Behind her stood an old man who was nearly sixty years old. Although his hair was gray, his back was still straight. His dark blue official robe was neatly arranged, and his eyes gleamed with a sharp light, like a hawk waiting for its prey to appear.
If it were someone else, they might feel intimidated by that gaze, but Li Chang'an remained calm and composed, her tone neither humble nor arrogant, and her upright back was like a proud flower.
She didn't recognize the old man, but seeing that there was no one around, he could only be calling her.
A chill ran through him. Looking at the official robes the man was wearing, Li Chang'an guessed that this man's rank must be extraordinary.
What was bound to happen eventually did happen, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly!
This person was none other than Bai Yuanshan, the second prime minister besides the regent who could wield absolute power in the court.
The other party clearly hadn't expected Li Chang'an to react this way. Although he felt displeased, Old Man Bai felt he had to maintain his status as Prime Minister and couldn't argue with a woman. So he frowned and said sternly, "How dare you, a woman, walk into the court? Don't you know you've committed a grave crime?"
Li Chang'an found the old man's words very puzzling, and even quite laughable. This old man was probably old enough to retire and return to his hometown in a few years, yet he really thought he was someone important.
"His Majesty has personally permitted me to attend court. Do you dare to object?"
Li Chang'an spoke with conviction, his words carrying a hint of aggressiveness.
Clearly, the other party was not someone to be trifled with, but neither was he someone to be trifled with.
Bai Yuanshan looked at the woman more closely and felt that she was indeed extraordinary. Wearing a golden armor, she looked heroic and very upright.
However, this arrogant attitude displeased him.
The emperor's edict was known to everyone, but as the head of the officials, Bai Yuanshan naturally had to be the first to stand up and give Li Chang'an a warning.
In his rigid and pedantic mind, how could a mere girl be allowed to discuss state affairs with a group of ministers?
A woman's opinion is ultimately not something that can be taken seriously.
But Li Chang'an's words left him speechless and unable to refute. What Li Chang'an said was right. Even if he disagreed, it was still the emperor's will. After all, the world belonged to the emperor, and the emperor's word was law.
"Hmph, in any case, I'm the first to disagree with letting women participate in court and politics!"
Unexpectedly, the old man in white gave a haughty snort and started acting like a rogue in front of Li Chang'an.
Li Chang'an was utterly exasperated by this person, and couldn't help but think to himself: If you have a problem, go and reason with the emperor. What's the point of bothering me?
Is he planning to take advantage of his age?
"So you mean it's even more effective than an imperial edict?"
Li Chang'an's reply was equally blunt.
Meanwhile, more and more officials arrived for court, and everyone's attention was inevitably drawn to the two men who were at each other's throats. Many of them, like the prime minister, had objections to having Li Chang'an attend court to discuss politics, so they gathered around the two men in twos and threes.
"I also disagree with this matter!"
"If I am to attend court with women, then I will not attend this court session!"
Relying on the fact that the Prime Minister was leading the charge, these people were not afraid to make a big fuss, and their words became increasingly heated. Before long, they started a collective protest.
Li Chang'an sneered inwardly. These old foxes probably haven't been more united than they are now.
"What, you think you can stop me here?"
Raising an eyebrow at the crowd, Li Chang'an's gaze was sharp as a sword. Even though he was alone, he did not back down in the slightest in terms of aura.
Just as they were facing off, they suddenly heard a man's laughter. The sound wasn't exaggerated, but it carried a hint of mockery.
"There's already a spectacle to watch so early in the morning. Am I too late? Have I missed quite a few good shows?"
Feng Beichuan was walking slowly toward the crowd, waving an ivory folding fan. He always did as he pleased, and no one dared to interfere with him.
Therefore, even on important occasions like attending the morning court session, Feng Beichuan did not wear official robes, but instead wore a somewhat flamboyant wide-sleeved robe with a light purple outer garment over it.
The outer robe was made of extremely thin material, and with every movement, the hem fluttered, revealing glimpses of the embroidery on the inner garments, making him look every bit the dashing young master.
"The Regent".
Upon seeing Feng Beichuan, the surrounding ministers all bowed and paid their respects. This showed that many of them were not convinced by the young regent who had surpassed them by a great margin, but they had no choice but to obediently put on a respectful demeanor in front of him.
Otherwise, with this person's methods, dealing with them would be as easy as cutting fish on a cutting board.
Feng Beichuan waved to the group, exuding an air of dominance, and walked straight toward Li Chang'an. He bowed slightly to the woman and said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "Welcome Your Highness to court."
Everyone's expression changed slightly. Feng Beichuan's move clearly meant that he had silently stood on the same side as Li Chang'an.
"this……"
The ministers stared at Feng Beichuan in disbelief, speechless for a moment. This was simply absurd!
A smile crept into Li Chang'an's eyes as he thought to himself that this man really knew how to handle things. He figured those ministers would be cursing him a thousand times over in their hearts and still not be satisfied.
Since that's the case, why not give him that face?
Thus, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Li Chang'an and Feng Beichuan walked into the main hall together, and the ministers could only follow closely behind to attend the morning court session.
Looking at the ministers below with their varied expressions, Emperor Xingchang was quite satisfied, because he observed that most of them did not look too good, which was exactly what he had expected.
"Do any of you ministers have anything to report?"
Emperor Xingchang adopted a calm demeanor and spoke in a gentle tone, but his eyes carefully scanned each person.
"I have something to report."
Once again, the Prime Minister was the first to step forward.
This was clearly a result that pleased Emperor Xingchang. His eyes flickered, and then he said kindly, "Please speak, my dear minister."
"Your Majesty, I believe that although the princess has made great contributions to the country in the war, it is not appropriate for a woman to stay in the court and discuss state affairs. Therefore, for the sake of the overall situation, I ask Your Majesty to withdraw the decree and allow the princess to leave the court."
In front of so many people, Bai Yuanshan still gave Li Chang'an face, and his words were not very sarcastic. On the contrary, he had a righteous and awe-inspiring demeanor.
After listening to the Prime Minister's report, Emperor Xingchang pretended to ponder for a while, then nodded slightly in agreement, but then made a hesitant expression.
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