Once Crown Princess, Prince Liang, and General Liu had all made their positions clear, there was practically no one who could interfere with the matter—unless the Emperor herself stepped in.
But the Emperor’s attitude was already obvious from the way she had stripped Prince Liang of his title, only to immediately compensate her with two highly lucrative posts.
Besides, Prince Liang had been busy preparing for her wedding these past few days. Without the Emperor’s approval, how could she have gained such easy access to Immortal Master Qiu in the prison reserved for the highest-level detainees?
In that light, the two positions the Emperor had just granted her seemed to carry quite a bit of meaning.
One of them oversaw a department responsible for spreading education and doctrine. Wasn’t that simply making it easier for Prince Liang to spread the rumors at once?
Clearly, the Emperor, the Crown Princess, and Prince Liang had already discussed everything in advance.
Xianluo Mountain had been operating for centuries. That was no exaggeration. Though it appeared to stand aloof from worldly affairs, the depth and reach of its influence were difficult to imagine.
Naturally, quite a few officials rose to object.
One after another, they delivered impassioned speeches. Some fanatics even went so far as to accuse Prince Liang of refusing to sacrifice her life for the people of the world, calling her nothing more than a coward afraid of death.
Now, she had even plotted against Xianluo Mountain. Such a person deserved to die.
Of course, those idiots were immediately stripped of their offices and thrown out of court, never to be employed again. All the years they had spent studying and working hard had been turned into nothing more than a fleeting illusion of immortality.
When they were escorted out, they were all left dumbfounded.
Grand Tutor Xu hurriedly said, “Your Highness the Crown Princess, are you really going to stand by and watch Prince Liang form factions and purge her opponents in the imperial court?”
“Wrong, wrong. I wouldn’t dare. I’m merely an Imperial Daughter and certainly not worthy of the title of prince. Grand Tutor, you’d better be careful with your words from now on. Who gave you the authority to decide whether a prince of the empire should be installed? Are you trying to rebel?”
“You’re the one trying to rebel!” Grand Tutor Xu could no longer hold back. “Since you know that you’re only an Imperial Daughter now, why do you dare to bypass Her Majesty and the Crown Princess and unilaterally strip officials of their posts and drive them from the court?”
Pei Liang sighed. “So you care that much about appearances? Fine, then.”
She walked over to stand behind the Crown Princess’s throne, placed both hands on the Crown Princess’s shoulders, and looked toward the assembled officials.
Then she said to the Crown Princess, “Elder Sister, how about you say one sentence, and I repeat it after you?”
The Crown Princess already found the suggestion troublesome. She curled her lip and said, “Are you sick? Is this what you meant by saying that bureaucratic formalities lead to inefficiency? It’s something that can be explained in one sentence, yet you insist on saying it twice.”
Would she have kept silent if she disagreed? Her elder sister had even encouraged her to express her objections.
This posture didn’t merely resemble it—Crown Princess had completely taken on the appearance of a puppet controlled by the Eldest Imperial Daughter.
The visual impact was so tremendous that Grand Tutor Xu burst into tears on the spot.
“Your Highness the Crown Princess, the Eldest Imperial Daughter is a wolf in sheep’s clothing! You must guard against her!”
“If Your Highness insists on going her own way, then there is nothing left for me to teach as your Grand Tutor. I hereby resign!”
Grand Tutor Xu had originally meant to apply pressure. Surely, no matter how much the Crown Princess listened to the Eldest Imperial Daughter’s slander, she would still remember the Emperor’s teachings.
If she could provoke the Grand Tutor into resigning, the Crown Princess could not simply accept her resignation at will. The matter would inevitably reach the Emperor.
Grand Tutor Xu’s primary objective was, of course, to gain an audience with the Emperor. Frightening the Crown Princess was important as well.
But the moment she finished speaking, she saw Crown Princess looking as though she wanted to get up and set off firecrackers.
“There’s actually such a good thing?”
Grand Tutor Xu: “……”
The Crown Princess’s faction: “……”
Could they still switch allegiance to Prince Liang now?
In the end, after the argument became utterly irreconcilable, Chancellor Su spoke languidly.
