Chapter 9 Courtroom Turmoil
Hesitation will inevitably lead to chaos.
Early in the morning, with Mingxiu's help, Xiao Qing put on his heavy and complicated court robes and the tasseled crown, and immediately felt a little tired at the back of his neck.
Mingxiu saw her off, and after seeing the Grand Tutor, she curtsied and bowed to Xiao Qing before taking her leave.
Fu Mingyi personally accompanied Xiao Qing to the capital. In these special times, Xiao Qing had no close ministers other than Mingxiu and Fu Mingyi.
Fu Mingyi was waiting outside. When he saw Xiao Qing come out, he bowed slightly and respectfully.
Xiao Qing nodded and said calmly, "Grand Tutor, please." Then he and Fu Mingyi walked towards the imperial carriage that had been prepared outside.
There is a long palace road leading from Chengde Palace in the east to Qinzheng Hall in the front court. The road is wide enough for four carriages to travel side by side. Xiao Qing had traveled this road once before, also in a palanquin carried by eight men.
To be honest, she doesn't like this way of traveling.
Firstly, the feeling of being lifted up and suspended in the air made her feel very insecure, and secondly, the thought of sitting on top of several living people... it just felt strange no matter how you looked at it.
She cursed inwardly: "Pathetic." She thought to herself, "This is what it means to wear a dragon robe but not look like an emperor; clearly not destined for a life of luxury."
However, despite her hands being tightly clenched within her wide sleeves, her face remained remarkably calm.
I got on the bus, sat down, stared straight ahead, and remained silent.
Fu Mingyi observed all of this and, although he felt that everything was normal, he couldn't help but feel surprised.
Many times, he felt that this "little emperor" was not like a child at all.
He stepped forward with his brows lowered, and before the curtain in front of him was drawn, he said softly, "Your Majesty need not worry. This court meeting is just a proposal. Dingyuan will need to come down and carefully consider it. There will be no decision on the spot."
Although he was a little angry when Xiao Qing threw his memorial without thinking, he felt that he shouldn't hold it against her after returning home.
As for her true identity, he spent an entire night poring over old texts and pondering for a long time, but still couldn't figure it out.
The palace was in chaos that night. To switch people in such a short time was not something that could be done in a day or two; it must have required a long period of preparation.
Moreover, he kept thinking that the capital had fallen so quickly, and the palace was completely unprepared. Until that night, the northern barbarians marched in unimpeded, the young emperor was not in his bedchamber, and the little princess was critically injured by a knife wound...
He felt as if he had overlooked something very important.
The best course of action now is to first establish a capital in the south, change the era name to announce this to the world, win over the hearts of the people, and then communicate with the northern barbarians to gradually make plans.
By then, he will have more ways to find out more about this person's background.
"Understood, Grand Tutor." Seeing that Fu Mingyi hadn't spoken for a while, she assumed he was waiting for her reply, so she said it casually.
The Grand Tutor was pulled back to his senses by her voice, so he bowed and silently stepped back.
He needs evidence. Until the evidence is conclusive, all speculation is just conjecture.
Perhaps this little princess has been hiding her true abilities all along?
In any case, given the current situation, Xiao Qing's safety and identity are of utmost importance in order to maintain the legitimacy and dignity of the dynasty.
No matter who she is, as long as she sits obediently in the "emperor's" seat, everything will be alright.
The court council is different from the imperial court council; the number of participating ministers is limited, but they are all high-ranking and powerful figures.
When they arrived at the Hall of Diligent Governance, the ministers were already waiting there respectfully.
Xiao Qing recognized about half of the faces; these were the people who had come all the way from Beidu with them.
As for the other half... I think I saw a few of them at the city gate; those were people from Nanding City.
Xiao Qing calmly walked up step by step, treating them all like ordinary cabbages.
The Grand Tutor was satisfied with this.
Xiao Qing sat upright on the large dragon throne, silently thinking: This is a prop.
Then start looking straight ahead.
The Grand Tutor stood beside her, reminding her of how to respond, and they quickly got down to business.
Although the people here are here to discuss the change of reign title, they are not just here for this purpose.
Xiao listened as they began to sing praises, constantly quoting classical texts. A sentence that could be summed up in a few words was instead circled around in circles, using the most ornate language possible, which was simply a headache to listen to.
Xiao couldn't concentrate and naturally drifted off into thought.
Don't panic, let them discuss it first, she'll have her chance.
She glanced at Fu Mingyi to the side, and seeing that his attention was focused on the people in front of him, she felt relieved and looked away, slowly squinting her eyes until she finally closed them completely.
Anyway, it's none of her business, so I'll just close my eyes and rest.
However, she wasn't that oblivious; although her eyes were closed, she wasn't asleep.
The ministers spoke for a long time, and gradually their voices grew louder and their pace quickened.
Xiao Qing pretended not to hear, didn't open her eyes at all, and even slowly leaned to the side.
The Grand Tutor began to speak with someone.
He never spoke hastily or slowly, his voice was clear and cool, and his reasoning was logical; he did not appear immature among a group of veteran officials.
Xiao Qing discovered during his time in the carriage that Fu Mingyi held considerable influence among the northern officials.
While she was lost in thought, the officials below the hall had already started arguing.
After everyone had finished arguing, they looked up and—good heavens, the little emperor was asleep, leaning against the armrest!
The Grand Tutor realized that the ministers' gazes were not quite right.
He glanced to the side and his expression immediately turned somewhat grim.
Seeing how well-behaved she had been the whole way, he focused on dealing with the people below.
Surprisingly, this person was asleep.
He lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty?"
Xiao Qing didn't move.
"His Majesty?"
Xiao Qing still didn't move.
Fu Mingyi had no choice but to take a step closer and call out again.
But Xiao Qing's eyelashes didn't even twitch.
Fu Mingyi's heart skipped a beat. Forgetting all etiquette, he lightly touched Xiao Qing's sleeve with his hand. Just as he was about to speak, Xiao Qing suddenly jumped up and shouted, "Grand Tutor, save me! Grand Tutor! Grand Tutor!"
Everyone was stunned. Xiao Qing had already grabbed Fu Mingyi's hand and burst into tears in the blink of an eye.
The Hall of Diligent Governance was deathly silent, except for their young emperor wailing, wiping his tears and snot onto the Grand Tutor's clothes.
Fu Mingyi was stunned for a long time before he reacted.
"His Majesty……"
"Grand Tutor, Grand Tutor, it's too terrifying..." Xiao Qing sobbed, "I don't want to be..."
Fu Mingyi's face turned extremely ugly, even somewhat terrifying.
"Your Majesty!" He loudly stopped her from continuing, then knelt down, his gaze towards Xiao Qing unconsciously filled with murderous intent.
Xiao Qing was stunned for a moment, and her heart started racing.
What a terrifying expression.
However, there's no turning back now that she's already made the offer; she's determined to give this hat away today.
Just as she was about to speak again, she suddenly heard Fu Mingyi's deep, cold voice, full of threat.
"If you utter another word about not wanting to be emperor, I will now turn you into a madman, wishing for death but unable to, and living in a state of perpetual insanity."
Xiao Qing stared wide-eyed at Fu Mingyi, then her gaze shifted down and settled on his lips.
Holy crap!
She was certain she hadn't misread it; when that sentence appeared in her mind, Fu Mingyi's mouth hadn't opened at all!
"Tell me you're tired and want to rest."
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