Yan Lingji's Shock

Facing the words of Yan Lingji, no one dared to respond.

"Since you won't speak, then let those who can speak do so."

Yan Lingji raised her hand slightly.

A middle-aged civil official dressed in plain official robes stepped out from the crowd and bowed in salute.

"Your Majesty, this subject Wang Hai has finished the inventory."

"Speak."

"Yes."

Wang Hai unfurled a long scroll of ledgers and began his report.

His voice echoed throughout the vast, empty hall.

"From the Marquis Zhao Estate in the east of the city, we confiscated over 28 million Gold Soul Coins, a total of over 43,000 pieces of jewelry and jade, over 8,000 antique paintings and calligraphies, and over 570 deeds to fertile land..."

A collective gasp swept through the hall.

Twenty-eight million Gold Soul Coins.

That was a sum a Marquis could not spend in several lifetimes.

Yet, within the noble circles of the Heaven Dou Empire, it was merely upper-middle tier.

"From the Earl Qian Estate in the south of the city, we confiscated over 18.6 million Gold Soul Coins, over 15,000 pieces of jewelry and jade, and 321 land deeds..."

"From the Viscount Sun Estate in the west of the city, we confiscated over 8.3 million Gold Soul Coins, over 6,000 pieces of jewelry and jade, and over 180 land deeds..."

Wang Hai reported faster and faster, the numbers becoming increasingly staggering.

These few estates alone added up to more than ten years of tax revenue for the Heaven Dou Empire.

Yan Lingji leaned back on the imperial throne, her fingers tapping lightly against the armrest, a cold sneer hanging on her lips.

"A mere Marquis possesses over twenty million Gold Soul Coins? You are truly worthy of being nobles; while the common people eat chaff and swallow vegetables, you are dripping with wealth."

The hall was deathly silent.

One by one, the reports continued, the figures growing more shocking.

The nobles in the hall turned deathly pale, their legs trembling.

Yan Lingji leaned back on the imperial throne, her fingers tapping the armrest, her expression unreadable.

"And the national treasury?"

She looked toward another civil official.

The official trembled as he spoke: "Reporting to Your Majesty... the national treasury... the treasury's ledger shows only 2.5 million Gold Soul Coins remaining..."

"Two point five million?"

Yan Lingji's voice grew several degrees colder.

"What is the annual tax revenue of the Heaven Dou Empire?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty... approximately 13 million Gold Soul Coins..."

"Then where is the money?"

The official fell to his knees with a thud, his forehead striking the floor.

"This subject... this subject does not know..."

"You don't know?"

Yan Lingji smiled, but there was no warmth in her expression.

"Then let those who do know speak."

The hall fell into a heavy silence.

The Heaven Dou Emperor knelt on the ground, his entire body shivering.

Yan Lingji looked at him.

"Great Emperor, do you know?"

The Heaven Dou Emperor raised his head, his aged face filled with panic.

"I... I... I do not know..."

"You don't know?"

Yan Lingji stood up, walked down the steps, and stood before the Heaven Dou Emperor.

"You have been Emperor for decades, the national treasury has only 2.5 million Gold Soul Coins left, and you do not know?"

"Your nobles live in golden, magnificent estates while the common people eat chaff and swallow vegetables, and you do not know?"

"Duke Xue Lingshan used one thousand commoners to refine medicine, and you do not know?"

With every sentence she spoke, the Heaven Dou Emperor shrank back a little further.

"You do know; you simply did not want to know."

The Heaven Dou Emperor collapsed to the floor, his face ashen.

Yan Lingji turned and walked back to the throne, sitting down once more.

"Continue the report."

Wang Hai continued his briefing.

"Excluding the private assets of the nobility, the court ministers have been embezzling for years. According to our investigation—the Imperial Seal Official skimmed palace expenses, embezzling over 8.7 million Gold Soul Coins.

The Minister of Armaments falsified military procurement records, swallowing 58 million Gold Soul Coins.

