Volume 5, Chapter 16 – Winning Hearts

Huh?

An unfamiliar voice had appeared in the court hall. Including Zhang Yu, many of the assembled officials all raised their heads at once, and in an instant caught sight of the figure on the white-jade exalted throne.

The woman wore a black robe and skirt. Part of her snowy-white hair was gathered into a bun behind her head, while another part hung loosely down over her shoulders. On her face, beautiful enough to topple kingdoms, were a pair of dark-gold demonic pupils.

High Emperor Ancestor Xia?

Those features were far too distinctive. Quite a few officials let out startled cries on instinct, and panic immediately rose in their hearts.

“Do not panic!” Zhang Yu turned back and rebuked them in a low voice.

His face did not look too good either. He had been frightened as well, because the woman who had appeared looked far too much like the High Emperor herself. Even that wondrous aura of legend had been imitated to perfection. At first, he too had been utterly stunned, instinctively thinking that the High Ancestor had come back to life!

But on careful thought, that was impossible.

Ten years had passed.

Pang Tiandao was dead, and the main force of Blood Soul Heaven had been annihilated in the Sky Sea. There was no reason that woman alone should have escaped the tearing of the tides. Even if she had escaped, there was no way she would have delayed until today before returning to the main world.

This had to be a deception.

It was the Regent of the Imperial Court’s scheme! A stand-in for the High Ancestor specially arranged by her!

At that thought, wild delight surged up in Zhang Yu’s heart.

Today’s plan had only been to force the Regent to summon forth the Sacred Cicada, but he had never expected such an unexpected gift!

Impersonating the High Ancestor, using the High Ancestor’s name to deceive the people of the world. Once such a thing was made public, would the other side still have any right to remain Regent of the Imperial Court?

No! Impossible!

She could only calm the fury of the world by stepping down! At that point, no matter which member of the Bai family took her place, it would be a major gain for his side. He had finally found a crack in this newborn dynasty! He had finally glimpsed a new chance to advance!

It need not have come to this. So long as she had honestly inherited the great succession, no one would have dared say much of anything. But instead she insisted on playing petty tricks. A young girl driven mad beneath unbearable pressure. This was simply Heaven helping him!

The destruction of Eastern Xia was already assured!

Let later ages remember that it began from this day!

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Carrying both excitement and resolve, Zhang Yu raised his head, pointed at the person seated above, and began to shout, “Insol—”

Pop!

His head exploded on the spot.

“…”

“…”

Huh?

Bai Zhuqing, along with Tao Ran, the Grand Inspector-Supervisor, Liu Fanghe, the Grand Commandant of the Military Affairs Directorate, and all the other officials besides, not one of them was anything less than stunned and bewildered by what had just happened.

Huh?

This… this corpse in front of me, the one with no head, blood spurting upward from the torn neck, yet somehow still standing upright, swaying but not yet falling… this corpse is Lord Zhang?

Huh?

I… I am not still dreaming, am I?

A rather good effect.

Seated on the main throne, Bai Xiang narrowed her eyes as she looked down over the court, taking in every change of expression, including her younger sister’s.

Wangchuan Circuit was not far from Xiajing. With a whole night having passed, she had naturally arrived long ago. Yet after returning, she had made no announcement at all and contacted no one. Like a ghost, she had descended into Zhengyuan Palace and remained beside Bai Zhuqing until dawn.

During that time, she had also browsed the memorials piled on the desk nearby and had already learned of Zhang Yu and the others’ plan to force the palace’s hand. And in the morning, she had hidden herself nearby and personally overheard the conversation between Bai Zhuqing and Xiao Tao.

Qing’er truly had grown quite a bit.

Turning her gaze, those golden eyes met her younger sister’s, and Bai Xiang looked at her carefully, at that face which had grown more mature compared with ten years ago.

There had not actually been too much overall change in Bai Zhuqing’s features. It was only that her brows and eyes had opened up a little more, her lashes had grown longer, her nose bridge straighter, and the overall length of her face had stretched slightly compared with the soft, adorably round little face she once had, making her seem a little more alluring.

Then, inevitably, Bai Xiang’s gaze flicked quickly across her younger sister’s chest.

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She had indeed observed it quite thoroughly the night before. Those parts had grown considerably as well, almost enough to rival her own.

Bai Xiang’s attitude was somewhat casual, because she truly did not take any of the people below seriously.

