Damn it, I was almost scared half to death, and you are pulling this kind of trick?
Good, good, good...
Isn't it just a mere Edict of Self-Reproach?
You can have it!
Ren Tianye's mood shifted from anxiety to wild ecstasy. He was just about to head to the imperial palace when his personal guards announced that Su Jin requested an audience.
Let her in.
Duke, the matter regarding the Empress has been thoroughly investigated, and we have secured the evidence. She is indeed not the biological daughter of the late Emperor, Xiao Jingyuan.
As Su Jin spoke, she presented the gathered evidence.
Ren Tianye took it and glanced over it.
The evidence was extremely detailed, constituting absolutely ironclad proof.
With this evidence of her illegitimacy, Xiao Mingzhao could be completely stripped of her position as Empress. Moreover, not only would she be deposed, but it would also deal a profoundly heavy blow to all the righteous warriors across the realm who revered the Xiao family's Great Yu Dynasty.
After all...
The person sitting on the throne did not possess the Xiao family bloodline.
What was even more infuriating was that the late Emperor Xiao Jingyuan had known about this all along. In fact, he was the one who had orchestrated the entire thing!
Calling this news an earth-shattering revelation would not be an exaggeration.
Once this bombshell was dropped, if Ren Tianye played his cards right, he would be able to win over the hearts of even more people in the world!
However...
Looking at the evidence before him, Ren Tianye instantly extinguished the idea of making it public right away.
After all, under the current circumstances, keeping Xiao Mingzhao as the Empress was much more useful to him.
We will wait until we have dealt with Lin Zixiao before announcing this.
Having made up his mind, he turned to Su Jin and said, You must have worked very hard recently to gather this evidence, right? Your face is quite pale. If there are no major matters in the Demon Suppression Division for the time being, you should take some time to rest.
If anything comes up, let Zhou Ze, Xie Changfeng, and the others handle it.
The Demon Suppression Division is full of talented people now. You just need to supervise them more; there is no need to do everything yourself.
Ren Tianye's words stemmed entirely from a superior's care for his subordinate, but they warmed Su Jin's heart so much that she could hardly hold back her tears.
Why did she work so tirelessly?
Wasn't it just to do as much as she could for the Duke while she still had the chance, so that when the earth-shattering trouble involving her third sister Su Li finally arrived, she would have enough merit to protect herself?
Did she want to exhaust herself like this?
But did she dare not to?
It took her a long while to steady her emotions. She looked up at Ren Tianye's retreating figure as he strode heavily toward the imperial palace. Even though he could not see her, Su Jin still kowtowed deeply toward him.
Meanwhile, Ren Tianye rushed to the imperial palace with burning urgency.
This Lin Zixiao was probably poisoned by the Same Heart Alliance as well. Instead of being a normal human, he insisted on being a hypocrite. Ren Tianye had to fulfill Lin Zixiao's wish.
Therefore, he had to wake Xiao Mingzhao up.
He could write the decree himself and stamp it with the imperial seal, but he worried that Lin Zixiao had likely seen Xiao Mingzhao's handwriting before and was quite familiar with it.
Thus, what Lin Zixiao needed had to be a decree written by Xiao Mingzhao herself.
Only an edict personally written by Xiao Mingzhao would be reliable.
With these thoughts in mind, he arrived at the Sijun Hall.
Xiao Mingzhao was playing the sleeping beauty as usual. Her complexion was rosy, and her beauty could topple nations, but she simply would not wake up.
How is Xiao... How is Her Majesty doing?
Ren Tianye asked the imperial physician standing nearby.
This physician was one of their own, specially brought in by Su Pengcheng. Not only were his medical skills top-notch, but he also obeyed Su Pengcheng's every command, which meant he completely obeyed Ren Tianye.
Regarding Her Majesty's condition, after taking her pulse, I can say it is actually quite good. Her pulse is stable, but... getting her to wake up completely is not that easy.
She can only wake up occasionally, and then she falls back asleep shortly after.
I need her awake right now. Can you do it?
Yes! the physician answered decisively. However, it is highly likely to cause damage to Her Majesty's body, and I cannot say for sure how severe that damage might be.
Therefore, unless it is an absolute emergency, I do not dare to try it.
Now is an absolute emergency! Ren Tianye's voice rang out like clashing metal. Wake Xiao Mingzhao up for me immediately.
Yes, Duke.
The physician did not waste any words. He brought out his small medical box, opened it, and took out a row of silver needles. With a flick of his wrist, the silver needles accurately pierced various major acupoints on Xiao Mingzhao's body, exactly as he intended.
One needle, two needles, three needles...
Fifty needles!
Ren Tianye watched clearly from the side.
After the acupuncture, Xiao Mingzhao's complexion underwent a drastic change. It flushed red and then turned pale, as if the blood and qi inside her were surging violently.
It actually made him a bit nervous.
He was afraid the physician might accidentally needle Xiao Mingzhao to death.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, Xiao Mingzhao, who was lying on the bed, suddenly opened her eyes. Before Ren Tianye even had time to rejoice, she abruptly sat up.
Then...
She spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Her face instantly turned as white as snow, but her eyes were exceptionally bright.
Ren Tianye immediately gave the physician mental praise.
He then ordered the physician to remove the needles and withdraw at once.
Yes, Duke.
As soon as the physician left, Xiao Mingzhao's eyes instantly locked onto Ren Tianye's face.
Tianye, I... I have been dreaming a lot these days, dreaming of you...
I... I finally realize that in my heart, the most important person is actually you. In the past, whether it was Zhan Shubai, Tuoba Xiangtai, or Xiangxiang, they were all just fleeting illusions in my life.
The one I truly love is you!
As soon as Xiao Mingzhao opened her mouth, her words were filled with tender affection. I have decided. I will never test you again. If you are willing, I...
I am willing to entrust the Great Yu Dynasty, along with myself, to you!
Tianye, are you willing...
Before Xiao Mingzhao could finish her sentence, Ren Tianye let out a cold sneer and interrupted, Forget it. Even a dog wouldn't want the Great Yu Dynasty ruled by you and your father.
I'd be better off conquering it myself.
At least it would be stable!
Pausing for a moment, Ren Tianye grew increasingly impatient.
Stripped of her halo as the Empress, Xiao Mingzhao's image, which was already poor in his eyes, plummeted straight into the eighteenth level of hell.
Consequently, he directly tossed the evidence Su Jin had found in front of Xiao Mingzhao for her to see.
Heh, besides, what does this Great Yu Dynasty have to do with you?
Is your surname Xiao?
You are not even Xiao Jingyuan's biological flesh and blood, yet you boldly talk about the Great Yu Dynasty. Ridiculous, simply ridiculous!
Ren Tianye originally intended to use this method to pressure Xiao Mingzhao, forcing her to obediently submit to him. After all, without the royal bloodline, Xiao Mingzhao was just meat on the chopping block, entirely at the mercy of others.
But to his surprise...
After looking at the evidence Ren Tianye presented and hearing his words, Xiao Mingzhao's face showed not a single trace of shock. Instead, she remained quite calm and composed, as if...
This matter was not a big deal to her at all.
Xiao Mingzhao said, Does it matter whether I am my imperial father's biological daughter or not?
My imperial father's doting on me and his grace of raising me for so many years have long surpassed biological ties. Whether I possess the Xiao family bloodline or not is no longer important to me.
...
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
