Blood-Sucking Empress - Chapter 27

Yun Tailing departed from the Imperial palace and headed towards the Yuling Pass, along with an Anbu agent sending Qianhe Liyou’s secret order. He was proclaimed as the son of an Imperial Doctor in the palace and had been ordered by the Empress to go to the border. Although his status as a man was controversial, no one dared to object to the Empress’ Imperial decree. All of this was done in secret. Only certain people knew the truth of the matter. But to everyone else, Yun guiren had fallen ill and was sent back to his maternal home to recover.

Guiren: means Noble Consort/lady and is ranked below Imperial Consort

During morning court, Qianhe Liyou continued to advance her agenda. The candidates identified and tested by Long Xizhao and the others had their positions finally determined in the form of an Imperial decree. Long Xizhao, Li Yao, and Mu Qingwang were respectively conferred as the Minister in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, the Grand Chancellor, and the Minister in charge of the Ministry of War. Everyone in the Imperial court was very surprised by the appointments. After all, Long Xizhao used to be the Minister of War, but now has become the Minister of Personnel. Previously Mu Wanqing was merely an ordinary military general. How could everyone not be surprised that under the Empress’ Imperial decree, she was to become the new Minister of War? Everyone only dared to guess the Empress’ intentions in their hearts.

As for why Qianhe Liyou had decided the appointments as such, she had personally thought it was more appropriate this way. Moreover, Long Xizhao, the previous Minister of War was a good friend of Mu Wanqing and would definitely look after her. Although Mu Wanqing herself was a bit dull, she was firm and upright, and had high martial prowess. After some training and adapting, she would grow to be a very good military talent.

After retiring from morning court, multiple high-ranking Ministers and Officials were summoned into the Imperial study. Presently, there was the Grand Chancellor of the Qianhe Dynasty, Li Yao; the Minister of Personnel, Long Xizhao; the Minister of War, Mu Wanqing; the Minister of Revenue, Luo Fengli; the Minister of Justice, Dang Yuefei; the Minister of Works, Shen Ping; and finally the Minister of Rites,  Murong Wenxue. The additional supervisory committee was jointly headed by Li Yao, Long Xizhao, and Mu Wanqing. These people could be said to be the ruling elite and symbol of authority of the Qianhe Dynasty, each representing a large part of the power of the current Qianhe Dynasty.

“Today, zhen has summoned all of you because a crucial matter must be briefed. Zhen has received secret intelligence that the Sang Empire has already begun to deploy troops to Wuzhu, and will soon use troops to fight against my deployed troops. Although zhen has already laid out preliminary measures, this will be the first battle since the new policies enacted during the Imperial court. Zhen hopes that you will all be prepared, and do not disappoint me.” 

The seven people present were actually all original members of the Imperial court. Besides Li Yao, Long Xizhao and Mu Wanqing, the Minister of Revenue, Luo Fengli, was actually the mother of Luo Weiqing. Murong Wenxue, the Minister of Rites, was the mother of An guifei, or Murong Xuanhe. As for Shen Ping, the current Minister of Works, was actually previously the Vice-Minister and very familiar with the Ministry of Works procedures and projects. It was just that previously because the previous Minister of Works was Situ Chanqin’s subordinate, she was hence subjugated to the post of Vice-Minister. Shen Ping herself was an extremely talented individual. Dang Yuefei,  newly-appointed Minister of Justice, was considered the leading representative of the officials who came from poor lineage or had commoner backgrounds. She was initially a small official working in the Bureau of Criminal Law and could not move up any higher due to her poor background. This time around, Long Xizhao and the others had uncovered such a talent. Her now superior and much more powerful position made many of the civil officials without noble backgrounds extremely excited, and they really started to believe in the Imperial court’s policy of meritocracy. This was also Long Xizhao and the others’ intentions.

“These ministers will follow the order!”

“Mu Wanqing, as the Minister of War, you are responsible for the appointment of new military officials. Your position is extremely important. You must know this Empire’s sergeants, generals, and soldiers inside and out. In addition to having a thorough knowledge of these military officials, you will need to coordinate with the officials of the other Ministries to mobilize rations, weapons, raw material reserves all of which are associated with the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works. You must make the proper preparations for battle. As long zhen requires, you must be able to accomplish it. Furthermore, all of you must understand one thing. This upcoming battle is only just the beginning. What we need to prepare and steel ourselves is not just the outbreak of war or the preparations for war against another Empire. Do you understand zhen’s meaning?”

