228: The Empress was furious! Su Chen, how dare you bring a wild woman to block my palace gates!

Great Xia Imperial Palace, Imperial Study.

Ji Hongxue's fingertips were tracing the pages of a book, her mind immersed in the fragments of the "Ten Directions Annihilation Formation" from Su Chen's diary, attempting to glimpse more of the heavenly secrets.

Right then.

"Report—!!!"

A sharp scream tore through the tranquil room.

The palace doors were slammed open from the outside.

A Shadow Guard Commander rushed in, scrambling on all fours, his armor in disarray, completely lacking decorum.

He knelt heavily on the ground, his body shaking like a sieve.

"Your... Your Majesty! Something big has happened!"

Ji Hongxue looked up, the warmth in her eyes instantly dropping to freezing point.

An invisible imperial pressure permeated the room.

"What is the panic?"

Her voice was calm, yet it seemed to possess the power to suppress the Divine Soul. "The sky hasn't fallen yet."

Under the pressure of this Aura, the Shadow Guard Commander's mind settled slightly, but his voice still trembled uncontrollably.

"At the Imperial City's South Gate... a... a mysterious woman appeared!"

"She... she only said two words, and the city's defending general, Wang Lie... knelt down in front of the entire city!"

"What?!"

Ji Hongxue stood up abruptly.

The Dragon chair behind her let out a faint groan.

On her cold and peerlessly beautiful face, pure shock took hold for the first time.

General Wang Lie.

A veteran general of the third level of the Great Saint Realm, with a Dao Heart as hard as iron, one who would rather break than bend.

Two words, and he was made to kneel?

How is that possible!

Even if she mobilized the entire Dragon Qi of Great Xia's National Fortune, she could only suppress him; it would be impossible to inflict such humiliation!

That woman, who exactly is she?!

"What does she look like?!" Ji Hongxue's voice tightened.

"She's wearing a tattered black robe, her face is... peerless, her Aura is demonic, and this subordinate did not dare look directly at her!"

The Shadow Guard Commander stammered through the description.

"By her side... there was also a man!"

"A man?"

Ji Hongxue's brows furrowed tightly.

"Yes! A man in white, he looked... physically very weak, and was dry-heaving the whole time..."

At this point, the Shadow Guard Commander swallowed hard, seemingly choosing his words carefully.

"But his appearance... is ninety percent identical to the Divine Son of the Su Family!"

Boom!!!!

Ji Hongxue's mind went blank.

It was as if a sun had exploded in the depths of her Divine Soul.

Su Chen?!

That bastard!

Wasn't he hiding a woman away at the Su Family's Shenzi Peak?!

How could he suddenly appear at the Great Xia Imperial City?!

And with such a... terrifying woman by his side?!

In an instant.

Fury and jealousy turned into scalding lava, erupting from the depths of her heart, instantly shattering the dam of her reason.

She had only just convinced herself from the diary that he was the "Incarnation of the Heavenly Dao" who sat high in the clouds, plotting for the world.

She had only just forced down that ridiculous girlish jealousy.

And the result?

The result was that this bastard turned around and brought some vixen of unknown origin to her front door!

In such a flamboyant, such a domineering manner!

What does he want to do?

Is he showing off?!

Is he blatantly showing off to her, his nominal "Empress Consort"?!

"Su! Chen!"

Ji Hongxue squeezed out Su Chen's name through gritted teeth, word by word.

The warm jade seal in her palm gave a "crack," and fine fissures appeared on its surface.

She felt like her chest was so stuffed it might explode!

[Good for you, Su Chen! Here I am, exhausting my heart and soul for you, planning for the world!]

[And you! You have the leisure to fool around outside, and you even dare to bring a wild woman directly to my front door?!]

[Do you really think this Empress is some clay-molded decoration?!]

Golden imperial Dragon Qi ignited within Ji Hongxue's phoenix eyes.

She could almost not control herself from ordering the Imperial Guard to assemble and mobilizing the National Fortune to suppress that adulterous couple on the spot!

But she was, after all, Ji Hongxue.

Beneath that sky-burning fury, a sliver of absolute imperial reason stubbornly held onto the last bit of clarity.

No.

Something is wrong.

To make a Great Saint kneel with a single word, that woman's Realm is unfathomable; she has likely already surpassed the Quasi-Emperor stage and is a true Great Emperor!

How could that bastard Su Chen be mixed up with an old monster like that?

Furthermore, it seemed the woman was actively holding his arm in an intimate posture.

There must be something strange going on!

Ji Hongxue's thoughts raced like sparks of lightning.

She remembered the prehistoric Demoness mentioned in Su Chen's diary, whom he repeatedly complained about and called a "Crazy Woman"... Ye Linghan!

A name that made a chill run down her spine suddenly surfaced.

Could it... be her?!

That taboo existence who gave even an "Incarnation of the Heavenly Dao" like Su Chen a headache and made him wary?

Once this thought arose, the fury in Ji Hongxue's heart that could burn everything was mostly extinguished by an even more piercing coldness and wariness.

She didn't dare gamble.

She knew that this matter could absolutely not be handled with force.

Otherwise, once that Demoness was provoked, let alone capturing Su Chen, the entire Great Xia Imperial City could be turned to ashes in a single thought!

"Pass on my decree!"

Ji Hongxue's voice regained its imperial dignity and calm, though the slight tremor at the end betrayed her extremely unsettled heart.

"With the highest national etiquette, invite those two... distinguished guests into the palace!"

She specifically emphasized the word "invite."

"No one is to show the slightest neglect or rudeness!"

"Violators will be executed without mercy!"

"As... as you command!"

The Shadow Guard Commander, as if granted a great amnesty, scrambled out of the room.

Inside the Imperial Study, silence returned.

Ji Hongxue slowly sat back into the Dragon chair, her bottomless phoenix eyes staring toward the South Gate of the Imperial City.

The expression in her eyes shifted constantly.

There was anger, jealousy, and wariness.

And a trace of... tension and excitement about the upcoming confrontation with her "love rival" that even she hadn't noticed.

[Ye Linghan...]

[I want to see for myself exactly what kind of sacred being you are!]

[And I especially want to see whether it is you, this Crazy Woman, who holds more weight in that bastard Su Chen's heart, or I, the Empress... who is superior!]

The war to pacify the world had not yet begun.

But the war drums for a battle between women had already been struck.