Chapter 43: Cleaning the Imperial Court

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

The Imperial City quickly returned to its usual order. However, after being washed for a long time, the blood stains on the limestone bricks still left dark red marks, as if they were trying to remind people of something.

This coup came and went quickly. Looking at the dignified Emperor Sheng Yuan sitting on the dragon throne, no one in the royal court dared to breathe loudly.

“Your Majesty, we’ve killed about 10,000 rebels this time. The troops led by King Zhao have all been sent to prison. How should Your Majesty deal with them?”

“Good. Kill anyone who is King Zhao’s trusted aide without mercy. The rest of the people who surrender can be dealt with leniently. The men will be executed together with King Zhao, and the women will be sent to the border… Does anyone have any objections?”

Those ministers who used to be full of opinions in the past did not dare to have any objections at this moment.

All the courtiers knelt on the ground. “Your Majesty is wise.”

The empress nodded. “The fact that King Zhao could’ve advanced to the imperial city so smoothly meant that there must be his collaborators within the walls.”

The moment Emperor Sheng Yuan finished speaking, Sun Zhanghong’s heart skipped a beat and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He had expected this day to come since King Zhao failed.

However, he still had some hope. Even if he was collaborating with King Zhao and the others, it was done very secretly.

“Sun Zhanghong, do you admit your crime?”

In the next second, Emperor Sheng Yuan’s voice sent a shudder down his spine. Sun Zhanghong knelt on the ground in shock and said with a trembling voice, “I, I don’t know what crime I committed.”

“You colluded with King Zhao to rebel and intend to overthrow the Heavenly Saint Dynasty. Your crimes are unforgivable!”

Oh no!

This was the first thought in the minds of Sun Zhanghong and the others.

“Your Majesty, please spare me. There must be a misunderstanding. I’m loyal and devoted to Your Majesty. I definitely won’t do such a treasonous thing.”

Sun Zhanghong and the others still wanted to defend themselves, but when the empress threw the evidence in their faces, they were instantly speechless. “This…”

None of the officials who were on good terms with Sun Zhanghong in the past dared to stand up and plead for mercy for him. After all, this was a serious crime of treason. If they were not careful, they would be implicated.

However, the empress did not intend to let them off easily. “I heard that Lord Zhang, Lord Li, and the others are on good terms with Sun Zhanghong. Why didn’t you all discover the plot he’s planning.”

The face of the officials who were called out immediately turned pale. They said in fear, “Your Majesty, Sun Zhanghong is cunning and ambitious. We were deceived too. We definitely won’t collude with such a traitor.”

The empress said meaningfully, “Is that so—”

“Your Majesty, please spare us! We know our mistake.”

“Your Majesty, please spare me!”

A few more important ministers of the imperial court were dragged out. The empress was furious and ordered a thorough investigation of this rebellion. She took this opportunity to gather power and get rid of those who were disloyal.

The empress also used this opportunity to take back most of the power she’d lost in the imperial court, laying the foundation for future prosperity. This incident was later regarded as the “Heavenly Saint Incident”.

These days, the empress had been busy dealing with the rebellion from morning to night and had never stopped. Finally, she found an opportunity to come to Mount Sword.

Lin Ran seemed to know that she was coming.

The empress placed her left hand on her chest and bowed respectfully. This was the highest etiquette of the Heavenly Saint Dynasty, and it was personally given by the current emperor.

“I really have to thank you this time. If not for you, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been able to survive this calamity. The Heavenly Saint would have fallen into chaos again.”

The empress had many questions, such as why did Lin Ran hide his cultivation level previously? He could have done something great, but he chose to stay in Mount Sword. In the end, she didn’t ask.

“What do you want? Gold, silver, treasure, or fame and fortune. As long as I can give you, I will. I can even confer you the title of a king.”

After experiencing the rebellion, the empress could still be so generous. It was obvious how much she trusted Lin Ran. It was not an exaggeration to say that Lin Ran was her most trusted aide as of now.

He had saved the country! No one knew better than the empress about Lin Ran’s contribution in this rebellion.

It could be said that without Lin Ran, no one would know who would currently be sitting on the throne.

The emperor promised to give him priceless treasure, but Lin Ran was not moved at all.

“I’m used to being free and unrestrained. I think the position of the guard commander suits me quite well. There’s no need to change anything.”

Seeing that Lin Ran was calm and unmoved, the empress admired him even more.

“Although the Sword God is not around now, I believe that with you around, no one will dare to invade the Heavenly Saint Dynasty. No matter what, what I said today will still count in the future. If you change your mind, you can come to me.”

The empress seemed to have thought of something.

“I’ve dealt with most of the people in the imperial court, but I don’t have enough army at my disposal to deal with the rebels in the martial world for the time being. However, they participated in the rebellion after all and shouldn’t get away with it unpunished.”

“Don’t worry about this. Leave them to me.”

Those martial artists thought that they could rest easy after escaping, but they didn’t expect Lin Ran to have no intention of letting them off.

“Then I’ll wait for your good news.”