"Cheng'er, are you really that strong?" Yun Liyue asked, just as surprised as everyone else.
Yang Cheng said, "Mother, I don't know if I'm strong or not. I only know Fourth Brother's strength is very small."
Yun Liyue smiled faintly, then her face turned serious. "Hu Po stays. Everyone else, leave."
She spread out her palm to Yang Cheng. "Cheng'er, press down on Mother's hand with all your strength."
Yang Cheng didn't hold back at all.
With the system by his side, he was destined to become more and more extraordinary. There was no way to hide it forever.
He also needed to slowly start showing his talent, so it wouldn't seem too abrupt later.
Today, he'd purposely revealed his strength so people would know about his innate divine power. Among his many hidden cards, this was the least likely to make others feel threatened.
Besides, he was curious himself—just how strong was he?
Yang Cheng used about seventy percent of his strength and pushed down on Yun Liyue's hand.
Even so, Yun Liyue was deeply shocked. "This strength is around 1,000 jin (1,100 pounds)," Yun Liyue said.
Hu Po's eyes widened in disbelief.
1,000 jin!
That meant the crown prince could already lift a full-grown ox.
This level of strength was equal to that of a peak Houtian expert. But a peak Houtian cultivator needed to channel inner qi to reach that strength.
Yet the crown prince was born with it—pure innate divine strength.
Yang Cheng thought to himself, 'Looks like my full physical power should be about 1,400 jin (1,540 pounds).'
And this was just his raw muscle strength. If he added his inner qi, his power would easily double.
"Hu Po, keep this a secret," Yun Liyue ordered.
Hu Po nodded seriously. The crown prince was still too young—it wasn't wise to show off too much. But no matter what, this was fantastic news.
Yun Liyue and Hu Po were both overjoyed.
After a while, Yun Liyue's smile faded. "Hu Po, prepare to head for Gathered Essence Palace."
A quarter of an hour later, Yun Liyue led Yang Cheng to the entrance of Gathered Essence Palace.
The place was desolate. Dry branches and dead leaves were scattered all over the ground.
Yun Liyue and Yang Cheng pushed the door open and walked in.
"Sister, are you here to take me out?" Yun Yirou called out excitedly.
Yun Liyue's face was cold and blank. She glanced at Hu Po.
Hu Po understood instantly. She stepped up to Yun Yirou and slapped her hard across the face.
Smack!
A bright red palm print immediately appeared on Yun Yirou's left cheek.
She clutched her face, eyes wide with rage and shock. "You worthless maid, who gave you the nerve to lay a hand on me…"
Hu Po's expression didn't change. She raised her hands and began slapping Yun Yirou back and forth.
In no time at all, Yun Yirou's head swelled up like a pig's head.
"Consort Xian," Yun Liyue said coolly. "Remember what I told you: inside the palace, you will address me as 'Empress.' If you forget again, I'll have Hu Po remind you."
Yun Yirou's eyes turned vicious with hatred. "Empress, I'm your own sister! How can you be so heartless? Now that you're Empress, you don't care about family at all?"
"The moment you set your heart on killing Cheng'er, there was no more family between us," Yun Liyue said coldly, eyes sharp. "What I want to know now is: why did you want to kill Cheng'er? There's nothing in it for you. Even if Cheng'er died, the crown prince title wouldn't go to Heng'er."
The one who posed the real threat to the crown prince was Yang Xiu, the sixth prince. Yang Heng wasn't even close.
So Yun Liyue truly couldn't understand.
"Hahaha, you don't get it? I don't either," Yun Yirou laughed wildly. "We're both daughters of the Yun clan—so why do all the blessings fall on you? You're only one year older than me, but that meant you entered the palace first and became Empress. Your son became the crown prince. Meanwhile, I have to come bow to you in Splendid Radiance Hall every day, and in the future, my son will have to kneel and bow three times, nine times to your son. I just want to ask: why?"
"So it was jealousy," Yun Liyue said coldly.
