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Time flew by. Eleven days later, the alliance finally broke Jiamen Pass. It was all thanks to the fact that, according to the alliance itself, their forces were united as one. They celebrated that night, dancing and singing as if it was all over.

Huang Song and several other advisors sighed, watching them party like that.

“What a bunch of morons. It took them eleven freaking days to break Jiamen Pass. What’s there to celebrate…?

Huang Song punched the table in front of him. Instrumental music could be heard outside his tent—annoyingly distracting.

Feng Jue and the others gave a bitter smile. The alliance seemed to be beyond salvation.

“Tomorrow, the forces will finally get past Jiamen Pass. I hope it’s not too late.” Feng Jue let out a sigh.

Cheng Jing looked down. His voice was cold. “How can it not be too late? I’m afraid that Chenzhou is already in great danger. Damn it! Those short-sighted idiots are still here feeling proud of themselves. They stupidly crave getting credit, even if it’s at the expense of their long-term success. They can’t deny it! I’ll just have to put all my hope on Liu Xi and Yang Jian now. I hope they can get there soon. Even if they can’t save the whole of Chenzhou, at least I hope they can save the emperor.”

None of the five kingdoms had been established for very long. Besides, aristocratic families’ education had always been concentrated on building their own power and influence, so the level of loyalty among the aristocracy was not very high.

Cheng Jing and Feng Jue were two of them.

For them, the imperial family didn’t seem to be able to hold its power for long. However, it wasn’t time for them to go south just yet.

If Dongqing’s emperor was still alive, at least on the surface, other forces could be contained. Without an emperor, the whole of Dongqing would go straight into a status of disintegration. All sorts of lords and forces would start claiming to be their own boss. For the moment, Huang Song still needed time to develop. He still needed an emperor.

Feng Jue laughed grimly. His voice contained obvious sarcasm. “I hope so. The gods bless Dongqing.”

But it didn’t seem like gods were on Dongqing’s side at all. The dynasty had pretty much run out of luck. No matter how hard it tried, it couldn’t do anything except count its remaining days.

The second day after the alliance broke through Jiamen Pass, they triumphantly marched through it. By that time, the imperial city in Chenzhou was already in great danger.

Ever since he’d moved to Chenzhou, the emperor had been planning on ordering tons of construction projects so that Chenzhou could be transformed into something that looked just like Shangjing.

Unfortunately, the exchequer didn’t have enough money. Not to mention that Prince Changshou had to start his revolt, causing even more money to be put into the military budget.

Since they couldn’t afford to build whatever the emperor wanted to build, he and his concubines had to move into the Chenzhou Imperial Palace for short stays away from the capital and use it as the main palace.

The vacation palace, however, was as fancy as the main palace back in Shangjing. The emperor and his concubines still lived an extravagant lifestyle. He didn’t care how the battles turned out beyond the walls of his palace. All he cared about was enjoying himself, having beautiful women in his arms, and eating fancy food all the time. It was just so much fun!

That luxurious lifestyle required a lot of money. But how could he get enough money that he could burn through it for his own pleasure?

The emperor secretly resorted to selling official positions and titles with an invisible price tag on every single one of them! That didn’t look great in the aristocratic families’ eyes.

The emperor had countless concubines. His favorite was the former royal concubine and the current empress, Huijun.

Speaking of this empress, the government officials and ministers all loved and hated her.

Why was it both love and hate?

Because every time she was present, the emperor demonstrated a significantly lower level of cruelty. He wouldn’t randomly kill anyone with the sword he had with him when Huijun was around.

So many officials had come close to being executed by the emperor. Thanks to Empress Huijun’s pleading, they and their families all dodged death.

Then how come they still hated her if they owed her their lives?

When Empress Huijun was still the royal concubine, she’d plotted and succeeded in killing the former empress with poison, seduced the former crown prince, and destroyed his relationship with his father. His own family was stripped of their royal titles, leading many of them to die in terrible living conditions.

What happened to the prince?

The outrageous emperor cut his head off with a sword!

The crown prince was not the only victim. Since then, the second, third, and fourth prince, Wuma Jun, had all suffered a lot because of her.

The second prince had been accused of plotting against the emperor and empress with witchcraft. His properties and fortune all ended up being confiscated. He was executed. Even his mother’s family was punished.

The third prince was the most low-key of the bunch, but he possessed the noblest blood. His mother was part of the collateral Feng family. Yet he was accused of seducing his stepmother and dishonoring the royal family. It was claimed that he had been involved intimately with one of the emperor’s new concubines. As such, his title was taken.

