Chapter 890

At that moment he lost all interest in continuing the conversation with him, waved his hand and said,

"I shall only give you six hours!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Though the time had been cut in half, Zhao Gao still accepted the order with solemn resolve.

"The Hundred Schools of Thought, go gather your men at once.

Since that other world also has a Qin Kingdom, it likely has its own Hundred Schools of Thought as well.

I want you to infiltrate over there and bring back useful intelligence for me as quickly as possible."

Since he could not obtain useful information from Can Jian for the time being, Hearing Ying Zheng shifted to another line of thinking.

The representatives of the Hundred Schools of Thought brightened at once and excitedly accepted the order.

This mission of the Qinglong Society could truly be said to marshal the strength of the entire nation!

Great Tang, Great Ming Palace.

A few days earlier, Seeing Di Renjie had tried three or four times to gain an audience with Wu Zetian without success, and had begun to suspect something was amiss within the palace.

Now that the Heavenly Dao Golden List had manifested, and there were pressing matters involved, Seeing Di Renjie dared not act on his own authority and once again prepared to seek an audience with His Majesty.

Yet he was refused once more.

Seeing Di Renjie, worried at heart, sought out Su Dingfang to confer with him.

After obtaining Su Dingfang's consent, he went with him to force an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.

One of them was a minister of the Lantai Pavilion, the foremost civil official relied upon by the Empress.

The other was the Grand General of the Left Wu Wei, now the foremost meritorious officer.

When the two sought an audience together, neither the palace guards nor the eunuchs and palace ladies within had any further reason to bar them.

Thus the two were allowed to push straight in, all the way to the deepest part of the palace, outside Wu Zetian's sleeping chambers.

Seeing Di Renjie called out in a clear voice, kowtowing and begging the Empress to grant him an audience.

Yet within the sleeping chambers all was silent, while the palace ladies and eunuchs wore expressions of utter panic.

Seeing Di Renjie knew in his heart that something had gone wrong; he exchanged a glance with Su Dingfang and, having obtained his consent,

he no longer observed the proprieties between ruler and minister, strode forward, seized a young eunuch by the collar, and demanded,

"Where on earth has Her Majesty gone?

You must know that Her Majesty is the Empress of Great Tang — if anything should happen to her, the least you can expect is death by a thousand cuts, and your entire nine clans will be exterminated!"

Death by a thousand cuts was already a form of cruel torture, and the threat of having all nine clans annihilated left this young eunuch unable to bear it any longer.

Trembling all over and in a tearful voice, he said,

"Di Ge Lao, this truly has nothing to do with us!

A few days ago we were preparing to enter the palace to attend the Empress, but who would have thought the palace would be utterly deserted, with not the slightest trace of Her Majesty to be found!"

"What?"

Seeing Di Renjie's face changed drastically, and he hurled the young eunuch to the ground in one motion,

"You wretched fool — such a momentous matter, and you dared to conceal it and not report it?"

The Emperor being lost — was that not the greatest of calamities?

How could a mere eunuch dare to conceal it and not report it?

"Oh right, where is Shangguan Wan?"

In truth, whether it was Seeing Di Renjie or Su Dingfang, neither could enter or leave the inner palace without imperial summons.

It was rather Lai Junchen — known as the Inner Chancellor — who, by virtue of being the foremost female official and her close intimate friendship with Wu Zetian,

combined with the fact that she was also a woman,

would be privy to all matters great and small within the palace.

"This…"

Hearing this, the young eunuch could not help but hesitate.

In fact, before Wu Zetian and Shangguan Wan left Great Ming Palace with Zhang Wuxia, Shangguan Wan had long since arranged everything.

They had originally thought this trip would not pose any great problem.

Thus in as little as half a month, or at most a month, they would be able to return.

Therefore before leaving the palace, they did not consult Seeing Di Renjie, but only strictly ordered the palace guards, palace ladies, and eunuchs to keep it concealed.

