At this moment, a flicker of relief, one he was unwilling to even admit to himself, passed through Emperor Xia’s heart.
Murong Wan was too domineering. Backed by Prince Zhenxi’s Mansion, she had often interfered in court affairs over the years, constantly paving the way for her son, the Twelfth Prince, Xia Wujie.
She was imperious, brazenly arrogant, and incredibly petty.
Emperor Xia had long been displeased with her. But, wary of the military power of Prince Zhenxi’s Mansion, he had always endured it without taking action.
Now that she was crippled, it was actually something of a relief. He could now proceed with many matters without restraint.
But the thought was fleeting, immediately replaced by a towering rage that made his expression darken instantly.
It was not for Murong Wan’s sake, but for the dignity of the Royal Family and the authority of him, the Emperor. That was what truly mattered; in comparison, Murong Wan herself seemed far less important.
The mother of the nation, crippled to such an extent within the Deep Palace—in Kunning Palace, no less! This was tantamount to grinding the face of the Great Xia Royal Family into the dirt!
If word of this got out, he, Xia Shengming, would become a laughingstock, scorned by all under heaven.
"Investigate! Immediately!"
Emperor Xia spun around, his voice like a harsh winter wind that sent a chill through everyone in the hall. "Conduct a thorough investigation for me! Zheng Zhicang, I command you to mobilize every Shadow Guard. Even if you have to turn White Jade City upside down, you will find this culprit! Do not let them escape! And where is Sun Wuyang? Have him come to the palace at once to handle this matter with his full attention."
"Your subject has already sent someone to summon Divine Constable Sun," Zheng Zhicang said with a bow.
Emperor Xia’s gaze swept over the Imperial Physicians kneeling on the floor. "And the Divine Capture Sect—dispatch all Divine Constables. Dean Liu, the Empress... can she recover?"
The Dean of the Imperial Medical Bureau, Liu Zhongyao, prostrated on the floor and said with a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, the Empress’s Dantian is completely shattered, her meridians are all severed, and the bones in her limbs have suffered comminuted fractures... It is simply too gruesome. Even the legendary Life Creation Pill would be powerless to reverse this. The hope of recovery is infinitesimal. As for the damage to her Spirit, this humble subject’s knowledge is too shallow, I truly... truly..."
Liu Zhongyao didn’t finish his sentence, but his meaning was crystal clear. Enraged, Emperor Xia roared, "Get out!"
Liu Zhongyao scrambled out of the great hall, not daring to come near it again.
Emperor Xia took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.
He walked to the window, gazing at the few plum trees in the courtyard that were shivering in the late spring chill as his mind raced.
’A master at the Celestial Human Level, most likely a Celestial Human at Super Grade Perfection. And they were able to enter and leave Kunning Palace at will, killing multiple Super Grade Celestial Humans here.’
’There are only a handful of Celestial Humans with such power. The vast Great Xia Dynasty doesn’t have many, and there are only a few even in the entire world.’
’Even I could do it, but not so flawlessly, leaving almost no trace behind.’
’Coupled with the recent string of incidents... could it be foreign enemies again?’
Once this thought took root, it grew like wild weeds. Many of the events that had occurred recently, and the information uncovered, seemed to point to this conclusion.
The Inner Treasury theft, the National Treasury robbery, the burglary of Qianqing Palace, the crippling of multiple Princes and Princesses, and now the Empress... This series of events seemed unrelated, but if you connected them, wasn’t it a conspiracy to dismantle the Great Xia from within and create chaos?
It was just as he had suspected before, and no different from what had happened decades ago.
"What a fine Northern Desert Da Kuo... what a fine Southern Barbarian Hundred Races... Truly despicable!"
Emperor Xia gritted his teeth, his eyes overflowing with murderous intent. "Decades ago, the Alliance Army invaded our borders and was ultimately defeated by me. Now, you still don’t dare to face me head-on, resorting to such despicable tricks."