“Since neither Her Highness the Crown Princess nor the Emperor’s representative has raised any objection, that is sufficient proof of Her Majesty’s position.”
“Furthermore, those individuals did not merely hold dissenting opinions. They directly called for the execution of a member of the imperial family. Now that Immortal Master Qiu’s testimony has been given, the truth of Xianluo Mountain’s circumstances remains unknown.”
“It may be true, or it may be false. That is precisely why we must treat the matter with caution. If there is even the slightest possibility that someone is manipulating the court and eliminating opponents in the name of a divine edict, we cannot simply stand by and do nothing.”
Chancellor Su cast an indifferent glance over the civil and military officials.
“Reverence toward Heaven is a fine virtue, but you must remember that as officials of Great Liang, your duty is to serve the Emperor and work for the welfare of the people.”
“If a so-called ‘divine edict,’ whose authenticity remains open to question, is enough to make you disregard human life, then you might as well go down to Xianluo Mountain and become monks.”
Chancellor Su’s words still carried considerable weight—or perhaps they had simply awakened many of those present.
She had practically spelled it out: since they held the imperial court’s bowl, they needed to put on an act. Above all, they had to present themselves as loyal to the imperial family.
It was clear that the Emperor had already made her position known and intended to test Xianluo Mountain. The clever ones would know better than to court death.
Only idiots would assume that because the Emperor was seriously ill, she must now be wavering and indecisive.
She had ruled for thirty years. Whenever the foundations of the empire were at stake, once she made a decision, when had she ever changed her mind?
Even if they did not approve, they could at least wait until the Emperor had run headfirst into a wall before speaking up.
The idiots had already been cleared out. By now, anyone with eyes could tell that this was no sudden outburst.
Since they could not stop the matter, they could only conceal their positions for the time being. Some would have to hide them even more deeply.
Pei Liang took a long look at Chancellor Su and smiled.
After that court session, anyone who needed to understand the situation naturally understood it.
Once court was dismissed, many officials did not even have time to return home. Factions immediately gathered to discuss the current situation.
Pei Liang did not hurry back to her residence after court. Instead, she went to the Eastern Palace with the Crown Princess.
Only the Second Imperial Daughter was so furious that her entire body trembled.
This was the first time she had ever felt as though she had been excluded from the imperial family.
With her keen instincts and cautious nature, she had already realized the truth behind Xianluo Mountain’s divine edict. She had spent the entire previous night in excitement, looking forward to the morning court session.
But she had never imagined that the Empress and the eldest sister—even the Crown Princess—would all join forces to strike back against Xianluo Mountain.
Only she had foolishly believed that the eldest sister would be forced to face pressure from both sides this time.
The situation had reversed after court. The eldest sister had lost her title, leaving her the only Imperial Daughter among the three without any official rank.
But did that even matter anymore?
The Empress had actually given her such crucial positions. It was almost enough to make one suspect that even if this was a case of raising someone up only to bring them down, the Empress might not be able to bring her back down in the end.
Had the Empress changed her mind and placed her among the foremost candidates for succession once again?
How had she managed that? The Empress had even swallowed her anger and acknowledged her affair with Consort Yan.
Consort Yan! Yes, there was still Consort Yan.
The Second Imperial Daughter hurried back to the palace and sent for Consort Zhou.
She immediately told him, “I can’t go myself. Go to Consort Yan’s palace at once and tell him everything that happened.”
Consort Zhou was initially bewildered. But when he heard what the Second Imperial Daughter had to say, each sentence struck him like a bolt of lightning to the crown of his head.
Xianluo Mountain had demanded the execution of the imperial elder sister. Then the imperial elder sister had been stripped of her title and, in her fury, launched an attack against Xianluo Mountain.
Now, it appeared that the matter could no longer be salvaged.
Consort Zhou might have possessed little political sense, but even he could tell that something was wrong. He hesitantly asked the Second Imperial Daughter, “What does any of this have to do with Consort Yan?”
“Why not seek Her Majesty’s help instead?”
A meaningful smile appeared on the Second Imperial Daughter’s face.
“Well, you see, this has everything to do with him.”
As she spoke, her expression turned displeased. “Go if I tell you to. Why are you making such a fuss? Father will thank you.”
