Chapter 802: What If the Era Was Destroyed by Blind-Blind

Chapter 802: If the Epoch Was Snuffed Out by the Blind

Indeed, there was no need for further tidying. Before long, the Emperor and the Chancellor had been entwined together.

Perhaps their act of refilling each other's cup this once was also part of their karma... But in truth, Zhao Changhe had not come for debauchery this time. If not for Xia Chichi's earlier excessive passion and active demands, he would have merely sought pure companionship.

Xia Chichi had spoken rightly earlier: if Yang Yang remained perpetually downcast, unable to eat or drink, it would be unfair to others. Conversely, it was precisely because something had happened to Yang Yang that he realized how little time he had spent with those around him—a reminder to cherish them more, not wait until something occurred to regret it.

No matter how much time he spent with them, there were only three days left, and one and a half had already been consumed by cultivation.

Xia Chichi's words were tart, but in truth, she bore no jealousy toward Tang Wanzhuang. Propping her head on one hand, she watched Tang Wanzhuang's shy, yielding demeanor, finding it truly beautiful.

Even Huangfu Qing felt that this disciple was now closer to Tang Wanzhuang than to herself. The two of them had worked together so seamlessly, always for the public good, that their bond as sovereign and minister was like fish in water. Even if they occasionally disagreed on certain matters, they understood better than anyone else the effort the other had poured in.

Well... if there was any discord between sovereign and minister, it was that the Chancellor only showed the Emperor face in front of outsiders; in private, she never hesitated to commit lèse-majesté, showing not a shred of respect.

The sovereign whom Tang Wanzhuang could serve with utter abandon, setting aside all boundaries, was their husband.

Just like now, truly, she would do whatever he asked. Some postures seemed particularly shameful; she bit her lower lip and turned her head away, yet still obediently endured. The little sight of her made Xia Chichi almost envious of her husband, fully able to imagine how much Zhao Changhe enjoyed it.

"Hey, if you really like her diligent work during the day and gentle service in leisure, you should have been the emperor yourself. Then you could see this every day. Oh, I get it—you think seeing it every day would make it less interesting, so it's better to experience it occasionally, right?"

"What are you thinking? No matter how much I like it, I can't joke about the nation's position."

This admission confirmed that the scoundrel indeed enjoyed this feeling, making Tang Wanzhuang even more embarrassed, her eyes squeezed tightly shut.

Xia Chichi found it amusing. Perhaps among old married couples, only Tang Wanzhuang could still feel such shame.

All old women, yet why was this one so adorable? Maybe because we all love wearing white.

...

"This time to Kunlun, how do you plan to deploy?"

From daytime to night, the three of them actually rose properly when darkness fell and sat at the imperial desk to discuss matters.

Zhao Changhe naturally sat on the dragon throne, while Tang Wanzhuang stood gracefully by his side, asking softly, her pretty face still flushed.

Xia Chichi sat across from him, chin in hand, her eyes darting between the two. Now it was ruined—since confirming Zhao Changhe liked that feeling, it also confirmed that even their daily serious work would become part of his romantic amusement. Nothing would ever be proper again.

This girl didn't even realize her own dragon throne had been taken, too focused on this trivial matter...

Fortunately, the parties involved weren't thinking about such boring issues. Zhao Changhe leaned back in the chair, pondering for a long time, then said softly, "According to Ye Jiuyou's agreement with me, I can only meet her alone."

Tang Wanzhuang said, "If we find the place ourselves, does she get to decide how many people come?"

"She really can decide." Zhao Changhe sighed. "She has the ability to manipulate chaotic space. If she doesn't want us to enter, even if we find her, she can relocate at any time, playing hide-and-seek with us until the end of time. Yang Yang can't wait that long."

Tang Wanzhuang frowned slightly, thinking for a moment, then said softly, "Then can we set up an ambush outside? You enter the space alone, leave a mark. If things feel wrong, we'll charge in immediately."

"The idea is feasible, but we need to ensure she doesn't discover it... I think it's unlikely to fool her. The abilities of the Imperial Realm's third tier are too mysterious. Even if Ye Jiuyou isn't as unfathomable as Ye Wuming, she can't be easily deceived."

