Chapter 218 - 102: So Green I’m Glowing. Used for 3 Days and Then Returned to Me?

The imposing figure was Emperor Xia, the ruler of Great Xia, who now reigned over the countless Immortal Sects and Alien Races of the Celestial Central Province and awed the Hundred Kingdoms, both large and small, that surrounded her domain.

’What a joke. My empire is so vast, yet it refuses to obey me.’

’In my own Court, I must endure his threats. And among all my countless ministers, not a single one dares to step forward and denounce that scoundrel Jiang...’

’These worthless cowards have utterly shamed me.’

’The Grand Tutor was my mentor, and I owe him for his guidance. Yet now, I can’t even protect the Xie Family. I can only watch as they are all condemned...’

Emperor Xia gazed out at the magnificent, boundless landscape. A surge of ambition welled within her, but it was choked by a suffocating frustration she could not release.

Her jade-white fists were clenched so tightly that veins pulsed beneath her fair skin.

The handmaidens stood with their heads bowed, not daring to look up, for they knew Emperor Xia was furious.

Scenes like this had played out often over the years; they were no longer surprised by them.

However, it was rare for her anger to last for two full days, as it had now.

’That scoundrel Jiang... I’ve tolerated him for so long, enduring his provocations, backing down time and again. Yet he continues to push things too far...’

’Today, he can claim an Imperial Censor is colluding with a Demon; tomorrow, he could frame any of the Nine Ministers at will...’

Emperor Xia’s expression was ice-cold, her face a mask of grim stillness.

During her father’s reign, the Prime Minister had shown some restraint.

But after her father passed away, the Prime Minister began to reveal his fangs and ambitions.

In just a few short decades, he had eroded and consumed all power throughout Great Xia.

Now, the Court had become a place where his word was law.

This time, in front of the entire Court, the Prime Minister had casually picked up a memorial, presented it, and claimed the Xie Family was colluding with a Demon, demanding that Your Majesty punish them without mercy.

But Emperor Xia knew the truth: the memorial was about something completely unrelated.

The so-called "evidence" was nothing more than a few casual words from the scoundrel Jiang’s own mouth.

Yet, faced with this situation, Emperor Xia was forced—just as she had been in her youth—to call a deer a horse, even when she knew the truth.

The humiliation brought back the same powerlessness and rage she had felt in her youth.

’I’ll endure you for a few more years. But in time, I swear I will make an example of your Prime Minister’s Mansion, and I will not spare a single soul...’

Emperor Xia took a deep breath, and her roiling emotions finally began to settle.

On the nearby Golden Dragon Throne, draped in soft, embroidered satin, a white cat with sleek fur was curled up, lazily sleeping.

Emperor Xia walked over, scooped the cat into her arms, and sat down.

The white cat opened its eyes. Its mismatched, gleaming blue and green eyes held a human-like intelligence. It stretched out a soft, pink tongue and licked the back of her hand, which finally soothed some of the emperor’s turmoil.

"Spring Orchid..." Emperor Xia said.

"Your Majesty..." The aloof, sword-bearing handmaiden stepped forward.

"Summon Right Captain Situ to the hall," Emperor Xia commanded.

The Great Xia’s Captain’s Mansion commanded the Imperial Army. It was led by two captains, a Left and a Right, who oversaw the Five Guards: Central, Left, Right, Front, and Rear. Their sole duty was to protect the Imperial City, making them her personal soldiers and most trusted subordinates.

The Observatory did not meddle in matters of imperial power, nor was it accountable to the Royal Family.

Even Emperor Xia had difficulty interfering in its administration.

However, she had spent years making plans and exerting effort to infiltrate and control the Observatory.

Now, the Prime Minister was deliberately pressuring the Xie Family to hand over Xie Jianjia, going so far as to maliciously slander them in the Court and have the Imperial Censor’s entire family thrown in prison.

Emperor Xia had chosen to compromise for a number of reasons, but that did not mean she would simply turn a blind eye and do nothing.

When Xie Jianjia was born, the phantom of an Immortal Phoenix appeared. Even the National Master had declared that the Xie Family was blessed with great fortune. Because of this, she had personally bestowed upon the girl an imperial surname, ennobled her as a Commandery Princess, and granted her a fiefdom.

Over the years, she had also gifted them numerous treasures to win their loyalty.

She had done all this, of course, in the hope that Xie Jianjia would one day repay her with gratitude and loyalty.

Now that the Prime Minister intended to interfere and bring Xie Jianjia into his own mansion, she would certainly not allow him to succeed.

However, such things could not be done out in the open.

"This subject greets Your Majesty..."

Soon, a valiant-looking man in full armor arrived in the hall, led by several eunuchs.

His name was Situ Ying. The Situ Family was a noble military house, and his father had been ennobled as Duke Zhongguo, a man of high rank and immense power.

Behind the hanging screen, Emperor Xia stood with her hands clasped behind her back. "While the Observatory is escorting the women of the Xie Family to the Sword Sect," she said coolly, "you are to secretly dispatch men to protect them. No mishaps will be tolerated on their journey."

"If any power dares to intercept or abduct them, kill them without mercy."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Situ Ying accepted the command and withdrew.

’That scoundrel Jiang must have already laid his plans. He has many of his own people planted within the Observatory; I cannot afford to be careless.’

’But what is his goal in making such a great fanfare about finding Foundation Establishment materials for Jiang Lan? Is it a bluff? Or is he deliberately creating a diversion?’

After Situ Ying departed, Emperor Xia gently rubbed her brow, lost in thought.

She glanced at the handmaiden beside her and said, "Xia Zhu, bring me all reports regarding the recent events in Anyang City. I will review them personally."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the saber-wielding handmaiden replied respectfully, and her figure quickly vanished from the hall.

’The Blood Immortal Sect lies dormant, stirring in the shadows. In my own Court, that treacherous Prime Minister’s power is absolute, throwing the government and the empire into chaos. The major Immortal Sect Lineages pay me lip service while secretly defying me, showing respect to my face and contempt behind my back. And the other provinces harbor their own ambitions, plotting to seize control of the Celestial Central Province...’

’Xiaobai, what should I do? The empire is teetering on the brink, a star of calamity has fallen, and I don’t know if I can hold on to the legacy my father left me.’

Emperor Xia gently stroked the white cat in her lap with a hand as fair as jade, her words a quiet, desolate murmur.