The Demon Concubine of God

Chapter 457 Demanding Military Power

When the young emperor woke up in the morning, he found that the woman he longed for was not by his pillow. He immediately became anxious and uneasy. He jumped up and raised his voice to call the palace servants in.

Instead of the palace servants, Shen Wen, carrying snacks and eating them, walked around the screen. She looked at the young emperor with curiosity and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you so angry so early in the morning? Were you bullied in your dream? Are you going to call a bunch of palace maids and eunuchs to bully them back for you?"

The young emperor didn't understand the meaning behind Shen Wen's long string of nonsense at all. He grabbed Shen Wen's hand and said, "So you've been in this room all this time, sister? I thought you had abandoned me again. I'm glad you didn't run away."

Shen Wen was still holding a piece of osmanthus cake in his hand when the little emperor grabbed his hand in a panic, causing half of the osmanthus cake to fall to the ground and the other half to crumble beyond recognition.

"My osmanthus cake!"

Shen Wen was so disappointed that he couldn't help but lick the crumbs off his fingers. The little emperor misunderstood this and his gaze towards Shen Wen immediately turned greasy.

Shen Wen was startled by his appearance and quickly broke free to keep her distance, explaining, "Don't... please don't overthink it. You... you're the supreme ruler, you can't have those evil thoughts just now."

Before the young emperor could say anything more, Shen Wen quickly nudged him and said, "Get up and go to court. I will personally help Your Majesty dress and wash up. If you don't go to court soon, it will be too late. It's quite chaotic outside the palace today. I estimate there will be many important matters to be reported in court later."

True to her word, Shen Wen busied herself with touching the young emperor after the palace maids filed in carrying trays. However, this modern woman had never done such a process of dressing and grooming someone before. She ended up making the once dashing young emperor look like a beggar with messy hair. Even in the blurry bronze mirror, the young emperor was startled when he saw himself like this.

Shen Wen scratched the back of his head innocently, feeling incredibly embarrassed, and could only offer the young emperor a perfunctory smile.

The young emperor was amused by her appearance. At this moment, the head palace maid stepped forward with a smile and said, "This servant will redo Your Majesty's hair and clothes. Miss, you were probably nervous in front of the emperor, which is why you didn't do it perfectly. You'll get used to it after doing it a few more times."

The young emperor then waved for the head palace maid to come forward and serve him.

Seeing the palace maids busy, Shen Wen said, "Your Majesty, you are busy. I will go wash my face and change my clothes. I will have breakfast with Your Majesty when I am ready."

The young emperor stopped her. Knowing that Shen Wen usually loved to sleep in, he pulled her in front of him and said, "You don't need to stay with me. I have to leave soon. You should go back and continue sleeping. If you don't sleep well in the morning, I'm afraid you'll be listless all day."

Shen Wen immediately smiled and said to Hua, "I never expected that a big boy like you would be such a considerate and warm-hearted man. I'm going back to sleep now."

The palace maids and eunuchs standing nearby couldn't help but turn away and cover their faces to chuckle.

No wonder His Majesty the Emperor likes her; there has never been a woman in the harem as genuine and unpretentious as this young lady.

The young emperor was amused by her again, and only felt relieved after seeing her happily turn around the screen and actually go to sleep.

Shen Wen lay obediently on the bed, watching the young emperor's figure through the sheer screen, yet a surge of desire coursed through her. Actually, she didn't want to come back to sleep. The matter of military power she had discussed with the young emperor last night hadn't been resolved. Perhaps by gaining some military control and making the young emperor less vigilant, her movements in the other two locations would be easier.

However, this matter cannot be rushed; there is still time to negotiate with the young emperor later.

The young emperor went to the morning court session, and just as Shen Wen had said, murders were occurring frequently outside the palace, and various rebel and spy forces were also showing signs of emerging. The young emperor was extremely busy and overwhelmed.

As a result, the morning court session dragged on and on. The young emperor, who should have been dismissed on time, looked at the sky outside and felt even more tormented by his longing to return to his palace and see Shen Wen. Helpless, he could only sit on the dragon throne without moving and listen to the advice of his trusted ministers to remain still.

Time passed slowly amidst the inner turmoil. About half an hour later, a young eunuch quietly ran to the young emperor's side and whispered a few words to him. The young emperor's expression immediately changed drastically. He disregarded all important state affairs and left without a word with the eunuchs.

The young emperor hurriedly returned to his palace. The two maids who served Shen Wen personally, along with a royal physician, were waiting and talking outside the screen. Upon seeing the young emperor, they all knelt down to pay their respects. The young emperor ignored them and turned around the screen to look at Shen Wen on the bed first.

He grabbed Shen Wen's hand and asked, "Why did my sister suddenly get sick?"

The young emperor couldn't help but touch the dark circles under Shen Wen's eyes, feeling incredibly guilty. How could he have missed this detail when he left? He should have summoned the imperial physician to check her pulse at that time.

Shen Wen rubbed her forehead, looking at the little emperor with a comforting smile. She said, "I just didn't sleep well last night. I wanted to catch up on my sleep this morning, but I just couldn't fall asleep. When I suddenly got up, I felt dizzy and almost fell over."

