Chapter 2257: Just a Trifling Imperial Throne
Chapter 2257: Just a Trifling Imperial Throne
Ji Dengtu stroked his beard, feeling quite proud of himself.
You guys might think this regent or whatever is pretty awesome now, but doesn’t he still have to treat me with respect? He definitely won't go west if I tell him to go east!
But I definitely need to keep a closer eye on Xiaoxi. Which girl wouldn’t like someone who looks as cool as him?
Even someone as cold as eighth sister has stars in her eyes. How could my Xiaoxi resist him?
“What are you looking at me for?” Jiang Luofu asked in annoyance when she saw the look in his eyes.
“Nothing.” Ji Dengtu immediately pulled his neck back. This little aunt had never minced her words with him. He was very confident that she would take her anger out on him if he ended up embarrassing her.
“What does everyone think of the current situation?” Yan Xiangu asked seriously. There was a hint of worry between his brows.
The other academy teachers looked at each other in dismay. They'd admired Zu An a lot when he just entered the capital, and they had even established close friendships. Even though the academy had never participated in the court’s politics, there was too much responsibility involved in today’s matter. None of them dared to make a decision.
However, Ji Dengtu rolled his eyes. “I don’t know what you're all so worried about. He is the academy libationer to begin with, so our entire academy already has his mark stamped all over it. All of the other forces see us as being together with him on everything. We don’t even have a choice.”
Jiang Luofu took a deep breath. “Ah Zu has saved my Jiang clan’s people, so no matter what he says, I'll support him unconditionally. However, my fellow martial brothers and sisters don't need to let my decision impact your own decisions.”
The others smiled and replied, “What is eighth sister saying? We're naturally unified in our decisions. We advance and retreat together, let alone with someone like the libationer who has already earned everyone’s confidence.”
When she saw that everyone present was firmly supporting Zu An, Jiang Luofu suddenly looked at her father. “Father, you won’t remain stubbornly loyal to the end, will you?”
Jiang Boyang replied in annoyance, “Would I really be that inflexible? I'll soon contact the major clans to inform them.”
“Dad, you still haven’t healed from your injuries.”
“It’s not a big deal. I won’t die.”
…
Meanwhile, in the Imperial Palace...
Zu An looked at his hands. Ordinary cultivators relied on cultivation to resonate with the world, borrowing that power that was connected to heaven and earth to use some powerful skills. But he now had the entire world’s authority in his grasp. To a certain degree, he had already merged with the will of the world; it was an extension of his own will.
As such, he would be completely unmatched within this world, unless the enemy’s power was already great enough to destroy the entire world. It was obvious that the Plague Monarch and Doomsday Spirit hadn’t reached that level yet. That was why they had been hacked to death by lightning tribulation that was produced by a single thought.
But he quickly woke up from that feeling of power. In the end, that was only because he controlled the authority of this world. If he left the world's boundaries, he likely wouldn't be able to display such great power again.
He descended while thinking through these things. His voice rang throughout the entire capital as he said, “The main culprits have been executed, but many of their subordinates still hide throughout the lands. The Embroidered Envoy will be tasked with eliminating the remaining evil.”
The information he received from the Plague Monarch and Doomsday Spirit’s ruined souls would help him catch all of the hidden alien monsters in one go.
“We will obey your orders!” Xiao Jianren said with a bow.
Many people in the capital shivered.
The regent is probably going to use this as a pretext to eliminate everyone who went against him.
But that was only to be expected. Anyone in his position would do the same.
When he saw the looks around him, Zu An guessed what they were thinking, but he didn’t feel like explaining himself further. His eyes then landed on the hollowed corpses of Zhao Ruizhi and Bi Qi and he said, “Let’s bury both of them.”
“Understood!” People quickly came to collect the corpses.
Bi Linglong’s eyes turned red. She knew that Zu An was most likely doing this for her, but laying her father to rest sooner was a good thing in and of itself.
On the other hand, even though Liu Ning hated Bi Qi, he had died such a tragic death that a lot of her resentment was now gone.
Zu An looked at Liu Ning and said, “The Liu clan was harmed by the alien monsters and received unjust treatment. Give the order to rehabilitate those whose reputations were unjustly sullied and reinstate the empress dowager in the Palace of Compassion.”
“We greet the empress dowager!” Everyone present bowed.
Even so, it was hard for Liu Ning to feel happy. She was probably the only one left in the entire Liu clan. What meaning was there left in being the empress dowager?
However, she suddenly thought of something. The position would at least let her help Ah Zu a bit. But she was now all alone, so how could she still compete against those vixens?
Just then, the remaining members of the eight dukes sent Yu Rui to say, “The empire cannot be without a ruler for even a single day. Who does the regent feel is suitable to be the ruler? Or perhaps… Does the regent wish to personally become the emperor?”
