I am Guhuoniao, not an umbrella demon, please do not disturb me.

He secretly spread the story of his rampage in the capital, embellishing it to divert the attention of all the demons in the world to Tongzhou. Since he was not a demon who liked to kill and set fires, he could guide these demons towards good.

Even if we can't guide them, it would be good to keep these demons in line for ten or eight years.

As it turned out, Tianyang Palace's approach was correct. After arriving in Tongzhou, the group of demons stopped causing trouble, lived peacefully, and almost integrated with the local people of Tongzhou, even boosting the development of Tongzhou.

"So these people are all black-hearted."

In the small courtyard, Bai Qingyu lay on a recliner, basking in the sun, and said this.

Over the course of a year, she didn't change much; she still looked like a young girl, especially in terms of height and chest development, which remained unchanged.

"Oh, isn't this great? Tongzhou is much more lively than before," Zhen Tian said with a smile.

"That's true. Anyway, I don't need to deal with these demons. Tianyang Palace uses my name for publicity, so they'll have to take the blame if something goes wrong."

"Yes, by the way, sister, didn't you say you were going to go to the capital to take a look?"

A year has passed, and the deadline set with Xu Yuanqing has arrived, but he still hasn't come. A few days ago, Bai Qingyu said she wanted to go to the capital to check on the situation.

"We'll go to the capital in a couple of days, but I think he's succeeded."

Bai Qingyu squinted, gazing at the azure sky.

She could sense that the country's fate had stabilized.

In the current situation, it would be a good thing as long as the nation's fortunes do not continue to decline, and it would be a great success if the nation could maintain stability. As for improvement, Xu Yuanqing cannot achieve it on his own in the short term.

"That person is quite impressive."

"Yeah, in a way, this guy is really capable."

With her hands behind her head, Bai Qingyu closed her eyes, feeling the gentle breeze on her face, quietly enjoying the peaceful moment.

·

In the capital city, Xu Yuanqing stood with his hands behind his back in the back of the courtyard, looking up in a certain direction.

If you zoom out, you'll see that Xu Yuanqing is looking in the direction of Tongzhou.

However, he broke his promise when the appointed time arrived.

He still couldn't resolve the internal problems in the capital within a year.

Outside the small courtyard, a cacophony of footsteps echoed, a cacophony of clashing armor and the clanging of weapons being drawn. If one were to step outside at this moment, one would find that a large number of armored soldiers had surrounded Xu Yuanqing's small courtyard, numbering well over a thousand.

boom!

The gate was violently kicked open, and soldiers carrying shields and spears filed in. They then parted to the left and right in a well-trained manner, allowing a man with an apologetic expression to step gracefully into the somewhat shabby courtyard.

"Your Majesty the Empress is honored to grace us with your presence. Please forgive me for failing to greet you properly."

Xu Yuanqing, dressed in a snow-white robe, stood with his hands behind his back like a hermit. Upon seeing the newcomer, he merely glanced at him.

The newcomer was dressed in a gold and red phoenix robe with wide sleeves, wearing a dragon and phoenix jade crown, with a graceful figure and a face that could topple kingdoms.

A mocking smile played on her red lips; even with such an arrogant expression, she was still stunningly beautiful.

"Xu Yuanqing, do you know why I have summoned you?"

The Empress narrowed her long, phoenix-shaped eyes, greatly annoyed by Xu Yuanqing's attitude.

"I don't know," Xu Yuanqing said calmly.

"Hmph, very well, I will let you know soon enough."

The Empress pointed at Xu Yuanqing, "As the Imperial Preceptor, he colluded with foreign tribes to plot a rebellion and murdered several court officials. Now he dares to defy His Majesty's decree. Guards, seize the criminal Xu Yuanqing."

"Yes!"

The soldier strode forward, his face obscured by his helmet, making it difficult to discern his expression. With a clang, he drew his longsword, ready to capture Xu Yuanqing. At that moment, a graceful figure suddenly appeared, striking out with both palms and sending the soldier flying.

The moment Xiao Lan appeared, the soldiers in the courtyard shielded the Empress behind them in the shortest possible time, drawing their weapons at the same time.

"Your Majesty, this is probably the last time I will address you as such. You say I have disobeyed His Majesty's orders, but where is the imperial edict?"

Xu Yuanqing was not afraid of the Empress's men at all, and said in a deep voice: "Colluding with foreign tribes to plot a rebellion, embezzling the court's military funds, forming private armies, trafficking people, and secretly cooperating with the Demonic Sect—let's leave all these aside for now. I think Your Majesty should know where the lost national treasures have gone, right?"

"Those people from the ley lines have been captured. Doesn't Your Majesty know this?"

The Empress was about to retort, but her pupils contracted upon hearing this.

"idiot."

Xu Yuanqing turned and left without saying another word. Meanwhile, even more chaotic sounds came from outside the courtyard, followed soon by shouts of killing and the clanging of swords clashing.

In the courtyard, the Empress was bewildered and at a loss. She hurriedly ran out and almost collapsed to her knees when she saw the situation outside. If it weren't for the soldiers supporting her, she would have already collapsed to the ground.

In a short period of time, most of Xu's three thousand soldiers were slaughtered. The black-armored army moved as if they were in an empty field, unstoppable. In less than ten minutes, they killed nearly two thousand people. Blood flowed like a river and corpses piled up like mountains.

The people Empress Xu brought were indeed well-trained, but they were far inferior to this group of black-armored soldiers—the difference was like heaven and earth.

