Chapter 196: 178

MCAB – Chapter 178

Looking at Lan Xi, Jun Zishu could tell that this was a person with ideas, and she could perhaps put this person to good use if trained properly.

After pondering for a moment, Jun Zishu granted Lan Xi’s request.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I will serve Your Majesty well.”

“Move along.”

After settling matters here, Jun Zishu got ready to head to the imperial study. She still had someone she needed to meet.

…

Meanwhile, news of Chu Ying being escorted to prison quickly reached the General’s residence.

“Her Majesty is going too far! Not only has she forced Ying’er into her harem, but now, she has even sent Ying’er to jail!” Madam Chu said with teary eyes.

“I will enter the palace to take a look,” General Chu said with a frown.

…

Jun Zishu was sitting in the imperial study when Defu informed her of General Chu’s arrival.

The moment General Chu entered the study, Jun Zishu stood up and slapped her palm on the desk, hurting herself a little in the process.

“Chu Meng! What a great son you have nurtured!” Jun Zishu shouted angrily, her face perfectly portraying an angry expression.

“Please calm your anger, Your Majesty. I have not taught my son well, and my son has always been reckless in his actions. May I know how my son has angered Your Majesty?”

Chu Meng did not panic even when faced with the empress’s anger. Instead, he bowed and admitted his guilt first.

“Since Chu Ying has already entered the imperial harem, he is my consort no matter the circumstances. Yet, look at what absurdities he has done, General Chu? You best hope he has taken preventive measures. Otherwise, if one of the palace maids gets pregnant with his child, what does the general’s manor plan on doing with this child?”

Jun Zishu’s voice was laced with ridicule, but Chu Meng didn’t show much care on the matter.

So it was because of this matter? General Chu thought casually. “Your Majesty, this is the first time the imperial harem has welcomed men as consorts, and there have not been any rules—”

“Oh? Do you mean to say that I should turn a blind eye even when my people roll in bed with others?” Jun Zishu interrupted General Chu’s words. “Fine. This isn’t a huge problem. I can still let this transgression pass. At most, I will feel a little disgusted by it… But… Do you know what your good son said to me?”

Jun Zishu’s face remained expressionless as she looked down at General Chu, who stood at the bottom of the dias.

“He said that I am not fit for the throne. In that case, you tell me who is fit for it. Is it you? Is it him? Or is it someone else?”

Jun Zishu’s tone rose dangerously, and Chu Meng immediately knelt when he heard her words.

“I am willing to die to show my loyalty. I have no intentions of disobedience whatsoever.”

Planning a coup was an offense punishable by death. So long as this crime was pinned onto his head, the empress could sentence his entire family to death, and nobody would dare to say anything about it.

At this time, Chu Meng couldn’t help but mentally berate his youngest son for speaking so irresponsibly. No matter how dissatisfied he was with the empress, these words should only be said in his heart. Saying them in the empress’s face was no different than asking for a swift death.

“I could sentence Chu Ying to death a hundred times for the words he said. The only reason I have not done so is because of the contributions the Chu family has made for the Liang Empire.”

“Your Majesty has always had a big heart,” General Chu flattered.

“Alright, I didn’t call you here just to talk about this. I will be keeping Chu Ying imprisoned for half a month. After half a month, you can come and take him back.”

“Your Majesty?”

Chu Meng looked up, the surprise on his face displayed clearly.

“What? Do you think that I’d dare to keep such a person around me? I don’t wish to open my eyes one morning and see my neck slit by the person beside me. If I kill him or withhold him for life, you will probably resent me, right, General? You have shared a close friendship with my father, so I do not wish for you to resent me.”

“Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace,” Chu Meng sincerely thanked Jun Zishu. When he lowered his head, though, a sneer had formed on his face. Do you think there’s any point in selling favors now? Ha! Your presumptuous grace is disgusting.

“You may leave.”

“Understood.”

