It might be easy to talk about extending a helping hand, but actually doing so was much harder. Especially when these words were coming out of Bai Heng’s mouth; they sounded like a joke.

Perhaps Bai Heng really did have a conscience or he might really have meant one or two of the things that he said, but Ye Qingxuan would never be so naïve as to think that he would be on the receiving end of such privilege. Therefore, the problem was figuring out just what exactly Bai Heng was thinking.

Ye Qingxuan looked at him from head to toe, as if he was meeting him for the first time. He asked curiously, “Be honest, Bai Heng. Did something happen to your brain?”

Bai Heng did not seem upset. He continued to smile warmly. “What are you talking about, young man? My body is as healthy as can be.”

“Then, why are doing this?”

“Because I love her!” Bai Heng replied respectfully, “Bai Xi is now my daughter and is the only descendant of the Bai family. Naturally, I love her. Ye Qingxuan, if it’s possible, I hope she will become the next Empress.”

Ye Qingxuan sighed. He was really tired.

“Stop lying, Bai Heng.” He shook his head impatiently. “People like you and Gaius can’t love others. You don’t even love yourselves.”

“How cruel of you to say that, Ye Qingxuan. I am already so old. I can’t believe you are not going to save even a little bit of face for me.”

Ye Qingxuan was indifferent. “Were you expecting me to give you face?”

From a distance away, the screaming finally stopped. In its place was a more subtle howl of despair. As the drums continued to beat, the war had been halted for the time being. Bai Heng stood up and patted Ye Qingxuan’s shoulder nonchalantly as if the former was the latter’s elder. “It’s a pity that we did not manage to reach a common consensus.”

He continued, “The war has already ended. If you don’t mind, I’m afraid I will have to take my leave now. Oh yes, although you are not willing to cooperate, I didn’t mean to restrain you either. It is entirely up to you whether you wish to stay or leave. But it’s getting late. You may as well stay here and rest. I can ask someone to take you to your room. Later, when you have the time, you can come and join our celebration banquet. How about that?” With that, he tidied his clothes and left without waiting for Ye Qingxuan’s reply. Ye Qingxuan kept quiet and continued to sit amongst the dust. He was still trying to figure out just what Bai Heng had up his sleeves.

Very soon, a massive figure appeared in front of him. He was so enormous that his shadow covered Ye Qingxuan completely. It was a man who was so huge and towering that it was almost not humanly possible. He was wearing a black robe and was exuding a bloody aura. He lowered his head to look at Ye Qingxuan with a blank expression on his face. “Mr. Ye, My Lord has asked me to bring you to your resting place. Please follow me.”

“Very well.” Ye Qingxuan got up and walked beside him. When he carefully inspected this man from head to toe, he noticed that despite his expressionless face, there was a hint of enmity that was hidden very well. Others might dismiss this feeling as a hallucination as it was barely present, but as the lord of the Ye family, Ye Qingxuan had picked up a very unique Heart technique from Ye Lanzhou. This technique did not require the use of aether to decipher the emotions of others. Instead, it relied on body language and microexpressions to carry out “profiling.”

Although such half-baked techniques were rarely used, they were unusually useful in strange circumstances. It was just like how he managed to read Ludovic’s expression in the Sacred City in the past. Right now, he could sense a baffling enmity using his half-baked profiling technique. This could only mean one thing: that the murderous intent of this person was so clear that it could not simply be set aside. To be more accurate, this person was probably feeling conflicted because even if he might dislike Ye Qingxuan, there was no way the former could finish off the latter.

“How may I address you?” Ye Qingxuan asked calmly.

The towering man’s expression remained unchanged and he replied simply, “Jiu Ying.”

“Oh.” Ye Qingxuan nodded his head, then realized that he did not recognize this person.

Who is he? I’ve never heard of him before. Forget it, there are too many people in this world that I will never know. Surely, not everyone is going to like me?

Ye Qingxuan began to smile to himself and even started to whistle. There was cheering from a distance away as if victory had returned.

…

Compared to the party that the feudal allied army was having, the palace at night was completely shrouded in an air of devastating fog. Especially outside of the door of the palace, the blood-red stains could not be washed off no matter how hard they tried, and the sight would send chills down anyone’s spine.

