As Ji Ruxue's personal maid, Hong Yu felt awful seeing her mistress so utterly despondent.
Qing Li spoke up at once. "Your Majesty, just give the word and we'll kill this impostor right here."
The people around them couldn't help twitching their eyelids. That girl was still as reckless as ever!
Hearing this, the Empress shook off her crushing disappointment. Her eyes turned vicious as she said bitterly,
"No. He's still useful for now. Once everything has settled, I'll make him wish he were dead!"
Then, as if she had thought of something, she instructed Hong Yu, "Tell Mother Empress about this. Let her... accept what has happened."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I'll go right away."
"Mm. Go."
Afterward, Ji Ruxue rubbed her temples. For the first time since ascending the throne, she felt this exhausted.
Elsewhere, when Jun Tianxiao returned to Anle Marquis Manor, Mo Yunxuan also received a report delivered by a Nascent Soul Realm Imperial Guard.
After reading the report, Mo Yunxuan glanced at the Imperial Guard standing ramrod straight and sneered disdainfully.
"Jun Tianxiao actually thinks he can scheme his way into the post of Commander of Left Wei Guard. Does he think the Wei State Duke Mansion doesn't exist?"
The Imperial Guard lowered his head and said nothing. Mo Yunxuan didn't mind and continued,
"Though all the powerful experts who formed the foundation of the Wei State Duke Mansion are gone, we still have two hundred thousand Imperial City Imperial Guards."
"Meanwhile, all the Jun Family has left is an old ancestor at Peak Spirit Transmutation. What gives Jun Tianxiao the nerve to scheme for Left Wei Guard?"
The Imperial Guard raised his head slightly and replied evenly, "Perhaps it's that cultivator named Zhao Yun."
"According to Commander Li's observations, even with his Peak Spirit Transmutation cultivation, he might win, but he isn't confident he could take Zhao Yun down quickly."
"And judging by Jun Tianxiao's movements today, he may well be connected to That Person in the palace."
At that, a trace of seriousness entered Mo Yunxuan's eyes, though it was only a trace. Mostly, he was surprised.
"Well, I'll be damned. Jun Tianxiao and Ji Ruxue hid their relationship well. Back when we studied together at the Imperial Academy, I never noticed a thing."
"What about Jun Tianxiao's attempt to scheme for Left Wei Guard?" the Imperial Guard asked tentatively, his voice hesitant. After all, this matter involved the Empress.
The Wei State Duke Mansion had always been a staunch supporter of the Imperial Faction, so they truly needed to tread carefully.
But Mo Yunxuan had no such reservations. He wasn't socially astute and didn't understand all those twists and turns.
In his view, once they had decided to move against the Wei State Duke Mansion, they were enemies. And once they were enemies, what was there to hesitate about?
"Heh. With Jun Tianxiao's Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation, there's no way he could get the post of Commander of Left Wei Guard. So it can only be that Zhao Yun by his side."
Mo Yunxuan flung the report onto the table, leaned back in his chair, and sneered.
"Give it to him! If the Empress wants it, then as Loyal Ministers of the State, we Wei Family members naturally can't refuse."
In Mo Yunxuan's eyes, he had the Elite Vanguard: two hundred soldiers who could grow stronger rapidly by fusing essence without limit.
With the Wei State Duke Mansion's resources, it wouldn't take long for the entire Elite Vanguard to reach Spirit Transformation. By then, he would have two hundred Spirit Transformation cultivators. Across the entire Great Gan Dynasty, only the Imperial Enshrinement Pavilion could boast more.
But the Imperial Enshrinement Pavilion had to help the Empress suppress the whole Dagan Dynasty. It would never start a war with a staunch Imperial Faction ally like him over a single Left Wei Guard.
Besides, Mo Yunxuan wasn't blinded by any hero worship. He wasn't the sort to become someone's lapdog just because he liked a character.
Nor did he have Cao Cao's love of talent. As someone who could also summon troops through a system, he knew exactly how systems worked. There was no way Zhao Yun would ever serve him.
Rather than let Zhao Yun shine for the enemy and make trouble for him, he'd be better off destroying him himself.
Once Mo Yunxuan's two hundred Body Cultivators at Spirit Transformation were ready, he could show up at Jun Tianxiao's door holding Zhao Yun's head, and Jun Tianxiao would probably still smile and pour him tea.
So, to Mo Yunxuan, Jun Tianxiao's power grab was nothing but a clown's act.
But the Imperial Guard didn't know what Mo Yunxuan had up his sleeve. From his perspective, all he could see was Mo Yunxuan's arrogance.
Though Fang Liang had been an unexpected turn for Left Wei Guard, there was no question that the other soldiers were loyal.
But handing Left Wei Guard over just like that would only make its soldiers lose heart!
Besides, the Wei State Duke Mansion was indeed weak at the moment. They didn't even have a single Void Refinement Realm Expert.
If they backed down now, others might think the Wei State Duke Mansion was weak and ripe for the picking, then come trample them from every direction. That would be trouble.
So even the Imperial Guard, whose duty was to obey the Duke of Wei, couldn't help speaking up to warn him.
"Your Grace, should I arrange for the other Left Wei Guard commanders to sideline Zhao Yun?"
Mo Yunxuan didn't understand the concern behind the suggestion, but the idea itself startled him. He quickly stopped him.
"Don't! There's no need to sideline him. What if he does what I did on my first day and kills someone to make an example?"
"Then not only would our commanders die for nothing, but Jun Tianxiao would have free rein to plant his own people in Left Wei Guard."
"It would be a complete loss. All we need to do now is make sure Zhao Yun can't find a single opening, and stall him for a month."
"With the Imperial City Imperial Guard, we can easily manage that. Using other methods would just be gilding the lily."
After speaking, Mo Yunxuan looked at the Imperial Guard, who seemed to have something more to say, and suddenly felt uneasy. He issued a firm order.
"Pass on my command: Left Wei Guard is not to clash with the temporary commander appointed by the Imperial Court. They are to wait quietly until the new commander takes over in a month."
"Anyone who disobeys is to be executed immediately. All right, go. Make sure this order is passed down by the end of tomorrow's morning court."
Hearing Mo Yunxuan's order and the steel in his voice, the Imperial Guard understood the Duke of Wei's will was beyond question. He bowed and withdrew.
After the Imperial Guard left, Wang Yuan knocked on the door.
"My lord, the first batch of Fierce Beasts we've gathered has arrived. They're being kept together at Training Ground No. 3 in the manor. Would you like to inspect them?"
At Wang Yuan's words, Mo Yunxuan sprang up from his chair and opened the door in a couple of strides. "Let's go," he said casually.
Then he strode ahead toward the training ground.
When they reached Training Ground No. 3, they saw cages and containers of all sizes arranged neatly throughout the enclosed training ground.
Wang Yuan followed him in and began his report. "My lord, because we were pressed for time, we've only managed to gather three kinds of Fierce Beasts so far: Giant Strength Ants, Qingyan Turtles, and Soft Bone Rabbits."
"These captured Fierce Beasts are all at level three, equivalent to Golden Core Stage cultivators."
"However, all three kinds of Fierce Beasts reproduce extremely quickly and have large populations, so they're easier to capture than other Fierce Beasts."
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