Chapter 424: Act In the Emperor’s Stead

King Liang stared at the jade hairpin, wondering just what kind of history it had. His gaze slowly shifted to her body, and his eyes grew wide. What long legs!

Unfortunately, he was already of advanced age. If he had run into her when he was younger, he would surely have had his fun with her, even if he had to abuse his authority and cultivation to do so.

The tension finally drained out of Jiang Luofu when she saw that both sides had stood down. There was a master rank cultivator on one side, while on the other, there was the three thousand-strong Red Cloak Army commanded by Brightmoon Duke. Neither side was a power she could face.

Jiang Luofu greeted Chu Zhongtian. “Brightmoon Duke, why did you suddenly mobilize such a large army?”

Chu Zhongtian snorted. “Principal Jiang can ask him for the answer.”

King Liang descended from midair. When he heard this, he said with a cold smile, “The Chu clan is harboring a criminal, and even tried to kill me. Brightmoon Duke truly is daring.”

Qin Wanru slammed the war drum heavily in anger. “We should’ve killed you after all! Even being forced to live with a bad reputation would’ve been worth it!”

King Liang’s expression flickered, and he stepped backwards quickly.

Jiang Luofu said hurriedly, “I’ve heard a few things about the reason for King Liang’s visit as well. I cannot blame the Chu clan for finding your demands hard to accept. Even I find them difficult to accept. Zu An has lived his entire life in Brightmoon City. How could he have possibly stolen something belonging to the emperor?”

Xie Yi also chimed in. “Indeed, I believe that this has to be a misunderstanding as well.”

King Liang’s eyelids twitched. Even Xie Yi had chosen to speak. The Chu clan, the academy, and the City Lord; these were Brightmoon City’s three greatest powers! The three of them standing together on the same side made the situation difficult to navigate.

He could only say, “To be honest, even I don’t know what Zu An has stolen from the emperor.”

Both the Master and Madam of the Chu clan stared at him, speechless, as did Jiang Luofu and Xie Yi.

Even Liu Yao couldn’t believe what he’d heard.

What the hell were you boasting about then? Was it all just a bluff?

Sensing their rage, King Liang quickly said, “Even though I don’t know what exactly it is that he has stolen from the emperor, this matter is truly genuine. After all, the emperor personally entrusted me with this task.”

The rest of them frowned when they heard him say this. There was no reason for King Liang to lie about this matter, but there was no way they could let this matter go either!

At that moment, King Liang seemed to recall something. He pointed at the ten embroidered envoys and said, “You can ask them if you want the details. They were sent by the emperor to capture Zu An.”

The Chu clan thus turned to the ten embroidered envoys who were standing like statues.

“The Embroidered Envoy…” Chu Zhongtian and the others clearly recognized them as well, and their expressions twisted in displeasure.

Sensing everyone’s attention focused on them, the embroidered envoy at the front said coldly, “The item Zu An has stolen is strictly confidential. The Chu clan must hand him over. If you do not, you will be provoking His Majesty.”

“Provoking His Majesty?” Chu Zhongtian laughed bleakly. “The emperor clearly wants the Chu clan gone. What is the point of maintaining such pretenses?”

Panicking, Xie Yi immediately warned him, “Brother Chu, please speak cautiously!”

Chu Zhongtian snorted. “We’ve already been pushed this far. Why should I still bother to tread lightly?!”

He obviously didn’t believe that Zu An had stolen anything belonging to the emperor. He assumed that this was just another excuse that the emperor had cooked up to deal with the Chu clan.

The embroidered envoy’s eyes narrowed. “Is Brightmoon Duke really going to defy the imperial edict?”

“Defy the imperial edict?” Chu Zhongtian laughed. “Our Chu clan has never said we will do that. Feel free to search for Zu An yourselves.”

Even though he was angry, he wasn’t stupid. At the very least, he wouldn’t say anything that would lead to the immediate destruction of the Chu clan.

That embroidered envoy waved his hands when he heard this. He walked towards the Chu Estate with the other envoys.

The Red Cloak Army remained in place, showing no intention of moving.

Xie Xi gave an inward sigh. Chu Zhongtian always behaved like an upright and rule-abiding person, but he was actually quite cunning. He’d clearly said that he would comply, yet his actions were hardly in line with his statement.

The embroidered envoys halted. “Do you think that this is enough to stop us?”

Chu Zhongtian said with a smile, “I’ve heard of the Embroidered Envoy’s reputation. How could our Chu clan dare to have such thoughts?”

Even though this was what he said, he still showed no intention of moving aside.

His meaning was obvious. Not even a master rank cultivator can enter. What can the few of you do? I advise you to back down.

