Cultivation: I Can Traverse Otherworlds

”Liu Xun!”

”As the Commander of the Imperial Guard, how dare you lead men to force your way into Yangxin Hall? Do you have no respect for His Majesty?”

Chief Eunuch Tong Bao’s eyes widened in fury. The robes on his short frame billowed without a breeze, his body erupting with a terrifying power.

He was a eunuch, true.

But here in the Imperial Palace, he was second only to one and above all others, and he had cultivated an air of authority.

His Half-Step Vajra Realm cultivation placed him among the top experts in the land and the Martial World—the kind of man whose stomp could make the world tremble.

”Her Highness has found a Spiritual Medicine that can alleviate His Majesty’s suffering. I’d like to ask Eunuch Tong why you are preventing Her Highness from seeing His Majesty,” Liu Xun snorted.

”You are but a eunuch, yet you dare deceive the Emperor, committing an act of treason. What are you planning?”

”Insolence!” Tong Bao roared.

”This old servant is acting on orders!”

”Stop!”

”Stop them!”

With a single disagreement, the two sides clashed, with more than ten Martial Saints who had opened their Divine Treasures joining the fray.

HUMMM...

The heavy doors to the hall were slowly pushed open.

Qii Wanyan, dressed in palace attire, slowly stepped into the grand hall.

The Qi Force from the clash of experts surged behind her, pouring through the open doors and rampaging through the hall.

Tables and stools were sent flying, screens shattered, and in the blink of an eye, the vast palace hall was a complete mess.

Only the very center seemed protected by some Invisible Power, shielded from the invasion of the violent Qi winds.

On the bed, several yards wide, the light gauze canopy swayed gently with the drafts, faintly revealing a sense of desolation and chill.

”Prime Minister Zhang?”

Besides Emperor Chong’an, who lay on the bed as if in a deep sleep, there was another person in the room.

Prime Minister Zhang!

It was Prime Minister Zhang, with his refined and scholarly appearance, yet a back as straight as a sword and eyes that held the depth of a hidden pool.

”Your Highness.”

Prime Minister Zhang cupped his hands and spoke in an unhurried tone:

”His Majesty is afflicted by a terrible illness and knows his time is short. Thus, he summoned this old official to arrange some final affairs.”

”Is that so?” Qii Wanyan approached, her hands clasped behind her back.

”My Imperial Father is wise and his intellect is boundless.”

”If he were arranging his affairs, he would surely have summoned the Imperial Clan Court and the Ministers of the Six Departments. Why would he summon only you, Prime Minister Zhang?”

”Your Highness makes a valid point.” Prime Minister Zhang nodded, lightly stroking his beard.

”The world calls His Majesty a fatuous ruler, but they do not know it was he who subdued the Zhenbei Rong, pacified the Dingyuang Sea, and quelled the Pingfeng Marquis. Were it not for the treasury’s great deficit, it would be no exaggeration to call him a peerless and heroic martial emperor.”

”Unfortunately...”

He sighed softly.

”His Majesty is the Emperor, but he is still a Mortal. In his grave illness, he too has lost some of his usual rationality. And it seems the person he trusts most is this humble subject.”

”Your Highness.”

Prime Minister Zhang cupped his hands again.

”This old official does not lie. It was indeed His Majesty who summoned me here, and he summoned me alone.”

?

Qii Wanyan raised an eyebrow but didn’t press him on whether he was telling the truth.

”What did Imperial Father say?”

”His Majesty gave this old official two imperial edicts.” With a single hand, Prime Minister Zhang swept it over his waist, and two scrolls appeared in his palm.

’Imperial edicts!’

’Two of them?’

’He just took them out like that?’

Qii Wanyan’s heart pounded, but her expression remained impassive as she spoke slowly,

”I’ve heard that a Qiankun Cloth Bag can hold all things. Such an Exotic Treasure is rare in this world. I never imagined Prime Minister Zhang would possess one.”

”I acquired it by a fortunate coincidence in my early years.” Prime Minister Zhang lowered his head, glanced at the inconspicuous gray bag at his waist, and smiled faintly.

”Does Your Highness wish to know what instructions His Majesty left?”

”...” Qii Wanyan’s lovely face tensed. She cupped her hands and said,

”I would like to hear the details.”

”This first one,” Prime Minister Zhang said, lightly raising one of the scrolls, ”states that if all is well in the Capital City and the Third Prince returns after quelling the rebellion, His Majesty orders the Third Prince to inherit the throne.”

”As for Your Highness...”

”...you are to be granted the Daoist name ’Yuzhen’ and have the ’Yuzhen Temple’ established for you on Nine Kings Mountain, where you will spend the rest of your life guarding His Majesty’s tomb.”

”Your Highness, in the end, His Majesty cannot bear to let you leave his side.”

Qii Wanyan’s expression darkened.

”Then...”

”What about the second one?”

’Bandits are running rampant and the situation is worsening. The Third Prince is tied down by the rebel army, unable to return anytime soon. And in the Divine Capital, the various factions are restless and it is far from peaceful. This edict is clearly no longer applicable.’

’If this edict were announced, the remnants loyal to the Crown Prince, along with her own people, would be able to turn the Divine Capital upside down.’

”This one?”

Prime Minister Zhang shook his head and sighed.

”His Majesty appoints the Nineteenth Prince as Emperor, with this old official to assist him. Everything else is to be discussed after the bandit crisis is resolved.”

”Little Nineteen?” A cold smile touched Qii Wanyan’s lips.

”Imperial Father truly favors my third brother.”

The Nineteenth Prince, Qii Wenlin, was only four years old this year. He was born slow-witted, only slightly better than an imbecile. He was also a medicine pot, sent to the Great Compassion Temple to be raised by Monks from birth. She had almost forgotten she even had such a brother.

His mother’s clan had some power, but that Imperial Consort had a violent and irritable temper and was bound to cause trouble.

’So...’

’Emperor Chong’an still chose the Third Prince to be the next emperor, but to maintain stability in the Divine Capital, he would first install the Nineteenth Prince.’

’Once the Third Prince returned to the capital, the succession would be changed again.’

”What about me?”

Her beautiful eyes flickered as Qii Wanyan asked,

”Is it still to Nine Kings Mountain to guard the tomb?”

”No.” Prime Minister Zhang shook his head.

”You are to be sentenced to death!”

”...” Qii Wanyan clenched her Silver Fangs, her hands tightening into fists, the veins on their backs bulging. A look of bitter resentment surfaced on her face.

”Good!”

”Imperial Father has truly thought of everything!”

”His Majesty knew that Your Highness would certainly not be resigned to your fate. If you were to live, the Divine Capital would never know peace,” Prime Minister Zhang said.

”And clearly...”

”...His Majesty was not mistaken.”

The chaos in the Imperial Palace, the Seventh Princess Qii Wanyan forcing her way into Yangxin Hall—it all proved that she had not given up hope.

”My mother once said, ’The imperial family is the most heartless of all.’”

Qii Wanyan sighed softly.

”It is truly so!”

”So, Prime Minister Zhang, which edict do you intend to choose?”

”Your Highness, stop right there.” Prime Minister Zhang raised a token in his hand, looking at Qii Wanyan as she prepared to step closer.

”Before His Majesty rested, he gave this humble subject this item. It can control these four Golden Men. If Your Highness takes another step, then do not blame this humble subject for being impolite.”