Jun Zishu wore a vague smile as she watched General Chu leave the imperial study. Of course, there was no way she’d be so kind as to spare Chu Ying and the general’s family.

Jun Zishu had no intention of deliberately selling favors to anybody. She would use her own methods to solve the troubles ahead of her.

For those misbehaving, she would first try to make them obedient. If all else fails, then she would kill them.

Jun Zishu felt that she might have the potential to be a tyrant ruler.

While massaging her forehead, Jun Zishu called out to Little Fairy, Scan the palace for hidden drugs, Little Fairy.

[OK!]

There were many unique drugs kept in hidden rooms around the palace. As the empress, the original owner knew about some of these drugs’ existence, but she never bothered memorizing many of them.

Once the system scan was complete, a three-dimensional map representing the entire imperial palace appeared in Jun Zishu’s mind. Jun Zishu returned to her bedchamber following the map and gestured for the servants to withdraw from the room.

The item Jun Zishu sought was already marked by a red dot on the three-dimensional map. Then, to her surprise, the map suddenly disappeared from her mind and appeared before her eyes when she blinked. There was also a trail of blue fluorescent lights leading her to the marked item.

This is?

[My search function has been upgraded, Host. It’ll be much more convenient for us to search for information and locate things in the future.]

Okay.

Only during times like this would Jun Zishu feel that her AI companion was useful.

Afterward, Jun Zishu followed the trail of fluorescent lights, manipulated a hidden mechanism on one of the bedroom walls, and opened the door to a path that led to a hidden room.

The hidden room wasn’t very large, and few items were displayed in it. Upon entering the room, Jun Zishu’s eyes fell on a small box sitting on a stone pedestal.

When Jun Zishu opened the box, she saw a sleeping worm inside.

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The worm had a translucent body covered sparsely by red stripes, and it had two small black dots on its head. This worm was one of the many unique things the original owner’s father had collected, and it was one part of a very special type of poison.

The poison in question was a master-servant poison, and it was something akin to a master-servant contract normally found in cultivation worlds.

When the person with the master bug was injured, the person with the servant bug would receive equal amounts of damage. Naturally, if the master died, so would the servant. However, if the servant got injured or died, nothing would happen to the master.

When Jun Zishu saw these two bugs in Little Fairy’s database, she promptly decided to use them.

After closing the box and keeping it in her arms, Jun Zishu located the sleeping master bug hidden in a more concealed part of the room.

[Are you going to use it on yourself, Host?]

If not?

Jun Zishu wouldn’t feel at ease if she used the bug on someone else. Not to mention, if she planted the master bug on someone else, the bug would become much less effective as a threat.

[Will you be planting the other one on Chu Ying?]

Mhm.

[But why? He doesn’t look like he has any use. Why not plant it on his father?]

I need people to work for me. I can also leverage his strength to fight against his father when necessary.

Jun Zishu couldn’t tell whether Chu Meng possessed any intent on rebelling right now. Even so, Jun Zishu couldn’t feel at ease knowing that Chu Meng held a significant portion of the country’s military power in his hands.

Confused by Jun Zishu’s convoluted thoughts, Little Fairy decided to stop speaking.

Afterward, Jun Zishu removed one of her hairpins and cut open a small wound on her finger. Upon smelling her blood, the master bug woke up and quickly burrowed into her body through the wound.

After the prickling pain vanished, Jun Zishu took out a handkerchief and held it against the wound on her finger. Then, she walked out of the hidden room and returned to her bedchamber.

Jun Zishu originally wanted to head to the dungeon and get this matter dealt with right away. However, after thinking it over, she decided to leave Chu Ying hanging inside the dungeon for a day or two. After all, similar to how Chu Ying viewed her, she, too, found the childish and arrogant youth displeasing.

Afterward, Jun Zishu summoned the palace maids and made her way to another location.

