continuing to drive the carriage forward.
After a long while, the eunuch's voice drifted in faintly.
"If His Highness the Prince of Yan is unwilling, you may take your own life after arriving in the Great Qin. In this way, you can preserve your reputation, and it will also give our Great Zhou a justified reason to deploy troops against the Great Qin."
This single sentence instantly turned the Prince of Yan's heart to ashes, sending chills all over his body.
He tightly clutched the imperial decree, looking through the gap in the cloth curtain at the old eunuch's cold profile.
At this moment, his fury reached its peak!
His chest heaved violently, his eyes turning bloodshot!
"I am the very last person left in the Li-Tang imperial family!"
"Even if I ignore court politics and only care about touring the mountains and waters, is that still not enough?"
"So, the female emperor never intended to spare me from the very beginning!"
The Prince of Yan smiled miserably, tears bursting from his eyes.
At this moment, he finally understood.
As someone with royal blood.
Even if he didn't fight or compete, it wouldn't do!
His very existence was the greatest threat to the emperor!
"Big Brother! I hate you so much! Why did you insist on yielding the throne to that witch of a female emperor back then! You turned our Great Tang into a laughingstock!"
The Prince of Yan's heart-wrenching roar echoed within the carriage.
And the old eunuch met it with silence.
Letting His Highness the Prince of Yan vent his anger.
After all, in his eyes, once they reached the Great Qin, the Prince of Yan would undoubtedly die!
As early as ten years ago, Female Emperor Wu of Zhou had abdicated.
The second emperor of the Li-Tang dynasty inherited the great lineage.
He was also the Prince of Yan's eldest brother.
After he took the throne, his first act was to abolish all the policies of Female Emperor Wu of Zhou.
He took the lead in choosing to rest and recuperate, reducing taxes on the common people while increasing taxes on the noble families.
Within three years, the national treasury became abundant.
It was during these crucial three years that he vigorously developed trade, reclaimed land, and trained the army.
Three years later, the emperor launched wars.
In less than four years, he subdued Mobei in the north, pacified Baiyue in the south, annihilated the Xirong in the west, and conquered Fusang in the east...
Not only did he recover lost territories, but he also expanded the vast borders!
Moreover, even while the army was at war, he ushered the nation into the prosperous Kaiyuan era!
The people of the world all called him a wise ruler and erected monuments of merit for him!
However, in his tenth year of rule.
Female Emperor Wu of Zhou made him abdicate and conveniently bestowed a cup of poisoned wine to kill the emperor.
Simply because she was wary of the emperor, fearing he would disobey her and rebel.
At that time, the emperor commanded a massive army of hundreds of thousands right in the capital!
Fierce generals under his command were as numerous as the clouds.
Many people advised him to directly kill Female Emperor Wu of Zhou.
But the emperor still chose to abdicate and drink that cup of poisoned wine.
Before his death, he still issued a final edict: whoever did not obey the decrees of Female Emperor Wu of Zhou was to be killed without mercy!
Simply because Female Emperor Wu of Zhou was his mother.
As a son, he could not disobey his mother's orders.
And just like that, the emperor who had personally created the prosperous Kaiyuan era met his end.
Meanwhile, Female Emperor Wu of Zhou ushered in her second era of ruling the world!
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
