Although the coronation ceremony had only just been completed, thanks to a 'miracle', the Huo family's long-standing influence in court remained the biggest obstacle to Xu Pingjun's secure position. The following morning, the Huo family gathered more than half of the civil officials in preparation for forcing the emperor to depose the empress on the grounds of 'unworthy virtue'.
'Your Majesty,' they began. 'Since ancient times, the empress should come from a prestigious family to assist Your Majesty's virtue.'
Acting on Huo Guang's orders, an elderly official from the Ministry of Rites stepped forward, his words sharp: 'The Xu family is of humble origin. If she were to become empress, the Han Dynasty's rites would be disgraced and she would be a laughingstock among the feudal lords. Your Majesty, please reconsider. For the sake of the nation, please withdraw the imperial seal!'
Although Huo Guang was pale from poisoning, he remained seated as still as a rock, observing coldly. Even with a miracle, if these self-proclaimed 'pure' officials were persuaded, Liu Bingyi would not escape the stigma of 'nepotism and favouritism towards a wicked woman'.
Liu Bingyi didn't slam his fist on the table or use his authority. Instead, he slowly descended from the dragon throne and sat down on the steps in front of the entire court, his eyes instantly reddening.
[System Skill Triggered: God-Level Acting Skill – Emotional Ripple]
Skill Effect: The host's voice will carry a certain frequency, automatically evoking the softest memories in the listeners' hearts.
"My dear ministers, you say she was lowly..."
His voice choked and became slightly hoarse. 'When I was that poor grandson who couldn't get enough to eat, she risked arrest to steal me a cold pancake. She gave me her only tattered cotton-padded coat in the dead of winter while she shivered in the woodpile.'
Liu Bingyi wiped away his tears and looked at the officials, who had previously had stern faces and been upright:
'Lord Zhang, I remember your family back then...' 'When you were down on your luck, your first wife sold her jewellery to fund your studies. Now that you have risen to the position of minister, do you still consider her to be lowly?"
'Old Li, you once said that your mother cut flesh from her own body to feed her son during a famine. In your Confucian classics, is 'wealth and honour' the only virtue, while 'hardship' is a sin?'
The old ministers were stunned. They had initially been swayed by Huo Guang's 'righteousness', but Liu Bingyi's series of emotional questions challenged the core of their lifelong adherence to 'benevolence and morality'.
Just as the old ministers were wavering, Jin, the leader of the Shadow Guard, used the Silent Delivery system to slip several secret letters into the sleeves of the leaders of the upright officials.
The letters contained private remarks made by Huo family members in the streets mocking the old ministers as 'old guard dogs', as well as the Huo family's secret plan to undermine the cabinet completely by deposing the empress and supporting Huo Chengjun.
'This old minister is ashamed!' The leading Confucian scholar suddenly burst into tears. Whirling around, he pointed at Huo Guang's followers, angrily rebuking them: 'You claim to be acting for the sake of the nation, but you're forcing His Majesty to become heartless and treacherous! Lady Xu deserves the position of empress and is a paragon of virtue for the Han dynasty!'
Huo Guang abruptly opened his eyes and watched as the Confucian faction, which had once been under his control, turned completely against him in a mere quarter of an hour thanks to Liu Bingyi's tears. He felt the venomous insects within him stir even more restlessly with rage.
'Your Majesty has truly grown up.' Huo Guang rose to his feet, leaning on his cane, and his voice became chillingly cold.
Liu Bingyi wiped away his tears and his eyes instantly became as cold as ice. He stood up straight, walked back to the supreme dragon throne and looked down at the crumbling group of powerful ministers below. 'General,' he said. 'Old swords hold deep sentiments. Anyone who tries to break this sword will first have their life taken."
[System Summary: [Empress Controversy] Perfect Ending]
[Achievements]
Civil Officials' Hearts Turned Back: 30% of the upright and veteran officials have officially left the Huo family's camp.
Prestige Soars: The Emperor's image of 'deep affection and integrity' spreads throughout the Han Dynasty.
[Hidden Danger Eliminated: Xu Pingjun's position as Empress is now as secure as a mountain.
