71: Chapter 71 The Sixth Prince is dead, just find a new spokesperson!

After hearing Leng Yuexi's recognition of Princess Jiang Rou's composure, along with Xia Jin's evaluation that "she is of great use and capable of sharing your burdens," the slight doubt in Emperor Xia Yu's heart completely dissipated. Instead, he began to feel a sense of anticipation for this Eldest Princess of Fenglin Kingdom, whom he had never met.

If she truly possessed talent rarely seen in a hundred years, as his elder brother and sister-in-law claimed, then he would surely be able to unify the entire Eastern Region within a year, making Great Xia the sole hegemon of the region.

...

While Xia Jin and the others were returning to the Great Xia Imperial Palace, thousands of miles away in Wuzhou City within the Great Qian Dynasty,

Guan Heng finally arrived in Wuzhou City after traveling without rest.

Wuzhou City was a very famous city throughout the Great Qian Dynasty, solely because of its numerous thousand-year-old ancient temples and their flourishing incense offerings.

Every year at this time, Consort Hua, the mother of The Sixth Prince of Great Gan, would specifically come here to fast and pray at Zhaojue Temple within Wuzhou City for a period of seven days.

Guan Heng wiped the sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at Zhaojue Temple in the distance.

"That Prince Jin only gave me ten days. If I don't reach the Great Xia Capital in time, I'm afraid my only end will be death!"

At the thought of the Medicinal Pill he had swallowed and whatever unknown thing Prince Jin had left inside his body, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

"I can't waste any more time. I must see Consort Hua as soon as possible!"

Guan Heng calmed his emotions and strode toward Zhaojue Temple.

Zhaojue Temple, which was usually bustling with people, had been silent and deserted at the mountain gate for the past few days.

The reason was simple: Consort Hua had arrived, and her Xuanying Guards had already strictly controlled the area within a ten-mile radius of the temple. No unauthorized persons were allowed to approach.

Guan Heng pulled down his bamboo hat. As soon as he reached the foot of the mountain where Zhaojue Temple stood, he was intercepted by several figures emerging from the forest.

A tall, thin Xuanying Guard at the head of the group sized Guan Heng up and then shouted with an unfriendly expression, "Halt! Don't you know that Consort Hua is here for quiet cultivation? Retreat at once! Otherwise, you will be killed without mercy!!"

"Chen Yan, it's me!!" Guan Heng spoke calmly, then raised his hand to remove the bamboo hat covering his face.

"Eh!?" Chen Yan's expression changed suddenly upon hearing the familiar voice and seeing Guan Heng's face clearly. He quickly bowed and cupped his hands. "So it is Commandant Guan! I was blind to offend you!"

The surrounding Xuanying Guards also recognized the newcomer and followed suit, bowing in greeting. "Greetings, Commandant Guan!"

They didn't dare offend Guan Heng. After all, not only was he one rank higher than them, but he was also a favorite subordinate of The Sixth Prince.

"Enough! I don't have time for pleasantries with you all." Guan Heng glanced at them and quickly asked, "Where is Consort Hua now?"

Chen Yan was taken aback for a moment before replying, "At this time, Consort Hua is chanting scriptures in the Jingye Hall."

"The Jingye Hall?" Guan Heng nodded and started to walk inside.

"Commandant Guan! Wait!" Chen Yan seemed to think of something and hurriedly stepped aside to block Guan Heng.

With a troubled look, he lowered his voice to remind him, "Commandant Guan... have you forgotten the rules? When Consort Hua is worshipping Buddha, she never sees anyone. If she is disturbed, I'm afraid there will be punishment..."

"Nonsense, do you think I don't know that?" Guan Heng narrowed his eyes and stared fixedly at the man. "I have an extremely urgent matter to report to Consort Hua. Something has happened to The Sixth Prince!"

"What? Something happened to The Sixth Prince?" Hearing this, Chen Yan shuddered and immediately cleared the path. "Then go quickly, Commandant Guan! If we delay, all of us brothers will be punished."

"Hmph!" Guan Heng snorted coldly. He climbed the towering stone steps for what felt like a long time before soon arriving in front of the Jingye Hall.

