Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 117 Empress Dowager: Li Zhaoting, don't you miss your friends...?

"The entire delegation from the three kingdoms is gone?"

Zhao Zhen looked at the Eighth Prince in disbelief, leaned weakly against the cushion, and expressed his thoughts in the same Ge You slouch as the Eighth Prince: I'm tired, let's destroy it!
Is this a case that any human could have imagined?
Even leaving behind a mission would be better.

Should we consult a feng shui master?

What jinx has tainted the capital's fortune?

Once the matter is discovered, I will exile him to Lingnan.

The Eighth Prince said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the chaos surrounding the Goguryeo delegation has been quelled. As for the Liao delegation, we need to send someone to revisit it. And the Izumo delegation..."

What happened to the Izumo delegation?

"There are three things. First, we need to find out the source of the assassin as soon as possible. Second, someone wants to assassinate Your Majesty. Third, Your Majesty, you should hold a grand selection of imperial consorts to preserve the royal bloodline as soon as possible."

"Uncle, what are you saying!"

"The first two suggestions were official business, but the last suggestion was made in my uncle's name. It is a family matter of the Zhao family, and this matter should be handled by Grand Tutor Hua."

The Eighth Prince made the final decision on the selection of a concubine.

To be honest, the Izumo delegation caused the least trouble, but posed the most terrifying threat.

It was directly aimed at Zhao Zhen and the royal bloodline.

The Zhao family truly has a throne to inherit.

Emperor Zhao Zhen must have several healthy princes.

This is irrefutable, and no one can oppose it.

Anyone who dares to object will be confronted by the Eighth Prince with a golden mace. This mace was bestowed by Zhao Guangyi; it is used to punish corrupt officials and wicked ministers.

The continuation of bloodlines is the most important thing.

It wasn't because he was lustful, nor was it because he was wasting people's money and resources. Zhao Zhen was in his twenties and should have had several healthy children.

Zhao Zhen: All of you, be my witnesses! I really never thought about choosing a concubine; it was all arranged by my uncle! If I disagree, my uncle will hit me with his golden mace.

Imperial Uncle, you have truly caused me great suffering!

"Uncle, where is Li Zhaoting? Now that it has been determined that the Izumo delegation was responsible, release Li Zhaoting immediately."

"Your Majesty, do not worry. Li Zhaoting's imprisonment was arranged by the Empress Dowager herself. On the surface, it is a minor punishment to warn others and a small revenge against Li Nanxing, but in reality, it is a great opportunity."

"What chance?"

"The bottom level of the Heavenly Prison holds notorious bandits with high martial arts skills who know many secrets. Li Zhaoting will greatly improve his martial arts skills by fighting against these people."

"Which expert did Li Zhaoting encounter?"

"Gu Santong, the 'Invincible Rascal,' fought against more than 100 masters from nine major sects twenty years ago. During the fight, he went berserk and killed all his opponents."

"He killed over a hundred people?"

"There were more than 130 martial artists on the scene, including masters from famous sects and detectives from the Six Doors. They almost wiped out the fortunes of the Central Plains martial arts world for twenty years."

"Who captured him?"

"The Zhu family protects the dragon, but Zhu ignores them."

"Uncle, please tell me in detail."

"This is how it's recorded in the file..."

……

"Young Master Li, you may leave now!"

An old eunuch, accompanied by several imperial guards, led Li Zhaoting out of the cell. Li Zhaoting rubbed his eyes, letting them readjust to the bright sunlight.

The old eunuch was Wang An.

We met before when I delivered the memorial to the emperor.

"Did the Empress Dowager send you?"

"Young Master Li, the Empress Dowager invites you to the palace. This servant will take you to bathe and change clothes to wash away the bad luck."

"Can I not go? I want to go home."

“Young Master Li, I understand your grievances, but... you must know there’s something fishy going on in this matter, so please don’t make things difficult for me.”

As Liu E's personal eunuch, Wang An was not arrogant or domineering; he was very humble. Eunuchs can become arrogant when they gain power, but they cannot remain arrogant forever.

How is the Empress Dowager in her mood?

Li Zhaoting handed over a silver note.

Wang An silently accepted the silver note, his movements even smoother than Sikong Zhaixing's. Such skill could never have been achieved without hundreds or thousands of diligent practice sessions.

