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Owing to how many people wanted an audience at once, His Majesty dispiritedly said, “Please convene at the plaza in front of the palace.”

Emperor Yuansheng gloomily walked into the spacious plaza full of officials. Before he had even uttered half a word, they had fearfully denounced themselves for dereliction of duty, resulting in the nefarious phenomena appearing. It was no surprise that they were scared for their own lives. After all, during the recent tussle between the Seven Champion White Princes, the various officials formed factions, and not many of them aligned themselves with Emperor Yuansheng. If he were to leverage the phenomena as an excuse, he would have a legitimate reason to eliminate all his vassals who opposed him.

Emperor Yuansheng raised his voice over all the people speaking. “He is Fiends’ Genesis’ Jiang Chen. Alone, I would be without a countermeasure against his treasonous ambition of sabotaging our reign. With all of you here, I feel much more confident.”

Not only did his words provide them with relief, but it also instilled gratitude.

Peering into the heavens, or rather, the man in the sky, Emperor Yuansheng pondered how Jiang Chen possessed such a youthful appearance. He was always aware of Jiang Chen’s existence within Fiends’ Genesis, but he didn’t know much more than that. He had heard Jiang Chen was recognised as an elite during the campaign twenty years ago, so how did Jiang Chen not age a day?

Ever since Emperor Yuansheng saw him, Jiang Chen had been repeating the same line. Out of the blue, he changed it to, “I assume you have seen this now, Li Yong.”

The last Emperor coveted achievements, and achieving something new was part of that. Perhaps that was a reason that he had a penchant for trying to differentiate himself from others, even when he named his sons. He named his eldest son Dafang (Generous) – courtesy name She De (to hold no grudge). Wondrous Warrior wasn’t bestowed that title because he excelled in combat but because his name was “Zhan”, which meant “battle”, “fight” and so forth. Wondrous Warrior’s courtesy name was Mo Nan’er – to do the hard stuff. Emperor Yuansheng’s real name was Li Yong (Mediocre), courtesy name Hu Tu (Fool). This was the reason people seldom used Emperor Yuansheng’s real name, not to mention the troubles that potentially came with using it.

Of course, the officials immediately started insulting Jiang Chen for addressing His Majesty by his real name. When else should they have tried to show their loyalty? Only Li Shijiao felt scared because he felt as though they were insulting and threatening him. Had His Majesty not given him a shoulder pat and reassured him it would be fine for him to continue interpreting, he probably would’ve quitted.

Li Shijiao interpreted Jiang Chen casually saying, “I do believe Jiang Chen isn’t a foreign name to you. You have searched for me for a long time, after all.”

Jiang Chen started speaking freely. “Forgive me for visiting you in this form. Believe me. I have been looking forward to this day.” He paused as though he was giving Li Shijiao time to interpret, then continued, “Regrettably, I still can’t speak directly to you. It would make for quite the amusing situation otherwise. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Emperor Yuansheng had never – and probably never would’ve – felt so many emotions at once no matter how sinister his opposition was. The fact that Jiang Chen maintained a cordial and relaxed approach made it seem as though Jiang Chen was speaking to him as an equal rather than a bitter enemy. Moreover, Jiang Chen’s words were “ender of thou dynasty”, indicating his ultimate target was the entire dynasty, not Emperor Yuansheng as an individual.

Emperor Yuansheng inhaled deeply. “You are the mastermind behind the current turmoil in the capital.”

“Indeed, I am.” Jiang Chen had his eyes down as if he was holding his gaze against Emperor Yuansheng’s. “You are correct. I am responsible for all of it. I captured Huang Yuzao. Howbeit, you can rest easy. He is still alive. He is a capable man. He has deterred me from killing him. I captured Ming Feizhen, but I cannot guarantee he is still alive. I have not had the time to concern myself with him recently. Let us just hope he is still alive. I am the instigator of the recent string of criminals committing crimes in Jiangnan. I believe you are capable enough to stop them, true?”

“Enough with the waste of words. You didn’t go to these great lengths just to have a meaningless chat with me. Tell me what it is that you want!”

“I’m glad.” Jiang Chen paused, seemingly waiting for whatever emotion he was feeling to past before elaborating, “I’m glad I don’t have to personally hear you proclaim yourself Emperor. I’d be rather annoyed, otherwise. I have but one question for you today.”

“Out with it!”

“Don’t rush now.” Jiang Chen cracked a smile. “Maintaining some mystery is vital to maintaining interest.” He rotated his head to the side a tad. “By the way, gentleman, are you all doing well?”

While the majority of officials were wondering how to react, Prime Minister Li already had his sleeves rolled up as he blew his beard and thundered, “Come down here if you’re as tough as you act. This old one will teach you a lesson!”

“You gentlemen might not know me, but none of you are strangers to me. Secretary Lu, your wife just gave birth to a boy. He’s cute, isn’t he? General He, your eldest daughter wore on perfume before leaving this morning? Does it not concern you that she will return late? Secretary Lie, your eldest grandson has the skills to complement his handsome appearance. He reminds me of you in your younger days…” Jiang Chen continued addressing another dozen officials, then shut his eyes and went mute.

Emperor Yuansheng wasted no time asking his officials what that was all about. From his questioning, he learnt those Jiang Chen addressed had in fact not had family members gone without a trace for days already.

“The Qilin Guards have done a commendable job in defending the capital. For that, they have my respect,” Jiang Chen suddenly voiced. “They are excellent at safekeeping the capital from foreign enemies, indeed.” He opened his eyes and amiably added, “Unfortunately, they seem rather slack when it comes to those leaving the city.”

A dozen-odd people were brought up to Jiang Chen’s mirage’s side. Some of the officials cried out as soon as they saw the people’s faces. Indeed, they were their family members.

“Li Yong, the fault is yours for relying solely on the Qilin Guards to protect the capital.”