"But our people can be openly nearby," Tang Wanzhuang said. "Because we have the matter of the ancient White Tiger to deal with... Kunlun is in the west, and common sense suggests the ancient White Tiger is also in the Kunlun region. So we're looking for the White Tiger—what does that have to do with her? Just because she's there, we can't search for the White Tiger?"

"We can try, but I'm afraid she won't reason with us like that..." Zhao Changhe thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Any new developments at Sword Emperor's Tomb in Gusu?"

Tang Wanzhuang said, "That's Buqi's most important mission stationed in Gusu. He's been watching, and there have been no changes—very quiet. The people within dozens of li around Tiger Hill have been evacuated; it's now a no-man's land. The Tang family has been handling this all this time."

"Well done." Zhao Changhe murmured to himself, "How strange... In this great wave of gods and demons emerging, the Sword Emperor has been lying low... From the fact that Blind Blind listed him on the Demon God List, could he have already awakened long ago..."

Xia Chichi interjected, "Blind Blind?"

"Oh, nothing. Don't they say heaven has no eyes?"

Tang Wanzhuang said, "I've also considered the possibility that the Sword Emperor left long ago, but I've never dared to go down and investigate. Are you suggesting that we don't need to participate in the Kunlun campaign and should instead focus our main forces on exploring the Sword Emperor's Tomb?"

"We must thoroughly investigate the Sword Emperor matter. Leaving an unstable factor unresolved makes everyone uneasy." Zhao Changhe said, "What I'm asking is whether there's a connection between the White Tiger and the Sword Emperor. If we consider the conflict between Vermilion Bird and Netherworld in terms of divine duties, the White Tiger and Sword Emperor are also a classic case, right? They should be enemies. Maybe we can exploit that."

Xia Chichi raised her hand: "Although there are no records, theoretically, yes. The Night Emperor and the Sword Emperor must have had conflicts."

Zhao Changhe said, "I'm thinking, when the epoch collapsed, the ancient gods and demons mostly died unnatural deaths. So far, only two people built their own tombs in advance: one is the Azure Dragon, the other is the Sword Emperor, and both lie peacefully in their prepared coffins... Could there be something off about that?"

Tang Wanzhuang said, "I've thought about it too. The Azure Dragon's tomb is in the mortal realm, at the proper imperial burial site of Mount Mang, and it was even moved, altering the flow of human destiny. The Sword Emperor's tomb is clearly a secret realm formed from fragments of the celestial realm... In the past, we lacked information to judge, but now with more data, we can see an obvious problem—the epoch collapsed, and the celestial realm collapsed. It's understandable that gods and demons in the celestial realm died, but the Azure Dragon's tomb was in the mortal realm. How did the Azure Dragon die?"

Xia Chichi said, "Ninety percent chance it was killed by the Night Emperor. The Azure Dragon betrayed the Night Emperor's trust..."

Zhao Changhe said softly, "Betrayal or not, the result is the same. I'm sure that anyone in the mortal realm was killed by the Night Emperor. A typical example is Piaomiao. But the Night Emperor could kill his own subordinates but couldn't completely eradicate Piaomiao."

The two women exchanged glances. What exactly was the Night Emperor doing?

Zhao Changhe continued, "So the question is, the mortal realm didn't collapse. After the Azure Dragon died, he could still have subordinates bury him in his tomb—that's understandable. But the celestial realm was different. Who buried the Sword Emperor? In the midst of the great tribulation, who had the leisure to put someone else's corpse in a tomb?"

"Could it be..." Xia Chichi hesitated, "He was severely injured outside, stumbled back to his tomb, and lay down?"

Zhao Changhe said softly, "No."

"Why?"

"Because I've been to the outskirts of the Sword Emperor's tomb. It's filled with extremely dense baleful aura. If he died from a heavenly tribulation, such thick baleful resentment shouldn't remain. It's more likely he was killed. After death, his sword spirit or some subordinate buried him back in the tomb."

Xia Chichi was taken aback: "Makes sense."

