Chapter 2267: Chapter 1957: I Am Only Helping You Manage Things

After Pei Shuhua finished speaking, the entire hall plunged into a deathly silence, with not a single minister stepping forward to speak.

No one was willing to stand up against the Earth Realm Strange, an existence that was immortal.

Each Earth Realm Strong Person was a pillar for the powers and Aristocratic Family backing them.

Moreover, they were most worried that if they sealed the Earth Realm Strange and the Earth Realm Strong Person behind them died, while the strong ones from other forces were still alive, their own forces or families would be divided.

Seeing that no one was willing to step forward, Pei Shuhua’s jade-like face suddenly darkened, and her cold gaze swept over those ministers in the hall.

Feeling Pei Shuhua’s gaze, the ministers hurriedly lowered their heads.

At this moment, a minister stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, during the past, the sealing of those five Earth Realm Strange heavily relied on the First Generation Prince Zhen Nan and the Grand Ancestor Emperor. Perhaps the First Generation Prince Zhen Nan left some methods to deal with these Earth Realm Strange. I believe that if this matter is entrusted to Zhen Nan Prince Manor, they could quickly suppress those five Earth Realm Strange again."

Upon hearing these words, the ministers in the hall were momentarily stunned, as everyone knew the current state of Zhen Nan Prince Manor.

Moreover, Zhen Nan Prince Manor had long been aware of the royal family’s intentions to eliminate them, and probably no one more than them wanted to see Dazhou’s downfall. Why would they help Dazhou suppress and seal those Earth Realm Strange?

It’s likely that the people at Zhen Nan Prince Manor are gloating over the Earth Realm Strange breaking the sealing incident.

Upon hearing the minister’s words, Pei Shuhua did not respond immediately. Her slender jade fingers continuously tapped on the armrest of the Dragon Throne as if contemplating the feasibility of this proposal.

Currently, asking Zhen Nan Prince Manor to confront the Earth Realm Strange seems unlikely to gain their agreement.

Even issuing a Holy Decree would be of no use, especially after she had recently considered eliminating the sole offspring of Prince Zhen Nan to end his lineage.

Now, seeking help from Zhen Nan Prince Manor would be insane unless the strong ones there have lost their minds, as they would never easily agree.

However, it’s not entirely impossible.

After all, Zhen Nan Prince Manor is still in Dazhou; if Dazhou truly falls to the Strange, they wouldn’t be able to escape either.

In this world, there are no eternal friends nor eternal enemies, only eternal interests. As long as the royal family offers sufficient benefits, Zhen Nan Prince Manor might agree to stand up against the Strange.

However, to seek help from Zhen Nan Prince Manor, it can’t be under the name of the Empress Dowager. As of now, Zhen Nan Prince Manor has sided with Emperor Zhou, so they surely know that it’s the Empress Dowager who wants them gone.

After a moment of contemplation, Pei Shuhua said, "That’s all for today. I will discuss this matter with Your Majesty later."

Pei Shuhua also understood that these people had no intention of actively standing up against the Strange. To make them step forward, more forceful measures would be needed, but for now, they weren’t required.

If Zhen Nan Prince Manor willingly steps out to deal with the Strange, then those Earth Realm Strong Persons behind these ministers wouldn’t be needed. If Zhen Nan Prince Manor doesn’t agree, she has ways to force those Aristocratic Families’ Earth Realm Strong Persons to step forward.

If it were an invasion by another dynasty’s army, these families might surrender, but in a war with the Strange, even if they wanted to surrender, the Strange wouldn’t agree. To the Strange, humans are merely blood food.

Meanwhile.

Long Life Hall.

Emperor Zhou sat cross-legged on a meditation mat, listening to the report from the eunuch in the hall, his face showing disbelief.

"The five Earth Realm Strange suppressed by the Deceit Suppression Bureau broke the sealing?" Emperor Zhou asked in disbelief.

The eunuch kneeling in the hall hurriedly replied, "Indeed, Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has already summoned the ministers to discuss this matter. It’s said that all the strong ones from the Deceit Suppression Bureau have been severely injured, and now the Capital city’s Deceit Suppression Bureau is virtually crippled, with the Imperial Guard taking over all its affairs."

Emperor Zhou fell silent, his facial expression constantly changing, at times frowning, at times relaxing.

This made him see an opportunity, a chance to free himself from the control of the Empress Dowager. However, with the current situation, he wasn’t in the mood for a power struggle with the Empress Dowager. If the eunuch’s report was true, it indicated that the number of Earth Realm Strange in Dazhou might have already reached ten.

The First Generation Prince Zhen Nan and the Grand Ancestor Emperor sacrificed half of Dazhou’s territory to suppress those five Earth Realm Strange, and even both of them suffered serious injuries. They would have had the chance to reach higher realms with their talents.

Handling five Earth Realm Strange was already incredibly difficult, and now with ten appearing, Dazhou is even more incapable of holding out. Dazhou is at a critical life-and-death juncture.

Even though Emperor Zhou wanted to seize power and regain control of the court, if Dazhou fell, there would be no emperor to be.

As Emperor Zhou pondered his next steps, a maid entered the hall, "Your Majesty, Her Highness is here."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Zhou did not rise, only saying expressionlessly, "Enter."

The next moment, Pei Shuhua entered the Long Life Hall with graceful steps.

Pei Shuhua glanced around the dimly lit Long Life Hall, then let her gaze fall on Emperor Zhou seated on the meditation mat, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty is indeed engrossed in cultivation; you don’t even stop cultivating when I come."

Emperor Zhou asked indifferently, "Mother, what urgent matters bring you to Long Life Hall today?"

At this moment, the eunuch kneeling on the ground immediately got up, slowly exited the hall, then the hall’s door closed, leaving only Pei Shuhua, her maid, and Emperor Zhou inside.

Pei Shuhua did not continue with idle chatter and directly said, "Your Majesty must have heard about the incident with the Deceit Suppression Bureau?"

Seeing Pei Shuhua bring up the matter proactively, Emperor Zhou calmly said, "Naturally, I’ve heard. I’m confident in mother’s ability to quickly suppress those Earth Realm Strange and restore peace to Dazhou."

Pei Shuhua wasn’t angered by Emperor Zhou’s sarcastic words. She walked to the window, looked up at the red moon in the sky, and with her back to Emperor Zhou, said, "Your Majesty, Dazhou is ultimately yours; I am merely here to assist you."

Emperor Zhou sneered, "Assist me?"

Not continuing with that topic, he directly asked, "Now that Mother holds all the power, you still need my counsel on how to deal with the Earth Realm Strange?"

"Could it be that Mother thinks Dazhou can’t withstand this ordeal, wishing to leave Dazhou and thus planning to return power to me?"

Pei Shuhua said calmly, "I am Dazhou’s Empress Dowager; how could I abandon the people of Dazhou and flee alone?"

"As for why I came to you, it’s because you are now closer to Zhen Nan Prince Manor, so I want you to visit them."

Hearing this, Emperor Zhou immediately understood Pei Shuhua’s intention. She wanted Zhen Nan Prince Manor to take the initiative to stand against the Strange.

The Empress Dowager had offended Zhen Nan Prince Manor before, so they definitely wouldn’t listen to her, hence wanting him to be the intermediary.