The Empress remarried, and I retaliated by wiping out the court.

Everyone was stunned by these words.

Liang Yan also frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Ye Wudao did not answer, but simply said:

"Cao Ji, bring the man up."

"yes!"

Cao Ji bowed.

next moment.

Outside the Golden Palace.

Dozens of palace maids and eunuchs were brought in by the Eastern Depot's guards.

They knelt on the ground, their faces pale.

"This servant greets Your Majesty!"

Ye Wudao looked at one of them.

"You tell me."

The palace maid's face turned deathly pale.

"Back...back to Your Majesty."

"Last night, Prince Liang was not killed by His Majesty, but rather..." She glanced fearfully at Xiao Linyuan and said, "This servant witnessed it with my own eyes; it was Empress Xiao who personally killed Prince Liang!"

boom!

In a word.

Like a thunderclap, the entire political situation in the court was instantly reversed!

All eyes turned to Xiao Linyuan.

Xiao Linyuan's expression suddenly changed: "Impossible! You, a mere palace maid, have the audacity to slander the Empress!"

The palace maid trembled with fear: "I didn't lie, and others can testify to that!"

Xiao Linyuan roared in fury: "You're asking for death! Guards, drag her away and behead her..."

The guards acted, arresting the palace maids from both sides!

"Wait!"

Ye Wudao said quietly:

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Nanling is a pillar of the state. His son has died, and I must give him a satisfactory answer!"

He looked at Liang Yan: "Prince of Nanling, do you want your son to die without knowing why?"

The situation has turned around!

Xiao Linyuan never imagined that his tricking Liang Yan back to use him as a pawn would backfire and kill him!

Liang Yan's eyes widened, and he shouted sharply, "Get out!"

He threw out both fists, sending the two guards flying backwards to the left and right!

He grabbed the palace maid by the collar and said fiercely, "Tell me what you know! If you utter even a single wrong word, I'll take your life!"

"That's how it is..."

The palace maid recounted how Ye Wudao barged into the wedding, attempted to torture Liang Ze to death, and how Xiao Luan stabbed Liang Ze to death with a single sword.

The other people's accounts were exactly the same as hers!

Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of the officials became quite interesting.

If that's the case, then the situation is completely different.

Although Ye Wudao punished Liang Ze, he did not kill him with his own hands; someone else killed him!

at the moment.

If Prince Nanling and Xiao Linyuan were to fight each other, their families would go from being in-laws to mortal enemies. Without Prince Nanling's support, Xiao Linyuan would be like cutting off his left and right arms, and his status in the court would be greatly reduced!

The root of all this was that puppet emperor whom everyone once looked down upon!

"Xiao Linyuan, I swear I will never forgive you! Give me your life!"

Liang Yan's eyes were bloodshot as he lunged at Xiao Linyuan!

The court was immediately thrown into chaos.

……

Ye Wudao announced the end of the court session and went outside the Golden Palace.

Mo Jingyu, the commander-in-chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, appeared beside Ye Wudao at some point, respectfully presenting a handkerchief with both hands, and said:

"Your Majesty's methods are truly remarkable! Without lifting a finger, you've removed the Regent's right-hand men, leaving no possibility of reconciliation between the two families!"

Ye Wudao wiped the blood from his face and glanced at him:

"I have just ascended the throne, and no one obeys me. How will you, Commander, conduct yourself?"

Mo Jingyu respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, since its establishment, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has been the emperor's personal army. The blades of the Embroidered Uniform Guard obey only the emperor's orders!"

Ye Wudao laughed heartily.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard (Jinyiwei) supervised all officials and toured the country on behalf of the emperor.

From princes and nobles to local officials, anyone who violates the law is subject to the supervision of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

It can be said that controlling the Embroidered Uniform Guard is equivalent to controlling the secrets of the world.

"Excellent!"

Ye Wudao tossed the Emperor's Sword in his hand in front of Mo Jingyu and said, "Are you willing to become the sharpest sword in my hand?"

Mo Jingyu knelt respectfully, picked up the Emperor's Sword from the ground, and said earnestly:

"Your Majesty, I am willing! From this day forward, all 16,000 members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard will obey Your Majesty's commands."

"Whoever Your Majesty commands me to investigate, I will investigate."

"Whoever Your Majesty commands me to kill, I will kill!"

Ye Wudao smiled: "Very well, Minister Mo, you may leave!"

After Mo Jingyu left, Ye Wudao's gaze instantly turned cold.

He knew perfectly well that Mo Jingyu was nothing more than a fence-sitter who was hedging his bets.

