If you die, I will be able to inherit your cultivation.

After leaving the Begonia Garden, Zhou Ming walked a few steps and stopped at the corner of the covered walkway.

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately sent out a wisp of his divine sense quietly.

He admitted he was a little curious. The young lady had been as calm as an iron plate in front of him just now, but after all, he was her own father.

Marquis Yongning, Su Yongning, the general who spent most of his life guarding the northern border in the snow and wind, returning home only a few times a year, and barely seeing his daughter even a handful of times, is dead.

He died betrayed by his comrades, died on the desolate mountain of Wild Wolf Slope, and it is unknown whether his remains will ever be recovered.

Su Mingyue puts on a perfect act in front of others, but what about in private? Does she cry when she's alone?

In Zhou Ming's memories of his previous life, he only saw Su Mingyue crying when she was a child, and he never saw her cry again after she grew up.

His divine sense spread out silently, across the covered walkway, through the hanging flower gate, and back to the main hall of the Begonia Garden.

Then he heard Su Mingyue's voice.

The voice was exactly the same as when she was in front of Zhou Ming—steady, clear, and sharp as a blade cutting through ice.

It wasn't crying, it wasn't sobbing, it was an order.

"Qiuju, order Nightingale to assassinate the Fifth Prince Liu Bing and the Sixth Prince Liu Quan at all costs."

Su Mingyue's voice was not loud, and her speech was slow, as if she were instructing the kitchen to add a dish tonight.

Zhou Ming's feet were rooted to the spot.

"Dongmei, order Gao Pengda to lead 100,000 border troops and 100,000 new troops to capture Liangzhou within ten days. After capturing it, reorganize and deploy troops to defend Anzhou and Yunzhou."

"Order Ren Yunjie to lead 30,000 elite troops from Yinyun Valley to capture Luzhou within ten days, expand the local forces, and deploy defenses in Chongzhou."

"After Gao Pengda takes Liangzhou, order Fan Jianjun to organize his troops and deploy them to defend the entire northern and northwestern borders, and keep a close eye on the movements of the Yuan and Dayan."

"Fifty thousand new troops will remain in Yuyang County, and the rest of the troops will assemble immediately and depart for Qingzhou."

The sound of a brush swiftly gliding across paper came from the main hall; it was Dongmei drafting an order.

After a moment of silence, Su Mingyue seemed to have walked to the front of the map. Her voice was slightly farther away, but still clear:

"Zhao Chongyuan of Yunzhou and Yuwen Shuo of Chongzhou, let them live a few more days."

Zhou Ming didn't listen to what was said after that.

He withdrew his consciousness, leaned against the red-lacquered pillars of the veranda, and remained silent for a long while.

He now had only one thought in his mind: this young lady was far more ruthless and decisive than he had imagined.

The hatred for the murder of one's father.

Whether it was a prince or a powerful official from a noble family, she didn't intend to let any of them go, and she didn't even hesitate for a moment.

Moreover, there were several names among them that Zhou Ming had never heard of before.

Who is Gao Pengda? He spent so many days in the northern border, from the commander's mansion in Zhenbei City to the basin camp in Duanyun Ridge, and met no fewer than dozens of generals, but no one ever mentioned the name Gao Pengda.

Two hundred thousand troops were casually handed over to an unknown person. This person was either a hidden trump card of the Su family or a direct descendant personally promoted by the eldest daughter at some unknown time.

Just how many trump cards did the Su family have hidden in Youzhou?

Zhou Ming suddenly realized that his understanding of this Marquis's mansion was still too shallow.

As for Liangzhou and Luzhou, Liangzhou is in the northwest of Youzhou and Luzhou is in the northeast of Youzhou. Taking Liangzhou and Luzhou is equivalent to taking over the entire northern part of the Great Xia.

They had to capture two states within ten days and immediately reorganize and deploy their troops afterward.

Zhou Ming could only gasp in amazement at their appetite and extravagance.

He shook his head and didn't listen any further.

Su Mingyue asked him to prepare for the Ninth Prince's ascension to the throne, as this was his most important task at the moment.

He knew nothing about the rules of the coronation ceremony. In his previous life, he had participated in the excavation of two Tang Dynasty imperial tombs at an archaeological site and knew some about the mausoleum system, but that was completely different from a living person ascending the throne.

