Chapter 117 The Prime Minister disregards propriety, law, and morality; is he guilty?

"Take it easy, take it easy," Ning Shan whispered in his daughter's ear, "Your mouth is practically stretched to your ears."

Ning Jinli lowered her head and smiled, "Dad, you've been in the capital for so many years, haven't you ever seen him before?"

Ning Shan said, "Although I am an official in the royal city, my official rank is too low to be qualified to enter the palace. I only saw his back once a few years ago when the prime minister brought him back to Xuan Kingdom. Today, because the king's coronation is particularly important, even a lowly official like me has been summoned to participate in the ceremony."

"So what do you think of him?"

"Hmm... indeed unique, even more majestic and imposing than the image described in history books."

Hearing her father's high praise, Ning Jinli felt even happier.

While the father and daughter were whispering to each other, Xiao Qidi had already put on the royal crown, which meant that the coronation was officially completed.

Then came the final part of the ceremony.

The previous rituals of offering sacrifices to heaven and donning the crown were primarily symbolic, while this final step held crucial practical significance.

"Now that Your Majesty has completed your coronation ceremony, you will personally take charge of state affairs," Situ Wei turned to face the many ministers, "According to the rules of our Great Xuan, I ask all of you who were entrusted by the late King to assist Your Majesty in handling state affairs to hand over the royal seal to Your Majesty."

"From this day forward, we must all work together more closely to help our sovereign overcome his troubles and make our Great Xuan even stronger, so that we may be worthy of our late king, our sovereign, and the people of Great Xuan!"

After a generous and persuasive speech, Situ Wei turned to face Xiao Qidi, bowed slightly, and said, "Your Majesty, please withdraw the royal seal!"

Xiao Qidi remained calm and nodded to the eunuch beside him.

The eunuch serving the emperor stepped forward half a step and announced loudly, "Director of Ceremonial Affairs and Director of the Imperial Seal, receive the royal seal!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two teams of eunuchs emerged from behind the screens on the left and right sides of the main hall. Each eunuch carried a square bronze plate covered with a layer of black silk and walked in a line toward the ministers.

"What is the royal seal?" Ning Jinli asked softly.

“Well…” Ning Shan pondered for a moment and explained, “You can think of it this way: the vassal states of this era are like a super-large company. The company has only one boss, who is both the chairman and the president. Then there are many directly subordinate departments, each with its own department seal and the corresponding boss’s seal.”

"Important documents from each department need to be stamped with the department seal and the boss's seal to be valid."

"Before the boss started to take charge, those boss seals were distributed by the previous boss to the heads of various departments."

"In this way, the heads of each department can use the department seal they already have and the boss's seal that has been distributed to them, and stamp both seals themselves without needing the boss's approval."

Ning Jinli had a general understanding after Ning Shan finished speaking.

"So, the royal seal originally belonged to the boss. From today onwards, the royal seal returns to Xiao Qidi's hands. From now on, the ministers in charge of various departments will have to get his approval and stamp everything they need, right?"

"Yes, that's exactly it."

"This is really difficult..."

"There's no way around it, that's just how it was in this era. Later, after the monarch's power was strengthened and centralized, it wasn't so troublesome anymore. The Imperial Seal of the State solved everything."

"The Imperial Seal of the State? The one inscribed with the eight characters 'Having received the Mandate of Heaven, May it live long and prosper'? It hasn't appeared yet, has it?"

"Of course it didn't appear. It was specially made after Xiao Qidi unified the six kingdoms and formally established a centralized system, symbolizing the emperor's legitimacy and supreme divine right of kings."

The father and daughter were talking in hushed tones, while other officials were also whispering among themselves.

The main hall was filled with a constant buzzing sound.

"Silence!" shouted the eunuch in charge of the emperor.

The crowd then quieted down.

At this moment, all twenty-odd royal seals had been placed on the bronze plate held by the eunuch.

Only the two remaining eunuchs had empty, even more ornate bronze plates in their hands.

The two of them approached Situ Wei from the left and right.

Situ Wei knelt down solemnly, took out a Xuanwang jade seal and several Xuanwang military tokens that he was carrying, held them high and placed them on a plate, and then performed a grand kowtow before standing up.

Finally, the eunuchs took the royal seal, the imperial seal, and the military tally to Xiao Qidi to verify their authenticity one by one.

The verification process was particularly cumbersome, and Xiao Qidi checked it very carefully.

Seeing this, Situ Wei maintained a feigned respect on the surface, but inwardly he was sneering and mocking.