"You can think of it that way if you like," Yun Yirou replied. "But don't get too full of yourself. One day, you'll fall from your phoenix throne. So what if you're the Empress? So what if your son is the crown prince? The heavens don't favor you. You're destined to be someone else's stepping stone. When that day comes, you might even have to kneel and beg me."
"That day will never come," Yun Liyue said.
Yun Yirou's eyes flickered with uncertainty. "What do you mean? His Majesty only sent me to the Cold Palace. Even as Empress, you don't have the right to kill me."
"Mother came to see me," Yun Liyue said calmly. "I promised her I would protect your title as a consort."
Hearing that, Yun Yirou relaxed and let out a relieved smile. "Empress, it seems you really can't kill me. You'll even have to work hard to keep my position safe. After all, you're the nation's mother—you must show your filial piety to the world. His Majesty made you Empress because of your reputation for virtue and filial devotion. Also, I was wrong just now. What I said was just out of anger. From now on, I will respect you completely, and I'll make sure Heng'er devotes himself to helping the crown prince…"
Before she could finish—
Puff!
Yun Liyue had already drawn the sword from Hu Po's waist and thrust it straight through Yun Yirou's chest.
Yun Yirou's eyes widened, staring at Yun Liyue in shock and disbelief.
"Cheng'er, since you've chosen to soar through the storm, Mother will teach you your first lesson: when the time comes to cut ties, cut them completely. Don't let anything outside sway your heart," Yun Liyue said icily.
As she spoke, she pulled the sword out. Blood gushed from Yun Yirou's chest.
Clutching her heart, Yun Yirou glared at Yun Liyue. "You really killed me? Yun Liyue, aren't you afraid His Majesty will be furious?"
"His Majesty may be angry," Yun Liyue said calmly. "But he won't depose me over you. And the Yun clan—once you're gone, even if they hate me in their hearts, they'll only work harder to please me."
Hearing this, Yang Cheng finally understood how deep Yun Liyue's wisdom ran. No wonder, in his past life, even after he became a cripple, she still managed to keep him as crown prince for fifteen years.
'But Yun Yirou really died just like that?' Yang Cheng felt almost like he was dreaming. In his last life, five hundred years later, Yun Yirou was the lofty Western Empress Dowager. Yet now she died so pathetically and cheaply.
But why hadn't the system reacted yet?
Just then, Yang Cheng reached out to hold Yun Liyue's hand and brushed against the sword she used to kill Yun Yirou.
Almost instantly—
Ding!
[Host and your mother Yun Liyue have joined forces, using an extraordinary method to slay Western Empress Dowager Yun Yirou.]
[For this achievement, the host has been rated as 'glorious.']
[Reward adjusted to one tael of supreme Earth Spirit Divine Milk. Would the host like to claim it now?]
Yang Cheng chose not to claim the reward yet.
His heart was pounding with excitement. Supreme Earth Spirit Divine Milk—he could barely wait. In his past five hundred years, he'd never even seen something so precious.
"Hu Po, send out word: Consort Xian died from a cultivation accident, her qi went berserk. Request His Majesty to grant her a posthumous title of 'Virtuous Consort,'" Yun Liyue said coldly.
She knew killing Yun Yirou would have consequences. Even His Majesty might be displeased.
But in Yun Liyue's eyes, keeping Yun Yirou alive would only bring danger to Yang Cheng.
Compared to that threat, the negative consequences of killing her were trivial.
She hadn't become Empress because Emperor Qian Yuan loved her. Throughout history, emperors rarely chose empresses out of affection.
The reason Emperor Qian Yuan made her Empress was to win over the Yun clan's powerful influence.
As long as the Yun clan stayed loyal, her Empress seat was unshakable. And as long as she was Empress, the Yun clan had to show her absolute respect.
Yun Yirou had never understood this. Even after her schemes failed, she still dared provoke Yun Liyue. That was nothing but courting death.
And when news of Yun Yirou's death spread, the entire palace was thrown into chaos, as if an earthquake had struck.