I really didn't want to burn it.

"Hey."

Li Ang sighed deeply after ending the communication.

From the chaotic and turbulent background music that accompanied the communications personnel's speech, Li Ang could imagine just how chaotic the situation in Bianliang was right now.

Looking at the laughing crowds on both sides of the street, Li Ang gave a wry smile: "Is this a case of shooting oneself in the foot?"

The person communicating with him might not be aware of it, but Li Ang himself sensed a familiar scent through his report.

This operational mode, reminiscent of modern espionage, of disrupting the regime behind enemy lines, looks exactly like the secret troops he trained back then.

When he was vying for supremacy, Li Ang used this army to cause a lot of trouble. Basically, all the forces that were his enemies suffered various degrees of riots because of this army.

There's no way around it; the rulers of the feudal era bear the heavy imprint of that time, and are completely different concepts from Li Ang, a modern person.

Apart from tyrants who didn't care about people's lives and a very small number of emperors who genuinely cared about the people, the governing philosophy of most monarchs was basically to maintain the most basic stability. Therefore, their governing philosophy was basically to keep the vast majority of people at a balance point where they could just survive and had no time to worry about anything else.

Tokugawa Ieyasu summarized it well—keeping peasants half-dead is the secret to politics.

This was the only way for rulers in feudal times to govern the country, but for modern people like Li Ang, it was nothing more than the most despicable means of controlling the people.

Li Ang himself disliked this method of governance and disdained using such a low-level approach.

However, he liked to exploit this weakness of his opponents by amplifying public discontent to create chaos and disrupt the enemy's rear.

This was also the direct reason why Li Ang trained that special forces unit in the first place.

However, that army was significantly reduced in size after Li Ang unified the country. This was because it was no longer needed within the Tang Dynasty, and its numbers were not required for use against smaller foreign countries.

"I originally thought that with the current strength of the Tang Dynasty, that army should have been disbanded long ago, but I didn't expect that woman to still have it. And, who knows..."

Li Ang stroked his chin, deep in thought.

Although the regime established by Kirshtalia Wodim was unpopular, it basically inherited the ruling foundation of the Tang Dynasty. With the legacy of the Tang Dynasty for 200 years, even if the people were dissatisfied, it would not develop into turmoil.

[Host, this is a singularity connected to the Root of Type-Moon, where supernatural forces like magic exist.]

"Yes, it seems that the unit must have received support in this regard."

Remarkably, Li Ang agreed with the dirge system's explanation.

But precisely because he agreed, Li Ang felt that the Empress was not simple; at least she was certainly not as pure and innocent as she appeared in front of Chaldea.

"It's obviously impossible. He's the heir she chose. If he were a pure white lotus, he would have been devoured long ago, leaving not even bones behind."

"So, what do you plan to do, Ang?"

Ryougi Shiki, having finished eating the last mooncake, asked Li Ang a question.

"Let's try to meet with Her Majesty the Empress first, preferably in a situation where it's just the two of us."

Li Ang secretly peered through his binoculars at the distant high platform—where Her Majesty the Empress was standing with several high-ranking officials, greeting the people, while the heroic spirits of Chaldea stood behind them.

"The best way is to sneak into the Queen's private lounge," Li Ang pondered. "How many of the Heroic Spirits aren't from our side?"

To this day, the Chaldea gacha pool remains under the control of the Qin Dynasty.

Unfortunately, as Ritsuka visited more and more singularities, the number of Servants from Chaldea who bypassed the Qin Dynasty continued to increase. Furthermore, with the addition of other Masters like Kiritsugu and Touko, the composition of Chaldea's Servants became increasingly complex.

However, these things have little to do with Li Ang. In his eyes, there are only three types of Servants in Chaldea: those who belong to Qin, those who do not belong to Qin, and Mash.

"If the intelligence is correct, there should only be one Cú Chulainn," Ryougi Shiki said, tapping her chin with her finger as she recalled.

"So that means we just need to lure him away?" Li Ang smirked. "Shi, find a way to lure Cú Chulainn away."

"Can I?"

Ryougi Shiki tilted her head.

"Of course, we have helpers."

Li Ang gestured with his chin toward the person behind him.

A black figure appeared from the void, bowing slightly to Li Ang: "Lord Li Ang, we have been waiting for you for a long time."

"Thank you for your help, Bai Mao."

Li Ang greeted the other person with a smile.

“No problem.” Bai Mao nodded. “Lord Li Ang, you just need to find a way to make contact with the Queen, and leave everything else to us.”

"us?"

“Of course, Lady Ryougi.” Hyakko stepped forward and stood beside her.

"Since you came as a couple, you should naturally appear together."

As she spoke, the body and form of this Hundred Appearances clone changed, and in the blink of an eye, Ryougi Shiki found herself standing in front of two men who looked exactly alike.

"It's amazing."

"I am a personality skilled in disguise. Lady Ryougi Shiki can call me Pink Butterfly."

"Please give me your advice."

Unless she's a shameless slut with designs on Li Ang, Ryougi Shiki's attitude will be that of a typical rich lady.

"Then the cover will be left to you two."

"Don't worry, Ang."

Ryougi Shiki gave Li Ang a thumbs up, and then walked onto the main road with Hyakko's clone.

"It shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Perhaps Ryougi Shiki agreed too readily, for Li Ang felt a little worried as he watched the two figures leave.

"Lady Ryougi Shiki, you know what to do, right?"

