Chapter 684: Transform Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Supreme! Luo Fu

“Lian Er, are Itachi mad?” Wang Xifeng instantly bristled like a startled cat; though she didn’t understand the logic behind it, she knew Jia Lian was clearly planning to sell off all the women of the family—including herself, his former wife.

Jia Lian let out a bitter laugh and said mournfully, “Feng Ge’er, I am now a broken man with no heir; my only hope is to leave behind even a single thread of Jia family lineage.”

Compared to Wang Xifeng, who struggled to accept it, Li Wan’s face flushed briefly before she understood: Jia Lian’s proposal was unquestionably their only option now.

Deep within her heart, if it meant saving her son Jia Lan, Li Wan accepted it instantly.

This also had to do with the treatment she and her son had received in Rongguo Mansion.

Remember, Li Wan was the true eldest daughter-in-law of Rongguo Mansion, of Jia Zheng’s main line.

Jia Lan was truly Jia Zheng’s legitimate grandson.

Yet Rongguo Mansion poured all its attention and affection into Jia Baoyu, the second son.

After all, she came from a scholarly family; her father had even been the Director of the Imperial Academy. How could Li Wan, as the eldest daughter-in-law, not harbor some resentment?

The resources Rongguo Mansion now wastefully squandered on Jia Baoyu should, in theory, have gone mostly to Jia Lan.

Unfortunately, in Rongguo Mansion, Li Wan—the second branch’s eldest daughter-in-law—had no presence at all.

Whether it was her mother-in-law or Jia Mu, they treated Li Wan as if she were invisible.

At best, they didn’t overtly deprive her of her due allowances, but that near-constant cold neglect left Li Wan with little affection for anyone in Rongguo Mansion except her son, Jia Lan.

Now that she saw a chance to save her son from disaster, Li Wan would not let it slip.

“Second Uncle Lian, I understand your meaning. The entire Jia family is imprisoned, and we are trapped here in Yetinggong, with no chance to even see the King.” After quickly calming herself, Li Wan spoke as if discussing something unrelated to her; though a refined lady, she showed not a trace of shame.

Even Jia Lian was momentarily stunned by Li Wan’s demeanor.

But regaining his composure, Jia Lian sighed in relief; the Jia family was on the brink of annihilation, and he feared the women might cling to outdated notions of chastity.

If the Emperor is not satisfied, the Jia family will be wiped out within days.

Thinking of the Chief Eunuch’s nearly explicit hints earlier, Jia Lian’s heart tightened.

Yes.

The true culprit behind Jia Lian’s sudden appearance in Yetinggong, urging the family women—including his sister-in-law Li Wan and wife Wang Xifeng—to comply, was none other than the Chief Eunuch who had arrogantly claimed to understand Luo Fu’s intentions.

Taking a deep breath, Jia Lian said, “I’ve already spoken with the Chief Eunuch. Tonight, Itachi will be moved out of Yetinggong and assigned to serve the future imperial consorts. Then… whether the Jia family leaves behind even a thread of bloodline depends on Itachi.”

“I won’t go.” A cold voice suddenly cut through.

Turning to look, there stood Jia Xichun—pale from recent exertions, yet still as exquisitely delicate as a porcelain doll.

Among the Four Beauties of the Jia household, each had a distinct personality, but none felt less belonging to the family than the youngest, Jia Xichun.

As the youngest of the Four Beauties, Jia Xichun was, by blood, distant from Rongguo Mansion; she was Jia Zhen’s younger sister and Jia Jing’s daughter, yet she had been raised in Rongguo Mansion.

Though separated by only a wall, she was essentially a guest under another’s roof—especially with her brother Jia Zhen, a man of utterly depraved character.

Even as a child, Jia Xichun had already developed a desire to renounce the world.

Had Luo Fu not appeared, after the fall of Ning and Rong mansions, Jia Xichun would have shaved her head and become a nun, living beneath the glow of Buddhist lamps—this was foretold.

In Jia Xichun’s eyes, the Jia family’s downfall was merely karmic retribution, heaven’s manifest justice.

The Prince of Zhao now ruled all under heaven, yet she could still survive here in Yetinggong—why should she humiliate herself for the Jia family?