Fortunately, there were many knowledgeable elders in the Marquis's mansion, and the Su family had been operating in Youzhou for many years.

The manor has plenty of officials in charge of ceremonies, clerks, and ceremonial staff; the young lady must have already made arrangements.

He only needs to keep the overall direction in mind, and the rest will be taken care of by others.

The most pressing practical issue for the new emperor upon his ascension to the throne was the selection of a location for the imperial palace.

Yuyang County is not the capital, so there is no ready-made imperial palace that you can move into immediately.

However, when Emperor Zhengde made his northern tour in his early years, he built a temporary palace about 20 miles outside the city of Yuyang. Although it could not be compared with the imperial city of Anzhou, it was complete with a main hall, side halls, sleeping quarters, and an imperial garden.

Later, Emperor Zhengde visited less often, so the imperial palace was handed over to the local prefect for management, with a certain amount of silver allocated each year for its repair and maintenance.

Although the former prefect was rather mediocre in his official duties, he did not neglect the maintenance of the imperial palace.

All that's needed now is to clean out the halls that have been covered in dust for years, patch up the missing tiles, and replace the old curtains, and they'll be usable again.

As for the ritual objects needed for the Heaven-worshiping ceremony, the imperial robes for the coronation, the imperial seal, the edict, and the ceremonial procession, Zhou Ming didn't even want to think about these things.

He sent someone directly to the Marquis's residence to deliver the message, and sure enough, in less than half a day, the young lady transferred a full twenty old officials from the Marquis's residence.

There were those who had served as ceremonial officials in the prefecture, those who wrote sacrificial texts for the marquis's mansion, and an old gentleman with white hair and beard who was said to have retired from the Ministry of Rites of the previous dynasty.

Zhou Ming summoned everyone to the main hall of the prefectural governor's mansion and handed over all the preparations for the coronation to these old officials. He simply sat aside, drinking tea and listening, occasionally nodding to indicate, "Okay, let's do it this way."

Two days later, Yuyang County welcomed two important figures.

Liu Ji, the ninth prince of the Great Xia Dynasty, and his maternal grandfather, Su Mingyue's biological grandfather, Duke Su Mubai.

The guards protecting the Ninth Prince entered the city in the middle of the night.

To avoid potential pursuers and spies from all sides, Chunlan arranged for the Marquis's most elite personal guard to meet her outside the city. The carriage traveled without any flags, and even the curtains were completely covered with black cloth.

Zhou Ming and his men from the prefectural governor's office waited inside the south gate, the torches illuminating the gate opening.

After the caravan entered the city, the first person to get off the carriage was an elderly man with gray hair and beard.

Zhou Ming knew at a glance that this was Su Mubai, who had served as a Duke in the capital for decades and remained a powerful figure in the Zhengde court.

He was not tall, and was very thin. He wore a faded gray-blue robe and at first glance looked no different from any old tutor on the streets of Yuyang County. His back was slightly hunched.

But when he looked up at Zhou Ming, the light in his eyes, hidden beneath his graying eyebrows, seemed to see right into a person's heart.

Then the carriage curtain was lifted again, and the second person to step down was the Ninth Prince, Liu Ji.

Zhou Ming's gaze shifted from Su Mubai to Liu Ji, lingering for less than three seconds before his heart skipped a beat.

This person looks so much like Su Mingli.

Not in terms of appearance, Liu Ji had a dignified and handsome appearance, with a touch of royal nobility, and there was a faint resemblance between his eyebrows and Su Mingyue's.

Aside from his appearance, his mannerisms, demeanor, and even his unconscious little gestures were practically identical to those of the young master, Su Mingli.

When Liu Ji got off the carriage, he didn't ask anyone to help him; instead, he used one hand to support himself on the carriage shaft and jumped down.

His landing was quite graceful, but the hem of his coat got caught on the carriage shaft and tugged, causing him to stumble forward and almost bump into his attendant.

He wasn't annoyed. He straightened his clothes and pulled a folding fan out of his sleeve with a "snap".

Without opening the fan, he tapped it in his palm, looked around, and gave the dumbfounded welcoming crowd a smug smile.

Zhou Ming almost lost his composure on the spot.

He was all too familiar with this extremely flamboyant style.