During the reign of the late emperor, powerful ministers held great influence. Regent Xiao Linyuan controlled the Imperial Guards, Li Juzheng was in charge of civil officials, the Four Kings dominated their respective regions, and the Number One Manor controlled the martial arts world.

Mo Jingyu has survived until now not because of loyalty, but because of intelligence and hedging his bets.

Such people know how to observe the situation and know how to leave themselves a way out.

But Ye Wudao didn't care, because there is no such thing as absolute loyalty in this world.

So-called loyalty exists only because the price of betrayal isn't high enough.

If an emperor is so weak that he cannot even protect his own life, what right does he have to demand loyalty from others?

A true emperor does not beg for loyalty from his subjects, but rather makes them understand that following him is their best choice, and betraying him is their most foolish decision!

Ye Wudao glanced at Cao Ji, then waved his hand and said, "Let's return to the palace!"

As the Kowloon palanquin arrived at the square, a green phoenix palanquin approached from afar.

He asked, "Who is riding in this sedan chair?"

Cao Ji cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the one sitting in the sedan chair is the Second Empress, Li Yanran, the granddaughter of Chief Minister Li."

"It was her?"

Ye Wudao knew this woman all too well; in the book, she was known as "the most talented woman in the world."

He learned to read at the age of three, mastered the Book of Poetry and the Book of Documents at the age of five, and wrote "Ode to Snow" at the age of seven, which made him famous in the capital.

At the age of ten, she was able to discuss classics and history with Hanlin scholars, and all the learned scholars in the court praised her, saying, "This girl has the potential to become a literary sage."

At the age of fifteen, his essay "Strategies for River Management" reduced disasters in the three prefectures along the Yellow River for more than ten years.

At the age of sixteen, he engaged in a debate with renowned scholars at the Wenhua Hall.

That year, scholars from all over the world bestowed upon her four words: "Her literary talent surpasses all others!"

If that were all, she would only be a talented woman. What truly impressed Ye Wudao was her final fate.

In the later part of the original story, the nine powerful ministers fought amongst themselves, and the Great Yan Dynasty fell apart.

The Northern Mang cavalry marched south, the imperial city fell, and civil and military officials vied to surrender. Some sought wealth and power by worshipping the Northern Mang as their fathers, some switched allegiance, and some offered up the city for glory.

The Khan of Northern Mang cherished Li Yanran's talent and did not kill her. Instead, he appointed her as the head of the Academy of Literature, promising her endless wealth and honor as long as she was willing to submit.

But Li Yanran refused.

The emperor of Northern Mang then ordered her to perform a dance.

She refused again.

At last.

The Northern Mang emperor sneered.

"Since I can't sing or dance, then I'll write a poem praising my Northern Barbarian land."

Li Yanran simply smiled, then picked up her brush and wrote the last poem. The poem contained not a single vulgar word, yet it thoroughly vilified the Northern Barbarians.

The government and the public were shaken.

The Khan of Northern Mang turned ashen-faced and immediately ordered his execution.

As Li Yanran walked toward the execution ground, hundreds of thousands of people in the capital spontaneously knelt on both sides of the road and silently kowtowed to her.

Because everyone knows it.

This strike severed not only Li Yanran's life, but also the last vestige of the Great Yan's cultural heritage.

Later, some people commented on her.

"A nation perishes through war, and literature and culture perish because of Li Yanran."

Ye Wudao waved his hand: "Stop!"

The nine-dragon carriage slowly came to a stop. Cao Ji strode forward and shouted in a shrill voice:

"Halt before His Majesty!"

The maids outside the sedan chair immediately knelt down, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Ye Wudao slowly stepped down from the dragon carriage, gazed at the phoenix palanquin, and said calmly:

"An assassin broke into the palace last night. I suspect there's someone hiding in this palanquin. I must personally inspect the imperial carriage!"

Cao Ji's lips twitched violently.

Tibetan?

Who else could be hidden in the phoenix palanquin of the second empress?

If you're lusting after someone, just say so!

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Wudao lifted the sedan curtain, bent down, and went inside.

Inside the sedan chair, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood, and a woman sat quietly.

The other woman wore a blue and white dress, with no heavy makeup, only a white magnolia hairpin, and her long, black hair cascaded down to her waist.

But what's most attractive is never appearance, but rather temperament.

Her eyes were as clear as snow in spring, a tranquility that only someone who has read countless books and has a broad mind can possess.

Li Yanran raised her head, her weary eyes looking at Ye Wudao.

"Your Majesty, is the examination finished?"

Ye Wudao casually lowered the sedan curtain and said with a smile:

"Not yet, I intend to examine it more thoroughly..."