"Even a defeated general who dies in battle has not lived in vain, yet you show no remorse, only thinking of clinging to life and shamelessly begging for mercy from me. This only makes you look inferior!"
Not only is he brainless, but he also lacks dignity. This man commanded an army of 150,000 during the most divided period of the Nine Jin states. The fall of Tianjing was also partly due to the deliberate refusal of the various Jin states to come to its aid. The internal and external troubles in Tianjing were like a straw that broke the camel's back. Huang Mang, being both incompetent and immoral, lived a carefree life in Tianjing for a year because of this. It was truly a case of good fortune coming his way.
Xie Guang chimed in, "That's hilarious!"
"Shameless scoundrel, how could you possibly know how to write the word 'shame'!"
Si Xitong remained silent throughout.
But the way she looked at the dead man pierced Huang Mang's heart. He was defeated by the woman and humiliated by her even in death.
Xie Guang's disdainful gaze.
Even ants that could be crushed at will in the past are now looked at like dogs by the officials of the Censorate.
Finally, his last shred of pride overcame his will to survive. He struggled to straighten his back and glared at her with hatred: "It was you! You clearly used a treacherous scheme, otherwise I wouldn't have been defeated so quickly."
He even dared to look at Si Xitong: "And you, a princess of the throne, you fawn over a woman, don't you feel ashamed!" Huang Mang stared intently at Si Xitong. He had just braced himself on his right knee to stand up, wanting to bite the mad dog, but the official simply pulled off the chain, and he immediately fell backward to the ground.
Xie Guang was so disgusted by his remarks that he almost vomited. The most shameless person is the one who has no self-awareness.
Huang Mang shouted with all his might, "Beauties are a source of trouble! In the future, when you rule the world, there will be no peace. It's a pity that I, Huang Mang, have not been able to complete my great cause and act on behalf of Heaven... I will kill you two vixens!"
He's about to die, yet he puts on the face of a righteous person; in reality, he's a greedy and despicable man.
Even in death, a defeated general has no dignity. Even though Huang Mang once held a high position, he could not hide his short-sightedness as a commoner.
"The world? You dare to discuss the world with me, the commander!" Xie Lanzhi was disgusted. She stood up and kicked Huang Mang in the chest. Huang Mang slammed his face into the ground and was dizzy.
Xie Lanzhi lost her patience and ordered, "Execute him."
Upon hearing this, Huang Mang felt a chill run down his spine. His expression instantly changed, his previous toughness vanished, and he pleaded with Xie Lanzhi, "I still have a bargaining chip to exchange for my life. You can't kill me!"
Xie Lanzhi turned her back and ignored her.
Huang Mang offered what he thought was a life-saving bargaining chip: "It's enough to save me, Marshal Xie, you'll definitely be interested."
Huang Mang was afraid he wouldn't have a chance to say, "The Great Jin's national treasure, last year I searched the entire palace and found the national treasury's gold, only to later learn that the emperor had transported the gold out."
"I've been searching for a long time, and now I know where the treasure is. If you let me go, I'll tell you..."
Xie Lanzhi sheathed her sword.
Seeing that she didn't believe him, Huang Mang immediately swore loudly, "If I'm lying, may I go to the eighteenth level of hell, and the national treasury has a full one hundred million taels of silver!!"
Upon hearing this, Xie Guang and the clerk pricked up their ears. Was it true? They had long heard that the Emperor of Xicheng was unable to mobilize troops due to a fiscal deficit, which allowed the Yellow Rebels to take advantage of the situation.
Now that it's worth 100 million taels, who will reply?
Xie Lanzhi placed her hand on Si Xitong's shoulder and sensed that she had been suppressing her emotions.
She stopped talking.
However, the next moment, Xie Lanzhi felt her shoulder brush against her hand, and Ebai was lifted up. The familiar scene reappeared. Her resolute posture was as decisive as before, and her sword blade was directly slashed at her father's killer.
This time, he didn't fail. The sword's energy surged towards his neck, the blade's tip thirsted for blood, and the cold light vanished instantly as it swept past his head.
The sudden attack rendered Huang Mang speechless. A chill ran down his spine, and blood gushed out like a fountain, splattering everywhere. The walls, corners, and bases resembled an execution ground where blood was offered to the dead.
