Chapter 91: With Me Here, This Heaven Cannot Be Turned Over (5K, First Update)

On the execution ground, heads rolled one after another.

In the Song Family's ancestral residence in Wentian, apart from some women and children, only a few elderly, frail, and infirm clan elders remained.

After this battle, the Song Family's foundation in the capital city of Wentian had been damaged by more than ninety percent!

That was not the end of it; before the news from the execution ground could even reach the Song Family, another troop had already stormed into the Song Family's ancestral residence.

Confiscating their property.

The power the Song Family had accumulated in Wentian over several hundred years was destroyed in one fell swoop.

And the reason for it was, surprisingly, just because two disciples of noble families had a standoff outside the city.

Wentian was shaken!

For a time, the noble and prestigious families were all in fear for their own safety!

Over a dozen noble families closed their gates at the first opportunity, refusing to see any guests.

Even the princes and princesses they had invested in were turned away when they sent people to visit.

What exactly is the Northern Qian Li Family trying to do?

Before they could figure this out, no noble family dared to act rashly again.

They had originally thought that the only thing they needed to pay attention to in this struggle for the position of Chancellor was their competitors, but they suddenly discovered a cruel fact.

The referee can also hit people!

And what was even more excessive was that this referee did not follow the rules they had set themselves at all, directly dealing lethal blows.

No martial virtue!

Countless gazes looked quietly toward the Imperial Palace, wanting to see clearly the figure sitting on the Dragon Throne, but no one dared to stare for long.

Thinking of the hundred or so heads of the Song Family that had rolled, the noble families realized one thing in their silence.

This Heaven of Northern Qian was still hanging over their heads.

And the Li Family was the Heaven of Northern Qian!

When Heaven is angry, it brings violent storms and thunderous power!

It was not just gazes from within Northern Qian; even the other three dynasties had eyes silently cast this way.

Everyone wanted to figure out what exactly this Li Family was trying to do...

What kind of plan did Li Long have, after all!?

"My plan? I went drinking with my worthy brother last night; what are you talking about?"

Looking at the memorials that filled two whole tables and were still being brought in, Li Long, who had been exercising for a long time in the carriage and had just finished bathing and changing, ready to continue to the Cold Palace, was full of question marks.

"What happened to the Song Family? I don't know."

Eunuch Su, who had been searching for Li Long all night and had more or less guessed the situation, did not say much and skillfully explained the ins and outs of the matter to Li Long.

"Your Majesty, the situation is like this..."

At the beginning, Li Long's brows were still furrowed, but by the time he finished listening to Su Peiqing, his expression had returned to calm.

During the time it took to summon Shi Anqi, he glanced through the impeachments submitted by the officials.

And after he finished listening to Shi Anqi's report, only a smile remained on Li Long's face.

"Hahaha, good, very good."

His unusual smile made the two old officials scramble to kneel, heads lowered, not daring to rise.

Although they didn't know the situation, they figured they should just kneel first.

"What a good Princess, truly my good daughter; she acted first and reported later while I was not in the palace, and actually confiscated someone's ancestral residence."

"Truly very good."

Glancing at the two old things with their sincere attitudes and practiced movements, Li Long couldn't even be bothered to be angry with them, waving his hand at the two kneeling men in disgust.

"Stop pretending, both of you get up; it's bad luck to look at you."

Scrambling to their feet, Su and Shi exchanged a look, then Shi Anqi bowed and stepped forward, asking:

"Your Majesty, the ministers have been waiting for you to hold the morning court; I wonder if you wish to notify them?"

"Moreover, if they are not given an explanation for this matter, I fear those civil officials will turn the world upside down."

It is true that the world of Northern Qian belongs to the Li Family, but the opinions of these ministers cannot be ignored.

Not giving any explanation and just blindly suppressing them would likely cause those fellows to riot.

The most urgent task now is to give an explanation to the ministers, and also to the noble families.

Whether this explanation is reasonable or can hold water doesn't matter; as long as a general attitude is given, that is enough.

By this point, the ins and outs of the Song Family's tragedy were basically clear.

Li Long was not in the palace last night, and the Ninth Princess learned of this news from somewhere, using it to launch an attack on the Song Family.

She faked an imperial decree, mobilized the Imperial City Guard, and wiped out the Song Family's power in Wentian in one fell swoop.

What a ruthless heart, what a ruthless method, what decisive action.

Among all the princes and princesses, the one Shi Anqi thought most highly of was Li Qiushui.