The tears in the Xuan Shi Hall had barely dried when the situation in the court became like cracked ice — seemingly intact, but creaking with the weight of an impending collapse. Huo Guang had never felt this way before. The boy who had once floundered in the mud had grown into a dragon, capable of snapping his throat with ease.
After court, Liu Bingyi didn't rest, but immediately began to run through the situation in his mind, weighing up his options.
'Jin, have you found out about the backgrounds of those Ministry of Rites officials who were shouting the loudest in court?'
Jin knelt on one knee, his voice like the grime of night, and reported, "Your Majesty, the officials in question are five clowns. Two of them accepted bribes from the Huo family, and the other three have incriminating evidence in the Huo family's hands." 'Fire' has already obtained the evidence, and as for those two greedy ones..." Jin made a throat-slitting gesture.
"No, don't kill them." Liu Bingyi sneered. "Let them be 'sick', the kind of sickness where the cause can't be found, leaving them bedridden all day while they watch helplessly as their official positions are stripped away."
The elite Northern army, victorious at the Battle of Cheshi, was currently stationed at Baling Camp on the outskirts of Chang'an. Due to Liu Bingyi's manipulation of the system, Commander Chang Hui's loyalty to Huo Guang had plummeted to rock bottom.
Late at night, a masked man riding a black horse and carrying the Emperor's special envoy token quietly infiltrated the camp.
Tu said to Chang Hui, "General Chang, the Grand General ordered your death in secret, but His Majesty ordered your life." Tu handed Chang Hui a secret edict stamped with the 'Private Seal of Emperor Xuan'. After reading it, Chang Hui broke out in a cold sweat that soaked his heavy armour. He finally realised that the 'heavenly fire' was not Huo Guang's doing at all, but rather a deadly trap set by the current emperor from thousands of miles away.
"Chang Hui, obey the decree! From this day forward, the three Northern Army colonels will only hear the roar of the dragon, not the cry of the phoenix!" Meanwhile, inside the general's mansion, Huo Guang was soaking in a wooden tub filled with precious medicinal herbs in an attempt to suppress the Gu poison within his body. His skin was an eerie bluish-purple and his eyes were bloodshot.
'Father, since Liu Bingyi is so ungrateful, perhaps...' Huo Yu, Huo Guang's son, made a decapitation gesture. 'We were able to depose Liu He back then, so why can't we depose Liu Bingyi today? The bloodline of that Liu Ju should never have existed!"
Huo Guang remained silent for a long time, then suddenly opened his eyes and spat out a mouthful of black blood. 'Go and inform Chang Le Palace that His Majesty's old illness has relapsed and he is delirious and likely unable to govern. Please ask the Empress Dowager to prepare the edict of deposition. This time, I will ensure that he disappears completely from the history books of Chang'an!'
Just as the Huo family were busily preparing for a coup, Liu Bingyi... A crisp notification sound suddenly rang in Liu Bingyi's mind. 'Ding! Due to the host's successful subjugation of the people, the army and the upright officials, System 2.0 has officially evolved into Mode 3.0 — True Dragon Overlord!'
Unlocked function:
Emperor's Aura Observation Technique (can see through the killing intent and attributes of any lurker in Chang'an City).Liu Bingyi sighed.
Liu Bingyi stepped out of his bedchamber and activated the 'Aura Observation Technique'. The city of Chang'an, which was originally pitch-black, instantly transformed into colourful dots of light in his eyes. From the direction of the General's Mansion, a dense, dark killing aura like a pillar was slowly bearing down on Weiyang Palace.
'Pingjun, sleep.' Liu Bingyi returned to his bedchamber and gently tucked the blanket around the still-shaken Xu Pingjun. 'Bingyi, I always feel... it's so cold in this palace.' 'Don't be afraid.' Liu Bingyi sat on the edge of the bed, toying with the military token that could mobilise the Northern Army. His gaze pierced through the palace walls and locked onto the Huo family mansion. 'After tonight, the sun in Chang'an will feel much warmer.'
[Ding] Current situation: The Huo family has officially begun their coup and the Northern Army has secretly completed its encirclement. The full power of System 3.0 has yet to be revealed; the first real-world application of this 'dimensional reduction attack' is about to begin.
