Leaving Begonia Court, Zhou Ming walked a few paces and stopped at the corner of the veranda.

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately, he quietly extended a wisp of his Divine Sense.

He admitted to himself that he was a bit curious; Empress Su Mingyue had been as calm as a block of iron in front of him just now, but that was her own father, after all.

Old Marquis Su Yongning, the general who had guarded the northern border through snow and wind for most of his life, who had returned to the estate only a handful of times each year, and who had barely seen his daughter more than a few times—had died.

He died in the betrayal of his comrades, died on the desolate mountains of Wild Wolf Slope, and it was unknown if his remains could even be recovered.

Empress Su Mingyue held herself together flawlessly in front of others, but what about when she was alone? When she was by herself, would she cry?

In Zhou Ming's memories of his previous life, he only had images of Empress Su Mingyue crying as a child; he had never seen her cry after she grew up.

His Divine Sense spread out silently, crossing the veranda, passing through the hanging flower gate, and returning to the main hall of Begonia Court.

Then, he heard Empress Su Mingyue's voice.

The voice was no different from when she was in front of Zhou Ming earlier—steady, clear, and as chilling as a blade passing over ice.

It was not weeping, not sobbing, but an order.

"Qiuju, order the Nightingales to assassinate 5th Prince Liu Bing and 6th Prince Liu Quan at any cost."

Empress Su Mingyue's voice was low, and her pace was unhurried, as if she were instructing the Kitchen to add a dish for dinner tonight.

Zhou Ming's feet were rooted to the spot.

"Dongmei, relay the order to Gao Pengda: lead one hundred thousand border troops and one hundred thousand new troops to capture Liangzhou within ten days. After capturing it, reorganize and deploy troops toward An Province and Yunzhou."

"Order Ren Yunjie to lead thirty thousand elites from Hidden Cloud Valley to capture Luzhou within ten days, expand the forces on the spot, and deploy troops to defend Chong Province."

"Order Fan Jianjun, after Gao Pengda captures Liangzhou, to reorganize and defend the entire northern border and the northwestern frontier, and to keep a constant watch on the movements of Great Yuan and Great Yan."

"Leave fifty thousand new troops in Yuyang Commandery, and have the remaining forces assemble immediately to depart for Qingzhou."

From the main hall came the rustling sound of a brush moving quickly across paper; it was Dongmei drafting the orders.

After a moment of silence, Empress Su Mingyue seemed to walk over to the map; her voice was slightly more distant but remained clear:

"As for Zhao Chongyuan in Yun Province and Yuwen Shuo in Chong Province, it will do no harm to let them live a few more days."

Zhou Ming did not continue listening to the rest.

He retracted his Divine Sense, leaned back against a red-lacquered pillar of the veranda, and remained silent for quite a while.

He now had only one thought in his mind: this Eldest Miss was far more decisive and ruthless than he had imagined.

The vengeance for her father's death.

Whether it was princes or the powerful frontier officials from the same noble families, she did not intend to let a single one of them go, and she hadn't even hesitated for a second.

Moreover, there were a few names in there that Zhou Ming had never heard of at all.

Who was Gao Pengda? He had stayed in the northern border for so many days, from the Commanders Residence in Zhenbei City to the basin camp at Duanyun Ridge, and had met dozens of generals, but no one had ever mentioned the name Gao Pengda.

To hand over two hundred thousand troops so casually to an unknown person—this person was either a hidden trump card of the Su Family or a direct subordinate whom Empress Su Mingyue had personally promoted at some time he was unaware of.

Just how many trump cards did the Su Family have buried in You Province?

Zhou Ming suddenly felt that his understanding of this Marquis's estate was still too shallow.

As for Liangzhou and Luzhou, Liangzhou was to the northwest of You Province, and Luzhou was to the northeast; capturing both meant capturing the entire northern part of the Great Xia Dynasty.

To capture two provinces simultaneously within ten days and to immediately reorganize and deploy defenses after capturing them.

Such an appetite, such a grand scale—Zhou Ming could only click his tongue in amazement.

He shook his head and did not listen any further.

Empress Su Mingyue had asked him to prepare for the 9th Prince's coronation; that was the most urgent task at hand for him.

He knew nothing about the rules of a coronation ceremony. In his previous life, he had participated in the excavation of two Tang Dynasty imperial tombs at an archaeological site and knew something about burial systems, but that was completely different from a living person's coronation.

