As night fell, within a luxurious room adorned with gold and rich brocaded furs, massive candles blazed, illuminating a throne at the center. Before the throne, a table was set with fine wine and delicacies. Seated upon it was a young man dressed in a left-lapel brocade robe.

This was a bedchamber within the palace of the Beidi imperial court. And this man was the newly ascended emperor of the Di kingdom, the former Prince Nan Chi Shu.

For decades, as their territory continuously invaded southward, the lifestyle of the Central Plains had deeply attracted the nobles and high officials among the Di people. The royal court, originally located in the far north, had gradually moved south. Over ten years ago, it finally established its capital here, renamed Daxing.

This place looked south toward Youyan, possessing inexhaustible water sources, superior terrain, fertile grasslands, and vast farmland suitable for cultivation. After establishing the capital, palaces and magnificent buildings imitating those of the Central Plains dynasties rose from the ground. Di nobles and officials gathered to live here, with hundreds of thousands of Di people following the southern migration. Additionally, the city contained large numbers of Han people forcibly relocated here. They were mostly farmers and various craftsmen who labored constantly, supplying the imperial family and nobles with their luxurious daily enjoyments.

This was a capital city that claimed to be an eternal royal court.

Though not long ago, a palace coup had occurred within this city’s imperial palace, with over three thousand people killed in a single day, blood flowing like rivers inside and outside the palace gates, such power struggles and killings meant nothing to the Di upper classes. Eliminating opponents and thoroughly purging their forces was merely standard practice. As the victor of this palace coup, Chi Shu should have been full of pride and high spirits. Yet at this moment, his face showed no trace of satisfaction.

He took a sip of wine and felt the wound on his chest where an arrow had pierced through begin to throb with dull pain again. Remembering yesterday’s Han physician’s advice, his lingering resentment was truly hard to dispel. His five fingers gripping the cup suddenly exerted force, instantly crushing the golden cup flat, then hurling it violently away. The wine pot was knocked over in the process, spilling wine onto an exquisite carpet spread before the table. Several beautiful serving girls nearby panicked, thinking he was dissatisfied with their service. Trembling with fear, they knelt and crawled forward to hastily clean up the mess on the floor.

Chi Shu acted as if he hadn’t seen them. He leaned back against his seat, his two gloomy gazes falling again upon his left arm.

At the end of his left arm, there was now a pitch-black iron hand. This was a special weapon crafted by artisans to his measurements after his narrow escape from death. Connected to his upper arm with iron hoops, it was fitted with five claw blades at the end, razor-sharp. When needed, he could extend it from his long sleeves to slit throats as easily as reaching into a bag.

The first throat he had cut with this weapon belonged to his brother. On the day he secretly planned the palace coup, he had rushed back to Daxing from Yan Prefecture. During their meeting, catching the other off guard, he suddenly extended his iron claws and slit his throat with one stroke. At the time, everyone around was stunned. By the time they reacted, the person he wanted to kill had already bled to death on the ground.

Having lost an arm and replaced it with this killing weapon, it was quite handy to use.

However, no matter how good the weapon, how could it compare to his original flesh and blood arm that he had been forced to sever?

The image of that Great Wei female general appeared before his eyes once again, his gaze growing even more sinister.

He only regretted underestimating his enemy, having looked down on her initially and nearly losing his life. Moreover, after he escaped back, with the emperor gravely ill and facing increasingly fierce competition for the throne, he had endured his wounds and immediately launched a campaign against the Eight Tribes to gain merit.

His original plan had been sound with excellent chances of victory. He never expected to be thwarted by that woman again, with her light cavalry to break through their heartland. The result was not only complete failure, but when news reached the imperial court, it brought him countless doubts. Calling it a catastrophic disaster would not be an exaggeration. He had completely lost his qualification to inherit the throne. In desperation, he had no choice but to take risks, secretly plotting a palace coup with his uncle, the Prince of Zuochang Muda. Finally, he had gambled correctly and successfully ascended the throne.

Conquering Yanmen, seizing Chang’an, and all the Central Plains territories had always been his ambition.

Now there was one more goal: to capture that Great Wei female general and thoroughly humiliate her. He wanted to pull out all her sharp claws and fangs, make her kneel before him in complete submission. If he were in a good mood, then he might even take her into his harem.

Chi Shu’s mind conjured the scene from that day at the hunting grounds outside Chang’an, when he had followed and spied on her hunting alone.

After all, such women were rare in this world.

After making her his own, he would grant her a consort title for the Wei people to see, and for that Regent Prince who was her husband to see.

What tremendous humiliation that would be, far greater than simply killing her with one stroke.

