Chapter 233: Empress? No, merely a tool (13)

Although she had various thoughts in her mind, whenever her grandfather was lucid, all important news concerning the empire's fate had to be reported to him personally at the earliest opportunity.

This was an ironclad rule set by her grandfather.

Thus, Empress Zhuo Ya took the "Letter to Fellow Humans" sent by Weilan and hurried to her grandfather's residence, the Shadowless Palace.

Her grandfather had been busy lately, busy familiarizing himself with the legendary power he had newly acquired.

At this moment, he should be in cultivation, with at least half an hour left before finishing, so Zhuo Ya could only wait patiently at the gate of the Shadowless Palace.

This, too, was an ironclad rule set by her grandfather.

While he cultivated, no high-ring mage was allowed to enter the Shadowless Palace.

During the wait, Zhuo Ya sensed faint power fluctuations emanating from within the Shadowless Palace, and various thoughts inevitably arose in her mind.

As she knew, a legendary soul was far more resilient than a Ten Rings soul and lasted longer; thus, her grandfather, who originally had over fifty years of lucidity left, could now live another fifty years.

This was a century of time.

For an empire, this span was extremely long—enough even to overturn heaven and earth.

Zhuo Ya couldn't help but think:

"The Duke Weilan who has obtained legendary power can unleash a might comparable to natural thunder and even slay demons lurking in the void—how mighty that is."

"The scenery of the legendary realm must be the most beautiful, magnificent, and splendid sight in the world."

"If only I could see it with my own eyes."

Originally, she had never entertained such a thought, but now someone had given her the opportunity to scale the pinnacle of magical arts.

She certainly knew that this concealed a scheme to sow discord, like a cup of poisoned wine.

But this cup of poisoned wine was simply too sweet.

Moreover, it might not even be lethal to her.

Of course, she didn't have to drink this poisoned wine, for there was also a cup of non‑poisonous wine she could drink.

"I wonder whether grandfather would be willing to give me this cup of wine."

Her grandfather had already advanced to the legendary stage, and, as she knew, the secret art for helping someone break through a ring barrier also existed in Nawat.

With the resources of the Radiant Empire and its good relations with Nawat, obtaining that barrier‑breaking secret from Nawat was no difficulty.

Therefore, her grandfather was capable of helping her.

As she pondered, her grandfather's voice sounded in her mind: "My granddaughter, what matter has arisen that warrants your personal visit?"

Zhuo Ya immediately replied: "Weilan has sent another important piece of news, concerning the Holy Elven Empire."

The Lord of Radiance gave a cold snort: "Hmph~ I knew those elves would go to Weilan for cooperation, and Duke Weilan would agree to cooperate, right?"

"No, grandfather, Duke Weilan refused."

"Refused? Is he stupid?"

"Come in and tell me face to face."

Zhuo Ya immediately entered the magnificent and splendid Shadowless Palace.

The Shadowless Palace was vast; as she rushed there, she couldn't help but think.

"Is Duke Weilan stupid? Grandfather actually failed to see how terrifying this announcement is?"

Duke Weilan indeed gave up some opportunities because of the announcement, but it greatly boosted his prestige within the Natural Alliance and even among the populace of the Radiant Empire.

One can imagine that, once this announcement spreads, even those who harbor prejudice against Duke Weilan will have to acknowledge him as a hero of humanity.

In this era when popular wisdom is swiftly awakening, this prestige is extremely important and can even be regarded as the "Heaven's Mandate of Humanity".

As long as one bears this mandate, the legitimacy of ruling a human nation can be greatly enhanced and the cost of governing greatly reduced.

"Grandfather surely can see that; he probably just doesn't care about these things."

Lost in thought, she crossed a spacious artificial lake, then walked over a suspended bridge spanning a sea of flowers, and finally saw the Lord of Radiance in a glass‑crafted aerial bath.

He lay lazily in the hot spring, while over thirty utterly naked beautiful girls attended to him attentively.

But the Lord of Radiance's face showed no trace of desire, only a faint sense of fatigue.

This was the fatigue of legendary cultivation, and the trivial matters between men and women—he had experienced far too much of them in his youth and could no longer muster much interest.

The reason he gathered so many beautiful girls was simply for them to look good.

He closed his eyes and asked: "Zhuo Ya, tell me the situation in detail."

Zhuo Ya then related the details of Erin's report and emphasized a restatement of the announcement's content.

After finishing the restatement, she remained silent.

The Lord of Radiance's mind was somewhat weary, his spirits not high, his thoughts a bit dull; upon hearing these matters, a hint of contempt unconsciously surfaced on his face.

"This duke is really stupid; if he truly joined forces with the elves, he could actually cause me some trouble, yet he now refuses and even says they should jointly oppose the Elven Empire—how laughable."

"A petty duchy with only thirty million people—does he even deserve that?"

Zhuo Ya did not agree in her heart, but she offered no comment.

Because she knew her grandfather disliked anyone opposing him, especially disliked anyone giving him advice—even if she was his own granddaughter, it was not allowed.

After venting his inner dissatisfaction, the Lord of Radiance's tone eased somewhat.

"Nevertheless, his stupidity is still quite useful, giving us plenty of room to maneuver."

"Zhuo Ya, respond to him by saying the empire greatly appreciates his wisdom; on the matter of dealing with foreign races, the empire agrees with his view, but regarding Natural Alliance affairs, we disagree with him."

"After all, Weilan is Weilan, the Natural Alliance is the Natural Alliance; the former is merely a part of the latter, and the alliance's states stand on equal footing."

"If any kingdom or duchy within the alliance wishes to befriend the empire and seek its aid, the empire has no reason not to respond." This response was not greatly different from what Zhuo Ya had in mind.