After the previous months, the war had spread almost all the way across Aurora. The Empress and feudal lords each had their small victories, but overall, the army that was loyal to the Empress still held the upper hand. The feudal allied army had greater numbers, but their soldiers were a mixture of high and low statuses.

Unfortunately, whatever advantage the Empress’s army had was lost when Zijing Pass was taken. Not only had they lost the advantage that they had been striving so hard for, but they also lost the most crucial of the three internal passes. Next, if the feudal allied army could take down Tianmen Pass, they would be able to march all the way in and station their troops beneath the city.

About 45 minutes ago, when the news of the defeat came through, the entire capital instantly fell into sorrow and despair. Wei Wang, who was responsible for putting down the rebellion, was immediately dragged out of the palace to be beheaded as a warning to others. Suddenly, there were all sorts of rumors flying everywhere.

Some people said that Wei Wang had accepted Bai Heng’s bribe of a great fortune and pretty ladies to secretly work with the feudal allied army, resulting in the defeat of Zijing Pass. Others also said that the allied army had made use of poison and underhanded means to get rid of the commanders that guarded the Pass, hence allowing them to take over the Pass. Some people even said that, in front of the two armies, Bai Heng had prayed to the sky and enumerated the ten greatest crimes committed by the Empress after the latter had been hoodwinked by backstabbers. The sky was enraged and sent down an angel to help break through the defenses of Zijing Pass. There were simply all sorts of nonsense everywhere!

However, what made the situation stranger was that whenever such incidents happened, there should be a lot of insecurity and talking and whispering happening behind the scenes of the palace, but right now, there was nothing. There was not even a single ripple, much less any waves. It was like a massive machine that did not stop functioning just because of some temporal losses and obstacles. Instead, it was ramping up its motor to operate at an even higher level and a storm seemed to be brewing in silence.

Very soon, there was news of the arrival of reinforcements and the donation of 20,000 stones of grain and other crops by wealthy merchants. On top of that, a number of musicians, that had been loyal to Her Majesty, all achieved a breakthrough to the scepter level one after another. In addition, 10,000 sets of armor mysteriously appeared in the armory out of nowhere. In total, not only did the Empress’s army not weaken, but it even became much stronger.

In an instant, there was a chill in the hearts of the observers. Fear. Fear, not of Bai Heng, but of Her Majesty. What was this all about? A good omen sent from heaven? Typically, wouldn’t heaven only send minimal and simple aid? Since when did it start sending reinforcements and grain, or musicians and equipment? Or had Her Majesty been preparing for this day all along?

In an instant, everyone looked terribly solemn. They could not help it.

Just before Wei Wang was beheaded, his horrible screams and the look of disbelief on his face were etched in the memories of those that were present. When his head was finally cut off, both of his eyes were so wide open with hatred that they almost popped out of the eye sockets. It was hard to listen to all the nasty things that he was cursing as he was about to be beheaded. He would probably become a vengeful spirit after his death. No one could have imagined that Wei Wang, who had controlled the military, would be killed so simply. It was like killing a chicken.

Victories and defeats were common occurrences in war. Although losing Zijing Pass was a major defeat, the war was not lost yet. Although Wei Wang might be at fault for the defeat, he could still perform other meritorious deeds to redeem himself. Besides, Wei Wang was the Empress’s uncle and held the power and control of the military. Yet at the end of the day, he was killed just like that. Without a sound.

All the old followers did not make a sound. Before the news of Wei Wang’s death could spread, the power and control of the military had been completely taken over by this Empress. Other than one or two stubborn fellows who were determined to give Wei Wang a proper funeral, the rest chose to bow their heads to Her Majesty obediently.

Before there could be any chance of chaos or rebellion, it was put to a complete stop right from the beginning. This was far from over, and in fact, it was only the beginning. Only now did everyone realize that this was a cleansing. A complete and thorough cleansing. Within half an hour, six out of the nine ministers and three councilors of state had already been changed! It was swift and decisive.

This Empress was no longer mild and warm like she had always been. Instead, she was finally showing her cruel and violent side as she wrestled over control of all the powers that escaped her previously. On this night, countless people in the capital could barely fall asleep out of fear.

