"Your Majesty, please grant my request! This will reassure the imperial family and solidify the foundation of the state!"
Inside the Golden Palace, officials from the Regent's faction knelt in unison, their words earnest and their voices thundering like a tidal wave. They had embellished Regent Xiao Yuan's insidious proposal into a timeless tale of "unity of the imperial clan" and "the well-being of the nation," creating immense public pressure that, like a meticulously woven net, descended upon Xiao Che on the dragon throne.
This is an open strategy.
A deadly conspiracy disguised with multiple layers of sugar coating, such as "loyalty to the emperor," "family affection," and "righteousness."
Accepting the offer would be tantamount to inviting trouble, ensuring that the innermost part of the imperial alliance—the harem—would never see peace again. Refusing, on the other hand, would tarnish the emperor's image as a sage ruler, built on the "umbrella of ten thousand people" incident, with a negative reputation for being "narrow-minded, unwilling to listen to advice, and disregarding family ties."
In an instant, everyone's attention was focused on Emperor Xiao Che.
The royalist officials were extremely anxious, yet they couldn't find any suitable reason to refute them. After all, the other side had adopted such a humble posture and presented such high-sounding reasons—what could they possibly say?
Meanwhile, the centrist officials were secretly calculating. Looking at the Regent's seemingly "repentant and devoted" demeanor, and then at the silent Emperor on the throne, their resolve began to waver. Perhaps the Emperor's move, by going along with the flow, had both given face to the imperial family and enriched the harem—a clever move to ease tensions between the emperor and his ministers?
Behind the screen, Lin Wanwan's palms were already damp with sweat. She knew this was the first and most challenging hurdle she had faced since taking control of the Phoenix Seal. Every decision Xiao Che made would affect the situation they had so painstakingly stabilized.
The atmosphere in the entire hall became extremely tense at that moment.
Regent Xiao Yuan knelt on the ground, a faint smugness playing on his lips. He looked at his nephew, who remained silent on the dragon throne, and sneered inwardly.
You little brat, do you think you can do whatever you want just because you have the support of the people? There are rules in the court that you can't break with brute force! Today, I'll show you what "moral blackmail" really means! No matter what you choose, you're doomed to lose this round!
Just when everyone thought the emperor would be caught in a dilemma, or at least feign a desire to ask for something in return, using excuses like "this matter needs to be discussed at length" to delay the issue, Xiao Che on the dragon throne had an unexpected reaction.
He showed no sign of distress, nor did he reveal the slightest anger.
He let out a long, long sigh.
That sigh, long and helpless, sounded exceptionally clear in the silent hall. Immediately afterwards, an extremely complex expression appeared on his usually cold and dignified face—an expression that mixed difficulty, entanglement, and even a hint of indescribable...fear.
What... what's going on?
The entire court, including the regent, was stunned.
What is the emperor afraid of?
Xiao Che seemed oblivious to the astonished looks on everyone's faces. He raised his eyes, swept them over the kneeling officials below, and then glanced at his uncle, Xiao Yuan. His gaze was full of sympathy and understanding, as if to say: Your ideas are good, but you don't understand.
He spoke in a tone that was both a complaint and a sharing of some unspeakable secret, a truly startling statement:
"I appreciate the kindness of my ministers and my uncle."
He paused, his expression becoming even more troubled, as if the words to come were something he found extremely difficult to utter.
"However... I really cannot make this decision."
boom!
These words struck like a thunderbolt, exploding in everyone's minds!
What does it mean to be unable to make decisions?
The mighty Emperor of Liang, the supreme ruler, is there anything he cannot decide in this Golden Palace? What absurd words!
The smug smile that had just appeared on Regent Xiao Yuan's lips instantly froze on his face. He even wondered if he was hallucinating because of the anger he had felt a few days ago.
The royalist officials were also completely bewildered. What nonsense was His Majesty spouting? Wasn't this beneath his dignity and giving his opponents a handle against him?
However, what shocked them even more was yet to come.
