“Your Majesty, when we were young, you treated my siblings, Father, and I very well. But how could you have changed to become so evil and ruthless? Father and I endured again and again because of the little kindness you once showed us, until now when you have driven us to the brink of destruction.
Your Majesty, why did you change? Why? Why don't you treat us well anymore?"
Listening to Ye Yi's weeping, Lin Zaozao felt somewhat heartbroken.
The reason why the Female Emperor of Canglan Country changed was probably because of that alien soul!
If not for that alien soul, the Female Emperor of Canglan Country should have been a good mother.
Otherwise, after hating her enough to wish for her death, why would Ye Yi still feel so sad over the little kindness she had once shown him?
Although Ye Yi looked a bit cold on the surface, those who knew him understood clearly that the weeping man before them had an extremely gentle and fragile heart.
Seeing the weeping Ye Yi, Lin Zaozao was at a loss for what to do.
She had strangled his mother to death with her own hands, so it seemed inappropriate to step forward and comfort him now!
Listening to Ye Yi's sobs, Lin Zaozao could only stand awkwardly behind him. Whether to comfort him or not was a dilemma.
Eventually, Ye Yi finished weeping. He wiped his tears with complex emotions, then turned around to look at Lin Zaozao after collecting himself.
"Zaozao!"
"Ye Yi, are you angry with me?" Lin Zaozao asked nervously.
"Zaozao, I'm not angry with you. If not for you, I would have died long ago. My mother deserved her fate for the evils she committed. She almost brought destruction to the entire Canglan Country by obeying a mere wisp of a ghost.
She deserved it! Your Majesty truly got what she deserved!"
Ye Yi walked to Lin Zaozao's side and grasped her hand earnestly as he spoke.
"Ye Yi, there's something I want to tell you. Don't get agitated after hearing it, okay?"
"Zaozao, go ahead and speak. After experiencing so much, nothing can disturb my state of mind anymore."
[System, can I tell Ye Yi about the alien soul that possessed the Female Emperor of Canglan Country?]
[Host, you can only tell Ye Yi now that his mother was influenced by the alien soul. Don't say anything more beyond that.]
[Thanks a lot, dog system.]
[Stupid host, piss off!]
Facing Ye Yi's reddened eyes, Lin Zaozao still followed the system's instructions and told him that the Female Emperor of Canglan Country's change in behavior was due to the influence of that alien soul.
"Zaozao, are you saying my mother was possessed by a ghost?" Ye Yi asked in bewilderment.
"More or less. But the root cause is still that she gave consent willingly. Otherwise, your mother was the empress of a nation, naturally born with extraordinary fortune. Which ghost's fortune could surpass that of an empress?
Your mother ultimately died due to her own greed. What she desired was immortality. And immortality is what every empress wants to attain. "
"She willingly obeyed a mere wisp of a ghost, resulting in the death of her own children and nearly the destruction of Canglan Country?
She deserved it! Zaozao, did my mother think that as long as she could attain immortality, she could have as many children as she wanted? Is that why she had no hesitation in making moves against her own children?"
"Ye Yi, it's already in the past, don't dwell on it anymore. Your mother is dead, but your father is still alive. For your father's sake, for your clan, and for little Liuli, you must stay strong!"
"I will stay strong, Zaozao." Ye Yi said resolutely, grasping Lin Zaozao's hand.
"Young Master, we've already subdued those ministers spreading rumors outside."
Dashan dragged a giant sword as he respectfully reported from below the hall.
"Dashan, I'm aware. Since Ye Yi has woken up, let's go meet those rumor-spreading folks now."
"Zaozao, what's going on? What rumors?" Ye Yi asked in puzzlement.
"Ye Yi, when I first entered Canglan City, your mother brought that alien soul to find me. To absorb the fortune from my body, she stretched out a long tongue to lick my face. I found it disgusting, so I grabbed her neck and strangled her. After killing the alien soul, your mother followed her in death.
Now, those ministers of Canglan want to pin the crime of murdering the Female Emperor of Canglan on me, even though they have no evidence!
Ye Yi, if I get branded with the reputation of killing your mother, it would be extremely detrimental for both you and me."
"Leave the rest to me, Zaozao. I will certainly give you a satisfactory answer."
"Alright then, I'll leave the rest to you!"
Lin Zaozao patted Ye Yi's shoulder generously.
"Come with me to the Hall of Ministers, Zaozao. I'm going to tell those who dare slander you what kind of people they should and shouldn't provoke.
Even if the facts are there, I can turn black into white with my words. "
Seeing Ye Yi in his fully confident state, Lin Zaozao couldn't help the gleam that flashed through her eyes.
She knew it! How could Ye Yi, who once led a rebellion with Dashan and the others, possibly be someone who evades when faced with issues and has a weak personality?
Now she wanted to see just how Ye Yi would shake off the crime pinned on her head.
When Lin Zaozao followed Ye Yi into the Hall of Ministers, the ministers had already gathered and were squabbling loudly.
