nod.
It's an incredibly simple action.
It was like a silent imperial edict, or a key that unlocked a new era.
The moment Lin Wanwan nodded heavily with tears in her eyes, Xiao Che, who was kneeling in front of her, smiled.
That smile was so radiant that it seemed to make even the rising sun on the horizon pale in comparison.
His deep eyes were filled with a relieved joy and a tenderness that could melt the entire world. He turned his hand and gripped the hand he had taken even tighter, as if he wanted to completely integrate the most precious treasure in the world into his own life.
However, the deep affection between the emperor and empress was nothing short of a political earthquake in the eyes of the civil and military officials who were still in a state of shock in the square!
"Absurd! Utterly absurd!"
Finally, an elderly minister with white hair and beard slowly recovered from his extreme shock. He trembled all over, his lips quivered, and looking at the emperor who was still kneeling on one knee, he felt a surge of heat rush to the top of his head!
"Your Majesty! You mustn't!"
He practically crawled forward on his knees, tears streaming down his face, and kowtowed repeatedly in Xiao Che's direction.
"Since ancient times, emperors have been the supreme rulers, and the right path is to procreate and extend the dynasty's life! The statement 'never taking concubines' is... this is an act that shakes the very foundation of the nation! Your Majesty! Please reconsider! Withdraw your decree!"
His voice was shrill and mournful, filled with heartache and indignation at the trampling of "ancestral rules".
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Another official also realized what was happening and, with tears streaming down his face, pleaded, "Although Your Majesty has rendered great service to the nation, the harem cannot be without an heir, and the empire cannot be without a successor! This matter concerns the foundation of our Great Liang for generations to come. I urge Your Majesty to prioritize the well-being of the nation!"
"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
"Your Majesty, please rescind your order!"
For a time, those civil officials who took etiquette and ancestral rules as their lifelong beliefs seemed to have finally found their backbone, and they began to speak up one after another, with voices of advice rising and falling in the square.
They dared not criticize the emperor; they could only use the most humble posture and the most sorrowful tone to try to awaken this young monarch, who, in their eyes, had been completely blinded by "beauty," with grand principles such as "the country and its people" and "a foundation for ten thousand generations."
The atmosphere in the entire square instantly became subtle and tense.
On one side, the emperor and empress, immersed in the joy of regaining what they had lost, made a revolutionary vow.
On the other side were the civil and military officials, heartbroken and indignant, trying to uphold the millennia-old ancestral system.
An invisible conflict, concerning emotions and etiquette, individual will and national tradition, has quietly begun.
However, at this tense moment...
A loud, slightly hoarse, yet undeniably powerful roar, filled with iron will, suddenly exploded across the square without warning!
"What's all the noise about?!"
It's a decisive strategy!
The commander of the capital's military camp, covered in blood, suddenly stood up from the crowd!
His tall and imposing figure, like an iron tower, instantly drew everyone's attention. His tiger-like eyes, wide open and still carrying a chilling killing intent, slowly swept over the civil and military officials who were wailing and lamenting.
"A bunch of old fogies who only know how to wag their tongues and talk big from behind!"
His voice was rough and direct, without the slightest hint of politeness, "Where were you last night when the rebels besieged the city and massacred the palace?!"
"Where were you when His Majesty was fighting a bloody battle in the front hall, single-handedly holding off hundreds of elite soldiers?!"
"Your Majesty, where were you when you braved a hail of arrows to light the beacon fire that would save our lives, and single-handedly stormed the observatory to guide our tens of thousands of troops?!"
His questions grew louder and sharper with each one!
Like merciless hammers, they slammed into the hearts of those civil officials! Their faces turned pale, then red, and they were speechless!
Shen Ce ignored their unpleasant expressions.
He turned around and looked toward the center of the square, where the emperor was still kneeling on one knee, and the empress was weeping and trying to pull him up.
The fierce killing intent in the eyes of this iron-blooded general, who had killed countless people on the battlefield, was slowly replaced at this moment by a heartfelt and pure feeling of respect and emotion.
