Before the Chancellor of Jinjiao, Bokedoyue, could recover his senses from the torrent of open-handed slaps, a large foot came rushing straight at his face.

In that instant, he probably had no time to register that the shoe sole headed for him was a cloth shoe with dense, neat stitching — not an official’s boot.

The sole was covered in tight rows of thread. Neat work, by all appearances. What was less neat was a smear of what appeared to be chicken droppings — probably because Gui Yuanshu had been running too fast to avoid stepping in it on his way here.

That kick sent Bokedoyue flying backward, face-first, and the whole man soared through the air led entirely by his nose.

And he still had the audacity to ask: “Who are you?”

Gui Yuanshu kept walking toward him, rolling his cuffs as he went, while Bokedoyue scrambled backward across the ground.

Gui Yuanshu said: “I am the Minister of Rites of Da Ning. What — asking my name because you want to remember it and take revenge? In that case let me tell you properly: my name is Gui Yuanshu.”

Bokedoyue was seething.

The character for “Rites” in Da Ning’s Ministry of Rites clearly was not the character meaning *courtesy* — it sounded more like the character for *unreasonable*.

“Assault?!”

Gui Yuanshu continued: “And not just assault — this is assault on an official of the Da Ning court, carried out at the gates of Da Ning’s imperial capital, in the very shadow of the Son of Heaven. You truly have courage.”

Bokedoyue had already lost two teeth, so his speech was a bit slurred, but he still managed to argue his case.

His Central Plains tongue had been picked up during the previous mission to the Chu Kingdom — not perfectly fluent, but enough to make himself understood.

He raised one finger and pointed at Jia Ruan: “How is it *I* who assaulted him? It was clearly *your* official who assaulted an envoy!”

Gui Yuanshu was about to reply when he heard a thunder of hoofbeats at his back. He turned to look — and his own heart gave a start.

Through the city gate, rank upon rank of Black Cavalry had already arrived. Their momentum was overwhelming — as though they meant to trample every last one of the enemy.

If the Black Cavalry actually charged, these Western Regions men would be no more than weeds before a scythe.

When Gui Yuanshu and the others saw that the Empress herself was at the head of the formation, they immediately turned and moved to receive her, everyone dropping into a bow.

“Who threw the punches?”

Gao Xining had not dismounted. She asked the question directly.

Jia Ruan immediately bowed and answered: “Your Majesty, it was this official who failed to restrain himself and struck first.”

Gao Xining looked him over carefully, confirmed he had taken no injuries — then shot him a glare. The glare meant: *you fool, did I ask about you?*

A moment later, Gao Xining’s attention locked onto the Western Regions man covered in blood.

“Who is he?!”

Gao Xining raised her hand and pointed.

Jia Ruan immediately answered: “This individual is Bokedoyue, the Chancellor of the Jinjiao Kingdom — and the leader of the Jinjiao delegation that has come to pay tribute.”

He’d only found out after the beating who exactly it was he’d pummeled into tears.

Gao Xining urged her horse forward and, from horseback, leveled her riding whip at Bokedoyue: “You hit him?”

Bokedoyue knew that the person before him was Da Ning’s Empress. He no longer dared to be outright insolent.

He had had the nerve to insult Jia Ruan — but he did not truly have the gall to speak recklessly to Da Ning’s Empress.

“This foreign subject—”

He had barely started when Gao Xining cut him off.

“You are not a foreign subject of mine. You have no right to call yourself that before me.”

Gao Xining continued: “You had the audacity to come to the gates of Da Ning’s imperial capital — to the very foot of the Son of Heaven — and with your *face*, so savagely, so ferociously, so brazenly beat the fists of my Ministry of Rites official. Such arrogance. I suppose you have come to declare war on Da Ning.”

That sentence left every Western Regions person present utterly baffled.

They had all come as envoys to the Central Plains, so each of them spoke Central Plains tongue to varying degrees — but they had all understood what Gao Xining said.

What on earth did it mean to *with one’s face, savagely beat the fists of an official*? Did Central Plains speech always sound this pleasing?

Gui Yuanshu bowed and reported: “Your Majesty, he did indeed declare war just now — he said he would lead the united armies of the Western Regions to attack the Central Plains.”

