The Xiliang Empress, wearing a jade crown, sat within the Empress Dowager’s bedchamber, watching as Xiliang elite soldiers slaughtered the leaders of the eight great families to the last man. The Empress Dowager’s palace was immediately filled with continuous screams.

The Xiliang Empress’s face was as dark as water. Fresh blood splattered onto the cloud-gathering shoes adorned with bright pearls at her feet. She lowered her gaze to look, finding the bright red too glaring.

The patriarchs and resisting men of the eight great families were killed to the last one, leaving only blood-covered women and children trembling among the pile of corpses.

“Li Tianjiao! What meaning is there in killing the patriarchs and family members of our eight great families today?” The wife of one of the patriarchs held her young son in her arms, tightly protecting him against her chest, trembling and crying out, “The patriarchs are all pushed forward by the eight great families. Do you think that by killing one patriarch, killing the patriarch’s family members, the eight great families will scatter? They won’t!”

“So…” Xiliang Empress Li Tianjiao looked up at the wife of the Yun family patriarch, “I’ll support your son as patriarch. What do you think?”

“What?” The Yun family patriarch’s wife seemed not to have expected Li Tianjiao to say such a thing, her expression astonished.

Li Tianjiao turned to signal the Imperial Guard commander beside her. The commander brought forward eunuchs carrying two cups of honey nectar, and without a word, pried open the mouth of the Yun family patriarch’s wife and poured the honey nectar in. Then he ordered the Imperial Guards to pull away the patriarch’s wife, pinched the face of the crying child, and poured honey nectar into him as well.

“Ah! Ah!” The Yun family patriarch’s wife watched as her son’s small arms and legs beat against the Imperial Guard commander’s arms, but the honey nectar was still poured in. She screamed and cried out, finding strength from somewhere to push away the Imperial Guards holding her back, and rushed over to snatch back her son. Not caring that she had also been forced to drink the honey nectar, she stuck her finger down the child’s throat: “Spit it out! Quickly spit it out!”

The child cried and struggled.

“Don’t worry… It’s not something that will kill immediately!” Li Tianjiao’s voice was indifferent. “If you make him spit it out, we’ll just have to go through the trouble of forcing it down again. Why bother?”

“Li Tianjiao! May you die a horrible death!” The Yun family patriarch’s wife cursed hysterically through her tears.

“You’ve all drunk it! From now on, as long as you obediently listen, you’ll get the antidote every month. If you don’t listen… then wait to die!” Li Tianjiao was using the secret poison once used on the imperial death warriors of the eight great families.

“Only the Empress Dowager knows how to prepare this secret poison. If you’re confident, you can persuade the Empress Dowager to kill me for you… You can try disobeying! Anyway, there are plenty of people in the eight great families – it’s all the same to me who I support for power!” Li Tianjiao’s voice was indifferent and cold.

“Li Tianjiao, you are so cruel, killing people like cutting grass… You will surely die horribly!” Someone loudly cursed the Xiliang Empress.

Li Tianjiao lowered her gaze. In just an instant, blood splattered… and that woman fell to the ground motionless.

Killing the chicken to warn the monkeys – the great hall immediately fell silent.

She hadn’t expected that the eight great families had completely lost their reverence for her as the Xiliang Empress. Fortunately, she had made up her mind today; otherwise, who knows what great disaster might have been brewing for the future!

“Those among the eight great families willing to hand over their granaries and obediently listen from now on can stay. Those unwilling… send their entire families on their way together!” After Li Tianjiao finished speaking, she stood up and walked outside.

The remaining members of the eight great families submitted very quickly. Some who knew where their family granaries were located readily informed, while those who didn’t know also promised to ask and report immediately upon returning.

But their speed was far slower than Xiao Ruohai’s. When dawn was about to break, the Great Zhou Empress, who hadn’t slept all night, received news that the eight great families’ granaries had been burned.

The Great Zhou Empress was so shocked she stood up: “What did you say?!”

The soot-covered messenger general raised his head: “The eight great families’ granaries were doused with fierce fire oil and set ablaze. We originally rushed to take them over, fought the fire all night, but the grain… I fear it’s inedible!”

Li Tianjiao clenched her fists tightly: “Eight granaries, all burned?”

“Yes! All burned! People from the eight great families also rushed to fight the fire… but still couldn’t save them!”

The action was so swift – besides Cui Fengnian… Li Tianjiao suspected no one else.

Initially, Li Tianjiao had felt that this Cui Gonghang was colluding with the eight great families to stir up chaos in Xiliang. It was also he who advised the eight great families to encourage the people to abandon farming and put their energy into jade brocade, furs, and papermaking, then had the eight great families use the essential grain to harvest the silver that the people had desperately earned.

So, if there was anyone besides the eight great families who could know the locations of their granaries, it would only be Cui Fengnian.

And who would burn the eight great families’ grain storage at this critical moment – it could only be… possibly Cui Fengnian, who might be an enemy spy!

Li Tianjiao clenched her fists tightly and shouted: “Someone come! Go arrest Cui Fengnian for me! If he resists, kill without question!”

“Yes!”

The Xiliang Imperial Guard commander led five hundred men to the Cui residence to arrest Cui Fengnian, surrounding the Cui residence so tightly that not even water could leak through. The Imperial Guards burst through the doors.

The Cui residence servants were awakened from their sleep, not even properly dressed, and upon leaving their rooms, saw torch-bearing, sword-carrying Imperial Guards charging into the Cui residence. All were frightened like quails, standing in place, not daring to move.

“His Majesty has an edict to arrest the spy Cui Fengnian! Where is Cui Fengnian? Quickly hand him over!” the Imperial Guard commander shouted.

In the flickering firelight, a Cui residence servant boldly stepped forward and said in a low voice: “This lord… the young master went to dine with the Great Zhou envoys last night and hasn’t returned!”

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Guard commander was immediately stunned. The Imperial Guards didn’t dare rashly go to the Great Zhou envoys to demand someone, and could only send someone back to report to the Xiliang Empress to see how this matter should be handled.

After Li Tianjiao heard this, she closed her eyes and sat on the dragon throne for a long time. What she couldn’t understand before finally became clear.

This Cui Fengnian was perhaps sent by Jin to be a spy who would use the eight great families to divide Xiliang. But she hadn’t expected Great Zhou to replace Jin. Now, after Cui Fengnian accomplished the feat of burning the granaries, he went to find the Great Zhou envoys to pledge allegiance.

She laughed lowly, exhaustion pressing down on her entire body. She almost couldn’t hold up and be crushed. She didn’t know what she should do now, and if father were still here, what would he do.

After a long while, Li Tianjiao rallied her spirits again, saying, “Prepare the carriage. I want to meet the Great Zhou envoys.”

Li Tianjiao changed clothes, traveling light and simply, quietly leaving the palace, deciding to personally meet these two.

Last night, hearing that the Xiliang Empress Dowager was gravely ill and might not survive the night, there was an imperial edict requesting the Zhai family, one of the eight great families, to enter the palace to entrust posthumous affairs. The eight great families moved upon hearing the news, all bringing their family members into the palace. Bai Qingqi and Bai Jintong sensed something unusual.

After much consideration, Bai Qingqi decided to have Bai Jintong come to him openly and honestly. After all, he was now a Great Zhou envoy, and Cui Fengnian was formerly a Jin citizen, now a Great Zhou subject. Bai Qingqi’s protecting Cui Fengnian was within reason and logic.