Chapter 573

(Simple recap of previous plot, Qingyun Sect destroyed the four major powers of the Nine Heavens Dao Realm's Tianzi Immortal Prefecture, unified Tianzi, four direct disciples came to the Qinghan Immortal Prefecture of the Xianhong Dao Realm to cause trouble, main text continues)

In the core area of the Lingyun Imperial Capital, the solemn and magnificent Lingyun Imperial Palace towers here.

In the splendid golden palace, Ouyang Ning, dressed in an extremely solemn empress's attire, sat properly on the throne; upon close inspection, the sorrow that once lingered between her brows had completely vanished, replaced by a stirring expression.

It was obvious she had not yet recovered from what happened yesterday.

"Leave the mountain for training, sweep across Qinghan!"

Lin Bai's offhand remark yesterday, along with the several immensely powerful figures that descended afterward, left a deep impression on her.

"It seems the forces behind those benefactors are far more terrifying than I imagined! As long as I play this useless puppet well, I will surely be able to avenge myself!"

Ouyang Ning withdrew her thoughts, casting a cold glance toward the imperial heir.

In the vast hall, a few civil and military officials stood sparsely, yawning incessantly, listless in spirit—clearly the look of excessive indulgence and depleted kidney qi.

Since the three great families began to control the court, they have frenziedly suppressed dissenters; even staunch royalists gradually could not withstand the pressure and chose to retreat one after another.

Afterward, the court became entirely their mouthpiece; those who could attend court were all the fighting machines they had carefully selected from among the useless, which they put as: a useless empress matches useless officials—'a perfect match'.

"Your Majesty, last night the top courtesan of the Listening Fragrance Pavilion, Lan Yuer, served a total of sixty-four people, crowed like a rooster three thousand eight hundred sixty-four times, and reached the cloud summit over a hundred times," said a minister with heavy dark circles under his eyes, weakly.

Having finished, the minister on the other side also stammered: "Your Majesty, yesterday my son went to the toilet six times, with loose stools tinged yellow."

"Your Majesty, this morning the deputy commander of the Imperial Forest Army rode... helped three elderly ladies cross the official road; such conduct conforms to our Lingyun Immortal Dynasty's principle of respecting the elderly and loving the young, I suggest a heavy reward and promotion to commander of the Imperial Forest Army." After the two finished speaking, the most haggard minister at the front reported expressionlessly.

Compared to how many rooster crows and how many times the child defecated, what he said was still slightly more normal……

It is obvious this is another task arranged by the three great families; ministers who defected to them more or less gain benefits, and the deputy commander of the Imperial Forest Army he mentioned is one of them.

Upon hearing these words, Ouyang Ning on the throne was fine; after all, she had grown accustomed to such bizarre remarks.

In a hidden chamber behind the hall, Shi Hao and the others could barely keep from laughing.

"Riding an old lady across the road…… loose stools with a hint of yellow……?"

Even the usually steady Shi Hao was rendered speechless; after a long while, he slowly uttered: "That Lan Yuer… is a remarkable person."

"Bang!"

Ouyang Ning slammed the table and rose abruptly, speaking coldly with authority: "Impudence! This is an important place in the court; how can you allow such vulgar language!"

Times are different now; those benefactors are all watching from behind!

Sigh, I've let the benefactors see another huge joke.

Seeing this, the several dark-circled ministers below exchanged glances, wondering what's wrong with this puppet emperor today.

What's he angry about? Past court meetings have always been like this; could it be that I miscounted the rooster crows?

Knowing the culprits weren't them, Ouyang Ning took a deep breath, adjusted her mindset, and continued: "Emperor, didn't I issue the notice yesterday? Today everyone must attend the court assembly, including the three great families' people; why haven't they arrived yet?"

"Go notify them," Ouyang Ning casually pointed at a minister.

"Your… Majesty…" the pointed-at minister trembled in fear, and a yellowish-white substance instantly flowed from his crotch……

"Your Majesty, you're so imposing today! You even sent people to notify us."

"How come? Do we have a habit of arriving early?"

Just then, a cold, stern voice came from outside the hall.

As the voice fell, three tall figures entered side by side, followed closely by hundreds of imposing civil and military officials.

The three leaders were precisely the heads of the three great families. The speaker, burly and full of a murderous aura, was Tang Ba Kong, head of the Tang family.

The person on the left had a pale, beardless face, wore a white long robe, elegant and extraordinary—Jun Lin Feng, head of the Jun family; the person on the right had a gloomy countenance and deep eyes—Shen He, head of the Shen family.

As for those hundreds of civil and military officials, they were all lackeys who had turned to them.

It is well known that in the Lingyun Immortal Dynasty, to advance one must rely on the three great families; with their backing, even your dog could eat a share of imperial grain, and a rolling pin could soar to the heavens!

Deputy beast? Beast chief?! Rolling pin? The official's dedicated cudgel!

Seeing Ouyang Ning on the throne silent, Tang Ba Kong's cold demeanor intensified, and he continued aggressively: "Your Majesty, if you don't give us a proper reason today, don't blame me for losing my temper."

No one stood up to refute this outrageous remark; the initially useless ministers had already lowered their heads to their crotches.

Jun Lin Feng, head of the Jun family, and Shen He, head of the Shen family, both watched this scene with interest, arms crossed.

Yesterday they sent someone to assassinate this useless empress, but inexplicably it failed; no matter, if the covert approach doesn't work, we'll go overt.

Everything has been prepared; today is the time to overturn heaven and earth.

"Reason? What reason do you want me, the Emperor, to give you? You rebels and traitors! You all deserve to die!" The empress Ouyang Ning, backed by someone behind her, straightened up firmly, pointing her scallion-white finger at the three family heads and all the civil and military officials behind them, saying:

"Hehe," Tang Ba Kong and the others all gave a dismissive smile; it seemed the useless empress was about to break ties with us—where does she get her confidence?

Since this useless one wants to play, let's accompany her properly!

"Hmph! Your Majesty, why do you intend to rebel?"

"The three family heads are all meritorious servants of the state; since the previous emperor unfortunately fell, all the burdens of the country have rested on the three family heads; one could say the entire Lingyun Immortal Dynasty's capital and sixty-two immortal cities' burdens rest on them."

"But Your Majesty, you actually call them rebels and traitors! If you don't give us a satisfactory explanation today, not only will we, your subjects, be dissatisfied, but the whole world will be dissatisfied!"

After Tang Ba Kong finished speaking, his lackey immediately stood up, filled with righteous indignation, and loudly criticized.

Looking at his indignant little expression and genuine demeanor, one who didn't know might truly think he had suffered a great injustice.

Tang Ba Kong, Jun Lin Feng, and Shen He the three nodded in satisfaction.

Now, both moral truth and strength truth are on our side; no matter what, the advantage is ours!

(Updates resumed! Updates resumed! Updates resumed! Important matters said three times; after a short period of seclusion, the plot has been sorted out, updates resume from today; additionally, we announce a good news: this book has been adapted into a short drama, currently in production, expected to go online in one to two months, please look forward to it.)