"Also, when he built the tomb, why did he believe it would survive? If he had that confidence, why didn't he just hide in the tomb to escape the great tribulation? Unless he knew that the tribulation itself wasn't targeting the celestial realm's space but directly targeting them as individuals. As long as they were alive, hiding anywhere was useless. Only after death would the tomb not be attacked—the enemy wouldn't bother to grind their bones to dust... As for whether they could revive in the future, that was up to fate. At least their legacy was preserved..."

Tang Wanzhuang murmured, "If that's the case, then it wasn't the world's destruction caused by the death of the Heavenly Dao, as legend says, but a man-made extermination of the ancient gods and demons. Some of the more perceptive ones realized it early and made preparations."

How did this conversation lead to the conclusion that even the Sword Emperor was killed by Ye Wuming, complete with motive? And from that, even the apocalypse was her doing.

Zhao Changhe scratched his head. Logically, it seemed sound, but something felt off... No matter how powerful Blind Blind was, could she really have caused the apocalypse? That seemed over the top...

Zhao Changhe thought for a moment and said, "Alright, let's continue practicing the Four Symbols Formation. First, practice a simplified version without me, which won't require spatial-temporal laws. Even simplified, the formation with all four symbols can unleash terrifying power, possibly approaching the level of the Imperial Realm's third tier. Then we'll all go to Kunlun together. Whether we're looking for the White Tiger or Netherworld, we'll have some confidence acting separately."

Both women blinked. Zhao Changhe's implication was that the entire army would set out, including Xia Chichi.

Tang Wanzhuang hesitated, "Then... what about state affairs?"

Xia Chichi immediately said, "Just say the Emperor is in seclusion, on a tour, or leading a personal expedition. All major matters will be handled by the Chancellor."

Tang Wanzhuang fumed, "You're happy, aren't you? Careful, I might usurp your throne!"

"Usurp it. You can usurp anything except the position of the principal wife."

"Who says you're the principal wife? Dare you announce it loudly to everyone? Don't think that just because I'm your minister in public, you can push me around on this matter. I'll yield on other things, but not this."

Zhao Changhe: "???"

Wait, why are you suddenly arguing about this?

Xia Chichi grinned, arms crossed: "I won't argue with you. He arranged it. Take it up with him, don't vent your anger on me."

Tang Wanzhuang glanced at Zhao Changhe, then lowered her head without speaking.

Her expression, as if she would carry out even a foolish order if necessary, made Xia Chichi laugh and cry: "Aren't you always the one to speak up and remonstrate? Why don't you remonstrate with him? You follow him without limits. What if he's wrong?"

Tang Wanzhuang pursed her lips and sighed: "Because he's right. Since we've practiced the Four Symbols Formation, this is how it's used... Compared to these matters of gods and demons that could cause great disasters in the world, other state affairs are less important."

Xia Chichi's joy was practically overflowing.

Just moments ago, she had asked Zhao Changhe when she could venture into the martial world again, and he had said he wasn't sure, clearly undecided. Now, in a turn, it was confirmed—she could go this time.

Tang Wanzhuang sighed, "Are we leaving tomorrow?"

Zhao Changhe shook his head: "I'll go find Ying Wu first. You can practice the Four Symbols Formation for a few more days. After the spring examinations are over, we'll head to Kunlun. Once there, we'll find a way to contact each other."

Tang Wanzhuang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn't that the Emperor couldn't leave the capital, but it couldn't be too rushed. With a few days to prepare, given the current stability of affairs, it was indeed feasible to go out.

Seeing her worried, weary little expression, Zhao Changhe couldn't help himself. He reached out, wrapped an arm around her waist, and with a slight pull, lifted her onto his lap.

Tang Wanwan came to her senses, blushing with shame and twisting away: "What are you doing... you just now..."

"Nothing, just wanted to hold you."

Tang Wanwan stole a glance at Xia Chichi's amused expression, leaned in and lowered her voice: "If you leave first tomorrow, how about... taking Baoqin tonight? That silly girl's been waiting so wistfully."

"That's a bit too much..." Zhao Changhe replied softly: "It's late, I'll see you back to the Prime Minister's residence to rest, then I'll talk with her."