Chi Shu’s eyes gleamed brilliantly. He touched the wound on his chest where the arrow had pierced through that day. The anger brought by the pain finally eased somewhat due to this thought.

However, he naturally understood that the time to launch a full southern offensive had not yet arrived.

Unlike the aggressive tactics he had habitually employed to gain military merit before, circumstances had changed. He had just seized the throne and needed time to consolidate his position. If he launched large-scale warfare against Great Wei now, what would happen in his rear was obvious. Once battlefield progress stalled, his fate would be no better than those brothers who had died by his hand.

The pace of warfare had to slow down. But this didn’t mean he would do nothing now. On the contrary, there was much he could accomplish.

Though that infiltration mission to Chang’an had nearly cost him his life, he hadn’t gained anything from it.

To the north lay Xiao Pass, to the west Hangu Pass – Chang’an could be called an impregnable fortress against external assault. But within Chang’an city itself, things seemed different. Compared to that majestic palace that looked down upon the world, this Daxing palace where he now sat was hardly worth mentioning. Yet the master of that palace was merely a youth, just a puppet manipulated by Great Wei’s Regent Prince. Chi Shu believed there would be people in Chang’an who wanted to replace him.

Strong fortresses are breached from within.

Having read Han books, he naturally understood this principle.

He had already dispatched envoys to secretly contact people he had identified. If successful, nothing could be better. If unsuccessful, he would suffer no loss.

At this moment, a serving girl entered. Not daring to look ahead, she bowed deeply and reported that the two Han ministers he wanted to see had arrived and were waiting outside.

These two men were named Lu Kang and Li Renyu. When Great Wei had conquered Jin, Crown Prince Huang Fuxiong had fled north to the Di kingdom with a group of loyalists, and these two were among them – outstanding figures among those former Jin officials. After the Di court adopted Han customs, Lu Kang was enfeoffed as Academician of Imperial Edicts for his vast learning, while Li Renyu held the position of Grand Master of Worthy Deliberation.

Lu Kang and Li Renyu naturally knew of Chi Shu’s fierce reputation for killing. As rootless men who had surrendered, they had always been cautious and dependent on others’ favor. Moreover, with the recent palace coup in the Di court, they feared being caught in the crossfire and had stayed behind closed doors. Unexpectedly summoned by Chi Shu tonight, they couldn’t help but feel deep fear. After paying their respects, they held their breath and waited.

Chi Shu coldly glanced at these former Jin officials who were kept like dogs.

Just today, someone had informed him that these people were still searching for Jin royal descendants, intending to find an opportunity to support them and restore their kingdom.

He couldn’t understand these Han people’s loyalty to their former masters. In his view, such loyalty was simply incomprehensible. He also didn’t believe these people could stir up any real trouble. But such behavior could not be tolerated. He had originally planned to kill them as a warning to other duplicitous Han officials. But then he changed his mind.

The Han people of Youyan still refused to completely submit. Not long ago, there had even been an incident where a group of Han refugees killed a Di noble. These two men had a considerable reputation locally and were dogs the imperial court kept to win hearts. After conquering the Central Plains in the future, such Han officials would be even more indispensable. Better to use this opportunity to display magnanimity.

“I hear you’ve been searching for a little prince of the Jin royal family all these years. Have you found him?” he asked directly.

The two men exchanged glances, their faces turning pale with shock.

After this group had followed Crown Prince Huang Fuxiong in fleeing north to the Di kingdom, they had originally hoped to restore their kingdom someday. Who knew the crown prince would die of illness without leaving even a single heir? Initially, the orphaned ministers and old retainers were all unwilling to give up. After the storm of Great Wei’s campaign to eliminate remaining forces passed, they slowly made secret contact with some old associates and began searching again for the little prince Huang Furong, who very likely had escaped with the imperial seal. Later, as time passed, the others gradually gave up hope over the years, content to peacefully serve as Di officials until death.

But Lu Kang and Li Renyu were different. Lu Kang was Huang Furong’s maternal uncle, while Li Renyu had received great kindness from the Jin royal house. Both remained obsessed, hoping that someday the Di kingdom and Great Wei would fight each other to mutual destruction, when perhaps the Jin royal house could rise again. Thus, over these years, they had used all their resources and never stopped their search efforts.

They never expected Chi Shu to know about this. Seeing his wolf-like eyes, somewhat intoxicated, staring at them, they immediately broke into cold sweats, collapsed to the ground, and begged for mercy repeatedly.

To their surprise, Chi Shu didn’t appear angry at all. His expression became gentler as he told them to rise.

“Don’t be afraid. If the little prince can return, I will certainly treat him as an honored guest, enfeoff him with a princely title. Even allowing him to govern territory and people would not be impossible.”

Chi Shu looked at the two men with a smile as he spoke these words.