: The Fated Empress

The entire structure of the Jade Bamboo Pavilion was constructed from bamboo.

Four massive bamboo pillars supported the pavilion, each so thick that six adults holding hands couldn't encircle it.

Interwoven bamboo frames formed a staircase that wrapped around the exterior of the pavilion, resembling a dancing green dragon winding its way from the first floor all the way up to the third-floor rooftop,蜿蜒盘旋 with vivid charm.

Following the bamboo staircase under the guidance of a shop attendant, Ning Zhuo ascended directly to the third floor.

This area had been reserved by Shuang Jing.

"General Shuang," Ning Zhuo greeted with a salute.

He had been invited by Shuang Jing this time for morning tea.

Previously, at the Little Bird Pavilion, Shuang Jing had tried to recruit Ning Zhuo as a retainer, but Ning Zhuo had deferred, saying he needed to consider it.

Shuang Jing's renewed invitation today made his intentions quite clear.

Shuang Jing gestured for Ning Zhuo to sit down.

Morning tea and pastries were respectfully served by the attendant.

But Shuang Jing said, "No rush to eat or drink. I invited Military Advisor Ning today because there's a good show to watch."

Ning Zhuo was slightly taken aback, then immediately heard noisy commotion.

A team of cultivators, riding fine horses, charged through the bustling streets straight to the military granary opposite the Jade Bamboo Pavilion.

The leader was none other than Mu Lan.

"General Mu, please wait—" The guarding cultivator hadn't finished speaking when Mu Lan waved her hand, sending him flying.

But Mu Lan still dismounted, walked up to the tightly shut door of the granary, and suddenly kicked out.

Bam!

The door was kicked open by her.

Ning Zhuo was surprised, "What's happening? Why is General Mu so furious?"

Shuang Jing smiled without answering.

The granary overseer hurried out: "General Mu, calm down, please calm down!"

Mu Lan snorted coldly, "Where is Zhao Xi? Tell him to get out here! Blocking my army's provisions again and again, does he think the Red Flower Battalion is made of mud?"

"Hmph, I, the Supervisor, am right here! General Mu, don't make baseless accusations," Zhao Xi also appeared.

Mu Lan and Zhao Xi began arguing loudly.

Ning Zhuo understood after listening; it was because the Red Flower Battalion hadn't received their latest batch of provisions and pay.

"Mu Lan once stormed off publicly and has never gotten along with Zhao Xi."

"After that, the military supplies were withheld from the Red Flower Battalion once. I had to use treasures to settle it last time."

"And now it's happening again?"

"This is suspicious. After the army's ambush and returning to Canglin Immortal City with heavy casualties, provisions are needed to maintain morale. Under these circumstances, for Zhao Xi to repeat his tricks and harass the Red Flower Battalion is unwise!"

Though Ning Zhuo had only met Zhao Xi a few times, he had gathered intelligence and knew that while Zhao Xi was stingy and greedy, he was capable and understood the bigger picture. Otherwise, the Shuang royal family wouldn't have trusted him repeatedly and assigned him various posts.

Bam!

Enraged, Mu Lan struck out. Zhao Xi, prepared, always used procedures and regulations to brush her off. In her fury, she sent him flying with a palm strike.

"Zhao, you dog! Making such excuses shows you have no respect for this General!"

"Today, the Red Flower Battalion will take these provisions no matter what!"

With that, she stormed straight into the granary.

"No, you can't go in!" Zhao Xi, lying on the ground and spitting blood, shouted to stop her.

The soldiers behind Mu Lan, seeing the Supervisor in such a sorry state, felt greatly relieved and followed Mu Lan into the granary one after another.

However, once Mu Lan entered the granary, she found it completely empty.

Her face changed color; she immediately sensed something was wrong.

Zhao Xi struggled up, blocking the doorway, and shouted angrily, "Mu Lan! You are arrogant and reckless, bold as brass! Not only did you assault a superior officer, but you also broke into the granary."

"Our army's recent provisions were hijacked en route yesterday by the Stone-Center Old Freak! This is critical military intelligence. To avoid shaking morale, I kept it secret, only saying there were procedural issues and asking you to delay collecting the provisions."

"But you slandered me, accusing me of harassing you!"

"I, Zhao Xi, have always acted openly and clearly. When have I ever given you a hard time?"

"You assaulted me, showing no respect for me as the Supervisor and the royal envoy! What are you trying to do? Rebel?!"