"The Empress Dowager was very happy, extremely happy."

"Thank you, father-in-law, for the tip."

"Young Master Li, rest assured, the Empress Dowager loves talents like you the most. It's a pity that you prefer martial arts and have no interest in the imperial examinations, otherwise you would surely rise to prominence."

"Everyone has their own ambitions; I like the world of martial arts."

After being imprisoned for several days, Li Zhaoting inevitably developed a strange odor. Wang An took Li Zhaoting to the palace bathhouse, where palace maids served him a bath. Afterward, a brand-new scholar's robe was brought to him, and Li Zhaoting was taken to see the Empress Dowager.

……

"Li Zhaoting pays respects to the Empress Dowager."

Li Zhaoting looked up at Liu E.

Looking directly at the Empress Dowager was quite impolite, but Liu E didn't care and looked at Li Zhaoting with a smile.

Unlike Feng Suzhen, who went to the palace to pay her respects, Liu E had no curtains to shield her from the eunuchs, nor were she served by any eunuchs. Instead, she had two palace maids by her side who were responsible for fanning her.

Liu E sat gracefully on the soft couch, her stunningly beautiful face radiating unparalleled allure. Even a straight man who wasn't interested in women would be awakened to Cao Cao's peculiar tastes upon seeing Liu E; she truly lived up to her reputation as a bewitching enchantress.

The demonic woman of the Demonic Sect should be charming and alluring, subconsciously associated with words like seductive and dissolute. However, Liu E's eyebrows, eyes, and figure were not like that at all. Liu E's features were exquisite and dignified, a standard face for a peaceful and prosperous country.

Having ruled from behind the curtain for many years, the traces of the Yin Gui faction had long been worn away by the infighting in the court, and her eyes now carried the coldness, authority, and scrutiny of a ruler.

"Li Zhaoting, I have long admired your name!"

"A mere, lowly name is not worth mentioning."

"I have a strong impression of your father."

“My father…my father was confused for a moment…Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, for sparing the lives of my father and me.”

"Just find a place to sit! I'm never worried about assassins, so you can sit wherever you like."

"Thank you for the seat, Your Majesty."

Li Zhaoting sat on the largest chair.

"You know the Chongqing Seven Eagles, right?"

"Your Majesty, I do not want to know them. They have mistaken my identity and think my father is Li Si. This is a huge injustice. My father does not know any martial arts."

What did the Seven Eagles of Chongqing say to you?

"They said that twenty years ago, they did something wrong, and in order to keep the secret, they had to scatter to all corners of the country to save their lives."

"Do you want to know about this?"

“My emotions desperately want to know, and my reason tells me that I really don’t want to. If it weren’t for the fact that we look so alike, I would have nothing to do with this.”

"What if I insist on telling you?"

"The Empress Dowager can just stab me directly."

"I do not like killing. Here's what we'll do: you go to Shu and do something for me. Once it's done, the grudges will be settled, and you will have nothing to do with this matter anymore."

"Please give your instructions, Your Majesty."

"It's written in the envelope. Remember, you can only go to Sichuan alone. You can't ask for any help. You don't want to involve your good friend in this, do you?"

Liu E's tone carried a hint of threat.

However, this is by no means a threat.

Li Zhaoting could even sense the amusement in it.

Liu E seems to have a very mischievous and fun plan to play a trick on Li Zhaoting, just like an old father taking care of his child, she's sure to have a good time.

Considering that Liu E and A Zhu are very similar, and A Zhu was rated by Xiao Feng as one of the top three most mischievous people in the world, it is understandable that Liu E wanted to tease Li Zhaoting!

That's ridiculous!

The Empress Dowager ruled from behind the curtain, wielding immense power.

Are you looking for amusement among江湖人 (jianghu people, people from all walks of life) when you have nothing better to do?
Even the Demon Emperor of the Demonic Sect didn't receive this kind of treatment!

"Li Zhaoting, you were wrongfully imprisoned and suffered a lot of injustice in the prison. Divine weapons and armor, martial arts manuals, as long as you ask, I can satisfy your every whim."

"I would like to ask the Empress Dowager a question."

"what is the problem?"

"Who are imprisoned at the bottom of the Heavenly Prison?" "That's too general a question."

