Chapter 206: Ahhhhh! Don’t Come Over Here!!!

Prince Duan and the other imperial relatives had been tricked into coming by Prince Wei. Originally, Prince Yanping and the Nanqi King had summoned them to expel Xiao Jingyun from the clan.

The original plan was to drag the Emperor out and put him on trial.

But the plan went awry. The Empress put down the Jade Seal, and they started fighting among themselves.

Before a victor could be decided, Prince Chen appeared.

Everyone assumed Prince Chen would be the final victor, but to their surprise, Princess Xuanyang appeared and dealt with all three of them.

From outside, they could hear shouts of "Long live the Empress!" coming from within. They grew frantic, cursing Xiao Li in their anger.

Prince Wei calmly stood before the others. When all eyes turned to him with hope, he announced, "My Imperial Sister is actually doing all of this for my sake. We’ve always been the closest. She only wants to help me ascend the throne, but I am weak and my support is thin. To protect me, she has taken all the blame upon herself. If we go in now and you all persuade her, give her a graceful way out, she will hand the throne over to me."

In short, after a flurry of bull, Prince Wei had the imperial relatives convinced that all they had to do was say the word, and Xiao Li would hand over the throne.

So even when Prince Wei sold them out the instant he saw her, siding firmly with Xiao Li, they still thought he was just putting on an act.

Prince Duan stepped forward, affecting the air of a senior. "Xuanyang, you have suffered. This farce ends today. We will expel Xiao Jingyun from the clan. Hand the Jade Seal to Prince Wei, and we shall enthrone him as the new Emperor. The boy is kindhearted and benevolent. He will remember your graciousness for the rest of his life."

Being told to give away a treasure already in your hands in exchange for someone being "good to you" for life—and you’re supposed to be tearfully grateful for it.

Not even a dog would swallow that load of crap.

A flicker of mockery crossed Xiao Li’s eyes. She casually tossed the Jade Seal in her hand and then held it out toward Prince Wei. "You want this?"

Terrified, Xiao Jingyi immediately dropped to his knees. "I don’t! I wholeheartedly support my Imperial Sister as the Empress! Long live the Empress!"

Xiao Li looked at the crowd. "It seems your dear Prince Wei isn’t too keen on having me remember his graciousness for the rest of my life."

Xiao Jingyi trembled. ’Imperial Sister, please don’t hold a grudge! I’m not the one who said that.’

"Imperial Sister, I wouldn’t dare."

Prince Duan frowned. For Prince Wei to be so terrified at the first confrontation was frankly pathetic.

One of the clan elders looked at the three princes behind her, his murky eyes glinting with shrewd calculation. "Since ancient times, the throne has passed to the eldest legitimate son. If you ask me, the crown should go to the Nanqi King."

The others immediately chimed in. "That’s right. If not for the imposter prince, the throne should have rightfully passed to the Nanqi King."

Someone spoke up directly, "Princess Xuanyang, please release the princes."

Xiao Li kicked Prince Wei in annoyance. ’Bringing a few old geezers in here just to piss me off, is that it?’

"It seems a few of you refuse to accept me as your new Empress."

"Guards, seize them!"

The Silver Armor Guards surged forward. With surprising foresight, they had brought gags, which they promptly used to silence the men before dragging them away.

Xiao Li was here to seize the throne, not to listen to them pontificate on how it should be handed out.

Uncles, clan elders... she refused to acknowledge any of them.

’They’d been warned once. If they still couldn’t grasp reality, then she’d just kill them all.’

And so, she turned to face the three men behind her.

One kick from a Silver Armor Guard for each, and all three were forced to their knees.

Xiao Li drew her long saber. With a sickening SQUELCH, she plunged it into Prince Chen’s abdomen, then immediately yanked it free.

Prince Chen collapsed, convulsing as blood pooled on the floor around him.

The other two princes froze, their faces numb with terror.

Xiao Li’s gaze was cold, her voice chilling. "You don’t have to recognize me as your Empress. I don’t give a damn about your approval. It’s all meaningless. For now, however, you have some small use, so I’ll let you live."

