I manage female characters in all the heavens.

Yunluo quickly grabbed a pile of memorials and placed them under her bottom to elevate herself. Then, with her left hand on her hip and her right elbow resting on the table, she casually picked up a memorial, opened it, and pretended to be working hard.

Not long after, Zhu Wushi came in.

The vast palace was resplendent in gold and jade. Deep within the palace, the wisps of ambergris, like a sleeping behemoth, slowly drifted between the red steps.

At the end of the line of sight, a young girl dressed in a yellow and white dress sat high on the dragon throne, her expression solemn and her demeanor majestic.

His calm, serene gaze was fixed on the unfolded memorial in his hands, his eyes gleaming with wisdom and composure, as if he were looking down upon the world, concerned for the common people.

For a moment, Zhu Wushi thought he was seeing things, and he rubbed his eyes rather unceremoniously before looking again.

But it wasn't an illusion. The person sitting behind the desk, doing the work of an emperor like an emperor, was none other than his silly niece, Yunluo, whom he couldn't even muster any temper with!

"Yunluo, what are you doing?!" Zhu Wushi snapped out of his daze and immediately shouted!

Is that your seat?

As if only now noticing Zhu Wushi's arrival, "Yunluo" slowly put down the memorial in her hand, shifted her gaze from it to Zhu Wushi.

"Ah, it's the Divine Marquis Imperial Uncle! Someone, bring him a seat."

Two eunuchs quietly brought over a chair and placed it behind Zhu Wushi.

Yunluo tapped the table lightly with her fingers, making a thumping sound, and said with slight dissatisfaction:

"Why put it so far away? Move it in front of me. I want to have a friendly conversation with my uncle. I can't hear you if you're too far away."

The eunuchs quickly moved the chair in front of "Yunluo" and placed it opposite the table, giving it the feel of a modern corporate CEO meeting with his subordinates.

Zhu Wushi was bewildered when he was invited to sit down, his mind in turmoil.

He looked at the person opposite him carefully again, and it was indeed his princess niece, not the emperor's niece in women's clothing.

But how did the princess's niece end up sitting on the emperor's nephew's throne and doing his job?

I was reborn in a parallel world?

"Yunluo, what exactly is going on? Where is the Emperor? Why is he sitting here handling state affairs? Do you know that this is an enormous overstepping of authority?"

"Get down right now, that's not a seat for you!" Zhu Wushi said sternly.

Whether it's the emperor's clothes or his seat, they all carry great symbolic significance and cannot be sat on casually.

Wearing a dragon robe when you're not the emperor is considered treason and punishable by death; similarly, sitting on the dragon throne when you're not the emperor is also a death sentence!

Zhu Wushi had no idea what the brother and sister were up to, but he knew that even if Zhu Houzhao agreed, Yunluo shouldn't do such a thing.

This throne, a symbol of imperial power, is something that Zhu Houzhao, the reigning emperor, can sit on. But you, Yunluo, dare to sit on it? I haven't even sat on it yet!

Get down here right now, that doesn't belong to you!

Yunluo pouted, unmoved. "Go ahead and pick me up and throw me down if you dare, I won't!"

Seeing the acting emperor is like seeing the real emperor; attacking the acting emperor is also like attacking the real emperor. Zhu Wushi, let me see your magnanimity.

Go ahead and hit me if you dare!

She pulled out another book of memorials and looked at it, her tone not very pleasant:

“My elder brother said that I could act as emperor for a day to experience it. This is a power he has specially granted me, and it does not involve any overstepping of my authority.”

"But Uncle, I am now the acting emperor, representing the emperor's authority and power. It's not appropriate for you to speak to me so loudly."

Zhu Wushi was taken aback and looked at the eunuchs beside him.

The eunuchs nodded repeatedly, indicating that the Emperor had indeed given such an order and that Princess Yunluo was not lying.

Zhu Wushi immediately felt a headache coming on, and his heart was burning with anger. Zhu Houzhao, you son of a bitch, how could you be so absurd?!

Can you simply hand over the emperor's position to someone else?

