A eunuch immediately presented his memorial to the Emperor.
This Grand Tutor Lou was originally Feng Xie’s teacher. He had tutored Feng Xie when he was the Crown Prince, and can be said to have been just and incorruptible at the beginning.
Perhaps it was due to spending too long in officialdom that he succumbed to bad habits, thus corrupting his mind.
“Your humble servant knows that the Empress may indeed be the true Empress. However, when the Empress died and was buried in the imperial tomb, the people of the world were unaware of this situation. They spoke directly of a vixen bewitching the court, which would lead to the downfall of our Tian Feng. Now, I, on behalf of all the people, present this memorial, which is a petition from the myriad citizens.”
Feng Xie took the memorial and looked at it. It was indeed a petition from the myriad citizens.
He did not expect the Lou family to even mobilize the common people. He wondered how many people they had sent out to sway public opinion to obtain this document. Feng Xie’s eyes darkened, and he angrily slammed the memorial down, speaking fiercely.
“How dare you, Grand Tutor Lou! Tell me, I have not yet announced the Empress’s return to the palace, so why do the people of the world know that there is a vixen in the palace bewitching the world? This is clearly someone sowing discord in the empire, and they should be severely investigated and punished.
If I find the perpetrator, I will exterminate their entire clan!”
The resounding sound startled the officials who had stepped forward, their faces turning ashen.
It seemed the Emperor was enraged. This Emperor was no incompetent fool. Grand Tutor Lou was acting for his family’s honor, but were these people not seeking death?
Everyone regretted it and lowered their heads.
In the great hall, only the sound of panting could be heard, with not a single other sound. Feng Xie stared down with ferocious eyes.
Just then, a eunuch entered the great hall and announced, “Reporting to Your Majesty, the Empress has arrived.”
“Announce her,” Feng Xie waved his hand wildly, a spark of brilliance in his eyes, staring ardently at the entrance of the great hall.
All the ministers standing below looked towards the Empress’s arrival. They had heard that the Empress was stunningly beautiful and captivating, unparalleled in the world.
She was a completely different person from before, a world of difference. They wanted to see just how beautiful the ugliest woman in the world could be.
Then, Liu Liu, dressed in fiery red battle attire, walked in with a graceful sway. The fiery red was like a cloud, dazzling and radiant. Her eyes were bright, but a cold smile flickered at the corner of her lips.
That smile held no warmth. Her eyes shone like jewels, and with a casual sweep of the hall, she walked arrogantly before the Emperor and, with a flick of her hand, spoke coldly.
“Liu Liu greets the Emperor.”
Her tone and attitude were defiant and unrestrained, showing no regard for the Emperor. Everyone gasped. Was this the Empress?
What an imposing demeanor! Grand Tutor Lou trembled inwardly, his scalp tingling slightly. This woman was clearly not someone to be trifled with. He had never seen anyone with such a bone-chilling coldness.
With just a gentle glance, she could shatter people’s hearts, break their firmly established will, and destroy them utterly.
“Rise,” Feng Xie, however, was unfazed. This was the arrogant and rebellious Liu’er he wanted. Her intelligence and courage even impressed him, the Emperor. She had ample reason to be so proud, to look down on everyone, and to show no regard for anyone.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,”
Liu Liu spoke calmly, not thinking her behavior was improper at all. For five years, as the mistress of the Seven Stars Pavilion, she had always possessed such authority.
Her subordinates were all renowned martial artists, yet they all feared her. Although the Seven Stars Pavilion was not as grand as the Emperor’s empire, it was a world of its own, and she was the ruler within that world. Therefore, her posture of dominating everyone was so natural.
Feng Xie knew that Liu Liu would not come without reason and that there would be some development. He remained silent, watching Liu’er.
She was not wearing cumbersome palace attire today, but rather riding attire: a red arrow-sleeved shirt with multi-layered cuffs, loose red silk trousers, a jade belt cinching her waist, and colorful silk ribbons hanging down. She was exceptionally striking.
