YM778.TV Chapter 230 - 230 Taking Advantage of the Situation
“I’ve long heard that the two of you are smart. From the looks of it, you don’t really live up to your name!”
The fear and panic on the fake empress’s face had already disappeared, replaced by a faint disdain.
Lin Ran narrowed his eyes. “So you admit that you’re an imposter?”
!!
The fake empress glanced at the empress. “The Heavenly Saint Emperor is here. What’s the use of me not admitting it?”
Hearing how the imposter addressed her, the empress’s eyes suddenly flickered. “You’re not from the Heavenly Saint Dynasty?”
“I’m a sacrificial soldier nurtured by Emperor Xuan Yuan of the Great Yong Dynasty.”
The fake empress bowed to the empress with a disdainful smile on her face. “If the Heavenly Saint Emperor doesn’t mind, you can call me Xiao Wan.”
“Pfft!”
Lin Ran couldn’t help but laugh because he remembered that the empress’s name also had the word “Wan” in it.
The empress’s expression darkened. Of course, she knew what Lin Ran was laughing about. She glared at Lin Ran before looking at Xiao Wan. “Why are you pretending to be me? What’s Xuan Wushang’s motive?”
Before Xiao Wan could speak, heavy footsteps suddenly came from outside the throne room. Then, a male voice shouted from outside, “How dare you people barge into the throne room! The palace guards have surrounded this place. You have fifteen minutes to disarm and surrender! Otherwise, you will be killed without mercy!”
“It’s Song Rentong.”
The empress immediately recognized the voice. Seeing Lin Ran’s puzzled expression, she explained, “After Zhang Yueheng was beheaded, I promoted him to the position of Grand Secretary.”
“Zhang Yueheng was killed by you?!”
When the empress dealt with Zhang Yueheng, Lin Ran was trapped in the secret place of the Hundred Fragrance Palace with Liu Hongshan, so he didn’t know about this.
Seeing the empress nod, Lin Ran couldn’t help but ask, “When did this happen? Why did you behead him? Is it because of what I said to you?”
“That’s part of it.”
The empress replied, “Another part of the reason is that Zhang Yueheng has been in a high position for a long time and doesn’t know his place. Are you sure you want to talk about this now?”
Only then did Lin Ran remember that they were surrounded. He apologized and summoned the Yin-Yang Sword. With a casual wave, the sound of wind immediately blew outside the hall, instantly drowning out Song Rentong’s voice.
“Done!”
Lin Ran put away the Yin-Yang Sword. “I surrounded the throne room with sword energy. They won’t be able to enter even no matter how hard they try.”
The empress was relieved when she heard this. Then, she looked at Xiao Wan again. “Tell me! What exactly is Xuan Wushang’s plan?”
“It’s not my place to know his plan.”
As Xiao Wan spoke, she took off the crown and gently placed it on the dragon throne. Then, she raised her hand and took off her dragon robe. She sat on the dragon throne steadily with only a bright yellow robe on.
“The two of you don’t have to worry. I entered the palace yesterday and haven’t done anything yet. All the memorials are submitted to the new Grand Secretary for approval. Those that Lord Song can’t make the decision on are currently piled up in the imperial study.”
Xiao Wan pointed in the direction of the imperial study, then looked at the empress and said, “My emperor has no intention of taking the opportunity to disturb the peace in the Heavenly Saint Dynasty. It’s just that he didn’t know when the Heavenly Saint Emperor would return to the palace, so I was asked to come here to sit on the throne for a few days. I’ve completed my mission. Lord Lin, you can do what you want now.”
After saying that, Xiao Wan sat on the dragon throne with her chest puffed out and her head raised, looking like she was facing death calmly.
Lin Ran was in no hurry to attack. He just sized up Xiao Wan’s face and asked, “What about the face? Is it a new technology?”
“This is what I look like originally.”
Xiao Wan replied very honestly. After saying that, she added, “Because I look identical to Emperor Sheng Yuan, a few years ago, His Majesty discovered me and brought me home.”
“After that, His Majesty got someone to make some minor adjustments to my appearance according to the appearance of the Heavenly Saint Emperor. He also found someone to train me to imitate the Heavenly Saint Emperor’s gestures and expressions.”
When Lin Ran heard this, his expression changed slightly. He subconsciously glanced at the empress before asking Xiao Wan softly, “Did Xuan Wushang… do anything bad to you?”
“Lin Ran.”
The empress shouted in a low voice, her face still flushed red. “What nonsense are you talking about!”
“I was just asking!”
Lin Ran shrugged, but he realized that there was a trace of sadness on Xiao Wan’s face. His expression immediately changed. “This Xuan Wushang is quite a pervert…”
“Lin Ran.”
The empress pushed Lin Ran away in embarrassment. Then, she looked at Xiao Wan and coldly asked, “Tell me! Why did Xuan Wushang ask you to come?”
When Xiao Wan heard this, she came back to her senses. “I’ve already said that His Majesty doesn’t know when you will return to the palace, so he asked me to replace you for a few days.”
“Do you think I’m a fool?”
The empress’s expression darkened. Xuan Wushang had spent so much effort nurturing someone who looked identical to her, but all he wanted was to use her to pretend to be the Emperor Sheng Yuan for a few days. Even a three-year-old child would not believe it!
However, even in the face of the empress’s interrogation, Xiao Wan still looked calm. She pointed at Li Tianyi, who had fainted. “If the two of you don’t believe me, you can wake this person up and ask him.”
The empress pondered for a moment and turned to give Lin Ran a look.
Lin Ran nodded to show that he understood. Then, he reached out and pinched Li Tianyi’s thigh.
“Ouch!”
Li Tianyi screamed and woke up. When he opened his eyes and saw Lin Ran and the two empresses, his face instantly froze.
“Eunuch Li.”
Lin Ran greeted with a smile, “Long time no see!”
“Long time no see…”
Li Tianyi replied subconsciously. After saying that, his expression suddenly changed. “Lin Ran! You actually have the guts to come back on your own!”
“I didn’t do anything wrong. Why wouldn’t I have the guts to come back?”
Lin Ran shrugged indifferently and asked seriously, “Cut the crap. Let me ask you a few questions. This person—”
Lin Ran pointed at Xiao Wan. “When did she come?”
...
“Did you get hit by someone on the head? Why did you become so stupid?”
Li Tianyi frowned and said disdainfully, “His Majesty has been in the palace since he was young. What do you mean?”
Lin Ran was speechless for a moment before he said, “Let me put it another way. When did this person show up again?”
“Yesterday.”
Although Li Tianyi’s expression was unfriendly, out of fear for Lin Ran, he still replied without thinking, “That day, the emperor of Great Yong barged into the palace and said that he had kidnapped His Majesty.”
“I entered the imperial study and realized that His Majesty was indeed gone. After that, the emperor of Great Yong said that if we wanted His Majesty to return to the palace safely, we had to retreat 300 miles from the border and cede 15 cities.”
Hearing this, Lin Ran turned around and looked at the empress. It seemed that Xuan Wushang was indeed prepared to take advantage of the situation. However, since he had already made a request in the palace, why did he have to make the request again to the empress and send this imposter over?