The tip of the blade left a thin scratch, and a few drops of blood were barely squeezed out of it, flowing down the neck to the collarbone and staining the clothes.
The movements of both of them suddenly stopped at this moment, as if time had stopped.
The air was therefore silent.
A few seconds later, Zhao Chuxiao let out a breath silently, his hands went empty, and his sword fell to the ground with a clang.
The sword blade hummed softly and fell steadily.
"I lost."
At this moment of defeat, she relaxed for the first time in a rare moment, and said softly, "You can kill me or chop me up, it's all up to you."
"When did I say I was going to kill you?"
Xi Heng tilted his head and put the sword back into the sheath.
"When a new emperor ascends the throne, the old one dies soon...it has been like this since ancient times." The other party's voice faded.
"Is there still such a broken rule?" The world was not like this before she traveled through time.
"Even if I don't die, I will be imprisoned forever. It's better to die." Chu Xiao said.
"You may be detained, but it won't be for long. I still have some use for you."
"Use it and then kill it?"
Xi Heng held his forehead with his hand: "Do you want to kill people at every turn? I don't kill people indiscriminately."
"You won't kill me?"
"of course."
"Keeping me alive will be a threat to your rule. Even if I have no such intention, my subordinates will certainly have some thoughts about it... Or, you can use a substitute to die in my place, and order me to change my name and never set foot in the Central Plains." The other party seemed to be helping her think of a solution, and didn't mind whether he died or not.
"..." The girl choked for a few seconds, and finally stretched out two fingers and tapped the other person's eyebrows:
"My stupid sister."
"Well."
Zhao Chuxiao tilted his little head back.
Then, as if he was pricked and hurt, he raised his hand and rubbed it.
Xi Heng then realized that he had not cut his nails, and it must have been quite painful to be poked like that.
Go back and trim it down...
After the girl pondered for a moment, she continued:
"You and I are the most powerful people in this world. How can we be bound by these rules and regulations? Who can stop me from killing or saving someone?"
“But everything has its own destiny and cause and effect. Even the emperor is bound by destiny…” Chu Xiao rubbed his eyebrows, coughed lightly, and retorted in a serious manner.
"If the whole world wants to stop me, I will definitely overturn this world." Xi Heng chuckled: "As for the fixed cause and effect, what's the harm?"
The girl who looked similar to Xi Heng blinked and repeated her previous question: "So, you won't kill me?"
"do not kill."
"You won't destroy my martial arts? You won't put me in death row?"
"Yeah." Xi Heng yawned, "I still need you to do something for me. I don't want to deal with all the troublesome political affairs in this world by myself."
Zhao Chuxiao was silent for a while, then said, "When the former emperor was a minister, there was no such reason..."
"Now, it's here." After she said that, she stepped sideways, looked back, and hooked her hand at the Goddess of Red Sky who was watching from a distance.
When Chen Fenghuo got close enough, Xi Heng introduced:
"This is the Saintess of the Dark Sky Sect. The Dark Sky Sect will be regarded as the state religion in the future... Speaking of which, I feel that this name is missing something, so let's change it to Xuantian Sect."
"Hmm?" The Goddess of Red Sky didn't react for a moment.
Xi Heng ignored him and continued, "From now on, Chu Xiao will continue to be in charge of the administration of Da Zhao, Chen Fenghuo will lead Xuan Tian Zong to be in charge of the judiciary and clean up the corrupt officials, and I will continue to be in charge of the military and take charge of the overall situation."
She clapped her hands and it was decided so easily.
"Huh?" Zhao Chuxiao was also stunned for a moment, and pressed his temples to try to understand. After a moment, he asked, "Does it mean that she and I will be the prime minister and the imperial censor?"
