"Qing, there are some things you mustn't say lightly."
Zhou Shizhong lowered his voice. "His Majesty... His Majesty also has immortal cultivators serving under him..."
His meaning was clear: even if Zhou Qing had become an immortal cultivator, he could not act with complete abandon.
"I know."
Zhou Qing nodded. "But this will happen."
Zhou Qing looked at the bewildered faces before him and continued, "The Eldest Prince's prestige is far too high. If he pacifies the northern Barbarian Tribe and returns in triumph, wouldn't the current Qian Emperor have to abdicate voluntarily?"
At those words,
Zhou Shizhong fell silent.
Lady Zhou, Zhou Wen, and Zhou Wu also sank into thought.
"And once the Qian Emperor moves against the Eldest Prince, who will die first? Our Zhou Family holds immense power, belongs to the Eldest Prince's faction, and controls the military forces in the Capital City..."
Zhou Qing looked at Zhou Shizhong. "I've already confirmed this."
"Then... then what do we do?"
Zhou Wu could not help asking.
If things were truly as Zhou Qing said, wasn't the Zhou Residence already on the brink of having its entire family exterminated?
"Qing, this matter... this matter..." Zhou Shizhong looked grim. Between the emperor he served and the son he trusted, he found it difficult to choose.
"Father, why don't we flee? Leave the Qian Kingdom..." Zhou Wen suddenly spoke.
If the Qian Emperor truly intended to strike against the Zhou Family, fleeing beforehand was indeed an option.
"We don't necessarily have to flee," Zhou Qing spoke again. "Since the Qian Emperor has shown our Zhou Family no benevolence, we might as well overturn the Li Family's realm and take the throne ourselves."
Everyone present was stunned by those words.
"Qing, you..." Even Zhou Shizhong began to stammer.
The Zhou Family had been loyal to the throne for generations. They had never entertained the idea of becoming emperors themselves.
"There's no need to worry that we can't do it. The Qian Kingdom's royal family..." Zhou Qing swept his gaze over them. "From the Qian Emperor himself down to... those thirteen immortal cultivators serving as royal attendants, they're all under my control."
"It's entirely possible for our Zhou Family to replace the Li Family and become the rulers of this land."
"What?" Zhou Shizhong's eyes widened, his mind turning to mush.
Ever since Zhou Qing appeared, Zhou Shizhong had not enjoyed a single moment of peace.
"Qing, what do you mean..." Lady Zhou could not help speaking either, her voice filled with shock.
"Bring him in."
Zhou Qing clapped his hands.
A few rogue cultivators in the late Qi Refining period promptly dragged the Qian Emperor inside.
The Qian Emperor was unconscious, just as Zhou Qing had intended.
When they actually saw the Qian Emperor dragged before them like a dead dog, silence descended once more.
"Your Majesty..."
Zhou Shizhong was about to rise, but at the sight of Zhou Qing standing beside him, he could only suppress the impulse.
"If there's anything you want to ask, ask him directly."
With a slight stirring of his will, Zhou Qing cast a mind-bewitching technique on the Qian Emperor, making him answer every question.
"Your Majesty, did you truly intend to move against our Zhou Family..."
Zhou Shizhong asked quietly.
"Zhou Shizhong of the Zhou Family is far too rigid. Only by killing him can I fully stabilize the situation in the Imperial Palace. Not a single member of the Zhou Family can be spared either, lest they become a hidden threat..."
The Qian Emperor answered woodenly.
Zhou Shizhong's expression turned bleak.
From the Qian Emperor's perspective, this was undoubtedly the correct move. Since he intended to strike against the Eldest Prince, the Zhou Family would naturally be the first target he eliminated.
But now that it had truly fallen upon him, the turmoil in Zhou Shizhong's heart was easy to imagine.
"Father, since that dog of an emperor treats our Zhou Family this way, why not do as Third Brother says and overturn the heavens of the Qian Kingdom..." Hot-blooded as he was, Zhou Wu immediately rose to his feet.
Zhou Wen said nothing, merely looking at Zhou Shizhong.
