Chapter 14: After Practicing So Hard, Why Can

“Does His Majesty mean to summon them all into the palace?”

The Empress Dowager was slightly surprised; as she shifted her posture, she revealed yet another layer of grace and allure.

“My meaning is to summon them one by one.”

Li Chen had no intention of pretending to be pure.

First, he was a fully capable transplant—physically healthy, with no strange habits or aberrant preferences.

As for his appearance, he surpassed the beauty of two and a half Pan Ans.

His physical condition easily matched that of five Lao Ai.

He had cultivated to the peak of the Saint Realm and even ascended to the throne—why shouldn’t he enjoy himself?

Any excuse was unnecessary; as long as it brought him joy within his own reasonable bounds, that was enough.

There was much factional strife within the court, and Li Chen certainly noticed it.

But he was too lazy to move, not because he couldn't control it, but because he saw no need to.

In Li Chen’s eyes, all these civil and military officials were his employees.

As long as they committed no fundamental errors and fulfilled their duties, that was sufficient.

After all, this entire cadre had been left behind by the late emperor and had achieved a certain degree of balance.

He had no need to foster new factions to engage in covert and open struggles with them—it would only create unnecessary complications.

As long as he sat on the throne for one more day, they would forever remain his subjects.

If the internal currents of the Tian Ce Dynasty were turbulent, hiding many dangers,

Li Chen did not deny it—after all, the Crown Prince’s cause of death had still not been uncovered.

But so what if currents were turbulent? Li Chen was a Saint Realm cultivator—anyone who dared show their head would be instantly erased.

The Second Prince was a perfect example yesterday; after Li Chen revealed his power, his voice trembled when he spoke.

As a transplant, Li Chen had his own approach and never worried because his system hadn’t activated yet.

With sufficient strength, one had the best possible guarantee in this world.

Fear, above all, stemmed from insufficient firepower.

Moreover, as Emperor, Li Chen felt that since the Tian Ce Dynasty had endured for millennia, its imperial regulations were already well-established—he saw no need to expend effort reinventing them.

Just don’t cause trouble for me—if you push me too far, I won’t coddle you.

Of course, if he saw injustice, he would still intervene.

Because he was a strong one—he could decide right from wrong according to his own will. That was the right of the strong.

This was precisely why Chancellor Zhao Wenyuan and Grand General Guo Po wanted to protect Li Chen at all costs.

In other words, if another prince had ascended the throne, one without absolute power to command his ministers,

He would surely seek to centralize authority to secure his position.

Then the conflict between emperor and ministers would become obvious.

Li Chen, however, found his ministers quite obedient—even the Minister of Rites under the Second Prince, Yan Hai, would, if given conflicting orders from Li Chen and the Second Prince, prioritize Li Chen’s command without hesitation, and even hesitate to carry out the Second Prince’s order lest it offend Li Chen.

Because Yan Hai knew that offending the Second Prince might lead to his downfall—but only possibly.

But offending Li Chen meant immediate death.

He knew which was lighter and which was heavier.

Take the Empress Dowager, for example: if the emperor were a powerless puppet, he would have to rise and address her as “Mother Empress.”

This phrase would draw him closer to her—a verbal flattery, a bowing of the head.

But Li Chen didn’t even bother rising to greet her; he addressed the Empress Dowager strictly by her title.

Even the Empress Dowager sensed something amiss—precisely because she dared not offend this Saint Realm Emperor too much.

From these two days of being Emperor, Li Chen was quite satisfied. Now he needed to consider other matters.

Namely, the matter of the Empress Dowager introducing him concubines.

Previously, he had been reclusive and had little contact with women outside the palace harem.

Constantly facing such high-stakes trials naturally raised his standards.

So when the Empress Dowager introduced these women to him, he didn’t refuse.

After all, the palace could get hot sometimes—he needed to cool off.

Besides, the women the Empress Dowager selected were certainly no common courtesans.

Li Chen didn’t sense any intent to harm him from the Empress Dowager—this was precisely what an Emperor should enjoy!

If the Empress Dowager’s introductions were meant to harm him, then he hoped she would harm him more—even better, come herself to do it.

In the palace, after hearing Li Chen’s reply, the Empress Dowager began detailing the origins and identities of these women.

!

“Your Majesty, this one is Chu Ruoyan, the eldest daughter of the imperial capital’s prestigious Chu family—she is one of the Twin Wonders of the Capital, with exceptional talent and strength.”

Actually, the Empress Dowager had wanted to say Chu Ruoyan’s talent and strength were formidable.

But remembering Li Chen’s own power, she changed her words.

Chu Ruoyan was currently in the imperial capital; if summoned now, she could arrive at the palace in due time.

There were many beautiful women in the imperial capital, but the Empress Dowager had selected only those from her own faction who met the criteria.

“Fine, then her. I’ll go to the Imperial Study to review memorials—let me know when she arrives.”

The moment he thought of his remaining duties, Li Chen’s head throbbed.

The Emperor didn’t need to hold court daily—sometimes he only needed to do so once every week or so.

But lately, a backlog of matters had piled up, all waiting for Li Chen to handle.

On the other side, in the Chu family mansion of the imperial capital.

These prestigious clans needed powerful patrons to survive in the turbulent imperial capital of the Tian Ce Dynasty.

Otherwise, they would quickly be supplanted by newly risen families.

The Chu family’s patron was naturally the Empress Dowager’s nephew—though he hadn’t yet earned the right to approach her directly, he was still under her influence.

The Chu family was only a second-tier clan in the capital; their ancestral patriarch held the Observation of Heaven realm.

But the patriarch was elderly; if he passed away one day, the Chu family would lose its value and be discarded by the Empress Dowager’s faction, its status collapsing until it vanished from the capital.

Fortunately, their family had produced a peerless prodigy: Chu Ruoyan.

Chu Ruoyan possessed extraordinary talent and beauty rivaling a celestial fairy.

She was chosen as one of the Twin Wonders of the Capital upon reaching adulthood.

Now in her twenties, her figure had fully matured—slender, curvaceous, and alluring.

Every noble scion, every talented youth from elite families, even prodigies from distant lands—once they saw Chu Ruoyan, they lost their souls, vowing to spend their lives with her and never change.

One could say the suitors chasing Chu Ruoyan lined up from her family’s gate all the way to the eastern gate of the capital.

The reason it ended at the eastern gate was simply because it was the closest; extending to any other gate would be too far.

The Chu family had gained minor fame in the capital solely because of Chu Ruoyan.

Chu Ruoyan had displayed extraordinary talent since childhood and was fiercely protected by her family—naturally, she had grown somewhat spoiled and aloof.

She had never given anyone a good look—not even her own family.

Because she felt they only saw her as a tool for marriage alliances to stabilize the family, never truly recognizing her own merits.

As someone of extraordinary talent, this mindset was perfectly natural—she believed that for a family to advance, true strength was the only path.

(End of Chapter)