Blood-Sucking Empress Ch. 87

Chapter 87: Conferred the Title of Imperial Concubine

Chapter 87: Conferred the Title of Imperial Concubine

Liyou thought about a lot of different things and was overcome with emotion. The cool night breeze soothed her irritated state and she narrowed her eyes slightly. She leaned against the tree trunk, feeling a little drowsy.

Although there were still some lights in the palace in the dark of the night, it was devoid of people. Liyou closed her eyes and broadened the scope of her hearing. She seemed to be able to detect a little snoring, but more of it was the sound of insects chirping and the breeze. In her drowsy state, Liyou thought of what she had said at the banquet. She had told Anhui to treat the palace as a home, but one did not know how many years of loneliness and desolation this vast palace had endured. There was a strong stench of blood here and countless souls wailed in agony. The fights between these human beings were more bloodthirsty and fierce than zombies, and this was all due to the word, “desire”.

This Imperial Palace was not a place to live, nor was it the Empress’ home. It merely represented the ultimate authority of the Imperial court, deciding life and death, the peak of glory and splendor. Just ask around, how many people could see beyond the enticement of power?

Thinking of this, Liyou smiled with her eyes still closed. The smile was calm and casual and in the middle of the night, not only did the smile of this zombie not make people feel uneasy, but rather, it made people feel relaxed and at ease. Was this a small miracle?

But, there was no one to appreciate Liyou’s smile. Moonlight shined down thickly and Liyou stopped her train of thought and fell asleep leaning on the tree trunk, letting the breeze clear away the alcohol. Her body was soothed.

…

Under the country’s anticipation, good news finally came from the front lines. Mu Qingwan personally led 150,000 troops to meet up with Jiang Hanyang’s 100,000 troops. It only took three days to conquer the border of the Sang Empire. Under the two’s leadership,  the 250,000 soldiers were led towards the Sang Empire’s Imperial city. On their journey, they captured three cities in one go and their momentum was unstoppable. Everyone in the Sang Empire was shocked. It was rumored that after the Empress of the Sang Empire heard of this, she was so furious, she killed three officials in one go and threatened that she would take to the field herself to see just how strong the Qianhe army was.

Liyou listened to such good news from the frontier in the the court hall, with a calm expression on her face. It gave people the feeling that everything had gone as expected and made all the ministers present admire her even more. Now, Liyou’s image in the minds of these ministers was worthy of the greatest admiration.

“Your Majesty, our army has already penetrated deep into the Sang Empire, what is Your Majesty’s next plan?” Li Yao, who had always been calm, was a little bit excited this time. Although this war had yet to cease and many things were still uncertain, Li Yao believed that the outcome of this war would not come as a big surprise. But now, she needed to consider how to deal with everything after the war, such as the matter of taking over the territories of the Sang Empire!

“Next plan? Beloved Minister Li still does not understand Zhen’s intentions?” Liyou and Li Yao exchanged glances, their eyes meeting midair, the meaning self-evident.

“This minister understands and obeys. This minister will arrange everything immediately!” The Empress was extremely domineering and what she had said in Imperial court that day had shocked the world. Since the battle had started and such impressive results had already been achieved, there was no way the Empress would compromise. Even just thinking about it, with the Empress’ temper, she would definitely drag this war out to the end if needed. Even if the Sang Empire wanted to discuss  a peace treaties, it was estimated that the aftermath would not be very hopeful, but this so-called pessimism was only for the Sang Empire to feel. After this war, the Qianhe Dynasty would become infamous far and wide and their Empress would become known as a myth and a legend. The Qianhe Empire was the most prestigious country among the five major countries!

“Very good, you just need to remember the arrangements you made. Do not weaken Qianhe’s prestige and reputation.” For the war with the Sang Empire, she would definitely make them pay the price. If she started a war, she would bear the consequences of doing so. She was not someone hungry for war, but since the war had begun, everything after was not up to the Sang Empire to control.

“Yes, this minister understands!” With the Empress’ words, she could now do things freely!

Liyou looked on at Li Yao with satisfaction. Whoever said it was difficult to be the Empress? At least for her, the Empress could do it very easily. She had people help her do big and small things in the court and she only needed to make a decision occasionally. There was naturally someone to carry out their duty well. As for the issue of an official’s authority, she was not afraid. She was happy and relaxed when she could employ people without having to doubt them.

After the Imperial court was dismissed, the matters regarding the Sang Empire were only expressed succinctly in discussions. It was conjectured that if the people in the world learned of this matter, they would either find it funny or surprising.

In addition to war with the Sang Empire, there was another matter brought up in court. That is, Liyou announced that Anhui was to be conferred with the title of Imperial Concubine. Many people did not know who Anhui was and Liyou did not say what identity he had. Because of this, Anhui became the most enigmatic consort in everyone’s mind. The Imperial court and the harem had been closely linked since ancient times. Every addition to the harem represented the rise of another family. This had been the case since ancient times. It was no wonder that the officials was so concerned about the matters of the harem.