The Minister of Justice accepted bribes and released dangerous criminals, accumulating over 66 million Gold Soul Coins..."

One after another, the list grew longer and longer.

The ministers kneeling in the hall collapsed to the floor one by one.

Yan Lingji listened, her expression growing colder by the second.

"The Heaven Dou Empire has truly raised a fine nest of parasites."

She swept her gaze across everyone in the hall.

Yan Lingji leaned back against the throne, her fingers tapping lightly on the armrest as her eyes scanned the trembling nobles and ministers.

The corners of her lips curled slightly, revealing a bloodthirsty arc.

"All confiscated assets are to be deposited into the national treasury. All corrupt ministers shall be dealt with according to the new laws."

Her voice was like a cold blade, slicing into the heart of everyone present.

"Those who trafficked humans—

Those who colluded with Evil Soul Masters—

Those who embezzled national funds—

Those who forcibly seized civilian land—

They shall be executed in public at the Crossroads Execution Ground, using the Ten Great Tortures."

With every sentence she spoke, another group of people in the hall collapsed.

"Your Majesty, have mercy! Empress, spare us!"

"We will never dare do it again! We beg for a quick death!"

"No torture! Anything but that!"

Wails, pleas for mercy, and cries rose one after another, like hundreds of livestock waiting to be slaughtered.

Yan Lingji raised a hand, and the hall fell instantly silent.

"You pieces of trash are not worth the death you're owed."

"But Imperial We will not let you die so cheaply."

She let out a cold laugh.

"Execute them in the streets. Let the citizens of Heaven Dou City see with their own eyes what becomes of corrupt officials, human traffickers, and lackeys of Evil Soul Masters."

"Let everyone know that this world is different, starting today."

"Guards!"

The Imperial Guards responded in unison.

"Load all the guilty ministers into prison carts, parade them through the city, and then take them to the Crossroads Execution Ground. Execute them in public tomorrow at noon."

The Imperial Guards stepped forward, dragging the collapsed nobles and ministers out of the hall like dead dogs.

Inside the imperial palace, there was not a sound.

The nobles kneeling on the red carpet pressed their foreheads to the ground, their fine robes soaked through with cold sweat, yet they dared not even wipe it away.

They could feel that gaze.

The newly enthroned Empress on the throne was looking down at them from above.

A smile played on her lips, like a lazy fox sizing up its prey.

But no one dared to find that smile beautiful.

Their hair stood on end.

A chill ran down their spines.

It was as if they were being watched by something terrifying.

"That is enough, all of you may rise."

Yan Lingji spoke, her voice carrying a hint of laziness.

She leaned against the golden throne, nine snow-white fox tails swaying gently behind her, her fox ears twitching, her peach-blossom eyes slightly narrowed.

"Seeing you all kneeling constantly makes Imperial We tired."

The nobles stood up tremblingly, but they dared not lift their heads.

Their bodies were still trembling, and for some, their legs were as soft as if they were stepping on cotton.

Heaven Dou Emperor—no, the former emperor—Xuelan's aged face flushed red, his entire body shaking.

His dragon robe hung wrinkled on his frame, looking like a crumpled rag.

He was standing.

But his legs no longer obeyed him.

Yan Lingji swept a glance at him, the corners of her lips curling into a mocking smile.

"Is the abdication edict prepared?"

Xuelan shuddered, his voice hoarse: "It... it is prepared."

"Read it."

Xuelan tremblingly withdrew a scroll of yellow silk from his sleeve, unfurled it, and read with quivering lips:

"This Lonely One... is of shallow virtue and meager talent, lacking in the way of governance, leading to the decline of the state and the impoverishment of the people... Now... I hereby abdicate the throne to Empress Yan Lingji... hoping the Empress will uphold the will of Heaven above and follow the hearts of the people below... to rebuild the empire..."

By the end, his voice had lowered to a mosquito's hum.

Yan Lingji chuckled softly.

"That's enough, put it away."

