Chapter 681

The Dragon Origin Emperor does what he says.

On that very day, he had the two highest‑ranking ministers killed as a warning, executing them right before the hall.

He had only been a wise emperor for three years, and everyone forgot that he used to be a murderous god steeped in killing karma, who wouldn't spare any Buddhist face!

After that, no one dared to bring up the matter of taking concubines again.

Afterward, the harem did experience a few little incidents of 'chance encounters,' 'drugging,' and 'being pushed down.'

But whenever the Dragon Origin Emperor encountered such things, he would immediately jump away and expose the matter on the spot.

No matter how heavenly beautiful or pitifully delicate the other party was, he showed nothing but disgust, even tearing off the 'defiled' robe and throwing it hard to the ground.

Then the Dragon Origin Emperor would return, feeling wronged, to the Zhaoyang Hall to complain to the empress: 'There are always treacherous officials who want to harm me!'

'I won't let them get away with it!'

The empress would each time patiently hold the Dragon Origin Emperor and comfort him: 'All right, all right, it's all their fault.'

'They can't stand to see us happy; they want to tear us apart.'

'We just ignore them; after we punish them harshly, they'll never dare again.'

Afterwards, once he found out what background those sudden 'women' had, the Dragon Origin Emperor would eradicate not only them but also the forces behind them, root and branch.

After such incidents happened four or five times in a row, the harem finally became completely tranquil.

Nowadays, not even a female cat dares to leap out halfway and rub against the Dragon Origin Emperor.

The entire court now has no one who dares to mention the harem's taking of concubines.

After all, their sovereign is an emperor who feels no pity for any minister who defies his will… a ruthless emperor.

Of course, aside from that, the Dragon Origin Emperor is truly a sage ruler who appears only once in a thousand years.

The glorious era of Great Yue that he is about to create has already filled all the officials with anticipation.

So a slight flaw in his character is something the ministers simply overlook.

Now the harem is as calm and peaceful as an ordinary wealthy household.

The whole palace has only four masters.

The Dragon Origin Emperor Duan Rongshi and Empress Li of the Li clan, Li Qingluo, the sole Princess Qingwu, and the infant prince—Duan Jingzhi, who is not yet a year old.

In such a vast imperial palace, only the Zhaoyang Hall remains lively all day, filled with voices of joy and laughter.

The remaining palaces sit empty, one after another, just like abandoned cold palaces.

However, not long after, the old general living in the Daoist temple, General Pei, was invited to stay a while in the palace.

Accompanying him was General Pei's current husband.

After these two elders entered the palace, it finally became a bit livelier.

The palace servants, when attending to people, also found they had more to do, and even their errand‑running speed grew stronger.

Everyone's face was filled with smiles.

After all, when they first entered the palace, they had made all kinds of plans, thinking that to survive in this man‑eating place they would have to expend all their wits just to hope to leave alive someday.

However… nowadays, no one even talks about palace intrigue; each person has grown fatter than the fish in the pond.

If this continues, next year's newly issued palace robes will have to be measured all over again for everyone.

So, with two more masters added to the palace, whenever there is work to be done, everyone scrambles to volunteer for it.

Before long, fighting over chores became the newest form of palace intrigue in the Great Yue palace…

Originally, this palace wasn't so desolate.

The previous dynasty's Emperor Yan, while alive, already had a full complement of consorts in the palace.

Back then, the palace truly was a place where people could be killed without shedding blood.

However, after Emperor Yan's health deteriorated and he was confined day after day to the Zichen Hall, the consorts throughout the palace began to die mysteriously, one after another, in any possible corner.

Some were poisoned to death.

Some were frightened to death by a cat.

Others were bitten to death by poisonous snakes, scorpions, or even rats.

Still others were hanged in the cold palace.

Still others were stabbed all over their bodies with a knife, leaving holes everywhere.

They all say that these deceased consorts were precisely those who had once poisoned Consort Yue, and that the very methods they had used to harm her now fell upon themselves.

Except for Consort Rong, there were also the junior consorts who were brought into the palace after Consort Yue's death.

Among the elders of that time, anyone whose hands were stained with Consort Yue's case did not survive a single extra day.