Gao Xining’s brow arched.

“The united armies of the Western Regions?”

She swept her gaze over the assembled Westerners. “You mean — everyone here, all of you?”

The moment that question landed, the vast majority of the Western Regions envoys instinctively stepped backward — without a moment’s thought, it was pure reflex.

This wasn’t caused solely by Gao Xining’s arrival with the Black Cavalry at her back.

The main cause was what these two Ministry of Rites officials had just done — direct, swift, and utterly vicious.

And then there was the moment when one of their own had merely drawn a blade — and the Da Ning battle soldiers had closed in from all sides instantly.

They had no doubt whatsoever now: if they made one more impolite move, the Da Ning soldiers would genuinely slaughter every last one of them.

Seeing most of the Western Regions envoys retreat, with only the Jinjiao delegation still standing awkwardly in place, Gao Xining said: “Since it appears the rest of you are not allies of Jinjiao, Da Ning will of course extend proper courtesy as hosts. Please, all of you, proceed into the city.”

Then she turned to Gui Yuanshu: “Expel the Jinjiao delegation from Da Ning. Let them go home and prepare for war.”

Gui Yuanshu bowed: “This official obeys Her Majesty’s order.”

He turned to Bokedoyue: “We will dispatch troops to escort your delegation out of the country. When you return, prepare your united army at once. Your declaration of war just now — every soldier of Da Ning has received it.”

Then, with a wave of his hand: “Expel the Jinjiao delegation!”

At that command, Da Ning soldiers stepped forward.

“*Hooo!*”

With a battle roar, the Jinjiao delegation clearly panicked, all of them falling back.

“Hold on.”

Gao Xining raised her hand and pointed at the Jinjiao people: “Who drew their blades just now?”

Gui Yuanshu immediately answered: “Your Majesty — all of Jinjiao’s guard personnel drew blades.”

Gao Xining nodded and said: “In Da Ning’s territory, foreign soldiers drawing blades — I believe His Majesty previously addressed this. Gui Yuanshu, do you still remember what His Majesty said?”

Gui Yuanshu said: “Foreign persons drawing blades within Da Ning’s territory are to be treated as an act of aggression against Da Ning.”

Gao Xining said: “All those who drew blades — today, out of consideration for the other Western Regions envoys present, we will spare their lives… Sever their hands.”

“*Hooo!*”

The Black Cavalry pushed forward.

Moments later, the cries of anguish that rang out from Da Ning’s imperial city gates were something to behold. The people from Jinjiao — regardless of whether they were civil officials or military men, merchants or soldiers — every single one who had drawn a blade was caught without exception.

Everyone had the hand that had held the blade severed. Blade in the left hand — the left hand removed. Blade in the right hand — the right hand removed.

“One more thing…”

Gao Xining turned to Jia Ruan: “He struck your hand — do you need medical treatment?”

Jia Ruan quickly replied: “Your Majesty, my hand is quite all right.”

Gao Xining nodded. “Then there’s no need for them to pay compensation… But the weapon used to attack a Da Ning official must be confiscated.”

Even Jia Ruan was momentarily confused by this.

It took him a moment to grasp what Her Majesty meant by *the weapon* — and he was slow. The personnel of the Adjudicator’s Office, however, were never slow.

People who had worked under the Grand Adjudicator for so many years knew the Grand Adjudicator’s character better than anyone.

Several Adjudicators stepped forward and seized Bokedoyue, with two pinning his head firmly in place.

A third Adjudicator drew out one of the Adjudicator’s Office’s signature tools: a bamboo rod.

“You held the blade in your hand — the hand is severed. You used your teeth to attack a Da Ning official. The teeth are the weapon.”

With that, the Adjudicator raised his arm and began slapping Bokedoyue full across the face.

Every stroke sent blood spattering.

His entire mouth was stripped of teeth — not one left. The blows left Bokedoyue’s face a mask of blood from end to end.

Wounds like these, if not properly treated, were not necessarily incapable of claiming a life.

Gao Xining, of course, had intended exactly that. *Dying from it would be ideal.*

Ordering him killed outright would look somewhat unpleasant. But handled this way — not dead on the spot, but dead later — that was naturally nothing to do with Da Ning.

