Chapter 1329: Smash and Destroy

Taiji Palace.

Emperor Jian Shi was dressed neatly today, like a proper emperor.

There was a faint hint of anger on his face, but no murderous intent.

Song Anxu sat below, slightly tense, yet still able to hold her ground.

"Uncle…"

She even omitted the word "cousin." Clearly, the relationship between Wang Fei and Emperor Jian Shi, these cousin siblings, was still good. Song Anxu, as Wang Fei's own daughter, benefited from it.

One word—"uncle"—turned the entire matter into an internal affair of the Huangshi Sect, a family matter, beyond the interference of court ministers, let alone idle gossip.

Emperor Jian Shi showed slight displeasure. "Have you thought this through?"

Song Anxu gently stroked her abdomen. "Uncle, I might already be pregnant."

Emperor Jian Shi's expression turned utterly exasperated. "You—you—you're acting recklessly! That Chen Chen Guanlou—I've met him. He's a bit defiant, but under imperial authority, even a Grand Master must bow. If he refuses to marry you but you insist on him, I'll press his head down myself and force him to take you as his wife."

"Uncle, it's not that he doesn't want to marry me—it's that I don't want to marry." Song Anxu had long since come to this conclusion. She weighed every angle, balanced pros and cons, and even used a ninth-rank martialist from the palace to deliver a message to her mother. The two women reached an agreement: the child would be born, but not within marriage.

"Absurd!" Emperor Jian Shi was deeply displeased.

Song Anxu understood why the emperor was upset. This was heresy—something unheard of in the imperial family for centuries. Royal daughters might keep male favorites or sneak out to liaise, but none had ever refused marriage entirely and sought only to bear a child while standing alone as head of their household.

It would set a new precedent.

The clan members had endless complaints. The most frequent accusation: Song Anxu was disrupting court order, defying moral norms. A woman, doing what men do.

When a man plays with women, fathers children without marrying—that's prowess.

When a woman does it, it's moral decay.

But the real issue was conflict of interest.

If Song Anxu succeeded in carving out this path, future royal daughters would surely follow suit, fighting their brothers and cousins for power and inheritance.

Utterly absurd!

This precedent must not be set. Song Anxu must not be allowed to corrupt the rules.

Bearing a child is minor. Corrupting the rules, setting a bad example, letting women seize power, status, and wealth—that's the real crisis.

Emperor Jian Shi was annoyed!

That bunch of clan members nagged him constantly, like mosquitoes—harmless, but utterly irritating!

Emperor Jian Shi didn't care whether rules were broken, or whether women could run households, or become princes. He himself was the greatest rule-breaker of them all.

He knew the boundaries of the Three Bonds and Five Constants, but never followed them. He didn't care whether his niece followed them either.

He only cared that this was annoying—annoying him. It delayed his pill intake. It delayed his nap in the harem.

Yet as emperor, as the supreme figure of the Huangshi Sect, some things couldn't be avoided—he had to handle them personally.

So annoying!

He was now impatient, his gaze toward Song Anxu growing sharp.

Song Anxu felt uneasy inside, but still dared to speak: "My mother agrees too. Here is her memorial to you, Uncle."

She held the memorial with both hands, raised above her head.

Emperor Jian Shi gave a glance; a eunuch bowed forward, took the memorial, and delivered it to him.

He flipped through its contents, snorted coldly. "You mother and daughter are truly…"

"Please support us, Uncle. Mother says this is the best choice for the Wang Fu."

Emperor Jian Shi's expression was unreadable. He tapped the memorial lightly with his fingers, then suddenly raised an eyebrow and smiled. "What does your father think?"

"Father says he leaves all decisions to Mother," Song Anxu bowed and replied.

"How long do you think your father has left to live?"

This question was devastating.

Song Anxu's heart tightened, then steadied. "Father is ill. The Physician says, with proper care, ten years is no problem."

"Ten years?" Emperor Jian Shi smiled faintly, his gaze dropping to Song Anxu's abdomen. "Can your mother wait? If this child is a boy, it might…"

"Uncle, I am a filial child!"

Before the emperor could voice his implication, Song Anxu boldly interrupted.

Emperor Jian Shi sneered. "I don't care whether you're filial. If you have the guts to seize the princedom, I have no objection. You're truly an Song—no shame to your mother. As for your father? A senile fool. He neglects his rightful heir, favors a concubine's brat—utter nonsense. Let him die! Otherwise, I'd be tempted to issue an edict and clean up the Wang Fu myself."

Emperor Jian Shi was the eldest son of the former Empress—utterly legitimate.

After his mother's death, he endured decades of attacks from his brothers. Thus, beyond his own children, he despised any illegitimate sons within the clan who sought to usurp titles—especially when the legitimate heir still lived.

Song Shizheng was fortunate to be born to the principal wife; otherwise, Emperor Jian Shi would never have intervened to have the Zongzheng Temple officially recognize him. Without that recognition and re-registration, even if the Dongping Wang Fu took him back, his status would remain awkward.

Wang Fei had run rampant in the Wang Fu, and Emperor Jian Shi was delighted—so he had consistently favored her side over the years.

Wang, the Prince, likely realized this, and finally gave up struggling.

Now, his niece walks the same heretical path again—he doesn't hate it, he just finds it troublesome.

"Must it be Chen Chen Guanlou?"

"He's the most suitable," Song Anxu whispered. "He has only one relative—a married sister. No ambition, yet a ninth-rank martialist. Most importantly, he doesn't crave the Wang Fu's power. There's probably no second man in the world who doesn't lust after power."

Emperor Jian Shi grunted, seemingly accepting her reasoning.

"Keep it quiet! Once you're confirmed pregnant, leave Jingcheng immediately. You've already caused me a mess. Next time, don't come to Jingcheng without my permission. If you want to give birth, let the Chen man go to your fief to find you."

Song Anxu was overjoyed. She bowed deeply in thanks. "Thank you, Uncle! I knew you'd be the kindest to me!"

"Leave! I'm truly indebted to you."

Song Anxu left the palace, beaming.

With the emperor's approval, all other problems became minor ones. Clan insults, impeachment by the Zhang Zhang Yushi—she had plenty of ways to strike back.

After all, she was a woman. She didn't need to be a moral paragon. Sometimes, she'd use womanly tactics to solve troubles.

That day, at the Wang Fu's Beijing residence, a group of burly guards, wielding clubs, marched out of the mansion and headed straight for the homes of hostile imperial relatives—then smashed their way in.

They don't hit people; they only smash, reducing the mansions to rubble.

After smashing the imperial relatives' homes, they went to smash Zhang Zhang Yushi's residence.

The entire Jingcheng boiled over because of her outburst.

The Zhang Yushis were furious, swearing they would not be human unless they drove Song Anxu out of Jingcheng.

The imperial relatives rushed to the palace to file complaints, but Emperor Jian Shi refused to see any of them. He only sent a eunuch to deliver one message: "Serves them right!"