As a burst of hurried footsteps drew closer, a figure arrived before Chu Lu.
The person wore a magnificent crimson palace gown, its sleeves drifting as though woven from clouds and sunset mist. Her long, silky hair was arranged into an exquisite soaring-cloud bun, adorned with a gold filigree kingfisher-feather hairpin set with rubies and twin phoenixes.
Her bearing was the very picture of noble grace and splendor.
Yet her gloomy expression and the sword in her hand lent her a measure of murderous intent.
This person was clearly the Empress.
The Empress came before Chu Lu. She first swept a cold glance over the Imperial Physician and Xiao Lizi beside him, then looked at Chu Lu and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that you killed Liu Fenggu. Is that true?"
"It is." Chu Lu answered without expression.
Fire immediately flared in the Empress's eyes. She had still harbored a shred of disbelief, feeling that it was simply too absurd and that there might have been some misunderstanding. But seeing Chu Lu admit it so calmly, that final shred of doubt vanished.
"My cousin served the nation with diligence and devotion. She was a peerless pillar of the state, the central pillar of Great Yan. How could you kill her?!" The Empress was beside herself with fury. She could not even be bothered to ask why. Pointing fiercely toward the door, she said, "Get up and go kowtow before my cousin's corpse to apologize!"
Chu Lu looked at her coldly. "What if I refuse?"
With a sharp clang, the Empress drew the Imperial Sword.
Its long, straight blade was like a silver dragon poised to strike, radiating biting cold.
"The late Emperor bestowed this Imperial Sword upon the Liu Family so that we might behead foolish rulers above and treacherous ministers below." The Empress said darkly, "Your Majesty has harmed loyal and worthy subjects without cause. You are already a foolish ruler. Shall be executed!"
The utterly loyal Xiao Lizi turned pale at once upon seeing this.
Though her legs trembled in terror, she still stepped in front of Chu Lu, as if intending to take the blade for him.
"Little slave, do you want to die too?" the Empress sneered.
Xiao Lizi was about to speak when Chu Lu said, "Stand back. Get behind me."
Xiao Lizi still wanted to object, but Chu Lu's tone hardened. "Stand back!"
Xiao Lizi could only retreat behind Chu Lu. Yet as she did, she noticed that Chu Lu was secretly holding that silver needle between the fingers of his right hand, ready to strike at any moment.
Xiao Lizi drew a sharp breath in her heart. Could it be that His Majesty she...
"Your Majesty, are you still not getting up?" the Empress said. "Stop playing dumb. You had the strength to kill someone, so do you not have the strength to stand?"
Chu Lu looked at her. "Empress, are you planning to murder your sovereign?"
"Heh. Don't try that on me. You may be able to frighten those little rabble, but you cannot frighten me!" The Empress said proudly, "I am the eldest legitimate daughter of the Liu Family. You only sit securely on the throne because of our Liu Family. So what if I kill you? Foolish ruler!"
"If that is the case..." Chu Lu had no interest in confirming whether the Empress was telling the truth. He said bluntly, "Then do it."
"What?" The Empress froze.
"Do it." Chu Lu said. "I am right here. My head is right here. If you want it, then do it. Raise that sword in your hand and chop it off!"
The Empress stood stunned, her eyes filled with shock before hesitation replaced it.
She had only intended to come and frighten Chu Lu, to blunt his sharp edges.
She had thought that, as before, all she needed to do was draw the Imperial Sword and shout that she would kill him, and he would naturally be scared out of his wits, obediently kneeling to admit his fault.
But she had not expected Chu Lu to be so unyielding and fierce.
This left the Empress in a difficult position instead.
She did not want to kill the Emperor, not out of any affection, but because the Emperor did not yet have children. If she killed him, there would be no successor, and the court would surely descend into chaos.
The Emperor was currently bedridden with grave illness, while she ruled from behind the curtain. The chancellor and ministers were all from the Liu Family, and real power was in her hands. There was simply no need for her to make trouble for herself.
But if she did not act, then she would be the one losing face.
For a moment, the scene fell into a deadlock.
The Empress held her sword aloft, unable to strike and unable not to strike.
So she secretly glanced at the palace maid Chunhua beside her, who immediately understood.
Chunhua threw herself forward, hugged the Empress around the waist, and wailed, "No! Empress, no! They say one day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of kindness, and a hundred days as husband and wife runs as deep as the sea! How can husband and wife harm each other?"
Chunhua cried so heartbreakingly that her sobs echoed through the entire hall.
The Empress put on a moved expression and patted Chunhua's head. "All right, Chunhua, stop crying. I will not kill him. I will not."
As she spoke, she sheathed the Imperial Sword. Only then did Chunhua stop crying.
The two embraced, looking every bit like mistress and servant bound by deep affection.
Watching this scene, the corner of Chu Lu's mouth curled upward.
Heh. Fierce on the outside, weak on the inside.
The Empress noticed Chu Lu's gaze and smile, and her cheeks flushed slightly with shame and anger.
"Your Majesty, do not think this matter is over." The Empress said viciously. "You killed Liu Fenggu. Do you know how great a disaster you have caused?"