The Empire did not have a unified front or heart. But after a few days of understanding the internal matters of the 4 other countries. After being divided for so long, the situation of the five countries’ scale of power was slowly shifting and the drastic transformation was bound to occur. As the Empress of the Qianhe Dynasty, she absolutely could not allow the Qianhe Dynasty to become a victim, the sacrificial pawn, of this change. Neither did she want to use her special powers as the bargaining chip or last resort for war. As such, she needed this Empire to be prepared. This way, even without her leadership, it could become the victor, the last existence remaining. It was only this way that an Empire could continue to exist for a long time and would not become merely burning ashes in history because of the disappearance of one certain individual.

Li Yao and the other six all reacted differently to the Empress’ words. Li Yao frowned, her brows furrowing in deep thought. Long Xizhao was extremely excited and Mu Wanqing’s solemn and grave expression showed hints of anticipation. Luo Fengli’s facial expression was currently showing a kind of helpless pain. As the Minister of Revenue, regarding the mention of war, she was extremely resentful and in a pained state of mind. She was already calculating how many supplies and goods were to be used in the upcoming battles…

“What zhen has said, you all head back and think over it. Do what you should do and do not do what you should not do…” Qianhe Liyou did not add anything else afterward, but her warning, somber gaze swept over the heads of everyone present. Even Long Xizhao was slightly frightened, not to say how the others felt.

“Yes, these ministers obey, these ministers withdraw.”

When the crowd left, Qianhe Liyou habitually took a sip of tea, but could not taste any medicinal fragrance. Realizing Yun Tailing was no longer serving by her side, Qianhe Liyou registered that she had forgotten to summon another concubine to serve.

“Feng Ying.” Who would be good to summon? There were only two more guiren, or Noble Consorts left in the harem. Luo Xingchen, Luo guiren, and Li Qujun, Li guiren. Both of them were talented geniuses in their own arts in the previous Empress’ memory. Luo Xingchen was highly skilled in chess, and Li Qujun’s zither sound was absolutely beautiful. The former was known to be profound and elegant, while the latter was handsome and lively, each with their own merits.

“This servant is here.”

“Summon Luo guiren and Li guiren.” There was no comparison, no preference, so she summoned both in one go.

“Yes, this servant obeys.” Feng Ying had already long guessed that the Empress would summon the two remaining guiren.

In less than half an hour, Luo Xingchen and Li Qujun arrived at the Imperial Study together. Luo Xingchen was decorated in light cerulean blue, highlighting his serious temperament and steady demeanor. Li Qujun was dressed in dark azure blue and light goose-yellow, making him look even more handsome and extraordinary. The two people were originally very different. Now that they appeared together in the same frame, people could clearly feel the extremes of the two styles. One really would be unable to say which kind of beauty was more beautiful. 

“These concubines greet the Empress, long live the Empress, long live for tens of thousands of years.” The voices and pitches of the two people were also different, one low and one high. They were really two different people. 

“Get up, Jun’er, did you bring your zither?” In her memory, the previous Empress liked to hear Li Qujun play the zither and she personally wanted to listen to it.

“Responding to the Empress, Jun’er brought it. A servant is waiting on standby outside the hall.” Every time the Empress summoned him, she would always request for him to play the zither and as such, he always had the attendants ready to bring in his zither at any moment.

Once the palace attendant heard the summons, they carried the zither in, setting it up for Li Qujun to play. Li Qujun gently plucked a few strings, warming up his fingers. Afterwards, his nimble fingers dexterously moved along the strings. The sound of the zither poured out like a waterfall, making people feel relaxed and warm. 

After the zong was over, Li Qujun slightly raised his head, looking inquiringly at Qianhe Liyou.

“One more.” Now that she had heard it personally, it was substantially more splendid than her memory.

Qianhe Liyou looked at Li Qujun with a touch of appreciation in her eyes. Luo Xingchen, who witnessed this entire scene, a trace of melancholy and loss appeared in that already serious aura…..