Neither the ministers nor the generals moved, which made Emperor Ling's face turn ugly. He plopped down on a chair. Li Ru stepped forward silently, slowly approaching Diao Chan. This action alerted Lu Bu.
"Madam, what other schemes does Emperor Ling have!" Li Ru whispered into Diao Chan's ear, but Diao Chan dodged him. "No need for your concern, this madam naturally has..."
Before she could finish, Diao Chan felt a chill down her back. The next moment, she heard her maid cry out in pain, spit blood, and collapse on the ground. Li Ru slowly wiped the blood from his face, grinned, and said coldly, "What a pity, it was so close!"
Lu Bu reacted at this moment, reaching out to grab Li Ru's shoulder, but he was a step too late. Li Ru had already dodged and, in the next moment, pulled out a dagger and brandished it at Lu Bu. "What a pity, I was just a step away from tasting the flavor of the King of Chu's wife!"
"You!" Lu Bu's anger flared. "Take your life!"
The Fangtian Huaji whirred coldly in the air, but each time it was deftly dodged by Li Ru. At one point, Li Ru saw the Fangtian Huaji approaching him, smiled coldly, and used a dagger to block and slide along the Fangtian Huaji, forcing Lu Bu to let go. The dagger in his other hand was then thrown out fiercely, and Lu Bu narrowly avoided being cut.
"You, you are not an ordinary person!" Lu Bu exclaimed, but in that instant, the dagger skillfully cut through the connecting parts of the armor, and a wound appeared on Lu Bu's body!
"Good boy, I have underestimated you all along!" Lu Bu cursed angrily.
Li Ru licked the blood on his dagger and said coldly, "You have underestimated me in more ways than one, General. Attack!"
The next moment, seven or eight men in black, hidden above the golden hall, suddenly appeared and cupped their fists at Li Ru. "Master!"
Lu Bu realized instantly that this was the master behind everything. "So it's you, the one I searched for countless times!"
"It is you who wish to deal with the King of Chu. Today, this madam can catch you all in one net," Diao Chan said with a cold smile. "Attack!"
"Without the King of Chu, even if you, Diao Chan, succeed, what then? Today, you will surely die here!" Li Ru glared at Diao Chan with hatred. "No, all of you must die here!"
"This madam wants to see whether your few useless men are more capable or the Third Legion of the King of Chu's manor!" Diao Chan's gaze was sharp, and with a command, she said, "Attack!"
Several personal guards led the soldiers forward in a hurry, charging towards the men in black. Diao Chan stood calmly in place. "How many chances of victory do you think you have now!"
The personal guards and the men in black clashed. Before long, the men in black were at a disadvantage. One of them was being beaten by a personal guard, but he narrowly avoided several fatal blows.
"Be careful, if you can't handle these small fries, you'll have to bring your heads to see me. Don't say I didn't teach you well!" Li Ru said with hidden meaning. "Of course, your families will also die by my hand!"
The men in black became more ferocious in their attacks, but fortunately, the personal guards trained by Lu Bu were not weak. For a time, the fight was evenly matched.
"If this is His Majesty's backup plan, I fear he will be disappointed today!" Diao Chan said leisurely as she sat in her chair. "His Majesty should have issued the decree earlier, and there would not have been so much wasted effort!"
"Madam need not worry. Until the last moment, no one can say who will win or lose!" Emperor Ling smiled, showing no nervousness.
In the blink of an eye, two men in black fell, while the personal guards were unharmed. However, one of them was clearly outmatched, but at a critical moment, he seized an opportunity and struck directly. The man in black lay on the ground, also seriously injured!
"Your subordinate, Qian Duo, has not disgraced his mission and has dealt with that person. Please rest assured, Madam!" Qian Duo knelt on the ground, grinning through the pain.
Emperor Ling's words had planted a seed in Diao Chan's heart. Diao Chan tore off a strip of cloth and carefully began to bandage Qian Duo.
"Madam! This cannot be done!" Qian Duo's face suddenly turned red, and he spoke hurriedly. "I fear the King's spirit in heaven will not rest in peace!"
"This madam says it can be done, so it can be done. Why should I care about others!" Diao Chan said forcefully, and then asked casually, "Are there any other brothers or sisters at home? When the land is in our hands, they can also live in peace and contentment. This is also the King of Chu's dying wish!"
"Madam!" Qian Duo suddenly burst into tears, staring at the cloth bandaging his wound, his body trembling!
"Useless, hesitant in your actions! How did I teach you, Master? It seems you truly do not want your family's lives!" Li Ru roared in anger.
Qian Duo quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Diao Chan. "Madam, I am sorry to you. If there is an afterlife, I will repay your great kindness. I am sorry to you today!"
Qian Duo leaped up, his hands forming a claw and a palm, and lunged towards Diao Chan.
"To shoot a person, shoot the horse first; to capture a bandit, capture the king first!" Emperor Ling repeatedly cheered. "With Diao Chan captured, what great matter can still be done!"
Hearing the words that originally belonged to Ye Feng coming from Emperor Ling's mouth, Diao Chan felt another pang of disgust. She raised her eyebrows. "Your Majesty has likely miscalculated!"