To the outside world they put it about that the Empress was indisposed and could not see visitors.

All matters great and small were to be handled after deliberation by the Lantai.

Pressing matters were to wait until the Empress returned.

No information whatsoever about the Empress's or Shangguan Wan's whereabouts was to be leaked.

Those who violated the order would be executed!

With Shangguan Wan's strict order in place, how would this young eunuch dare to speak recklessly?

Yet Seeing Di Renjie was also a minister of the Lantai Pavilion, the present chief minister, and his authority was by no means slight.

Caught between two sides, the young eunuch was nearly reduced to tears of desperation.

Seeing Di Renjie perceived the problem, knew there might be hidden circumstances, and that further pressuring this young eunuch would serve no purpose.

Just as he was about to say something more, suddenly a sharp shout rang out from above Great Ming Palace,

"Who dares trespass into the inner palace!"

Then, above Great Ming Palace, more than a dozen figures appeared — they were precisely the Tang Dynasty's enshrined deities.

The leader among them was none other than the Tang's Protector of the Realm, Yan Kuangtu.

And surrounded at their center by them were several figures.

The foremost among them was a figure of graceful bearing, yet possessed of an extraordinary, commanding presence.

"You don't even recognize your own Emperor?"

The moment the leader of those who had stormed the palace spoke, Yan Kuangtu and the other offerings he headed, along with Seeing Di Renjie, Su Dingfang and the rest, could not help but stiffen.

"Your Majesty?"

Yan Kuangtu did not dare be careless, and stared fixedly at the beautiful woman before him, who was veiled in a light gauze.

The arrivals were naturally none other than Wu Zhao and her party. Wu Zhao at once lifted away the light gauze, regarding Yan Kuangtu with an indifferent gaze,

"You have quite the nerve — to behave so rudely in my presence!"

In truth, Wu Zhao had no idea who Yan Kuangtu was at all; Zhang Wuxia had had no chance to brief her in detail.

But having long occupied the throne of a female emperor, she naturally knew how to handle such a situation.

Sure enough, the instant Yan Kuangtu beheld Wu Zhao's true face, she was virtually indistinguishable from Wu Zetian.

Though he was a Guardian Offering of the State, he spent most of his days in cultivation, and so was hardly truly familiar with the subtle differences between Wu Zhao and Wu Zetian.

Therefore, upon hearing Wu Zhao's empty threats and bluster, he was immediately so frightened that he bowed and said,

"Your Majesty, forgive me. Your servant was only doing his duty and has offended the Imperial presence — a crime worthy of death, a crime worthy of death."

In truth, in the past, Yan Kuangtu had his own pride.

But now that the Heavenly Dao Golden List had come into the world, more and more experts were ascending its ranks.

To say nothing of distant matters — just look at Sun En, who followed behind Wu Zhao; he was an expert far beyond Yan Kuangtu.

Therefore, although Yan Kuangtu still possessed a proud backbone, he now increasingly let such things go.

He knew that if he were stripped of his identity as a Guardian Offering of the Great Tang, his cultivation would likely never advance again.

"Enough, enough! You are loyal to the affairs of state; I shall not punish you further."

Wu Zhao knew when to stop, and pardoned Yan Kuangtu on the spot.

"Thank Your Majesty."

Yan Kuangtu breathed a sigh of relief — so long as he wasn't stripped of his title as Guardian Offering of the State, all was well.

"Very well, withdraw! I am somewhat weary and wish to return to the palace to rest."

Wu Zhao waved her hand, and Yan Kuangtu and the others naturally vanished from sight at once.

Then, under Zhang Wuxia's guidance, Wu Zhao descended slowly with Zhang Wuxia, Sun En, and Chahetai, coming to rest before the sleeping palace.

The others, Wu Zhao might not have recognized.

But in the world she herself had come from, there was also a Di Renjie, and this realm's Di Renjie looked hardly any different in appearance.

Therefore Wu Zhao first nodded in greeting toward Seeing Di Renjie and asked,