Chapter 24: The Tyrant Says, “Empress, Come to Me—I’ll Stand Up for You”

He glanced at the shocked Empress Dowager, then looked toward Zhu Wuhuan in the garden, his voice domineering.

“As for the claim that she sought the Jin Prince’s help to save the Zhu family—this makes even less sense.”

“The Jin Prince is but a prince. I am the Emperor!”

“The Jin Prince is only an old acquaintance of hers, but I am her husband!”

“If she wished to save her family, why not come directly to me? Why would she go to the Jin Prince? Is she stupid?”

Feng Changye’s words left the Empress Dowager dizzy and shaken.

She stared at him in shock. “You didn’t issue an edict to depose her? But in court, didn’t you personally say—”

Feng Changye cut her off. “In court, I was simply too furious and spoke without thinking when I said I would depose the Empress. But don’t married couples quarrel? Isn’t it normal to threaten to dismiss one’s wife? Can I not vent at the Empress, frighten her a little, say such things to her?”

The Empress Dowager reflexively said, “But you are the Emperor! Your words are the imperial decree!”

Feng Changye turned his eyes to her. “No.”

He smiled faintly. “Before others, I am the Emperor, my words are law. But when facing my Empress, I am just an ordinary husband. Other men in the world may joke and quarrel with their wives—am I not allowed? Must I, simply because I am Emperor, be stripped of the pleasure of bantering with my own wife?”

Completely ignoring the Empress Dowager’s shock, he clasped his hands behind his back and looked at Zhu Wuhuan. “Empress, come to me. I will stand up for you.”

“……” Down in the garden, Zhu Wuhuan was dumbfounded by Feng Changye’s words.

Why was this tyrant so different from the one she knew of in history?

At this moment, shouldn’t he be exploding in rage, throwing both her and the Jin Prince into the dungeons?

Wasn’t that what a tyrant would do?

But here he was, openly defending her in front of the Empress Dowager, every word firmly supporting her. What on earth was going on?

Instinctively, she whispered to the system, 【Should I act the part of a beloved wife right now, show him how touched I am?】

The system replied, 【Yes! Best to squeeze out two tears, then throw yourself into his arms, teary-eyed…what a beautiful scene! Just like in the dramas.】

She shivered, goosebumps rising, and retorted, 【Please consider the setting! He’s in the neighboring residence, in a pavilion several zhang high! There’s a tall courtyard wall between us—I can’t fly! For me to run out of the general’s manor in excitement, then dash into the neighboring residence, then scramble up the stone steps, sweaty and breathless, just to throw myself into his arms…】

She asked, 【Are you sure that scene is beautiful?】

System: …

Her exchange with the system lasted only a few seconds.

She lifted her head, looking troubled, and said to Feng Changye, “Your Majesty, I’d like to come over…but I can’t fly!”

She pointed at the high wall separating them. “Unless, perhaps, you wait while I have the Guards fetch a ladder?”

“……” Feng Changye nearly choked in exasperation!

Just now, listening to her bicker with the system in her mind had almost made him laugh. Seeing her like this now, he was utterly speechless. Truly, this woman’s thought process was unlike any other!

He cast her a glance, then looked past her at the roof beam. Raising his voice, he called, “Ji Yunzhang!”

In the next moment, a black shadow darted from the roof beam!

With a swift movement, the figure leapt down, took a few steps, and landed behind Zhu Wuhuan, dropping to his knees with a thud. “This humble general greets Your Majesty! This humble general greets the Empress!”

Zhu Wuhuan whipped her head around in disbelief at the man.

Then she looked back up at the roof beam where he had hidden.

Damn it, how could someone have been up there all along?

Didn’t that mean he had heard every word she and the Jin Prince had just said?

When she looked down at the man kneeling before her again, she suddenly found his face familiar.

【Wait—that’s the deputy officer who was guarding the gate earlier!】

Her heart went cold. 【System, I’m finished! You’ve seen how merciless he was when dealing with Song Anqiao and Minister Song. If the tyrant asks him what I said to the Jin Prince just now, he’ll definitely repeat every word!】

The system fell silent. 【As expected of someone fit to be Emperor. While you were the mantis scheming against the Jin Prince, he was the oriole waiting behind, catching you both in one swoop…】

Zhu Wuhuan’s heart sank further. 【That damn tyrant…he’s too cunning! I’m starting to think I can’t take him down at all!】

Before the system could reply, she scoffed bitterly, 【And don’t tell me I have you! What use are you, system? The tyrant sat right there in the rockery and you didn’t notice. This big man was hiding on the roof beam right under our noses, and you failed to detect him too! Other systems are omnipotent—what about you?】

The system stayed mute.

It was only a beginner-level auxiliary system, newly designed.

If it were as powerful as other systems, would it be stuck with such a trash mission, saddled with such a trash host?

It would already be traversing the worlds, conquering all with its host!

Up in the pavilion, hearing Zhu Wuhuan and the system blaming each other, Feng Changye nearly laughed out loud.

Planning to “take down the tyrant” and crown yourselves as empresses?

I haven’t even made a move yet, and you two fools are already at each other’s throats!

Enemies tearing themselves apart—how delightful.

He curved his lips in amusement, then looked at Zhu Wuhuan and told Ji Yunzhang, “The Empress cannot fly. You know what to do.”

Ji Yunzhang bowed respectfully. “As Your Majesty commands!”

He rose, turned to Zhu Wuhuan, and said, “Forgive me, Empress.”

With that, he tugged her cloak tight around her, then bent down and hoisted her onto his shoulder. His toes tapped lightly on the ground, and with practiced qinggong he leapt over the courtyard wall, carrying her toward the rockery pavilion.

Zhu Wuhuan’s head was pounding with fury—how dare this martial brute treat her like a sack of rice!

She was the Empress, and he dared to carry her like livestock? Outrageous!

And to think he even had the same name as her idol, Lord Guan Yu. What a disgrace—he wasn’t worthy of a tenth of that man’s character!

Because of the awkward position, when Ji Yunzhang set her down in the pavilion, her head was still swimming.

She staggered, unable to keep her footing, and pitched toward Ji Yunzhang.

Startled, Ji Yunzhang quickly pushed her away by the arm, not daring to catch the Empress himself—sending her tumbling straight toward Feng Changye.

When Feng Changye saw her stumbling toward him, his face twisted in disdain. Instinctively, he stepped aside!

So Zhu Wuhuan’s eyes went wide in disbelief as the man coldly ignored her, letting her fall straight to the ground.

Sure enough—she landed with a heavy thud.

Clawing at the floor, she cursed furiously in her heart:

【I wronged Empress Zhu! No wonder she chose the Jin Prince over Feng Changye. Her eyes were clear! This dog tyrant isn’t worth it! Compared to him, even the Jin Prince looks human!】