Although she was a girl, he felt that Li Qiushui's style of doing things was the most similar to Li Long's when he was young.

She would not move unless necessary, but when she did, it was like thunder, giving the opponent no time to catch their breath at all.

Compared to the benevolence and virtue the Second Prince displayed to the outside world, Shi Anqi, who came from a military background, preferred this kind of kingly aura that was displayed openly.

However, Li Long's style after entering middle age was still somewhat different from when he was young.

In recent years, Li Long had begun to seek stability, and his style had changed from striking to break in one blow to pulling back and forth.

Neither arrogant nor rash, he moved step by step.

"First hit them with a stick, then give them a sweet date," and it worked every time, ultimately always making him the final winner.

Among all the people involved in this matter, there is one person who is the most special.

Shi Anqi.

He is the leader of the Dark Guard and the Imperial Guard, one of the few people qualified to mobilize the Imperial City Guard.

Moreover, unlike the Imperial Guard who did not know the true situation, he was clear from the very beginning that this matter was the Ninth Princess's idea.

When he received this outrageous request from Li Qiushui, Shi Anqi also hesitated for a moment, wanting to refuse at first.

But after thinking it over and roughly estimating the possibility of being liquidated by the Emperor afterwards, he still decided to take a gamble.

Shi Anqi not only carried out the mission according to the Ninth Princess's orders, but also took the initiative to make that immature plan more perfect.

He changed the mobilized Imperial City Guard from one unit to three, and also added the matter of confiscating property after the execution.

Most importantly, after counting all the assets obtained from the confiscation, he turned them all over to the national treasury, without taking a single cent.

Shi Anqi believed that, based on his understanding of the Emperor for so many years, although he had the responsibility of dereliction of duty and failure to investigate, his crime was definitely not enough to warrant death!

Therefore, he gambled.

Now it seems that the Emperor's attitude toward the Ninth Princess in this matter is more appreciative than angry.

Shi Anqi felt that he must have won the gamble.

And now, it is time for Li Long to come forward and haggle with the ministers and the noble families.

Make a gesture of concession to let the temperature in Wentian City drop a little.

But this time, luck was not entirely on Shi Anqi's side.

"Explanation?"

Li Long repeated the word with a half-smile after hearing it.

"Does what I do still need to be explained to them?"

Shi Anqi:!!!

"A joke."

Li Long's fingertips flicked out a dragon-shaped flame, burning the pile of impeachment memorials to ashes in one go.

He raised his hand and waved, throwing the dust produced after the burning out of the window.

"Is this Beigan, in the end, my Beigan, or their Beigan?"

Shi Anqi's body shook, and he widened his eyes in disbelief.

What shocked him was not Li Long's overbearing approach, but the aura revealed on Li Long.

A dragon traveling across the world, nothing can stop it!

Brilliant and dazzling like the Heaven sun.

"With me here, this Heaven cannot be overturned."

Li Long gave a light hum, stood with his hands behind his back in front of the window, and said indifferently:

"In Wentian, one must follow my rules."

Not right.

Not right, not right, not right!

This is not the Emperor who has been biding his time all these years, playing with concubines in the Inner Palace, and busy cultivating his character all day long.

In a trance, Shi Anqi saw a younger Li Long.

The Li Long who had just ascended the throne, the one who swallowed the world and stood supreme!

"Your Majesty!"

He is back.

They are all back!!!

The Emperor has stayed in Wentian for the past ten years or so and has never traveled far for inspections, which seems to have created an illusion for the people of the world.

They think Li Long has changed and has begun to become cautious.

He has begun to know how to "communicate" with the ministers, and has given up a lot of benefits to appease the various Feudatory Kings and noble families.

They think Li Long has become old and it is time to change to a new emperor.

But now, Shi Anqi wants to sneer loudly at those people.

You are all wrong!

The Emperor has never changed!

Look, the Emperor is back again!!!

Shi Anqi was extremely excited, not knowing what shackles the Emperor had cast off, finally willing to change back to the him from before.

No, the feeling of that moment just now was even more powerful than in the past.

Li Long nodded at the extremely excited Shi Anqi, and then said to Su Peiqing, who was standing by respectfully:

"Although there are some discrepancies with my plan, the time is about right, so let's start implementing the plan from now on. You go and send out those letters."

"This old servant understands."

Before Eunuch Su exited the room, Li Long said again:

"Call Qiushui over; I want to ask her in person what she was thinking this time."