“Emperor? I have no interest.” Zu An couldn't help but find their nervous looks laughable. In the eyes of these people, the position of the emperor seemed extremely valuable, but for someone like him who was the lord of this world, it wasn’t worth mentioning.
Even so, he couldn't just let anyone become the emperor. If they were exploited by someone again… He definitely didn’t want today’s events to reoccur.
“We will continue as per usual. The court will be managed by Linglong. The empress dowager and Yun Yuqing will assist her,” Zu An continued.
Bi Linglong and Liu Ning both looked at Yun Yuqing. They were old opponents and had grasped the power of the court for many years. But what was Madam Wu doing here?
Liu Ning realized something. Now that the Liu clan was completely destroyed, it would be hard for her to hold her ground alone. As for Yun Yuqing, she was a natural ally who could be privately roped in.
Bi Linglong was also a bit surprised. She hadn’t expected that, even though it was because of her own oversight that her father had ended up creating all of this political turmoil and brought a disaster to the capital, Ah Zu still wanted her to continue being the ruler. If it were anyone else, even if she was pardoned, she would still resign to save face.
She gave that man a look. Suddenly, she felt that everything had meaning again. As for Yun Yuqing being added to the mix, it wasn’t a big deal at all. Because of her mistake, a huge disaster had started in the capital, one that led to the Liu clan’s tragic end. Adding another person could actually help stabilize the situation.
Yun Yuqing was shocked and happy. Today, she had faced the criticism of the entire world for betraying King Wu. Even though Zu An knew her real relationship with King Wu, no one else did! She was now seen as a woman who had abandoned her husband in pursuit of her own glory. She'd thought that it would already be enough if she could be Zu An’s secret lover, but now, Ah Zu had not only descended from the sky together with her, he had even entrusted this important duty to her. Wasn’t this the same as announcing their relationship openly to the world?
He’s not scared of harming his own reputation at all?
Her eyes couldn't help but become a bit watery. The way she looked at that man was filled with sweetness and gentleness.
When she saw the look in her sister’s eyes, Yun Jianyue felt annoyed. Even though her relationship with Yun Yuqing wasn’t that intimate, they were still sisters, and yet they'd ended up being served to that guy together just like that!
Grand Tutor Zhuang He of the eight dukes couldn't help but ask, “Having a woman rule, this… is perhaps not too suitable, right?”
Zu An replied indifferently, “What is unsuitable about it? Just a few days ago, I was in the Ocean races' territory, and the Mermaid Queen became the Ocean Empress who rules the seas. Are you suggesting a man can manage the household, but women can't?”
Everyone present was shocked to hear those words. After all, there was no way news from the Ocean races' territory could reach this side of the world that quickly.
“May I ask about the previous Dragon King?” Zhuang He couldn't help but ask.
“He’s dead. They were also awfully interested in fighting over who was going to succeed him, so I directly supported Shang Hongyu.” Zu An spoke as if this was completely to be expected.
The expressions of those present grew strange.
Why didn’t he talk about the Dragon King’s death in more detail? Did the regent kill him too?
But if he can make a woman the Ocean Empress, a woman ruling this side doesn’t seem too shocking either.
They hadn’t expected Zu An to already be this powerful. Together with his influence among the Fiend races, he was actually more or less the ruler of the world! No wonder he didn’t care much about the position of emperor at all.
Wait, the Fiend races’ Second Empress is the one calling the shots and she seems to be close to him too. The Mermaid Queen is now the Ocean Empress… Is he planning to do the same thing here as with the Ocean races and make Bi Linglong the future empress?
The female rulers of the three greatest races are actually all his women…
This youngster really knows how to play!
Bi Linglong and the other women’s eyes narrowed. It seemed that Zu An had gone on a trip to the Ocean races' territory and ended up getting together with the Ocean races’ queen. They refused to believe that Zu An would support a woman he had no relationship with at all. All of them were really frustrated.
Ah Zu really is a perfect lover, but the only bad part is that there are too many women…
“Does anyone have any objections?” Zu An asked, sweeping his gaze over the crowd.
The remaining dukes reflexively shook their heads.
Are you kidding? He just mentioned the ruler of the Ocean races so casually, and he even put an empress on the throne just like that. Having Bi Linglong and the others run the court doesn’t seem to be anything too serious either.
They didn’t have any objections, so the other high officials of the court naturally wouldn’t dare to speak up either.
…
Zu An handed the various follow-up tasks to Bi Linglong and the others. They had more experience with these things. As for Li Guanshi and the others who had participated in the political upheaval, he didn’t even give them a single look. He knew Linglong would take care of them, and that he didn’t need to personally question them at all.
Zu An said to Yun Jianyue, “Big sis Yun, come with me. I have something to say to you.”
Yun Jianyue raised her brows. She gave her little sister a taunting look before following him inside.
Everyone in the palace was stunned. However, they had seen too many ridiculous things, so seeing the Devil Sect Master enter the Imperial Palace actually felt more normal than all that.