Now, the soldiers besieging the capital were all stunned. In addition, those people did not want to rebel in the first place. Now that Jiang Wenzhen and Jiang Wenhao were dead, who would still hold on? Without a leader, many soldiers raised white flags, and many others knelt outside the city walls to indicate that they would no longer rebel.
Upon receiving the report, Feng Zixiao immediately ordered his younger brother, the Seventh Prince Jing, to go outside the city to offer amnesty.
Apart from a portion of Jiang's close associates who escaped during the chaos, everyone else voluntarily accepted the offer of amnesty.
With the siege lifted, the Jiang family was utterly ruined, and imperial edicts were issued everywhere, bringing jubilation throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty.
The capital was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, as joyous as the New Year. Everyone spread the news and was very happy about the new emperor's series of actions.
Feng Zixiao then vigorously reorganized the personnel in the court. When he entered the city earlier, he had already investigated the court thoroughly, so he knew who in the court was useful and who was not. He released those who could be released and eliminated those who could be eliminated. With a series of swift and decisive measures, the entire Great Zhou Dynasty dared not underestimate the new emperor in the slightest. Instead, they were filled with fear and dared not be careless.
Feng Zixiao ordered his men to bring his mother back from the nunnery to the palace.
As for the Fifth Prince, Prince Shou, requesting to enter a temple to practice Buddhism while keeping his hair intact, praying for the well-being of the nation, Feng Zixiao originally couldn't think of any way to deal with the emperor. Now that he had made this request, it suited his purposes perfectly. He didn't punish the Prince Shou's family, but simply sent Prince Shou to a royal temple to practice Buddhism while keeping his hair intact.
In fact, Prince Shou was quite shrewd. His actions saved his entire family. Otherwise, given what he had done today, even if he had escaped today, the Emperor would have kept a close eye on him in the future. If he made even the slightest mistake, none of the people in Prince Shou's household would have been able to escape punishment.
The Seventh Prince, Prince Jing, had rendered meritorious service in protecting the Emperor. Therefore, the Emperor bestowed many rewards upon him, regarded him as a confidant, and placed him in a very important position, acting as the head of the Ministry of War.
After a series of changes, the Great Zhou Dynasty gradually got back on track, and Feng Zixiao's imperial career was restarted.
Seeing that everything was settled, Ye Lingfeng and Hai Ling decided to return to Bei Lu. Before leaving, they remembered that they wanted to say goodbye to Feng Qian, so Ye Lingfeng and Hai Ling took a few of their subordinates into the palace to bid farewell to the emperor and Feng Qian.
The carriage entered the palace smoothly.
Hearing that Princess Feng Qian was staying in the Yuehe Palace, Ye Lingfeng sent Hai Ling to the Yuehe Palace. He then instructed his two maids, Shi Mei and Shi Lan, to take good care of Hai Ling. He then led his subordinates, including Shi Zhu, to the Imperial Study to bid farewell to Feng Zixiao.
At the palace gate, eunuchs and maids bowed respectfully. Upon hearing that Hailing wanted to see the princess, someone immediately went in to report. Soon, a young maid rushed out, smiling as she spoke.
"The princess requests your presence."
The two maids, Shi Mei and Shi Lan, followed Hai Ling inside, but were stopped by a young palace maid at the door. The young palace maid spoke respectfully.
"The princess said she wants to speak with the Empress of Beilu alone."
After the maid finished speaking, Shi Mei and Shi Lan were somewhat surprised. In the past, the princess had never avoided talking to them. However, Hai Ling did not care. This was Yuehe Palace. The princess had let her go in alone, which must be because she wanted to talk to her about Helian Qianxun. So it was not good for outsiders to hear such things. She nodded to Shi Mei and Shi Lan.
"You can wait here."
Shi Mei and Shi Lan obeyed the order, and Hai Ling followed the little palace maid who had spoken into the room, heading towards the main hall of Yuehe Palace.
The Moon Palace was quiet, without a single person in sight. Hai Ling initially didn't think much of it, but after crossing the main hall and walking a long way without seeing anyone, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. However, thinking about what Feng Qian might be doing here, she relaxed a bit. She walked along the corridor for a while and finally arrived at a bedroom. Eunuchs and maids were guarding the door, and they bowed respectfully when they saw her coming.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress."
Hai Ling raised an eyebrow, sensing something was off, then nodded and asked, "Is the princess inside?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Hai Ling went inside, but the palace maids and eunuchs guarded the door and did not come in.
