The dawn of September 17th seemed to come earlier and softer than usual.
At the hour of Mao, in the Zichen Palace of Laifeng Kingdom, Xiaobai, wearing the skin of Nalan Yun, washed and changed clothes with the help of the palace servants.
At 2:15 AM, Xiaobai, having changed into a bright yellow court robe, boarded the emperor's phoenix chariot. Led by the eunuch chief Guo Dongbing and surrounded by many palace servants, he left the magnificent Zichen Palace.
The group walked slowly through the palace, where rooms were side by side and guards were thick and thin, and arrived at the solemn, magnificent and splendid Golden Throne Hall.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
Following the call of the eunuch chief Guo Dongbing, all the court officials who were originally chattering in the Golden Palace about whether the emperor would hold an early court session today all shut up and knelt down.
At four quarters past the hour of Mao, Xiaobai, wearing the skin of Nalan Yun, dressed in a yellow robe with a phoenix flying in colorful clouds and yellow-forged court boots with green soles, strode into the Golden Palace with a breeze.
Passing by the hall where civil and military officials were kneeling on both sides, Xiaobai, supported by the eunuch chief Guo Dongbing, climbed up the stairs and sat on the high golden throne in the center of the hall. His bright eyes were majestic without anger as he looked down at the ministers below.
"If you have the documents, please submit your report. If you don't, please leave the court!"
The chief eunuch personally acted as the eunuch in charge of ceremonies and started the morning court session of the Laifeng Kingdom.
"I have a report to make!"
General Ouyang Yiqun, holding a jade tablet, stepped out from the military officer team on the right, walked to the center of the Golden Palace, and bowed to the emperor.
"The Emperor has not attended court for two consecutive days. I have heard that it is because of the seductive and charming Situ Guijun that the Emperor has become obsessed with sex and has lost interest in state affairs. I believe that such a seductive concubine should be immediately banished to the cold palace to rectify the harem's morale!"
"I think what the General of the Cavalry said makes sense!" Gu Luzhu, the sister of Gu Guijun Gu Changqing and the Censor of the Censorate, also held a tablet in her hand, stepped out from the civil servants' team on the left, and bowed to the leader.
"I second the motion!"
Xiao Shujun, Xiao Qingchuan's sister, General Xiao Qianqing, also held a tablet in her hand and stepped out from the ranks of military officers. She bowed and gave advice to "Nalan Yunzhi" who was sitting at the top.
"I second this motion!"
Qin Huaiyu, the sister of Qin Xianjun Qin Niantang and the Minister of Works, was not to be outdone. She stepped out from the ranks of civil servants to make her presence felt.
As the saying goes, "When the wall falls, everyone pushes it." Then, many ministers spoke out in support of General Ouyang Yiqin's proposal to banish Situ Mingting to the cold palace.
The unanimous idea among these people is that once the noble Lord Situ Mingting falls, their elder brother or younger brother's path to the throne of Empress, and their niece's path to the throne of Crown Princess, will have one less strong opponent.
At this point, officials, regardless of which faction supported the princess, temporarily put aside their hostile stances and voiced their demands for Situ Guijun to be banished to the cold palace. Only Prime Minister Situ Luoyun and General Feng Cailan remained silent, standing at the head of the ranks of civil and military officials, respectively, unmoved.
"I have a different opinion. Although the Emperor is the ruler of a country, he is also the head of a family. Which servants the Emperor wishes to spend the night with is simply a family matter. However, the Emperor's majesty cannot be despised. Whoever the Emperor wishes to favor is a blessing for that person. Can the servants refuse?"
"As a concubine in the harem, Situ Guijun is only fulfilling her duties. What's more, the emperor is young and strong, and he is wise and decisive in his actions. How can there be any saying that Situ Guijun is a seductive woman and a disaster?" Pingxi King Xiahou Jing rejected all opinions and directly objected.
Although Xiaobai's soul was only temporarily attached to Nalan Yunzhi's body, it had indeed been extremely close to Situ Mingting over the past two or three days. Therefore, when he saw people coming out one after another to accuse the showy man, Xiaobai felt inexplicably unhappy.
So, Xiaobai, seated on the throne, glared fiercely at each official as they stepped forward to impeach Situ Mingting, making the ministers uneasy. After the Prince of Pingxi finished expressing her opinion, Xiaobai nodded sharply at her several times.
Seeing that his speech was affirmed by the emperor, Pingxi King Xiahou Jing glanced at the ministers proudly, and then returned to the seat where he stood during the court session.
Feeling that the time was right, Xiaobai winked at Guo Dongbing, who was standing beside him. Guo Dongbing then took out a bright yellow imperial edict from his arms.
Seeing the chief eunuch Guo Dongbing suddenly step forward with the imperial edict in hand beside the emperor, all the civil and military officials below held their breath and wondered in their hearts, could it be that the emperor had some important event to announce, or was he failing to issue an order?
"By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims:
For the past eighteen years since I took power, I have diligently governed the country and worked tirelessly to bring order to the country. Internally, I have reduced taxes and levies, emphasized agriculture and population development, and encouraged commerce. I have prioritized national defense and the well-being of the people, building city walls and moats, developing water conservancy projects, dredging the Lingqu Canal and the Grand Canal, and constructing two intersecting military passages, running east-west and north-south, to maintain internal peace and resist external adversity.
"Now the foundation of our Laifeng Kingdom's imperial court is solid, and we now have four princesses..."
During the first part of the eulogy, the chief eunuch who read out the imperial edict and the civil and military officials who listened to it had no reaction. However, when Guo Dongbing read out the words "Fourth Princess", everyone in the Golden Throne Hall was shocked.
Everyone knew that this fourth princess was the deceased Empress Phoenix's daughter, who died at birth. (This was the official version; the unofficial version was the raccoon cat princess.) Thus, all the court officials held their breath, their ears pricked, waiting to hear what was to come, fearing they would miss a single word.
Seeing Guo Dongbing suddenly stop, Xiaobai, who was wearing Nalan Yun's skin, thought that Guo Dongbing had objections to the content of the imperial edict, so he glared at Guo Dongbing fiercely according to Situ Mingting's instructions.
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