Chapter 471: Chapter 56: No Grudges for the Past

As Zhao Chenlu returned to the Golden Jade City from the resting room of the Broken Moon Sword Array, her face was radiant with a smile of happiness and contentment.

For her, in over a hundred years of reincarnated life, the greatest victory and the most fulfilling satisfaction was none other than this moment, having the crystallization of love with the person she loved the most.

In comparison, being the number one beauty in the world, the cultivation in the Heaven Shattering Realm, and the victory in the Immortal Demon War were all just fleeting clouds.

Of course, objectively speaking, the birth of this crystallization was indeed somewhat far-fetched. The way she united with her beloved was not the ideal spiritual and physical union, nor was it the next best option of deep union but rather a logical union, which was worlds apart from the situation she had dreamed of numerous times in her lucid dreams.

However, as early as the Zhao Yuming era in her past life, she had deeply understood the truth that one cannot force perfection in worldly affairs. To be able to logically combine with Wang Jiu and give birth to a daughter like Zhao Lingbo was already quite a remarkable achievement. Even if that little brat Shang Lanfei were resurrected, she would probably have to praise her, exclaiming, "Impressive, my Zhao."

So at this moment, Zhao Chenlu’s heart was truly radiant and untainted. The shame and anger of being betrayed by her subordinates, suppressed under the City Lord’s Mansion, and ridiculed by the world had long been washed away by overwhelming joy.

On the other hand, when the people on the square, eagerly awaiting the outcome of this earth-shattering battle, saw Zhao Chenlu’s smiling face, a storm of turmoil brewed in their hearts.

Over the past twenty years, Zhao Chenlu, reigning supreme as City Lord, rarely demonstrated a parental affection for the citizens through an approachable smile like other City Lords. From the moment she took power, she had made no secret of her pride and individuality. Her smile was always limited to the realm of etiquette, and her towering arrogance behind it was visible even to the blind.

Therefore, this smile, reminiscent of a teenage girl in love, was evidently a sign of the world turning upside down in people’s eyes.

Trapped under the City Lord’s Mansion for more than ten days, who knew to what extent that inherently quirky demoness would have become twisted, inevitably heralding a cataclysmic disaster.

Then, someone, unable to contain the terror in their heart, was the first to shout in the crowd, "Run away!"

"Run... run away!"

Like echoes in a valley, similar screams rose and fell among the crowd.

Tens of thousands of people, accompanied by the screams, began to frantically flee in all directions.

Whether supporting Zhao Chenlu or opposing her, they all chose to escape without hesitation. The wave of flight, once started, was unstoppable. Tens of thousands of people jostled each other, spreading panic, and it seemed a humanitarian disaster was about to descend...

Seeing this situation, Zhao Chenlu finally slightly restrained her smile and mood, raised her hand, and grasped at the air.

In an instant, the entire time and space of Golden Jade City were seized by her five fingers, turning intangible concepts into tangible objects, firmly controlled and unable to move.

The onlookers scattered across dozens of overlapping spaces were fixed along with the time and space they were in, naturally unable to jostle or trample each other.

A great disaster was averted with a mere wave of Zhao Chenlu’s hand.

This was the power and authority of the legitimate City Lord. With Zhao Chenlu’s current cultivation, once she returned to her domain, she instantly regained control of Golden Jade City. The city’s restriction arrays and earth vein spiritual power were all under her control.

Locking time and space was as easy as turning her hand.

At this moment, a cultivator in white clothing with a mask suddenly flew beside Zhao Chenlu, cupped his hands in salute, and said, "Congratulations to City Lord Zhao for escaping the predicament. The order in Golden Jade City will surely be restored soon, so I won’t disturb you further."

Zhao Chenlu glanced over, pondered for a moment, and said, "Alright, help me pass a message to the old man. This time the Saint Sect did not kick me when I was down, and I’ll remember this favor."

The masked cultivator smiled wryly and said, "The Saint Sect never engages in opportunistic political behavior like kicking someone when they’re down. The Sect Leader sent me merely to maintain the basic order in Golden Jade City..."

Zhao Chenlu immediately showed an impatient expression, waving her hand, "Alright, alright, save that nonsense for the old man to hear when you return."

The masked cultivator shrugged helplessly and disappeared without a trace the next moment.

The conversation between the two happened in a flash, and the vast majority of ordinary onlookers in the square completely missed the departure of the Holy Sect Envoy, merely feeling slightly bewildered and at a loss due to the time-lock.

However, at the same time, on a certain high platform in the square, numerous Zhao Family cultivators with advanced cultivation clearly observed everything. These people gathered on a high platform, trembling, their faces pale, among whom many showed expressions of a heart attack.

An elderly cultivator quivered and said, "I told you the people of the Saint Sect are unreliable! That masked man seemed to be on our side on the surface, but once the tide turned, he’d run faster than anyone!"