After all, this is a war between states, and since it is war, courtesy is impossible; naturally, one must strive by every means to secure victory.

Thus, she nodded and said: "Yes, grandfather, I will attend to this at once."

Logically, she should have left then, but she did not go and instead added an extra remark.

"Grandfather, from Duke Weilan's remarks at the academy, it seems he intends to share the secrets of legendary power with the domestic magical geniuses."

If he really shared it, the Weilan Duchy would produce no small number of legendary mages, which would likely pose a significant threat to the Empire.

The Radiant Lord gave a cold snort: "Don't listen to his deceit; he's just talking."

After saying that, he added: "If he really dared to share it, whether he could keep his ducal position would be a question."

Zhuo Ya forced herself to ask again: "It's obvious, Duke Weilan is just such a fool; he just foolishly issued a proclamation, refusing to cooperate with the Elves—what if he does something stupid again?"

The Radiant Lord sensed his granddaughter's oddness, opened his eyes and gave her a serious look, then said: "You also want to advance to Legendary?"

Without waiting for Zhuo Ya's reply, he closed his eyes again: "I'll tell you frankly, the Legendary realm is far from as wonderful as imagined; each time one practices soul‑burning cultivation, it's a grueling task."

"If you cultivate Legendary, you won't have the energy to handle state affairs. This kind of hardship, let Grandfather handle it—it's enough."

He paused, seeming to feel it wasn't persuasive enough, then added: "You also don't need to think about breaking through the Ten Rings."

"The power difference between Nine Rings and Ten Rings isn't great, nor is there much difference in soul lifespan; Nine Rings is enough for you."

Zhuo Ya had ruled the Empire for forty years and was herself a Nine‑Ring mage; how could she fail to hear the perfunctoriness in those words? Upon hearing them, she understood that her grandfather would absolutely not let her advance to Legendary, not even to Ten Rings.

He had no intention of letting anyone drink this cup of Legendary wine.

This gave rise to a feeling of gloom in her heart.

The will forged by governing the Empire allowed her to easily suppress the gloom in her heart, making her appear as calm and obedient as usual.

"Yes, grandfather, I understand."

The Radiant Lord was indeed very tired and didn't want to talk more: "Very well, you may withdraw."

It seemed, just an ordinary conversation.

But when Zhuo Ya turned and left, the Radiant Lord suddenly opened his eyes, a hint of contemplation appearing in his brown‑black pupils.

As one of the top experts on the White Continent, he indeed lacked specific ability in governing the state, but in perceiving people's hearts he was an outstanding existence.

He faintly felt that his granddaughter Zhuo Ya was gradually losing her reverence for him.

Thus, he too fell into contemplation.

"I can still stay awake for a few hundred years; if you add sleep time, living another thousand years isn't difficult—my life is still long."

"If the person I rely on most develops divided loyalties, that would truly be a very bad thing."

"Replace Zhuo Ya?"

After careful consideration, the Radiant Lord rejected that idea; within the Radiant Imperial House, there was no one more suited to govern the Empire than Zhuo Ya.

Of course, he would certainly have to replace her later, but now at this critical juncture it's impossible; otherwise it would surely cause a major upheaval in the Empire's political situation, delaying many matters.

After thinking it over, the Radiant Lord had an idea: "The size of the Empire's First Shadow Guard needs to be expanded."

The Empire has ten Shadow Guard units.

Among them, the First Shadow Guard numbers twenty thousand, directly commanded by the Radiant Lord, and obeys only his orders, responsible for the defense of the entire Bu Ye Gong.

The remaining nine Shadow Guard units each have two thousand personnel, distributed throughout the Empire according to their functions, and are commanded by Zhuo Ya.

With twenty thousand versus eighteen thousand, plus the convenience of commanding the palace, the Radiant Lord thus firmly kept imperial power in his hands.

Zhuo Ya holds the title of Empress, but in reality she is merely his prime minister.

Nowadays, this prime minister seems a little disobedient, and the Radiant Lord feels that a force of twenty thousand Shadow Guards is not enough.

"Let's add another ten thousand, and we also need to tighten surveillance on Zhuo Ya."

The Radiant Lord thought so.

On the other side, after Zhuo Ya left the Shadowless Palace, many thoughts turned in her mind.

"It seems… I am nothing more than my grandfather's tool."

If her talent were mediocre, even being a tool she would have no complaints.

But she began enlightenment at seven, became a Master at fourteen, broke through to the Sixth Ring at twenty‑five, and by fifty had reached the Ninth Ring, basically relying on no external help, solely on her own effort.

At fifty, she gained her grandfather's favor and was entrusted with the noble position of Empress of the Empire.

She originally thought this was the supreme honor, a sign of her grandfather's great esteem, but now it seems that while there is esteem, there must also be a hidden motive.

That is, using the heavy burdens of imperial state affairs to slow her cultivation progress, preventing her from advancing to the Ten Rings.

Before, she wasn't sure whether she could break through to the Ten Rings, so although she felt some regret, she had no complaints; but after governing the Empire for forty years and personally witnessing her grandfather's various actions, she completely understood what kind of person he was.

"He is burning my life so that he may enjoy the supreme glory of the Empire."

Even having seen it clearly, there is no way to break the situation, because every move she makes is watched closely.

"Forget it; the scenery of the Legendary realm may be beautiful, but beautiful sights are everywhere in the world—there's no need to fixate on just one. Moreover, there's no need to let my personal desire plunge the Empire into chaos."

All her dissatisfaction and resentment turned into a soft sigh.

In the Bu Ye Gong, the small ripples stirred up by Weilan appeared to have completely subsided on the surface.

But ten days later, a disguised elf envoy arrived at the Bu Ye Gong.

(End of chapter)