Chapter 424

The Holy Grace Empress, the original consort of Emperor Wu Jue, the thirty‑ninth emperor of the Great Zhou, hails from the Wu clan, the foremost family of the Northern Lands.

In her youth she was naturally beautiful and exceptionally bright, possessing extraordinary talent in cultivation; her fame spread throughout the seventy‑three cities of the Northern Lands, and at sixteen she entered the palace as the principal consort.

At twenty‑one, the twenty‑six‑year‑old Emperor Wu Jue fell ill and died.

The heavens of the Great Zhou collapsed overnight.

The great army of Western Qin pressed upon the borders; surrounding vassal states successively broke away, regional princes no longer heeded the edicts, and the six royal princes stirred restlessly.

Within the imperial city only the Empress and a group of orphans and widows remained.

The Empress Dowager, overriding all opposition, set aside her own son, Prince Qin Ji Si, and installed the elder son of Emperor Wu Jue, Ji Chun, as emperor, ruling from behind the curtain; single‑handedly she confronted every internal and external pressure.

Over the course of thirty years, she drove back the Western Qin forces, executed the princes of thirteen territories, subdued the six great princes, and dispatched troops to quell disobedient vassal states; finally the seas were calm and the rivers clear, all internal and external troubles were pacified, myriad nations came to court, and the realm enjoyed peace.

The foundation of the Great Zhou stood firm as a rock!

No one knows how much the Empress Dowager has sacrificed!

All we know is that she has been a widow since the age of twenty‑one, diligent in affairs of state, untiring in her efforts, and her abilities surpass those of the ten Zhou emperors who came before and after her.

Such a woman inspires profound admiration, and the countless peoples of the Great Zhou hold her in the highest esteem.

Even if later she clung to power, even apportioned authority to her own children and was suspected of suppressing the emperor, nothing could diminish the people's affection and reverence for her.

January 13th is her seventy-third birthday!

As early as a month ago, nobles and civil and military officials had begun searching the world, preparing birthday gifts.

The current emperor, to show filial piety, granted a general amnesty on the ninth day of the first month, and moreover pardoned thirty-one major sinful families that had persisted for five hundred years, and ordered that anyone in the world who could win the Empress's favor would be ennobled as a Houjou!

On the tenth day of the first month, feudal princes from elsewhere, great generals, regional governors, vassal kingdoms, elderly princesses, princes of the blood, imperial relatives, and dignitaries began to enter the capital!

For a time, the crowds in Qi Capital surged, and its prosperity exceeded that of the past by tenfold.

……

The highest pavilion 'Listening to the Tides Chamber' in Princess Taihe's mansion overlooks half of the buildings and streets in the southern city.

During this time, Heng Xian liked to watch the city scenery while listening to how the people of the Imperial Capital cursed him.

Add some snacks and old liquor, and it would be even better!

Too bad, there's no friend to keep him company.

"Don't take it to heart; those people are simply not right in the head, being used by those with ulterior motives!"

Prince Wu Ji Yaofan was sitting on the horse-stand beside him, eagerly eating a plate of bean skin smeared with chili.

These past few days, he has been allowed to go by Consort De, but Ji Yaoyue has not, for fear she might do something rash.

Heng Xian still lay by the window, a bead of sweat on his forehead, having just finished sixteen great heavenly circuits and forty thousand swords; hearing this, he said nothing.

Ji Yaofan also said: 'Elder sister sent me to tell you that she regrets not inviting you to the Imperial Capital; she should have relinquished her princess identity and married an ordinary man in East Mist, which would be better than this grievance!'

Heng Xian laughed: 'I don't care at all about those people's insults; I haven't taken them to heart at all!'

Ji Yaofan's action of eating the spicy bean skin paused for a moment: 'I don't believe it; they insulted you so harshly, yet you didn't take it to heart?'

Heng Xian changed his posture: 'As for insulting people, they are too prim and proper, wanting to insult yet also wanting to keep their integrity—truly boring. Compared to the internet trolls from my hometown, they are seventeen or eighteen levels inferior; three or five Za'an people could teach them how to be human in a split second!'

Such low-level insults are boring to me!

Ji Yaofan looked bewildered: 'What…… are internet trolls? What are Za'an people?'