"Don’t say anymore, the Saint Sect has always favored that demoness. When she was rebellious against her biological father and seized power, not a single envoy was sent by the Saint Sect to mete out divine punishment... I told you all along, this is a world that judges by appearances!"

"Doomed! We’re going to be liquidated! Hongwu and Hongwen are dead for sure, and none of us accomplices will get away!"

In their conversation, these Zhao Family members had already started to despair and give up. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

As one of the chief conspirators in the coup, Zhao Hongwu reluctantly laid down the transfer talisman in his left hand—those transfer talismans for fleeing to places like Feiyan Mountain had become ineffective the moment Zhao Chenlu appeared—placing his sole hope on the card in his right hand.

A letter of surrender titled "If You Spare My Life, I’ll Serve You Like an Ox or Horse."

At this moment, seeking life in the midst of death, this was the only chance!

However, just as Zhao Hongwu was about to play his trump card, a shadow flashed by his side. Zhao Hongwen took the lead, moving like lightning to a spot not far from Zhao Chenlu.

"Lord City Lord! I’ve finally waited for your return!" As he spoke, Zhao Hongwen was already in tears, looking deeply moved, "I knew you would definitely come back! Damn my limited abilities—even though I long saw through Zhao Hongwu’s wolfish ambitions, I was powerless to stop him on the spot, only able to follow him closely, waiting for the right moment... Now, I’ve finally got the chance to expose his shameful crimes!"

Zhao Hongwu almost wanted to spit blood. This face-to-face betrayal from a blood brother gave him a deeper understanding of kinship and blood ties!

As the brothers quarreled, Zhao Chenlu let out a soft sigh.

"Everyone shut up."

After saying this, she clenched her right hand more tightly, and instantly, the strength of the space-time lock was intensified tenfold.

At this moment, not to mention ordinary people without Immortal Cultivation, even cultivators who had practiced for years were completely restrained, unable to struggle, and even the cultivators from other forces invited by the temporary government to witness the event were no exception.

The whole city was silent, with only Zhao Chenlu standing high above, looking down on all living things.

After a while, amidst everyone’s anxious anticipation, Zhao Chenlu spoke, "Initially, I did think that after I came back, I wanted to thoroughly clean up Golden Jade City, cleaning until I was satisfied."

As soon as these words were spoken, one could sense a wave of panic starting to spread, even with the time and space locked.

"However, you are really lucky. I am in a very good mood right now, so the cleanup will be skipped. From now on, everything that happened will return to its original state, and all that occurred during this period will be let go."

Upon hearing this, countless people showed expressions of surprise and confusion.

Let bygones be bygones?! Can this really happen? Even a coup won’t be pursued?

"Because I’m genuinely very happy." As Zhao Chenlu spoke, her face once again beamed with a blissful smile.

"Today, I’ve gained a daughter."

With that, she lifted Zhao Lingbo in front of her like displaying merchandise, showing off, "Pretty cute, isn’t she?"

Zhao Lingbo, held by Zhao Chenlu, still had a muddled mind.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people in the square stood dumbfounded as they watched the former close maid inexplicably become Zhao Chenlu’s daughter.

"Of course, not in the conventional sense of a daughter, more like what you understand as a goddaughter, but the love she carries is the most sincere. So, having such a cute daughter has made me so happy that I don’t want to pursue your responsibilities anymore. From now on, as long as you know your place and don’t bother me, I’ll pretend nothing happened."

After speaking, Zhao Chenlu gently sighed.

These words were heartfelt. At this moment, she was indeed very happy. In the Jiuzhou Era, she once had a dream of being with her beloved, hopefully nurturing a child or two, and then having the children perform talents before Shang Girl’s grave.

And now, even though the dream hadn’t been fully realized, it was still a brilliant phase victory.

So Zhao Chenlu really couldn’t think of punishing those who attempted the coup anymore.

She had never regarded those people as anything significant, so why would she waste her good mood on them?

However, just when Zhao Chenlu was about to settle the matter completely and then return to the City Lord’s Mansion with Wang Jiu to be intimate, and also take Zhao Lingbo to perform in front of the grave in her backyard that she had set up for Shang Girl, an impassioned old man’s voice rose from the platform below.

"Nonsense! Don’t try to deceive us! How could a demoness like you let us go so easily? It’s definitely a delaying tactic; afterwards, you’ll..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Chenlu flicked her finger.

Snap!

The old man fell down without a sound, and several people beside him who were ready to echo his sentiments immediately fell silent with fear.

Zhao Chenlu smilingly said, "Don’t be afraid, I didn’t kill him. Today is a joyful day, there shouldn’t be any bloodshed."

Pausing for a moment, she added.

"So the talisman I planted will not explode until noon tomorrow. You have one day to let him enjoy his old age."

With that, Zhao Chenlu scanned all around again.

"Now, does anyone else have any questions?"

For a while, no one inside or outside Golden Jade City dared to make a sound.