"From now on, there will no longer be the Grand Commandant, Prime Minister, and Censor. Instead, there will be the Emperor, the Sovereign, and the Holy Envoy." Xi Heng said, "From now on, the Great Zhao will be renamed the Heavenly Zhao. You and I will send people to tell the sky, the sun, the moon, the mountains and the rivers, and the people of the Heavenly Zhao. I will hold a sacrifice at the top of Mount Penglai, ascend the throne and become the emperor, open up a new world, and rule the world!"
……
New Year, the fourteenth day of the first lunar month.
The sky is clear and the stars are bright.
After the grand sacrifice at Mount Penglai was completed, Xi Heng set up an altar to inform the world and dispatched many soldiers to spread the news to the people in all directions. He renamed the world as "Tian Zhao" and the reign title as "Tai Heng".
Countless officials in the capital, accompanied by the Beijing Army and the Victorious Army, a total of more than 100,000 people, saluted in front of the imperial city, and three people shouted "Long live the emperor".
The Holy Maiden of the Dark Sky Sect was conferred the title of 'Holy Envoy', and the Dark Sky Sect was regarded as the national religion of Tianzhao, and was renamed 'Xuantian Sect' by His Majesty.
The former emperor Zhao Chuxiao attended the sacrifice and was named "Renjun" by the emperor, overseeing the administration of Tianzhao.
From then on, the title of emperor was changed, with the two words replaced before and after, to "Emperor".
The Emperor is the incarnation of the Great Dark Heavenly Mother, and is also one of the children of the Heavenly Mother. Meeting the Emperor is like meeting the Heavenly Mother.
The ceremony was accomplished, and the people of the capital praised it and shouted, "Long live the emperor."
……
In the capital, there is the long lane of Qin and Xie.
Today, in this bustling area, every empty wall no more than a hundred meters long is pasted with a piece of rice paper with black words written on it. Printed on the wall is the text of the founding edict that records Xi Heng's ascension to the throne and the change of the country's name and reign.
The text is easy to understand and does not require much interpretation.
And every time you walk a distance, you can hear literate people reading this text aloud.
On the south side, the building is full of flowers.
Yan Hongji, the head of the Yan family, was standing on the balcony upstairs, directing the clansmen and followers below to build a lantern shed in front of the building, hang lanterns and decorations, and prepare for tomorrow's Lantern Festival.
On the way, she could always hear the sound of reciting imperial edicts coming from one side, sometimes far away and sometimes near.
"Emperor..." Hong Ji muttered to himself for a moment, recalling Xi Heng's appearance.
Although it was known that as a member of the royal family and with great power, she would definitely accomplish great things, and it was not surprising that she ascended the throne and became emperor.
But I didn’t expect that the cause would be so big.
She thought that with her special relationship with Xi Heng, she might be recruited into the palace as a concubine or...
As he thought about it, his face turned a little red again.
Suddenly, a voice came from the side:
"Miss, the colorful lights in the building have been arranged."
Hongji came back to his senses and looked, and it was Chunxian.
"Well, send the rest to the front."
"Yes." The maid Chunxian then trotted downstairs again.
Ever since Xi Heng showed a slight affection for Chun Xian that day, she kept this little maid by her side.
"I wonder what Xi Heng and Chu Xiao are doing now... They just ascended the throne today, and state affairs will definitely not be easy. I think they are very busy."
While thinking silently, he subconsciously turned around and looked up, then his gaze went towards the direction of the imperial city.
Although Qinxie Changxiang is located in the inner city, it is quite far away from the imperial palace.
Looking from this high vantage point, one could only see a few lights in the imperial city in the distance, but could not tell which one was the palace where Xi Heng would be.
She has often heard news about Xi Heng recently, but she doesn't want to hear the news and wants to meet him.
"When can we meet again?"
The various scenes of their time together would still accompany her thoughts from time to time and flow in her heart.
The dignified and beautiful girl sighed lightly, rested her elbows on the balcony railing, supported her little chin with both hands, and kept gazing into the distance.
Compared with the complicated state affairs, she cares more about the people she loves.
