Chapter 401
The ministers turned their heads one after another, only to see Su Tingyun walking in, wearing a crimson official robe.
Since the new emperor ascended the throne, some officials were dismissed or exiled, but most remained in their original posts, and Su Tingyun was no exception. However, he had not reported back to the Shuntian Prefecture, instead choosing to stay behind closed doors. The Governor of Shuntian Prefecture, cherishing his talent, kept this a secret and did not report it, making today his first time attending the court assembly.
He came to the front of the hall and performed a grand, expressionless bow: "Your Majesty, as the ancient saying goes, water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. By ignoring the objections of the ministers today and insisting on crowning Lady Yun as Empress, are you not afraid of repeating the disastrous mistakes of King Zhou of Shang and King You of Zhou?"
"Insolent!"
Yan Zheng shouted coldly. By comparing him to King Zhou of Shang and King You of Zhou, what did that make Ayan? Daji or Baosi?
A chilling frost seemed to settle over the grand hall. Cao Yang also darkened his face: "Lord Su, mind your words! How can you compare His Majesty to such incompetent tyrants?!"
Su Tingyun stood tall and unyielding. An old imperial censor beside him seemed to remember something and chimed in: "Your Majesty! Lord Su is absolutely right! King Zhou's exclusive favor of Daji brought about the extinction of the Shang dynasty, and King You of Zhou's lighting of the beacon fires to amuse Baosi destroyed the eight-hundred-year foundation of the Zhou dynasty! Your Majesty must not be misled by beauty and ruin the nation!"
Pei Ji, the eldest son of the Pei family and the newly appointed Minister of War, stepped forward: "Your Majesty, I believe the censor's words are not without reason! Furthermore, Lady Yun carries the bloodline of the previous dynasty. If a hen were to herald the dawn, wouldn't the world fall into chaos? I implore Your Majesty to reconsider and choose another virtuous Empress!"
The fox's tail was finally exposed. Even now, the Pei family had not given up on the idea of sending Pei Bingqing into the palace.
With someone taking the lead, the ministers stepped forward one by one.
Some were genuinely worried about Lady Yun's background, some were fishing in troubled waters hoping to force him to take concubines, and even more simply wanted to test the emperor's bottom line...
Yan Zheng coldly looked around and laughed: "According to you all, my exclusive favor of one person is a fault? But if I were to follow your wishes and choose another virtuous Empress, wouldn't I have to take concubines first?"
Cao Yang's eyelid twitched; he knew someone was about to suffer.
The ministers bowed with faces full of joy: "Your Majesty is wise—"
Before the word "wise" could fully leave their mouths, a cold sneer interrupted them, and the figure on the dragon throne spoke: "Since you all care so much about my inner palace, I must also show you some consideration. How about this: pass down my decree. Any official who offered remonstrance today and is currently unmarried or only has one official wife, must take enough women to make ten wives and concubines within three days. Show me if having more wives and concubines is truly better!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the court was in an uproar.
That old imperial censor had a notoriously fierce wife at home. He hurriedly stepped forward: "Your Majesty, I am afraid this is inappropriate..."
"Oh? You can care about my family affairs, but I cannot care about yours? Doesn't the Censorate always love to say that using others as a mirror helps one understand gains and losses? Then I ask you all to serve as my mirror and show me these gains and losses."
The old censor was choked into silence and could only bow repeatedly.
Pei Ji and some other officials breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they had already taken wives and concubines...
Little did they know that just as their relief surfaced, the emperor spoke again in a faint voice: "As for those officials who have already taken wives and concubines, have your official wives hand over their household management rights. Since favoring one person is a mistake, your wives and concubines shall take turns holding the household seal, so as to avoid any bias."
This time, the entire court exploded. Which of these ministers' official wives wasn't a daughter of a prominent and noble family? If they really handed over the household seals, wouldn't their homes fall into total chaos?
The ministers who had just echoed the sentiments instantly fell to their knees, begging for mercy again and again.
Even Pei Ji bent over, not daring to mention a single word about selecting beauties or taking concubines.