…

Bai Xi had no idea if other people were having trouble falling asleep, but she had no trouble whatsoever. She might be a prisoner, but she was living and eating well, so much so that she showed no respect to the Empress, who had just disturbed her sleep. Her actions were more brazen and disrespectful than ever. Her actions seemed to be guided by an adrenaline rush that originated from the fact that she had nothing more to lose anyway.

“What a pity. You are still too early by a decade.” Bai Xi yawned and was mocking the Empress over the defeat, “No, perhaps with another five years, the outcome might not have turned out so badly?”

“Actually, another three years will do.” The Empress’s face was one of indifference, as if she could not care less about the outcome of the war. “It’s a pity. I thought that I had hidden it well, yet in the end, I still underestimated Bai Heng.”

Wei Wang’s defeat was not a crime. If someone else was in his position, where one was to face the feudal allied army that was attacking with full force, mistakes were inevitable. The fact that they did not lose the entire army and that a portion was salvaged was proof of Wei Wang’s ability to adapt and adjust on the spot. In the end, he still paid the price of defeat with his life.

“How cruel. That was your last uncle, right?” Bai Xi glanced at her. “Back then, when you first took the throne, everyone opposed it, but he was the only one that supported you. He was the one who helped you during your most difficult times. And now, all he wanted was just a little bit of power. Why so cruel?”

“Because he lost.” The Empress was calm. “Besides, I had already given him a chance before. He left me with no other choice.”

Bai Xi chuckled outrightly. She was not showing the Empress any respect whatsoever. “Yes, yes, yes. It was Wei Wang who sought his own death. Your Majesty is always right.”

The Empress was never upset. Actually, everyone around the Empress could not figure out why the Empress would adore the daughter of a renegade so much. Everyone knew how ambitious her father was, yet the Empress did not seem too concerned about keeping her so close. She even used the only remaining music theory and movement in the royal family to extend a helping hand to her.

Now that Bai Heng had rebelled, Bai Xi was his daughter yet not only had she not been beheaded, but she was also allowed to live comfortably in the palace. She was so well-fed that she had even put on weight. Could it be that she was not the adopted daughter of Bai Heng but the real daughter of Her Majesty? After all, Her Majesty was 32 this year, so it seemed somewhat reasonable that she could have a daughter of this age?

Recently, such rumors had been spreading around the palace like wildfire. Even when the Empress heard about them, she merely laughed without going into any explanation. This only made everyone look at Bai Xi more strangely than before. And now, the servant, who was standing nearby, could not help but tremble at the Empress’s words.

“If it were you, what would you have done to Wei Wang?”

“Of course, I would have beheaded him,” Bai Xi answered automatically without a second thought.

“Then, how does that make you different from me?”

“Of course, there’s a difference.” There was a serious look on Bai Xi’s face. “You killed him to carry out law and order, and to wrest control of power. I would have killed him because he was always imposing his ideas on others just because he was older. It annoys me.”

The Empress shook her head and sighed as if she had just heard a child make a joke. “Bai Xi, power is not a toy.”

“No, power is just a toy,” Bai Xi replied curtly. “It should always have been your toy. It’s just that you have now become its slave.”

“How unbecoming.” The Empress took a glance at her with a look of pity on her face. “You are still so young. Why are you growing to become a tyrant?”

“What you said isn’t too accurate, Your Majesty.” Bai Xi smiled and continued, “In comparison, isn’t it more terrifying if one is born a wise ruler?”

Bang! A finger struck her head and she became unconscious immediately. There was no rage nor dissatisfaction. It was just like punishing a naughty child. It was just a simple knock that resulted in a small swelling.

“Looks like you must be so free that you have forgotten your position.” The Empress shook her head helplessly. “It’s just nice that, for the past two days since the cat has left you, it has been shedding fur and scratching my clothes. The two of you shall rely on each other from now on.” She said nothing more and got up to leave. The palace maids followed quickly behind, and in the blink of an eye, the room was completely empty except for Bai Xi and the fat cat that had been left on the table.

“What a weird woman, isn’t that right, kitty?” Bai Xi pouted and picked up the fat cat. She began to hum a song. “Come, let’s not worry about her and go to sleep!”

Night had fallen.