No one knew Li Chi better than she did. She understood perfectly well what kind of precedent he wanted to set with the Western Regions people.

The Western Regions peoples were fence-sitters by nature — classic weathervanes. Without a show of sheer dominance to keep them in line, dealing with them was impossible.

Li Chi wanted the Western Regions people to come away with one clear feeling: Da Ning was domineering and unreasonable — even more domineering than the Dark Warriors.

Only then would the Western Regions people genuinely behave themselves for a while. After all, wasn’t it *fear* that made them submit to the Dark Warriors — not any capacity of the Dark Warriors for reason?

The sharp cracks of the bamboo rod finally ceased. Every tooth in Bokedoyue’s mouth had been beaten out. His face no longer resembled anything human.

Gao Xining looked at the assembled Western Regions envoys and smiled gently: “Since none of you are Jinjiao’s allies, Da Ning will of course extend the courtesies of a proper host. Please, everyone — enter the city.”

That smile sent another wave of alarm through the Western Regions delegates.

Gao Xining had no wish to linger. She said what needed saying and wheeled her horse around to leave.

Those Western Regions people stood there, looking at one another.

When the Deputy Minister of Rites had struck out of nowhere, their thought had been: *can it really be this outrageous?*

When the Minister of Rites Gui Yuanshu came flying in with a kick, their thought had been: *so it can apparently be even more outrageous.*

When Da Ning’s Empress arrived, they realized the two outrageous officials before her had been nothing. *The Empress was the mother of all outrage.*

Those who had spent the entire journey boasting about how arrogant they’d been on the last trip — how extravagantly they’d been entertained — not one of them dared open their mouths now.

“One more thing.”

Gao Xining suddenly seemed to recall something and brought her horse to a halt.

She turned back to Gui Yuanshu: “Among the Western Regions envoys here in Chang’an, quite a few were part of the delegation that went to see Yang Jing in Daxing City last time. Is that correct?”

Gui Yuanshu immediately answered: “Yes, quite a number of them made that earlier journey.”

Gao Xining said: “I have heard that during that last visit, some among them violated Central Plains women. During the Chu era, no one held them accountable — because Chu, top to bottom, was a nation without backbone, incapable of protecting its own women, and still had the face to call itself a great nation.”

She swept another glance over the Western Regions people: “Find out. Check whether any of them are in this delegation. If they are, don’t be put off by the trouble — escort them under guard to the place where the crime was committed. If it is a thousand li from Chang’an, travel a thousand li. If it is ten thousand li, travel ten thousand li. Bring them to the scene of the crime and behead them in public — with a dull blade.”

“Yes!”

Gui Yuanshu bowed deeply.

After issuing that order, Gao Xining added: “By rights, those in the inner palace ought not to meddle in affairs of state. So I’ll be going back now. Whatever else needs handling — discuss it with Xu Ji.”

Gui Yuanshu truly could not hold it in — he let out a snort of laughter.

The Empress, though second in this realm only to His Majesty, had said nothing wrong. After all, the inner palace *shouldn’t* interfere in affairs of state.

So their Empress had come out wearing the Grand Adjudicator’s uniform — dealt with the whole business — then suddenly remembered that she was the Empress.

And then solemnly declared: *the inner palace should not meddle in affairs of state. This is wrong of me.*

Back in the inner palace, having changed out of her uniform, Gao Xining was immediately confronted by Xiahou Yuli: “Well? Did it upset you?”

Gao Xining said: “I was upset, yes — though not because those Western Regions people were arrogant. What grates on me is the constraints that come with being Empress…”

She even wore a look of genuine regret as she said: “If I’d had my way, I would have taken all of them straight into the Adjudicator’s Office and gone through them one by one — sorted out whoever needed sorting, killed whoever deserved killing, and dealt with every crime they committed the last time they came to the Central Plains.”

Xiahou Yuli rolled her eyes at her. “Thank heaven you at least remembered you were the Empress…”

Gao Xining said: “Being Empress is no fun. I’ll talk to His Majesty when he’s back — I’ll do it for two years, and then hand it over to you.”

Xiahou Yuli was so startled she clapped her hand over Gao Xining’s mouth at once. “Will you *please* stop talking nonsense?!”

—