Seeing Jia Xichun refuse him, Jia Lian frowned, then suddenly had an insight and suppressed his urge to scold, instead saying, “Xichun, we have no choice.”

“I’ve been working in Yetinggong these past days, supporting myself—I can still survive,” Jia Xichun replied firmly.

Jia Lian smiled bitterly. “That’s only because the King is occupied with his coronation and hasn’t yet dealt with the Jia family. Once he ascends the throne and issues the verdict against us, under a toppled nest, how can any egg remain whole?”

“Then let me die,” Jia Xichun stubbornly insisted.

“Do Itachi think death will bring Itachi peace?” This time, it was Li Wan who spoke.

In Li Wan’s heart, if it meant securing even a sliver of life for her son Jia Lan, she would willingly sacrifice her own purity—and if necessary, push every woman of the Jia household into the same fate.

Facing Jia Xichun’s defiant stance, Li Wan continued: “Serving the Emperor is merely one man. But if Itachi persist in this attitude, when punishment comes, do Itachi know what ‘punishment by concubine’ entails? Do Itachi think death will absolve Itachi? Do Itachi believe that defying the founding emperor and playing the martyr will let Itachi depart this world clean and pure? Itachi probably don’t know what ‘exposure of the corpse’ means. Even… even if Itachi die, your body may not be spared!”

These words terrified Jia Xichun.

Raised in a noble household, she had no conception of how dark human cruelty could be.

In feudal times, the women of inner chambers were restricted even in what books they could read.

Works like The Peony Pavilion or The Romance of the Western Chamber were unquestionably forbidden in the boudoir!

The darkest contents were never permitted within the women’s quarters.

Li Wan knew that scaring Jia Xichun alone wouldn’t work—she needed an out.

With a quiet sigh, Li Wan spoke empathetically: “This is the sin the Jia family committed. The new Emperor is reforming the world, founding a new dynasty. As Jia women, we cannot escape it. Better to sacrifice our purity and atone for the Jia family’s crimes than resist and end up worse than dead, with no peace even in death.”

Bending slightly, Li Wan gently embraced the trembling Jia Xichun. “This is the fate of Jia women.”

After persuading the stubborn girl.

With Jia Lian and the Chief Eunuch’s prior arrangements, the most striking women of the Jia household were assigned to serve the Three Beauties and others.

This was Jia Lian’s private motive.

Meanwhile, in the imperial palace, the Chief Eunuch actively aided Luo Fu in collecting his “golden hairpins.”

Inside Qianqing Palace, Luo Fu was in a furious rage.

“Are these dogs tired of living?”

Amid scattered memorials, Luo Fu was beside himself with anger.

“Your Majesty, please calm down.” Lin Ruhai, clad in first-rank official robes—soon to become the founding chancellor of the new dynasty—bowed respectfully.

The reason for Luo Fu’s fury was simple: the gentry across the land.

Originally, Luo Fu had planned to deal with the gentry after his coronation.

But before he could act, they surprised him first.

When he controlled half of Jiangnan, the Jiangnan gentry, fearing his new authority or wishing to avoid becoming examples, had behaved reasonably well.

But now, with Luo Fu firmly established in Jingcheng and preparing for his coronation, the Jiangnan gentry delivered a massive blow.

Just as the Qing gentry had staged the “Mourning Temple Incident” after their conquest.

Now, as Luo Fu prepared his coronation, the Jiangnan gentry delivered another such blow.

Though the memorials used the most reverent language, their intent was unmistakable: they declared themselves Luo Fu’s indispensable contributors and boldly demanded rewards.

In essence, it came down to one word: profit.

The Jiangnan gentry, though skilled in economics, were notoriously shortsighted—and they were also masters of propaganda. Now, in these memorials, not only officials from Jiangnan, but even those from other regions claimed Jiangnan had rendered monumental service to Luo Fu’s rise and deserved tax exemptions.

Only Luo Fu knew the truth: he had gained the empire without any such “meritorious service.”

From the moment he raised his banner to now ruling all under heaven, it had taken barely a year.

Moreover, Luo Fu had never imposed heavy taxes in Jiangnan—in fact, they were often lighter than those of the previous dynasty.

Yet now, these Jiangnan gentry shamelessly played this game.

As if Luo Fu refusing to exempt Jiangnan from taxes would make him ungrateful.

