Su Chen returned to the Library Pavilion.
The night passed.
The dust had settled.
But peace was not destined to return to the Imperial City. Countless influential families caught in the turmoil were now facing ruin and death.
As dawn broke, Su Chen was jolted awake in the Library Pavilion by the scent of blood.
In the courtyard, Zhang Gui stood ramrod straight, quietly watching the few medicinal herbs Su Chen had planted. They had taken root and sprouted, their new green shoots pushing up through a thick blanket of white snow.
"Are the herbs ready?"
Su Chen was delighted.
After all, this Second-Grade Heart-devouring Powder was his most potent weapon.
"You weren't arrested?"
Su Chen found it hard to believe.
After all, as the Vice Chief Steward of the Imperial Palace, Zhang Gui had taken part in last night's palace coup. Even if he tried to cover his tracks, purging him should have been remarkably easy.
"The Old Emperor doesn't have much time left to live."
Zhang Gui said suddenly.
Su Chen was confused.
'Last night, the two Princes' rebellion was suppressed. With the Purple-robed First Supervisor present, how could the Old Emperor…'
"Did Black Abyss make a move?"
Su Chen looked at Zhang Gui, searching for an answer.
"That's right."
"Actually, the Old Emperor's Demon Heart was pierced while he was in the Imperial Study. He reverted to his near-death state. I'm afraid he will pass away today."
"This was Black Abyss's great gift to the two Princes."
"But no one expected that the Purple-robed First Supervisor could kill this generation's strongest powerhouse from the Celestial Master's Mansion—the Peak First Grade Purple Star Daoist—and that the two Princes would be killed as well…"
"Now, the Chief Steward and the second-in-command, the Red Robe Chief Steward, have gone to see the New Emperor…"
The Old Emperor was going to die.
This was an outcome no one had expected. Even the Purple-robed First Supervisor, who had shown such divine prowess last night by slaying a Peak First Grade master with his Wind Snow Sword, likely never saw this coming.
But the two princes, clad in white robes embroidered with dragons, had already been slain.
'So where in the Imperial City would a new emperor come from…'
"There is."
Perhaps sensing Su Chen's confusion, Zhang Gui sighed and offered a small hint. Su Chen instantly recalled the aristocratic young man who had once tried to get the formula from him.
"The Seventh Prince?"
Zhang Gui left.
He too was going to support the New Emperor's ascension.
Whether his intentions were genuine or not, no one could say.
At least, peace had returned to the Library Pavilion once more.
'The tide ebbs and flows, but what does that have to do with me?'
'I hope the day never comes when I have to use that grass stalk.'
Su Chen dug up the herbs and injected three streams of Longevity True Qi into the main ingredients for two doses of Heart-devouring Powder. In an instant, a hundred-year Treasure Medicine was created.
After that, he created a second and third vial of Heart-devouring Powder.
At the same time, Su Chen could clearly feel the recovery rate of his Longevity True Qi slow down considerably.
'So using Longevity True Qi makes it recover more and more slowly?'
Su Chen wasn't bothered. He had a long life ahead of him to recover his Longevity True Qi.
「A few more days passed.」
There was still no news of the New Emperor's ascension or the Old Emperor's death.
Instead, Su Chen's Eighteen Golden Body Technique had reached the Late Stage of the Fifth Grade. His blood and Qi were now seven times that of a Martial Arts Prodigy at Blood and Flesh Realm Perfection, and it surged as if about to boil and ignite.
Even after scouring the ancient texts, Su Chen couldn't find a single record of such a phenomenon.
It seemed that not even Old Demon Gujue had experienced such a strange phenomenon while in the Fifth Realm.
It seemed he was unique in the Fifth Grade, the Blood and Flesh Realm.
Winter finally passed.
The first day of the second month, in the Twenty-fourth Year of Tianwu.
An entire month had passed since the night of the palace coup. The dynasty had changed.