Even if no one intervened, he would find out on his own before long.
Consort Zhou was no fool. Since the Empress had shown no reaction, that meant the Eldest Imperial Daughter’s actions had been carried out with Her Majesty’s tacit approval.
That made the Second Imperial Daughter’s current behavior obviously an attempt to trip her up.
He fell silent for a moment before saying, “Father has been feeling unwell today and hasn’t seen anyone since morning. Going there rashly at a time like this may not be appropriate.”
In truth, the Second Imperial Daughter had no need to trouble Consort Zhou with this errand. She could simply have sent someone to deliver the message.
However, with reports being passed through layer after layer, and with Consort Yan’s impatience, there was no guarantee he would even see the messenger. By the time the news reached his ears, the Eldest Imperial Daughter might already have left the palace.
That was why she had sent her own consort to make the trip personally. She had not expected him to refuse.
The Second Imperial Daughter slowly raised her head. The atmosphere instantly grew sharp and dangerous. She looked at Consort Zhou with eyes that seemed steeped in venom.
Then she let out a cold laugh. “I almost forgot. That shameless eldest sister has been flirting everywhere, so even a lewd husband like you is starting to get restless.”
As she spoke, she raised her hand and slapped Consort Zhou across the face. The blow was so hard that it sent him sprawling to the ground.
His ears rang loudly. He looked up at the Second Imperial Daughter, and the submissiveness in his eyes now held a trace of stubbornness.
The Second Imperial Daughter’s fury surged even higher. She kicked him—
*
In fact, the Second Imperial Daughter had no need to go to such lengths, because Consort Yan had already learned of the matter. He immediately rose and hurried toward the Eastern Palace.
Inside the Eastern Palace, Pei Liang was discussing the next steps with the Crown Princess.
The rumors she had fabricated had already been dispatched throughout the capital by the time the various households had set out for court that morning. With Great Liang’s astonishing efficiency, they had spread in every direction.
Pei Liang played dirty. Xianluo Mountain had issued the assassination order first, followed by the rumor that its sect master was likely being held captive.
But with her manipulations—and where necessary, a little creative rewriting of history—she had completely inverted the cause and effect.
Very few people in court had known the truth to begin with. Once the story had fully spread, the narrative became this:
First, Immortal Master Qiu had confessed that the sect master was being held captive.
Then Xianluo Mountain had issued an assassination order against Prince Liang, who had supposedly been solely responsible for exposing the matter.
On top of that, the Empress had personally endorsed the story. This strange “divine decree” was unprecedented, making Xianluo Mountain’s current situation all the more suspicious.
Xianluo Mountain had operated for so many years by relying on so-called faith to place itself above the secular world. Pei Liang naturally didn’t believe it.
Although she had already made her move, there were bound to be plenty of unexpected developments along the way.
Moreover, she had only a general idea of Xianluo Mountain’s true nature and still needed more evidence to support her suspicions. That meant she had to arrange a great many follow-up tasks in advance.
Once they had finished discussing everything, the Crown Princess suddenly found herself with a great deal more work to do. She had originally wanted to keep her imperial elder sister for a meal, but now she barely had time to eat herself.
Pei Liang stuffed two pieces of candy into her hand as a reward, then left the Eastern Palace to return to her residence.
She had barely stepped outside when Consort Yan intercepted her.
His face bore an urgency unlike anything she had ever seen before. It was entirely different from the extreme beauty he had displayed earlier, a beauty that always seemed on the verge of withering, accompanied by an air of indifference.
At this moment, Consort Yan seemed to possess several more traces of vitality.
The instant he saw Pei Liang, the anger on his face twisted into something almost ferocious. He seized her by the arm. “You’re going to deal with Xianluo Mountain—”
Before he could finish, a commotion arose among the attendants Consort Yan had hurriedly brought with him.
“Your Highness, Prince Liang—”
Pei Liang turned and saw a palace servant who looked vaguely familiar.
After thinking for a moment, she remembered him. “You serve my younger sister’s consort. Why aren’t you attending to your duties in the residence? What are you doing here?”
The man’s face was streaked with tears. He pleaded, “Your Highness, please save our consort! The Second Imperial Daughter is about to beat him to death!”
