- Capital City -

The new Emperor, Ji Shu finished his inauguration and began to arrange everything. Because of the sudden death of the Emperor and many other officials were killed, the work piled up. Most of the officials were not in his side, so Ji Shu did a thorough cleaning in the hall and only left the neutral and those who were by his side.

It was a complete bloodbath.

Even though some people knew about that, they couldn't say or do anything. Everything was monitored by the soldiers, so they could only be patient and watched from the sidelines. Afterwards, the people lived their lives normally. Despite the tense atmosphere, they could not show it on the surface, so everything looked peaceful.

In the palace, Ji Shu was looking at the officials in front of him coldly. "How are the preparation?"

"Your Majesty, it'll take us a bit more time. There is too much work," one of them replied in fear. He tried to keep his voice sounded normal, but the terror of getting killed of Prince Ji Shu just because he couldn't do his work well haunted him.

Ji Shu's mood was even sourer. He knew that there were a lot of talented officials who were on his first brother's side, so he had no other choice but to replace them all and killed those people. Now, it was clear that the administration couldn't work well because too many people were missing.

"Where's the new prime minister?"

"We… can't decide yet, Your Majesty."

Prime Minister Xie was killed a few days ago because he supported Prince Ji Tian. Prince Ji Shu didn't want to keep a double edge sword around him, so he killed the prime minister. This meant Prime Minister Wei was the only prime minister in Han Shi Kingdom for the time being.

"Wei Hong."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I want you to appoint someone by this evening. Prepare soldiers too as I'll depart to the north."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Ji Shu swept his gaze on the people in the hall once more before he turned around. His cold gaze sent fear on their back as everyone tried to avert their gazes. They knew that his decisive and ruthless action was much better than the first prince, but it was still scary around him.

Those who were close with him all got respectable position and glory, so they knew that he was someone who kept his words.

Walking out of the hall, Ji Shu felt a bit annoyed. He knew that there were a lot of works to be done, but he wanted to hurry and came to the north to eliminate Prince Ji Sheng as soon as possible. Time was draining bit by bit, and he knew that it would continue to run out.

If he didn't eliminate Prince Ji Sheng as soon as possible, he would come back to attack him.

"Where's Ji Sheng's last location?" Ji Shu asked with a cold tone.

A man donned in black clothes appeared beside him. "Replying to Your Majesty, Prince Ji Sheng last located at the north, near the border."

"He's still there?"

"There's no one who see him lately because Her Highness, Princess Gao Ling, kept him away in her tent."

Kept him in her tent?

It was nothing unusual considering how much Prince Ji Sheng loved his wife. The two of them were often seen together in the past when there was battle. There was also time when Prince Ji Sheng didn't show up because he was busy attending his wife.

This time, the news felt odd for Ji Shu. He rubbed his chin with his fingers and his eyes glinted dangerously.

"Watch over the area."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Without waiting for anything more, Ji Shu rushed back to his palace to meet with his wife. Wei Xiao Hua has been cleaning up the palace too lately, so the two of them were very busy. He missed her so much right now.

"Xiao Hua!"

Wei Xiao Hua placed the book in her hand on the table. Her face brightened the moment she saw Ji Shu automatically. "Ji Shu, what brings you here today?"

"I want to meet you," Ji Shu replied back. He strode inside and stopped right in front of Wei Xiao Hua before pulling her to his embrace. The sweet smell wafted to his nose as he snuggled in her embrace.

"It's ticklish."

"You smell sweet."

"Stop it." Wei Xiao Hua pushed Ji Shu away with a laugh. She looked at Ji Shu with a bright smile. It was unknown since when, but she was gradually falling for him over and over. From only trying to finish the novel and reached the happy ending, she started to genuinely felt happiness from the bottom of her heart.

Ji Shu released her with a bit unwillingness. However, he still kept her close with him as his expression grew solemn. "How's the palace?"

"It's not bad."

"Do you like your new residence?"

"I like it very much," Wei Xiao Hua replied. She mused, "I have to clean up so many people who are part of Prince Ji Tian's side. It's a bit tiring, but it's worth it."

Ji Shu nodded. He knew that there were a lot of servants under Prince Ji Tian. In the very first place, his father had always favored his brother to become the next Emperor, so his brother had better privilege than him.

"It's good to hear."

"En." Wei Xiao Hua thought for a moment before asking, "How's the war preparation?"

"It's going well. I have already asked my men to send reinforcement from the south and prepare everything to go to the north. There's only a bit of worry about Ji Sheng's position and his movements," Ji Shu replied. His eyes glinted with ruthlessness for a split second. Thinking about his third brother always dampen his mood, especially because he knew that it was not easy to deal with Prince Ji Sheng.

Wei Xiao Hua nodded. If she was not wrong, Prince Ji Sheng in the original novel would choose to make the first move and try to strike a peaceful conversation. However, it was hard to trust the other party considering the large power that Prince Ji Sheng wielded in the north.

In the end, the two of them have a duel and Ji Shu won.

While she was thinking, a servant hurriedly came and kowtowed. "Your Majesty, there's emergency!"