He spoke these words from the bottom of his heart, but he didn't know if Yun Qing was satisfied.

Accepting him requires setting aside many considerations and bearing a lot of invisible pressure.

He feels guilty.

"Why are you so nervous? I've never seen you act like this before when you secretly tried to get closer to me." Yun Qing was both amused and exasperated, and squeezed his hand that was holding hers. "Get closer."

Xie Rang didn't know what she was going to do, but obediently leaned closer.

Before he could react, Yun Qing tilted her head slightly and placed a kiss on his lips, her smiling voice brushing against his: "I'm very satisfied, let's leave it at that."

If I can't be more free after being given a second chance at life, then there's no point in living.

The kiss was brief and fleeting. Xie Rang was so excited that he almost stopped breathing. Just as Yun Qing was about to leave, he finally couldn't resist and put his arm around her shoulder, kissing her even more deeply.

The weather was inevitably a bit muggy, and their clasped hands were sweating slightly, but it was nothing compared to the sticky atmosphere between them.

Xie Rang had no experience either. He never hesitated to learn from storybooks, but he had to keep it a secret from Yun Qing, otherwise he would be accused of wasting his time on trivial pursuits.

He had long realized that Xie Rang was no longer a frail boy. Now that he had grown up, he could hold Yun Qing firmly in his arms until the kiss was over, only then did he relax a little.

Xie Rang licked his lips, his fingertips brushing against the corner of Yun Qing's eye, his heart and eyes filled with satisfaction: "...The Grand Tutor has taken the initiative for the first time."

In the past, he was always the one begging Yunqing, and although Yunqing never refused, the feeling was never the same.

Yun Qing silently looked away: "It's enough that you know, why say it out loud?"

She pursed her lips, guessing that they were probably swollen.

The little wolf cub has no sense of restraint whatsoever.

Xie Rang gently nuzzled against her, his voice sticky and affectionate: "That's different, I'm happy."

He and the Grand Tutor were truly in love.

-

Important matters should not be delayed. After having that idea, Xie Rang immediately began to forge an imperial edict. In order to make it look more authentic, he even made it look old and stamped it with the seal of the late emperor.

The Great Xi Dynasty had a rule that the imperial seal should be destroyed after the emperor's death. Coincidentally, the late emperor left the imperial seal as a keepsake for the eunuchs, which made it convenient for Xie Rang to forge it.

Now it's flawless; no one can tell the difference.

As Yun Qing looked at the imperial edict, she felt her heart begin to race. She never imagined that one day she would be doing something so thrilling.

Xie Rang lowered his eyes and chuckled softly, putting his arm around her from behind, his movements conveying a sense of reassurance: "Grand Tutor, don't worry. No matter how they react after the announcement, I will face it with you."

He was an emperor, and from the moment the announcement was made, the pressure he faced was no less than that of Yun Qing. But as long as they were of one mind, there was nothing they could not face.

Yun Qing admitted that Xie Rang was reliable, and his growth was faster than anyone had expected.

She raised an eyebrow slightly: "Alright, thank you, Your Majesty."

After everything was confirmed to be correct, Xie Rang chose the time of the morning court to make the announcement. At the same time, the imperial edict posted for all to see was also urgently sent to the market.

What was shown to the court officials was a forged imperial edict from the late emperor, along with the on-site dictation of the former chief eunuch. What was shown to the common people was even more persuasive and reasoned.

Xie Rang unearthed many of Yun Qing's achievements from the imperial edict, such as discovering high-yield crops, reforming agricultural practices, manufacturing gunpowder, promoting the spread of knowledge, wholeheartedly assisting the emperor, never forming cliques or engaging in self-serving activities, and personally going to Jiangnan to treat the epidemic, etc.

These are things that ordinary people can see with their own eyes, and the benefits have truly reached them, making them even more convincing.

In order to prevent Yun Qing from facing the conflict directly at this time, Xie Rang did not let her attend court, intending to wait until the court officials had digested the situation for a few days before making a decision.

Even so, after the news broke, the entire court was stunned into silence. The ministers stopped arguing, and the remonstrating officials stopped talking. They looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

This... is truly shocking!

More unbelievable than anything else was that the Grand Tutor, who had always been so eloquent in court, secretly pushing forward various reforms, and assisting the emperor until now, was actually a woman! How long had she been standing right in front of them, and they hadn't noticed at all?

Tan Zaiheng was observing his nose and mind. He had just returned when he saw the expressions on his colleagues' faces, and he felt a sense of schadenfreude. He had said it before, anyone would find this absurd!

"The merits of the Grand Tutor are beyond words, and cannot be entirely denied simply because she is a woman. Her entry into officialdom was ordered by the late Emperor himself. As a subject, obeying the emperor's orders is her duty, and there is no fault in it. I am deeply grateful for this, so I will retain her position as Grand Tutor. From now on, she will be no different from any other subject. Do any of my beloved ministers have any objections?"

Xie Rang sat on the dragon throne, his calm gaze sweeping over each courtier. He was very tolerant of their current lapse in decorum, allowing them a period of acceptance.

In fact, it was already unexpected that no one stood up to disagree at this time.

After a long while, it was actually the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief He Tan who stepped forward first: "Your subject has no objection and will respectfully obey Your Majesty's will!"

The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief was Liang Bang, who had recently been promoted. Immediately afterward, his protégé Yan Yangke also stepped forward: "Your Majesty, I have no objection and will obey your will!"

Once someone has taken the lead, things become much easier, especially since at least half of the court officials have received favors from Yun Qing. As Xie Rang said, they cannot deny Yun Qing's achievements, and at this point, the fact that she is a woman seems insignificant.

Only a small minority wavered; they had no say in the face of the majority.

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