Mu Lan turned pale, whirling around, her gaze sharp as an arrow, fixed fiercely on Zhao Xi.

Her soldiers hadn't expected this turn of events; one by one, they looked bewildered.

Zhao Xi wore an expression of being wronged, but Mu Lan could detect strong emotions of smugness, malice, and schadenfreude in his eyes.

Up in the Jade Bamboo Pavilion, Shuang Jing saw the development he wanted and couldn't help but smile, picking up his teacup to start drinking.

Ning Zhuo, like Shuang Jing, used his spiritual sense to observe the unfolding events.

"The Stone-Center Old Freak attacked the supply convoy? After the ambush, our side would surely send strong cultivators to search everywhere. How dare he still be here?!" Ning Zhuo asked Shuang Jing.

Shuang Jing put on an indignant expression: "The Stone-Center Old Freak is highly skilled; his earth traversal technique shows no signs of escape arts, fast and stealthy. But fortunately, this time the losses from the supply convoy aren't great."

Ning Zhuo fell silent.

It was true he intended to scheme against Mu Lan, but this wasn't his doing!

"To plot for the position of the Supreme General's estate, the higher-ups of the Two Drops Kingdom actually attacked their own supply convoy."

"I never expected the political infighting in the Two Drops Kingdom to be this intense!"

"Shuang Jing invited me here to witness Mu Lan's current situation—is he trying to intimidate me with this?"

"So this is the so-called 'carrot and stick' approach. Hmph."

Ning Zhuo sneered inwardly.

Sure enough, the next moment, Shuang Jing said meaningfully, "Our kingdom's Old General Mu has been bedridden for many years. In his time, he was the pillar of our military, leading the Red Flower Battalion to sweep across battlefields, pacify the northern demon threat, subdue western chieftains, clear eastern demonic influences, and quell the southern barbarians—his military achievements were illustrious."

"Such is the twilight of a hero."

"His only descendant, Mu Lan, indeed has great ambitions but little talent. With her mere Golden Core cultivation, how can she support the Supreme General's estate?"

Shuang Jing sighed here, "Our Two Drops Kingdom is a small state, so we must cherish every bit of our national strength."

"The Supreme General's estate consumes too much of our national resources but contributes very little."

"For the sake of the nation's plans, it's only right to ask Mu Lan to step down and make way for the worthy."

"It's just that our ruler is benevolent and can't bring himself to act. We, his officials, eat the ruler's俸禄 and serve the ruler's affairs—we should share the ruler's burdens."

"I hope this time, General Mu will understand the situation and know when to retreat gracefully."

Ning Zhuo remained silent.

Shuang Jing continued, "The times change easily; the strong and weak exchange places—this is the way of the world."

"In my view, talented young men like Military Advisor Ning are the future, the hope."

"Like a roosting bird, if it finds the right tree, it can achieve great things. Small trees like the Three Generals Camp, or ailing trees like the Red Flower Battalion—if they hinder your achievements, Military Advisor Ning, it would be such a pity."

"What does Military Advisor Ning think?"

Ning Zhuo shook his head, looked directly at Shuang Jing, and slowly stood up.

He first cupped his hands in salute, then said, "Lord Shuang Jing, your servant is foolishly loyal, knows the importance of state affairs, and cares deeply for the ruler. But how can the ruler's intentions be guessed by others? A loyal minister must offer advice directly, not scheme in secret or manipulate from behind. To serve the country loyally—how can one act recklessly and plot against others? If the ruler hasn't given clear instructions, how dare we act privately? If we presume to guess wrongly, wouldn't that harm both the state and ourselves?"

Ning Zhuo looked utterly serious, full of righteous energy: "You speak of 'stepping down for the worthy'—this is not something I can conspire in. A loyal official should only be loyal to the ruler, assisting in governance. How can we decide state affairs on our own?"

"Our paths differ; we cannot plan together. I beg your pardon, but this junior is unworthy of serving as your retainer. Ning Zhuo takes his leave!"

With that, Ning Zhuo flicked his sleeve and left, clattering down the stairs.

Shuang Jing was left stunned in his seat, watching until Ning Zhuo reached the street and disappeared into the crowd without looking back. Only then did he chuckle softly.

"I thought, coming from a great clan, he would understand the ways of power and strategy."

"Never expected him to be such a youngster."

