164: Chapter 164 The Butterfly Imprisoned by the Tyrant

If he had truly been intoxicated by her beauty today and pardoned those ministers...

Then in Su Daji's perception, he would have been completely captivated by her and let down all his guards.

At that point, it would likely have been the moment for her to strike.

Su Chen suddenly laughed.

He reached out his hand, not to help her up, but to wrap it around her slender waist.

With a slight exertion of force, he pulled her up from the ground and pulled her back into his embrace.

His movements were intimate, even carrying a hint of playful toyery.

Caught off guard, Su Daji let out a low cry and fell onto his lap, a bosom full of warm fragrance and soft jade.

“My Beloved Consort is quite kind-hearted.”

Su Chen lowered his head and spoke softly into her ear.

The man's hot breath puffed against her sensitive earlobe, causing her body to tremble almost imperceptibly.

At the same time, his large hand resting on her waist quietly slid down.

Through the complex layers of her skirt, it landed on her perky buttocks.

He gave them a hard pinch, neither too light nor too heavy.

After the pinch, Su Chen seemed unsatisfied.

He lowered his head and sniffed his hand, which was tainted with the unique body fragrance of a Hehuan Sect female cultivator.

His face was full of satisfaction.

“Ugh!”

Suddenly profaned, Su Daji let out a muffled groan. The pain and sudden sense of shame made her delicate body stiffen instantly. Her beautiful eyes widened as she looked at the man close at hand in disbelief.

There was a playful smile on his face, and he didn't care at all that they were in the grand hall with hundreds of people standing there.

“My Beloved Consort works hard for the country and worries about the instability of my rule; this King accepts your intentions.”

“However...”

“My mind is made up.”

“Where are the Palace Warriors?”

“Present!”

Armor clattered as the elite warriors, who had long been waiting outside the hall, roared their response.

They poured into the hall, brimming with killing intent.

“Take Grand Master, General, Zhao Qi, Li Tong... and these eleven others.”

Su Chen spoke each word deliberately, calling out the names of all the traitors he had confirmed from his memory.

“Drag them out of the hall doors and behead them immediately!”

“Hang their heads on the flagpoles and expose their corpses for three days!”

Su Chen's voice was cold to the extreme.

Furthermore, he gave these people no room to maneuver.

Not to mention the ministers who had been sentenced to death.

Even the elite warriors had expressions of disbelief on their faces.

They hadn't expected it.

Su Chen actually dared to execute all the important officials in the court in one breath.

For a moment, although they had received the order, no one dared to step forward to carry out the punishment Su Chen had announced.

“Tyrant! Faint-hearted ruler! You will die a horrible death!”

“Su Daji! You demoness, you are a disaster to the country and the people!”

The officials who were named broke down completely.

Some cursed loudly, while others slumped to the ground, tears and snot flowing freely.

The other officials in the hall, whether they were involved with these people or not, were pale as ghosts at this moment. They lowered their heads deeply, not daring to make the slightest sound.

Boundless fear overwhelmed everyone. The looks they cast toward the throne were full of dread and awe.

And beneath that dread, hatred was quietly breeding.

“Does no one dare to take action?”

Su Chen seemed oblivious to all this.

He suddenly let go of Su Daji, pushed her gently to the side, and stood up abruptly.

His bright yellow sleeves brushed across the Imperial Desk as he strode down the Red Steps. With a "clang," he drew a cold, gleaming longsword from a guard's waist.

“Then I shall do it personally.”

Su Daji stumbled from his push and barely managed to steady herself.

Watching Su Chen walk with his sword toward the ministers who were held by the warriors and still cursing or wailing, her delicate body began to tremble uncontrollably.

It wasn't that she hadn't seen blood before.

In the Hehuan Sect, conspiracies and life-and-death struggles were never lacking.

But a scene where a king personally held a sword in the solemn court and slaughtered his ministers for such an absurd reason...

It was truly unheard of.

Su Chen walked up to Grand Master, who was the first to be dragged out.

This old minister was already paralyzed with fear. His crotch was wet, and a foul stench filled the air. He could only roll his eyes and gasp for breath.

“I will personally send you on your way.”

“Puff—”

Blood sprayed into the air.

A grey-haired head, bearing an expression of unbelievable terror, rolled to the ground.

A pool of warm blood splashed, and a few drops even landed on Su Daji's hem and shoes.

Su Chen didn't even look at the corpse on the ground. Carrying the dripping sword, he walked toward his next target.

The sword rose, and a head fell.

Then the next one...

His movements were precise and efficient, without any unnecessary hesitation or flair.

It was as if he weren't cutting off human heads, but merely insignificant branches in a courtyard.

Splattering blood stained the hem of his dragon robe.

It added a bit of Asura-like ferocity to his handsome face.

For a time, only the muffled sound of a sharp blade slicing through bone and flesh remained in the hall.

Smelling the scent of blood in the air, all the officials still standing turned pale as clay, their legs going soft.

The vast court now resembled a living hell.

Su Daji, who was also standing dazed on the spot, watched the man who repeatedly raised his sword to behead people in a pool of blood.

For some reason.

Even though the Su Chen before her was clearly committing a heinous act.

She did not see any cruelty or bloodlust in his eyes.

The man's back was to the direction where the sun rose.

The sunlight stretched his shadow very, very long.

One strike, another strike.

He acted against the direction faced by thousands of court officials, doing something that went against the will of millions.

In that silhouette...

There was actually an indescribable sense of resolution.

Finally, eleven heads had fallen.

Su Chen casually threw the blood-stained sword onto the ground, letting out a crisp "clang."

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the silent officials, and finally landed on the pale, trembling Su Daji.

“Court is dismissed.”

Then, he walked to Su Daji and, ignoring the blood on her skirt, picked her up in his arms again.

He strode away from this palace that was already flowing with rivers of blood.

...

That night, at the Star-Plucking Tower.

This place had become a forbidden zone; no one except Su Chen was allowed to enter.

Not many candles were lit inside the tower.

Only on the top-floor star-gazing platform did the moonlight illuminate a lonely figure standing by the railing.

And a stunning woman curled up on a silk cushion in the corner, her clothes slightly disheveled, sobbing softly to herself.

Su Daji hugged her knees, burying her face in her arms, her shoulders shaking gently.

She was submissive.

She had been completely beaten into submission by Su Chen.

At this moment, her hair bun was undone, and several strands of black hair hung down, sticking to her tear-stained cheeks.

Her magnificent Noble Consort court robes were tossed aside, and she wore only a thin, plain white inner garment, making her figure look even more delicate and pitiable.

Just moments ago.

To punish her for speaking out of turn in the court, Su Chen had personally given her fifty strokes on her perky buttocks.

The burning pain from her buttocks made her heart race with panic.

But strangely.

When Su Chen hit her, besides the uncontrollable shyness and resentment in her heart...

Toward the end, she actually felt a bit more.

A faint sense of pleasure and anticipation.

Su Chen stood with his back to her, looking at the deep night outside and the Zhaoge City below, where the lights of ten thousand homes were sparse and mostly pitch black.

He had changed out of his dragon robe and was wearing a simple set of black deep garments.

After an unknown amount of time, the sobbing gradually died down.

Su Chen turned around, walked to Su Daji, and crouched down.

Su Daji trembled in fear, thinking he was going to strike again.

She raised her tear-filled face and looked at him in panic.