Did they ask for my opinion? Did they ask the imperial clan for their opinion? Did they ask the court officials for their opinion?!

What you are doing is greatly damaging the emperor's authority and my future authority!

And because of your mess, I now have to apologize to Yunluo...

Zhu Houzhao, you scoundrel!

Zhu Wushi was inwardly furious, but outwardly he was extremely respectful, performing the most proper etiquette and displaying the utmost respect for imperial authority.

He stood up, bowed, and apologized: "Your subject Zhu is guilty of disregarding the facts. I was unaware of the situation and offended Your Majesty. This is a grave offense, and I humbly beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

Yunluo immediately reached out and pulled him up, chuckling, "Oh dear, Uncle Royal~ I was just joking with you, why are you taking it so seriously?"

"You're a good person in every way, except you're too serious. Yunluo was confused for a moment, please don't take it to heart. I'm sorry, Uncle, please sit down!"

“Chang…” Chang what was it again? Never mind, let’s find someone else.

"Pi Xiaotian, go brew a pot of tea for the Imperial Uncle. Use the best tea leaves and the best water."

Pi Xiaotian, who had been standing to the side for a long time, unsure whether to leave or not, was overjoyed and readily accepted the acting emperor's order to go make tea.

Chang Lin, who lost his job opportunity because the acting emperor forgot his name, twitched his eye and helplessly accepted the result.

I should have just asked the princess to call me "Xiao Chang" directly; she would have remembered it by now. It's too late, though.

Yunluo obediently apologized to Zhu Wushi, which made Old Zhu feel much better.

Old Zhu sat back down and asked, "Where did the Emperor go? I have an urgent matter to report to him."

Yunluo picked up another memorial and started reading it, making it seem like she was very busy.

"If there's anything you need, just tell me directly. I don't know where he's gone. He even left the beauties for me to enjoy tonight, so you can imagine that you definitely won't be able to see him."

"It's alright. Before my brother left, he entrusted all power to me. With the seal of office in hand, I can use it as I please. If you have any important matters, Uncle, just say the word, and I will issue an imperial edict to assist you!"

Zhu Wushi frowned deeply, inwardly cursing Zhu Houzhao to the point of being furious.

Zhu Houzhao, what exactly do you take the throne for?!

My brother, look at the successor you've chosen! It's not that I'm rebelling, it's just that your son is too abstract!

If things continue like this, your son will ruin my Zhu family's empire! It is only right and righteous for me to take over and live up to the expectations of our ancestors and the people!

This rebellion must be launched!

"Since that's the case, then I'll tell you. There's more than one thing, and you must remember to pass it on to the Emperor."

"First is the case of the Empress Dowager's fright, which His Majesty ordered to be thoroughly investigated. After a night of preliminary investigation, it has been roughly determined that it was the work of experts from the Biquan Sect in Luoyang. However, there is currently a lack of decisive evidence. This is something you already knew last night. Although it is important, it is not urgent."

"And the second thing is very urgent."

Zhu Wushi's expression turned serious: "More than ten years ago, a great demon appeared in the martial arts world named Gu Santong. He was once my best friend, but one day he suddenly went berserk and slaughtered more than a hundred masters from the eight major sects who had challenged him. Even the four constables sent by our court to supervise the fight were killed."

"Gu Santong was a highly skilled martial artist, and was once considered invincible. I fought him to the death and finally defeated him, but I could not kill him. I could only imprison him on the ninth floor of the Heavenly Prison, hoping to wear him down over time."

"Last night, an earthquake struck the palace. Feeling uneasy, I impulsively went to the ninth level of the imperial prison to check on the situation, and what I found shocked me!"

His eyes revealed great fear, and his tone was stern: "The ninth level of the Heavenly Prison has collapsed, and there are obvious signs of a battle between experts. I suspect that last night's earthquake was caused by Gu Santong fighting with someone."

"There were no corpses among them. I suspect that Gu Santong has escaped from the Heavenly Prison and his whereabouts are currently unknown. The fact that such a great demon has regained his freedom is a huge threat to the entire world."

"Our imperial court must exert all its strength, mobilize all departments, and work together to arrest Gu Santong as soon as possible, so as to be responsible to the people!"

