Some things really don't need to be overthought. Xiao Zhu doesn't have that many thoughts, and neither does Lao Zhu.

After a long absence from court attire, Emperor Zhu changed into his robes. Although his hair was now completely white, the imposing old man strode with the aura of a dragon and the might of a tiger. The Hongwu Emperor, who commanded the respect of the entire world, once again exuded his powerful presence.

At this moment, before the Fengtian Hall, Xu Miaoqing knelt gracefully and said, "Your Majesty, I have come to beg for forgiveness."

Many people were actually paying attention to this, and seeing the Empress apologizing, many found the situation quite interesting.

Xu Miaoqing didn't care about all that. It was a rare opportunity to play along with the emperor, and she was quite excited. She also knew that this was a major event for the court and couldn't be taken lightly, so she needed to cooperate well.

Zhu Yunying walked out of the Wuying Hall and simply asked, "What crime has the Empress committed?"

Xu Miaoqing cooperated and said, "Your Majesty, thanks to the trust of the Emperor Emeritus and Your Majesty, the affairs of Hongcang have been entrusted to me. Hongcang was established by the Empress Dowager and has benefited scholars throughout the land. I am foolish and have failed Your Majesty's trust."

After saying this, Xu Miaoqing put her hands on the ground and covered her forehead with her hands, indicating that she had done everything she was supposed to do.

Zhu Yunying's expression was serious, without the slightest hesitation, "Since the Empress has admitted her guilt, her salary will be reduced by half for six months, and the palace's expenses will be halved!"

This sounds like no small matter. Someone unaware of the situation might think the Emperor was taking his anger out on the Empress. Reducing palace expenses is clearly a punishment for the Empress. An even more foolish person might think the Empress was about to fall out of favor!

Since even the Empress has been punished, the others certainly won't escape either. Although the Empress is taking full responsibility now, everyone can understand that something really went wrong, and it's clearly not solely her fault.

Since it's not solely the Empress's responsibility, and since even the Empress has been punished, no one else should expect to get away with it.

It seems that many people are really going to suffer along with this, which is no small matter.

The couple, who were performing a charade, didn't care what others thought and didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Zhu Yunying was quite pleased because Xu Miaoqing was very efficient. Moreover, Xu Miaoqing was clever; realizing that Zhu Yunying wanted to escalate the situation, she made sure the fire burned brightly to facilitate Zhu Yunying's subsequent actions.

Xu Miaoqing, seemingly being punished, was also demonstrating her presence in the court for the first time. She directly ordered the officials of the Six Ministries to kneel at the Meridian Gate—a power only Empress Ma possessed at the time, but now she had it.

Although Xu Miaoqing was aware of her own limitations and knew she was far inferior to her grandmother, she was at least able to make her presence felt. This wasn't punishment; it was the emperor's trust in her.

Xu Yingxu rushed to the Governor's Mansion in a panic. He knew about the matter, or rather, he only knew part of it.

Xu Huizu's expression was grim as he reprimanded, "This is the Hall of Discipline; what crime is it to trespass without permission...?"

Looking at his elder brother, who had always been strict with rules, Xu Yingxu couldn't care less about anything else at this moment. "Brother, the Empress has ordered the Minister of Revenue and the Vice Minister to kneel outside the Meridian Gate. The Empress herself went to the Wuying Hall to apologize. Everyone knows that now!"

Looking at his panting second brother and listening to Xu Yingxu's words, Xu Huizu was also stunned for a moment.

Xu Huizu knew his younger sister's character all too well. Although his sister was the daughter of a military family and certainly didn't lack decisiveness, she was also very law-abiding.

If we were to directly order a high-ranking official of the first rank to kneel outside the Meridian Gate, without some particularly convincing reason, I reckon there would be a huge number of people impeaching the Empress in court tomorrow.

A slight sense of panic was inevitable. However, once he calmed down, Xu Huizu believed that his sister would not act recklessly, and he was certain that the Empress's actions were at the Emperor's behest.

Old Zhu, who was walking towards Fengtian Hall, saw Little Zhu running towards him shouting and couldn't help but laugh.

“Our great-great-grandfather was us, and your great-great-grandmother was even more virtuous. Our imperial grandfather was our pride, and our grandmother came from a military family; we are all of the highest caliber. Your father was ruthless, cunning, and scheming, and your mother was decisive as well. Our great-grandson has the potential to become an emperor!”

Forget all that previous assessment of him as having only average talent; the emperor misjudged him. Based on the bloodline of our great-grandson alone, he couldn't possibly be bad!