"The New Emperor ascends the throne!"
"Long live the Emperor! Long live, long live the Emperor!"
From miles away, Su Chen gazed toward Jinluan Hall. He could almost picture the bewildered Seventh Prince on the throne, receiving the bows of the entire court.
He was just a puppet.
Because he had not received the approval of the Purple-robed First Supervisor, that World-Subduing First Grade powerhouse.
But the dynasty had truly changed.
The Old Emperor's concubines were dealt with: some were banished to the Cold Palace, while others were granted death to accompany the former emperor in the afterlife.
The harem grew much emptier.
But it wouldn't be long before new court ladies entered the palace, becoming royal consorts, concubines, a Noble Consort, or even the Empress.
'None of this has anything to do with me.'
Su Chen went back to tending his flowers and herbs.
Poisonous ones, of course.
"Master Su."
Xu Xiaohan walked into the Library Pavilion.
Noble Consort Zhang was already a thing of the past.
But even without the Fifth Prince and Noble Consort Zhang as his patrons, Zhang Gui—a Third Grade master, Vice Chief Steward of the Imperial Palace, and still so young—had already become a formidable figure in his own right.
Zhang Gui had been promoted again.
Well, it wasn't exactly a promotion. The Red Robe Chief Steward who had been in charge of the Martial Arts Bureau had committed an offense, and now all of the bureau's affairs, large and small, were firmly in Zhang Gui's grasp.
Consequently, Xu Xiaohan was also in high spirits.
He wore his Blue-robed Steward's uniform, followed by a crowd of Little Black-robed Eunuchs. They stared fearfully at Su Chen, clearly baffled as to why their Steward Xu was being so respectful to a eunuch clad in a simple black robe.
"Hasn't the New Emperor's reign title been established yet?"
Su Chen wiped his mouth. His palate had become more discerning lately; he was no longer interested in the dazzling array of meat dishes, having only sampled a few vegetable dishes.
"That person… won't allow it…"
Xu Xiaohan said in a hushed voice.
The Purple-robed First Supervisor.
He had now become, for all intents and purposes, an emperor ruling over the Emperor.
The Old Emperor had been able to keep him in check, but the New Emperor was far too green—a hedonistic prince who knew only of trivial romance and had never accomplished anything, yet had somehow stumbled his way onto the throne.
How could he possibly seize power back from the hands of a World-Subduing First Grade master?
"You may all leave. I'm going to rest."
"When you have a moment, tell Zhang Gui to gather some more seeds of rare and exotic plants for me."
"I know."
"After the Fifth Prince died, the perfume and soap businesses fell into his hands. He's without a doubt the richest merchant in Great Liang, so there's no need for me to give him any money."
Su Chen added a few instructions.
His words made the hearts of the new Little Eunuchs in the courtyard, who were trailing behind Xu Xiaohan, pound with fear.
'Eunuch Zhang Gui is practically on the same level as the Chief Steward of the Imperial Palace!'
'How dare this person speak so brazenly? He's just wearing a Profound Black Robe and looks as if he has no cultivation or authority at all.'
'Isn't he afraid of death?'
"Yes."
"Master Su, do you see anyone you like? You could have him attend to you personally."
Xu Xiaohan gestured for Su Chen to pick one of the new Little Eunuchs from behind him, but Su Chen dismissed the offer with a wave of his hand. He didn't like having people in the Library Pavilion, and he disliked having company even more.
After all, he had too many secrets.
Xu Xiaohan led the Little Eunuchs away.
"Eunuch Xu, who on earth was that? He puts on such airs! I see he's only wearing black robes, which means he's at the very bottom, just like us…"
A Little Eunuch asked.
"Don't ask."
"You only need to know that if Master Su wanted the blue and red robes of a Vice Chief Steward, he could get them with ease. It's a shame he didn't take a fancy to any of you. You've missed your chance to soar to the heavens in a single leap."