Li Ru had the same thought. As long as they captured Diao Chan, the nominal leader, they wouldn't be afraid of Lu Bu not being wary of her. Then, subduing the Third Legion would be a matter of minutes.
However, Diao Chan's words made Li Ru's heart skip a beat, fearing some change. He shouted at the hesitant personal guard, "Hurry, do you really want them to die without a burial place!"
Diao Chan looked at the personal guard and said slowly, "Is it because he captured your family that you want to capture me to claim credit? Actually, this madam understands!"
"Since the King of Chu's death, has this madam not shed tears every day?" Diao Chan sighed heavily. "If you want to make a move, then come. Just do it quickly, don't keep this madam waiting too long!"
"Yes, Madam!" The personal guard gathered all his strength and was about to strike, but found he had no strength at all. He looked at Diao Chan in confusion.
"What? You can't exert any strength?" Diao Chan said with a cold smile. "You can't even capture this madam?"
"You?" The personal guard forced out a word.
"Hmph, this madam has seen too many tricks since childhood. I know exactly how capable you are and whether you can defeat that man in black. This cloth strip has sleeping powder on it. You won't wake up for a while. Go to sleep!" Diao Chan gave a gentle push, and the personal guard fell heavily to the ground!
Li Ru saw his most crucial step come to naught and was anxious. He rushed to grab Diao Chan, but his haste allowed Lu Bu to seize an opening and deliver a fierce blow to his leg with the Fangtian Huaji!
Li Ru spat out a mouthful of blood and knelt on the ground. Lu Bu seized this opportunity to help the remaining personal guards. It was originally an evenly matched fight, let alone with Lu Bu's addition. Before long, the remaining few also fell to the ground, with broken arms and legs.
"Madam, how should these people be dealt with!" Lu Bu asked respectfully. "Fengxian's discipline was not strict, please punish me, Madam!"
"It's alright!" Diao Chan raised her hand slightly. "He was simply anxious after losing his family and acted rashly. Have his family been rescued?"
"They have already arrived at the King of Chu's manor!" Lu Bu answered.
"Good. In that case, let him off this time. If there is a next time, he will be punished for both offenses. As for the remaining men in black who acted against the King of Chu, hang them on the city walls for three months, then throw them into the mass grave. Li Ru, this madam still has questions for him!"
Diao Chan looked at Emperor Ling approaching step by step. "Your Majesty, do you have any other methods to deal with this madam? Use them quickly, otherwise, this madam fears you will not have the chance!"
Lu Zhi coughed twice to remind Diao Chan. Diao Chan knew not to go too far and said slowly, "If there are no other backup plans, please write the decree, Your Majesty, how about it?"
Emperor Ling was already so scared that he cowered, taking a few steps back before stammering, "I, I agree to write it, write what?"
"Your Majesty only needs to write that the land is to be managed by the King of Chu's manor, and no one is to interfere. Also, enfeoff the King of Chu as a First Class Duke, hereditary!" Diao Chan placed the brush gently before Emperor Ling. "If Your Majesty does not agree, this madam has plenty of other ideas!"
Emperor Ling felt a wave of humiliation. He could agree to the land issue, but there had been much trouble during Emperor Wu of Han's reign regarding hereditary succession. To restore it now would be to slap himself and his ancestors in the face!
"Do not push your luck too far!" Emperor Ling managed to squeeze out after a long while. "Alright, Your Majesty, what other ideas do you have? I would like to hear them."
"Lu Bu, why haven't you acted yet! Have all of this loyal servant's tendons and sinews severed. See what else he can do!" Diao Chan ordered coldly, then turned to Emperor Ling and said kindly, "Your Majesty, do not worry, you are the Son of Heaven, how can you be compared to those people!"
"Fine, I will write!" After this ordeal, Emperor Ling was thoroughly terrified. The decree he wrote was full of errors and omissions. Diao Chan raised her eyebrows. "It seems Your Majesty wants to fool this madam, making it difficult for me!"
"Madam!" Emperor Ling said, biting the bullet. "Normally, they are the ones who draft the documents, and I just need to affix my seal. Who would have thought you would require my personal handwriting!"
"Alright. Then let him dictate, and Your Majesty will write," Diao Chan threw the first decree on the table. "But if it turns out like this again, don't blame this madam for being ruthless!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Emperor Ling hastily nodded and bowed, agreeing a few times. This time it was exceptionally smooth, and Diao Chan successfully obtained the decree. She bowed slightly to Lu Zhi. "Thank you, Sir, for your help this time. I will certainly call on you to express my gratitude another day!"
"Hmph, as long as Madam does not let His Majesty blame me, I will be grateful. How dare I expect Madam to visit!" Lu Zhi took the decree, said sarcastically, and left the golden hall without hesitation.
When Diao Chan reached Li Ru, Li Ru shouted, "Diao Chan, even if you have power now, what of it? The King of Chu, your beloved King of Chu, I personally saw him utterly annihilated under the轰天雷 (Hong Tian Lei -轰天雷). It was worth it for him to be my burial companion!"
"I'm afraid I have to disappoint you! This King is still very much alive!"