Chapter 363: You Want My Realm

Chu Yunzheng looks up at the sky and laughs wildly: "I am not dead yet!"

"You are so eager to appoint a Crown Prince?"

"Wan Tang, your manner of eating is rather unsightly."

"Moreover, just because you say to designate someone as Crown Prince, does that make it so? The Crown Prince you speak of is not also my son?"

"Or perhaps you wish to become a second Empress Dowager Xiao."

When Chu Yunzheng speaks, a mocking glint in his eyes is hard to suppress.

Wan Tang smiles calmly: "This is the only thing the Emperor can do."

"The Emperor covets the throne; if you are willing to cooperate, letting you sit on the Dragon Throne for a few more years is no problem."

Chu Yunzheng's fist suddenly clenches, and he points fiercely at the ministers below: "Look, this is your good Empress!"

"Usually each of you is so eloquent? Why are you speechless now?"

The hall falls into dead silence.

The hundred officials bow their heads and stand, as if they heard none of the previous words.

Only Qi Qi steps forward, his face not angry but excited at the prospect of his dream coming true.

He kneels heavily and bows: "Old Minister earnestly petitions the Emperor to consider the realm and establish the foundation of the nation soon!"

"Audacious!" Chu Yunzheng kicks Qi Qi to the ground with a foot.

Qi Qi's mouth and nose bleed, yet he struggles to rise and bows again: "Old Minister earnestly petitions the Emperor to appoint a Crown Prince!"

Immediately, more than half of the officials in the hall kneel down in unison:

"We, the ministers, earnestly petition the Emperor to appoint a Crown Prince…"

Wan Tang stands there quietly.

She clearly looks at the people present, yet her gaze seems to pierce through them, drifting farther away.

She silently thinks: "Sister, did you see? He will become the Crown Prince beloved by all officials."

Chu Yunzheng staggers backward, looking in disbelief at the woman he once regarded as a sparrow in his hand.

Now she stands before the officials, her bearing naturally majestic.

Only then does he realize how much lies hidden beneath that fragile, pitiful exterior?

Chu Yunzheng's fury churns in his chest with nowhere to vent, so he stares fixedly at Wan Tang, trembling with anger.

"Emperor!"

A startled shout; Bai Li, ignoring the guards' blockades, stumbles forward.

A wild joy on her face: "Emperor, I have finally got hold of the Empress's leverage!"

She raises a stack of letters, her voice sharp: "The underground merchants that spread rumors and manipulate the people, its mastermind is Wan Tang!"

"It was she who orchestrated all the rumors, she intends to ruin your reputation, Emperor!"

Unfortunately, these words still failed to cause a ripple.

The kneeling ministers remain calm.

Chu Yunzheng's heart sinks, having understood more, he roars in fury: "Wan Tang! What else do you have to say?!"

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Wan Tang merely brushes the crease of her sleeve, a faint smile curling her lips: "Sister Li Fei, only just discovered it now?"

Wan Tang meets Chu Yunzheng's furious gaze, smiles lightly, and calmly admits, following Bai Li's words: "Indeed, the merchant houses are mine. However…"

She shifts tone, her gaze returning to Chu Yunzheng's ashen face, her tone openly provocative: "What Sister Li Fei uncovered is merely the tip of the iceberg."

She steps forward slowly; with each sentence, Chu Yunzheng's complexion grows paler:

"Jiangnan Salt Transport, 30% of its profit goes into my private treasury; Northern Frontier Horse Market, the largest caravan bears the surname Mo, not Chu; even East Sea Pearls, Western Region Glass… the most lucrative trades in the world, seven or eight out of ten, are in my hands."

She stands only a step away from Chu Yunzheng, her voice clear and cold:

"Emperor, the hundreds of thousands of border troops you cannot sustain— their food, clothing, and salaries over the years, eight or nine out of ten are funded by me."

On the high city wall, only Wan Tang's voice echoes:

"Now, Emperor, do you understand?"

"The realm you cannot keep steady, I prop up with Gold and Silver Mountains; the hearts of the people you cannot win, I feed with Food and Cloth. Even your most relied-upon army…"

She leans slightly, her crimson lips curving a dazzling smile: "They are also raised by me."

"Slap!"

Chu Yunzheng's palm slaps Wan Tang's face hard enough to make her stagger a half-step, her cheek instantly swelling red.

"I will kill you, poisonous woman!" His eyes bulge, and he swiftly draws the sword at his waist.

Wan Tang lets out a low laugh, lifts her hand to wipe the blood from her lip corner, and when she turns her head to him, her eyes are full of mockery: "If the Emperor kills me, who will quell the tens of thousands of rioters outside the city? Who will soothe the disaster‑stricken people rising in rebellion across the lands?"

She steps forward toward the blade, voice clear: "If I'm not mistaken, the Capital is only a beginning."

"Now the Northern Frontier Snowfield, Southern Border Desolate Village, Western Frontier Border Town…"

"Every place where hunger and cold exist is reenacting this very drama."

"Emperor, ask yourself—can your army suppress them? Can your treasury fund them?"

A bloodied lip corner lifts proudly: "But I can."

Bai Li is startled by the sudden turn of events, her voice trembling: "What... what is actually happening?"

She rushed to Wan Tang's side, incredulously questioning, "You, to deal with me, would go so far as to oppose the Emperor and wreak havoc across the realm?!"

"Hahaha!" Wan Tang seems to have heard the world's most ridiculous joke, unable to contain a wild laugh: "Deal with you?"

"Bai Li, what are you, that you deserve my exhaustive scheming, laying out such a grand plan to deal with?"

Her tone is utterly contemptuous: "You are nothing but a toy."

She turns her gaze to the ever‑changing‑colored Chu Yunzheng, continuing with a cold sneer: "Only that our Emperor needs a 'Fluent Talker' like you."

"Men, once without pressure, always pursue what they call the purest love."

I only obeyed the Emperor's will, sending you to the Emperor's side.

The words struck like a thunderclap, chilling Bai Li to the core and causing Chu Yunzheng's complexion to change abruptly.

He seemed to instantly grasp a key point, and a flash of alarm and sudden realization passed through his eyes.

He thought of Wan Tang's grievances.

He thought of her deliberate avoidance.

He thought of her saying she wouldn't be jealous…

So it turned out that what he believed was manipulation in his hand was merely someone else going with the flow.

Outside the palace walls, earth‑shaking shouts and cries surged like a tide, drawing ever nearer…

Clear the ruler's side! Aid the disaster victims!

The incompetent ruler, step down!

Chu Yunzheng's complexion turned ashen.

The vast Imperial City now only had a mere few ten‑thousands of Imperial Guard troops barely holding on.

Outside The City, hundreds of thousands of famine‑driven refugees and defected troops!

Chu Yunzheng stared at Wan Tang, then sneered, "Do you think I'd be completely unprepared for such a trick?"

"Wretched woman!"

He abruptly turned toward the hall's exterior, shouting, "Su Yanci, seize this wretched woman for me!"

"Before I return, throw her into the Heavenly Prison and keep a strict watch!"

Having finished the order, he inhaled deeply, his gaze turning complex as he looked at the panicked Bai Li beside him, his tone tinged with helplessness.

He extended his hand: "Bai Er, you… come with me."