…

A youth wearing a blue robe was painting in his courtyard when Jun Zishu arrived. The youth held a vermillion brush in his hand as he carefully embellished the white rice paper spread across the table before him with red flowers.

Jun Zishu’s footsteps surprised the youth’s attention, causing his hand to shake and his brush to skew aside.

“What a pity,” Jun Zishu said as she looked at the ruined painting.

When the youth saw the face of his visitor, he quickly put down his brush and bowed, saying, “I greet Your Majesty.”

The youth’s name was Liu Bichen, and he was the son of the late Grand Secretary. He was lean like a bamboo, and he gave off an air of elegance.

“Let’s head inside and talk.”

After Jun Zishu filtered through everyone in the imperial harem, she found Liu Bichen to be the most useful to her.

Similar to some of the other men, Liu Bichen didn’t enter the harem willingly. Instead, the original owner had forced him into her harem.

Did Liu Bichen resent the original owner? Naturally. However, his hatred wasn’t as deep compared to the likes of Meng Lanxi and Chu Ying.

Liu Baichen was a man who kept to the ways and manners of gentlemen. The idea of loyalty and patriotism were also deeply engraved in his bones. Moreover, after sharing physical intimacy with the original owner, he had taken on a sense of responsibility for her in his heart.

Jun Zishu felt that Liu Bichen was a good person, even if he had a somewhat silly mindset.

While others hated the original owner and feared her identity, only Liu Bichen stuck to treating her like a woman who needed to be cared for.

However, Jun Zishu didn’t need Liu Bichen’s care. What she needed was his talent.

Jun Zishu needed to cultivate talents loyal to her. Otherwise, it’d be difficult for her to rule the empire down the line.

Jun Zishu entered the inner room first, and Liu Bichen followed. Then, after closing the doors behind him, Liu Bichen started to undress.

“Stop. I am not here to do this with you today,” Jun Zishu said, feeling her head hurting. Almost every man she met in the harem thought that she was trying to sleep with them when she went to meet with them. However, the reality was that she wasn’t interested at all.

Liu Bichen paused for a moment when he heard Jun Zishu’s words. Then, he started setting his clothes in order again.

Once Liu Bichen got his clothes sorted out, Jun Zishu asked, “Do you wish to leave the palace?”

“What?”

Liu Bichen fell into a daze, and he couldn’t help but wonder if the empress had gotten tired of him. However, he quickly denied his thoughts since, according to this person’s habit, even if she got tired of someone, she wouldn’t go out of her way to ask them for their opinion. If she really wanted him out of the palace, she could’ve just sent a palace maid to inform him. There was no need for her to go through the trouble of visiting him.

In that case, the empress must really have something to say to him.

“Bichen, I have always known you are a talented person. I will not beat around the bush with you. While the empire might seem prosperous now, the court is unstable. Even though I am still alive, those people have already started deciding on the heir to the throne. Some are even seeking to change the dynasty’s surname. I can grant you power, but I need you to enter court and stabilize the situation for me. Can you do that for me?” Jun Zishu asked.

Liu Bichen was a little dazed by this sudden offer. However, as soon as he snapped out of his daze, he looked at Jun Zishu excitedly and said, “I can!”

As soon as Liu Bichen finished saying so, his mind started spinning rapidly as he tried to figure out the current situation in the empire.

Currently, nobody in the empire was willing to serve a female ruler. The issue of the heir was also a problem. Moreover, how would the empress manage the dynasty if she became pregnant?

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Most importantly, a woman would be in great danger when giving birth, and it was incredibly easy to cause the empress’s death with a little manipulation.

Liu Bichen knew that the empress’s seat of power was not secure. But hadn’t the empress been behaving nonchalantly about this the entire time?

“Good. I will be dismissing the harem in a few days. When that time comes, I will arrange for you to enter court. I will also place a liaison by your side.”

“Your Majesty is going to dismiss the harem?”

Did the empress take the wrong medicine today?

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