The Emperor's word is golden law. Those who defy an imperial edict get their heads chopped off—and so the imperial guards charged forward.
And then...
Why would a grown man—a grown man skilled in martial arts, no less—go flying over a hundred meters, finally smash through Emperor Xianzong's palanquin, and pass out cold on the ground?
After Yu Xiaoxiao kicked the lead imperial guard flying, everyone present was asking themselves this very question.
Yu Xiaoxiao's brow furrowed even deeper. She had spent a lifetime watching the tyrannical Empress's story unfold. In this world, when humans went to war, blood flowed in rivers—it had all looked terribly impressive. So why was their actual combat ability so pathetic? If the apocalypse ever came, Yu Xiaoxiao thought, glancing at the people around her, these humans would definitely be the first batch to die!
Emperor Xianzong was dumbfounded all over again. "You're Linglong?" he asked his daughter, wanting to confirm.
"I am," Yu Xiaoxiao nodded, then said, "Still want to fight?"
Emperor Xianzong said nothing. He was dumbfounded.
Seeing that the Emperor wasn't speaking, the imperial guards could only grit their teeth and charge anyway.
In the apocalypse, humanity had evolved in order to survive. So the unevolved imperial guards met complete tragedy on this day. In the blink of an eye, some twenty-odd guards had either been sent flying or flattened to the ground. The only brother still standing was stuck upright between two tree branches.
Emperor Xianzong closed his wide-open mouth. He must have gotten out of bed the wrong way this morning!
At this moment, Consort Zhao woke from her faint. The instant she opened her eyes and saw Emperor Xianzong, she let out a delicate moan and cried, "Your Majesty!"
Yu Xiaoxiao's scalp went numb. She could not comprehend how a human being could produce a sound like a cat in heat. This was not scientific. But then, this couldn't be blamed on Princess Linglong's limited experience—among the front-line fighters in the apocalypse, the women were all tough broads. In humanity's war against the zombies, soft, delicate creatures had zero chance of survival.
"Your Majesty, this isn't the Princess's fault. It's this humble consort's fault!" Consort Zhao wept to Emperor Xianzong.
Emperor Xianzong felt his beloved consort was truly kind-hearted, truly a good woman. Linglong had nearly slammed her to death, and still his beloved consort was speaking up on Linglong's behalf. Consort Zhao was soaked through, hair disheveled, makeup melted into a ghostly visage—but through the eyes of her lover Emperor Xianzong, his beloved consort was still stunningly beautiful!
"Her Highness the Princess was only troubled by the matter of the Gu family," Consort Zhao said through her tears. "She told this humble consort she wished to leave the palace temporarily for her fiefdom." Besides, when this girl had spoken with her, everyone in the room except Nanny Wang had been her own people, so Consort Zhao lied through her teeth without the slightest hesitation.
The moment Emperor Xianzong recalled the marriage his Empress Dowager mother had arranged for his daughter, his mood turned even fouler. "The Emperor's daughter worried about finding a husband?" he said.
Consort Zhao stole a glance at the several court officials being led toward them by a head eunuch. Supported by two palace servants, looking half-dead, they stubbornly made their way to Emperor Xianzong's side. She lowered her voice. "Your Majesty, a maiden's reputation matters more than anything. Her Highness the Princess is still so young—how can she bear the censure of all the world?"
"Then which fief should I grant Linglong?" said Emperor Xianzong.
Every sensible person present thought: Your Majesty, that's enough. You have to ask Consort Zhao about even this? Brains are meant for thinking!
Yu Xiaoxiao walked up to Nanny Wang, reached out, and pulled her to her feet, then asked quietly, "Is this Gu family young master a good person or a bad person?"
Nanny Wang was not the sort to speak against her conscience. She whispered to Yu Xiaoxiao, "The Gu family are all loyal ministers to the core. They are good people."
Good was good enough. Yu Xiaoxiao looked at Emperor Xianzong and said, "No need for the trouble. I'm not leaving the palace."
Emperor Xianzong strode over to his daughter in several big steps. "Consort Zhao only means well for you."
Can't you see this woman is dying to rush over here and bite me to death? Yu Xiaoxiao shook her head and said two words: "I'll marry."
Emperor Xianzong exploded. "Marry whom? Why are you so unreasonable? Do you know what crime the Gu family committed? Treason! Selling out the nation! Falsifying military reports! If not for the immunity gold medal granted by the late Emperor, I would have executed their entire clan!"
"Is the evidence conclusive?" Yu Xiaoxiao asked.
"What kind of talk is that?" said Emperor Xianzong. "Keep refusing to recognize a kind heart, and don't blame your father the Emperor for actually marrying you off to the Gu family!"
"Is she a good person?" Yu Xiaoxiao pointed at Consort Zhao, looking at her father of this lifetime as if he were mentally deficient.
"Fine! I'll issue the decree right now," Emperor Xianzong said viciously. "Go be a Gu family wife!"
Words spoken in the heat of an argument should never be taken seriously—and arguments between an Emperor father and his daughter were no exception. But the problem was, at precisely this moment, the several ministers who had resolved to risk death and plead for the Gu family arrived and heard the Emperor's golden words. No one who survived in court was a fool. The moment they heard Emperor Xianzong's statement, they all hurriedly dropped to their knees and praised him in unison: "Your Majesty is wise!"
Emperor Xianzong froze. How exactly was he wise?
"Your Majesty is wise," Grand Academician Ying Nianyun said from his knees. "Your Majesty deigns to wed Her Highness the Grand Princess to the third young master of the Gu family. Your Majesty's word is worth a thousand gold—a model for all the realm. We ministers are ashamed to be your inferiors. Your Majesty is wise!"
"No, that's not—this isn't what I..." said Emperor Xianzong.
"Your Majesty!" At this point Consort Zhao also knelt to the ground and said, "The Gu family has committed such a grave crime, yet Your Majesty still honors his promise to them, repaying grievance with virtue. This humble consort is moved to tears. Your Majesty is wise!" This girl had tried to slam her to death, so of course she had to push this girl into the fire pit!
For a moment, everyone praised Emperor Xianzong together. These were all scholars—when they flattered someone, every word was a pearl, never repeating themselves.
Hoisted onto the pinnacle of moral high ground, Emperor Xianzong was dumbfounded. It seemed that if he said no now, he would become a promise-breaking, faith-abandoning, heartless, shameless scoundrel.
Yu Xiaoxiao imitated the officials, awkwardly knelt, and knocked her head to Emperor Xianzong. "Your daughter thanks you, Father Emperor."
Emperor Xianzong was thinking: how on earth did this happen?
On her very first day in this world, in order not to walk the path of the tyrannical Empress's life, Yu Xiaoxiao had successfully married herself off.
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