Jiaozhou's Heir Apparent Was Killed, and the Plot Went Off Track Again

"Gu Yuan really has the empress's favor. Even after he overstepped his authority like that, she didn't hold him accountable at all..."

Lü Luo looked astonished as she murmured to herself.

"With talent like his, unmatched throughout history, there's nothing strange about it," Hong Ni said calmly.

"Huh?"

"Hong Ni, I feel like you've changed... You've become much colder than before."

"No, you're imagining things," Hong Ni said casually. "It's time to find Meixiang."

"There's no rush. Now that Gu Yuan is back, we can only handle Meixiang's situation gradually. The heir apparent has another task for us."

"What is it?"

"Go find Jiaozhou's heir apparent..."

The imperial palace of Great Qi.

"Let me in. I want to see Her Majesty."

"Lord Gu, Her Majesty has already entered seclusion."

Seclusion?

Why enter seclusion now?

"Her Majesty said you rendered meritorious service by suppressing the bandits, my lord, and specifically ordered me to take you to collect your reward."

???

A reward...?

Even if I, Gu Yuan, jumped down from here, I wouldn't...

"Please follow me to the treasury, Lord Gu."

!!!

Gu Yuan's eyes lit up.

"Do you mean the treasury inside the state vault?"

"That's right."

Well, that changed things!

If he wasn't going to take the reward, who would?

Great Qi's state vault was filled with treasures. With them, he could not only speed up the plot considerably, but also weaken Qi Yueli.

Two birds with one stone.

As for confessing his crimes to the empress, that could wait...

"Your Majesty, Lord Gu has left."

Qi Yueli quietly raised her eyes.

"What did he take?"

"Your Majesty, he took more than ten artifacts, including the Hundred-Feather Armor and the Mystic Shadow Needle, as well as all the materials for refining artifacts... Lord Gu couldn't carry them all himself, so he ordered me to get a cart to transport them back to the Gu residence."

"..."

That fellow picked out all the most valuable things!

"There's no need to record what Gu Yuan took."

The palace maid in charge of the state vault's internal affairs froze, her eyes full of disbelief.

Not recording them meant that the empress had given these things to him privately, rather than granting them as a reward.

Could it be that Gu Yuan and the empress...?

The palace maid didn't dare dwell on it.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Qi Yueli felt a warmth in her chest.

"You may all withdraw."

Once everyone had left, she slowly took out the diary.

[I've struck it rich!]

[I have to say, the empress is pretty generous. She actually let me take whatever I wanted from the treasury. I doubt there's anyone else under heaven who gets that kind of treatment.]

[Praise the Martial God Physique!]

[Ah, then again, the empress treats me so well, but I'm plotting to rebel. Isn't that a little ungrateful?]

Qi Yueli's eyes lit up.

"Has that fellow finally started feeling guilty?"

[Forget it. It's not like I was ever an upright gentleman, and besides, the empress is doomed by the plot. She's bound to die.]

[At worst, I'll offer a few extra sticks of incense for her after she dies... If that's not enough, I'll pray for her after the version update, so she can have a good reincarnation!]

[Yeah, it's settled!]

Qi Yueli: ...

[Sorry, Empress. For the sake of immortality, I have no choice but to sacrifice you.]

[Come to think of it, when I was trapped in that illusion, the empress not only married me, but also wanted to give me all of Great Qi as her dowry...]

Qi Yueli: ???

[There was only a year's difference between the illusion and reality. Could that really be how things turned out in some other world line?]

[Did I really become emperor? And take the empress, the princess, and the Lu sisters for myself?]

Qi Yueli: ??????

[Actually, if I couldn't cultivate immortality, I really would do that. What a pity...]

[Speaking of cultivating immortality, if the empress didn't die, she'd probably make a good prospect for it too. After all, she's the youngest martial arts grandmaster in the world, with extraordinary comprehension and disposition. She might even cultivate faster than Xiao Chen...]

"Cultivating immortality?"

Qi Yueli was somewhat bewildered.

The greatest hope of her life was to turn Great Qi into a dynasty of unprecedented prosperity.

She had never thought about living forever.

But now, something seemed to stir in her heart.

Gu Yuan wanted to live forever. If she could live forever too, wouldn't she be able to stay with Gu Yuan forever?

"Hmph!"

"Who wants to be with her?"

Qi Yueli kept shaking her head.

[The Heavenly Longevity Festival is approaching. While the empress is paying respects to her ancestors at the imperial mausoleum, she'll be corrupted by an evil presence in the festival gifts and fall into the demonic path.]

[I have to take care of Shuzhou, Mo, and Ruzhou before then. With the power of those three provinces, I can greatly speed up the version update.]