What Three Excellencies or weighty ministers? They were nothing more than hounds, elevated through backing and connections, creating value only by keeping one another in check.

The little girl had grown a great deal compared with the past. She already had the rudiments of the kind of scheming her master once employed. She understood control and balance, and even toward someone close to her like Xiao Tao, she was capable of severity. At a critical moment, she would not turn softhearted. It was fair to call her decisive in killing and cutting down.

But the little girl had one fatal flaw.

A flaw she had deliberately created for herself! Namely that she truly was not the legitimate orthodoxy of the Imperial Court! No matter how great the authority of the Regent of the Imperial Court, she was not the emperor!

And so there were some things she could not do.

To preserve the legitimacy of her regency, she had to allow the likes of Zhang Yu to keep one another in check. She had to use strategy and schemes to balance the various powers across all fourteen provinces. Her status determined that she had to preserve precisely this measure of mercy.

But Bai Xiang was different.

That kind of balance, she did not need.

Bang!

Zhang Yu’s headless corpse crashed to the ground, setting off another uproar among the gathered officials.

“You… what exactly…”

At this point, there were clearly still some people who had not grasped the situation. Liu Fanghe, the Grand Commandant of the Military Affairs Directorate, first glared at Bai Xiang, then turned sternly toward the still-dazed Bai Zhuqing, clearly intending to demand an explanation from the Regent of the Imperial Court.

Because in his eyes, this was obviously murder! An ambush!

How could it possibly be such a coincidence? How could such a thing happen in this world, that the High Ancestor just happened to return precisely at this court session?

Impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

How exactly had Zhang Yu died?

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Was it a qi method?

Where had the Regent arranged the hidden sniper?

How had things come to this point?

Liu Fanghe intended to question Bai Zhuqing in the harshest terms possible, to question why she had used such vicious means to break this attempt to force the palace’s hand.

But before he could finish even his first sentence, Bai Xiang’s golden eyes swept toward him. At once, his neck seemed to be seized by an invisible force. His entire body was lifted into the air by unseen qi force, and he kicked and struggled like a fish hanging in midair.

“You are Liu Haoran, a student of the Liu family of Eastern Province, are you not.”

Bai Xiang spoke the words leisurely.

“For the sake of Old Master Liu’s merits, you may keep your body intact.”

“Wait—”

Liu Fanghe’s eyes widened in shock, but before he could voice another thought, his neck was twisted apart by the qi force controlling him.

Bang!

His corpse dropped from midair and smashed onto the floor. The gathered officials recoiled in terror, instantly clearing a circular space, not a single one daring to look directly at the body.

“What exactly is this…”

“With such majesty, it cannot possibly…”

“It must be a stand-in, yes? The Regent’s scheme?”

Even so, the murmuring from the rear could not be stopped. The officials unconsciously clustered together, setting themselves against the court, their eyes full of intense fear and suspicion.

After all, the matter was too sudden and too incredible.

How many years had it been since the High Ancestor had passed from the world?

And now she had suddenly returned?

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How could such a thing possibly exist in this world?

Facing those wary looks, Bai Xiang placed both hands on the armrests and slowly rose from the white-jade exalted throne.

Her movements were very, very slow, but the pressure they brought was overwhelming. To many present, it was as though a mountain were slowly rising to its feet. In their daze, they seemed to see an enormous shadow standing there, blotting out the sky, its cast shadow completely covering all the light at their feet.

“Taishang. Hereby. Gives. Order…”

Her thin lips parted, and Bai Xiang spoke once more.

As her voice spread, an invisible wave instantly pierced through the barriers of space, spreading outward from central Zhengyuan Palace across all of Xiajing.

Zheng—

As though in answer, a clear sword cry rang out from afar.

Looking into the distance, they saw a golden cicada-shaped streak of light flash through the air and shoot forward, rushing into the main court hall and transforming into a brilliant golden sword that floated in midair, standing there before Bai Xiang.

That was—

At the sight of it, countless officials finally underwent a complete change of expression.

Because that sword was called the Shenming Sword.

Other than the Regent, the only person qualified to call it forth could only be—

“We pay our respects to Your Majesty!”

Tao Ran was the first to react. He immediately dropped to his knees and bowed to the figure above.

Cold sweat soaked through his robes.

At last, he understood that the other party truly did not care in the slightest about life or death.

The heavens of Great Xia were finally about to change…