"Who exactly are you? How can you make them all obey you?"
Song Xia looked at him calmly: "I am just an ordinary person who wants peace in the world and for the people to live and work in peace. I have said before that those in a position should fulfill their responsibilities. As the empress, I should set a good example for the empress and take on the responsibilities of the empress of the country. Your Majesty, you cannot sit on the throne and manipulate anyone at will. Being an emperor means more responsibility than anything else."
"Responsibility? Aren't most emperors driven by unparalleled power?"
"Therefore, those who are not good emperors all die in the end, and those who are unlucky even bring down the country along with them."
Seeing the emperor's face turn as if he had swallowed a fly, she continued, "We cannot let the entire Xuan Kingdom be destroyed in your hands, so we have no choice but to make you abdicate."
"These are all just excuses for you to seize power. Xuan Kingdom is powerful and strong; how could it possibly fall in my hands?"
"Don't you know why Xuan Kingdom is so powerful? You must have read the memorials from various departments these past few days. Were all those things developed during your reign?"
The emperor felt a lump in his throat, because he had to admit that during the eight years he had been practicing Taoism, the empress before him had indeed achieved political accomplishments that he had not been able to accomplish in the previous years.
He found it incredible: "You're just a woman, how could this be?"
"Are women necessarily inferior to men? Look at the factories in Beijing; half of them are supported by female workers."
"That's because you made those factories only hire female workers."
"Then why is the imperial examination only open to men?" Song Xia looked at him sarcastically. "The idea that women are inferior to men is just an excuse you men use to suppress and control women. Women have never been inferior to men. In the future, I will let women take the imperial examinations together with men and completely overturn the idea of male superiority over women."
“You’re dreaming. Since ancient times, men have ruled the world. How can women hold official positions? Do you think that just because you’ve taught these six children, Jiang Jin will listen to you? He’s still a man, and he’ll always have his own selfish motives. Once he’s in complete control, the first person he’ll want to get rid of is you.”
“He is not you, Your Majesty. Your vision is too narrow. After cultivating for so long, you have not realized that there is more to this world than just imperial power.”
"But without power, you will be constrained at every turn. The harmonious scene you are creating now will be broken sooner or later."
“I don’t deny that.” Song Xia nodded. “No one’s thoughts will remain unchanged from beginning to end, and there is no absolute fairness in the world. But Your Majesty, only by taking action can things get better. At least my appearance and your abdication have saved Xuan Kingdom from many disasters, haven’t they?”
The emperor's face turned ashen, for he could not refute these words.
"If you're not satisfied, you can wait and see if Xiao Jin can do better than you. He will be succeeding to the throne soon. Do you need us to arrange a position for you?"
Before he could refuse, Song Xia continued, "You personally killed my cousin, Xiao Jin's birth mother, that year, and attended Xiao Jin's enthronement ceremony. When you go to the underworld to see my cousin in the future, you'll feel less guilty, won't you?"
"How did you find out about what happened back then...?"
“Your Majesty,” Song Xia interrupted him, “If you don’t want people to know, then don’t do it in the first place. She is your Empress. Since she married you, she has diligently taken care of the harem and entertained the wives of the imperial family. What has she done to wrong you? Over the years, haven’t you felt a single bit of guilt? Have you ever been filled with fear and anxiety in the dead of night?”
The emperor was so taken aback by her words that he kept backing away, saying only, "I am the emperor, this world belongs to me, who can't do with it?"
Upon hearing this, Song Xia merely sneered: "From now on, you should reflect on your actions here in the Taiji Palace!"
That night, the emperor had a series of nightmares after falling asleep. First, he dreamed of the late empress, who questioned him with tears of blood, asking why he had not treated her sons well and why he had killed them so cruelly. Then he dreamed of not marrying Song Xia as his second empress. Since he went into seclusion, the court had become increasingly chaotic, and the harem was also filled with infighting, with the six princes seeing each other as enemies.
Then the court officials took sides, resulting in countless deaths and injuries. Later, the Yan and Egui states seized the opportunity to attack the Xuan state. Due to the struggle for the throne, the six princes had completely ruined the Xuan state's fortunes, and the Xuan state was powerless to fight back against the combined attack of the two states.
In this dream, he died from poisoning after consuming elixirs. His bluish-purple skin made him look like a demon, and after his death, he was trampled and humiliated by palace maids, eunuchs, and Taoist priests.
The dream felt so real that the emperor, who was startled awake, gasped for breath like a thirsty school of fish in the desert. Subconsciously, he felt that this was real, and that without Song and Xia, Xuan Kingdom would end up like it did in his dream.
The more he recalled his dream, the more ashen his face became. Was this his ancestor telling him how much of a failure he had been as an emperor and a father?
But who can be a perfect emperor? He just wanted to make his imperial power more secure, so how could he have become so bad?
In an instant, the emperor seemed to have lost all his energy and spirit. His face, which had been younger than his peers due to eight years of Taoist cultivation, began to grow white hair. When Jin Hui saw this the next day, he was shocked.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"
The emperor did not reply, but stared blankly at Daoist Qingfeng: "Who exactly are you? What brings you here?"
"Your Majesty, this old Taoist priest has come for the sake of the common people."
"So she was chosen by God?"
"Your Majesty, only the Empress is the glimmer of hope for the Xuan Kingdom. Perhaps in the future we will witness an unprecedented golden age."
"Then what am I?" the emperor said with a self-deprecating laugh.
"All six princes possess celestial beauty."
Master Qingfeng was unaware that his words only made the emperor more aggrieved. So, the value of an emperor's existence was not to rule the world, but merely to leave offspring for the world?
"I want to see how much better he can be than me, and what kind of glorious legend his brothers can create. I don't believe anyone can really give up that position!"
The ninth day of the tenth month was an auspicious day according to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. Jiang Zhen and Jiang Jun had both returned to the capital and learned that His Majesty had abdicated. Subordinate states such as Cui Di also came to the capital to offer their congratulations. Even the Yan and Gui states sent envoys to the capital.
For the past eight years, both countries had been suffocated by Xuan. The people of both countries said that Xuan's government was good, and many people secretly migrated to Xuan. Both countries were on the verge of collapse without a fight. It was not until His Majesty came out of the pass to take charge that they saw a glimmer of opportunity.
But before they could even make arrangements, the Emperor of Xuan announced his abdication? In the prime of his life, how could he possibly give it up?
They initially thought Emperor Xuan was acting out of necessity, and that their trip to the capital would provide an opportunity to persuade him and help him reclaim the throne. However, during the abdication ceremony, the former emperor, now the retired emperor, showed no sign of resentment. What had convinced him? Could he have truly believed in the nonsense about immortality through Taoist practices?
With the Crown Prince ascending the throne, the states of Yan and Gui are in grave danger!
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