“There are countless passages in the prison, leading from the top floor to the bottom. The passage I discovered led to the Ancient Three Passes. Later, after analyzing the situation, I realized that the Ancient Three Passes were not the target you assigned to me.”

"What a smart and good child."

Liu E looked at Li Zhaoting with satisfaction: "As a reward for your intelligence, I can answer this question. What I want you to find is the pinnacle of sword qi skill."

"Peak of sword energy?"

"Innate Body-Breaking Formless Sword Qi!"

"Guan Qi? Guan Qi is at the bottom of the Heavenly Prison?"

"Is there a safer place than the Heavenly Prison? If Guan Qi regains his senses and wants to escape the Heavenly Prison, all the old demons at the bottom of the Heavenly Prison will be his enemies."

Liu E's words were very convoluted, and it took Li Zhaoting about it for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before he understood Liu E's plan.

Guan Qi is an unparalleled grandmaster of martial arts, a god or demon at the peak of the mountain. He is not clear-headed and may go crazy at any time. He loves fighting the most in his life.

When I'm not fully conscious, I don't want to leave the prison.

Once his mind clears, he will encounter the old demons at the bottom of the Heavenly Prison during the escape process. These people will ignite Guan Qi's fighting spirit. Guan Qi has always been willful, and once his fighting spirit is stirred, he will disregard everything else.

Guan Qi will not cooperate with the old devil.

Guan Qi just wanted to test their martial arts skills.

Are you sure I can persuade Guan Qi?

"Guan Qi is not a heretic or evil person. He has a very bold personality and likes talented geniuses, especially genius swordsmen. You may not know that Wuqing, the leader of the Four Great Constables, once received guidance from Guan Qi."

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty."

Li Zhaoting understood.

As the most overpowered super monster in the Wen system, a peerless expert who could only be forcibly taken away by aliens, Guan Qi has an extraordinary tolerance for genius martial artists.

In the original storyline, Guan Qi's peak battle was one where he was completely at ease from beginning to end, neither injuring nor killing anyone. Not only did he have no intention of killing, but even at the most intense moment of the battle, he did not want to hurt anyone, but only wanted to learn from the wonderful moves.

Wuqing, the leader of the Four Great Constables, suffered the tragedy of his family being wiped out when he was young. His legs were crippled and severed at the knees, and his meridians were severely damaged, making it impossible for him to cultivate internal energy. It was only thanks to Guan Qi's secret method that he was able to have a weak foundation.

Wuqing used this skill to hone his skills in hidden weapons and lightness techniques, becoming the leader of the Four Great Constables. He achieved great success and was known as "walking a thousand miles without legs and being unstoppable by a thousand hands." Some even said that Wuqing's hidden weapons were enough to defeat an entire school of martial arts single-handedly.

The gate of the Tang Clan!

An ordinary old demon might try to cripple Li Zhaoting if he saw him, but Guan Qi, sensing Li Zhaoting's swordsmanship, would most likely generously offer guidance.

This is a resource unique to the "Heavenly Prison".

Why did the Six Doors keep these old devils around?
One reason is the secrets they possess.

Secondly, it was to provide an opponent for the royal warriors.

With his doubts answered, Li Zhaoting wanted to go home, but Liu E did not stop him. She had a palace maid lead the way for Li Zhaoting and handed him a jade pendant before they parted.

"Carry it with you; it might come in handy later."

Could you give me a hint?

"If you ever offend me, this jade pendant can spare you from the death penalty once. You may escape the death penalty, but you will not escape punishment. I will beat you up and that will be the end of it."

"You are the Empress Dowager, you must maintain proper decorum."

"Don't worry, no one saw me behave improperly."

Liu E raised her eyebrows smugly.

Li Zhaoting:!!!∑(Дノ)ノ

……

After leaving the palace, Li Zhaoting went straight home.

As soon as they arrived at the gate, Mei Zhu lit a brazier and gestured for Li Zhaoting to step over it to ward off bad luck. Li Zhaoting stepped over the brazier and drank a cup of pomelo juice.

Friends and family are all at home.

Li Zhaoting exclaimed, "What an unexpected disaster!"

Lu Xiaofeng asked, "Li Zhaoting, when did you ever offend the Empress Dowager? Have you lost your mind?"

"It wasn't me, it was my dad!"

"Your father has been exiled to Lingnan!"

