The Imperial Empress: My Heart is So Tired

The headquarters of the Heavenly Qilin Guard, Water Bureau Office.

Shen Shuchou sat before his desk, his expression grave.

Not long ago, the Thousand-Household official in charge of the Bing and Ding Fire bureaus had personally sought him out, demanding that he finalize the conviction of the Yan Liang brothers as soon as possible.

The case had to be closed within three days!

The implication was clear:

This case must absolutely not implicate anyone else!

But the problem was that Yan Liang had already confessed everything, and Chen Mo had stripped him bare, down to his very underwear...

Shen Shuchou had never wanted to get involved in this business.

However, since Her Highness had yet to provide instructions, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and hold his ground.

"That brat Chen Mo, he catches the people and then washes his hands of the whole affair..."

"He takes the credit, I take the blame; he really is an unfilial wretch!"

"Once this mission is over, I'll send him to capture the Ten Heavenly Demons, and I won't let him come back until he does!"

Shen Shuchou muttered through gritted teeth.

Clatter, clatter, clatter—

Just then, a flurry of hurried footsteps rang out, and a runner stumbled in.

"M-M-Master..."

"Master your head! What is the meaning of this frantic behavior?"

Shen Shuchou frowned.

The runner ignored the reprimand, swallowed hard, and said, "Master, Flag Chief Chen has returned!"

"Heh, he dares to come back? I was just about to go looking for him to cause trouble..."

"He brought back the corpse of one of the Ten Heavenly Demons!"

"..."

Shen Shuchou suspected that perhaps the recent stress had caused him to suffer auditory hallucinations.

He reached up to dig at his ear and asked:

"What did you just say? Say it again?"

The runner was concise and to the point: "The mastermind behind the Tongling County case, the Evil Ghost Qin Wuxiang, has been beheaded by Flag Chief Chen! The corpse is currently lying in the Training Grounds!"

"..."

Shen Shuchou stood up and strode out of the office.

The entire Training Grounds were already packed to the brim, shoulder to shoulder, the noise reaching a deafening roar!

He pushed through the crowd and reached the center, only to see a headless corpse lying on the open ground before him.

Beside the body sat a head, its face a featureless blur, with a purple magatama Insignia branded between the brows.

As a member of the Heavenly Qilin Guard, who hadn't dreamed of capturing one of the Ten Heavenly Demons, becoming famous across the land, and bringing glory to their family name?

Shen Shuchou was no exception.

He had pored over all the files on the Ten Heavenly Demons and knew their characteristics by heart—

He could confirm with near certainty that this corpse was indeed Qin Wuxiang.

"You guys didn't see it; that battle was absolutely earth-shattering, enough to dim the sun and moon!"

"Qin Wuxiang transformed into a hundred-foot-tall giant demon, her demonic flames surging to the heavens, arrogant and unstoppable! She razed an entire street block with a single slap!"

"Yet, Flag Chief Chen merely smiled faintly and said with indifference: 'A firefly's light dares to compete with the moon? Bring me my blade!'"

"He swung his blade, the blade energy tearing through the void and triggering natural phenomena, slicing that giant demon in two right on the spot!"

"The might of that single strike was truly terrifying!"

Qin Shou stood in the crowd, speaking with such eloquence that it was like listening to a comedic performance.

The surrounding people listened as if they were there in the moment, completely spellbound, letting out occasional gasps of amazement.

"Where is Flag Chief Chen? Why don't I see him?"

Someone asked aloud.

Qin Shou shook his head and sighed:

"The Flag Chief is a great man in every way, except that he's too low-key."

"He said: 'Do not hoard the credit, and do not shirk the blame.' He didn't want to hog the spotlight, choosing instead to let us little brothers have the chance to shine."

"Now that is what you call having class!"

The other runners who had carried out the mission nodded in succession, expressing their agreement.

Flag Chief Chen really was a man of such great class!

"Chen Mo... Chen Mo..."

A series of shouts suddenly rang out.

Following that, more and more people joined in, gradually converging into a roar that sounded like a mountain collapsing or the sea crashing!

These were the Ten Heavenly Demons! And it was a first-time kill!

Not just the Water Bureau, the entire Heavenly Qilin Guard shared in this honor!

"Chen Mo! Chen Mo!"

Chen Mo, deafening.

Shen Shuchou stood in the crowd, motionless, as if he were a sculpture.

Silence, deafening.

I was just joking, did he really catch a Heavenly Demon and bring it back?

