The surging "princess craze" in the capital was like a wildfire, making the entire court somewhat uneasy.
The conservative officials felt like they were sitting on pins and needles every day when they went to court. Looking at the increasingly outrageous stories and rumors circulating among the people, they felt that the classics they had read had been wasted, and that the moral order and ethics were about to be destroyed.
They repeatedly tried to submit memorials to the emperor, hoping to persuade him to rescind his decree and quell this absurd revelry. However, whenever they saw the emperor on the dragon throne, who always wore a mysterious smile, they swallowed their words.
Everyone knows that the source of this storm is His Majesty. To provoke him now is tantamount to a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Xiao Che was indeed enjoying the media frenzy he had personally ignited. He felt incredibly pleased every day as his secret guards reported on the latest folk tales and betting odds.
In his view, the public's fervor for the princess was the highest affirmation of his enlightened thinking and the highest praise for his beloved empress.
However, as a mature emperor, he also keenly perceived the hidden crisis beneath this frenzy.
Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.
Public opinion is a powerful force, but if left unguided, it can easily spiral out of control. Excessive "princess fever" could potentially turn into a natural aversion to the future "crown prince," and even undermine the legitimacy of the prince's birth.
More importantly, although the conservative faction's power has been temporarily suppressed by public opinion, they will never give up easily. They are secretly accumulating strength, ready to turn this "princess craze" into a conspiracy of "a wicked empress seizing power," and point the finger directly at Lin Wanwan.
Xiao Che would never allow such a thing to happen.
His empress is a treasure he will protect with his whole life; how could he allow others to smear her with even the slightest dirt?
So, on the third day after the revelry reached its peak, Xiao Che decided to personally step in and add the most crucial fuel to the fire, so that it would burn in the direction he desired.
On this day, he did not convene a grand court assembly, but secretly summoned several core cabinet ministers, headed by the prime minister, as well as Zhang Chengzhi, the Minister of Rites and leader of the conservative faction, to the Imperial Study to discuss matters.
When the news came out, everyone thought that His Majesty was going to "cool things down".
Zhang Chengzhi was greatly encouraged, believing that the emperor, under immense public pressure, had finally come to his senses and was prepared to "compromise" with ancestral rites and laws. He had prepared a three-thousand-word "further remonstrance to His Majesty" overnight, which he had hidden in his sleeve, ready to present it at any time.
The atmosphere in the Imperial Study was somber.
Xiao Che sat behind the dragon desk, his face calm and expressionless.
The prime minister and others were filled with unease, wondering what His Majesty was up to.
Zhang Chengzhi cleared his throat, stepped forward first, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, recently rumors have been rampant in the capital, and the people are restless, all because... all because of Your Majesty's previous jest. I believe that the most urgent task is to immediately issue an edict to clarify the situation, stating that the establishment of an heir is the foundation of the nation and not a trivial matter, in order to bring peace..."
"A joke?"
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Che interrupted him calmly.
Xiao Che raised his eyes, looking at him calmly, and asked in return, "Minister Zhang, do you think what I said that day was a joke?"
Zhang Chengzhi was stunned and choked.
Isn't that so? What women's academy, what political participation? Isn't this just a far-fetched fantasy?
Xiao Che didn't give him a chance to continue thinking. He slowly stood up, walked to the front of everyone, and instead of retracting his statement, he began to "make a fuss over the issue."
"I know that many of you think my ideas are absurd and heretical." His gaze slowly swept over each minister present. "You are thinking, since ancient times, women should be good wives and mothers, content in the inner quarters, so why do I have such an 'enlightened' idea?"
He paused, and his voice suddenly carried an unprecedented sense of emotion and tenderness.
“That’s because,” he said, “you have only heard of the Empress’s achievements, but I have witnessed them all with my own eyes!”
Everyone was stunned by these words.
Xiao Che continued, "When I was poisoned by a villain and my life was hanging by a thread, it was the Empress who, as a woman brought to bring good luck, stabilized the palace and the outside world; on the night of the palace coup, when the main hall was ablaze and the rebel army surrounded us, it was the Empress who, sitting in Kunning Palace, commanded the imperial guards as a woman and held the last line of defense for me!"
"When the national treasury was empty, natural disasters struck, and the entire court was at a loss, it was the Empress who offered the brilliant strategies of 'work relief' and 'issuing bonds,' which solved the immediate crisis and saved countless disaster victims!"
"When the old system was cumbersome and the harem was in chaos, it was the Empress who overruled all objections, established the system of female officials, rectified the six palaces, and saved the national treasury millions in expenses!"
