Chapter 28 The Dog Emperor Wrestling
Xiao Jin arrived at the right time.
【The Dog Emperor finally arrived at the right time! 】
He paid his respects to the Queen Mother according to etiquette and sat down beside her.
Empress Dowager Zhou's smile faded slightly. "How did the Emperor find time to come to my place today? Has the morning court been dismissed?"
Xiao Jin glanced at the kneeling Yun Zhao and said bluntly, "I've come to pay my respects to the Queen Mother and... take my secretary back. The memorials to Yanying Palace are still piling up."
[Dog Emperor! Let me get up! My knees are about to break! Be a human being!]
Xiao Jin seemed to hear her screams, his gaze fixed on her. "What are you kneeling for? You're the lady-in-waiting beside me, the eldest daughter of Duke Yun, and you don't even have the nerve to stand and answer me?"
Empress Dowager Zhou's face darkened. "She doesn't know the rules. I'm teaching her."
Xiao Jin's lips curled up in a cold arc, but he turned to the Queen Mother, "She is my maid, and I will teach her the rules. Your Majesty, you are so worried about me, but it makes outsiders think... that I have done something wrong and angered you."
[Beautiful! This blame is completely passed on! The dog emperor can be quite reliable sometimes!]
Su Mingli immediately joined in softly, "Your Majesty, calm down. Sister Zhao is a little impatient. I just tried to persuade her to get up, but she insisted on kneeling to receive the Empress Dowager's instructions. Sister, please get up quickly. His Majesty has spoken."
Yun Zhao gritted his teeth and tried to stand up, but his legs were so numb that he couldn't move them. He just stood up and fell back down heavily.
[You vicious bitch! I was the one who knelt for hours! Why are you pretending to be such a fool!]
Xiao Jin frowned and turned to Su Mingli with a sharp gaze: "Noble Concubine Su, is your period... over?"
Su Mingli's face turned pale instantly, but she forced herself to look shy: "Your Majesty...this...how can you ask this..." She looked at the Queen Mother for help.
Empress Dowager Zhou immediately tried to smooth things over: "Emperor! Just ask the Shangqin Bureau about this matter! Ah Li is shy, you..."
[Oh! The old hag knows everything! She's still here protecting her child! The dog emperor is so miserable, surrounded by jackals!]
Xiao Jin stood up suddenly. "Mother, I remember I have some urgent government matters to attend to. I will take my leave now and return tomorrow to pay my respects."
Everyone hurried to their feet. Yun Zhao's knees ached, and he was a little slow to react.
"Yun Zhao!" Xiao Jin scolded with impatience, "What are you dawdling for? You've delayed my important task, I'll skin you alive!"
Yun Zhao endured the pain and limped along.
As soon as he left the suffocating gate of Ci'an Palace, Xiao Jin's pace slowed noticeably, and his voice lowered: "What did the Queen Mother ask you?"
[What are you asking? If I were truly her lackey, would I have ever come to you and kneel before you? I would have been silenced long ago!]
Yun Zhao spoke frankly, "She asked me to be her spy, to keep an eye on His Majesty. I... refused."
She paused, then looked up at Xiao Jin, "This world ultimately belongs to Your Majesty."
Xiao Jin paused slightly and looked at her sideways: "You do have some brains."
Compared to the usurping King of Qin, the Queen Mother, and the Su family, the tyrant seems lovable! He's going to die anyway, so maybe dying at your hands would be more satisfying?
Yun Zhao was completely exhausted at this moment, and perfunctorily said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the compliment. I am a dull servant, and I only know how to stand in the right position."
There was no one around, and the eunuch followed from a distance.
Xiao Jin suddenly spoke, with a subtle hint of inquiry in his eyes: "If you are willing to tell me the real reason why you broke off the engagement with the King of Qin, I might consider it."
[Trust you? What if that bitch Su Mingli keeps trying to confuse right and wrong? Forget it! When the King of Qin dies in Jiangnan, the engagement will naturally be annulled!]
Yun Zhao lowered his eyelashes and said in a calm voice, "There's no reason. I just... don't like it anymore."
"Hmph, you deserve it." Xiao Jin said coldly.
What does he mean? Did he know about the affair between Prince Qin and Su Mingli?!
[Wait! Prime Minister Su and the Queen Mother! Oh my! That old hag went to the Royal Temple to burn incense a few days ago. Could she be going there to have a secret meeting with Su the thief?!]
[It's over! This is such a big news! How can I let the dog emperor know? I can't just tell him with my own words!]
This shocking secret exploded in Xiao Jin's mind like a thunderclap!
He was so shocked that he tripped and fell heavily on the flat ground, making a miserable scene!
The emperor's majesty is gone!