As for Consort Rong—

After the Dragon Origin Emperor ascended the throne, she went to a secondary palace to spend her twilight years in peace, living out her remaining years comfortably and without worry.

Thus, there are hardly any senior consorts left in the palace nowadays.

The palace servants therefore treat Lady Pei the Elder as a senior consort and attend to her.

All day they either massage her back and shoulders or sit on the ground listening to her tell stories.

Li Qingluo, having finished her affairs that day, deliberately went to the Longevity Palace beside her Zhaoyang Hall to visit her grandmother, but before she even entered the courtyard, Que'er came running after her.

'Your Ladyship, this is a letter from Rongle.'

'Rongle?'

Li Qingluo immediately thought of the person Rongle and took the letter.

Having merely glanced at the letter's contents—without even having time to read it carefully—her heart sank heavily.

And she herself, in a daze, stepped back two paces.

Li Qingluo's face had turned deathly pale.

'Your Ladyship!'

Que'er called out in a low voice, not daring to startle Pei Lao Furen.

Li Qingluo softly ordered: "Return to Zhaoyang Palace."

Que'er quickly summoned the palace maid beside her to help Li Qingluo back to Zhaoyang Palace.

Upon learning that the Empress was unwell, Duan Rongshi hastily dropped all his state affairs and rushed back.

"Luo'er!"

Duan Rongshi hurried straight to the bedchamber.

The four-year-old Fangfang was lying on Li Qingluo's lap, anxiously shouting: "Mother Empress, are you feeling better?"

On the other side, the wet nurse also held the little one nicknamed Ayuan, the little prince, waiting anxiously at the side.

As soon as Duan Rongshi returned, he immediately knelt down on the ground.

He waved his hand, urgently ordering everyone to leave: "All of you, retreat."

Including Fangfang, who was also led out.

Fangfang looked back at the Mother Empress with reluctance; after Li Qingluo gave her a reassuring glance, Fangfang then took Que'er's hand and left the Empress's bedchamber.

After everyone had left, Li Qingluo then took out the letter behind her and handed it to Duan Rongshi.

She stared, her eyes reddening: "Older brother, he ultimately still left."

Duan Rongshi's hand gripping the letter tightened.

Whether Li Jingchuan lived or died was utterly irrelevant to him.

What mattered was that his Luo'er would be heartbroken over this.

Her familial ties were already thin.

In this world, aside from her grandmother who especially cared for her, there was also Li Jingchuan, far away recuperating at Glory and Peaceful Abode, who made her a bit more concerned.

But Li Jingchuan's original lifespan was such that he wouldn't live more than a year after reuniting with Luo'er.

Nowadays, his daughter should also be about six years old, right?

"Luo'er, everyone must die someday. As we grow older, partings and deaths will only increase."

"You should try to be more open-minded."

Li Qingluo endured the pain and threw herself into Duan Rongshi's embrace.

"Ashi, I understand everything."

"Besides, older brother will pass away, and I have always been mentally prepared for that."

"But when it truly comes to face it, I still feel... too sudden!"

"But fortunately, when he passed away, he had no regrets."

"Now Alan is bringing Zheng Wanxiu, along with her and older brother's daughter Zhiwei, and they have already returned to MiaoJiang."

"If there is a chance in the future, I would like to go see them."

"Now the Witch Moon Sect in MiaoJiang, with Duan Rongshi's covert support, has re-established itself once again."

"Moreover, because Jin Ning has the court's support, the Witch Moon Sect has become the largest and strongest sect in all of MiaoJiang."

"However, Duan Rongshi also personally sent a letter to Jin Ning, and thus reached an agreement with MiaoJiang."

"From now on, the people of MiaoJiang, MiaoJiang's witchcraft and sorcery, may no longer leave MiaoJiang."

"Otherwise, the court will surely exterminate anyone who leaves MiaoJiang and uses witchcraft to harm people, causing chaos in the world or among the MiaoJiang people in the court."

"Jin Ning knows that this is already the emperor's mercy, and also the affection they once shared."

"Witchcraft had indeed once thrown the entire DaLiang, and even Great Chu, into utter chaos."

"She personally promised that she would lead the Witch Moon Sect to safeguard MiaoJiang for generations to come."

"From now on, MiaoJiang's witchcraft technique will never step even half a foot outside MiaoJiang!"