The Golden Palace.
The custom of the Night Court was to hold court once a week. Today happened to be Chen Xiao's first court session since her ascension to the throne. She was extremely nervous, having spent a week studying court etiquette. At this moment, scenes from movies and TV dramas flashed through her mind frantically.
Inside the magnificent palace stood a dense crowd, mostly middle-aged and elderly men, with civil officials on the left and military officials on the right. They were divided into many factions: some subtly criticized the emperor, some engaged in polite arguments, and others were openly tearing each other apart...
Chen Xiao grew increasingly nervous as he thought about it, and secretly cheered himself up. After sitting calmly in his high seat, he looked down at the civil and military officials below, and his nervousness immediately lessened.
Because there were men, women, young and old among them, and not as many as she had imagined, only about a few dozen people.
Then she started staring at them blankly.
Chen Xiao: Why aren't they saying anything? I'm so nervous.
Official: Why isn't Your Majesty saying anything? I'm so confused.
XiXi: Such a silent scene makes me feel so helpless.
Xi Xi couldn't stand it anymore and told Chen Xiao, "Host, you need to say something polite first! Like, 'If any of my subjects have something to report, please do so; if not, court is adjourned!' That'll... um."
Chen Xiao was taken aback. "Is it really necessary to do it like this? Didn't someone else say that?...Why does this feel so strange?"
So she cleared her throat and said in a serious (pretending) manner, "My dear ministers, there is no need to stand on ceremony. You may speak frankly about anything you have to say."
The ministers below looked at each other, and it was the prime minister, Xu Qian, who was in charge, who stepped forward to speak.
"Your Majesty, I have been absent from court for a long time due to illness, and I feel deeply ashamed. But now that my health is gradually improving, I have returned to court, hoping to relieve Your Majesty's worries and solve your problems. I will do my best to do so!"
Although Xu Qian is over forty, he is tall and strong, with hardly any gray hair and a well-maintained face. He would definitely be a heartthrob among middle-aged men in the modern entertainment industry.
After scrutinizing Xu Qian, she secretly thought, "He was unwell when Chu Yanxi was around, but he's fine as soon as she's gone? I don't believe you guys when you say you're all okay, thank you."
He smiled and said, "Prime Minister, you are mistaken. For decades you have devoted yourself to the Ye Dynasty and made great contributions. It's just that you don't attend court anymore, but your efforts have not been forgotten!"
(Not attending court for decades is a bit outrageous; you should feel ashamed!)
Your health is of utmost importance. I and the people of the Night Dynasty only wish for your good health. Now that I see you are in good health, I am relieved, and I believe the rest of you feel the same way!
(My gossip spirit is burning brightly, but I haven't gotten any gossip out yet, so please stay healthy!)
I am overjoyed to see the Prime Minister return to court immediately upon my ascension to the throne! I believe that with the Prime Minister's blessing, our Night Dynasty will only get better and better!
(I didn't write this opening speech for nothing, even though I can't translate it into pure classical Chinese. Anyway, here it is.)
The Prime Minister's expression remained unchanged after hearing this, and he accepted Chen Xiao's sarcastic remarks in their entirety. "Your Majesty is right. I misspoke. I thank Your Majesty for your concern. I will do my utmost to share the burdens of Your Majesty and the Night Dynasty!"
Yu Yao, the Minister of Personnel who had a good relationship with the Prime Minister, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, do you intend to revise this year's civil service examination system?"
Chen Xiao: ???? How did the topic suddenly turn to the imperial examination?
"Everything as usual"—the system my wife set up must be fine; she trusts her wife's decisions unconditionally!
After receiving a satisfactory reply, Yuyao immediately agreed to comply and returned to the main force.
...
After the court session, Chen Xiao returned to the Hall of Diligent Governance to review the memorials.
At this moment, Chief Eunuch Shen led five people in. "Your Majesty, these five are eunuchs personally trained by the Emperor Emeritus. They have been scouting outside and have now come to pay their respects."
Chen Xiao then looked at the five people, three men and two women, all of whom had indifferent expressions.
Chen Xiao asked curiously, "Investigate?"
"Your Majesty, the eunuchs in previous years were responsible for investigating the situation of the common people and officials, and also for investigating the situation of the concubines before they entered the palace. They mainly monitored officials who might have ulterior motives or have overstepped their bounds."
These three male eunuchs are Ye Qi, Ye Yu, and Ye Li; the remaining two are Chao Yuan and Chao Ci. Although they are eunuchs, they wield extremely high power, equivalent to first-rank officials. However, they only obey your orders. Now they will report the results of their investigation to you. This servant will take his leave now! After saying this, Chief Eunuch Shen left the hall.
Ye Qi stepped forward first and reported, "Your Majesty! This servant is in charge of investigating the inner palace. This servant investigated Consort Yu and Consort Yan. Consort Yu has done nothing wrong, but Consort Yan seems to have something amiss..."
Chen Xiao stopped him from continuing, saying, "So what if I have grass on my head? It's no big deal."
"I am already aware of this matter. None of you are to spread this information, or you will be severely punished!"
The men knelt down and bowed their heads in unison: "Yes, Your servants obey!"
"Get up, all of you! Also, since you are eunuchs, don't refer to yourselves as servants. Just act like officials. And don't kneel all the time. I'm not that old-fashioned."
Bearing such powerful identities, like the emperor's right-hand men, they all call themselves servants. And that Chief Steward Shen too, I'm sick of hearing her name! And they kneel down and kowtow at the drop of a hat, it's just unbelievable.
The men rose in unison and bowed, saying, "Yes, Your Majesty, we obey!"
Seeing that the group looked like they'd been copied and pasted, Chen Xiao's brow twitched. "Is there anything else you need to report?"
Chao Yuan stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, I was in charge of investigating officials. On the day Your Majesty ascended the throne, I discovered that there might be something unusual happening in the Prime Minister’s residence. However, after observing for several days, I found nothing unusual. Perhaps my intelligence was wrong, or perhaps the Prime Minister had already discovered my presence and therefore took no action.”
After pondering for a moment, Chen Xiao felt that the Prime Minister must have discovered Chao Yuan's whereabouts, but at the same time, he did not actually have any ulterior motives. After all, he and Chu Yanxi had known each other since childhood and had worked together to support each other. If he had any ulterior motives, he would have done so long ago.
Moreover, she felt that the two of them had a very subtle relationship. Based on her years of experience reading novels, she was certain there was something going on between them! There's big news!
The book describes the Prime Minister as always diligent and conscientious, but it's unclear why he later lied about being ill and missed court for a long time. Chu Yanxi remained silent and unperturbed. It wasn't until Chen Xiao ascended the throne that the Prime Minister finally returned to court—it was all too obvious.
However, we still don't know what happened to them, and there are still many unresolved questions surrounding this night. We can only take it one step at a time. After saying "It's alright," Chen Xiao dismissed them.
As soon as they left, Steward Shen came in. She was there to let Chen Xiao choose the person to serve him that night.
Chen Xiao looked up and found there were only 13 signs. When she asked what was going on, she learned that Xu Ruyan claimed to be unwell and unable to serve the emperor for the time being.
He understood immediately, and a mischievous thought suddenly arose: "In that case, I won't choose a concubine tonight. Consort Yan is unwell, and I should go see her. There's no need to announce my presence."
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