But no matter how the officials thought, the matter of Anhui becoming an Imperial Concubine had long been decided. The Ministry of Rites was already working on the conferment and Anhui was dragged away by the attendants to have his new robes tailored and was so busy running around that he did not have the time to see the Empress all day. It was only after dinner that he had some time, so he rushed to see the Empress immediately.

“Anhui, how are the preparations going?” Liyou sensed Anhui approaching and knew that Anhui had been busy with such matters. The Ministry of Rites had also come to ask her a few questions, but she dismissed them by telling them to follow the rules.

“Does the Empress want to hear the truth?” Anhui appeared, standing to the side, a hint of annoyance on his usually expressionless face.

“What, unhappy?” Seeing Anhui’s expression, Liyou was a little amused. There were many rules in the palace, she estimated that Anhui had  been tossed around all day.

“It is not that this subordinate is unhappy, it is just that…”Whatever he said, it would not be good. The busy day he had today made him appreciate when he had missions to do before, but it can’t be said that he was truly unhappy. Instead, he felt that it was sweet. Everytime he did something, he would be one step closer to the Empress.

Thinking of this, the slight annoyance  in Anhui’s heart dissipated and he no longer felt bothered.

“Your majesty, this subordinate has been unable to trail the Empress closely these few days, do you need this subordinate to send someone else over?”

“Send someone over? Anhui, have you forgotten all that I said to you that day? I do not need anyone to protect me at all. Unless it is you, I will not accept any form of protection.”

She did not need anyone’s protection and Anhui should have known this. Why did he bother to ask>

“This subordinate has not forgotten the Empress’ words. But these days, this subordinate may not be able to protect the Empress and due to the war with the Sang Empire, information is needed from the Anbu Black Ops. This subordinate is afraid of delaying important matters.:

“No worries, Zhen believes you.” Liyou calmed Anhui down with a single sentence. That word of trust made Anhui feel so gratified that he was speechless.

“Anhui, come here. This is information collected by the Anbu Black Ops. You must have someone prepare it well. Do not let those from the Sang Empire disturb popular sentiment in the Qianhe country.” The Anbu Black Ops had sent a message saying that many agents had been sent by the Sang Empire to assassinate Qianhe’s court ministers and steal their secrets. Coupled with the spies arranged in Qianhe, the damage that could be inflicted could not be underestimated.

“Yes, this subordinate has already made the necessary preparations. As long as the orders are issues, all spies on record can be arrested. As to those sent by the Sang Empire, hmph, this subordinate will make it impossible to even set foot on the land of the Qianhe Empire!” According to the secret report, that stupid Empress of the Sang Empire had issused a secret order, saying that they would do everything in their power to destroy Qianhe and if there was an opportunity, to kill the Qianhe Empress at all costs! How could Anhui let these people hurt the Empress? He would never forgive these people and they could never even hope to see what Qianhe Liyou looked like!

Anhui was full of a silently murderous aura, which made Liyou feel a little surprised. This kind of Anhui was the man she had first met. He was calm and capable, with a hidden murderous aura, like a dagger waiting to be unsheathed at any time.

“Anhui, with this kind of appearance, you truly seem like a different person. It is truly impressive.”

Anhui was stunned for a moment, and his murderous aura dissipated.  He couldn’t understand what the Empress just said, how was he any different? 

“Don’t you know? That appearance of yours just now was like a fierce and bloodthirsty dagger, waiting for the opportunity to be drawn. Anhui, you are a courageous man, how can it not be impressive?” Traces of him had already been imprinted into her mind. His coldness, his shyness, his insecurities, everything about him, were all in her memory. From now on, this person would be completely hers, because she had chosen him!

Anhui’s face was dark red and he was a little at a loss because of the Empress’ words. He did know what he looked like in the Empress’ heart and was unaware that he had such a high evaluation in the Empress’ heart. He really did not feel that he was good as the Empress said he was.

“Your Majesty, this subordinate is really not that impressive, really not…”

“No, you are. It is only you who is unaware. Anhui, do you not trust Zhen’s words?” Liyou put on a grave face, deliberately pretending to be very serious. Because, if she was not like this, Anhui would definitely not believe her.

“Of course not. It is not that this subordinate does not believe in the Empress, but this has nothing to do with believing.” Anhui also had his own stubbornness and he believed that he was really not as good as the Empress had said. How could he be? He was merely an orphan that no one had wanted. If the Empress hadn’t given him such a chance, he would not have anything that he had now. Everything he had, had been given by the Empress.

“No, naturally it is related. If you do not believe in zhen, then you do not believe zhen’s vision and you cannot believe in yourself. In fact, you are truly amazing and you should believe in yourself. Anhui, you are truly amazing.” Liyou’s last words were like a hypnotic chant and her deep voice penetrated Anhui’s heart and entered the depths of his soul.

You’re really nice…..was he truly so good? Anhui did not know. He truly did not know. Perhaps this was enough. After all, he never expected the approval of others and now the person who approved of him was the person he cared about the most. What else did he have to believe? The Empress was not a person who lied to comfort others. Then, he would choose to believe the Empress.

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TN: New chapter! Stay safe and happy everyone! ❤

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