They quieted briefly when they saw Lin Zaozao follow Ye Yi inside, but soon ignored them and continued bickering.
Only a very small number of people bowed respectfully to Ye Yi upon seeing his arrival.
Witnessing this scene, Lin Zaozao had to resist laughing.
These arrogant, power-abusing fools!
Hmm, wait.
These people's faces look somewhat familiar.
As for the rest, humph! Just some clowns overreaching their bounds!
They probably thought the Female Emperor of Canglan died too suddenly, and Lin Zaozao had brought only a small contingent of soldiers to Han Country, so she couldn't provide any real support to Ye Yi.
These arrogant ministers now wanted to intimidate the currently powerless Ye Yi?
Thinking of this, Lin Zaozao couldn't help but want to laugh.
Humph! A skinny camel is still bigger than a horse. Even if Ye Yi was powerless now, she didn't believe he couldn't handle these little shrimps as the Third Prince!
Faced with the arrogant attitude of the ministers, Ye Yi was unperturbed. He led Lin Zaozao by the hand and headed straight for the dragon throne at the center of the main hall.
Disregarding the ministers' incredulous expressions, Ye Yi directly pulled Lin Zaozao to sit on the dragon throne.
"Third Prince, this is the dragon throne! How dare you sit on it?"
A short, fat man with red pimples all over his face righteously admonished while pointing at Ye Yi.
"Why can I not sit here? I am the current Third Prince, disciple of Tianshan Sword Immortal. My father is chieftain of the Tianshan Baichi Clan, and I am the Young Chieftain, next in line to be chieftain.
Moreover, according to tradition, if the princess born between the Tianshan Baichi Chieftain and Canglan royalty dies without issue, then her prince brother can inherit the Canglan throne.
My elder sister passed away over ten years ago, so by rights, I should inherit the Canglan throne now. What's wrong with that?"
Ye Yi looked coldly at the fat man and spoke.
"Third Prince, the Tianshan Baichi Clan was executed long ago by your mother. You don't even have a single clansman left. With no clan to rely on, what qualifications do you have to sit on this imperial throne?"
The short, pimple-faced man said sharply with his neck craned.
"Oh! I do not have that power. Then you tell me, among the surviving princes and princesses, who still has the power to sit here?
Is it my crazy fourth imperial sister Ye Yu? Or the captured Ye Zhao and Ye Mu? Or perhaps, Lord Li, it would be more appropriate if you took this position yourself?"
Ye Yi spoke without a trace of emotion, causing the neck of the short fat Lord Li to recoil backward.
But when he thought of how Ye Yi currently had no power or influence and was just a paper tiger at this time, he immediately straightened his back and pointed at Ye Yi, speaking unceremoniously.
"The third imperial daughter Ye Yu is a lunatic. How can we let a madwoman inherit the empire? The sixth and seventh imperial daughters are now captives of Han Country, already reduced to prisoners. Two prisoners whose reputations are damaged can inherit Canglan Country's empire even less.
As for you, the third prince..."
Lord Li looked up and down at Ye Yi contemptuously, then after a long pause, sneered and said:
"As for you, the third prince, you are just a powerless, useless titular prince. You have no power in your hands, so how will you command the court?"
Hearing Lord Li's words, Lin Zaozao, who was watching the show, couldn't help laughing out loud.
Since ancient times, aren't all treacherous officials like this? Even the words they say are so similar.
No, actually the villains she saw on TV before transmigrating were quite handsome.
The reality was that this Lord Li shouting here was truly too ugly. This little shorty standing here craning his neck and shouting, he looked just like a toad, horribly ugly.
The previously tense Hall of Governance instantly became awkward because of Lin Zaozao's sudden laughter.
"Ah, don't look at me everyone! I'm just a bystander, you guys continue your show...I mean, discussion, I'll just listen here."
Seeing Lin Zaozao's smiling appearance, Lord Li thought of her identity as the empress of Han Country.
Although she hadn't brought many troops on this trip to Han Country, after all, she was still the empress of Han Country.
If he could win over this empress of Han Country, then it would bring him one step closer to seizing Canglan Country's throne later.
Thinking of this, the oily Lord Li stroked his hair in what he thought was a very handsome manner, tidied his clothes, then walked forward a few steps with his hands clasped, a faint smile at the corners of his mouth as he earnestly addressed Zaozao.
"Your Majesty Mingzhu, I know you are sitting here to help the third prince Ye Yi so you can take over Canglan Country for Han Country with his assistance.
Rather than cooperate with a powerless third prince, it would be better to cooperate with me. At the very least, I currently hold real power and am much more reliable than the third prince."
"Oh! Cooperate with you? Then Lord Li, tell me, how do you propose we cooperate?"
Seeing the short, fat, greasy man in front of her, Lin Zaozao hid the smile in her eyes and calmly asked.
"Your Majesty Mingzhu, as the empress of a nation, you will surely take many husbands. Not only does the third prince have average looks, he currently has no power or influence either.
Why not take me as your primary husband instead? I am willing to share both Canglan and Han Countries' power with you!"