"Yes!"

Su Peiqing bowed and exited the room, raising his hand to close the door.

Shi Anqi, with an excited face, looked at Li Long, waiting for him to give him a task.

Looking at his appearance, Li Long laughed.

"Besides, Shi Anqi."

"Your subject is here!"

For Your Majesty, this subject is willing to go through fire and water, and will not refuse!

Before he could finish expressing his loyalty, Li Long spoke up.

He said:

"Go to the Heavenly Prison yourself in a moment and receive two thousand lashes of the Entangling Dragon Whip, and have the leader of the Imperial Guard carry out the punishment."

"If there is one lash missing, or if the force is not quite enough, I will have his head cut off."

The smile on Shi Anqi's face stiffened, and he sucked in a cold breath.

Two thousand lashes of the Entangling Dragon Whip!!!

The Entangling Dragon Whip is no ordinary punishment.

It is made by braiding the tendons of nine types of Demon Beast containing Dragon Blood to create a rough core, which is then soaked in Dragon Blood for nine years before a single Entangling Dragon Whip can finally be completed.

And this kind of whip specifically breaks through a cultivator's protective Qi, with each strike causing immense pain to both the physical body and the spirit.

Not to mention whether Shi Anqi's backside would still have a complete shape after enduring two thousand lashes of the Entangling Dragon Whip.

The latter point alone was enough to cause Shi Anqi to suffer a Broken Defense.

To have the leader of the Imperial Guard do it...

To have my own subordinate punish me?

"Your Majesty! This subject..."

My crimes don't warrant this, do they!!?

But Li Long merely tossed out a single sentence, light as a feather.

"Do you have something you want to say?"

What, are you unconvinced?

Shi Anqi:!!!

"Let me think, unauthorized movement of the Imperial Guard, forging an imperial decree, killing members of noble families at will... You tell me, how many times should I have your head cut off to be appropriate?"

Shi Anqi: "..."

"I am sparing your life out of consideration for our many years of history, but it seems someone does not appreciate it, so it appears I have no choice but to painfully sentence you to a death..."

Thud!

"No, this subject understands!"

Kneeling down firmly on both knees, Shi Anqi shouted with the loudest voice possible, drowning out the words Li Long was about to say next.

"Many thanks for Your Majesty's grace!!!"

"This subject will certainly keep it in mind!!!"

Shi Anqi just wanted to cry right now.

Good news: His Majesty is back.

Bad news: Just like in the past, he is too ruthless with his actions...

Expressing approval of Shi Anqi's attitude in admitting his faults, Li Long remembered one more thing.

"Right, before you go to the Heavenly Prison, tell me more about that matter regarding Ren Yidao."

Shi Anqi:?

Why are we talking about him?

Wentian City ushered in the darkest day it had seen in nearly a hundred years.

Noble families were suspicious, Feudatory Kings were silent, and prominent clans were terrified.

Yet, right at the center of this storm where everyone felt endangered, not everyone's nerves were so taut.

A certain little fox was living quite comfortably.

Just kidding, what do the storms outside have to do with me?

I don't want to be Prime Minister, I don't want to stir up trouble, and I am not some noble family or prominent clan.

Most importantly, I have a backer here in Wentian City!

"My dad is Li Gang!"—that kind of thing is really too weak.

My brother is Li Long!

That is the real version answer!

He was looking forward to the other party's expression when the time truly came to have the chance to shout that line.

It would definitely be very spectacular.

It is just a pity that this little secret would not be known by outsiders for a short time.

Since Li Long is willing to play along, he himself cannot use this trump card too easily.

Although it was not explicitly stated, there was still a certain tacit understanding between the two smart people.

In a very good mood, Ren Yidao did not go out wandering, but instead ducked into his room to happily brush his tail.

Although his physical body had long been free of dust and grime, he had kept the habit of grooming his own fur.

For no other reason than that it was simply comfortable.

This is the same as you going to a Fox Cafe to pet a fox.

You pet the fox, you gain happiness, and the fox gets to feel comfortable.

Everyone is happy, a win-win for both sides.

But if, and I mean if... what if you yourself are the fox?

If you pet yourself, wouldn't you be able to gain happiness while also feeling comfortable?

Isn't that double the joy!

Blissful.

"Hmm-hmm~ hmm~"

His right hand moved skillfully up and down, using a comb to smooth out the silvery-white fur.

