Within ten years, the Imperial Capital was gripped by fear. People died every day. Heads rolled every day.
Ever since Li Changsheng became the Left Censor-in-Chief, he not only impeached officials daily, he also roamed the city arresting people everywhere.
The four great brothels of the Imperial Capital were all wiped out by Li Changsheng. Every gambling house was abolished.
On the main streets, every thug lived in constant fear. Each day, countless ruffians and enforcers died inside prison cells, too many to count.
It was not only the civil and capital officials. Every provincial official who came to the Imperial Capital could not escape Li Changsheng’s grasp.
Some county magistrates and city lords came to the capital to present gifts and report on their work. Li Changsheng would still impeach them.
In order not to be ruined or investigated to death, those magistrates could only continue bribing Li Changsheng.
Over these ten years, Li Changsheng confiscated property totaling more than 10 billion spirit stones. Of that, 1 billion spirit stones were handed over entirely to the national treasury.
Another 2 billion were secretly given to Long Qianqian. As for himself, he kept 4 to 5 billion spirit stones.
Inside Li Changsheng’s residence, more than a dozen underground vaults were built. They were filled with the wealth he had seized over the years. Spirit stones, gold, and silver were piled everywhere in the house, nearly overflowing.
Finally, in the last month of the tenth year, more than ten thousand civil and military officials of the Great Shang Empire cast their votes.
Today was the day the results would be announced.
Inside the palace, the officials stood in the Main Hall, gazing expectantly at the ballot box ahead.
It was stuffed with anonymous votes from across the entire empire, more than ten thousand in total.
“The Third Prince, one vote.”
“The Thirteenth Princess, one vote.”
“The Thirteenth Princess, another vote.”
At first, everything seemed normal. Each prince and imperial descendant received votes. Those were the early ballots.
But as the eunuchs continued reading them aloud, something began to feel wrong.
The name of the Thirteenth Princess appeared again and again. The princes and imperial descendants present were stunned, one after another.
Li Changsheng stood among the crowd with a gloomy expression, yet inside he was secretly pleased.
From early morning, dozens of eunuchs counted and recorded the votes. It was not until the afternoon that all more than ten thousand ballots were finally tallied.
“The Thirteenth Princess Long Qianqian has received a total of 7,899 votes!”
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the Thirteenth Princess has obtained the highest number of votes.” You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
This result exceeded the Emperor’s expectations. It also exceeded the expectations of the princes and imperial descendants.
Their gazes involuntarily turned toward one figure. Long Qianqian herself stood there, her eyes filled with surprise and joy.
Long Cang looked at Long Qianqian with a faint smile. He truly had not expected that the ultimate victor would be his daughter, Long Qianqian.
“Since the result is decided, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, prepare the enthronement ceremony tomorrow. Long Qianqian shall become the second Emperor of the Great Shang Empire.”
Long Cang raised no objections and immediately announced the decision.
The words of an Emperor-level Spiritual Practitioner carried absolute authority. Once spoken, the matter was sealed beyond reversal.
The officials were overjoyed. Just as they had expected, Long Qianqian had successfully ascended as the new Emperor.
At this moment, they cast satisfied glances at Li Changsheng. Li Changsheng kept his face dark, as if he could not believe what had happened.
Long Cang rose and dismissed the court. None of the princes or imperial descendants dared to oppose or protest.
In their view, this was merely a whimsical decision of their ancestor, the Emperor.
No matter who became Emperor, they were all family. Moreover, the Supreme Emperor Long Cang was vigorous and very much alive. He was not dying, nor would he die anytime soon. His lifespan was extremely long.
They believed this was merely a form of experience. If Long Cang wished to reclaim the throne, he could do so at any time.
So whoever became the new Emperor did not seem particularly important. There would be no tragic struggle among nine sons for the throne.
After Long Qianqian became the new Emperor, her imperial brothers all came to congratulate her. None of them felt defeated.
As long as Long Cang did not die, this new Emperor was, in their minds, merely playing at the role.
The next day, news of the new Emperor’s enthronement spread like wildfire through every street and alley.
The common people could hardly believe that the Great Shang Empire was changing Emperors. It was truly a rare event.
All the ministers busied themselves preparing for the enthronement ceremony and pledged their service to the new Emperor.
Long Cang truly withdrew behind the scenes. He entered seclusion and declared that within the next 1,000 years, he would not reappear.
In other words, for the next 1,000 years, unless the empire faced extinction, Long Cang would not intervene again.
During these 1,000 years, all affairs of the empire, great and small, would be under Long Qianqian’s control. If Long Qianqian did not live to 1,000 years of age, the next Emperor would ascend, and the cycle would continue.
Only after Long Cang entered seclusion did the princes and imperial descendants realize they had truly missed their chance to become Emperor.
Their ancestor had stepped down for real. This was not a game.
They had thought Long Cang would merely let them experience the throne for a few years before taking it back. They had never imagined the experience would last 1,000 years. Find the original chapter at g.com.
What did 1,000 years mean? It meant that as long as the Emperor did not mismanage the Great Shang Empire into ruin, Long Cang would not interfere.
All authority had truly been handed over to the new Emperor.
Such immense power. Such a vast empire. All placed under Long Qianqian’s control alone.
A few days later, the enthronement ceremony was held. The entire nation celebrated, and a general amnesty was proclaimed.
Long Qianqian successfully ascended the throne. She donned a new dragon robe and phoenix crown, becoming the second Emperor of the Great Shang Empire.
The first thing she did was dismiss all the concubines from the imperial harem.
There were several hundred of them. Together with the palace maids, they were all relocated to a newly built palace complex for the Supreme Emperor, where they would accompany him in lonely widowhood.
As for the princes and imperial descendants, Long Qianqian did not spare a single one. She granted each of them a royal title and sent them to guard the borders across the empire.
These princes and descendants had relied on imperial resources for cultivation all year round, draining the royal treasury. It was time for them to become independent.
Such was the authority of an Emperor. With a single sentence, she could reshape another person’s life.
Long Qianqian proved to be formidable. From the moment she took the throne, she began sweeping reforms.
All the problems she had previously been unable to resolve were now addressed one by one.
“By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Li Wu is hereby appointed Prime Minister of the Great Shang Empire, to command all officials. This decree is to be respected.”
In the Main Hall, when Li Changsheng was officially appointed Prime Minister, the ministers were stunned.
How could a High-level Spiritual Practitioner be qualified to serve as Prime Minister?
Among the senior ministers, which one was not a King-level Spiritual Practitioner? Only King-level Spiritual Practitioners were considered fit to hold high office.
As for Saint-level Spiritual Practitioners, there were only a few within the Great Shang Empire. They had long since withdrawn from court and retreated deep within their clans to cultivate in seclusion.
These Saint-level Spiritual Practitioners were the patriarchs of the great super cultivator families. Their status was exalted. Only the Supreme Emperor Long Cang could command them. Under normal circumstances, they did not appear in public.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, this old minister refuses to accept it. Li Wu has accepted bribes and persecuted officials. The ministers have long been dissatisfied. On what grounds can he become Prime Minister? If he is made Prime Minister, we old ministers might as well resign.”
Several ministers stepped forward one after another. They had hoped the new Emperor would remove Li Wu. Instead, upon ascending the throne, Long Qianqian seemed to have forgotten her earlier promises and had even promoted Li Changsheng.
Although many officials who had voted earlier had received promotions, none had risen as swiftly as Li Changsheng. He had leapt directly to the position of Prime Minister, commanding all officials, second only to the Emperor and above tens of thousands.