Chapter 64: The Dust Settles!

Within the hour, news of Shen Zhiyan’s sadistic abuse of authority and the resulting carnage in the dungeons spread through the capital as if on wings.

The man who had once been the dream lover of every noble lady in the city was transformed overnight into a pariah—a street rat that everyone was eager to strike.

Upon receiving the news, Luo Wushuang and Shangguan Liqian shared a knowing smile, the lingering irritation in their hearts vanishing instantly.

The capital was about to become quite lively indeed.

Sure enough, during the following morning’s court session, the ministers launched a relentless barrage of impeachments against Shen Zhiyan. They accused him of abusing his temporary authority to torture the families of court officials, resulting in several deaths and permanent injuries.

Before the Duke Dingyang’s estate could even begin to formulate a defense, a new wave of scandals broke. Evidence surfaced of Shen Zhiyan using the Duke’s influence to seize civilian lands and force virtuous women into prostitution.

Case after case was presented with undeniable proof; every testimony was ironclad and every piece of evidence was accounted for.

In a heartbeat, the Duke Dingyang’s estate became the target of universal condemnation.

Luo Wushuang chose this moment to reveal Shen Zhiyan’s previous military “achievements,” exposing how he had slaughtered innocent civilians to use their heads as a bounty count during a bandit suppression campaign. The already furious ministers erupted in a righteous cacophony of denunciation.

As the Duke Dingyang’s estate teetered on the brink of total collapse, the Duke Shuoyang’s estate—usually their inseparable ally—remained uncharacteristically silent.

However, before they could even attempt to distance themselves from the fallout, the indignant ministers found faults within their own ranks and reported them directly to the throne.

The Grand Princess’s faction fell into complete disarray. To save her own son, she had no choice but to abandon her strongest ally, Duke Dingyang.

The Grand Princess personally entered the palace to beg for grace, promising that the Duke Shuoyang’s estate would withdraw from the political stage forever, content to live out their days as mere wealthy idlers.

Finding himself utterly abandoned, Duke Dingyang remembered the Grand Princess’s former kindness and chose not to drag her or the Shuoyang estate down with him.

However, he showed no such mercy to his former colleagues who had suddenly turned on him like a pack of wolves.

Just as Luo Wushuang and Shangguan Liqian had predicted, the cornered Duke Dingyang acted like a desperate beast. He confessed to his crimes but launched a frenzied counter-retaliation. He submitted every piece of incriminating evidence he held against the other officials to the throne, even going as far as writing down every dark secret he knew from his prison cell.

Naturally, none of the officials who had associated with the Duke Dingyang’s estate were clean. Those pampered young masters who had cost Luo Wushuang her prize that day were particularly hard hit; every single one of their families was reported.

Luo Wushuang ordered the evidence and testimonies to be investigated. If the claims were true, the officials were arrested immediately.

For a time, a shadow of terror hung over the capital. Every official felt their own neck was on the line.

The more perceptive among them realized this was the Empress’s gambit.

But… what of it?

None of them dared to gamble on the absolute purity of their own subordinates or descendants. The chaos had already taken root, and all they could do was struggle to survive the storm.

A few days later, at the morning court.

After the ministers shouted their ritual salutations, Luo Wushuang sat upon the Phoenix Throne, looking at the many empty seats in the Great Hall. A faint, secret sense of satisfaction touched the corners of her lips.

Wonderful. All the families of those wretched brats have been kicked out of court. I wonder if they will remain such “dutiful sons” and “loving fathers” once they are on the road to exile?

Luo Wushuang kept these thoughts hidden behind a mask of imperial majesty. Her gaze swept over the remaining officials, cold and commanding.

“The Duke Dingyang’s estate was graced by the crown, yet they failed to serve the sovereign. Their crimes are numerous and beyond description. I have decided: every woman of that household shall be sent to the Imperial Music Bureau. The men shall be executed in three days’ time.”

“Your Majesty is wise and just!”

The ministers bowed their heads. Aside from echoing her words, they didn’t dare make a sound.

No one knew who this unpredictable Empress Regnant would target next.

As the ministers trembled in fear, Luo Wushuang produced a massive stack of testimonies—a mix of truth and fabrication that could ruin anyone present. The atmosphere in the hall grew stiflingly tense.

Just as everyone thought the Empress was about to settle the final accounts, she ordered a fire to be lit and threw the evidence—the very papers that held their fates—into the flames.

The ministers were baffled, but none dared to speak out of turn. They were all terrified that a single mistake would turn their own homes into the next Duke Dingyang’s estate.

From her throne, Luo Wushuang watched their reactions with indifference. Only after she had thoroughly enjoyed the pathetic sight of these high-and-mighty ministers looking so disheveled did she soften her expression.

“To err is human,” she said calmly. “Today, I shall give you all a chance to turn over a new leaf. I hope you do not disappoint me.”

With those words, the tension that had gripped the court for days snapped. The ministers knelt in unison to express their gratitude.

Looking at the Empress, whose hidden ruthlessness remained unchanged, they couldn’t tell if her methods had simply become more sophisticated or if there was a master strategist guiding her from the shadows.

Regardless, this combination of the “carrot and the stick” had cowed the old conservatives completely. Beyond feeling grateful for her “magnanimity,” they didn’t dare harbor a single rebellious thought.

Once the dust had settled, Luo Wushuang took a piece of Black Jade she had personally selected from the Imperial Household Department and pushed open the doors to Phoenix Hall.

“Sister, look what I brought you!”

At the sound of the cheerful voice, Shangguan Liqian put down her book and looked up. She met Luo Wushuang’s face—which was practically begging for a compliment—and saw the jade pendant held carefully in her hands.

Taking the exquisitely carved Black Jade from Luo Wushuang, Shangguan Liqian gave a light smile. “This jade is of much higher quality than the one we saw the other day.”

“Do you like it, Sister?” Luo Wushuang asked.

Shangguan Liqian nodded, though she set the pendant aside with a casual air. “Is the matter resolved?”

Glancing at the neglected jade, Luo Wushuang suppressed a flicker of confusion and beamed. “It is, thanks to your help, Sister.”

If she had used her own methods, she could have dealt with those people, but it would have certainly caused widespread panic and instability. With foreign envoys about to arrive in the capital, it wouldn’t do to let outsiders see such internal turmoil.

She just hadn’t expected her sister to be so brilliant.

Sensing Luo Wushuang’s undisguised admiration, Shangguan Liqian flicked the Empress’s smooth forehead and handed her the book she had been reading.

Luo Wushuang looked down. The title The Emperor’s Tactics was written in bold characters on the cover.

Hmm? Sister spends her free time reading this boring rubbish?

Luo Wushuang had long ago memorized The Emperor’s Tactics, but she rarely applied it to the court. Compared to the convoluted balancing of factions described in the text, she preferred using brute force.

There was no problem that couldn’t be solved by killing someone. If there was, it just meant she hadn’t killed enough of them.

That was the reason she had been able to hold the throne since her teens.

Stopping slaughter with slaughter, and ending violence with violence!

If you made everyone afraid, they would naturally fear the Imperial Presence.

Previously, she hadn’t seen anything wrong with her approach.

But now…

She suddenly felt that acting like her sister—hiding behind the scenes, waiting for the right moment to stir the winds and clouds—was quite effective.

Seeing those old geezers dripping with cold sweat had actually been rather fun.