"When the Empress Dowager was ruling from behind the curtain, many people submitted memorials to advise her. My father's wording was not harsh; he simply revised the proclamation against Wu Zetian several times. Unfortunately, my father's memorial was placed last. After reading all the memorials, the Empress Dowager had accumulated a lot of anger, which was ignited by my father's memorial. Even now, she still hasn't forgotten it."

"Would the Empress Dowager be so petty?"

"Would you like to take a stroll in the imperial prison?"

A sinister smile appeared on Li Zhaoting's lips.

Lu Xiaofeng refused on the spot.

When Li Zhaoting went to the imperial prison, Feng Suzhen and Tianxiang took care of things, and his accommodations were roughly equivalent to those of an inn.

When Lu Xiaofeng goes to the Heavenly Prison, countless people are waiting to see him make a fool of himself. Lovers from all over the country rushing into the prison—that would be a terrifying spectacle.

Xiao Feng knew that there were extraordinary encounters in the Heavenly Prison, but he couldn't let such things be spread around, so he kept quiet.

Tianxiang brought her family's chef along with the ingredients, and prepared three large tables of delicious dishes.

The men sat at a table, drinking and chatting.

A group of women sat at a table, gossiping.

The kids sat at the table, shoveling rice into their mouths.

Before we knew it, we were talking about our parents.

Azhu looked gloomy. She was an orphan who had never seen her parents since childhood and did not know who they were. Feng Suzhen handed her a slip of paper with an address on it.

"Hurry there as fast as you can. The Prince of Zhennan should still be here. He might be your father."

"Sister Feng, are you joking? How could I possibly be a princess? The prince can't afford to raise a child?"

“The Prince of Zhennan is a womanizer by nature, with countless lovers. He is a lovelorn playboy who will agree to anything in front of a beauty, but once he leaves her, he will not return for more than ten or twenty years and will turn around to seduce other people.”

"Ah? I've heard people talk about the Prince of Zhennan. I thought it was just a rumor, but I didn't expect it to be true."

“Azhu, go and see. If the Prince of Zhennan is your father, you can fulfill a wish. If the Prince of Zhennan is not, it would be nice to go on a trip.”

"I don't know how to face him."

"Give him a good slap!"

Lan Fenghuang gesticulated wildly and cursed, "No matter how many difficulties you have, abandoning a child is wrong!"

Tianxiang retorted, "You make it sound so easy. They are, after all, their own parents. How many people could bring themselves to do that?"

Lan Fenghuang pointed to herself: "My connection with Brother Li started when he kicked my father several meters away and beat up my uncles and aunts..."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces darkened.

The customs in Miao areas are truly bizarre!

想娶苗女，需要暴揍岳父！
Another table.

"I'm going to Sichuan in a few days to investigate the salt guild there. What are your plans?"

Li Zhaoting made up a reason on the spot.

Liu E's mission was certainly not the salt gang.

However, it wouldn't be bad to take the opportunity to go and have a look.

After all, her own mother came from the salt gang.

Lu Xiaofeng said, "Don't even mention it. I had a somersault competition with Sikong Zhaixing. That old monkey did over a thousand somersaults in a row and made me dig earthworms for him. He made me all dirty. I need to practice my somersaults hard so I can compete with him again next month and win back all the losses I've made."

Xiao Feng said, "Thank you for your suggestion, sister-in-law. I will take A'Zhu to Suzhou, and then to Xingxiu Sea."

Tang Zhuquan said, "Wei Kongkong is getting engaged to the third young lady of Zhuji Manor. I'm representing my father to deliver the congratulatory gift. Li Zhaoting, Wei Kongkong also has a very ugly horse. Are you interested in a race?"

Wei Kongkong is a chivalrous swordsman who is skilled in using an ordinary cast iron sword. His main martial art is the "Head-Cutting Sword Technique" created by an executioner.

Wei Kongkong is highly skilled in martial arts, hates evil as if it were his enemy, never shows mercy to treacherous officials, and enjoys beheading people.

No one will be given a chance to fake their death and escape.

Wei Kongkong's nickname is "Head-Stealing Hero".

He is a true hero.

Righteousness awes all, and evil retreats.

Wei Kongkong has an excellent reputation in the martial arts world.

At least, he's much better than Li Zhaoting.

(End of this chapter)