Empress Xu's position as empress had been abolished by the Emperor. In fact, she had already received news that Xu Yuanqing was going to take action against her Xu family, so she simply decided to go all the way and kill Xu Yuanqing first. Without Xu Yuanqing, there might still be room for the Xu family to calm down.

With her understanding of the Emperor and her position in his eyes, even without Xu Yuanqing's interference, she had a way to win the Emperor back.

However, Xu Yuanqing had clearly anticipated her prediction and had already laid an ambush with his Black Armored Army, waiting for her to come to him.

As for the situation with the earth veins, Xu Yuanqing was just making things up. He had no idea whether there were any members of the Xu family in the earth veins.

It seems he guessed correctly.

It is worth mentioning that, according to the relationship of being of the same clan and surname, Xu Yuanqing should call Empress Xu "sister".

It is true that Xu Yuanqing was a homeless child since childhood. It was later confirmed through a certain incident that he was the missing child of the Xu family. If Xu Yuanqing wanted to, he could go back and see his biological parents now, but he has never gone back.

"Let General Li's side take action."

Xu Yuanqing spoke calmly, and a figure quickly disappeared from his courtyard.

That night, the Xu family, a powerful clan behind the Empress, was unusually lively. More than 3,000 cavalry and more than 2,000 infantry surrounded them. For a time, shouts of killing, cries, curses and pleas for mercy echoed throughout half of the capital. People in the distance dared not go out, and could see flames shooting into the sky on the east side of the city from their homes. The commotion lasted until late into the night.

Xu Yuanqing risked everything to take over the Xu family and overthrow the Empress; in reality, he only did two things.

He told the Emperor that the Xu family had admitted to tampering with the earth's veins and that they had found evidence.

This evidence was obviously fabricated by him, and the Emperor had no doubts whatsoever.

He told the Xu family that the Human Emperor had discovered the earth veins and had captured the criminal alive, who had confessed everything.

Both sides were misled and failed to realize the problem.

As for the so-called corruption, treason, private army, and human trafficking, even if all these reasons were combined, it would be impossible to bring down the Xu family and the Empress, because apart from the treason, the other matters were all open secrets. Even the Emperor himself would find it difficult to question them.

The reason is simple: it's difficult to find any evidence, and it's easy to be falsely accused.

Today, the Xu family has vanished completely, the Black Armor Army's thunderous strike sending them into the abyss.

From the head of the family to the children, no one was spared; the entire family was wiped out.

This naturally includes Xu Yuanqing's biological parents, something Xu Yuanqing is fully aware of.

Not only his parents, but strictly speaking, they were all his brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts.

Just as Xu Yuanqing himself said.

Everything is for the sake of the world, everything is for the common people.

The Xu family is his own clan, but they have committed numerous evils, so don't blame him for exterminating them all.

As for those children, Xu Yuanqing could only apologize. He would repay all of this after he died and descended to the eighteenth level of hell.

He currently has limited energy and is unable to care for these children who have lost their homes.

They watched helplessly as their entire family was wiped out, and they felt no hatred or resentment?

Children have feelings too; don't assume they don't understand anything.

"It's over there."

In the middle of the night, Xu Yuanqing was still not resting. He was sitting under the lamp writing something. Xiao Lan went over to take a look and found that it was a memorial to the throne.

She has been with Xu Yuanqing for a whole year, and she knows a lot about him, such as his relationship with the Xu family.

Having personally ordered the massacre of her own family, she wanted to say something to comfort Xu Yuanqing, but the words caught in her throat.

"Hmm." Xu Yuanqing, wearing a coat, wrote intently without looking up.

At twenty-eight, his weathered face made him look forty.

The high spirits that he had when he first met Bai Qingyu a year ago were gone from his face; all that remained was numbness and indifference.

In just one year, he completely changed into a different person.

"Take a rest, you haven't slept for three days..."

Looking at his expression, Xiaolan's eyes showed a lot of reluctance.

"The Xu family's affairs still need to be handled. With the Xu family gone, there is a lack of checks and balances, and the other two major clans will inevitably join forces. I am preparing to submit a memorial to His Majesty the Emperor tomorrow, asking him to cooperate with me in creating some conflicts and contradictions between the two families. Once they start fighting, I will then take action to eliminate them in one fell swoop."

"You should rest for a while before talking, otherwise what if your health collapses?"

"Alas, how can I sleep peacefully if I cannot defeat the enemy?"

After finishing the last few strokes, Xu Yuanqing put on his clothes and walked into the courtyard.

I gazed at the full moon in the sky.

Today he eliminated a major scourge, but he couldn't feel happy at all.

The remaining two families control the national treasury and the military.

It's impossible for him to fight both of them; he has to fight one and then pull the other away.

After a long while, Xu Yuanqing sighed, "May the Divine Phoenix Goddess protect us..."

By the time he returned to his room to rest, it was only two hours before the morning court session.

He could only rest for an hour and a half before getting up, tidying up, and heading to the palace to present his memorial to the Emperor.

The Xu family is neither the beginning nor the end; he will completely sweep away the darkness in the capital!

He fell asleep in less than a minute after closing his eyes. However, less than half an hour after Xu Yuanqing fell asleep, a dark figure sneaked in and entered Xu Yuanqing's room with ease. A magical weapon appeared in his hand, and he swung his sword at Xu Yuanqing.

The person who came was not an ordinary assassin, but a monk.

A cultivator with the strength of a Golden Core cultivator.

Xiao Lan transformed into her true form and lay asleep on the roof beam. She appeared the moment she noticed the movement.