Chapter 231 The Blade Empress

Wu Long was led through the hallways and soon arrived in front of a large luxuriously decorated door.

When it was opened he saw a large throne room with high ceilings, all three sides except for the door which had big windows and doors leading to balconies with a view of the capital.

Wu Long noted that there were no guards or any attendants in the room, except for a man standing behind the throne who seemed to be the one responsible for communicating her orders to the outside if needed.

Nie Xiwang sat in a white dress similar to the one she wore before but instead of pure white, she had a dark blue accent color and golden lining, with her legs in white stockings crossed slightly to the side. Her delicate hands were held together one atop another on her lap while her back was straight in a graceful pose as her head was turned to look straight.

Behind the seatback were twelve golden swords sheathed directly into the throne creating a round pattern behind her that made her look even more majestic.

She silently watched as Wu Long and the two beside him entered it.

The gold color that was sprinkled into her gray eyes glowed a little and she narrowed her eyes as she only saw a man standing before her, with no sight of the celestial being she saw the night before.

Her eyes then looked at her nephew in Butler Bang's hands as she ascertained that he was indeed alive, though she could see how much pain he was in which made her eyebrows furrow slightly.

As she turned back to look at Wu Long, there was an amused light in his eyes, as well as something else that she could not exactly pinpoint, but that question faded as she took in a deep breath, preparing to start the conversation.

"You refused to state the reason you detained my... nephew in public the night before due to the unflattering light it might bring to the crown, would you enlighten me to the reason now that we are in the palace?"

Nie Xiwang spoke with her beautiful voice in a tranquil and measured tone. There was no haughtiness but a regal majesty in her polite manner of speech.

"It is nothing much, really. We had a personal dispute during which he brought me harm, so I intend to have him take full responsibility"

"If it is a dispute you could have brought it to the attention of the court, this country has its rule and as the one ruling it I am not fond of taking the law into your own hands"

Nie Xiwang said with a little coldness seeping into her voice.

"It is indeed a country, but I am not its citizen anymore and even if I was the law that did not protect me would not protect the one who harmed me either"

"An incidental failure of the law does not negate its existence"

"Maybe, but I do not see it binding me"

"You should"

As the Empress said the last phrase her tone got colder.

"And why is that?"

Wu Long was still as light-hearted as he was in the beginning, with the same charming smile on his face.

"Do you know why I came into power, Mister Wu?"

Nie Xiwang asked suddenly changing the topic, making a slight pause before adding 'Mister Wu'.

"Please call me Wu Long, Your Majesty. As for your question, I cannot say I do, though I am aware of some of the circumstances"

Wu Long charmingly smiled while the Empress looked on with a slightly cold gaze.

"That makes the explanation faster, as you know, I was an illegitimate child, so I had no right to the throne originally. But I wanted to live, and the only way to do so in this place is by having power, be it personal strength or, even more so, political power. You see this throne protects my life more than you know"

She said unhurriedly.

"A reasonable motive"

"Indeed it was, but then again not everyone viewed it that way so I had to make them understand my point of view"

"And I suppose you succeeded"

"Not really, they did not understand and I had to remove those who were still unreconciled from the picture... It is interesting that you are not asking me why am I telling you this"

"Only because I have a feeling you will be telling me soon enough"

"Indeed, you are right"

Nie Xiwang lightly smiled for the first time revealing another side of her beauty, but that smile quickly disappeared as if a fleeting dream as her face returned to the icy tranquility. historical

"I am telling you this in order for you to understand that since the rule of this country is what is protecting the one sitting on this throne, it is in the interest of the one in question to protect the rule in turn"

Wu Long nodded to Nie Xiwang's explanation since it did make logical sense.

"And that puts you, the one disrupting the peace and the rule of law, at odds with me..."

As Nie Xiwang said these words she placed the left leg that was atop her right one down and slowly stood up straight, placing her hands behind her. The twelve swords behind her rose into the air, turning around to face away from her to the sides as they aligned and created a rough shape of two golden wings in the air behind her.

'Heh, the Blade Empress, huh'

Wu Long smiled at the quite fitting nickname the people gave her, in both literal and figurative ways.

"Hmm, that does seem to be the case, but I wonder why you did not take that approach earlier?"

"There seemed to be more room for conversation back then as you did not make a comment disregarding my authority at that moment"

"Ah, yes. Your authority..."

He chuckled, nodding, while Old Yen and Butler Bang gulped as they sensed constricted by the heavy atmosphere. This was not their perception as they were indeed locked in place by the pressure the Blade Empress gave off at the moment.

"Well, to be fair, even though I was not obligated to, as you see from my stance, I did collect evidence of his wrongdoings as well as capture a witness who also happens to be an accomplice as a courtesy since I do not want to be at odds with you"

As Wu Long smiled and shrugged his shoulders Nie Xiwang raised her eyebrow and her gaze turned to the man in gray.

"Even if you prove his crimes it will not wash away that the way you dealt with the situation undermines my authority"

"Hmm, I did not say it would. I just wanted you to see that I had reasonable justification for my actions. Thus whether my conduct is a problem would fall into the category of your perception"

"Hah!"

Nie Xiwang snorted at the confusing words of this man who boldly and openly proclaimed not being bound by the rule she was imposing on the country and yet it seemed wanted to establish an amicable relationship with her.

"You sound as if as long as you manage to make this a matter of my perception it would be alright, are you that sure that I will not view it as a problem?"

"You are not going to review the evidence first?"

"It is one of the privileges that come with the throne. In this room I am the judge, jury, and executioner, so even if you did not collect the evidence as long as you convince me you can be pardoned"

"Heh, that makes my effort to collect it in vain, but I cannot say I am dissatisfied, really"

Wu Long chuckled as she silently looked at him, trying to figure out what made him so relaxed in front of her.

"Your motive for becoming the ruler is reasonable for you, but not ideal for a monarch"

He then said, and while she did slightly raise her eyebrow she silently looked at him waiting for the explanation.

"You have secured your own safety, but at the same time have no real motivation to help the people of the country thrive. And although you did manage to reign in the power of your imperial family it is also in line with your motive of becoming the Empress, and not for the people. Not to mention that you cannot restrict the movements in the shadows. I frankly do not care about how you rule the country but it was your rule that results in incidents as with this prince here. So, in a way, your rule is the reason we are here"

"Hah! You have a lot of guts to call me incompetent to my face"

"Because you are, as a ruler that is"

Nie Xiwang looked at Wu Long as a smile gradually appeared on her face.

"I admit that I am not the best monarch this country could have but I have my own ways-..."

"Your Truth Seeking Eyes indeed show you more than a normal person could see, but they are not omnipotent"

Wu Long said with a chuckle and her eyes slightly widened, but then her facial features relaxed as introspection could be glimpsed from her expression while she looked to the side. The swords forming golden wings behind her turned to the ground as if the wings folded and arranged themselves behind her back as she went to the side she looked at, approaching one of the open spaces from which the view of the city was particularly beautiful on this sunny summer day.

"Truth Seeking Eyes... is that what this is called...?"

Nie Xiwang slowly pronounced the name of her Deviation, as if tasting the sound of these words.

"It is no wonder that you do not know the name since it is quite a rare thing to see, but it benefited you greatly"

Wu Long nodded simply as he went forward to stand by her side and looked at the city as well.