The young emperor said, "It's my fault. You didn't sleep well yesterday. I didn't even notice you were sleeping right next to me. Lie down properly and I'll have the imperial physician prescribe some calming medicine for you."

The young emperor then summoned the imperial physician to inquire. The physician said, "Indeed, as Consort Shen said, the dizziness was caused by lack of sleep. I have already prescribed a medicine and had it prepared. Your Majesty need not worry."

The young emperor asked, "Is it because Sister Shen is physically weak, or because she suffered some hardship in the past? How could she faint after just one night of not sleeping well?"

The imperial physician said, "Your frail health and the severe injuries you have suffered are two of the reasons. You fainted after only one night's sleep. Based on my many years of experience, I suspect that you have something on your mind that you are suffering from.

Then the imperial physician looked at Shen Wen and said, "Miss, you are still taking things too seriously. I advise you to be more open-minded. If it is something you can talk about, then find someone you trust to confide in."

Shen Wen had her own agenda, but she was polite and perfunctory on the surface. Once the imperial physician and palace maids had left, she took the initiative to place her hand on the young emperor's hand.

Shen Wen felt that she had acted too well this time. She never thought that one day she would be like those scheming palace women in TV dramas, acting coquettishly and pretending to achieve her goals.

The young emperor held Shen Wen's hand and asked, "Sister, is it because you have something on your mind that you can't sleep? Could it be that you didn't sleep at all last night? I was so careless; I didn't even notice that you hadn't slept all night."

Shen Wen said, “It has nothing to do with you. I have lived my whole life in fear. No one can suddenly be like this after just one night without sleep. His Majesty knows my past. I have suffered countless threats and intimidation. Even when I was so humble that I wished I could become invisible and never get in their way, I still did not gain a peaceful life. It is my fault. I was too cowardly.”

The young emperor felt even more sorry for Shen Wen. Only then did he remember Shen Wen's past. He had been reduced to someone else's plaything, so naturally he had no peace of mind year after year, day and night.

The little emperor said, "Sister, don't be afraid anymore. Now that you're by my side, I guarantee you'll be second only to the emperor, and no one will ever bully you again."

Shen Wen said, "Of course I believe you, but there's always a chance of something going wrong, I..."

The young emperor was very clever. He immediately understood Shen Wen's concerns. He himself also knew that even he, as the emperor, had a group of people he was wary of.

The young emperor said, "Didn't my sister say yesterday that she wanted military power? Then tell me what kind of military power you want, and I will give you whatever I can after weighing the pros and cons."

Shen Wen was secretly delighted, but her face remained cold. She said, "It's not that I necessarily need to hold military power. I'm just afraid that if my life is threatened, I'll be able to save my own life."

The young emperor explained the various military positions and then asked her to think about how to choose.

Shen Wen thought for a moment and said, "I am a woman in the harem. It is impossible for me not to accompany His Majesty and actually accept an official position to achieve something. If I really do that, we will have too little time together. How about this, His Majesty writes me an imperial edict with full authority. Wherever Da Jue is located, His Majesty can use the edict to command him. That way, even if I am kidnapped and taken to some remote corner, I think I can use this to get rescued."

The young emperor appreciated her idea and immediately approved it. He stood up with a smile and said, "Then I will write it for you and then issue this decision to all parts of the country. By the way! I think a single edict is not enough. I will have the Imperial Household Department make a seal for you. The seal will be indestructible and exclusive to you, so no one will deny or impersonate you."

Shen Wen immediately gave the young emperor a big smile, which made the young emperor even happier, and he left in high spirits.

After he left, Shen Wen suddenly felt a sense of guilt. This young emperor was genuinely good to him, but unfortunately, he had been scheming against him.

With the addition of the Western Liang city lord's forces, the situation outside the imperial city has become even more ferocious and complex.

The relationships among the Jianghu soldiers are complex, and they obtain information from the common people very quickly. When other rebel forces are fighting for territory in the capital, and the battles are in full swing, large groups of Jianghu soldiers will surround the scene, and the situation will immediately turn into a situation where they are the ones who are waiting to take advantage of the chaos and reap the benefits of the fighting forces.

However, the Jianghu soldiers received an order from above: upon discovering groups of cultivators from Thousand Peaks Mountain, they should not report to their superiors, but kill them one by one, or one group by one.

However, these cultivators were all highly skilled, always striking unexpectedly in battle, and their methods of killing were bizarre and ruthless. After several rounds of fighting, the powerful Jianghu soldiers never gained the upper hand. The Jianghu people, filled with righteous indignation, grew increasingly resentful after these setbacks, causing the Jianghu soldiers to become demoralized, disobeying orders and focusing their attention solely on the cultivators. The Jianghu soldiers under the Xiliang City Lord became a disorganized mess.

The situation gradually changed, and the Jianghu army suffered repeated defeats, resulting in many more heroic deaths in the capital city.

However, the group of evil cultivators did not become rampant. The capital's army, which had always been a step behind, suddenly seemed to have found a shortcut in this critical situation. They suddenly became swift in their actions when the cultivators were causing trouble, always managing to surround and capture them at crucial moments. They had succeeded many times, leaving the other group of cultivators caught off guard and speechless.