"Oh? How great could it be?" Chu Lu asked with utter indifference.
"Liu Fenggu was from the Liu Family. Do you think she was the only member of the Liu Family in the Imperial Court?" The Empress sneered threateningly. "Liu Gongchuo, Liu Yifan, Liu Zongzhi, Hong Xiwen, and Hong Peng of the Imperial Guards, as well as Liu Kai, Duan Chengji, Liu Daochuan, Hu Sansheng, and Ni Zuchang at court, are all related to Liu Fenggu. You killed Liu Fenggu for no reason. Your Majesty, what do you think they will think?"
"Looking at it this way, it truly was a rash move." Chu Lu said.
"It is good that Your Majesty understands now." The Empress said. "This time, for Chunhua's sake in pleading for you, I will spare you once and restrain their anger as well. But if there is a next time... heh heh. Your Majesty, you had best behave yourself from now on!"
With that, the Empress turned and left.
The atmosphere in the Hall of Mental Cultivation instantly relaxed.
Xiao Lizi wiped the sweat from her forehead, thinking that it was fortunate the Empress had backed down in the end. Otherwise, blood would likely have splashed across the hall.
"Your Majesty..." Xiao Lizi asked carefully, "Would you like me to help you back to your room to rest?"
"Mm." Chu Lu nodded.
After returning to the bedchamber, Chu Lu had Xiao Lizi withdraw and lay alone on the bed to rest.
Then Xu Liniang's voice rang out in his mind.
Xu Liniang said, "What a surprise... I thought you would kill the Empress. Chu Lu, have you... changed your nature?"
Chu Lu: "..."
"Is that not all your fault?" he said. "If you had been more capable and had not ruined this body so badly that I cannot even walk, how could I have let her go?"
"Then, Chu Lu, should we endure for a while first?" Xu Liniang asked.
"Of course not." Chu Lu answered without hesitation.
It would take two months for his injuries to heal. Enduring for two months was something he could not stand, and there was no need for it at all.
"I want to get a more detailed understanding of the current situation first." Chu Lu asked, "Mainly the military situation. How many troops are there in the imperial city?"
"There is only one force, the Imperial Guards. Around thirty thousand people, I think." Xu Liniang considered before answering.
"The Imperial Guards that the Empress has infiltrated?" Chu Lu frowned. "Then how many people in that army still listen to you?"
"About half remain."
"So few... Huh?!" Chu Lu could not help shouting. "How many did you say?!"
"Half."
"Half? Half!?" Chu Lu wore an expression of having no idea what to say. "No, you... You have half the army in your hands. How did you still end up in such a miserable state?"
Chu Lu had originally heard that the Imperial Guards' general was the Empress's cousin, that she had even dared lead troops to imprison Xu Liniang, and coupled with the Empress's earlier words, he had assumed the Imperial Guards had long since fallen into the Empress's hands.
He had thought that perhaps only a tenth of the people still listened to Xu Liniang, or even more pessimistically, that not even a tenth remained.
And now she was telling him she had half!?
"It could not be helped. After all, the other half is in the Liu Family's hands. And my half is controlled by the chancellor too, unable to move." Xu Liniang said.
Chu Lu's brows furrowed tightly, his face like that of an old man on the subway staring at a phone.
Why can the chancellor control the Emperor's Imperial Guards? What kind of logic is that?
"You truly always give me surprising delights. Forget it, do not think too much." Chu Lu muttered to himself. "In a world this absurd, thinking will not help me understand it anyway."
At the same time, Chu Lu relaxed inwardly.
No matter what, this was good news.
He had originally arranged several plans in his mind, but most of them were no longer necessary.
"Then who is the most trustworthy person in the Imperial Guards now?" Chu Lu asked.
"Su Muyun, probably. She is the Right General of the Imperial Guards. Her mother was one of my mother's great generals back then. She and I have known each other since childhood, and we are very close." Xu Liniang said.
"Fine. Her, then."
Chu Lu ordered Xiao Lizi outside the door to summon Su Muyun into the palace.
Before long, Su Muyun arrived. She knelt beside the bed to salute him, then rose and looked at the weak Chu Lu, shock and anger both in her eyes.
Seeing this, Chu Lu thought, She really does look like a loyal subject.
"General Su, I summoned you today to ask you one question." Chu Lu said. "Are you willing to die for me?"
Su Muyun immediately replied without hesitation, "For Your Majesty, I would brave boiling water and tread through fire, and never refuse."
"Very good. I have a matter for you to handle."
"Please give your orders, Your Majesty."
"I want you to gather those in the Imperial Guards willing to be loyal to me, then secretly kill the people planted by the Liu Family." Chu Lu said. "Liu Gongchuo, Liu Yifan, Liu Zongzhi, Hong Xiwen, Hong Peng, as well as their subordinates, friends, and relatives, must all die. I want the entire Imperial Guards to be loyal to me!"
Su Muyun abruptly raised her head, her face full of shock.
Xu Liniang also shrieked in Chu Lu's mind, "Chu Lu, have you gone mad?"
