Seeing the Fourth Prince so angry, some of the ministers who had pressured Lanqin to abdicate a few days earlier stepped forward to plead guilty. "Your Majesty, I was blind and could not distinguish right from wrong. I was blinded by greed and committed such a rebellious act of disrespecting Consort Xi. Please punish me!" The minister said tremblingly. After a short while, all the ministers who had participated in the coup came forward to plead guilty.

The Fourth Prince found it amusing. These officials, disregarding the safety of the country, were only concerned with protecting themselves. Now they were even bringing matters of the harem into the court.

Sure enough, the ministers had no intention of stopping. Seeing everyone apologizing, some ministers, in order to protect themselves, went so far as to praise Consort Xi to the skies, as if the Consort Xi of the Imperial Palace was not the same Consort Xi they were talking about now.

"Your Majesty," the minister said, "I have observed that Consort Xi has managed the inner palace for many years and is practically an empress. Over these years, Consort Xi has rendered great service, managing the inner palace with remarkable efficiency and relieving Your Majesty of any worries. Moreover, given the current empress's moral failings, the country cannot be without an empress for even a day. In my humble opinion, I earnestly request Your Majesty to appoint Consort Xi as a secondary empress." After expressing his heartfelt sentiments, the minister seemed to feel a weight lifted from his shoulders.

The Fourth Prince sat upright on the dragon throne, letting them speak freely without offering any rebuttal. It was rare to hear such praise for Lanqin in the court. Although he despised the opportunistic behavior of the civil and military officials, he was ultimately more pleased than anything else. Lanqin had finally made it after all these years.

After the morning court session, the Fourth Prince personally went to Changchun Palace to inform Lanqin of the news.

When the Fourth Prince arrived at Changchun Palace, Lanqin immediately came out to greet him. Seeing that Lanqin was about to bow, the Fourth Prince immediately helped her up, took her hand, and led her into the hall, where he had Lanqin sit beside him. Lanqin then ordered someone to bring some pastries.

"Just now in the court, the ministers all said they wanted to make you the vice empress. It seems that your hard work over the years has not been in vain," the Fourth Prince said earnestly, holding Lanqin's hand.

Even though they were an old married couple, Lanqin felt a little embarrassed seeing Fourth Master holding her hand like this. Now that their child was so grown up, such intimacy might make the servants laugh, even though Fourth Master had liked to hold her hand like this when they were young. But Lanqin understood that Fourth Master was showing her affection, so she didn't pretend to be reserved.

"Your Majesty, please convey my gratitude to the civil and military officials for their kind intentions. However, whether or not I become the Empress is of little significance to me. I only care about Your Majesty's feelings. I am simply grateful that no one in the court will dare to criticize me now." Although leveling up and fighting monsters is for survival, the Empress position doesn't seem to matter much to Lanqin now, since no one can threaten her anymore.

"How can it not matter? You've suffered so much all these years. Now I can finally make you my empress, and you can be my wife with dignity!"

Looking at Fourth Master, Lanqin felt a mix of emotions. After so many years together, this hard-won title was something she didn't truly care about. But she did feel a sense of sudden power, like a mistress finally being made the wife. It was almost laughable to think that she had finally been officially recognized as a mistress after so many years.

For royalty and nobility, there is no such thing as a lifelong commitment to one person; it's simply a matter of who is the most suitable and who can accompany them for the longest time.