"Enough!"

Zhao Heng suddenly stood up, his face dripping with darkness, his chest heaving violently, and his eyes blood-red.

Never in his wildest dreams did he expect the Yu Family to actually dare to rebel. Even less did he expect Yu Wantang, the woman who used to obey his every whim, to dare slaughter the court ministers right in front of him.

"Guards! Protect the Emperor! Kill this traitor!" He roared at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking and echoing through the main hall.

Outside the hall was dead silence; not a single guard was in sight.

Yu Zechuan stepped forward slowly, holding a long saber across his chest, its edge glinting coldly under the candlelight.

Blocking the way at Yu Wantang's side, he said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to shout. The entire imperial palace has long been controlled by my Yu Family Army. The guard shifts at the four gates have been replaced, the Yulin Guards disarmed, and not a single one of your Imperial Guards remains."

These words struck like a thunderbolt, causing Zhao Heng to tremble violently.

He collapsed back onto the dragon throne, finally realizing that the Generals Mansion had been prepared all along. From the moment he issued the imperial decree, they had laid an inescapable net, waiting for him to walk right into their trap!

"Impudent!" Zhao Heng gritted his teeth, but he no longer possessed his past majesty—only a front of fierce bravado hiding his inner weakness.

"Impudent?"

Yu Wantang chuckled softly and stepped onto the imperial steps. "Then today, I will be impudent to the very end."

Looking at Yu Wantang pressing closer step by step, fear finally showed in Zhao Heng's eyes. Suppressing his panic, he forced a very strained gentle expression onto his face and softened his tone. "Wantang, I have neglected you these past few days. You have anger in your heart, and I do not blame you."

Yu Wantang did not stop her pace.

Seeing that she hadn't drawn her blade, a sliver of hope actually rose in Zhao Heng's heart.

Leaning forward slightly, his tone grew even softer. "How about this? I promise to make you my empress. Everything from before will be wiped clean, and I will not hold tonight's events against you.

Have Yu Zechuan withdraw the troops and hand over military power, and tomorrow I will issue a decree to create you Empress. The Generals Mansion will remain a meritorious family of the court, enjoying endless wealth and honor."

"Hand over your ass!" Yu Zeyun couldn't listen anymore.

Yu Wantang looked at Zhao Heng as if he were an idiot and said to the system, "System, is this the confidence of a short-drama male lead?"

System: "Host, you said it yourself—he's the male lead. The plot setting dictates that both the female lead and side characters fall for him."

"If you hadn't brought it up, I would've forgotten. I ran into your future empress on the way here," Yu Wantang said.

"The daughter of the Prime Ministers Mansion. She told me the position of Empress belongs to her and warned me not to harbor pipe dreams." Yu Wantang paused, speaking casually, "Though it doesn't matter anymore."

Du Ruhai raised his head, his half-squinted eyes finally opening wide. "What did you do to my A'yun?"

Yu Wantang turned her head to meet Du Ruhai's gaze. This old fox had been as steady as a mountain just a moment ago, but now he could no longer keep up his facade. "Nothing much, just sent her to meet the Buddha."

Du Ruhai's body swayed, looking as though he were about to faint. The person beside him quickly held him up, saving him from collapsing to the ground on the spot. His lips trembled as he pointed at Yu Wantang, shaking for a long time before managing to squeeze out two words: "You... you..."

Yu Wantang watched him force himself to stay upright, without a shred of pity in her eyes. Weren't he and the dog emperor quite pleased with themselves when scheming against the Generals Mansion?

"Prime Minister Du, you are the Emperor's pillar of state. You must hang in there."

Du Ruhai completely slumped against the colleague supporting him, his shoulders slumping completely.

Watching this scene, the other ministers in the hall shifted their gazes nervously and pulled in their necks, no longer daring to utter a sound. The voices that had chimed in earlier were now swallowed whole back into their stomachs.

Yu Wantang looked back at Zhao Heng. The facade of affectionate sweetness on Zhao Heng's face had shattered completely; he finally stopped pretending.

"Zhao Heng, are you still waiting for reinforcements from the Capital Garrison?"

Zhao Heng's face changed drastically, his pupils shrinking abruptly.

He was indeed waiting. The Capital Garrison had thirty thousand elite troops, which was his final trump card. He had arranged people outside the palace; as long as the news got out, the garrison's troops could arrive within an hour. He only needed to stall until the reinforcements came, and he could turn the tables and wipe out the Yu Family rebels in one fell swoop.

Watching his face change in an instant, Yu Wantang continued, puncturing his fantasy word by word: "Unfortunately, the messenger you stationed outside the palace was intercepted and killed by me long ago."

"Outside the palace gates is entirely my Yu Family Army. All four gates are sealed—not even a fly can get out."

Every sentence caused Zhao Heng's heart to sink further. By the time she finished her three sentences, the last trace of color drained from his face. His final sliver of hope was utterly shattered.

Yu Wantang stopped wasting words and stepped forward, continuing up the steps.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Her pace was unhurried as the soles of her boots stepped on the blood-stained imperial steps. Yu Zechuan held his long saber across, blocking any ministers who wished to step forward. A biting murderous intent rushed over them, and no one dared to move again.

In a moment, Yu Wantang reached the front of the dragon throne. Zhao Heng shrank back instinctively, his back pressed tightly against the throne's backrest, his fingers gripping the armrests until his knuckles turned white.

He raised his head, his voice trembling: "Yu Wantang... How dare you!"

"I am the Son of Heaven, the Emperor chosen by Mandate of Heaven! You cannot kill me!"

Yu Wantang smiled.

"Son of Heaven?"

She raised her hand, grabbed Zhao Heng by the collar, and pulled hard, violently dragging him off the dragon throne.

Zhao Heng stumbled and fell down the imperial steps, crashing heavily onto the blood-stained golden brick floor. His imperial crown rolled off and rolled into a pool of blood, leaving him in absolute disgrace.

She looked at him and said, word by word, "From now on, you are not."

A flash of blade light, blood splashed across the dragon desk, and a head rolled to the ground.

Outside the hall, the sounds of battle gradually died down.

The footsteps of the Yu Family Army clearing out remaining enemies echoed from the end of the palace path, rhythmic and powerful. The clashing of weapons grew sparser until only occasional, brief screams and pleas for mercy remained.

Inside the hall, the candles were still flickering.

Yu Wantang turned around slowly and raised a hand to brush off the bloodstains on her hem. The cold sharpness between her brows had not dissipated, yet she radiated a natural aura of looking down on the world.

She sat on that dragon throne, her gaze slowly sweeping over the ministers kneeling all across the hall. Her voice was cold and powerful, echoing through the entire hall.

"Now, who else opposes?"

The entire court of civil and military officials knelt on the floor, their foreheads pressed against the blood-stained golden bricks, trembling all over and not even daring to breathe loudly.

Oppose? Who dared to oppose?

Lying haphazardly on the ground were the ministers who had just opposed; their corpses were still dripping blood.

With five hundred thousand troops of the Yu Family behind her, the palace guards replaced, the four gates sealed, and blades resting against everyone's necks.

Who would dare to utter half a word of objection?

The system's prompt chime rang out right on cue in Yu Wantang's mind.

【Ding! Congratulations Host on completing the speedrun mission for World No. 003! Successfully rewrote the tragic fate of the Original Host's entire family being executed.】

【Completion Rating: SSS-Rank!】

【Speedrun Points Gained: 100,000 points!】

【Current Progress toward Ten Billion Assets: 0.16%!】

She let out a soft laugh.

"System, see? I told you, all you need to do is swap out the person giving the orders."