She leaned back against the imperial throne, fingers tapping lightly on the armrest, her peach-blossom eyes filled with playfulness.

To be honest, the feeling of being an emperor was indeed quite good.

The taste of being hailed by mountains of people shouting "Long Live" and bowing in submission was truly intoxicating.

But she was very clear about what she relied on to sit in this chair.

It wasn't because she was particularly smart or capable.

It was because her master was supporting her from behind.

Fighting and killing she was good at; being an assassin she was good at; setting fires she was good at.

But governing a country?

She couldn't handle these things at all.

Even though she was now the Empress of the Heaven Dou Empire, deep in her bones, she was still that Fire Charm Enchantress of the Baiyue Assassin Group.

Ask her to kill, and she wouldn't even blink.

Ask her to govern, and her brain turned into a mess of mush.

Yan Lingji sighed silently in her heart.

Forcing a duck onto a perch—that was exactly what she was.

No wonder those crown princes and princes had to study policy, imperial arts, and power struggles from a young age.

So being an emperor was this troublesome.

But fortunately.

She had her master.

"Master—"

Yan Lingji communicated with Jiang Ce in her mind, her voice carrying a hint of coquetry.

"Since you pushed this humble one into this position, you must teach me how to sit firmly, right?

This humble one only knows how to kill and set fires; as for governing... I am completely clueless."

Jiang Ce's voice echoed in her mind, carrying a hint of a smile.

"Now you know to beg me?"

"Master~" Yan Lingji's voice grew even more tender.

"Just help this humble one~ I am your person; if I cannot sit firmly in this position, wouldn't you lose face as well?"

"Alright, stop acting like a spoiled enchantress."

Jiang Ce paused, his tone becoming serious.

"I have already prepared the plan for you. Get ready to receive it."

The next moment—

Yan Lingji felt her mind explode.

Countless pieces of information surged into her consciousness like a dam breaking.

Imperial bureaucratic reforms, local administrative restructuring, official selection systems, legal systems, supervisory systems, military reforms, fiscal reforms, noble rank systems...

One by one, dense and packed, they filled her brain to the brim.

Yan Lingji's eyes widened slightly, streams of information flashing through her pupils.

Three Departments and Six Ministries, Commandery-County System, Assistant Prefect, Imperial Examination, military merit ranks, Net, Censorate, Transport Commissioner, unification of laws, abolition of private armies...

Behind every term lies an entire system, and behind every system lies a series of supporting measures.

She felt as if her brain were about to explode.

So, governing an empire required so many twists and turns?

So, being an emperor wasn't just about sitting on a throne and barking orders; there were so many hidden intricacies behind it?

When she was a killer back in Baiyue, she had never even considered such things.

Forget the Three Departments and Six Ministries; she didn't even have a clear idea of what a "department" was.

However, whatever her master provided had to be correct.

Yan Lingji took a deep breath, silently digesting the information in her mind, the curve of her lips deepening.

Interesting.

Her master intended to turn the entire Heaven Dou Empire upside down.

And this framework...

Though she didn't fully grasp it, she could tell just by looking at the structure that, this was no mere patch-up job or minor tinkering, but a thorough, top-to-bottom, earth-shattering revolution.

From the official system to local governance, from civil service selection to the legal code, from the military to the treasury, from overt oversight to covert intelligence—

everything was to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch.

Having digested the information, Yan Lingji slowly opened her eyes, a sharp glint flashing through her peach-blossom eyes.

Below the throne, the trembling nobles felt that gaze settle back upon them, and their bodies shook even more violently.

They did not know what this newly enthroned empress was thinking.

But their intuition told them

that whatever was about to happen, it certainly wouldn't be anything good.

Yan Lingji leaned back against the throne, her fingers ceasing their rhythmic tapping on the armrest.

The hall was so quiet that the crackling of the candle flames could be heard.

"Imperial We are wondering—"

She spoke, her voice not loud, yet carrying a pressure that sent chills down one's spine.

"How an empire could possibly rot to such a degree."