Xie Lanzhi took off her outer robe and covered Si Xitong with it. She then stuck the blood-stained Ebai sword into the ground and pulled it into her arms.
Si Xitong buried his head in her arms, and the emotions he had been suppressing were finally released.
Xie Lanzhi knew very well that she didn't want to show her emotions in front of outsiders. She had always hidden them very well, except for herself.
Huang Mang's mouth, nose, and neck were covered in blood. He never imagined he would die at the hands of that caged woman. Before Tianjing fell, he was still being fooled by Si Xinian.
"Ah..." He clutched his neck, unable to stop the bleeding, his body contorted in pain, uttering his final gasp: "Fourth Prince... will be buried with me."
Finally, he died with his head curled up, as if carrying an onion, a symbol of his guilt.
Xie Lanzhi instinctively covered Si Xitong's ears.
At that moment, Si Xitong was not paying attention and did not hear Huang Ze's voice clearly.
Xie Lanzhi then took Si Xitong and left the Shenxing Division directly.
Xie Guang was left with a look of utter shock.
Watching the Grand Marshal and his wife leave, the idea that women shouldn't be involved in bloody scenes was a slap in the face to him.
The next moment, the lady herself killed her enemy without uttering a sound. She was completely calm and showed no emotion whatsoever, let alone fear.
"Well, how can I put it?" Xie Guang suddenly shuddered. "As expected of the Grand Marshal's woman, she is no ordinary weak woman."
"Don't you agree? Just like Mulan!"
The officials of the Censorate were also taken aback and nodded in agreement: "Princess, Your Highness truly possesses the qualities of a heroine."
Lanzhang Palace.
Along the way, after Xie Lanzhi led Si Xitong out of the Shenxing Division, Si Xitong kept her lips pursed and remained silent, but her hands were tightly holding hers. After entering the palace, the two dismissed the palace servants and closed the door.
Xie Lanzhi poured her a cup of calming tea.
Si Xitong took a sip. She looked up, her expression now one of confirmation: "That one hundred million taels might actually be true."
"My father won't tell me about the savings, but he won't leave it to the enemy for nothing either."
Xie Lanzhi was slightly taken aback: "Since you have 100 million taels, why not invest the money to call for reinforcements?"
In fact, she knew that the plot was beyond her control. Xicheng Emperor should have thought about this, and the fact that he didn't implement it in the end was probably because it was too late.
Si Xitong said, "One hundred million taels of silver cannot change the unfavorable situation of Tianjing being captured. The seeds of disaster were sown as early as when my grandfather was granted the title of Prince. However, if one hundred million taels of silver falls into the hands of others, there may be new turmoil."
"Qi Nian may know about the matter of savings."
The previous emperor of the Jin Dynasty extensively restored the Zhou Dynasty's rites and revived the feudal system, sowing the seeds of a calamity that would be difficult to eradicate.
The world is driven by profit. Especially in chaotic times, if one hundred million taels of silver falls into someone else's hands, who knows what trouble might ensue.
Si Xinian's fate is currently unknown. The fate of this hundred million taels depends on fate.
Xie Lanzhi advised, "In this world, even without a hundred million taels, there will be disputes and unrest."
"Let's not talk about the 100 million taels for now. When your brother... comes back in the future, we'll leave this matter to him to handle."
Si Xitong said, "This is the only way to proceed now."
She clenched her fists.
"Don't worry, what's meant to be yours will come to you." Xie Lanzhi took off her outer robe and threw it on the ground, then quickly called a palace maid to clean up the blood-stained robe.
The palace doors opened. An old woman stood respectfully before them, holding a dark gold robe embroidered with a five-clawed python pattern.
"Marshal, these robes were made overnight."
"It's also a token of the Xie family's goodwill," the old woman emphasized in front of Si Xitong.
Xie Lanzhi glanced at the robe and discerned the meaning of "overstepping her bounds." Before she even became empress, the Xie family dared to embroider a five-clawed python robe on her.
She didn't answer, but instead pondered the pros and cons. In this chaotic world, most powerful people called themselves kings, but there was no emperor.
Only after unifying the nine provinces can one be qualified to claim this title. This was the tacit understanding among the warlords in a chaotic world.
Simply put, whoever declared himself emperor at that time would be tantamount to making an enemy of the entire world.