He doesn't understand any "ancestral rites and laws".
He didn't understand anything about "a legacy that lasts forever".
All he knew was what he saw before him.
What he saw was a man who could transform into a demon and fight a bloody battle all night to protect his country and his lover!
What he saw was a woman who, in order to win, was willing to use herself as bait and disregard her own life!
What he saw was a pair of true heroes who, after going through a life-or-death ordeal, were willing to give up everything for each other!
This is the king and queen he was willing to follow and protect with his life!
To hell with the ancestral laws!
What I believe in is the strong! And true feelings!
An uncontrollable surge of hot blood suddenly rushed up from Shen Ce's chest!
Suddenly, he raised his arms and shouted!
He used all his strength to unleash the loudest and most sincere roar of his life!
"Long live the Emperor!!!"
This sound was his supreme respect for the monarch!
After shouting, he paused, his gaze falling on the slender yet incredibly resilient figure who was still shedding tears!
He shouted out the second half of the sentence again, with all his might!
"—Your Majesty the Empress, may you live a thousand years!!!"
This sound was his heartfelt recognition and support for the lady who fought alongside them!
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress!"
This roar from the Iron-Blooded General was like a spark thrown into a powder keg, instantly igniting the entire square!
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress!"
The first to respond were the same blood-soaked cavalry of the capital region!
They didn't understand the grand principles spoken by those civil officials; they only believed what they saw with their own eyes!
They witnessed firsthand how brave and invincible their king was!
They witnessed firsthand how decisive and courageous their queen was!
In the eyes of these simple soldiers, the strong should be paired with the strong! Heroes should be paired with heroes!
This is the most natural and self-evident truth in the world!
"Long live His Majesty! Long live Her Majesty the Empress!!!"
Immediately afterwards, the Imperial Guards who had survived the ordeal also roared!
Their voices were even more fervent than those of the Imperial Guard!
Because they were firsthand witnesses! They knew better than anyone that without Her Majesty the Empress, they would have long since turned into skeletons in the square! Without His Majesty, they would have long since been hacked to pieces by the rebels' swords!
It was this emperor and empress who gave them a second life!
Their cries were no longer just for the monarch.
Even more so for the lady who fought alongside them and truly saved them!
In an instant, the sounds, like a mountain roaring and a tsunami crashing, converged into a terrifying sound wave that could change the very fabric of the world!
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress!"
"Long live His Majesty! Long live Her Majesty the Empress!!!"
The roar of tens of thousands of soldiers represents the will of the empire's most powerful and purest military force!
This will is so powerful, so unstoppable!
In an instant, it completely drowned out the weak and pitiful voices of those civil officials offering their advice!
The veteran officials stared in disbelief at the scene before them.
They looked at the soldiers, their faces flushed red with fervor.
They felt the overwhelming surge of morale and public opinion that threatened to overwhelm them.
They finally, in despair, understood.
era……
Things have changed.
The "ancestral laws" they had believed in their whole lives were so utterly vulnerable in the face of this new will forged in blood and war!
Amidst deafening cheers.
Finally, Lin Wanwan used all her strength to slowly pull the man who was kneeling on one knee up from the ground.
Xiao Che stood up and, without hesitation, pulled her into a tight embrace.
The civil and military officials kneeling on the ground looked at the unstoppable morale of the army and at the emperor and empress embracing each other, and exchanged bewildered glances.
Finally, the leading old minister, as if all his strength had been drained, slowly lowered his once incredibly proud head once more.
He carried a hint of helplessness, a hint of bitterness, but more than anything, a kind of surrender to reality.
He followed the thunderous roar, and in a hoarse, almost dreamlike voice, he shouted:
"Your Majesty...long live the Emperor..."
"...Your Majesty the Empress...a thousand years..."
Once there was a first, there was a second, a third...
In the end, all the civil and military officials had no choice but to kneel down.
Shout in unison!
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress!"
This moment.
With the support of the army and the tacit approval of the officials, her status completely surpassed...
All of it, ancestral rules!
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