With a cold smile, Luo Fu suddenly realized—

Something was wrong.

He had long known the true nature of the Jiangnan gentry; from the start, he intended to purge them or redistribute their wealth after seizing power.

So why was he so enraged now by these memorials?

This anger did not come from his own heart—it stemmed from his possession of the Three Supreme Positions: Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.

Instantly understanding, Luo Fu swiftly suppressed all his emotions.

Luo Fu turned to Lin Ruhai beside him: “I will be crowned soon. These gentry have submitted memorials just before my coronation—do they think I will yield?”

Lin Ruhai’s heart sank.

Few in the world understood Luo Fu’s terrifying nature better than he.

He remembered how, when Luo Fu first seized Yangzhou, the City God of Yangzhou, Lord Lingyou, had been forced to appear in his dream to negotiate his resurrection.

Throughout Luo Fu’s conquest of the realm, his core strength had always been merely his tens of thousands of elite warriors—each capable of holding off a hundred.

As long as this army remained under Luo Fu’s command, no one in the realm could resist him.

Now, the gentry had lost their minds, attempting to provoke Luo Fu just before his coronation—this was suicide.

Though Lin Ruhai was a loyal follower of Luo Fu, he had always identified as a Confucian scholar.

The gentry were the bedrock of Confucianism.

Lin Ruhai instinctively hoped Luo Fu would not launch a massive purge against them.

Not because he misunderstood Luo Fu’s intentions—he simply underestimated the depth of Luo Fu’s resolve to eradicate the gentry class.

He thought Luo Fu, after coronation, would methodically dismantle the old regime’s remnants.

But Luo Fu sought to truly transform heaven and earth, and reign supreme alone.

He would not tolerate any force—individual, faction, school, or religion—that could rival him.

Clearly, those who submitted these memorials at this critical moment had become thorns in Luo Fu’s flesh.

As Lin Ruhai struggled to find words of counsel—

Luo Fu spoke firmly: “Bring in the guards.”

Several armored imperial guards instantly flooded the hall.

“Order the Luotian Army to deploy six thousand elite troops to Jiangnan and crush the rebellion!”

Luo Fu’s words sent chills down Lin Ruhai’s spine.

Arresting criminals required evidence—but labeling a rebellion required only a target.

And no one knew better than Lin Ruhai the combat power and absolute loyalty of the Luotian Army.

After all, Lin Ruhai had truly been resurrected through Luo Fu’s power, granted the bloodline’s primordial energy, his body strengthened to the point of mastering divine abilities.

Six thousand Luotian troops—throughout the realm, they were an unstoppable, terrifying force.

“Your Majesty…”

Lin Ruhai spoke urgently, but at the next moment, Luo Fu stopped him.

“Father-in-law, no need to say more. If Itachi truly care, go visit the Crown Princess,” Luo Fu declared authoritatively. “Itachi will soon be the Imperial Father-in-law—do not ruin your own future, future Imperial Father-in-law!”

Lin Ruhai’s heart tightened instantly; he knew well that Luo Fu was warning him not to associate with the Jiangnan gentry.

In the past, Lin Ruhai might have, moved by sympathy for his kind and the sorrow of seeing one’s own kind perish, offered some counsel.

But now, as Luo Fu said, he was the future Imperial Father-in-law.

If nothing unexpected occurred, his own grandson would be the future ruler of all under heaven—under such circumstances, how could Lin Ruhai possibly choose to side with Jiangnan? Moreover, Lin Ruhai had already received Luo Fu’s Primordial Energy Seed; deep in his heart, he could never harbor any betrayal toward Luo Fu.

He bowed deeply to Luo Fu and said, “Your Majesty, Jiangnan is your birthplace and the empire’s primary tax region—do not let bloodshed become excessive.”

When Luo Fu gave a slight nod, Lin Ruhai immediately took his leave and headed straight toward the Kunning Palace.

As an external minister, Lin Ruhai theoretically had no right to enter the Kunning Palace, for it was Luo Fu’s inner harem. But Luo Fu had not yet formally ascended the throne, and the new dynasty’s institutions were still incomplete.

That was why Lin Ruhai, the sole external minister from the previous dynasty, was permitted to enter the inner palace.

(End of Chapter)