Facing the astonished, confused, and bewildered gazes of the court officials, Xiao Che not only did not restrain himself, but seemed to have finally unloaded a heavy burden and completely let go.
He spread his hands, leaned back slightly on the dragon throne, and in an almost reckless, defiant tone, loudly announced a fact that was enough to shatter their worldview:
"The Empress was jealous; she could not tolerate even the slightest imperfection in the six palaces."
As he said this, he nodded seriously, as if paving the way for his next astonishing statement.
Then, he took a deep breath and, with a tone that was both sorrowful and helpless, yet also tinged with a sense of self-righteousness, roared out those two words with earth-shattering force:
"I... am afraid of my wife!"
Fear...fear of one's wife?!
These two words seemed to possess a kind of magic that transcends time and space, instantly piercing the eardrums of all the ministers present and crushing their proud political wisdom and awareness.
The entire Golden Palace fell into a deathly silence.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment, and the air itself seemed to solidify. Even the sound of the tassels on the umbrellas of the people in the square outside the palace swaying in the wind could be clearly heard.
The Minister of Rites, kneeling on the ground, had his mouth agape enough to fit an egg, and his eyes wide as copper bells.
The mature and composed Grand Tutor Wen froze in mid-air, his hand stroking his beard, and the sorrowful expression on his face was replaced by an extreme sense of bewilderment.
Behind the screen, Lin Wanwan, who had just been so nervous her heart was in her throat, was now completely petrified. Her cherry-like lips were slightly open, and her mind was blank.
What did he say?
He said... he's afraid of his wife?!
Afraid of his wife?!
In the Golden Palace, representing the highest power of the empire, in front of all the civil and military officials, the emperor himself admitted that he was afraid of his wife?!
Is this...is this really real?!
After a brief silence, a chorus of almost uncontrollable gasps filled the air. Countless officials exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes brimming with questions: "Who am I? Where am I? What did I just hear?"
Xiao Che, however, seemed completely unaware of the terrifying bomb he had dropped. He even felt it wasn't enough, and added in a tone that seemed to say, "Don't make things difficult for me,"
"Without the Empress's approval, I would never dare to agree to this!"
He spoke with such confidence and candor, as if being "henpecked" was a virtue worth being proud of and promoting.
"puff--"
Finally, a young censor couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a sound like he was suffocating. Then, under the murderous gazes of his colleagues, he desperately covered his mouth with his court tablet, his face turning red and his shoulders shaking violently.
This was as if a switch had been flipped.
The entire court was enveloped in an extremely strange atmosphere. All the officials lowered their heads, desperately trying to endure, but their constantly trembling shoulders and flushed faces betrayed the turmoil in their hearts.
This is simply... the most absurd, bizarre, and... most laughable morning court session since the founding of the Great Liang Dynasty!
In this eerie silence, the one suffering the most was undoubtedly Regent Xiao Yuan.
The words "henpecked" were like two resounding slaps to his face.
He meticulously planned a political conspiracy, prepared a series of grand principles about "unity of the imperial family" and "the well-being of the nation," and anticipated countless possible responses and counterattacks from the emperor.
He had considered that Xiao Che would be furious, that he would use flattery and sophistry, and that he would delay and give perfunctory answers.
But he never dreamed that what he would get was such a... such a ridiculous reason that was impossible to refute!
You talk to him about politics, and he talks to you about family!
You talk to him about national affairs, and he talks about being afraid of his wife!
How are we supposed to play like this?!
It felt like you'd gathered all your strength, ready to unleash a devastating punch that could split mountains and shatter rocks, only to land a blow on a wad of cotton. Not only did you fail to injure your opponent in the slightest, but you also nearly strained your back from using too much force!
Regent Xiao Yuan's face flushed red rapidly, then turned purple, and finally became the color of pig's liver. His chest heaved violently, a breath caught in his throat, and he trembled slightly.
He never dreamed that after decades of dominating the court, he would be utterly defeated by the word "henpecked"!
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