Shen Shuchou knew full well that to be one of the Ten Heavenly Demons, Qin Wuxiang was hardly an easy character to deal with.

Even if Chen Mo could win, it certainly wouldn't have been easy.

He must have gone through a bitter struggle.

When he assigned this mission, he hadn't imagined it would be so dangerous...

The Barbarian Slave Case had just been cracked, and only a few days had passed before he brought back such a huge surprise!

You brat, you really made me look good!

But business is business; I'll still find trouble with you for shifting the blame... though not too much trouble.

Zhaohua Palace.

Incense curled within the halls.

Behind a glass screen, the Imperial Empress sat draped in bright yellow phoenix robes, her voice sounding slightly languid as she asked:

"How is the progress of the cases?"

Below the dais, Yan Peizhi's expression turned solemn.

He knew the Imperial Empress's question had two meanings: one regarding the Ministry of Revenue corruption case, and the other regarding the Barbarian Slave Case.

"Reporting to Your Highness, under the joint interrogation of the Three Offices, the cases are proceeding very smoothly. The three Ministry of Revenue Secretaries have all confessed, claiming the embezzlement of disaster relief funds was their own individual doing..."

The Imperial Empress listened quietly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Yan Peizhi knew the Imperial Empress was waiting for him to continue.

"Regarding the Barbarian Slave Case, according to my knowledge, the Yan Liang brothers have confessed to their crimes without reservation."

"As for whether anyone else is implicated, I still need to..."

At this moment, a female official hurried into the hall.

She bypassed the screen and whispered something into the Imperial Empress's ear.

Watching this familiar scene, Yan Peizhi couldn't help but shiver, thinking to himself that there wouldn't be more bad news, would there...

"Good, very good."

"This really is a 'surprise' for this Imperial Empress!"

The Imperial Empress was silent for a moment before sighing.

Yan Peizhi breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed it must be good news.

"I never expected he would actually be able to execute the Tenth Heavenly Demon and rid Great Yuan of a pestilence!"

"To rid the people of such a scourge is a merit as high as a mountain; he must be heavily rewarded!"

The Imperial Empress's voice echoed through the hall.

Yan Peizhi's expression was one of astonishment.

The Heavenly Demon Ranking recorded hundreds of fiends.

Among them, many had been arrested and brought to justice, and no small number had been executed on the spot.

The list had been updated dozens of times, yet the top ten had remained untouched for all these years!

Now, someone had actually slaughtered one of the Ten Heavenly Demons?

This was truly a monumental achievement!

"Congratulations, Your Highness! My congratulations, Your Highness!"

"Great Yuan truly is filled with heroic spirit and rising talents! This is the blessing of the people and the fortune of the nation!"

"Might I ask which hero performed this feat?"

Yan Peizhi asked with a look of delight.

Lately, everything had been going against him, and he had been unable to hold his head high in front of the Imperial Empress. Now that he had finally found an opening to curry favor, he naturally had to seize it firmly.

Once the Imperial Empress identified the person, he would steer the conversation toward how "Her Highness's words are like golden bells and jade chimes, shining with sacred wisdom," implying that all his success was inseparable from the Imperial Empress's cultivation.

He guaranteed it would leave her beaming with delight and glowing with radiance...

In an instant, the entire procedure for flattery had already played through Yan Peizhi's mind.

This was the self-cultivation of a veteran court official.

"Come to think of it, you know this person, and he even shares an inextricable bond with your Yan Family."

The Imperial Empress said in a calm tone.

Upon hearing this, Yan Peizhi was even more pleasantly surprised.

Could it be the merit of some clerk or Secretary from the Ministry of Justice?

It was truly like being handed a pillow just as one was nodding off!

"Your Highness, please stop keeping me in suspense. Who exactly is this sacred figure?" Yan Peizhi asked impatiently.

"Chen Mo," the Imperial Empress said.

Yan Peizhi was stunned. "...Who?"

"Chen Mo, the man who personally dragged your nephew into the Imperial Prison."

The Imperial Empress said indifferently, "Both are Flag Officers of the Heavenly Qilin Guard; Chen Mo roots out evil and rescues the people from fire and water, while your nephew is busy keeping a Barbarian Slave and corrupting the imperial court..."

"Sometimes, even I cannot figure out who the real rebels are."

Boom!

It was as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt!

Yan Peizhi's knees went weak, and he collapsed directly onto the ground!