Guo Yuanren was stunned.

It was his fault for being anxious. He didn't expect that the emperor in front of him would refute the previous incident.

When Lord Chu was recommended to join the cabinet, his Ministry of Rites was indeed involved, and the rule that officials from the Ministry of Personnel could not join the cabinet was the ancestral precept of the Anguo clan.

But at that time they were all trying their best to gather power for Lord Chu, and the position of the Prime Minister of the Cabinet was basically set in stone.

Anguo is about to be destroyed, who cares about those trivial ancestral precepts?

Besides, didn’t Lord Chu end up not joining the cabinet?

But even so, seriously speaking, what happened at that time was indeed enough to involve violating ancestral teachings.

Now, look what happened. I used the ancestral rules to oppose the legitimacy of Your Majesty's throne, but ended up being outmaneuvered.

If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have brought up the ancestral teachings in the first place.

You have to know that if you really want to be picky, there are many things that have been violated in recent years.

Anything that is beneficial to the civil servants is bullshit, and anything that is harmful is basically refuted by using ancestral teachings...

This kind of scene can be said to be a tried and tested one.

"this……"

"I was reckless. I think... the many rules established by Taizu are indeed somewhat unreasonable."

"At that time, I believed that if Lord Chu joined the cabinet, he would wholeheartedly assist Your Majesty in becoming an emperor of the ages. In this way, Anguo would surely enjoy peace and prosperity. If we simply do not allow Lord Chu to join the cabinet and use his full potential because of ancestral teachings, it would be a great loss to Anguo."

Guo Yuan had no choice but to give the best possible explanation for the matter.

However, in this way, the so-called rule of Taizu that the eldest son of the legitimate wife shall be the heir and women shall not interfere in politics can be implemented as Your Majesty wishes.

As expected, Xiao Ling was happy when he heard this.

"In this case, the Taizu precepts should be adapted to the times, and the many unreasonable aspects should be revised. You should also be aware that our dynasty already has two women, Commander Mu and General Shi, holding important positions in the court."

"General Shi is already a talented commander, with countless achievements in battle. Commander Mu, as the Heavenly Guard, has maintained the stability of the court. Given this, as the eldest daughter of the late emperor, and my father having no sons, it is not unreasonable for me to accept this mission and continue the stability of the empire in this time of crisis!"

"In the three years since I ascended the throne, I have fulfilled my duties conscientiously, abstained from male sexual activity, and have not been extravagant or wasteful. I have devoted myself to the people and have not acted like a mediocre or incompetent ruler."

Xiao Ling spoke a lot this time, and tried to persuade the ministers in a calm manner.

It is obvious that the reason and attitude have been made clear, and it would be impolite to continue to object.

Guo Yuan at least knew that Lord Chu and the empress had a negative distance relationship, and knew that his presence was enough.

Continuing to oppose would only bring trouble upon themselves. After all, they are all dependent on the Chu family now.

He could only speak with difficulty: "I am ashamed, Your Majesty, what you said... is not without reason..."

“No!”

Before Guo Yuan left, an imperial censor in a blue official robe stood up next to him.

"The succession to the throne is based on the Zhou rituals. Even without the repeated instructions of our ancestors, our dynasty should still follow the Zhou rituals to govern the country. If a woman can legitimately become the Son of Heaven, doesn't that mean that rituals and music are collapsing, and the legal system is no longer in existence?"

"Since Your Majesty has honestly admitted that you are the late emperor's legitimate daughter, you should abdicate the throne in accordance with the law. It is not too late for An Guo to succeed you!"

This censor did not want to play by the rules.

After all, Guo Yuan's recent actions had turned the ancestral teachings into nonsense, so there was no need for him to talk about the past hundred years since the founding of the An Kingdom.

There should be no problem if we just follow the beginning of the Four Books and Five Classics and use the Zhou rituals to oppose the illegality of your Majesty's succession to the throne, right?

"Zhou Li?"

Xiao Ling looked at the imperial censor who had come forward, and then spoke calmly:

"The Zhou Kingdom has been gone for a thousand years! Isn't it inappropriate for you to criticize my ascension to the throne as illegitimate, even though you respect Zhou rituals?"

"Duke Zhou ascended the throne and founded the country, establishing rituals and music. This marked the beginning of the Son of Heaven. King Wu unified the world, marking the beginning of the Emperor. Subsequent generations of founders of states all respected the Zhou rituals, maintaining the integrity of the Ancestral Temple and the legacy of the nation!"

Faced with this questioning, the censor straightened his back even more.

He was full of majestic spirit, as if all the officials in the court were drunk.

"If Your Majesty thinks that the Zhou rituals are outdated and can be disregarded, then you are abolishing the Taimiao. How can the world under An Guo be truly under An Guo?"

As soon as the censor said this, the whole hall fell silent.

Guo Yuan couldn't help but secretly glance at the censor behind him.

I gave a burst of admiration from the bottom of my heart.

Good boy, you have guts. I am still too timid as the Minister of Rites.

When beating a dog, you have to look at the owner. Don’t you know that Lord Chu is now your Majesty’s master... Ah, this is not right!

In short, it is rare to find someone in ancient and modern times who dares to openly criticize the current emperor for not being the emperor of Anguo and the current Anguo is not the ruler of the world during the court meeting in Hanyuan Hall.

You kid, you are really brave!

Who gave you, a mere seventh-rank censor, such courage?

Will your name be recorded in history?

Xiao Ling was so angry that he laughed, he was really so angry that he laughed.

He stood in front of the dragon throne and looked at the upright "Censor".

"Well said! Very well said!"

"If I were not the Emperor of the Xiao family, and if I simply disrespected the Zhou rituals and destroyed the Taimiao, then may I ask, whose ministers are you serving now?"

Hearing this, the young censor was stunned. He seemed to realize the treasonous behavior in his words and knelt on the ground in a hurry.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty did not mean that..."

"What do you mean?"

The censor was a little flustered, but finally explained with a stiff upper lip: "I am saying...if..."

"if?"

Xiao Ling was furious when he heard this. He threw away his dragon robe and sat back on the throne.

"Now it's not a matter of ifs. I can tell you frankly that I want to be the empress!"

"The Zhou Li stipulates that the emperor can only be a man, but I insist on making this woman the first emperor!"

Without waiting for the civil and military officials in the hall to say anything, she continued in a stern voice:

"Duke Zhou established rituals and music to ensure the Zhou Kingdom's 800-year rule. Later dynasties revered the Zhou rituals because their comprehensive ritual and music system truly adapted to the times. But how could one remain complacent and regard the Zhou rituals as the supreme canon? If a single ritual system could so comprehensively address the foundation of a nation, how could the Zhou Kingdom have perished? How could later generations have produced the two great classics, 'The Great Rites' and 'Searching for Music'?"

"I believe that Da'an is now a country of the future. It can respect the Zhou rituals, but it also can disrespect them!"

"The Zhou Li also states that the emperor governs the world with filial piety. My throne is the legacy of my father's will. It's clearly written in black on yellow paper. My father's will states that no member of the royal family should covet this throne! What do you think, my ministers? Should I respect filial piety or uphold the rule of law?"