You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

"So it seems..."

"As long as I accept the women who have been recruited by those lackeys, I can trigger the reward of abducting women."

Lu Zuo looked at the characters in front of him and analyzed them in his mind. He decided to make good use of this point and wait until he had accumulated a certain amount of luck before going out of the city incognito to trigger his talent.

After all, Li Chengan and Shi Wenqing kept a close watch on him.

Zhao An, Xiao Dezi, and those dozen or so black-clad guards were all eyes watching him!

These two won't interfere with their misbehavior in the city.

However, if you frequently leave the city, the nature of the situation is completely different. Anyone would suspect that you are trying to escape or colluding with someone.

That is why Lu Zuo only deals with those insignificant minor officials and sycophantic lackeys.

Under close surveillance and control, he felt like a drowning person trapped under the ice, with a suffocating feeling of not being able to breathe!

And now...

The ice finally cracked open!

Shen Luoyan!

It allows one to deceive everyone, evade all surveillance, access information channels, and do many things that were previously impossible!

For example: Subduing Ren Zhong!

Since the last morning court session, Lu Zuo had noticed that his relationship with powerful families was strained, and that he was also a political enemy of Li Chengan and Shi Wenqing.

Most importantly, this person is not only proficient in military strategy, but also has a high level of martial arts cultivation. It is said that he reversed the hexagram many years ago and transformed into a primordial body.

With him as an outside helper, the chances of success when the final battle arrives will be greatly increased.

However, Lu Zuo cannot directly contact Ren Zhong.

The moment we make contact, those two bastards will find out.

At that time, it will probably not just be a stern warning, but he will also experience the feeling of "the King of Hell calling you to die at midnight," and it will be almost impossible for him to leave the palace again.

At this point, having someone hidden outside the surveillance who can act on your behalf becomes extremely important!

"If we could win over the Hundred Trades Gang and Shen Luoyan, that would be even better..."

"But these wandering knights-errant hate Chen Shubao to the bone and have no respect for the emperor, so it will be difficult for me to gain their trust in a short time."

"Shen Luoyan and Ren Zhong cannot be regarded as the same."

"Subduing her will be extremely difficult. Let's stall her for now and figure out a way later..."

Thinking of this, Lu Zuo stood up and instructed Zhao An, who was guarding outside the door, to make preparations, as he would be leaving the palace today.

……

At this moment, inside the underground secret room of Li Cheng'an's official residence.

"This kid is even more absurd and incompetent than you."

Li Cheng'an sat in his chair, looking at Chen Shubao before him, a cold smile playing on his lips: "However, what I need is his incompetence!"

These days, he told the real last emperor everything, big and small, about what Lu Zuo had done.

Every time Chen Shubao heard about Lu Zuo's outrageous and absurd behavior, and how he had taken over his empress, concubines, and other women, he would be furious and wish he could tear that lowly commoner and beast to pieces!

I am the emperor!

I am the true master of Southern Chen!

You are a lowly commoner, a lowly beast with base blood flowing through your veins, how dare you do this?

How dare you do this?

but……

Even though he was filled with boundless hatred, under the influence of the Soul-Seizing Technique, he could not express it, let alone utter it.

"Tomorrow, I will set off for Nanxu to try to make contact with the Sui Dynasty and completely take control of the Southern Chen navy's elite forces."

"By then, the fall of the Southern Chen dynasty will not be far off..."

"And you, Chen family!"

"I will make that lowly wretch wreak havoc one by one, and kill him off one by one!"

"Until your Chen family line dies out!"

"Also, I will take you to Nanxu, since the influence of this Soul-Seizing Technique is within a hundred miles."

"I won't give you even the slightest chance!"

After saying this, Li Chengan ignored Chen Shubao, who was still not fully recovered, and left the underground chamber on his own.

Stepping into the courtyard, he took a deep breath of fresh air, then slowly exhaled, muttering to himself with a laugh, "Using the lowest, most despicable commoner to wreak havoc on the Southern Chen dynasty..."

"For the Chen family, this is an immense humiliation!"

"This is so much more satisfying than doing it myself!"

"but……."

"When the Southern Chen dynasty is about to collapse, this lowly commoner will be of no use."

……

Inside a courtyard in Jiankang City.

A bluestone path winds its way forward from the entrance, with blooming flowers and lush green grass on both sides, and the fragrance of flowers wafting through the air. The freshness of the plants and trees flows with the gentle breeze.

An old plum tree leans out from behind the white wall, its sparse shadows casting dappled patterns on its leaves.

Near the plum tree stands a hexagonal pavilion with copper bells hanging from its eaves. The bells tinkle crisply in the breeze, startling two or three birds from the tree into flight.

"Who exactly is he?"

Inside the pavilion, Shen Luoyan stood with her hands behind her back, her eyes slightly narrowed, muttering to herself.

Since being assigned to this courtyard yesterday, she has been analyzing Lu Zuo's character, but no matter how much she thinks about it, she still can't figure him out.

I always felt that there was a huge disconnect between the emperor himself and the incompetent ruler he was portrayed as.

"Um?"

Suddenly, a soft sound came from beside my ear.

Shen Luoyan looked in the direction of the sound and saw the bedroom door tremble slightly.

"The gang leader has arrived..."

She quickly left the pavilion and returned to her bedroom, where she indeed saw a tall, handsome young man in his early twenties, dressed in a blue long robe.

"Luo Yan, what happened?"

Lu Shiyu, the leader of the Baiye Gang, was even more puzzled than she was. The assassination would either succeed or fail.

How did things come to this?

Shen Luoyan stepped forward a few paces, lowered her voice, and explained the whole story clearly.

"Oh?"

"Is this really true?"

Lu Shiyu narrowed his eyes slightly: "He protected an assassin without ever going astray from you, and even said he hated those corrupt officials..."

"Could this tyrannical ruler be nothing more than a puppet pawn?"

Shen Luoyan was taken aback: "Why would the gang leader think of such a thing?"

"It's very simple," Lu Shiyu said with a smile. "If he truly hates corrupt officials, then Su Chenghua should be executed!"

"But he only demoted Su Chenghua's rank, which means either he disregarded the lives of ordinary people and deliberately protected him."

"Either... you want to kill but can't!"

"His imperial power has been usurped; the real rulers of the court are those powerful aristocratic ministers!"

"That's why he spared your life, wanting to use you to subdue the Hundred Trades Gang and accumulate power for himself."

After a pause, Lu Shiyu added, "However, it's also possible that the tyrannical emperor was deliberately putting on an act for you."

"He wants not only you, but also your heart..."

Upon hearing this, Shen Luoyan inexplicably recalled her actions in the room yesterday, and a blush crept onto her pretty face: "Although what the leader said makes sense, Luoyan has also considered it carefully."

"Chen Shubao already wielded immense power during his time as crown prince."

"He's only been on the throne for less than a year; which powerful minister could possibly sideline him?"

Lu Shiyu smiled: "So, I want to win your heart..."

"Boss, you must be joking!"

Seeing that Shen Luoyan was a little angry, Lu Shiyu quickly straightened his expression: "Perhaps there are secrets we don't know about."

"But in any case, it's not a bad thing for us."

"You should stay by his side and observe him, see what this tyrant is really planning."

"most……"

"If I find an opportunity, I will kill Su Chenghua and the tyrannical emperor, and avenge this blood debt for the millions of people!"

Shen Luoyan nodded and asked, "What if he's really just been stripped of his power?"