[Little Sister Xiang'er doesn't know that the Mo Clan Mechanism Book is hidden in her family's heirloom box. I'll mention it to her when I get the chance. The Exploitation of the Works of Nature is far superior to the Mo Clan Mechanism Book, so I might as well teach her what's in it. Then I'll have another assistant by my side.]

Qi Yueli's expression shifted slightly.

"What is The Exploitation of the Works of Nature?"

[As for Shuzhou and Ruzhou... I'm off duty for the next few days, so I'll find a chance to meet Lu Yunshu and Shangguan Ling. No, that should be Shangguan Lin.]

[Come to think of it, Shangguan Lin dresses as a man. Bathing must be pretty inconvenient for her, right?]

Qi Yueli: Hmph!

"Is that any of your concern?"

[Lu Zhaoming wants an artifact to use as a weapon. I can take this opportunity to give him one and get closer to him.]

[I can't let the materials I took from the Heavenly Calamity Sect and the palace go to waste. I can use them to make a set of artifacts for myself and Senior Sister.]

[With her equipment maxed out, Senior Sister will be able to protect herself even against the empress.]

[It's just... after what happened in the maze... Senior Sister probably won't come looking for me these next few days, will she?]

Qi Yueli: ...

[Yeah, girls are shy. Before Senior Sister and I make our relationship official, I absolutely mustn't bring it up first.]

[If Senior Sister doesn't mention it, neither will I!]

"Who wants to make our relationship official with you?"

Qi Yueli gave a soft snort.

"You brazenly lecherous little rebel...!"

[I'll stop here for now. Time to study artifact-making. I wonder what color Senior Sister likes. Maybe I should make something that can change color...?]

The diary stopped updating.

Qi Yueli gently closed it, a faint smile appearing on her lips as she murmured:

"Maybe I should go see him tonight?"

As she pondered this,

an urgent voice came from outside the hall.

"Report!"

The newcomer was Duan Tianya, one of the Mystic Shadow Guard's ten commanders.

"What has you so flustered?"

Duan Tianya said gravely, "Your Majesty, something has happened."

"Jiaozhou's heir apparent has been murdered!"

!!!

Qi Yueli sprang to her feet.

A provincial heir apparent, murdered in the Qi Capital?

This was an enormous matter!

If no explanation was given, Jiaozhou was sure to rebel!

"Has the scene been examined? Were there any suspicious people?"

Duan Wuya's face was full of confusion.

"Your Majesty, there were no signs of a struggle at the scene, nor were there any external injuries on Jiaozhou's heir apparent."

"I examined him, and there was no one else's true essence inside him either."

"The cause of death is unknown."

"Before anything happened to Jiaozhou's heir apparent, three parties came to see him."

"Shangguan Ling, the heir apparent of Ruzhou; the two women at the side of Xiao Chen, the heir apparent of Qingzhou; and Gu Shu, the daughter of Minister Gu."

Qi Yueli frowned.

Gu Shu?

Gu Yuan's elder sister...

Why did she go to see Jiaozhou's heir apparent?

"Pass on my decree."

"You are to take full charge of investigating the murder of Jiaozhou's heir apparent."

"I want results within three days."

"Yes!" Duan Wuya bowed.

"If you run into difficulties, you may ask Gu Yuan."

Duan Wuya was taken aback.

Gu Yuan...

He had long heard of the man's great reputation.

But each of the Mystic Shadow Guard's commanders had their own duties, and he had always been busy investigating cases, so he had not had much contact with Gu Yuan.

Now he had an opportunity.

"Understood. I will go and see Lord Gu at once."

Duan Wuya left.

Qi Yueli's eyes were full of astonishment.

"To kill a sixth-grade martial artist without leaving a single wound or making a sound."

"Could it be that he's here...?"

Qi Yueli's heart tightened.

If it really was the person she had in mind, this would be troublesome...

The Gu residence.

Meixiang hurried into the rear courtyard.

"Brother Yuan, something terrible has happened!"

Gu Yuan looked at Meixiang's anxious face, covered in sweat, and was puzzled.

"Little Sister Xiang'er, what happened?"

"Jiaozhou's heir apparent is dead!"

"Sister Shu... Sister Shu went to see him before he died, and now the Mystic Shadow Guard has detained her!"

!!!

"What?"

Gu Yuan shot to his feet.

He wasn't worried about Gu Shu's safety. Since it was the Mystic Shadow Guard, they would naturally show him some consideration.

But how had Jiaozhou's heir apparent died?

This was completely unexpected.

It had never happened in the original plot, either...

A provincial heir apparent had been murdered in Qi Capital for no reason. This was a matter of enormous consequence!

Gu Yuan took a deep breath.

"It seems someone wants to punch a hole through the heavens over Qi Capital!"

"Xiang'er, lead the way."

"Let's go see just how the heir apparent of Jiaozhou died!"