Cao Yang watched all of this and secretly rolled his eyes. These ministers had truly underestimated Yan Zheng.
How could an emperor with a military background be manipulated by a few words from civil officials?
If they refused to let the Empress sit at the table, then he would simply flip the table over. No one would have a good time!
Su Tingyun looked at the ministers who were speaking so righteously just moments ago, but were now kneeling and begging for mercy the second it involved themselves. He secretly cursed them for having no backbone!
Ever since he heard that Yan Zheng had seized the throne, he had made up his mind to take the Princess of Changle away from this rebellious traitor!
Steeling his heart in this moment, he said loudly: "Your Majesty!"
Countless pairs of eyes looked over, only to hear him say: "Since Your Majesty wishes to crown an Empress, have you forgotten that there is still a Grand Empress Dowager far away at the Crouching Buddha Temple?!"
The court fell silent for a moment, and the depths of Yan Zheng's eyes turned bone-chillingly cold!
Reacting quickly, Pei Ji hurriedly said: "Your Majesty! Lord Su's reminder is correct, Grandma Yan is still at the Crouching Buddha Temple—"
Before his voice could fall, he swallowed his words back under the emperor's cold glare.
Yan Zheng stared at Su Tingyun and said slowly, "You are courting death."
The Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Chu Ruoyan was reading a storybook when a servant hurried in and reported the affairs of the front court.
She paused for a moment. Yulu, who had just returned, scolded, "What does Lord Su mean by this? Has our lady offended him? Why must he harm her like this!"
At this time, another young eunuch came in: "Your Ladyship, Yao Qing, the second daughter of the Yao family, requests an audience!"
Chu Ruoyan raised an eyebrow and had her brought in.
As soon as Yao Qing entered the hall, she knelt down and said: "Your Ladyship! I beg you to save Lord Su!"
Chu Ruoyan raised her eyebrows slightly, remaining calm. Yao Qing kowtowed heavily twice, her eyes red: "Your Ladyship, when the late emperor wanted to send Lord Su to lead troops to attack His Majesty, it was Lord Su who claimed to be ill and did not go. I beg Your Ladyship to look at the fact that he did not lead the troops and save him!"
Chu Ruoyan, however, said: "Lord Su is a gentleman who would rather break than bend. Was it truly his claim of illness that kept him from leading the troops?"
Yao Qing's body trembled. She lay prostrate on the ground for a long time before saying: "Your Ladyship, since you know everything, you should understand even more why he did this..." Saying this, she looked up, her eyes full of bitterness, "He did it all for you!"
"How audacious!"
Nanny Zhou shouted sternly, "A subject coveting the sovereign's wife! Second Miss Yao, you had better know what you are saying!"
If even a single word of this reached the emperor's ears, it would very likely cause a rift!
Yao Qing also realized she had spoken wrongly and kowtowed heavily twice with a bang: "Your Ladyship, this commoner misspoke! But this commoner truly cannot stop him! Ever since he learned that His Majesty ascended the throne, he has stayed secluded in his mansion. It was only when he heard you were to be crowned Empress that he sneered and called it a hypocritical act, saying that since ancient times, emperors have always had three palaces and six courtyards without exception. He said he wanted to save you from this fiery pit..."
Chu Ruoyan raised her hand and pressed her temple: "But I do not feel that I am in a fiery pit."
"This commoner also tried to persuade him, but he wouldn't listen to anything. He even said that even if he died, he would invite Grandma Yan back to stop His Majesty from crowning an Empress..."
Chu Ruoyan was speechless, never expecting Su Tingyun's obsession to reach such an extent.
She pondered for a moment: "Yulu, go and fetch the jade pendant my father gave me the year I came of age."
Before long, Yulu brought a jade pendant with the character "Chu" carved on the back.
Chu Ruoyan held it in her hand and turned it over for a moment. This was the token of their engagement in her dream, which she later lost on the street and was found by Su Tingyun...
She then smiled bitterly: "I am afraid I will have to let my father down..."