At one o'clock in the morning, Qingyin, who had transmigrated to this small world, closed her eyes. Although she had taken a body-strengthening pill, her body still needed to rest and recover.

Two hours later.

"Your Majesty, it's time to rise for court." A palace maid's soft but not quiet voice sounded from beside the bed.

Qingyin opened her eyes and looked expressionlessly at the pitch-black darkness outside the window, where nothing could be seen.

The Great Xia Dynasty held its court session at 5 a.m., which meant that Emperor Qingyin had to get up at 3 a.m. to prepare for court.

It took Qingyin, who had just transmigrated, ten minutes to receive the memories and another half hour to fall asleep. In total, the emperor Qingyin hadn't even slept for two hours before being woken up to prepare for court.

Qingyin: "..."

I'm so sleepy! No wonder the original owner of this body was so irritable all the time, couldn't sleep well, and was even poisoned. You can't blame the poisoning entirely for her irritability.

Once she's familiar with politics, the first thing she'll do is change this court attendance time, Qingyin thought.

Looking at the maidservant waiting beside her, whose face was filled with caution and fear, Qingyin sighed and left the comfortable dragon bed.

"Okay, get dressed."

"Yes." The palace maid responsible for waking His Majesty showed a hint of relief at having escaped a disaster.

His Majesty is usually short-tempered, and palace maids who don't do something right during morning court sessions are often dragged away. But today, His Majesty seems much less troublesome and doesn't seem as irritable as usual.

Four palace maids dressed Qingyin quickly and skillfully. Qingyin only needed to stand still for a short while, and the maids had already changed her clothes quickly and efficiently.

Qingyin sighed.

It's no wonder everyone wants to be emperor; one has to admit that the service one receives when facing an emperor is absolutely top-notch.

Qingyin closed her eyes to rest for a while, enjoying the moment.

The sedan chair for going to court has been arranged.

—

In the imperial court, Qingyin surveyed the assembled officials below the platform with an expressionless face.

He glanced at them and saw several influential ministers out of the corner of his eye.

The Great Xia Dynasty has now gone through three generations. Currently, there are three main forces in the court: the Lin family, led by the prime minister; Wei Chengming, a king of a different surname, led by military generals; and the Chen family, a powerful clan that followed the previous dynasty and surrendered.

Leaving aside the Lin family, whose influence was immense due to the fact that the original owner of the body ascended the throne, the Chen family, which remained stable in the previous dynasty and was also highly valued in the new dynasty, demonstrates just how clever that old fox Chen Helin is. As for the non-royal prince Wei Chengming, his troops alone should not be underestimated.

Under such circumstances, the three factions checked and balanced each other, and the imperial court remained relatively stable.

Qingyin glanced at the people below out of the corner of her eye. According to the plot, Qingyin remembered what was about to happen and rubbed the ring on her hand.

"If you have something to report, speak now; otherwise, the court may adjourn." The eunuch's high-pitched, loud voice rang out for a moment.

“Your humble servant has something to say…” A young official, who looked to be around twenty years old, was about to step forward when a sharp voice from behind drowned him out before he could finish speaking.

The cavalryman who rushed in knelt on the ground and said quickly, "Report! Urgent! The Northern Barbarians have occupied Anling County on our border. Now the Northern Barbarian Khan says that if our Great Xia is willing to marry a princess, Anling County can be returned and the territory can be withdrawn."

As the cavalrymen's voices faded, the atmosphere in the court became even more oppressive, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

The junior official, who had just intended to report to the farmers on this year's planting and harvest, sensed the tense situation. Sweat soaked his back, and he consciously returned to the group, not daring to mention the trivial matter again.

Qingyin remained silent, and the officials below the stage, seeing that His Majesty was silent, also remained silent with varying expressions.

Qingyin tapped the dragon throne, her beautiful features flashing a smile. She looked at the suddenly silent courtiers below with an ambiguous expression and said with a smile, "What do you think about the matter in the Northern Wilderness, my dear ministers?"

The young and beautiful emperor sat on the stage, smiling faintly, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

There was none of the usual gloom in her eyes; it was as if all the bad things had completely disappeared.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, vaguely sensing that His Majesty above seemed to be a little different. His aura was more frightening, and his expression was even more unpredictable.

However, a few bold officials stood up and returned to Qingyin.

"Your Majesty, we have just ascended the throne. The people's livelihood has not yet recovered, and the national treasury is not full. Those barbarians from the northern wilderness actually proposed a marriage alliance. Why not choose a princess to go and let the land be peacefully restored?"

The old official kept rambling on and on.

Seeing that Qingyin didn't object, he kept talking.

Qingyin smiled, concealing the sarcasm in her eyes, and quietly looked at the official without saying a word.

In the previous life, the decline of the original dynasty also began at this time.

The Northern Barbarians suddenly invaded the northern border and occupied Anling County. The officials of the court supported the idea of ​​a marriage alliance to withdraw the troops, and a princess was chosen for the marriage.

And that princess was the original owner's eldest sister, Princess Xiyue.

Thinking of that poor princess, Qingyin touched her thumb ring and suddenly felt that it was time to replace these officials in the court.

Having only recently achieved unity and stability, these officials became accustomed to the peace and lost their vigilance.

The official who was speaking, perhaps sensing something was wrong, knelt down, trembling.

Qingyin looked at the large group of people kneeling down and a simple smile appeared on her lips.

It's okay, she'll help them find it.

Qingyin turned to look at Wei Chengming, a prince of a different surname who was also kneeling on the ground. He was in his thirties and in the prime of his life. She tapped her fingers lightly on the handle and asked, "Does the Prince of Jingyuan think the same way?"

Wei Chengming stepped forward, his handsome and tall figure giving a cold look to the officials who had just proposed the marriage alliance. He looked up at the young emperor, his gaze lingering on the emperor's striking face for a second before he quickly lowered his head and replied:

"Your Majesty should not arrange a marriage alliance. Those barbarians from the northern wilderness who occupied Anling have ulterior motives. Their proposal of a marriage alliance must be malicious. I believe we should punish them."

Qingyin nodded, then looked at the group of people who had proposed the marriage alliance earlier. She coldly glanced at the officials below who had their heads bowed and laughed, "Heh, a barbarian from the Northern Wilderness actually wants to marry our princess. How laughable. How has my Xia Dynasty fallen to such a state?"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty dare not!" A group of officials on the platform collapsed and said in unison.

Especially those who had just proposed the marriage alliance, their bodies trembled violently as if they were on springs.

Qingyin was too lazy to look at those officials who had lost their manners. She waved her hand, and the guards on the platform gagged them and dragged them out.