So Zhu Wushi had already been to the Heavenly Prison, and Gu Santong had escaped?

What about Cao Zhengchun? Was his body found?

Yunluo's eyes flickered, her heart filled with unease.

Gu Santong was imprisoned for more than ten years without escaping, and in the original storyline he didn't even run away even when he was about to die, but now he has escaped.

What trapped Gu Santong was never the imperial prison, but his own promises and guilt.

Back then, during his duel with Zhu Wushi, he accidentally killed Su Xin, a painful event that left him feeling immense guilt and utterly devastated.

For someone whose heart is practically dead, there is only one reason that could make them want to leave: their pure heart.

Coincidentally, in the message that Yunluo had Cao Zhengchun relay to Gu Santong yesterday, there was news that Suxin was currently frozen in an ice cave in Tianchi Lake in Tianshan.

Almost instantly, Yunluo figured out where Gu Santong and Cao Zhengchun had gone.

It's likely that Cao Zhengchun didn't die. After revealing Su Xin's whereabouts, Gu Santong didn't come to her to find out the details as she expected. Instead, he captured Cao Zhengchun and took him to Tianshan to check on Su Xin's condition.

This is a very distrustful approach. I'm certainly not a good person, but you, Gu Santong, aren't a good person either. Is it really necessary to do this?

Yunluo had anticipated that Gu Santong would be moved by Suxin, but she hadn't expected him to be so cautious and distrustful of her, first going to verify whether Suxin's news was true.

Is this still the same fearless and invincible mischievous child?

All these thoughts were hidden in Yunluo's heart and passed quickly without being exposed to Zhu Wushi.

Upon hearing Zhu Wushi's demand that all departments of the imperial court exert their full strength to cooperate with him in the pursuit of Gu Santong, she immediately nodded:

“What the Imperial Uncle says makes sense. Pi Xiaotian, come here and help me write an imperial edict. According to the Imperial Uncle’s instructions, all departments should actively cooperate with the Dragon Guard Manor to capture the great demon Gu Santong as soon as possible.”

Pi Xiaotian walked over happily, took out a blank imperial edict as if he knew what he was doing, wrote down the contents, and respectfully handed it to His Majesty the Acting Emperor for stamping.

Yunluo glanced at it casually, didn't find any major problems, grabbed the seal at hand and stamped it on, and a legally binding imperial edict was thus hastily produced.

She handed the imperial edict to Zhu Wushi and encouraged him, saying, "Many departments of the court are lax. Your Majesty should strive to exercise more supervision, eliminate laziness and invigorate the court, investigate and punish corruption and rectify officialdom, so as to restore a bright and clear world to our great Ming Dynasty."

Old Zhu, get to work! The Ming Dynasty's officialdom needs your help to reform it!

Zhu Wushi stood up, respectfully accepted the imperial edict, and pledged, "Your subject will devote himself to the utmost, even unto death!"

After completing the ceremony of receiving the imperial decree, Zhu Wushi sat down again: "The third matter."

Yunluo was just about to get up and move around because she was a little hungry and wanted to eat some snacks, but when she heard Zhu Wushi's words, she could only sit back down.

He picked up a memorial, unfolded it to hide his displeasure, and said in a muffled voice, "Uncle, you say..."

Zhu Wushi couldn't help but smile slightly, but he quickly suppressed it.

He asked, "I just heard that Chief Supervisor Cao of the Eastern Depot has disappeared. The news is spreading like wildfire, shaking the entire capital, and causing widespread panic throughout the court and the country. May I presume to ask if this is true?"

Yunluo nodded and called out, "Pi Xiaotian, report."

Pi Xiaotian reported the contents again, but of course, there was still no mention of the princess.

After listening to the report and confirming that Cao Zhengchun had indeed disappeared, Zhu Wushi frowned: "The Eastern Depot cannot be without a leader for even a day."

Pi Xiaotian glanced over discreetly. Why are you all saying the same thing? Did you plan this together?

Crack! Crack!

Suddenly, a grinding sound came from Yunluo.