The hall door was slightly ajar, and the rhythmic "thump, thump" of a wooden fish being struck drifted out.

Guan Heng gently pushed open the door. In the center of the Buddhist hall, he saw the silhouette of a woman kneeling on a prayer mat.

Though she wore gray and white monastic robes, the loose fabric still outlined an exceptionally voluptuous figure.

Guan Heng's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily. He immediately kept his gaze lowered, took a deep breath, and walked forward quickly. He knelt respectfully on the ground a few steps behind the woman and prostrated himself, saying, "Consort Hua, your servant Guan Heng seeks an audience on an urgent matter!"

The sound of the wooden fish stopped abruptly.

The hall instantly fell into silence.

A few breaths later, the woman slowly stood up and turned around. Her wide monastic robes swayed with her movements, further revealing her proud figure.

This person was indeed the mother of The Sixth Prince, Consort Hua of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Her face appeared to be only in her thirties, but her phoenix eyes added a touch of seductiveness to her majestic aura.

"I have said that I will not see anyone while worshipping Buddha. Guan Heng, if you do not have a reason that satisfies me, then go and receive your punishment yourself."

Guan Heng hurriedly looked up. When he saw the face of the person before him, his heart wavered again.

But this wasn't his first time seeing Consort Hua. He forced himself to focus and said urgently, "Your Highness, it's The Sixth Prince... something has happened to The Sixth Prince!"

Consort Hua's phoenix eyes suddenly narrowed, though her expression didn't change much. "Speak, what happened?"

Guan Heng didn't dare delay and hurriedly said, "The Sixth Prince and Lord Yun previously went to the Xuanyin Sect in the Eastern Region, intending to devour the cultivation of the entire sect. Unexpectedly... a mysterious man suddenly appeared and joined forces with the Leader of Xuanyin Sect, Leng Yuexi. The Sixth Prince and Lord Yun... fought hard but were defeated, and unfortunately were..."

"Useless trash!"

Consort Hua suddenly let out a cold laugh, directly interrupting Guan Heng's words.

Guan Heng was somewhat stunned. He hadn't had time to react to why Consort Hua had suddenly cursed him as useless trash.

Just as he was about to look up, he saw Consort Hua's jade-like hand descend upon the top of his head at some unknown moment.

With only a muffled thud, his head split open like a ripe melon.

Guan Heng's entire body stiffened, his eyes bulged out instantly, and his breath vanished as his body fell straight to the ground.

Until the moment he died, he didn't understand why Consort Hua had suddenly moved to kill him.

Just after Guan Heng died, a figure walked out from behind the Buddha statue.

Looking closely, one would find that this person's face was about seventy to eighty percent similar to Consort Hua's.

She looked at Guan Heng's rapidly cooling corpse on the ground and frowned slightly. "Sister! Why didn't you wait for him to finish before killing him?"

Consort Hua slowly withdrew her palm and glanced at her sister, her phoenix eyes showing no emotion.

"Does it matter? That useless trash... is dead. We can just find another spokesperson."

"Sister! Although The Sixth Prince wasn't your biological son, we have put a lot of effort into him over the years. For him to die like this, wouldn't all our work be in vain..."

"In vain?" Consort Hua looked at the Buddha statue before her, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes. "Do you think the actual controller of the resources and forces behind that useless trash was the so-called Sixth Prince, or me?"

"Besides, no matter how much that trash struggled, the Great Qian throne would never have been his! Since that's the case, if he's dead, he's dead!"

The figure opposite Consort Hua fell silent after hearing her words.

A few breaths later, she finally spoke, "Sister, who is the next spokesperson you've chosen?"

Consort Hua turned to look at her sister, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly. "I think... that Third Prince is a good candidate."

"The Third Prince? His mother's clan is weak, and he doesn't seem to be overly favored by Your Majesty in the imperial court..."

"Exactly so." Consort Hua slowly peeled off the human-skin mask from her face, a chill flashing in her phoenix eyes. "Only when one is weak do they need external support. Only when they are not favored will they be more desperate, and thus easier to control."

"Remember this: later, set fire to Zhaojue Temple and kill all the Xuanying Guards we brought this time!"

"It's time... for me to change this identity of Consort Hua!"