He turned and barked at Zheng Zhicang, "Relay my decree! Effective immediately, all border garrisons are to enter Level 1 combat readiness and exercise extreme caution! The Northern Territory must guard against the Northern Desert Iron Cavalry, the Southern Border must be wary of Southern Barbarian Witchcraft, and all Government Offices are ordered to rigorously investigate foreign spies. Any suspicious individuals are to be killed on sight, with none spared!"
"This subject obeys!" Zheng Zhicang accepted the order, though he sighed inwardly. ’His Majesty has fallen into the trap he set for himself again. It seems he’ll have a hard time getting out.’
The Shadow Guard Chief naturally knew that this was all the Lord Emperor’s doing. But he couldn’t say it. In fact, he had to cooperate to muddy the waters even further. Even Tantai Zhan, Emperor Xia’s other trusted right-hand man, was a subordinate of the Lord Emperor.
Soon, Sun Wuyang, the Celestial Eye, arrived in a hurry.
The man who was the number one Divine Constable a century ago carefully examined the scene. His brow furrowed deeper and deeper, and his expression grew grim.
Soon, he came to a conclusion. "Your Majesty, the perpetrator’s Cultivation is unfathomable, at least Celestial Human Perfection. Their methods were clean and efficient, leaving no traces. No, no, I should say, any traces that were left have been deliberately erased. This person not only has supreme Martial Arts but is also exceptionally meticulous. Their counter-surveillance skills are extreme, almost beyond imagination."
"Is it connected to the previous cases?" Emperor Xia asked immediately.
Sun Wuyang pondered for a long time before answering, "From the methods used, there are indeed similarities. Infiltration without a sound, a clean execution, and no traces left behind. Even the few, minuscule traces that remain seem to be the work of the Thief Saint."
In the end, Emperor Xia could only say, "Continue the investigation. No matter who the culprit is, I will make them pay. Focus the investigation on the Northern Desert Da Kuo, the Southern Barbarian Hundred Races, and the Western Rong and Eastern Yi."
Sun Wuyang, the Celestial Eye, nodded and accepted the order.
At the same time, news of Empress Murong Wan being crippled spread like wildfire throughout the court and the common folk.
"Did you hear? The Empress was crippled! They say she’s catatonic now!"
"Gods... how many incidents is that now? The Inner Treasury, the National Treasury, Qianqing Palace all robbed... the Third Prince, the Fifth Prince... and now even the Empress... What evil has befallen our Great Xia? Are the Da Kuo and the Southern Barbarians really going to declare all-out war on us?"
"It must be foreign enemies! Those barbarians from the Northern Desert, those savages from the south... they can’t stand to see Great Xia prosper. It’s just like decades ago, they’re stirring up trouble again, trying to invade us."
...
In teahouses and taverns, on every street and alley, everyone was talking about it, to say nothing of the Courtiers.
Panic spread like a plague. The once-bustling streets of White Jade City had grown sparse these past few days. Families bolted their doors and shut their windows early, as if a great disaster was imminent, awaiting the arrival of war.
The greatest shock, however, was felt by Prince Zhenxi’s Mansion.
「The Western Territory, Prince Zhenxi’s Mansion.」
CRASH...
A bronze wine goblet was smashed violently onto the floor, its fragments scattering everywhere.
Inside the council hall, the atmosphere was as heavy as iron.
An old man in black robes sat in the main seat. His hair and beard were white, his face was the color of a dark date, and his tiger-like eyes shone with a sharp light. This was the Western King, Murong Ba, a peerless master at Super Grade Perfection of the Celestial Human realm, one of the most powerful experts in the world.
At this moment, his hair and beard seemed to stand on end, and the killing intent radiating from him was so thick it was almost tangible, causing the temperature in the hall to drop by several degrees.
Seated below him was his eldest son, the Iron Blood Marquis, Murong Feng.
This general, who held great authority in the Western Regions, was over one hundred and twenty years old. His resolute face looked as if it were carved from stone. Right now, his complexion was ashen, and the veins on the hand gripping his sword were bulging.

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