Tang Wanwan leaned back slightly, looked into his eyes, and gave a sweet smile: "I want to go back holding hands too."

Xia Chichi: "?"

How old are you, auntie?

Forget it, compared to being able to personally lead the expedition to Kunlun, nothing else matters much. Xia Chichi was in an exceptionally good mood right now and couldn't be bothered to complain about anything.

The capital's nights had long since abolished the curfew. Many neighborhoods still had scattered lights, with people occasionally coming and going from brothels and gambling dens, and roadside taverns were still bustling. The Prince of Zhao and Prime Minister Tang walked through the capital's night, and many saw them, then turned their heads to stare, their gazes fixed on the couple's clasped hands, dumbfounded.

"Do you want to... also hold a wedding ceremony?" Zhao Changhe was saying: "When the court was first stabilized, I had to worry about reputation and stability. I couldn't say I wanted to marry Chichi, nor could I say I wanted to marry you... But now things are different. The realm is secure, my prestige is at its peak, and doing something a bit audacious seems fine. Look, we're holding hands in the street, and they only dare to stare, not even a whisper."

Tang Wanwan lowered her head and said softly: "Not now, but later there will be. It's still bad for your reputation... and for the nation's honor. If you... want to give me something, just give Wanwan a private ceremony."

"Privately, that's too unfair."

"I am your concubine, I don't need a full ceremony."

Still stubbornly calling herself a concubine, when clearly a single word 'principal wife' from Chichi could step on her tail. Zhao Changhe chuckled silently, didn't argue with her, and pondered how to arrange a ceremony for Wanwan.

Actually, Wanwan could have a grand ceremony and be formally married just like Yangyang, but her status wasn't like Yangyang's—an insignificant nobody. It would easily invite the unpleasant label of 'ruler and subject fighting over a husband,' and also make other women wary and bristle. So neither of them had brought it up before. But now, everyone else had basically had their ceremony, leaving only this pair of ruler and subject who fought over a husband... Couldn't let someone who devoted herself to the nation end up with a disadvantageous shackle instead.

Tang Wanwan, being led by the hand through the street in public, her face was hot all along, her head kept lowered. She secretly glanced up at Zhao Changhe's thoughtful expression and found it somewhat amusing.

He was earnestly considering everyone's face and needs... Compared to the rough man who only wanted to practice his blade before... it was really not easy.

Actually, she didn't feel wronged. She had given her whole life to him, body and soul. No matter how he treated her, she had no regrets. Moreover, she knew many things weren't Changhe's fault, just the circumstances. Even when Huangfu Qing came to gloat smugly, she felt nothing—it was less embarrassing than being pinned against a pillar and kissed.

"Miss, you're back! I've heated the water for you... uh..." Baoqin's voice of greeting caught in her throat, her face flushed, stammering: "Mas-master-in-law is here too..."

One look at that little face told what the girl was thinking. Tang Wanwan was almost amused and couldn't help pinching her cheek: "You little wanton thing, truly shameless. What are you thinking about all day in that little head?"

Baoqin said: "Is miss scolding someone who hasn't married yet but openly held a man's hand all the way home?"

Tang Wanwan's face went blank, and she took a deep breath.

Baoqin quickly covered her head.

The next moment, the hands covering her head fell into another broad palm. Baoqin secretly looked up and saw Zhao Changhe pulling the hands of the mistress and maid, swinging them as he walked inside: "Now you're one too."

Baoqin: "..."

Tang Wanwan burst out laughing.

Baoqin would never criticize the master-in-law, muttering softly: "Will master-in-law stay the night tonight... I, I'll have them heat another bucket of water..."

Zhao Changhe said: "Holding hands all the way home without being married is still a small matter, but staying the night in full view of everyone without being married—that would truly be improper."

Baoqin's face fell, about to say something, but Zhao Changhe leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, saying softly: "When I return from this campaign, I'll give Wanwan a proper wedding... That day, you'll be by Wanwan's side, draped in a veil, waiting for me."

Baoqin touched her kissed cheek, and her eyes instantly sparkled.

Tang Wanwan's eyes also sparkled, like water.