This kid is putting on quite a convincing act.

If I didn't know he was a puppet, I would almost have thought he was Xiao Qidi himself.

Two hours had passed by the time Xiao Qidi finished verifying everything.

He nodded, signaling the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Directorate of Imperial Seals to take their belongings and leave.

Situ Wei slowly straightened his back, glanced at Xiao Qidi with a cold smile in his eyes, and thought to himself, "This is finally over."

Once the courtiers have left the palace, he can make the puppet who had just had his moment of being crowned king return everything he had just taken away.

From this day forward, he himself became the true and absolute ruler of the Great Xuan, and no one could shake his position in the slightest!

Xiao Qidi noticed Situ Wei's cold smile, so he deliberately turned slightly to the side, rested his forehead with one hand, and closed his eyes to rest.

Situ Wei frowned.

What does this mean?

The coronation ceremony is already over, hasn't he had enough yet?

Unable to vent his anger in front of all the ministers and officials, Situ Wei could only suppress his rage and wait patiently.

Half an incense stick's time had passed, and Xiao Qidi was still in a state of rest with his eyes closed.

Situ Wei could no longer hold back. "Your Majesty, the coronation is over, and it's time for all the officials to retire and rest. Your Majesty... you should also rest."

Xiao Qidi slowly raised his eyelids, his dark eyes gleaming with a chilling light.

Just that one glance sent a chill down Situ Wei’s spine.

Situ Wei was secretly alarmed.

What happened...?

Why does this person's aura seem increasingly off?

Does he really think he's a king?!

"Your Majesty!" Situ Wei, after a brief moment of shock, grew increasingly angry. He stepped forward, head held high, and said, "You should rest!"

As he spoke, he kept giving Xiao Qidi meaningful glances.

Xiao Qidi slowly sat up straight again. "Today's coronation has taken a lot of time and effort, and I thank you all for your hard work. However, I have some important matters to inform you all."

Situ Wei was almost laughing in anger.

What is that?!

They changed their tune quite quickly, now they're even pretending to be an 'ordinary person'."

That's fine, since he'll still have to impersonate Xiao Qidi in front of outsiders in the future, so changing his self-identification is understandable.

But what important thing could he possibly need to tell us?

“Your Majesty,” Situ Wei warned, his eyes flashing with a hint of anger, but he suppressed his dissatisfaction and said, “If there is anything, you can summon the ministers to discuss it another day. Your Majesty was just crowned today, there is no need to be so tired.”

“I am in the prime of my life and do not feel tired,” Xiao Qidi said coldly. “Why is the Prime Minister in such a hurry? Is it because you are worried that something shameful will be discovered by the ministers?”

Upon hearing this, all the hundreds of officials in the hall were stunned and turned to look at Situ Wei.

The atmosphere instantly became unusual.

Situ Wei's expression changed slightly, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, I do not know what you mean by this."

He genuinely couldn't figure out what this puppet meant.

Are they going to expose their identity? Jump out and tell everyone they're an imposter?

Surely they can't be that stupid?

"Don't know? It doesn't matter," Xiao Qidi's voice grew increasingly forceful, "I will tell you! Situ Wei, kneel down!"

The other ministers were so shocked they held their breath.

Situ Wei was utterly astonished, but due to the circumstances, he could only grit his teeth and kneel down.

Xiao Qidi immediately rebuked, "As the Prime Minister of Da Xuan, you have an ambiguous relationship with the Empress Dowager, disregarding propriety and morality. Do you know your crime?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the ministers were stunned.

The relationship between Situ Wei and the Empress Dowager is actually quite well-known.

However, due to the dignity of royalty, no one would bring it up openly.

Unexpectedly, the young monarch, having just been crowned and assumed personal rule, brought up this matter publicly himself.

Ning Shan and his daughter Ning Jinli, who were standing at the very back of the group of officials, were also taken aback, but the hall was so quiet that even breathing could not be heard, so the two could not talk to each other.

I could already sense that Xiao Qidi was about to do something big today.

Otherwise, why would he publicly reopen his wounds?

Situ Wei racked his brains but couldn't figure out what the puppet was up to. He could only suppress his anger, calm himself, and say:

"Your Majesty, I can only say that I had a past relationship with the Empress Dowager. Since she went to serve the late King, I have kept my distance from her. I have only shown her respect and have never had any intention of offending her. I do not know what etiquette or shame I have disregarded?"