"Well... Ning Zhuo is only sixteen, full of热血—that's reasonable too. Perhaps the Ning family allowed him to travel to educate him, to make him understand the ways of the world and people's hearts?"

"Hmph, fine then."

Shuang Jing's interest in Ning Zhuo was mainly due to Ning Zhuo's prophetic poetry.

But divination—even the most skilled cultivators in this art can't be accurate every time.

Shuang Jing wasn't like Liu Er. To him, Ning Zhuo wasn't a necessity but a nice bonus.

He was of the Shuang lineage and a Nascent Soul stage cultivator. Inviting Ning Zhuo twice and showing such attitude to recruit him was absolutely treating a worthy with courtesy.

Unfortunately, the second attempt at intimidation backfired.

Though Shuang Jing was disappointed and regretful, that was that.

His real target was still the Red Flower Battalion, still Mu Lan!

"Originally, I thought it would take a major battle to weaken the Red Flower Battalion, but who knew a single ambush would be enough."

"The Supreme General's estate, Mu Lan—they will all be mine!"

At the same time.

An elderly demon cultivator stood on a mountain peak, gazing into the distance at Canglin Immortal City.

He wore a yellow-and-white robe, had long pointed ears with golden fuzz, and a fox tail trailed from the back of his robe.

His eyes were like swirling, shifting clouds and mist.

After observing for a while, the demon elder nodded with satisfaction: "The aura of fortune has risen to this point. The time has come, finally arrived."

He then descended the mountain, heading towards Canglin Immortal City.

Wherever he passed, he seemed invisible; those around noticed nothing, and even the city gate formation showed no reaction.

In the city's alleys, he saw Mu Lan and her group leaving the city after failing to obtain provisions. He calculated for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction again: "Their fortune has declined; great calamity is upon them. Good, good, good!"

Finally, he arrived outside the Three Generals Camp and sent out a spiritual sense call.

Liu Er, who had learned that Ning Zhuo had gone to meet Shuang Jing again, was pacing restlessly in his tent,心烦意乱.

Suddenly hearing the demon elder's mental summons, he was both startled and delighted. He quickly followed the instructions, concealed his presence, stealthily left the camp, and met the demon elder in a mountain forest.

"Teacher, why have you come?" Liu Er greeted respectfully.

The demon elder stroked his beard and smiled: "Little Six, you vowed to rebuild our Blood Slaughter Immortal Kingdom. Have you made any progress?"

Liu Er then told his teacher all about his recent situation.

The demon elder nodded slightly: "You possess a king's destiny; as soon as you emerge, fierce generals will pledge allegiance. It seems now, Guan Hong and Zhang Hei are the right and left arms fate has given you."

Liu Er exclaimed, "Teacher, you've read my fate? What else is next? Will Military Advisor Ning leave me?"

"Ning Zhuo?" The demon elder shook his head, "He's not important. I came this time for another important matter."

"This is the Yin-Yang Unity Gourd, a treasure of the imperial dynasty. I entrust it to you."

"Next, you must use this treasure well!"

"Teacher, teacher!" Liu Er seemed dazed for a moment, and when he came to, only the treasure gourd was in his embrace. The demon elder had already vanished without a trace.

Liu Er called out a few times, then shook his head and sighed: "Teacher is still so elusive... Ah, never mind."

He put away the gourd and stealthily returned to camp.

The demon elder hadn't left; he watched until Liu Er was out of sight. He murmured inwardly: "Liu Er, that Mu Lan is your fated empress."

"Using the Yin-Yang Unity Gourd, you can successfully propose marriage, become the son-in-law of the Supreme General's estate, thus gaining legitimacy,摆脱 the awkwardness of your mixed human-demon blood, and truly integrate into the upper echelons."

"The world now... has long been humanity's world."

"The hope of rebuilding our Blood Slaughter Immortal Kingdom rests on you. You must bear this responsibility!"

The demon elder couldn't directly tell Liu Er the contents of his fate reading.

He had inherited the legacy of the Blood Slaughter Imperial Dynasty and was highly skilled in divination. His fate readings were accurate six or seven times out of ten.

But this cultivation art had a drawback: it couldn't be spoken.

Once revealed in advance, it wouldn't come true.

That's why, only after learning that Guan and Zhang had sworn brotherhood with Liu Er, did the demon elder speak the first part of the fate reading.

(End of )