Zhao Xi was the first to kneel down in front of Sheng Lingwei, his voice filled with excitement and joy as if he had seen a long-lost relative.
"Your humble servant Zhao Xi pays his respects to Princess Chang Le. May the princess live a thousand years!"
The other ministers curled their lip in disdain for Zhao Xi's behavior, but their kneeling actions showed no sign of slackening.
"Your humble servant pays his respects to Princess Chang Le. May the princess live a thousand years!"
Sheng Lingwei straightened her back, perfectly controlling her demeanor, and lightly raised her right hand, "Please rise, ministers."
"Princess Xie Chang Le".
"Hmph." Sheng Lingwei's expression changed, and she let out a heavy snort, beginning to attack the ministers.
"The task I assigned to you has not been completed yet. What use are you to the court? What use are you to the people? Don't you feel ashamed before the court?"
In particular, some of you do nothing but form cliques and scheme against each other, or abuse your power, embezzle and accept bribes, and exploit the people.
"It is because of you parasites that Northern Qi has been cursed by Heaven. You are the sinners of Northern Qi, and yet you show no remorse whatsoever, which truly disappoints me greatly."
The ministers: "???"
Wait a minute, if they remember correctly, Princess Chang Le said earlier that the Emperor was the sinner of Northern Qi.
How come they've suddenly become the sinners?
Sheng Lingwei: "It seems that only if you are struck by lightning like my father will you wake up and realize what you should and should not do as a subject."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a deafening clap of thunder resounded in the air above the Third Prince's residence.
The ministers were terrified, their faces filled with extreme fear.
Those ministers who felt they were being targeted were especially terrified, their bodies going limp and covered in cold sweat.
One of the timid ministers was so scared he almost wet himself. He didn't want to be struck by lightning and become a cripple, so he quickly knelt down and cried, begging for mercy.
"Princess Chang Le, please forgive me. I will never dare to oppress the people again. Please forgive me. I will repent and start anew."
Seeing this, the others also jumped out and begged for mercy.
"Princess Chang Le, I am willing to donate all my family property. I only beg you not to be angry and to take back Lord Tian Lei. My life is too fragile to withstand the heavenly lightning."
"Princess Chang Le, I confess my guilt and beg you to spare my life."
"Princess Chang Le..."
"Shut up, all of you."
Sheng Lingwei sternly stopped them, her sharp gaze sweeping over the kneeling ministers who were begging for mercy, most of whom were supporters of the Second Prince and the Fourth Prince.
Tsk tsk, she just scared them out with a casual remark, how boring.
"It's no use kneeling before me. I am just Princess Chang Le of Northern Qi, not the Emperor of Northern Qi. If you want something, go ask the future Emperor."
"It's also your fault for being useless. How could you possibly persuade my third brother to ascend the throne if you weren't sincere? I've already said all this; if you still don't understand, just cut off your heads and use them as footballs."
Zhao Xi immediately understood Sheng Lingwei's point and thought: Princess Chang Le is putting on a show for the Third Prince. He can't hold him back.
So he stood up and shouted at the top of his lungs at the other ministers.
"My ministers, I have said before that we will invite the Third Prince to the throne with the utmost sincerity. But what about you? Not only are your hearts impure, but you are also thinking about your own selfish motives."
The Third Prince was not interested in the throne to begin with, and seeing your reluctance and pretense, he must be even more resistant to the throne.
"In the end, it's all your fault for not being sincere. Our intelligent, kind, beautiful, and generous Princess Chang Le has already given us some pointers. If we still can't persuade the Third Prince, we'll truly have no face to see the Princess!"
After speaking, Zhao Xi knelt down facing the direction of the Third Prince's backyard, looking righteous and awe-inspiring.
Seeing this, the other ministers quickly changed direction and knelt down as well, repeatedly calling out "Third Prince" in their voices, their words no longer sounding as grand and dignified as before.
Sheng Lingwei looked at Zhao Xi kneeling at the front, her lips twitching a few times. This man is a talent; Xiao Yunzi has good taste.
In the attic.
Jing Qingyun stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes following Sheng Lingwei, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curving into a smile, which amazed Sheng Haoyu watching from the side.
"Qingyun, have you suddenly blossomed like an iron tree?"
Jing Qingyun nodded.
"My goodness!" Sheng Haoyu couldn't help but exclaim, then asked with curiosity, "Qingyun, which girl has caught your eye?"
"Yours."
"What? My family's? Yinyin and I haven't even had children yet, where would a grown woman come from in my family?"
"Fool!"
Ye Jinyin looked up at the sky speechlessly, then reached out and tugged at the dim-witted Sheng Haoyu, reminding him, "Prince Jing wasn't referring to our small family, but to your Sheng family, the royal family."
Sheng Haoyu suddenly realized, then stared at Jing Qingyun with his mouth agape in shock.
"Qingyun, you...you actually fell in love with my third princess? You have a good eye. You either don't make a move at all, or when you do, it's astonishing."
It's strange. As Qingyun's best brother, he had no idea that Qingyun and the Third Princess had ever been in contact.
He's confused. How can private matters between men and women be discussed in public?
Jing Qingyun smiled warmly and patted Sheng Haoyu on the shoulder. "Haoyu, the time is right. You can show yourself now. Don't forget what you promised me."
Sheng Haoyu snapped out of his shock, his expression turning serious as he nodded solemnly.
"Don't worry, I'm a man of my word. If I ever fail to do so, just kill me with your sword."
Jing Qingyun's eyes flickered slightly, and she slowly uttered a single word, "Okay!"
His Weiwei helped Sheng Haoyu ascend the throne in order to clear the Jing family's name, and he, too, was thinking of Weiwei's future.
After Weiwei goes to Yucheng County, she will definitely make great efforts to develop Yucheng County.
I believe that in just a few years, Yucheng County will become a place that people all over the world want to visit.
Throughout history, the hearts of emperors have been immeasurable. Sheng Haoyu was his best brother, and Weiwei was the person he wanted to protect for two lifetimes.
He did not want to see a war break out between them over the control of the city.
Therefore, he made a deal with Sheng Haoyu: in exchange for his and Weiwei's help in ascending the throne, he would give Yucheng County to Weiwei, never to be taken back, and he would never be Weiwei's enemy.
Sheng Haoyu reached out and pulled Ye Jinyin over, raising his handsome face with a smile, "Yinyin, let's go, come with me to meet these ministers."
Ye Jinyin said with some helplessness, "I don't want to see the ministers. I just want to see Princess Chang Le. She has helped us a lot, and we should thank her in person."
Sheng Haoyu nodded in agreement, "Yinyin, you're right. If it weren't for the help of the Third Princess and Qingyun, we don't know when we would have been able to achieve our great cause. We should thank them properly."
As the couple spoke, they quickly approached the assembled ministers, their grateful gazes fixed on Sheng Lingwei, their faces beaming with genuine smiles.
Sheng Lingwei smiled slightly and nodded to the couple.
This was, in fact, her first time officially meeting the male and female protagonists from the novel.
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