She wasn't afraid, but there could only be one true emperor. It wasn't impossible for her to become emperor, but she never clung to a single identity or title. The Nine Tripods of the Son of Heaven hadn't even been assembled yet; to declare herself emperor at this time was a joke. Wouldn't that be blatantly telling the world that to claim the throne without ruling the land meant being a traitor, a rebellious minister and a traitor?
Even in chaotic times, legitimacy and conformity to destiny are crucial and indispensable.
The throne belongs to Si Xitong!
The Empress has just returned to Tianjing, and her identity is yet to be established, but some people are already unable to suppress their restless ambitions.
Lacking ability but possessing ambition, he is just like Huang Mang.
For Xie, Si Xitong was her wife; for the officials of Tianjing, she was their eldest princess, and there was no conflict.
This means that the direct descendants of the Tianjing royal family are still alive.
The concubines of the Great Jin Dynasty were still alive and possessed their own territories, but with the unification of the rites and laws, it was inevitable that a new emperor would be chosen.
Xie Lanzhi reached out and took off the python robe, before the old woman could even rejoice.
Xie Lanzhi discarded it like trash, letting the python robe slip through her fingers and fall to the ground, replaced by black armor. Her unruly act was a declaration to everyone that she belonged to the battlefield, where warriors never take off their armor; she could also belong to the court, wearing the embroidered robes of the inner court, but whoever dared to stand up for her would have to risk their life to stand up for her!
The old woman, having received the warning, retreated in fear. It's likely that Xie Shi won't dare to probe Xie Lanzhi's thoughts any further for the time being.
The black and gold python robe on the ground made Si Xitong's gaze complicated: "Why is that?"
Xie Lanzhi said, "Little Phoenix, think about it, did the Xie family not have the ambition to support an emperor in the Southern Region? But why didn't they do it back then?"
"Right now, we've only occupied Tianjing; we haven't swept across the entire land. Rushing to declare ourselves emperor would be utterly disadvantageous in terms of prestige. Even Huang Mang understands this; how could they not?"
Si Xitong paused for a moment, then said, "Lanzhi, they suspect you?"
“They wouldn’t dare,” Xie Lanzhi said. “They were just using you to test my attitude.”
To the Xie family, Xie Lanzhi was an unattainable figure. Although Xie Ying and Lanzhi had different styles of handling affairs, they shared the same attitude towards unquestionable autocracy.
Si Xitong looked at the python robe, which had five claws and was embroidered with gold dragon thread—a garment traditionally reserved for emperors. The fact that Xie had presented her with this robe was a clear indication that she, as a member of the royal family, was not to be overstepped.
Because Xie understood that no one could surpass Xie Lanzhi. Therefore, this was a warning to her.
Si Xitong picked up the python robe and looked at it. Apart from being black, the stitching and embellishments were all of the emperor's standard.
Xie Lanzhi said, "Little Phoenix, it seems they're starting to be wary of you."
"To be so wary of a woman like me so early on, it seems the Xie family isn't entirely reckless. There are still some clever people scheming around." Si Xitong stuffed the python robe into her hands and reminded her, "To be on the safe side, Lanzhi should change how you address her."
Xie Lanzhi didn't take Xie's little tricks seriously, but she could teach him a lesson.
She called her softly, "Fu Feng."
Si Xitong suddenly said, "We should be careful of those who are restless. Punishing them will alert them. Moreover, this matter is not only coveted by the Xie family, but also by the Eight Jin. Becoming a direct descendant and entering the emperor's altar and temple has always been their ambition."
Now they are surrounded by wolf packs that have been raised by eagles.
Only the emperor could ascend the imperial altar, and currently, the only young and promising members of the legitimate family are the Si siblings, Si Xitong and Si Xinian. In this chaotic era where men vied for power, Si Xinian, as a male heir, clearly had a greater advantage. Apart from exceptional women like Xie Ying who defied fate, most women, even if legally married, found it difficult to compete with men for power.
The author may have killed off Si Xinian for this reason.
Si Xitong possessed extraordinary talent and perseverance, which enabled her to pacify the world, gain recognition, and be hailed as Empress.
Si Xinian's fate is currently unknown, and while he is nominally an obstacle, he could also become a valuable asset if he were to become an ally in the future.
Xie Lanzhi also reminded Si Xitong: "And don't be soft-hearted just because he is your brother."