Every word he spoke struck the ministers like a heavy hammer blow. They were shocked to discover that, unbeknownst to them, the Empress, whom they had once thought was merely a bride to bring good fortune, had actually made such earth-shattering contributions to the dynasty!
"I witnessed all of this with my own eyes." Xiao Che's voice was filled with undeniable conviction. "I saw with my own eyes a woman whose wisdom, strategy, courage, and benevolence were in no way inferior to any of the pillars of the nation present! That is why I had such thoughts!"
He looked at Zhang Chengzhi, who was already dumbfounded, and said, word by word, "I am not joking. I am thinking that if my daughter had half the wisdom of her mother, that would be enough to bring peace to the world!"
These words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the Imperial Study!
Everyone was completely stunned by the logic behind the emperor's words.
While they were still fixated on the "difference between men and women," the emperor had already transcended this framework, elevating the discussion to the level of "ability and merit"!
He wasn't saying "a princess can be a king," he was saying, "a person as talented as the queen can be a king!"
This is an open conspiracy! An open conspiracy that no conservative can refute!
You want to argue that princesses cannot participate in politics? Then you are questioning the empress's achievements! You are denying her contributions in saving the people and securing the country!
Who can bear this crime?!
Zhang Chengzhi, the Minister of Rites, gaped, the three-thousand-word blood letter he had prepared in his sleeve now felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, yet he couldn't utter a single word.
But Xiao Che's story didn't end there.
What he wanted to do was not merely to silence them. What he wanted to do was to write a biography for Lin Wanwan, to thoroughly etch her achievements into the annals of this dynasty!
He immediately issued an imperial edict that left everyone speechless.
"Issue my decree!" His voice was loud and clear, brooking no argument. "Order the National History Bureau to immediately establish a special project, personally overseen by the Grand Tutor, to record in detail all of Empress Lin's achievements that have benefited the country and its people since she entered the palace! From the palace coup to disaster relief to reforms... record every single one of them in detail, without the slightest omission!"
He paused, then dropped an even bigger bombshell:
"After being compiled into a book, it will be named 'The Empress's Model of Domestic Governance' and will be listed as required reading for all future royal children—whether princes or princesses!
These words shocked everyone in the room!
To compile a separate record of the empress's achievements while she was still alive, and to include it in the royal textbook.
What an unprecedented grace! What an unparalleled honor!
This is no longer a simple "affirmation"; it's about shaping the Empress into a "female saint" revered for all ages!
Xiao Che looked at the stunned, numb faces below and sneered inwardly.
Didn't you want to portray the "princess craze" as "a wicked empress causing chaos in politics"?
Very well, I will first elevate the Empress to a divine status! Let her become an impeccable "model of a virtuous empress"!
I want to see who will dare to say in the future that my princess cannot inherit her mother's talent and virtue? Who will dare to say that a princess who learns from the empress will be a "wicked woman"?
This was a top-notch political maneuver that leveraged external forces against each other!
He cleverly turned a potential political storm that might have targeted Lin Wanwan into a national commendation conference for "writing a biography" of his wife!
The Imperial Study was completely silent.
For the first time, the prime minister looked at the meticulous and skillful young emperor before him with deep awe.
Zhang Chengzhi, the Minister of Rites, was utterly dejected. He knew he had lost, and lost miserably.
...
When Lin Wanwan learned from Ruolan what had happened in the Imperial Study, she was leisurely drinking afternoon tea.
When she heard Xiao Che's boastful words, "If my princess had half the wisdom of the empress, she would be able to bring peace to the world," she almost choked on her tea.
When she heard that he actually wanted to "write a biography" of her and make it a required textbook for the royal family, she was completely dumbfounded.
This man, when he spoils someone, it's truly... earth-shattering, utterly shameless.
As evening fell, Xiao Che finished his official duties and returned to Kunning Palace in high spirits.
As soon as he entered the room, he saw Lin Wanwan looking at him with a half-smile.
He immediately moved closer like a large dog begging for praise, his face practically screaming "Praise me!"
"How was it?" he asked smugly. "Didn't my actions today not only solve the problem, but also demonstrate my wisdom, and incidentally vindicate you?"
Lin Wanwan looked at him, suppressed a laugh, and nodded.
Above his head, in that familiar emoji area, a chibi-style little emperor wearing sunglasses and with slicked-back hair was facing her, raising his eyebrows wildly and making a six-pointed star gesture.
[Wife, wasn't my move awesome? .gif]
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