Heng Xian said: 'Internet trolls are a group…… you can't see or catch them, but they can curse you!'

Ji Yaofan widened his eyes: 'Isn't that just a bunch of shameless street ruffians?'

Heng Xian shook his head: 'No! They could be anyone—perhaps a cook, perhaps a mason, or a clan chief, a small shop owner, some civil servants,'

Anyway, the things they curse are either what they normally cannot obtain, or what they dare not curse due to their status, or simply to vent their frustration!

Ji Yaofan became interested: 'This is fun; anyway, I'll curse you, and you can't catch me—I'll curse however I want!'

Heng Xian snapped his fingers: 'That's exactly what I mean!'

"What about the Za'an people?" Ji Yaofan asked again.

Heng Xian said: 'Explaining it is rather complicated; basically, they are a group good at cursing, able to go through your ancestors eight generations one by one, either in a refined manner or with a mouth full of filth!'

Ji Yaofan pondered for a while before barely grasping the existence of such a group, then gave a thumbs-up: 'Strong!'

Heng Xian looked outside: 'These days the Imperial Capital seems livelier than before?'

Ji Yaofan laughed: 'Not only lively, the Empress's birthday is approaching, and those from elsewhere qualified to offer birthday greetings have been entering the capital one after another. These days, the rich compete in wealth, the wicked compete in wickedness, comparing maidservants, comparing guards……'

Nothing you dare not imagine, nothing they dare not do! Just now when I arrived, the Prince of Fu from Fu Prefecture and the Prince Liu Kang of Dong Commandery were fighting humanoid spirit beasts at Lion Tower, one million low-grade spirit crystals per round!

The generals of the Northeast Fu Feng Army and the Dou Lu Army, in the underground arena, sent their subordinates' peculiar cultivators to fight with spells, inviting the Imperial Capital nobles to watch; it is said that the battle was so chaotic with entwined ghosts and flying evil things that the concubine of the Marquis of Qi was frightened to death on the spot……

"They know how to play!" Heng Xian laughed.

Ji Yaofan said disdainfully: 'Extravagant, lustful, cockfighting and dog-walking—just a bunch of rats!'

Heng Xian said nothing.

Ji Yaofan glanced at the time; it was almost noon, and he said: 'Alright, I have to go. What is this spicy-hot thing? It suits my appetite; I'll take some back!'

Heng Xian casually said: 'Spicy strips! I invented them; go find Lady Official Sun, there are still many in the kitchen. If Prince Wu is interested, he can also mass-produce them and make some petty cash!'

"Okay!" Ji Yaofan agreed, took a few steps, then asked: 'Is there any message for my sister?'

Heng Xian said: 'Tell her I miss her!'

Being alone here is too boring.

Ji Yaofan stared, speechless: 'She also said she misses you; you two will kill me! I'm leaving!'

After a few steps, he went downstairs.

Heng Xian exhaled, extended his right hand, and a large mass of twisting sword qi appeared in his palm, each strand capable of cleaving mountains and splitting stones, utterly terrifying.

However, he is not satisfied; if the distance from the Yuan Dan Initial Realm to the Yuan Dan Middle Realm were likened to the length of a chopstick, after all this time he has only covered one-third of it!

……

At noon, the sun hung high.

Outside the West City of Qi Capital, carriages and horses flowed like water and dragons; luxurious caravans poured in from all directions, wave after wave, adding to the already bustling outer city of the imperial capital, worsening the congestion and chaos.

Fortunately, squadron after squadron of Wǔchéng Bīngmǎ Sī cavalry, together with Shénwǔ Sī and Imperial City Guard personnel, kept order tightly.

Ding ling ling…

Just then, a pleasant peal of bells rang out suddenly from afar.

Only to see tens of thousands of cavalry in black armor and red headscarves slowly advancing, their momentum mighty, the ground faintly trembling; the bell sound came from the ceremonial baton and ritual bell held by the red-robed eunuch leading them.

It seemed to be an envoy delegation from some country!

The caravans and soldiers before the city gate all turned to look, and the crowd, which had been somewhat orderly, suddenly fell into chaos.

Someone shouted in terror: 'The West Qin army is coming to kill us!'

At the city gate, chaos erupted instantly.

(End of chapter)