On the street, Pink Butterfly asked Ryougi Shiki for confirmation.

"certainly……"

Ryougi Shiki raised her hand and used her thumb to push aside the scabbard in her hand, revealing a bit of the scabbard.

"Anyone who dares to get in Ang's way will be killed!"

"Lady Ryougi Shiki, that's not how it is at all." Pink Butterfly's smile immediately froze.

"All we need to do is create the illusion that Lord Li Ang is strolling through the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations, and then meet with Lord Ritsuka to mislead everyone..."

"Of course I know, it was just a joke."

Ryougi Shiki sheathed her longsword and said expressionlessly.

"This is no joke...you're sweating profusely."

Butterfly began to feel genuinely worried about the task ahead.

Chapter 317 Li Ang and the Empress

You said there's something going on?

Upon hearing Bai Mao's report, Cú Chulainn, who had been leaning against the railing and looking rather bored, suddenly brightened up.

“Yes,” Bai Mao replied. “My clone has discovered that Li Ang and Ryougi Shiki have appeared on the streets of Lin’an.”

"Haha, what are they doing here?"

Cú Chulainn stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"I don't know, maybe it's related to the Empress." Bai Mao secretly glanced at the Empress, who was interacting with the people, out of the corner of her eye.

"It's possible. I'll go check it out."

Cú Chulainn straightened his back and said excitedly.

Cú Chulainn had long been impatient with standing there as a wooden bodyguard, and now that he finally had a chance to escape his misery, he certainly didn't want to miss it.

"Should we have a few more people...?"

"No need. Too many people will only alert them. I can handle it alone." Cú Chulainn waved his hand. "Have your clone withdraw. That woman named Ryougi Shiki is quite skilled. Your single clone is too weak."

"Alright, then I'll leave it to you, Cú Chulainn."

Bai Mao didn't refuse, after all, what Da Gouzi said was the truth.

His single clone was truly no match for Ryougi Shiki; it was easily defeated in one move.

Cú Chulainn didn't waste any words with Bai Mao; he vanished into the high-rise corridor in a flash.

"Walk slowly along the way."

Bai Mao feigned farewell to Cú Chulainn.

Then, she immediately contacted the clone that was following Ryougi Shiki.

"Pink Butterfly, the job of walking the dog is now yours."

"OK."

Upon receiving the message, Pink Butterfly gave Ryougi Shiki a wink, and the two of them strolled along the street one after the other, looking like a couple who had come out for a shopping trip.

Meanwhile, Her Majesty the Queen finally completed the entire evening's procedures.

"My lords, I'm going to rest in the private room. Please make yourselves at home," the Empress said, sounding slightly weary.

Although it was just standing and giving speeches and receiving representatives of the public, it was still very tiring.

"Your Majesty, please."

The other ministers smiled and respectfully saw the Empress off. With the highest leader present, everyone felt somewhat uneasy, and they all wished for the Empress to leave as soon as possible.

Thus, with the two heroic spirits seeing her off, Her Majesty the Empress entered the private box prepared especially for her.

"Finally, I can take a break."

Seeing that she was alone in the room, Her Majesty the Queen immediately relaxed and gently massaged her slightly sore neck.

"Hmph~~"

The Queen's voice was husky yet beautiful; even a simple hum was like the most moving melody in the world.

She walked over to a recliner, sat down, and picked up a book to read.

Before she could even turn a few pages, she heard another person's voice in the room.

"It seems Your Majesty has already gotten quite used to it here."

A short-haired man with his arms crossed appeared at the window.

"It's ok."

The empress showed no panic upon seeing the man, nor did she shout. Instead, she gently closed the book in her hand and casually put it aside.

"Although it's much busier than my days in Luoyang, it's still manageable. At least I've met a group of very interesting people."

Her Majesty the Empress gently pinched her chin with her jade-like fingers, sizing up the man with great interest.

"Is that so? If you're talking about Fujimaru Ritsuka, then she is indeed a good girl."

Despite not being invited, the man naturally sat down opposite Her Majesty the Queen.

"I thought someone like you, who has experienced such highs and lows, would be hiding in a corner wallowing in self-pity. I never expected that you would make such a big splash in just a few days."

"Only mediocre people would wallow in self-pity. Since I inherited the Tang Dynasty from the previous emperors, I should naturally work hard for it."

Her Majesty the Empress seemed oblivious to the sarcasm in Li Ang's words, responding with a hint of pride.

"Can someone who drags the people of the Tang Dynasty into war be called an emperor? I hope you can be just as dignified and awe-inspiring when you face the former emperor of the Tang Dynasty in the future." The man spoke very seriously in a joking tone.

"Haha, am I not having a conversation with the previous emperor?" Her Majesty the Empress's lips curled up. "Potato Ring... your talent for giving people nicknames has never changed. Why don't you go to the Qinhuai River and give each of the girls a nickname?"

"Hmm, so you do know who I am." The man nodded in satisfaction, pretending not to hear what the queen said next.

“In that case, let’s have an open and honest discussion,” Li Ang said, placing his hands on his knees with an air of authority. “It’s about you.”

"Before answering your question, I have a few questions for you, Your Majesty the Great Ancestor."

The empress's smile faded, and she looked at the man with a serious expression.

"Why would you, who was once the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, turn against the Tang? Is the Qin state advisor really more alluring than the emperor of the Tang?"

"I knew you'd ask me that!"