As for the fourth prince, Wuma Jun, he hadn’t survived either.

One day, he’d somehow gotten so drunk that he passed out on the side of the road. Several carriages passing by ran over his legs. He never walked again.

Based on the investigation of several imperial censors, the empress was behind it all. But with the emperor being obsessed with her, there was nothing they could do.

The imperial court was a mess. Everyone was deeply worried about the future.

The Mengs from Cangzhou suddenly turned their backs on the emperor. Since then, Prince Changshou had pretty much completely turned the tables. He’d beaten Chenzhou’s army again and again.

The emperor only cared about drinking and partying with Huijun. All the officials and ministers coming to talk to him kept outside.

Extremely bewitching, Huijun’s glance could devour his soul.

“Your majesty, they are shouting outside again! Day after day, they’re being so annoying!”

“If you don’t like it, my dear, let’s order a eunuch to kick them out of the palace.”

The emperor’s hand drifted over Huijun’s soft and elegant hands, eyes blurred. He seemed to be quite annoyed by the officials.

Bad news from the battlefield was being reported to him every day. His officials failed to solve his problems. Now they started to interfere with his personal life? That was none of their business! He preferred to stay at Huijun’s place. He could enjoy her body and soft voice there, the pleasure of which he considered as valuable as his own life. The last thing he wanted was to worry about was the nagging officials outside.

Huijun gave him a smile that was worth a whole city.

“My majesty, please go check it out. If you stay here, they will probably have more to say about me.”

The more generous she acted, the more the emperor hated the officials.

The emperor’s eyes flared with a flash of cruelty. “No! Let them keep kneeling outside until they starve themselves. They are so useless and annoying! If it weren’t you who defending them so many times, they would have long ago lost their heads! How could they nag us without their heads?”

Huijun said with a tone of consideration, “As your wife, how can I not understand your concern? But those officials are important to the country. If something happens to them while they are waiting, there will be one more thing they can accuse me of.”

The emperor gently held her hands, feeling deeply comforted.

“They misunderstand you so much, yet you still try to defend them. How can those ungrateful b*stards deserve your concern?” The emperor furrowed his brows. His hatred for them increased. “You are the best, my dear!”

“It’s not their fault, your majesty. Several princes suffered so much… and I was the one they suspected most.”

Time flew by. Eleven days later, the alliance finally broke Jiamen Pass. It was all thanks to the fact that, according to the alliance itself, their forces were united as one. They celebrated that night, dancing and singing as if it was all over.

Huang Song and several other advisors sighed, watching them party like that.

“What a bunch of morons. It took them eleven freaking days to break Jiamen Pass. What’s there to celebrate…?

Huang Song punched the table in front of him. Instrumental music could be heard outside his tent—annoyingly distracting.

Feng Jue and the others gave a bitter smile. The alliance seemed to be beyond salvation.

“Tomorrow, the forces will finally get past Jiamen Pass. I hope it’s not too late.” Feng Jue let out a sigh.

Cheng Jing looked down. His voice was cold. “How can it not be too late? I’m afraid that Chenzhou is already in great danger. Damn it! Those short-sighted idiots are still here feeling proud of themselves. They stupidly crave getting credit, even if it’s at the expense of their long-term success. They can’t deny it! I’ll just have to put all my hope on Liu Xi and Yang Jian now. I hope they can get there soon. Even if they can’t save the whole of Chenzhou, at least I hope they can save the emperor.”

None of the five kingdoms had been established for very long. Besides, aristocratic families’ education had always been concentrated on building their own power and influence, so the level of loyalty among the aristocracy was not very high.

Cheng Jing and Feng Jue were two of them.

For them, the imperial family didn’t seem to be able to hold its power for long. However, it wasn’t time for them to go south just yet.

If Dongqing’s emperor was still alive, at least on the surface, other forces could be contained. Without an emperor, the whole of Dongqing would go straight into a status of disintegration. All sorts of lords and forces would start claiming to be their own boss. For the moment, Huang Song still needed time to develop. He still needed an emperor.

Feng Jue laughed grimly. His voice contained obvious sarcasm. “I hope so. The gods bless Dongqing.”

But it didn’t seem like gods were on Dongqing’s side at all. The dynasty had pretty much run out of luck. No matter how hard it tried, it couldn’t do anything except count its remaining days.

The second day after the alliance broke through Jiamen Pass, they triumphantly marched through it. By that time, the imperial city in Chenzhou was already in great danger.

Ever since he’d moved to Chenzhou, the emperor had been planning on ordering tons of construction projects so that Chenzhou could be transformed into something that looked just like Shangjing.

