Storms in the Court

(To briefly recap the previous plot, the Azure Cloud Sect destroyed the four major forces in the Heavenly Violet Immortal Continent Nine Heavens Dao Domain, unified Heavenly Purple, and four Direct Disciple came to Qinghan Immortal Prefecture of the Immortal Rainbow Dao Domain to cause trouble. The main text continues.)

In the core area of Azure Cloud Imperial Capital, the majestic Azure Cloud Imperial Palace stands tall and imposing.

Inside the magnificent palace, Ouyang Ning, dressed in an extremely solemn Empress robe, sat upright in the main seat. Upon closer inspection, the sorrowful expression that once lingered between her brows had vanished completely, replaced by an agitated look.

It was clear that she hadn't recovered from what happened yesterday.

"Leave the mountains to gain experience, and sweep across Qinghan!"

Lin Bai's casual remark yesterday, along with the several incredibly powerful figures that subsequently appeared, left a deep impression on her.

"It seems the power behind my benefactors is far more terrifying than I imagined! As long as I play the role of this useless puppet, I will surely be able to take my revenge!"

Ouyang Ning withdrew his thoughts and coldly glanced down at the area below the main hall.

In the vast hall, a few civil and military officials stood sparsely, yawning and looking listless. They looked like they had indulged in too much sex and were depleted of their kidney energy.

Since the Three Great Clans took control of the government, they have been ruthlessly suppressing dissidents. Even staunch royalists gradually succumbed to the pressure and chose to retire.

From then on, the imperial court became their sole domain. Those who could attend court were all carefully selected, the most useless of the useless. In their words, it was a "perfect match" of a useless Empress and useless ministers.

"Your Majesty, last night, Lan Yuer, the top courtesan of the Fragrant Listening Pavilion, served a total of sixty-four men, crowed three thousand eight hundred and sixty-four times, and ascended to the clouds more than one hundred times," a minister with dark circles under his eyes said weakly.

After he finished speaking, the minister on the other side stammered, "Your Majesty, my son went to the toilet six times yesterday, and his stool was watery with a hint of yellow."

"Your Majesty, this morning the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards rode... and helped three old women cross the official road. Such behavior is in line with the Azure Cloud Immortal Dynasty's principle of respecting the elderly and caring for the young. I suggest that he be rewarded handsomely and promoted to Commander of the Imperial Guards," the most haggard minister at the front reported expressionlessly after the two of them finished speaking.

Compared to how many times the rooster crowed or how many times the child had pooped, what he said was slightly more normal...

Clearly, this was another task arranged by the Three Great Clans. Ministers who pledged allegiance to them would receive benefits to varying degrees, and the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards he mentioned was one of them.

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Ning, who was in the main seat, was alright; after all, she was used to hearing such bizarre remarks.

Shi Hao and his companions, who were in a dark hall behind the main hall, almost lost their composure.

"Riding an old lady across the street... sparsely veiled with a hint of yellow...?"

Even the usually composed Shi Hao was forced to remain calm. After a long while, he slowly uttered a sentence: "This Lan Yuer... is quite a character."

"Bang!"

Ouyang Ning slammed his hand on the table and stood up, speaking in a cold and authoritative voice, "Insolence! This is the imperial court, a place of great importance. How dare you utter such foul language!"

Things are different now; our benefactors are watching from behind!

Alas, we've given our benefactors another huge joke.

Seeing this, the ministers with dark circles under their eyes looked at each other in bewilderment. What was wrong with this puppet emperor today?

What's there to be angry about? Hasn't this always been how court assemblies have always been? Did you miscount the rooster's crow?

Knowing that they weren't the culprits, Ouyang Ning took a deep breath, composed himself, and continued, "Didn't I issue a notice yesterday that everyone, including the members of the Three Great Clans, should attend the court assembly today? Why haven't they arrived yet?"

"Go and inform them," Ouyang Ning casually pointed to a minister.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." The minister being pointed at trembled with fear, and a yellowish-white substance instantly flowed from his crotch...

"His Majesty is so impressive today! He even sent someone to inform us."

"What? Do we have a habit of arriving early?"

Just then, a cold, sharp voice came from outside the hall.

As soon as he finished speaking, three tall figures entered together, followed closely by hundreds of imposing civil and military officials.

The three at the head were the leaders of the Three Great Clans. The speaker was a burly man with a murderous aura; he was Tang Bakong, the head of the Tang Clan.

The man on the left is fair-skinned and beardless, dressed in a white robe, and has an elegant and Jun Linfeng. He is Shen He, Jun Clan head of the Shen Clan.

As for the hundreds of civil and military officials, they were all their henchmen.

As everyone knows, in the Azure Cloud Immortal Dynasty, if you want to make progress, you have to rely on the Three Great Clans. With the support of the Three Great Clans, even your dog can eat a portion of imperial food, and even a rolling pin can soar to the sky!

Deputy livestock officer? The head of the livestock! A rolling pin? A government-issued torture rod!

Seeing that Ouyang Ning remained silent in the main seat, Tang Bakong's expression grew even colder, and he continued to press on, "Your Majesty, if you don't give us a suitable reason today, then don't blame me for losing my temper."

No one stood up to refute this audacious statement; the first few incompetent ministers had already lowered their heads to their crotches.

Jun Linfeng, the head of the Jun Clan, and Shen He, the head of the Shen Clan, both watched this scene with great interest, arms crossed.

Yesterday, we sent someone to assassinate this useless Empress, but for some reason, it failed. But it doesn't matter; if the covert method doesn't work, we'll try the open one.

Everything is ready; today is the day to change the world.

"Reason? What reason do you want me to give you? You traitors and rebels! You all deserve to die!" With strong backing from behind, Empress Ouyang Ning stood up defiantly and pointed her slender white fingers at the three heads of the family and all the civil and military officials behind them.

"Hehe," Tang Bakong and the other two chuckled disdainfully. It seemed that this useless Empress was going to break ties with them. Where did she get her confidence?

Since this good-for-nothing wants to play, then let's play along!

"Hmph! Your Majesty, why do you wish to rebel?"

"All three family heads are people who have made contributions to the country. Since the late emperor's unfortunate passing, all the burdens of the country have fallen on the shoulders of the three family heads. It can be said that the burdens of the capital and the sixty-two immortal cities of our Azure Cloud Immortal Dynasty have all fallen on their shoulders!"

"But Your Majesty, you actually called them traitors and rebels! If you don't give us a satisfactory explanation today, not only will we, your subjects, be dissatisfied, but the whole world will be dissatisfied!"

After Tang Bakong finished speaking, his lackey immediately stood up and criticized him vehemently.

Looking at his indignant expression and genuine emotion, anyone who didn't know better would really think he had suffered a great injustice.

Tang Bakong, Jun Linfeng, and Shen He nodded in satisfaction.

Right now, both morality and power are on my side, and the advantage is mine no matter what!

(Updates are back! Updates are back! Updates are back! I can't stress this enough. After a short period of seclusion, the plot has been sorted out, and updates will resume starting today. Also, I have some good news: this book has been adapted into a short drama, which is currently in production and is expected to be released in one to two months. Please look forward to it.)