Chapter 302: She Loves Going to Work, She Loves Morning Court (Finale)

Having just skirted the gates of Yama Hall, each official now found their minds exceptionally clear, their thoughts gushing forth and their tongues nimble.

“Your Majesty is benevolent! They got what they deserved and brought about their own doom.”

“They deceived their sovereign, showed no gratitude, and were utterly disloyal! They wasted Your Majesty’s care and shook the very foundations of our nation. Death is too good for them!”

“Your Majesty is wise and divinely martial, your judgment absolute…”

See? As long as you’re powerful enough, you’ll always have great scholars eager to argue on your behalf.

“Court is dismissed.”

“Farewell, Your Majesty!”

An issue that had caused an uproar for three months was settled by the Empress in a single morning court session.

If killing people doesn’t solve your problems, it just means you haven’t killed enough of them, or ruthlessly enough.

The blood in front of Jinluan Palace couldn’t be scrubbed clean, even after ten washes.

From now on, anyone who had witnessed the gruesome fate of those imperial relatives would have to ask themselves if they were prepared to be beaten into a bloody pulp.

The surviving members of the Xiao Family didn’t fare much better. The Empress disbanded the Bian Bureau, stripped them of all their official posts, and then, according to their crimes, exiled them to the farthest corners of Da Wei.

And what a coincidence—those were the very same places to which the officials they had once investigated had been exiled.

She didn’t kill them, but she made them wish they were dead.

If any of them managed to make it back to the Capital City alive, Xiao Yang herself would have to commend them for their grit.

Familial affection?

Bonds of kinship?

‘Ridiculous. I’m Xiao Yang, a soul from another world. What connection could I possibly have with these people?’

‘They eat from my bowl, and they still want to rebel?’

‘All of you can just go and die!’

She was the Da Wei Empress, the supreme sovereign who held the power of life and death. Decisive and ruthless, cold-blooded and without mercy. Any who dared to defy her would be killed—without—pardon!

———

The Empress had been away for over half a year, leaving her two Imperial Consorts, Rong Yin and Mu Yunlian, to guard their empty chambers for just as long.

To make it up to them, the Empress had no choice but to shower them with extra affection, even secretly indulging some of their… smaller requests.

The consequence was nights of debauchery that blurred day and night, until she nearly broke her back.

On her way to morning court, she walked in a huff, one hand pressed to her lower back.

But the most infuriating part was that she hadn’t been forced—she’d been seduced.

‘A handsome face is a blade that scrapes you to the bone. Absolutely lethal.’

She finally made it to the Dragon Throne and managed to endure until morning court was over. Then, Xiao Cheng and Xiao Ziling returned.

The two knelt and reported cautiously, “Your Majesty, are you aware of a country named Yunjiang, north of the Southern Domain?”

Xiao Yang lazily lifted an eyelid. “I am. Why?”

Xiao Cheng said, “While we were purging the rebels, we pursued them all the way to Yunjiang. A conflict broke out between us, and we were forced to fight back. As it turns out, we accidentally went a little overboard and… wiped out their little country in a few days. We await Your Majesty’s decision.”

After Xiao Yang processed what they had just said, she was so furious that she grabbed a memorial from her desk and hurled it at them.

“Decision? My ass! You think I don’t have enough on my plate?!”

‘Who the hell wants a backwater place like that? I have zero ambition to expand my territory, only the impending despair of having to manage another poverty-stricken region.’

“Guards! Throw them out! I don’t want to see their faces!”

Xiao Cheng and Xiao Ziling were hauled away.

Seeing how furious the Empress was, everyone else beat a hasty retreat.

They were out of there!

Xiao Yang stormed back from the court, a fire raging in her belly, her steps hurried and sharp.

When she finally reached Zichen Palace, she turned to find that all four of them had followed her.

Xiao Yang shot them a single glare, and the four of them froze at the entrance, not daring to step inside.

By the time she got inside and sat down, her back was killing her.

She gritted her teeth and slammed her fist on the table in fury.

“Those bastards.”

‘The throne is right there for the taking, but not a single one of them wants it.’

‘Instead, they use all their energy to torment me.’

‘And my poor back!’

The aching back was a secondary concern. The Imperial Physician came to take her pulse and informed her that her kidney essence was depleted, requiring abstinence and a period of mental and physical recuperation.

‘Isn’t that just a fancy way of saying I’m completely drained?’

Her Majesty the Empress was instantly overcome with rage and humiliation.

“Treasonous villains! Bastards! I will execute all nine generations of their families!”