Dragon Phoenix Double Happiness!

Under the escort of Wei Tong and the others, Luo Shenhuang returned to the Great Zhou Imperial City.

On this return journey, Luo Shenhuang's heart had long since turned to ashes. She knew the road ahead was bleak!

The only thing that comforted her was that along the way, whether in rural villages or ancient towns and cities, countless commoners and subjects lavishly praised and spread word of the Divine Phoenix Army's feat of exterminating the barbarians!

Luo Shenhuang's name in particular was passed from mouth to mouth, revered as a heroine and a Heroic Woman seen only once in a thousand years.

"Ha ha!"

"No regrets in exterminating the barbarians!"

This made Luo Shenhuang throw back her head and laugh. She was already resolved to face death calmly. Three days later, the group returned to the Great Zhou Imperial City.

Luo Shenhuang was secretly escorted by Wei Tong and the others to the imperial study.

Xia Weiyang, clad in a magnificent phoenix robe, sat upright before the imperial desk.

At the sight of Luo Shenhuang, Xia Weiyang, whose expression had been gloomy, brightened at once, a smile appearing on her face. "Divine Phoenix Sister, you're back!"

Looking at Xia Weiyang's hypocritical smile, Luo Shenhuang had never found anything so nauseating. She shook her head and said coldly, "Xia Weiyang, now that things have come to this, why keep putting on an act?"

Seeing Luo Shenhuang tear away all pretense, Xia Weiyang promptly withdrew her false smile.

She waved Wei Tong and the others away before speaking coldly.

"Luo Shenhuang, can you blame me for this? You brought it upon yourself. I ordered you to halt the Northern Expedition and head south to pick lychees. Why did you defy the edict?"

"Do you know how many Golden Edicts I sent you? Thirty-six in total! And what did you do? You ignored every edict and insisted on exterminating the Northern Barbarians!"

"You are a subject, and I am the sovereign. Yet you, my subject, treated my orders like wind passing by your ears. Is there even a place for me in your eyes?"

By the end, two flames seemed to burst from Xia Weiyang's eyes!

Luo Shenhuang's actions had severely damaged the authority of her Empress!

Hearing this, Luo Shenhuang remained neither servile nor overbearing. Though her hands and feet were bound, her graceful figure stood straight as a spear as she argued with reason. "You are the sovereign, and I am the subject. By rights, I should obey your imperial commands!"

"But before the Former Emperor passed away, what did you say? You said that as long as I helped you ascend the throne, you would set the court in order, abolish taxes and reduce levies, clarify the laws and rectify discipline... You would become a wise ruler, an Empress remembered through the ages!"

"The barbarian tribes were a festering tumor that had plagued Great Zhou's northern border for centuries. They needed to be completely eradicated, yet you ordered me to go south and pick lychees?"

"This is what you call the conduct of a wise ruler? Absurd—utterly absurd!"

Though Luo Shenhuang did not speak loudly, every word struck with tremendous force, like slap after slap landing viciously across Xia Weiyang's face. Xia Weiyang's expression darkened in fury, and her fists clenched tight.

Xia Weiyang wanted to retort, yet she could not force out a single word!

In the end, she could only say unwillingly, "What do you know? That was a delaying tactic. When did I ever say I would not destroy the Northern Barbarians? And besides that, what have I done that was not the governance of a wise ruler?"

"Ha ha!"

"Xia Weiyang, you can truly lie without even blushing. Did you really think I did not know about those filthy things you did in secret?"

Luo Shenhuang sneered, then continued, "You say heading south to pick lychees was your delaying tactic. Then what about Ding Hao?"

"Ding Hao?" Xia Weiyang froze.

With a face full of scorn, Luo Shenhuang said, "Did you really think no one knew about the disgraceful affair of using Ding Hao as a stud to conceive a false imperial heir, then demoting him to a death-row prisoner? This is your governance of a wise ruler?"

"What! You!"

Xia Weiyang was startled. She truly had not expected Luo Shenhuang to know even about this.