To be honest, he was a little confused himself. Everyone in this world seemed to worship the Embroidered Envoy, yet these envoys before him were all around the fifth or sixth rank. They didn’t match up to his expectations at all.

Then again, he’d never heard of anyone being able to escape when pursued by the Embroidered Envoy. What was up with that?

Could it be that the imperial court was so powerful that no one dared to resist?

The Master and Madam of the Chu clan were not the only ones wondering about this. Almost everyone else shared their doubts. All eyes were on the ten embroidered envoys, all waiting to see what they were going to do.

The ten members of the Embroidered Envoy suddenly knelt towards the east. The one in the lead respectfully reached out in front of him. “Your subjects have enemies that stand in our path. Your majesty, please send us an imperial edict to subdue them!”

Everyone present was shocked. The emperor was in the capital city, and they were so far away. How could the emperor possibly hear what he was saying? Were they using something like sound transmission stones?

Even if they managed to contact his majesty, what was the use? A distant river would never be the solution to a current drought!

However, the expressions of a few of the more powerful figures present began to flicker. They began to have suspicions about what was going on.

Chu Zhongtian gave an involuntary shudder as he looked towards the horizon. The clouds, which had been drifting aimlessly just a moment ago, were now gathering together. A boundless power slowly began to saturate the area. All of Brightmoon City’s citizens trembled in fear.

In Divine Physician Ji’s shop, within a room completely covered by curtains, Ji Dengtu was currently under his covers. One hand was holding a book, while the other hand was doing who knew what. Suddenly, he felt a terrifying pressure. His entire body trembled, and he immediately went flaccid. He tossed the book aside and cursed violently. “Damn it all! I was almost there already, but you just had to go and scare this old man! Screw you! I probably won’t be able to get it up for another three months… Fucking dogshit emperor, if not for the fact that I could never beat you in a fight, I would pay you a visit right this instant!”

After cursing for a while, he fell into deep thought. That brat has really gotten himself into quite the mess this time.

Shang Liuyu was fiddling with her harp in Brightmoon Academy. She looked in the direction of the Chu clan, a pensive expression on her face.

Zu An was currently hiding in one of the Plum Blossom Sect’s properties. He too looked out the window with a look of horror. This pressure made him instinctively shake in fear. Forget about facing it head on—it would be impressive if he could even stand up straight. He felt a powerful urge to kneel. Just as he was on the verge of collapse, he suddenly heard a startled voice.

“What terrifying pressure! Brat, did you provoke someone you shouldn’t have provoked?”

Zu An was almost moved to tears when he heard this voice. “Big sis empress! Please embrace and comfort me!”

Mi Li reached out a hand to stop him from hugging her. “Are you trying to take advantage of me as soon as we meet?”

Despite saying this, all her attention was focused outside the window. Even Zu An was looking in that direction.

The clouds above the Chu Estate slowly took the form of an indistinct figure, that of a middle-aged man with a crown on his head.

This figure, formed from the clouds, slowly opened his mouth. An indistinct yet oppressive voice resounded throughout all of Brightmoon City. “Granted!”

A massive, bright-yellow imperial edict seemingly appeared out of thin air. It slowly unfolded, taking up almost half the sky. However, it was completely blank.

An embroidered envoy rose and intoned, “His majesty, who has accepted the mandate of heaven, has given the imperial order: The Chu clan has three days to hand over their son-in-law Zu An, or else they will be treated as traitors. All members of the clan and their relatives will be executed!”

Whenever a word was spoken, a trace of golden light would flicker across the imperial edict, and the word that was spoken would appear. When the envoy had finished his recitation, the words he had spoken had been reproduced exactly on the floating imperial edict.

Finally, the imperial edict covered the sky in golden light, which scattered and fell upon the barrier formed by the Red Cloak Army. The instant it made contact with this barrier that not even Liu Yao or King Liang had been able to breach, the barrier melted like snow before a blazing sun, and vanished without a trace.

The three thousand men of the Red Cloak Army all coughed out blood, kneeling under the powerful pressure.

Chu Zhongtian also vomited a mouthful of blood, and his entire figure seemed to wilt.

King Liang, Liu Yao, and all of the others knelt down and said in praise, “Long live his majesty!”

The Imperial Guard also cried out in worship. Eventually, everyone in Brightmoon City was kneeling down in fear and shouting, their voices full of emotion. 

“Long live his majesty!”

The emperor was the world’s number one expert. In the hearts of common people, he was seen as an unparalleled existence. Almost all of them were crying out sincerely.

Meanwhile, in a prison carriage, Sang Hong said to his son, “Qian’er, didn’t you ask me what it meant to act in the emperor’s stead? This is precisely it!”

At the same time, he couldn’t shake his confusion. Just what was it that made His Majesty disregard the court’s regulations and choose to use brute force to subdue the Chu clan?