Back in the imperial palace, Ding Yun immediately began a sweeping search, primarily for potent medicinal herbs, while also incidentally collecting rare treasures and gold.
The former was because she had no time to leisurely consume food for now.
She had to make do with more tonifying items.
These would replenish her stamina and her reinforcement energy.
As for the latter, there was even less need to explain. Although her combat prowess was strong, she couldn't dine and dash every day. Moreover, she had plans for recruitment and even establishing her own faction, all of which would require plenty of glittering silver.
However, she possessed no spatial storage abilities.
She couldn't possibly take away everything valuable in the palace, nor could she carry an excessive amount of silver. Thus, she prioritized items of value, such as rare treasures and gold.
Since the items Ding Yun sought were located in fixed places,
namely the Imperial Pharmacy and the Emperor's private treasury.
Upon reaching these locations, she could knock out or kill all the guards and proceed to loot, causing minimal disturbance. She even had the energy to carefully select her spoils.
...
Meanwhile, in the Hall of State.
After considerable struggle and mutual assistance, most of the court officials were either lightly or severely injured, or in the case of those who had directly perished, were being extricated by the guards.
Their immediate reactions upon being discovered were to hastily instruct someone to find the Emperor, and to question Du Kui:
"Du Kui, what in the world did you bring here? She's an assassin, an assassin! If His Majesty suffers any harm, you and your entire lineage will not suffice to atone for your sins!"
"She is absolutely not Princess Anping, absolutely not!"
"Du Kui, have you sold out the country!"
"Du Kui, you call yourself the foremost strategist of Wei, yet you were led astray by the people of Zhao! You deserve to die!"
"The people of Zhao deserve to die!"
"We must annihilate Zhao to avenge this disgrace."
...
It could be said that among those rescued and still able to breathe, eight out of ten ministers were berating and questioning Du Kui. The few who weren't were likely still in a state of panic and hadn't recovered.
They would likely react the same way once they did.
But at this moment, Du Kui was even more bewildered than they were. He knew the treatment and reputation of Princess Anping in Zhao, and he was certain that the person he had brought back was indeed Princess Anping, not some impostor.
Nothing had happened on their journey.
How had Princess Anping suddenly changed?
She had become so incredibly powerful, to the point of being inhuman.
For a time, he couldn't even respond or defend himself. His mind was racing.
What exactly went wrong?
Was Princess Anping secretly trained by Zhao as a clandestine weapon, or had she been swapped midway, with an identical person replacing her?
Since the other party could easily cause the palace to collapse.
Was the collapse of Zhao's Qianqing Palace truly due to lightning, or had she tampered with it?
And what was her connection to the collapse of Lengning Palace?
Unfortunately, no matter how he thought about it, Du Kui couldn't fathom any connection between these events. There were simply too many unreasonable and unscientific elements, so many that he couldn't comprehend them.
Let alone connect the dots.
Du Kui's silence only fueled the anger of the other officials present. Some even mistook his silence for an admission and attempted to physically attack him.
It was at this very moment that the imperial guards, dispatched to search for the Emperor, delivered a piece of news: a naked corpse had been hung at the city gate, and it was a woman in resplendent attire who had done the deed.
The combination of "naked" and "woman in resplendent attire" made it clear.
The identity of the corpse was no longer in doubt.
At this point, no one could remain calm. Some roared in disbelief, questioning how she dared, how she dared, and whether she feared Zhao's annihilation. Others shouted for the city to be sealed immediately and for Princess Anping to be apprehended with all efforts.
Furthermore, many present began to ponder the choice of the new emperor, and whether to seize this opportunity to eliminate the Second Prince, thus facilitating the ascension of another prince.
Simultaneously, imperial guards and palace maids were dispatched.
Some were sent to pursue Princess Anping, others to retrieve the Emperor's corpse and contain the news, and yet others to mobilize troops and summon the nobles and royalty who had not attended the morning court to deliberate on the new emperor.
As for the palace maids, they were primarily sent to the inner palace.
To summon the Empress Dowager and the Empress.
Ordinary concubines might not have the right to interfere in the selection of the next emperor, but the Empress Dowager and the Empress certainly did, so they had to be invited.
It was only at this juncture, as Ding Yun was finishing her plundering of the Emperor's private treasury and preparing to visit the national treasury, that she encountered the imperial guards searching for her.
And thus began her group assault.
It was a scenario where she, alone, faced a group, and proceeded to beat them into a state of wailing, with some injured, some crippled, and some dead. It was a group beating, after all. Firstly, she possessed the Golden Undying Body, rendering her defense invincible. Secondly, her strength was immense. Each punch might not kill many imperial guards in a short time, but wielding a solid bronze pillar, dismantled from a certain hall, she could sweep through a large area with each swing.
A solid bronze pillar weighed no less than a thousand pounds.
Even a casual roll would crush many to death, let alone the added acceleration from Ding Yun's strength as she swung it. Anyone directly struck by the bronze pillar would undoubtedly not survive, and would struggle to even remain whole. Those merely grazed would likely be severely wounded and on the verge of death.
Only those caught by the wind generated by the swinging bronze pillar,
or those sent flying by its impact, would generally survive.
After only two waves of casualties, no one dared to approach Ding Yun again. All the imperial guards retreated, devising methods to attack from afar using long weapons. Archers and ballistae were quickly deployed, intending to encircle and kill Ding Yun.
This indeed imposed some constraints on Ding Yun.
After all, her immense strength was only suitable for close combat. Facing arrows and bolts shot from a distance, she could only passively defend. However, Ding Yun was not afraid, as her Golden Undying Body was sufficient to defend against those arrows and bolts.
Not only sufficient for defense.
But also allowing her to advance rapidly under the barrage of arrows and bolts.
Before long, she had crippled and dispersed all the imperial guards responsible for long-range attacks. Meanwhile, the remaining imperial guards, witnessing Ding Yun's invulnerability and superhuman strength, lost all will to fight.
They all scattered and fled in haste.
Ding Yun then lost the inclination to continue plundering the national treasury. After a brief tour, she pocketed some gold and prepared to leave when a sudden whim struck her. She broke off a small piece of gold and put it in her mouth.
If poison could be eaten, and wood could be eaten,
then there was no reason why gold couldn't be eaten.
If gold could be eaten, then she wouldn't have to watch so much gold go to waste, feeling heartbroken.
She could simply eat some and carry some.
As long as the system didn't have trouble digesting it, a small piece of gold wouldn't kill her. Thus, Ding Yun, with complete confidence, swallowed the piece of gold she had placed in her mouth.
And then she discovered, hey, it actually worked.
That piece of gold was not only rapidly digested and absorbed, but the reinforcement energy on her system page also increased considerably.
The most absurd thing was.
Below the reinforcement energy bar on the "Big Eater System" page, a new entry even appeared as a result.
[Immortal Gold Nature 0.0001]
"Note: Ten thousand points of Immortal Gold Nature can be used to forge and strengthen the Immortal Gold Body. Any attack below the stellar level will be unable to harm or destroy the Immortal Gold Body."