But in an instant, she understood. Ding Hao must have told her!

After all, Zhang Dalong's letter had said that Ding Hao was now highly valued by Luo Shenhuang.

Seeing all her disguises ruthlessly exposed by Luo Shenhuang, Xia Weiyang instead ceased to be angry. She gave a cold laugh.

"Heh heh, correct. You are correct. I, Xia Weiyang, am no wise ruler, and I never intended to become one!"

"I endured countless hardships to climb from a Talented Woman to my current position above ten thousand others. Why should I be a wise ruler? Why should I toil for those mud-legged peasants and concern myself with those unruly rabble?"

"I, Xia Weiyang, intend to be a tyrant, a foolish ruler, a wicked ruler! Better that I betray all under heaven than allow all under heaven to betray me!!"

Hearing Xia Weiyang's words, Luo Shenhuang's expression shook violently!

She had never imagined Xia Weiyang was even more terrifying than she had thought.

After all, throughout every dynasty, even foolish rulers would never say they had intended from the very beginning to become foolish rulers. Yet Xia Weiyang dared to say it!

This proved that she held neither the common people nor Great Zhou's realm in her heart!

From beginning to end, she had only wanted to become emperor to satisfy her own selfish desires!

And she, Luo Shenhuang, had actually helped someone like this ascend the throne and become Great Zhou's emperor. This filled her with fury and regret!

"Xia Weiyang!!"

"You bastard, how could you... urgh~"

Luo Shenhuang was beside herself with rage and was about to curse Xia Weiyang, but the words had barely left her mouth.

When a wave of nausea suddenly surged through her. She immediately rushed to the side and began dry heaving.

"Hmm?"

This made Xia Weiyang frown. But as though she had suddenly thought of something, her beautiful eyes contracted, and she hurriedly said, "Someone, summon the imperial physician!"

Luo Shenhuang dry heaved for quite a while before saying coldly, "Xia Weiyang, we have already torn off all pretense. Why keep acting hypocritically? Even if I am unwell, I do not need your concern!"

Xia Weiyang did not answer. She merely waited for the imperial physician to arrive, then pointed at Luo Shenhuang. "Go. She has been dry heaving constantly. Take her pulse properly!"

"Yes!"

The imperial physician approached Luo Shenhuang. She initially wanted to resist, but recalling that she had indeed felt unwell these past few days, she stopped struggling.

After taking her pulse for a moment, the imperial physician immediately knelt and reported, "Reporting to Your Majesty, Army Lord Luo is suffering from morning sickness. The reason her reaction is more severe than ordinary is because she carries Dragon Phoenix Double Happiness!"

"What!!"

Those words were no less than a bolt of lightning from a clear sky, crashing directly onto Luo Shenhuang's head and leaving her utterly stunned!

After Xia Weiyang froze for a moment, she burst into laughter.

Her laughter was filled with ridicule and mockery. "Heh heh, Luo Shenhuang, Luo Shenhuang, I guessed correctly after all. You are actually pregnant. But if I remember correctly, you have never married, nor have you ever had a lover, have you?"

"The whole world says I rose to power through my looks and ascended the throne through lewd tricks. So it turns out you, Luo Shenhuang, are also a wanton whore!"

"The commander of the Divine Phoenix Army, Luo Shenhuang, became pregnant before marriage, and even during wartime. This truly is a scandalous tale of debauchery that will shock the world. What right do you, Luo Shenhuang, have to lecture me with such righteous indignation!"

As though she had seized Luo Shenhuang's weakness, Xia Weiyang launched into a fierce counterattack!

Yet she had no idea.

Luo Shenhuang had not heard a word. Her mind had long since gone completely blank!

After all, she had returned to court this time fully prepared to die!

Yet now, she was pregnant? And carrying twins!

How could this be?

What was she supposed to do?

What should she do?

She was confused!

Stupid with shock!

Dazed!

Only when Xia Weiyang's sharp question rang out did it jolt her mind awake!

"Luo Shenhuang, whose wild man's child are you carrying?"