'I'm fine. The water's boiled.'
Xu Pingjun emerged carrying a basin, her voice trembling slightly. Looking at the man bending over the well and washing his face, her heart tightened.
He was washing away the mud and revealing the world beneath.
Liu Bingyi stood up, took the towel that Xu Pingjun offered him, but didn't wipe his face. Instead, he gently took her hand. His palms were calloused from years of chopping wood and farming, and they were now Xu Pingjun's last refuge.
'Lei Zhen, did you bring the things in?'
The courtyard gate opened and Lei Zhen and Chi Lian carried in three heavy vermilion lacquered wooden boxes. The moment they opened the boxes, the dazzling gold dragon patterns and phoenix feathers illuminated the dusty courtyard like a divine miracle.
Liu Bingyi took off his faded blue robe and let it slip onto the muddy ground.
Chi Lian draped a dark, twelve-tasselled imperial robe over his shoulders. Xu Pingjun's tears finally welled up and she trembled as she reached out to fasten the jade belt around his waist. Her fingertips traced the cold jade, and her tears dripped onto the dragon robe's patterns, dissolving them instantly.
'I'm sick... I'm afraid," said Xu Pingjun, clutching his robe tightly and her voice breaking. 'This robe is too heavy; the palace roads are too deep. I don't want to be empress; I just want to go back to the southern suburbs and farm.'
She knew that this robe was not a symbol of glory, but rather a battle flag between two armies. From the moment she put it on, the poison of the Huo family, the cold arrows of the court and the meat grinder of power would no longer be concealed.[System monitoring: Xu Pingjun's sincerity is at 100%, which triggers the 'Couple in Adversity' buff effect. [Host's mindset: transitioning from 'Humble Behaviour' to 'Protective Spirit'].
Liu Bingyi raised his hand, gently yet firmly lifting Xu Pingjun's chin. His eyes were no longer the casual gaze of an ordinary person, but had a profound depth that commanded submission.
'Pingjun, this outfit is not only for me, but for you too.'
He personally inserted the phoenix-headed gold hairpin — a symbol of the Empress's status — into her hair, moving slowly and elegantly.
'If we don't take this step, the Huo family will crush us like ants in this small courtyard. I want you to wear this outfit, sit in the highest position in the Han dynasty and make all those who once looked down on you and tried to kill you kneel at your feet.'
[System Feedback: Imperial Majesty (Gentle Mode) has been loaded.]
[Effect: Eliminates Xu Pingjun's fear, transforming her fighting spirit into 'A Phoenix Accompanying the Dragon'."
'Boss, the procession has arrived,' said Lei Zhen softly.
Outside the courtyard, hundreds of Shadow Dragon Guards, now clad in the armour of the Imperial Guards, stood like a forest of spears, their horses' hooves thundering. Further away, Huo family spies on the street watched this iron army, which seemed to have risen from the earth, in terror.
Holding Xu Pingjun's hand, Liu Bingyi stepped out of the courtyard gate.
He didn't look back because if he did, he would see the orphan lying dead in the mud. Only by looking forward could he become the emperor who would bathe the world in blood.
[System Command: Completely burn down the old residence in Shangguan Lane.]
Purpose: Cut off the last escape route and proclaim the pinnacle of power.
The moment they stepped out of the alleyway, the old courtyard behind them burst into flames. The house that had held countless warm memories for them was reduced to ashes.
Liu Bingyi helped Xu Pingjun onto the sixteen-person dragon-phoenix carriage.
The eunuch shouted, "Proceed! Return to the palace!"
The entire city of Chang'an trembled. Sitting in his mansion, the Grand General, Huo Guang, listened to the shout, feeling the panic of his daughter, Huo Chengjun, being absent all night. He finally realised that the peasant who had once toiled in the mud had now broken free of his shackles.
[Ding!]
[Reputation Value: +15,000 ("Desperate Struggle" mindset bonus)!
[Unlocked God-Level Achievement: 'The Sword Returns to Its Sheath' (During the upcoming Empress's investiture ceremony, all of the host's counterattacks will ignore Huo Guang's reputation).
"Pingjun, hold my hand tightly." Liu Bingyi sat in his carriage, looking at the dark mass of Weiyang Palace ahead of him. His eyes were as cold as knives.
'Next, it's time for our hunt.'
Liu Bingyi sat in his imperial carriage, looking down at the kneeling populace through the thin, bright yellow gauze curtain.
[System feedback: 12 ambush points detected within Chang'an City.]
[Perception Enhancement: Killing intent within a 100-metre radius is locked."
'Bingyi, they... they're all watching us.' Xu Pingjun sat beside him, the tassels on her phoenix crown clinking softly as the carriage swayed. Her small hands gripped Liu Bingyi's sleeve tightly, her fingertips turning pale from the pressure.