"Still trying to deny it?" Xiao Qidi said quietly, "If you hadn't continued to have an ambiguous relationship with her in private, which made you increasingly afraid of being exposed in the future, and hadn't disguised your subordinate Lao An as a eunuch and offered him to her, ordering Lao An to do his best to please her and help you get out of the situation, would Lao An have become the Marquis of Le'an?"

Upon hearing this, Situ Wei was startled.

These were all secrets he had kept extremely well hidden, unknown even to Xiao Qidi. How could this puppet know them?!

"Your Majesty!" Situ Wei, without a second thought, immediately protested, "Such an absurd matter must have been fabricated by someone to slander me! I only presented Lao An to the Empress Dowager out of filial piety, because I thought he was good at serving people. As for disguising him as a eunuch... I am truly innocent!"

Xiao Qidi gave a cold laugh, "So you're admitting that he really wasn't a eunuch?"

Situ Wei was speechless. He gritted his teeth and said, "I only know that he is a eunuch. As for whether he deceived me, I really don't know."

"Situ Wei, open your eyes and look! What is this?!" Xiao Qidi pulled a roll of silk from his sleeve and threw it down the steps.

The silk fabrics scattered in mid-air, drifting down one by one to Situ Wei.

A sharp-eyed minister behind him blurted out, "These seem to be letters, written on silk, and there are many of them. They are definitely not something ordinary people can afford. No, even most of the high-ranking officials present probably don't have such abundant wealth."

Situ Wei shuddered, suddenly realizing that the handwriting on the silk was incredibly familiar.

He hurriedly grabbed it and saw that it was a secret letter he had written to the Empress Dowager and Lao An!

These two didn't destroy the letter?!

“I presume the Prime Minister knows what’s inside,” Xiao Qidi said coldly. “If that’s not enough to prove what I’m saying, I can produce more and show it to everyone present and even the people of Da Xuan.”

Situ Wei broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly picked up the silk letter from the ground and stuffed it into his pocket.

He was terrified, yet increasingly confused.

The guy sitting on the throne is a puppet he personally trained. How come he's turning around and biting him now?

What's even more perplexing is how a puppet could have a secret message?!

Even if Jiang Peihuan and Lao An secretly kept the secret letters he wrote in the past, they shouldn't have fallen into the hands of the puppet!

What on earth is going on?!

“Situ Wei,” Xiao Qidi called out, a complex look flashing in his eyes, “Originally, I should have cut off your head, but… considering your past merits, I can spare your life. Effective immediately, you are dismissed from your position as prime minister, and you shall never return to the capital… retire and go back to your hometown.”

“You…” Situ Wei clutched his chest, a mouthful of blood gushing from his throat.

Xiao Qidi's face tightened. "This is the last bit of kindness I'm leaving you. You should be grateful that I heard some of your innermost thoughts."

Situ Wei's eyes trembled as he stared intently into Xiao Qidi's eyes.

A moment later, as if he had seen a ghost, he staggered back several steps and collapsed to the ground with a thud. "You...you are...you are Xiao Qidi? You are Xiao Qidi! You really are Xiao Qidi!"

At this moment, he finally realized that the one sitting on the throne today was not a puppet at all!

It was actually Xiao Qidi himself!

"What's wrong with the Prime Minister?" The ministers, unaware of the truth, couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"Who else could it be but His Majesty? How could the Prime Minister utter such a nonsensical statement?"

"Could it be that the contents of those secret letters were too shocking, and the Prime Minister, knowing he had no way to defend himself and had been dismissed by the Emperor, went mad in his anxiety?"

"What should we do?"

"..."

Ning Shan muttered in bewilderment, "Situ Wei shouldn't be mentally unstable, but what he said was really strange, as if he originally thought that the person being crowned today shouldn't be Xiao Qidi."

“That’s right, he really thought so.” Ning Jinli smiled knowingly. “It seems that the plan to turn the tables on him was very successful.”

Ning Shan was completely bewildered. "What do you mean by 'using a counter-strategy'?"

Ning Jinli chuckled, "That's a long story. It involves some secrets that even you, Dad, don't know. I'll tell you slowly after this is over. It's quite an exciting story."

Inside the main hall, Situ Wei sat hunched over on the ground, seemingly lost in thought, and remained motionless for a long time.

Ning Jinli said softly, "He shouldn't have much left to struggle for. At least he can save his life and retire to his hometown, which can be considered a peaceful end. Shouldn't he be content?"

Ning Shan pondered, "He might not want to give up, but if he does, he won't have such a good ending. His next choice will determine whether he can die peacefully."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ning Jinli was completely confused.