"We will live in the capital from now on. Maybe Xiheng will come here more often when he has free time." She could only hope so.
Time passes slowly.
The lighting shed under the building was also built by people.
The orange-red lanterns are neatly arranged in rows and columns. When lit, they look like large peeled oranges.
It was not until this moment that Yan Hongji finally retracted his gaze, and spoke several times to the people who were busy building the structure below about their hard work. Then he clapped his hands, let people collect their rewards, and went their separate ways.
"Miss." Chunxian's crisp voice, like the chirping of a yellow oriole in the early morning, came from behind again.
"What's wrong?" She said in a flat voice.
"Over there, the figure over there seems..." Chun Xian approached excitedly, with one hand on the railing and the other pointing towards the distance ahead.
So full of energy... Yan Hongji thought only of this as he watched.
Although she had been busy all day preparing for the Lantern Festival tomorrow, Chunxian still looked lively. Her bright yellow bird-embroidered dress swayed slightly as she moved, like a yellow oriole flapping its wings while walking.
She also looked in the direction the other person was pointing.
"It seems to be the guest from before!"
"Oh?"
In the distance is a wide and long street under the night sky.
The moon is bright tonight and the stars are sparse. The silver light shines on the world and illuminates everything. Although it is not as clear as during the day, it is still clear.
The Qinxie Changxiang Alley is filled with a festive atmosphere. Lanterns are lit everywhere, and the number of red lanterns hung is two or three times more than usual. Small vendors are shouting everywhere, and colorful lanterns are hung on the branches of trees and on the eaves of houses.
The streets are lit up with lights and full of decadence.
Amidst the hustle and bustle, three women dressed in colorful costumes were walking side by side, attracting everyone's attention.
The one on the left has loose strands of rare light blonde hair, which is as smooth as a waterfall as if it had been straightened. Her facial features are extremely delicate, and there is always a unique temperament between her eyebrows.
Yan Hongji couldn't figure out what this temperament was for a moment, she just felt it was holy and pure, not like that of an ordinary person.
The other two people next to her are no weaker than her. The girl in the center with her white hair casually tied up looks more elegant, luxurious, pure and otherworldly.
The black-haired girl next to him also gives people a sense of nobility, elegance and depth, and she is even more difficult to guess and see clearly.
Of these three, two are her best friends.
"Xiheng, Chuxiao." She said softly, with a hint of sweetness on the corners of her mouth.
Sure enough, I came to see her.
Over there, the white-haired girl suddenly walked to the side and bought a gold hairpin from a roadside stall. After buying it, she helped the black-haired girl next to her braid her hair.
Seeing how harmoniously they got along, Yan Hongji slowly let go of her worries.
After all, although these two are sisters, they are both members of the royal family. In front of the throne, the so-called sisterhood should mean nothing.
Hongji often worried that her two good friends would fight for the throne or go their separate ways.
But now, the throne has been decided, and her friends seem to be fine, which makes her feel relieved.
Yan Hongji turned around and said, "A distinguished guest has arrived. Chunxian, come with me to greet him."
"Yes, Miss." Chun Xian immediately followed, equally happy.
……
"It fits well." After Xi Heng put the gold hairpin on his sister, he looked around.
"Really..." Chu Xiao seemed a little confused. She had been a loner since childhood and seldom accepted gifts from her peers.
She reached back and touched the gold hairpin, then smoothed her hair. Unfortunately, she couldn't find a mirror to take a look at her current appearance.
Chen Fenghuo, who was born into a fishing family in a seaside village, was attracted by the prosperity of the capital and kept looking around at the colorful world around him.
After ascending the throne at night, Xi Heng barely had half a day free, so he took the two people around him and proposed to go to Qinxie Changxiang, which was in the festive atmosphere, to have dinner together.
After changing clothes and makeup, he went on a secret visit to conceal his identity.
"Is this the capital city..." Chen Fenghuo's expression was a little complicated.
