Chapter 224

"Your Majesty, you mustn't! Lord Rong was only absent from court due to illness. How can he be dismissed from his post? That would be far too unreasonable!"

"Yes, as long as Lord Rong attends court as usual, there's no need to make a fuss!"

"Your humble servant met Lord Rong yesterday. Judging from his complexion, he seems to have recovered and is able to attend court."

"Yes, yes, yes! Your Majesty, please order Lord Rong to attend court!"

ah? ? ?

The ministers, who were shouting praises of His Majesty's wisdom, froze in place, their kowtows halfway done before they stared blankly at the loudly opposing figures.

They blinked, then blinked again. They weren't mistaken; these were the same bigwigs who had initially led the impeachment of Rong Rong.

So, their attempt to flatter backfired?

The atmosphere in the entire hall immediately became eerie, with the bigwigs who were leading the impeachment of Rong Rong taking turns to criticize her relentlessly.

The reasoning remains the same, but the central idea is that Rong Rong cannot be dismissed from her post; she can only be allowed to attend court.

The other ministers watched with blank expressions as their superiors quoted classical texts and spoke eloquently and vehemently about how wrong it was for Lord Rong to skip the morning court session and how wrong it was for His Majesty to dismiss Lord Rong from his post.

After the big shots had finished talking, the Empress finally sighed.

Empress: "Actually, Lord Rong's health is not very good, and he simply cannot cope with such a long morning court session."

The Imperial Censor said, “Lord Rong has a special physical condition. To show His Majesty’s consideration for his subjects, a chair may be provided for Lord Rong, and he may be allowed to sit during court sessions!”

The officials: What? It was the Grand Censor who said it?

Last time, so-and-so was so ill that he almost vomited blood. When he came to court, he needed to be helped by other officials. Was it because the Imperial Censor said that this was against the rules?

Empress: "But I suddenly realized that Lady Rong is utterly incapable of performing any duties, so I have decided to dismiss her from her post..."

The Minister of Personnel said, "Your Majesty! I heard from Minister Li of the Court of State Ceremonies that he is in dire need of manpower. Why don't we send Minister Rong to the Court of State Ceremonies?"

Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial: "Huh?"

Everyone turned to look at the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, Li, who rarely received foreign envoys and had never been an envoy to another country. He was so idle that he was practically invisible, and no one would notice if he didn't attend court. This was the first time in his life that he had faced so many people's gazes.

Cold sweat dripped involuntarily from his forehead, and Lord Li's legs began to go weak.

Especially as the Empress's gaze became increasingly oppressive, Lord Li suddenly knelt on the ground.

He... he never said anything like that.

Lord Li, trembling, opened his mouth to explain.

But the Minister of Personnel spoke first: "Lord Li, you just said that this morning, have you forgotten?"

The Minister of Personnel's eyes seemed to conceal a sharp knife, implying that he would kill Lord Li on the spot if he did not cooperate.

Lord Li was so frightened that he murmured and dared not utter a sound.

The Vice Minister of Revenue coughed lightly: "That's right, I heard it too."

The Minister of Rites said, "If it's inconvenient for the Court of State Ceremonies, then our Ministry of Rites..."

"Yes! Your Majesty!" Lord Li kowtowed sharply, interrupting the Minister of Personnel, "The Court of State Ceremonial is indeed short-staffed. I beg Your Majesty to transfer Lord Rong to the Court of State Ceremonial!"

Just now, Lord Li suddenly had a flash of inspiration from the Minister of Personnel's gaze. He understood the Minister of Personnel's meaning and quickly cooperated with the performance.

Fortunately, his guess was correct. In just a moment, he felt the atmosphere in the entire court relax.

The Empress, with a smile, readily granted his request.

Everyone knows that the Court of State Ceremonial is the most relaxed and uneventful department. So, this is indeed the Empress's way of favoring that person, not only allowing that person to attend court sitting down, but also giving them a position in the most relaxed department.

The key point is that the other party's official title is a tailor-made "Super First Rank". Lord Li doesn't know that after the other party comes to the Court of State Ceremonial, who will be the boss between the two of them?

Lord Li was in complete confusion.

The bigwigs were unwilling to give up and started vying for Rong Daren's services again, all wanting to recruit him into their departments.

The officials were puzzled and remained silent throughout, their curiosity about Rong Rong reaching its peak.

Some even suspected that Lord Rong had used some kind of witchcraft to bewitch His Majesty and the other high-ranking officials.

Otherwise, why have they all become so strange?

The bigwigs, who had previously strongly opposed Lord Rong entering the court, are now doing everything they can to get him to attend court, even making him sit down, and deliberately assigning him to the least busy department.

Is this reasonable?

Yes, it's like this again, and it's so bizarre. Chen Mohan silently looked at the scene in front of him. How much it resembled an absurd drama.

The images of Chen Liehu's madness, the Crown Prince's excitement, and the Empress's inexplicable imperial decree bestowing official titles flashed through his mind again...

They are all related to Rong Rong, and they are all equally unbelievable.

Finally, all that remained in Chen Mohan's mind was Chen Liehu's murmur.

"Brother, do you have no idea what you've missed? I hope you never do..."

What exactly did he miss?

Suddenly, a sense of fear gripped Chen Mohan, and he even considered fleeing back to his residence.

Call it sick and ask for leave.

This was Chen Mohan's first reaction, but he quickly stiffened and secretly despised himself.

So he really is a coward? Forever lacking the courage to face things?

Thinking of this, Chen Mohan finally raised his head, his eyes resolute.

The Marquis of Anding's mansion still needs him, as do his father, mother, and younger brother. He must stand up for himself; he cannot always habitually run away.

Finally, Chen Mohan straightened his chest.

Lu Linfeng smiled coldly from a short distance away. Perhaps only he knew why these people's attitude towards Rong Rong had changed so drastically.

To be honest, he was somewhat annoyed. He didn't want outsiders to see Rong Rong and wished he could hide her away forever.

But he also wanted to see Rongrong every day, so after much thought, he joined in the appeal to allow Rongrong to attend court.

And so, the matter was settled.

The next day, Rong Rong wanted to sleep in, but the powerful Empress forcibly dragged her out of bed. The Empress felt that she couldn't bear to be separated from Rong Rong for even a second.

The ministers were still waiting in the main hall early, and after yesterday's morning court session, they were even more eager for Rong Rong's appearance.

But no matter how much we look forward to it, nothing compares to the bigwigs who led the impeachment of Rong Rong yesterday.

They were all excited, the older ones were much more composed, but their joy was clearly visible on their faces.

Those in their prime were much more excited. Some were constantly adjusting their already neat official robes and hats, some were staring blankly at the door without blinking, and some were fidgeting, their whole bodies revealing tension and helplessness.

That's strange. How could a seasoned shrew in officialdom, someone who can remain as composed as Mount Tai in front of His Majesty, be at a loss?

Everyone looked at the bigwigs in surprise, then at the entrance of the main hall.

They waited and waited, but in the end, the Empress arrived.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

All the officials kowtowed, but they did not see Lord Rong. Could it be that he was not coming to court today?

It's no wonder they thought that way; they just couldn't believe that someone would dare to arrive at the morning court session later than the emperor, or even arrive with the emperor.

It wasn't until they were woken up and looked up that they saw a breathtakingly beautiful figure sitting in the front row of chairs.