Chapter 964

Impersonating the emperor is a capital offense punishable by execution and extermination of nine generations, no matter the dynasty.

Wen Zhiheng grew up with him, from being the crown prince's study companion to becoming empress, so she naturally understood the emperor better than anyone and clearly knew all his imperial flaws.

But these flaws were absent in Jin Chen, so even if Wen Zhiheng was reluctant to suspect, she could naturally tell who the true emperor was.

"Empress, you also saw today that the impostor knows everything about me; he must be a demon!"

"The tyrant pointed toward the direction outside the pavilion's dark path, his tone violent and full of domineering anger: 'If it weren't for that, I would be fine here; how could another person appear?'"

"That impostor even dismissed my harem!"

"Upon mentioning this, Wen Zhiheng glanced at the tyrant, looking at that face so similar, her eyes gradually turning cold, 'Then what do you think I should do?'"

"Of course, find a chance to kill him!"

"The tyrant showed no hesitation, hands behind his back in an arrogant pose: 'Not only for me, but for the entire Jin State!'"

"Do you know about the matter of General Majestic? Wen Zhiheng asked, her expression suddenly changing, 'Wasn't it said you could only stay here, with no way to go elsewhere?'"

"With many people and mixed talk in the palace, finding out these things is as easy as turning over one's hand."

The tyrant was displeased with his sudden change of topic, stepped forward a few paces and grabbed Empress Wen Zhi Heng's shoulder, lowering his head to look at her, his handsome face dark with anger, "Empress, could it be that you want to shield the impostor?"

Even that cat believes it—how could Empress Wen Zhi Heng still not believe?

Empress Wen Zhi Heng's shoulder ached from his grip; her frail body could not withstand such shaking, her face turned pale, and she violently shoved off the tyrant's restraint, turned her head, and covered her mouth while coughing.

"Let go! Cough cough cough cough… cough cough!"

A strange emotion flashed in the tyrant's eyes; he thought he had already softened his tone, flicked his sleeve in dissatisfaction, "Why is your health still so poor? It seems the impostor isn't treating you well either."

"If you don't believe what I say, you can go confront the impostor yourself; even the little cat demon believes it—what a shame, considering you and I were once acquainted as the Eastern Palace's master."

Little cat demon…

Empress Wen Zhi Heng turned her head in confusion, not understanding what the tyrant meant, "Who is the cat demon?"

No sooner had she asked than she suddenly thought of something.

Before this Jin Chen even appeared, the emperor had kept a black cat that no one was allowed to touch; it vanished not long after, and that was…

"Shao Chun is the cat demon."

Empress Wen Zhi Heng looked at him in astonishment, her phoenix eyes filled with disbelief, "You know he's a monster, yet you still…" "This is my affair; the Empress meddles too much."

The tyrant shouted angrily, his handsome face somewhat distorted, "I despise nothing more than your attitude; before you managed things, that was fine, but now I am the Son of Heaven! You repeatedly embarrass me before the officials—where is there any trace of a virtuous Empress?"

Empress Wen Zhi Heng halted her breath for a moment, silently drew a deep breath, and the fingers inside her wide sleeves grew cold and trembled.

"So, since you despise me so much, why did you insist on the late emperor's marriage decree back then?"

"You used to not concern yourself with so many matters; if I had known earlier…" The tyrant spoke, but suddenly noticed Empress Wen Zhi Heng's eye sockets were red, and the rest of his sentence died unspoken; he flicked his sleeve in speechlessness.

"In short, remember this: you are my Empress, not that impostor's; find a chance to kill him, and only then can I return to my former supreme position as the Son of Heaven."

At the same time.

After Jin Chen ordered the palace gates sealed, all patrolling guards began to search for spies.

He slowly returned to the waterside pavilion path, thinking that if he really couldn't find them, he might as well kill the main character's love interest.

"Older brother, why are you alone here?"

Heng Wang came out looking for him, saw the palace path lit with candles, curiously raised his head to look, "I thought there had been a flood."

"What are you doing out here?" Jin Chen asked.

"You still dare to ask? A perfectly good family feast, and as the ruler and elder brother you're not in the hall, the Empress isn't either, yet inside a crowd of royal relatives awaits."

Following his wife's words, Heng Wang also mentioned another matter, "By the way, the fifth brother slipped out to sober up."

"Is Huai Feng not here?" Jin Chen frowned tightly, somewhat worried.

"Someone come."

He immediately summoned the dark guards, "Go find the Empress, don't be discovered, and return once you have her."

A black shadow flashed past, obeying the order.

"... I just said all that, and older brother only took in one sentence."

Heng Wang held his hands, shook his head, and silently sighed, "It feels like this return to the palace has made older brother's temperament a bit gentler."

That was how it used to be—speak a couple of sentences and he'd flare up, unwilling to tolerate any questioning.

Jin Chen gave an affirmative hum, having no mind for pleasantries; his original intention was to use spatial surveillance to locate Empress Wen Zhi Heng's position.

But there was nothing he could do; since that blind spot appeared, he could no longer precisely pinpoint a location within the palace.

At that moment, Jin Chen suddenly heard 073's voice full of alarm, 【Host, listen quickly!】

【Detected a fluctuation in this plane's world consciousness; the world's main character has changed. Main attacker: Tyrant Jin Chen, main recipient: Cold Empress Wen Zhi Heng; please take note, task performer.】

【System notification: Detected that this world's main character and antagonist are the same person; please change the mission objective: instead of clearing the Blackening Value, help the main character achieve a good ending.】

【Oh my goodness!! How could such a thing happen!】

Jin Chen abruptly halted his steps, his face suddenly changed; the Jade Pendant he had been playing with in his hand fell to the ground with a clear, lonely chime, shattering into several pieces.

Tyrant Jin Chen… that would hardly be the original self.

"Older brother, what's wrong?" Heng Wang saw Jin Chen staring blankly at the shattered Jade Pendant, nervously retreated half a step, fearing blame would fall on him, "That… it's just a Jade Pendant; if it breaks, it breaks. I don't have any fine jade—though it doesn't compare to the palace's, it's still nice… uh uh uh, where are you going, older brother!"

Jin Chen raised his hand toward him, tone cold and hard, "Do not follow."

Having said that, he departed with swift steps; his tall back even showed a rare hint of panic.

【Host, don't panic, I'll check what's going on right away!】0731 also became extremely tense, afraid that if the Host was unhappy, he would directly destroy this world.

Jin Chen ordered that no one be allowed to enter, and had Fu'an bring people to guard outside the hall before he slammed the door shut.

Inside the hall only a single candle was lit, extremely dim, shadows shifting.

Jin Chen stood in the gloom, his gaze fixed, the depths of his eyes stained with a deep darkness.

Since the system has altered the mission, at least it indicates that Empress Wen Zhi Heng has now met and recognized the original self.

"No wonder."

Jin Chen let out a low murmur, his voice ice-cold to the bone, yet it also betrayed an uncontrollable sense of dispirited disarray.