'Let them watch.' Liu Bingyi sneered, lifting a corner of the gauze curtain with his fingertips. His gaze shot like an arrow towards a distant restaurant. 'From tomorrow onwards, we will set the rules of Chang'an City.'
The rider of the Huo family fell from his horse, trembling and limp in the mud. Meanwhile, Liu Bingyi slowly stepped out of the carriage and stood on the high platform of the imperial palanquin. His black and gold dragon robe shone in the sunlight.
'The general's horsemen seem rather unskilled,' he said, a lazy smile on his face as his voice echoed through the streets. 'Lei Zhen, give him a hundred taels of silver and tell him to buy a fine coffin for his horse. Also, tell the general that my carriage is too sturdy, so don't crash into it next time.'
[Reputation Value: +6000! (The entire city witnessed the Emperor's divine power and 'magnanimity'.)
[Huo Guang's suspicion has turned into fear — he realised that the assassination attempt had failed.] Before entering Xuande Gate, Liu Bingyi suddenly ordered the carriage to stop.
It was a tofu stall that he used to visit regularly, and the owner, Wang Er, was waiting for him as planned. Much to everyone's astonishment, the Han emperor stepped down from the imperial palanquin himself, took a bowl of steaming hot five-cent tofu pudding and handed it to Xu Pingjun inside the carriage. 'We couldn't afford a betrothal gift back then, but this bowl of tofu pudding is the Han Dynasty's way of thanking you for the matchmaking.'
This scene was recorded by scholars, spies and historians lurking in the crowd. What had been a humble display of commoner status was now a high-level political spectacle. The emperor declared to the world, "I haven't forgotten my duty. My empire encompasses not only the world, but also this genuine human affection.'
The main gate of Weiyang Palace, the Xuande Gate, slowly opened with a heavy scraping sound.
Inside stood Huo Guang, his face ashen and struggling to stand despite his illness. Outside stood Liu Bingyi, looking sharp and transformed.
'General, it's been a long time.'
Holding Xu Pingjun's hand, Liu Bingyi strode across the threshold. At that moment, Xu Pingjun's tears finally dried, replaced by the sharpness of an empress.
[Ding!]
'God-level Passive unlocked: Popular Will (each performance by the host will grant a 300% reputation bonus).' [System announcement: the wedding night is also the night of reckoning.]
Xu Pingjun sat on the elaborately decorated wedding bed, weighed down by the layers of her red wedding gown, which made it hard to breathe. She watched as Liu Bingyi approached her, step by step. He held a golden rod with scales on it and lifted her pearl-studded red veil.
At that moment, their eyes met in the candlelight.
"Pingjun, has your journey been arduous?" His voice, hoarse and stripped of imperial power, echoed in the hall.
Xu Pingjun didn't answer. Instead, she suddenly rose and drew a cold, short sword from her wide sleeve. It was a sword that Liu Bingyi had forged from an iron bar while chopping wood in the imperial palace — their only possession.
"Bingyi, you said you would find this sword."
Accompanied by the roar of a dragon, a crimson sword aura exploded violently, shattering red silk into hundreds of pieces that floated through the air like blood-red butterflies.
Before the first assassin could scream, a red dot appeared between his eyebrows and his body collapsed to the ground as though its strings had been cut. Liu Bingyi moved with lightning speed, leaving afterimages in the cramped bedchamber. Each time a sword rang out, an assassin met their end.
Three minutes later, the Jiaofang Palace fell silent.
Twelve corpses were neatly stacked behind a screen, blood slowly seeping from the cracks in the floor tiles. Liu Bingyi sat back down by the bed; his broken iron sword was surprisingly unstained.
'Chilian,' he called softly.
'Your subordinate is here.' A red shadow appeared.
'Hang all these corpses, along with their family registers, on the main gate of the General's Mansion. Tell Huo Guang that I thoroughly enjoyed my wedding night and am very grateful for his 'gift'."
[Reputation Value: +10,000! (Completely shattered the powerful minister's control over the harem.)
[Unlocked God-level Title: 'Shadow of the Tyrant' (In the shadows, the pressure is doubled). Liu Bingyi took Xu Pingjun's cold hand again and gently placed the broken iron sword under their pillows.
'Pingjun, from today onwards, no one in this world will be allowed to enter this room.' He extinguished most of the red candles, leaving only a dim light. 'Huo Guang wanted to exchange his daughter for you, so I will use the entire Han dynasty to build the biggest and most secure cage for you. Anyone who dares to touch you will have their entire family wiped out.' Xu Pingjun nestled in his arms and listened to the howling winds outside the palace before finally closing her eyes wearily.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Chang'an, Huo Guang looked at the twelve corpses hanging from the gate. Under the mournful moonlight, he finally experienced the profound fear of "retribution".