It was an eerily quiet night in Chang'an; even the cries of the night watchmen seemed to be swallowed by the impenetrable darkness. The Huo family's long-planned 'deposition and enthronement scheme' was finally revealed in all its bloody glory.
At three in the morning, the Huo family's private army of ten thousand elite soldiers, supported by Huo family confidants and never appearing on the official roster, used the cover of transporting imperial meals to swiftly seize the Xuanwu Gate of Weiyang Palace.
"Quick! Be quiet!' Huo Yu, son of Huo Guang, was clad in heavy armour and his eyes were filled with madness. He clutched a secret edict from the Empress Dowager, 'obtained' from Changle Palace. This was, of course, before the Shadow Guards had purged those around the Empress Dowager, who had signed it under duress.
As if by prior agreement, the Imperial Guards originally responsible for guarding the Xuanwu Gate sheathed their swords the instant the Huo family's iron cavalry charged in, allowing them to advance unimpeded.
'It's done! The general was right; Weiyang Palace is already our backyard!' Huo Yu laughed wildly.
Meanwhile, Liu Bingyi was not asleep in his bedchamber. His eyes were closed and he had already used the 'Emperor's Aura Observation Technique' to transform Weiyang Palace into a holographic projection in his mind.
A dense mass of black dots representing Huo family assassins was rapidly converging on Xuan Shi Hall along the palace corridor. Behind them, blue dots representing the Northern Army were surrounding Weiyang Palace at an even faster pace.
[System 3.0 voice prompt]: 9,821 hostile targets detected.
Status: Trapped in a Jar
Host Command Confirmation: Activate 'Dragon Trapping Formation'?
"No rush." Liu Bingyi opened his eyes, which had now turned a deep purple-gold colour. 'Let them march to the gates of the Xuan Shi Hall. I want Huo Guang to witness firsthand the destruction of his last bargaining chip."
When Huo Yu and his personal guards kicked open the heavy doors of the Xuan Shi Hall, they froze. There were no hidden soldiers or panicked palace maids; only a few lonely eternal lamps illuminated the young man on the dragon throne. His head was bowed as he wiped a broken sword.
"Liu Bingyi, you certainly have plenty of time." Huo Yu raised his sword and pointed it at the young man on the throne. 'The Empress Dowager has decreed that your illness has returned and that you are unworthy of your position. You must leave!"
Liu Bingyi slowly raised his head. Without even glancing at Huo Yu, he simply said to the empty air, 'Jin, this man's tongue is too gossipy. I don't want to hear him speak." Before he had finished speaking, Huo Yu felt a chill on his neck.
The Shadow Guard leader, codenamed 'Gold', emerged from the shadows of the dragon throne like a ghost. Thanks to the '0.5-second time freeze' effect of System 3.0, Huo Yu didn't see the leader move before half of his tongue, covered in blood, flew into the air.
'Ugh—!' Huo Yu covered his mouth and retreated in terror. At that moment, the Imperial Guards who had previously 'deserted' suddenly turned back. Together with the five Shadow Guards who had descended from the sky, they launched a one-sided massacre in the square outside the Xuan Shi Hall.
[System Skill: Dragon Soul Descent]!
Liu Bingyi's will instantly connected with Chang Hui, commander of the Northern Army on the outer perimeter. Chang Hui felt a surge of divine power flowing into his arms. He roared and swung his long spear, sweeping away the Huo family assassins attempting to break through.
Just as the battle seemed to be over, a beam of light strong enough to pierce metal and stone was fired from outside the Xuan Shi Hall! It was Huo Guang. Though poisoned, he was frantically unleashing all his remaining strength in that moment. He drew back the 'Sunset Bow', a secret treasure of the Han imperial family, and aimed the arrow directly at Liu Bingyi's brow.
Liu Bingyi sneered, neither dodging nor evading. As the arrow approached within three inches of him, a pale golden, dragon-shaped energy layer appeared out of thin air. With a clang, the arrow — powerful enough to kill a grandmaster — shattered into dust upon contact with the dragon energy.
Liu Bingyi stood up and walked towards the door, looking at Huo Guang, who was swaying precariously amidst the chaos of battle.
'General, is this arrow a gift to me or to the four hundred years of the Han dynasty's rule?'