Fortunately, there were plenty of experienced elders in the Marquis's estate, as the Su Family had operated in You Province for all these years.

The estate kept plenty of ritual officials, registrars, and masters of ceremonies; Empress Su Mingyue must have already made arrangements.

He only needed to control the general direction; the rest would naturally be handled by others.

The biggest practical issue for the new emperor's coronation was the location of the imperial palace.

Yuyang Commandery was not the capital; there was no ready-made imperial palace to move into.

However, when Emperor Zhengde toured the north in his early years, he had built a Imperial Palace twenty miles outside the city of Yuyang Commandery. Although its scale could not be compared to the imperial city in An Province, the main hall, side halls, sleeping quarters, and imperial gardens were all complete.

Later, Emperor Zhengde came less frequently, so the Imperial Palace was handed over to the local prefect to manage, with silver allocated annually for repairs and maintenance.

Although the previous prefect was a bit mediocre in his official duties, he had not skimped much on the maintenance of the Imperial Palace.

Now, it was only necessary to clean out the halls that had accumulated several years of dust, replace the missing tiles, and replace the old curtains, and it could be barely used.

As for the ritual vessels needed for the sacrificial rites to Heaven, the coronation robes, the Imperial Jade Seal, the edicts, and the ceremonial processions, Zhou Ming did not even want to think about these matters.

He directly sent someone to the Marquis's estate to pass on the message, and sure enough, in less than half a day, Empress Su Mingyue had dispatched a full twenty experienced clerks from the Marquis's estate.

There were those who had served as ceremonial officials in the prefecture, those who specialized in writing sacrificial texts for the Marquis's estate, and even an old gentleman with white hair and beard who was said to have retired from the Ministry of Rites of the previous dynasty.

Zhou Ming gathered them in the main hall of the Prefectural Governors Mansion and dumped all the coronation preparations onto these old clerks, while he simply sat to the side drinking tea and listening, occasionally nodding to indicate, "Fine, let's do it that way."

Two days later, Yuyang Commandery welcomed two heavyweight figures.

The Great Xia Dynasty's 9th Prince, Emperor Liu Ji, and his maternal grandfather, Empress Su Mingyue's own grandfather, Grand Duke Su.

The escort team for the 9th Prince entered the city in the middle of the night.

To avoid potential pursuers and spies from all sides, Chunlan had arranged for the Marquis's estate's most elite personal guard to meet them outside the city in advance; the carriage did not display any banners along the way, and even the carriage curtains were tightly covered with black cloth.

Zhou Ming waited inside the South City Gate with the people from the Prefectural Governors Mansion; torches illuminated the city gate tunnel brightly.

After the convoy entered the city, an old man with white hair and beard was the first to step out of the carriage.

Zhou Ming knew at a glance that this was none other than Grand Duke Su, who had served as a duke in the capital for decades and stood firm in the court of Emperor Zhengde.

He was not tall, quite lean, and wore a robe that had been washed until it was faded; at first glance, he looked no different from any elderly private tutor on the streets of Yuyang Commandery, and his back was slightly hunched.

But when he raised his head to look at Zhou Ming, the light in those eyes hidden beneath his white eyebrows seemed capable of seeing straight into a person's heart.

Then, the carriage curtain was lifted again, and the second person to step out was the 9th Prince, Emperor Liu Ji.

Zhou Ming's gaze shifted from Grand Duke Su and landed on Emperor Liu Ji; he paused for less than three seconds, and his heart skipped a beat.

This person looked too much like Su Mingli.

It wasn't about his looks; Emperor Liu Ji had a proper and delicate appearance, with a touch of royal nobility, and there was a faint hint of familial resemblance in his brows to Empress Su Mingyue.

But apart from his appearance, his mannerisms, bearing, and even those subconscious little movements were practically cut from the same mold as Su Mingli.

When Emperor Liu Ji got off the carriage, he didn't let anyone help him; instead, he braced himself with one hand against the carriage shaft and leaped down.

The posture upon landing was quite dashing, but his hem got caught on the carriage shaft and gave a tug, causing him to stumble forward a step, nearly crashing into his own attendant.

He was not annoyed, straightened his lapels, and with a "snap," pulled a folding fan from his sleeve.

He didn't open the fan but tapped it against his palm while it was still closed, looked around, and flashed a smug smile at the dumbfounded welcoming party.

Zhou Ming almost broke his composure on the spot.

He was far too familiar with this incredibly flashy demeanor.