He hugged his tail to feel its fluffiness, nodded in satisfaction, and then switched to another one.

Grooming oneself is enjoyable, but having so many tails is not only time-consuming, it's also a bit hard on the hands...

It's fine now with only four, but when he has more tails in the future, the time spent will double.

"Tsk, if only that woman surnamed Jing had come along too."

With Senior Sister around, his tail would never be something he had to groom himself.

"Should I find some manual laborers specifically to help me brush my fur?"

No, the identity of a Fox Demon cannot be exposed; that would cause big trouble.

"Then what if I change my way of thinking? If a Fox Demon brushing fur causes problems, but if it's just brushing a little fox, wouldn't there be no problem at all?"

Ren Yidao recalled the days of the past.

Back when his official status was still the Spirit Fox pet of the Luoyue Peak Peak Master, he was often groomed by others.

Relying on his universally beloved appearance, Ren Yidao often used his looks to mooch food and drink across various peaks...

One day he would be lured by a bottle of Foundation Establishment Pill at Lingxu Peak and groomed for an entire afternoon, the next he would be tricked into playing for half a day at Lijin Peak with Qi Condensation Powder.

They thought they had profited, but little did they know that the seemingly innocent little fox was the true winner.

True hunters often appear in the form of prey!

You might not have lost, but I always profit immensely!

The house always wins.

"Although I can't go back to the past now, that is not a problem!"

"As long as there is a place where a fox can reasonably appear, a place where one can be petted."

"That's right! This world is in urgent need of a Fox Cafe!"

As long as there is a Fox Cafe, I can sneak in using my demon form, and then I won't have to brush my own fur anymore...

Although I might be taken advantage of by those female cultivators with wandering hands, I don't care!

With decades of professional experience, how could face be such an inconvenient thing?

As long as I am not embarrassed, then I am invincible.

Dreaming of a beautiful future, Ren Yidao noticed footsteps slowly approaching downstairs.

Li Lingling knocked on the door and called out softly toward the room:

"Senior Brother?"

She had learned her lesson this time and did not barge in like she did last time.

Li Lingling also had a mansion bestowed upon her in Wentian City, but she did not go back to live there, choosing instead to stay here and live with Ren Yidao and the others.

There were only servants there, and she was too lonely by herself; it was better to be with Senior Sister Yu, and they could chat together in the middle of the night.

After becoming sworn sisters, Li Lingling had been very clingy to Yu Yu, wishing she could stick to her.

Shrinking away in the mansion all day was indeed very relaxing, but it went against the original purpose.

No!

"Staying at home is wrong!"

"I want to take Senior Brother and the others to tour all of Wentian!"

The honest Li Lingling still felt that she should fulfill her duties as a host and let her Senior Brother and Senior Sister experience the prosperity and beauty of Wentian City!

But even if Li Lingling was naive and didn't know about the matter of the Prime Minister, she was still a Princess of the Heaven family, so she possessed political literacy and understood that the situation in Wentian was not right at this time.

However, although she noticed it, she didn't pay too much attention to it.

Li Lingling had no interest at all in the matter of becoming Emperor and ascending the throne.

It wasn't feigned modesty, nor was it humility.

Li Lingling simply did not want to be the Emperor.

Not every prince or princess wants to fight for the imperial throne.

Li Lingling grew up in the palace, accustomed to the rights and wrongs of the Inner Palace and the bloodshed of these power struggles.

Coupled with the indulgence and favoritism of Ran Guifei and Li Long, she had absolutely no interest in the Dragon Throne that represented the supreme power.

Therefore, Li Lingling's thoughts were quite similar to Ren Yidao's.

These things have nothing to do with me; if I hide far away, I'll be fine.

"I've thought about it, the situation in Wentian City is not quite right now, let's go for a stroll outside the city tomorrow."

If you can't afford to offend them, you can at least hide from them.

"There is a Mei Garden south of the city, the scenery there is quite good, shall we go take a look? If you don't want to, there is another place north of the city..."

Creak.

"Let's go there."

Ren Yidao pushed open the door and smiled at Li Lingling:

"We will go to that Mei Garden."

Touching the patterns on the wooden box in his arms, he said:

"I happen to have some business to attend to there as well."

"What business?"

"Entrusted by someone, just a small matter."

Ren Yidao suddenly had an intuition.

There, perhaps, it would give him some different surprises.

Perhaps it would be a secret.

Or perhaps, he would be able to see someone unexpected.