Only after a long silence
did Zhou Shizhong speak. "Qing, sorry for the trouble, but please send His Majesty... back to the palace."
"Back to the palace?"
Zhou Qing looked at Zhou Shizhong.
"Our Zhou Family has received imperial favor for generations. Even if His Majesty has shown us no mercy, I cannot seize his kingdom and replace him..." Zhou Shizhong spoke slowly, his voice heavy with conflicting emotions.
Zhou Qing could understand Zhou Shizhong's thinking.
It resembled the loyalty to the sovereign in ancient times on Earth: if the ruler commanded a subject to die, the subject had no choice but to die.
"What do we do afterward?" Zhou Qing asked.
Once the Qian Emperor was sent back to the palace, could things between him and the Zhou Family ever return to how they had been?
If they confronted the Qian Emperor openly, he would probably treat the Zhou Family like honored guests from then on. But how would that differ from taking his place?
If they did not confront him, the Qian Emperor would probably still move against the Zhou Family.
"Let's leave the Capital City." Zhou Shizhong's voice was desolate. "Our Zhou Family has a few properties in the Lie Kingdom. We'll go there."
After what had just happened, Zhou Shizhong's heart had grown cold toward the imperial court, and he now wished to retire and live as a wealthy country gentleman.
What did high rank and immense power matter? He was nothing more than a dog at the ruler's feet, to be disposed of on a whim.
"That works too."
Zhou Qing thought it over and felt it was a good choice.
At least they would have a little more freedom.
Zhou Qing had little interest in worldly power.
Lady Zhou, Zhou Wen, and Zhou Wu had no objections either.
While everyone at the Zhou Residence quietly prepared to leave the Capital City for the Lie Kingdom,
Zhou Qing had already ordered his subordinates to send the Qian Emperor back to the Imperial Palace.
Of course, before sending him back, Zhou Qing had tampered with the Qian Emperor's body. He would not live another month.
As the chief culprit behind the Zhou Family's extermination in two simulations, he was naturally not someone Zhou Qing intended to leave alive.
The same went for the Qian Emperor and that demonic sect cultivator, Lu Mu.
After finishing all of this,
Zhou Qing made another trip to the northern frontier to meet the Eldest Prince.
Having witnessed a display of strength sufficient to sweep through an army of tens of thousands, the Eldest Prince naturally trembled as he stood before Zhou Qing.
Zhou Qing bore no particular ill will toward the Eldest Prince.
In his memories, the Eldest Prince had even held him when he was little.
Without the Qian Emperor's schemes, the Eldest Prince would have inherited the throne and likely become one of the wise rulers in the Qian Kingdom's history.
However, Zhou Qing did not visit the Eldest Prince as the Zhou Family's third young master.
Instead, he disguised himself as a passing cultivator.
"Thank you for the warning, Senior. I... I'll return at once," the Eldest Prince said with utmost respect.
When Zhou Qing met him, he mentioned the Qian Emperor's plans in passing.
As for how he had learned of these plans,
the reason...
was that he had discovered everything while pursuing that demonic sect cultivator.
In any case, he had simply invented an excuse to explain it all.
"Oh, and I have some ties with the Zhou Family, so I took their entire household away while I was at it. There's no need to investigate after you return," Zhou Qing said.
This was also why he had come to see the Eldest Prince.
It would save the Eldest Prince from searching everywhere for Zhou Shizhong after inheriting the throne.
"Yes."
The Eldest Prince naturally dared not object.
A month later.
The Jiangnan region of the Lie Kingdom.
Compared with the Qian Kingdom, the Lie Kingdom had a much milder climate, and its people were quite simple and honest.
Zhou Qing had secretly escorted the Zhou Family to Jiangnan in the Lie Kingdom, watching as they put down roots and settled into a stable life.
"My worldly affairs are settled..."
Zhou Qing's gaze was calm. This time, he had spent nearly two months resolving the threat of the Zhou Family's extermination and severing his own worldly karmic ties.
Next, it was time to continue his path of cultivation.