"Drag them away."

The Silver Armor Guards dragged over three fine iron cages. One was for the three princes, another for the old officials and the other royals, and the third was for Lu Yanzhi and anyone connected to the Lu family.

The members of the Lu family had only just realized that Lu Yanzhi was not a living man, but a living corpse. Even with his arm and leg severed, he barely bled. He was still alive, struggling ceaselessly.

Now, locked in the cage with him, they trembled in terror. "AAAAAH! Stay away from me!"

Xiao Li glanced over. ’Seems I didn’t prepare enough cages.’

’But fine iron cages are hard to come by. This will have to do for now.’

The members of the Lu family were on the verge of a collective breakdown. ’Don’t make do! We absolutely cannot make do with this!’

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Three more cannon shots boomed, and everyone flinched involuntarily.

The bloody scene moments ago had been too shocking. Now, at this sound, they all feared a cannonball was about to land on them.

At this point, only Prince Wei dared to ask, "Imperial Sister, what is all this?"

A faint, sinister smile touched Xiao Li’s eyes. "Just some rabble who don’t know their place."

’It’s nothing important. A few cannon shots will make them behave.’

With all voices of opposition suppressed, Xiao Li tossed the Jade Seal back to Lou Yan.

The Jade Seal and the Commander’s Seal. The absolute authority that all under heaven dreamed of was in his hands, enough to drive anyone to madness.

Lou Yan merely glanced at them, placed the Jade Seal back in its box, and followed respectfully behind Xiao Li, holding it for her.

The great hall’s doors had long been thrown open. Inside, the room was filled with people kneeling in neat rows.

The Empress knelt at the very front, leading the others in a deep bow. "We pay our respects to the Empress!"

"We pay our respects to the Empress!"

The Empress took Xiao Li’s ascension well. The others were all servants and Imperial Physicians; seeing that the Empress had accepted the new reality, they felt they had no grounds to object.

’They were all servants anyway. What difference did it make who they served?’

Xiao Li paused for a moment before stepping forward and bending down to help the Empress to her feet. "Sister-in-law, please rise."

To the Empress’s surprise, Xiao Li reached out and adjusted her hairpins, her smile warm and intimate.

"I know you dislike tedious affairs, Sister-in-law, but I must trouble you just this once. You know the inner court far better than I. I’ll need your help in arranging for all these people."

Xiao Li’s expression was affable, but the Empress could feel that her gaze wasn’t truly on her. Even her smile carried no warmth. The Empress’s heart clenched. "I am willing to serve Your Majesty."

From the back, Wang Wanqing’s eyes sparkled. She was both stunned and ecstatic. In a flash, she darted in front of Xiao Li. "I am willing to serve Your Majesty!"

Xiao Li gave her a look and pushed her away by the forehead.

"All of you, rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

A thick, pungent smell of medicine filled the hall. Xiao Li walked to the bedside and looked at the Emperor on the bed. His face was ashen, a ghastly white tinged with Death Qi.

He was already dead.

The Empress and Cen An followed her over, while the others waited outside the screen.

The Empress said, "He died two hours ago. When the chaos started outside, I held off on announcing it."

Xiao Li nodded. "I’ll have someone send him away later, for a secret burial."

Xiao Jingyun’s parentage meant he could not be interred in the Xiao Family’s Imperial Mausoleum. Even after so long as Emperor, a bastard was still a bastard. A secret burial, affording him some peace in death, was better than having his corpse dug up and flogged one day.

The Empress continued, "The Empress Dowager hanged herself. A mourning hall should be set up, but as she died a convicted criminal, I must ask Your Majesty to decide her fate."

The Empress Dowager. If the Empress hadn’t mentioned it, Xiao Li would have completely forgotten about her.

"Return the body to her natal family. Let them arrange for her burial."

She had no desire for her first act as Empress to be kowtowing and wailing at the Empress Dowager’s wake.

’What terrible luck.’