"You still dare to come?" After the cult leader was stripped of his martial arts, his mind cleared up. The rebels did not torture him, and the conditions in the prison were not too bad. At least it was well-ventilated and clean, and the food was fine.

Seeing him like this, Chen Xuanling felt a little relieved, realizing that she hadn't made a mistake with her sword strike.

However, for a figure like a cult leader, being a prisoner is bad enough, and it's no easier than physical torture.

“I just don’t want to see more people suffer. Uncle Master, you killed my father back then, didn’t you?” Chen Xuanling’s tone was certain. Although there was no evidence, she knew she couldn’t be wrong.

"So what if it is? If your father hadn't been so stubborn back then, would we have had to wait so many years? Chen Xuanling, do you think you can erase the Holy Sect's nurturing of you just like that? My love and care for you all these years is real, can you live with yourself?"

Chen Xuanling's face paled slightly. How could she not feel the sincerity of her uncle, the sect leader, for her? It was precisely because of this that she had never doubted him before.

"Enough, Uncle Master. I just don't want to see more innocent people suffer. What we did was wrong to begin with. I came to see you today just to get a result."

After saying that, she turned and left. The cult leader sneered, "Do you think they will accept you just because you've joined them? Don't even think about it. You're the cult's saintess in their eyes. In their eyes, you're just a wicked witch. No matter how much merit you make, it won't help."

“I know,” Chen Xuanling said softly. “I never thought that after the Holy Church was destroyed, I would still be able to live the life of being waited on by others.”

“Xuanling…” Ouyang Feng looked at her worriedly, wanting to say that he would take care of everything, but judging from Xuanling’s expression, she didn’t seem to want it very much.

“Uncle Master, if you pass away someday, I will ask Valley Master Song to give me the chance to collect your body. At that time, I will take you back to the border.”

The cult leader paused for a moment, then sat down against the wall with a dejected expression, saying nothing more.

After leaving the prison, Ouyang Feng asked Chen Xuanling, "Are you leaving?"

"Well, I'm already very grateful that you didn't hold me accountable. I can't live a carefree life over the corpses of my fellow disciples."

"So where are you planning to go?"

"Return to the border."

Ouyang Feng called out to her, "Xuanling, if I have nowhere to go in the future, can I come to you?"

Chen Xuanling was taken aback: "You're not staying in the capital?"

Ouyang Feng smiled brightly: "I am just a martial artist, I can't be an official. After my master's wife has pacified the world, I will ask her for permission to resign and travel the world."

Chen Xuanling mounted her horse and tossed him something: "When you come to the border, find a Tianxiang Inn and give this to the landlady there. That'll help you find me."

Ouyang Feng said firmly, "I will definitely go."

Finally, Chen Xuanling smiled, as if she had some hope for the future.

Chen Xuanling's departure went unnoticed, though some voices felt that Song Xia was too merciful, but these were ultimately suppressed forcefully.

With the cult completely eradicated, the rebel army's last remaining opponent was the foreign army. They drove out the imperial army and completely occupied the capital. However, this move also angered the imperial soldiers who had previously guarded the border. As a result, the generals led their troops to surrender to the Song-Xia regime, forming a pincer movement with the rebel army.

The victory was a foregone conclusion. The remaining foreign troops were driven into the desolate and bitterly cold north, which was also the direction in which the young emperor and his treacherous ministers fled.

Don't pursue a desperate enemy. Once they're inside, survival will be a problem. There's no need for the rebels to expend a great deal of effort to wipe them out right now. It's better to stabilize the regime first and deal with things slowly later.

March 15th of the first year of the new calendar was an auspicious day calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. With the support of the people, Song Xia ascended the throne as emperor, bestowing the name of the country as Zhong and taking the character Zhongyong (meaning moderation), which means that in the future, the policies of the court and the appointment of people should be impartial and unbiased, and should not go to extremes, and everything should be done in moderation.

After ascending the throne, Song Xia issued her decrees one by one. In fact, when the rebel army was formed, the people below were already used to her way of doing things. However, now that the government was newly established, it was necessary to write them into the law.

The most important of these was that women, like men, could hold official positions. There was no point in arguing about this, since she was already the empress, and many women had contributed to the establishment of the new policies. Even if some people objected, it was to no avail.

Secondly, there is the promotion of new agricultural species. In recent years, thanks to the efforts of Shangguan Jin's Wuhua Tower and several major families, significant results have been achieved. However, this is not enough. To ensure that all the people in the world have enough to eat, we need to develop more productive species. Therefore, Song Xia specially established the Department of Agriculture and invited scholars from all over the world to participate.

Then there's the matter of bestowing titles and rewards upon Shangguan Jin, members of aristocratic families, and martial arts masters.

There's not much to say about Shangguan Jin. Song Xia had already made a promise to him. Now that Wuhua Tower has basically become the national treasury, she granted Shangguan Jin the title of Prince, which can only be lowered after three generations. After all, Shangguan Jin has unconditionally trusted her from the beginning and initially gave her the greatest support.

Aside from the title of Prince, Song Xia couldn't offer anything else, since the Central Plains was in dire need of rebuilding and there were many places where money was needed.

But Shangguan Jin didn't feel wronged at all. What did money matter? The Shangguan family was the best at making money. The title of prince was rare. He was the only one in the dynasty. As long as his descendants didn't rebel, the Shangguan family would definitely be a noble family, continuing for generations, and they would even have the protection of the imperial power.

Under Shangguan Jin, the Chen and Wei clans made the most contributions, and Song Xia also gave them official positions without hesitation. Although the clans were growing larger and could easily shake the government, it was not a problem at present. Moreover, if those who made contributions were not rewarded, but instead were feared, who in the world would be willing to work for you in the future?

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