She attracted everyone’s attention in the great hall. Her bright and moving face was lightly powdered, yet she exuded an ethereal aura, as fresh as a dewy lotus. Her eyebrows were arched, but they carried the coldness of thin ice in winter. She turned coldly and scanned the ministers in the great hall.
Liu Ting took a deep breath. He hadn’t expected Liu’er to be so stunning and captivating in any posture. He dared not look directly at her.
“I heard that someone in this great hall suspects I am a fake. Is that correct?”
Her resolute question echoed. The ministers who had just declared the Empress to be a fake dared not say another word, all of them stunned. Those individuals even suspected that if they said one more word, the Empress might kill them on the spot.
“Then, please present the evidence to prove that I am a fake?”
Liu Liu threw down the gauntlet and walked back and forth among the ministers. The coldness emanating from her made no one in the great hall dare to speak. The Emperor, who was most capable of speaking, simply watched with a cold, amused expression, allowing the Empress full rein.
This made everyone feel as if they were trapped in a deadly cycle.
Suddenly, a voice rang out from the left: “But the Empress was previously known as the ugliest woman in the world, and now she can be called the most beautiful woman in the world. The difference between the ugliest and the most beautiful is too great.”
Liu Liu slowly turned her head to look. A smile, like ink-dyed ink, bloomed from the corners of her angular lips, chilling and terrifying.
The person couldn’t help but tremble. The Empress’s gaze was too terrifying! Immediately, they lowered their head in fear, only to hear cruel words like a wolf’s near their ear.
“As long as I wish, there is nothing in this world that cannot be done. I can walk out of the palace, and I can walk back in. What’s more, it’s just a minor matter of appearance.”
Extreme arrogance and self-confidence.
Suddenly, a flash of sword light, a pale blue glow, was followed by a muffled groan and the sound of someone falling to the ground with a thud. Blood splattered onto the official robes of several people in the great hall.
Everyone was greatly alarmed, their faces ashen. Looking up, they saw the killer calmly wiping their silver soft sword. The bloodstains dripped onto the floor one by one, and the scent of blood filled the air. The ministers simultaneously took a step back, then stood firm, not daring to look. Everyone’s lips trembled, and within the blink of an eye, someone was killed.
What arrogance and rebellion this was! Grand Tutor Lou, seizing the opportunity, quickly stepped forward and reported.
“Your Majesty, the Empress has killed someone in the Golden Phoenix Hall. This is outright rebellion! The harem is not allowed to interfere in politics, yet she has killed a second-rank official! Your Majesty, I am terrified.”
Feng Xie’s face turned chillingly stern. He glanced coldly at Grand Tutor Lou and said, “From today onwards, the Empress’s authority is equal to mine. This is the first precedent in Tian Feng. The Empress’s authority is equal to the Emperor’s.”
Upon hearing this, the ministers were instantly thrown into disarray. With the Emperor’s backing, even if the Empress killed two more people in the great hall today, the Emperor would likely not say a word. What could they do? True fear gripped them. The Empress was terrifying! A woman like this was even more ruthless than any man! Who would dare to speak again? They would only be inviting their own doom.
Liu Liu stood below, her heart expanding. She flicked her soft sword, returning it to her waist. She scanned the great hall and spoke with a faint smile.
“Didn’t the Minister of Rites suspect I was a fake? I am merely proving that I possess such ability. This is the evidence. Is there any other adult who does not believe? I can give it a try as well.”
To prove her authenticity, she would kill someone! With such a display, who would dare to try again? Simultaneously, they took a step back and firmly shook their heads.
“We believe that the Empress is real and could never be fake. With such martial prowess, the matter of beauty and ugliness is irrelevant.”
They all retreated back into their ranks. Only Grand Tutor Lou and Minister Shangshu Zhang remained kneeling in the center of the great hall, looking at each other in dismay. Their meticulously planned scheme had been resolved by this woman in the blink of an eye. It was truly appalling.