Inside the bedchamber, purple gauze curtains hung down, making the room somewhat dim. Hailing felt a little uncomfortable and couldn't help but ask, "Qian'er, why didn't you draw the curtains?"
There was no reply from the room. Hai Ling's heart sank. She looked at the large bed, but it was empty. There was no sign of Feng Qian. However, she sensed that she wasn't alone in the room. There was another person breathing inside. This person's aura was heavy and definitely not Feng Qian. It was a man.
"who?"
Hai Ling retreated quickly, then her pupils suddenly darkened, for she saw a person emerge from behind the screen—it was none other than Emperor Feng Zixiao of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Feng Zixiao's dark, unfathomable eyes stared at her as he slowly walked over. Hai Ling hadn't expected that she had only come to the palace to bid farewell to Feng Qian, but now she was in this situation. A sense of foreboding washed over her, so she immediately silently recited the spells for the Wind and Thunder Gloves and the Fire Cloud Boots.
As soon as she spoke, Feng Zixiao became alert. He had been with her closely recently, observing her secretly many times, and knew her abilities were related to the bracelet. So, as soon as Hai Ling's lips moved, Feng Zixiao moved, striking Hai Ling's pressure points and immobilizing her.
Hailin's face darkened instantly, and she flew into a rage.
"Feng Zixiao, what do you want to do?"
Unfortunately, she couldn't move. All she could see was a burning light flashing across Feng Zixiao's handsome face, his dark eyes filled with infatuation. Although he had been busy eliminating Jiang Batian these past few days, a part of his heart had been drawn to her. Coupled with his resentment, she should have been his empress. He had only banished her from the palace, not deposed her. Now she had become Ye Lingfeng's empress. No, he was unwilling to give up like this. Now, if he were to find another woman to enter the palace, he felt that no one could enter the harem.
"Hailing, don't forget, you are my Empress. I did not issue an edict to depose you back then. There are historical records to prove this. If you drive the Empress out, you can bring her back into the palace. Only if you depose the Empress and then drive her out of the palace can it be considered a true divorce. So you are still the Empress of my Great Zhou Dynasty."
After Feng Zixiao finished speaking, Hai Ling almost slapped herself. Feng Zixiao was too shameless, and Ye Lingfeng had been helping him wholeheartedly all along.
Although he was helping himself, not Ye Lingfeng, it was an undeniable fact that Ye Lingfeng had helped him. Now that he had successfully ascended the throne, he was actually trying to undermine Ye Lingfeng. It was something that probably no one but him could do.
Hai Ling's beautiful face was incredibly ugly, her eyes practically spitting fire. If she weren't immobilized, she would have loved to use the Wind and Thunder Gloves to punch him so hard he could spout nonsense in broad daylight.
“Feng Zixiao, you are shameless! Release my pressure points immediately. If Ye finds out I’m missing, he will surely turn the palace upside down.”
"Turn it over?"
Feng Zixiao laughed, no longer staring at Hai Ling, and paced around the palace: "This is the imperial palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty. What right does an emperor from Bei Lu have to rummage through the imperial palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty? Isn't he afraid of attracting criticism? Besides, who can be sure that you are in my Bei Lu imperial palace?"
"you?"
Hai Ling was so angry she couldn't speak. She had no internal energy, so she couldn't break through the acupoints Feng Zixiao had sealed. Could this man really have locked her up?
"Feng Zixiao, if you have any conscience, let me go. Besides, can't you see I'm pregnant? This is Ye Lingfeng's child. How can you keep me locked up like this? There are plenty of women in the world. You, an emperor, can't have any woman you want. Why make things difficult for a pregnant woman like me?"
Hai Ling felt a little panicked and couldn't help but shout in her heart, "Night, where are you? I'm being harassed by this shameless perverted man, please come and save me!"
However, she tilted her head back, refusing to show weakness to Feng Zixiao, and glared at him coldly.
When Feng Zixiao heard her mention the child in her belly, a smile appeared on his lips. He was in the wrong first, so he wouldn't be angry or make things difficult for the child. He would treat the child well.
"As long as it is a child you give birth to, I guarantee that I will treat it as my own."
"Pooh."
Hai Ling spat forcefully, then closed her eyes, not wanting to speak anymore. Now she could only hope that someone would notice she was missing and come looking for her. She didn't want to say another word to this man.