Unfortunately, the exchequer didn’t have enough money. Not to mention that Prince Changshou had to start his revolt, causing even more money to be put into the military budget.

Since they couldn’t afford to build whatever the emperor wanted to build, he and his concubines had to move into the Chenzhou Imperial Palace for short stays away from the capital and use it as the main palace.

The vacation palace, however, was as fancy as the main palace back in Shangjing. The emperor and his concubines still lived an extravagant lifestyle. He didn’t care how the battles turned out beyond the walls of his palace. All he cared about was enjoying himself, having beautiful women in his arms, and eating fancy food all the time. It was just so much fun!

That luxurious lifestyle required a lot of money. But how could he get enough money that he could burn through it for his own pleasure?

The emperor secretly resorted to selling official positions and titles with an invisible price tag on every single one of them! That didn’t look great in the aristocratic families’ eyes.

The emperor had countless concubines. His favorite was the former royal concubine and the current empress, Huijun.

Speaking of this empress, the government officials and ministers all loved and hated her.

Why was it both love and hate?

Because every time she was present, the emperor demonstrated a significantly lower level of cruelty. He wouldn’t randomly kill anyone with the sword he had with him when Huijun was around.

So many officials had come close to being executed by the emperor. Thanks to Empress Huijun’s pleading, they and their families all dodged death.

Then how come they still hated her if they owed her their lives?

When Empress Huijun was still the royal concubine, she’d plotted and succeeded in killing the former empress with poison, seduced the former crown prince, and destroyed his relationship with his father. His own family was stripped of their royal titles, leading many of them to die in terrible living conditions.

What happened to the prince?

The outrageous emperor cut his head off with a sword!

The crown prince was not the only victim. Since then, the second, third, and fourth prince, Wuma Jun, had all suffered a lot because of her.

The second prince had been accused of plotting against the emperor and empress with witchcraft. His properties and fortune all ended up being confiscated. He was executed. Even his mother’s family was punished.

The third prince was the most low-key of the bunch, but he possessed the noblest blood. His mother was part of the collateral Feng family. Yet he was accused of seducing his stepmother and dishonoring the royal family. It was claimed that he had been involved intimately with one of the emperor’s new concubines. As such, his title was taken.

As for the fourth prince, Wuma Jun, he hadn’t survived either.

One day, he’d somehow gotten so drunk that he passed out on the side of the road. Several carriages passing by ran over his legs. He never walked again.

Based on the investigation of several imperial censors, the empress was behind it all. But with the emperor being obsessed with her, there was nothing they could do.

The imperial court was a mess. Everyone was deeply worried about the future.

The Mengs from Cangzhou suddenly turned their backs on the emperor. Since then, Prince Changshou had pretty much completely turned the tables. He’d beaten Chenzhou’s army again and again.

The emperor only cared about drinking and partying with Huijun. All the officials and ministers coming to talk to him kept outside.

Extremely bewitching, Huijun’s glance could devour his soul.

“Your majesty, they are shouting outside again! Day after day, they’re being so annoying!”

“If you don’t like it, my dear, let’s order a eunuch to kick them out of the palace.”

The emperor’s hand drifted over Huijun’s soft and elegant hands, eyes blurred. He seemed to be quite annoyed by the officials.

Bad news from the battlefield was being reported to him every day. His officials failed to solve his problems. Now they started to interfere with his personal life? That was none of their business! He preferred to stay at Huijun’s place. He could enjoy her body and soft voice there, the pleasure of which he considered as valuable as his own life. The last thing he wanted was to worry about was the nagging officials outside.

Huijun gave him a smile that was worth a whole city.

“My majesty, please go check it out. If you stay here, they will probably have more to say about me.”

The more generous she acted, the more the emperor hated the officials.

The emperor’s eyes flared with a flash of cruelty. “No! Let them keep kneeling outside until they starve themselves. They are so useless and annoying! If it weren’t you who defending them so many times, they would have long ago lost their heads! How could they nag us without their heads?”

Huijun said with a tone of consideration, “As your wife, how can I not understand your concern? But those officials are important to the country. If something happens to them while they are waiting, there will be one more thing they can accuse me of.”

The emperor gently held her hands, feeling deeply comforted.

“They misunderstand you so much, yet you still try to defend them. How can those ungrateful b*stards deserve your concern?” The emperor furrowed his brows. His hatred for them increased. “You are the best, my dear!”

“It’s not their fault, your majesty. Several princes suffered so much… and I was the one they suspected most.”