Yun Zhao was startled and subconsciously went to help him, blurting out, "Your Majesty?! You fell... on flat ground, are you trying to stab me?"
Xiao Jin's head was buzzing. The shocking news made him speechless for a moment. He just wanted to be alone and quiet to digest this secret that was enough to overturn the court.
He waved Yun Zhao's hand away, his voice unusually turbulent: "Go back! Without my order, you are not allowed to set foot in Yanying Palace!"
Yun Zhao retracted her hand and symbolically dusted the hem of his dragon robe. "Yes, I'll take my leave."
As she turned and left, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise slightly.
[Good fall! You have a sullen face every day! You deserve it!]
Xiao Jin watched her limping but slightly proud figure disappear at the end of the palace road.
Yun Zhao had just dragged his aching knee back to the side hall when Xiao Tao rushed over with red eyes, "Sister Yun! I'm so glad you're okay! I was so scared!"
Yun Zhao understood instantly: "You... told His Majesty?"
Xiao Tao nodded vigorously, still feeling a lingering fear. "Today it's my turn to serve tea... I saw that His Majesty was in a good mood, so... I told him that the Empress Dowager had summoned you to Ci'an Palace... His Majesty's face darkened immediately, and he scolded me for not reporting it sooner..."
Yun Zhao's heart warmed up for a moment, but then sank again. He held Xiao Tao's cold hand and said, "Silly girl, I'll remember this favor. But remember, in this deep palace, protecting yourself is your top priority! Especially... you must never speak frankly to His Majesty!"
Xiao Tao nodded, seeming to understand: "Well... I understand. But the Queen Mother... she is clearly against you! You saved me, I can't..."
"Go get busy," Yun Zhao interrupted her, waving her hand wearily. She just wanted to collapse.
Just as she was about to touch the bed, Xiao Guizi's urgent voice rang out from outside the door: "Miss Yun! His Majesty urgently summons you! Lord Yu has arrived at Yanying Palace, you...you have to hurry! His Majesty doesn't look well..."
Yun Zhao's eyes went dark. He resigned himself to his fate and propped up his almost falling apart body. He gritted his teeth to put on his shoes, then limped after Xiao Guizi as he rushed towards the main hall.
As soon as you step in, a murderous atmosphere hits you in the face!
The ministers in the hall were standing on both sides, clearly separated.
On one side, led by Prime Minister Su, his face gloomy; on the other, most of the people were from the Qing Dynasty or old acquaintances of Duke Yun, their expressions furious. The air was as tense as a fully drawn bowstring.
The very old Yu Cheng was given a seat in the hall, but he was like a candle in the wind.
The pillar of the country who was once described by my father as having the appearance of a dragon and a phoenix, now has white hair, a hunched back, and a emaciated body. Only in the depths of his cloudy eyes does a trace of unyielding light remain.
Yun Zhao endured the severe pain in his knee and walked quietly and quickly to the throne. He quickly picked up the record book and the red pen, lowered his head and eyes, trying to reduce his presence as much as possible.
Prime Minister Su's voice was the first to speak out, sharp and caustic: "Your Majesty! Yu Cheng participated in the rebellion and sided with the traitorous king! The late emperor was benevolent and, in consideration of his past merits, only dismissed him from office and imprisoned him. This was already a great grace from heaven! If Your Majesty exonerates him now, wouldn't that be openly questioning the late emperor's wise judgment? Once this precedent is set, where will the laws and moral principles of the country be?!"
A group of officials behind him echoed his views.
[Su thief! What you're afraid of is His Majesty's popularity! What you're afraid of is that old Lord Yu will come back and take your place as Prime Minister! You talk all about morality, but you're full of thieves and whores!]
Yun Zhao slammed his pen down on the paper.
Xiao Jin listened expressionlessly. After Prime Minister Su finished his impassioned speech, he casually grabbed a memorial and slammed it heavily on the imperial desk with a "bang"!
The sound was like thunder, silencing the entire hall!
He leaned forward slightly, his eyes like the deep water of a cold pond, slowly sweeping over Prime Minister Su and a group of opponents. His fingers tapped on the cold rosewood table, one by one, creating a heart-pounding rhythm.
"Prime Minister Su," Xiao Jin's voice was not loud, but it carried a tremendous force, and every word struck everyone's heart, "I only ask you one question—"
He paused, his gaze suddenly sharp as a drawn sword, his voice suddenly rising, carrying with it the unquestionable imperial pressure, resounding throughout the Yanying Palace:
"Now, this world of Daye——"
"Who! Is! The! Emperor?!"
"Who! Is! The! Sovereign! of! This! World?!"
Dead silence!
Absolute dead silence!
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