"Since ancient times, whoever has the bigger fist has reason on their side." Chu Lu answered in his mind. "There is no cultivation in your world, so power can only rest on the army. Is it not perfectly reasonable for me to first find a way to reclaim the army?"
"But this is not how you reclaim it, is it?" Xu Liniang said.
At that moment, Su Muyun also said, "If Your Majesty wishes to reclaim military authority, this general will naturally support you with all her strength. But such violent methods will likely bring endless future troubles. None of the civil and military officials will support this, I fear."
"Yes, yes, yes." Xu Liniang said as well. "She is right. The Liu Family will not let this go. They will definitely strike back!"
"No matter." This time, Chu Lu spoke aloud. "As long as we kill everyone who might oppose us in advance, will that not solve it?"
"Huh?" Su Muyun said.
"Huh?" Xu Liniang said.
Both of them were dumbfounded. They had never imagined there could be such a simple and brutal solution.
Yet Chu Lu even felt that this method was somewhat troublesome.
He thought to himself that if Xu Liniang's body had not been so utterly useless, why would he need to go around such a large circle?
When speaking to the Empress earlier, he certainly would not have chosen to soften his stance. He would have directly flicked out the silver needle, pierced through the Empress's forehead, then gone to her maternal family and exterminated them all.
Then he would have obtained the family register, followed the vines to find the melon, and killed everyone connected by kinship.
As for any counterattack... there was no need to worry at all. Xu Liniang was the legitimate eldest daughter of the founding Emperor, and even after the Empress seized control of the government, half the army still obeyed Xu Liniang.
That showed that Xu Liniang's foundation was extremely deep. She was simply too useless, forcibly turning a winning hand into a losing one.
Unfortunately, this body was far too weak. Forget exterminating a household—it was difficult even to walk to the door. That was why Chu Lu could only settle for the next best thing and have others kill for him.
"One day." Chu Lu held up a finger. "As long as we can reclaim it for one day, we can solve every problem."
Xu Liniang fell silent. She had thought that her situation was so terrible that, unlike Luo Qingdie's favorable position, where she could casually go on an unstoppable rampage, even Chu Lu would surely restrain himself somewhat.
But she had been wrong. She did not understand the extent of Chu Lu's absurdity well enough.
"But, this..." Su Muyun stammered too.
Su Muyun was not a pretty pillow stuffed with straw. She had been to the frontier, fought on battlefields, and slaughtered countless times. She had long grown accustomed to bloodshed.
Yet even so, Chu Lu's casually spoken words left her stunned and dazed.
Strange. How does the Emperor, who rarely leaves his chambers, seem even more ruthless than me?
"You cannot do it?" Chu Lu raised a brow.
Su Muyun was startled. She looked again at Chu Lu's cold, resolute expression and pale face, and immediately made up her mind.
She said firmly, "This general will certainly not fail Your Majesty's trust. I will never disappoint you!"
"Very good. You may withdraw. I will wait for your good news."
Su Muyun left with a resolute expression.
"Chu Lu, surely this still will not work?" Xu Liniang said anxiously. "Even among Emperors, I have never heard of anyone daring to slaughter so freely."
"Have you heard of Zhu Yuanzhang?"
"Huh? Who?"
"A ruthless man who went on killing sprees every few days."
"?? Anyway, Chu Lu, if you will not listen to me, how about we go to the Chat Group and let everyone else judge?"
"...Fine."
They opened the Chat Group and explained the matter. The jokers in the group began discussing it.
Hua Honglian: "Is this not a little bad? Would a great purge not be rather lacking in conscience?"
Luo Qingdie: "It really is Chu Lu."
Zhu Shanlin: "Simple and brutal like last time. But the situation is much more complicated this time, right?"
Liu Ruyue: "It does not feel appropriate."
Xu Liniang: "See? No one agrees with you."
The jokers in the group then all chimed in, "You should still think of some cleverer strategy, right?"
Chu Lu had expected this, so he said calmly, "I will only ask one question."
Chu Lu: "This is a world where the Empress can use a dustpan to frame a consort, dare use the Imperial Sword to chop at the Emperor, torture the Emperor however she wishes, and dismiss Vassal Kings who come to purge the Emperor's side with a single sentence. May I ask what strategy could possibly count as clever in this world?"
Hua Honglian: "..."
Luo Qingdie: "..."
Zhu Shanlin: "..."
Liu Ruyue: "..."
Xu Liniang: "?? Why have you all gone silent? These are all perfectly normal things, okay? The Imperial Sword—how am I supposed to fight that? The Vassal Kings left because they were deceived and did not want to bear the name of rebellion!"
Zhu Shanlin: "Um... the rest aside, but is purging the Emperor's side not just another way of saying rebellion?"
Xu Liniang: "?"
Chu Lu said then, "So rather than laboring over all that pointless nonsense, is it not more suitable to use the simplest and most brutal method?"
Hua Honglian: "That makes sense."
Luo Qingdie: "That makes sense."
Zhu Shanlin: "That makes sense."
Liu Ruyue: "Same."
Chu Lu: "Very good. Five to one. I win, Xu Liniang loses."
Xu Liniang: "Hey, hey, hey, hey!"
Before you continue