Shang Shaoyan looked at Xie Huayin, his eyes showing no reluctance, and smiled faintly: "Teacher Xie, actually there's one last piece of good news..."
She paused, then raised an eyebrow at Xie Huayin's resentful gaze and said, "It's time for you to get going."
A wave of immense fear gripped Xie Huayin. She watched in horror as Shang Shaoyan wiped the large knife, wanting to run away, but her inherent pride forcefully suppressed the impulse.
Shang Shaoyan was not surprised that Xie Huayin would wait to die on the spot—she knew her teacher well; Xie Huayin was a proud person and would never run away.
Just like Xiang Yu, who once committed suicide by the Wujiang River.
However, it was precisely this ridiculous so-called "arrogance" that made Xiang Yu only the Hegemon-King of Western Chu until his death, and Xie Huayin only the Palace Mistress of Xuehua Palace until her death.
Xie Huayin suddenly laughed and clapped her hands, saying, "One should be a hero in life and a ghost among heroes in death!"
Shang Shaoyan showed no pity whatsoever, and gently raised his knife to slash Xie Huayin's neck.
"Even now, I think of Xiang Yu, who refused to... cross the Yangtze River to the east..."
Without Shang Shaoyan's instructions, the attendants outside the door dared not look inside. They could only vaguely hear the Palace Master of the Blood Flower Palace laugh three times, and then there was no further movement.
...
Shang Shaoyan returned to the military camp, lowering his eyes to wipe the blood off his knife.
Seeing that she was in a bad mood, Mo Xing tried to make her laugh: "Your Majesty, do you know what has happened in Northern Zhou recently?"
Shang Shaoyan slightly raised his eyes, raising an eyebrow as he asked, "What?"
Mo Xing laughed heartily and said, "Qiao Yu has passed away, and his younger brother has ascended the throne—the one who once came to our Southern Chen as a hostage, and I heard he's incredibly stupid! Hahahahahahaha!"
Shang Shaoyan: "..."
She glanced at Mo Xing speechlessly, thought for a moment, and asked, "Of course I know about this... From what you're saying, you've met him?"
Mo Xing scratched his head: "No, I just heard that he's not as smart as Qiao Yu..."
Shang Shaoyan nodded, not intending to tell Mo Xing that the new emperor of Northern Zhou was Qiao Xiuyu, the Seventh Prince, who was his lover. He put down the large knife that he had wiped as clean as it could be and silently looked at the map.
After a long pause, Shang Shaoyan finally said, "Let's set off."
Shang Shaoyan mustered 100,000 troops and divided them into two groups. One group, led by Mo Xing, would detour through the northwest and Mongolia to attack from the west of Northern Zhou. The other group, led by her, would attack from the border between Northern Zhou and Southern Chen.
No one in Northern Zhou expected Shang Shaoyan to act so quickly—after all, in their minds, Southern Chen had just changed course, and the former Princess of Heyang, now the Empress of Southern Chen, would definitely stay in Southern Chen to clean up the internal affairs and secure her position. It was impossible for her to leave Southern Chen and attack Northern Zhou at this time.
Thus, they were caught off guard, and three cities in the south of Northern Zhou were quickly captured by Shang Shaoyan.
The common people were naturally terrified, and the powerful and wealthy living in these cities were also filled with anxiety.
However, Shang Shaoyan ordered that the city should not be massacred and that burning, killing and looting should be prohibited. The people quickly calmed down. After all, in their eyes, it didn't matter who was the emperor. As long as they were alive and their land was still there, everything would be fine.
When the powerful and wealthy learned that the one leading the army was none other than the Empress Dowager of Southern Chen herself, they began to plot against her.
She was, after all, a young woman. No matter how much Ren Nanchen raved about her, she was still a delicate young woman!
If they could capture the Empress alive, wouldn't wealth and power be within their grasp?
While sending messages to Luoyang, they also dispatched assassins to kill Shang Shaoyan.
Then, the assassins they sent out were beheaded by Shang Shaoyan the next day and their heads were hung on the city wall.
After that, Shang Shaoyan often trained his troops in these cities. The powerful and nobles sent many spies there, and thus learned that the Southern Chen Empress was indeed a woman of extraordinary strength, capable of lifting a tripod and possessing superhuman power.
Oh, and several spies were so impressed by the Southern Chen Empress's heroic bearing and heard that the Southern Chen army could eat meat every day and had generous pay that they quickly joined the Southern Chen army.
The message even came back—she had given far too much.
The powerful and wealthy: "..."
While these powerful figures were sending messages to Luoyang non-stop, they were also racking their brains trying to figure out how to temporarily calm Shang Shaoyan down, or at least stop her from continuing her northward journey.
Soon, someone came up with a brilliant idea.
That's the Empress! Why not send her some handsome young men?
The Empress is human too. I heard that she used to keep many male concubines in the Southern Chen Dynasty. Her favorite was a musician. I suppose the Empress prefers a refined and elegant gentleman.
Wow, that's a great idea!
So, the nobles of these three cities carefully selected nine talented and handsome young men and sent them to the residence where Shang Shaoyan was temporarily staying.
...
Meanwhile, in Luoyang, during the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
Qiao Xiuyu sat on the dragon throne, looking at the noisy civil and military officials below, and rubbed his temples with a headache: "Silence!"
The civil and military officials paused for a moment, then argued even more fiercely.
Qiao Xiuyu: "..."
He was completely overwhelmed, so he pretended to listen to them while actually spacing out.
I wonder what Mother is doing right now, whether my brother has arrived in Jiangnan, and whether An'an has eaten properly... Sigh, speaking of food, what should we have for lunch today?
He was thinking of drinking the Jade Pearl White Jade Soup.
Hmm, another bowl of cherry yogurt, please...
At this moment, the Grand Tutor, who was standing below, suddenly spoke up and asked, "...Your Majesty, what do you think?"
Qiao Xiuyu, who was suddenly called upon, was speechless: "...?"
He paused for a moment, then pursed his lips and said, "I see you've all discussed it quite thoroughly, do you still need to ask for my opinion?"
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