Lin Wanwan's words, "Your Majesty, please speak freely," were cold and distant, like a bucket of cold water poured over Xiao Che's heart, which he thought was "warm and gentle like a spring breeze."
Um?
Xiao Che was slightly taken aback.
The atmosphere... seems a little off?
He looked at Lin Wanwan's face, which instantly turned icy, and his heart skipped a beat. Could it be... that the effects of the longevity noodles had worn off?
Little did he know that his self-righteous "gentle communication" was, in Lin Wanwan's ears, the opening remarks of a "trap".
However, Xiao Che didn't think much of it.
Once his "working brain" is activated, it automatically filters out all emotional distractions unrelated to "serious matters."
He cleared his throat, putting his minor doubts aside, and pointed to the detailed rules and regulations in his hand, beginning to elaborate on his "grand blueprint".
"Regarding the crime of embezzling military funds, I believe that simply confiscating property and exile is insufficient to deter such wicked individuals." His voice was steady and powerful, carrying an unquestionable decisiveness. "I have decided to add another clause—anyone who embezzles more than one or two taels of military funds shall be executed on the spot!"
He spoke the words "immediately execute" with unwavering resolve and conviction.
The air in the entire imperial study seemed to freeze instantly because of those two words.
Lin Wanwan's hand gripping the teacup tightened suddenly.
One tael of silver, and you're going to be beheaded?!
This...this is absolutely appalling!
She raised her head and looked at Xiao Che.
Without her magic touch, she could only try to understand the man in front of her through the most primitive and unreliable method of "reading between the lines."
What kind of face did she see?
It was an extremely serious face.
His brows were furrowed tightly together, forming a deep "川" (river) shape, due to his intense focus and unwavering determination.
His lips were pressed tightly into a straight line, a look he always wore when he made up his mind.
His eyes were sharp as an eagle's, burning with a raging fire—an unquenched rage he had brought back from Zhenbeiguan.
His entire being exuded a powerful aura that said, "My mind is made up, you must not say another word."
In Lin Wanwan's view, there was only one interpretation of this expression—
He was using his imperial authority to suppress her.
He wasn't "discussing" at all; he was "notifying" people!
A tremendous sense of humiliation—being belittled and ignored—mixed with the pent-up resentment and suspicion of the past few days, finally broke through the last line of defense she had built with "propriety" and "forbearance."
On what grounds?!
What gives you the right to act so arbitrarily?!
Just because you're the emperor?!
“Your Majesty,” she spoke, her voice equally cold, with a barely perceptible tremor, “I believe this method… is too extreme.”
Xiao Che was in high spirits when Lin Wanwan suddenly poured cold water on him, causing his expression to pause slightly.
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "Your Majesty, tell me, how was it excessive?"
His tone was relatively calm.
But to Lin Wanwan, that "Oh?" sounded condescending and superior. It was as if it were saying, "Fine, I'll give you a chance to say a few words, but I won't listen anyway."
Lin Wanwan took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and presented the facts and reasoned with the people.
"Corruption in the military is a long-standing problem, not something that developed overnight. While swift and decisive measures might achieve temporary results, they could also cause unrest among the troops, making everyone feel insecure. In that case, some generals might take risks to protect themselves, which would be counterproductive."
She paused, then continued, "Moreover, to impose the death penalty for a mere tael of silver is an excessively harsh law, contrary to the principles of Heaven. If this continues, how will the people view Your Majesty? How will history record this? It is hardly the behavior of a wise ruler."
What she said was all reasonable and came from the bottom of her heart.
In the past, if Xiao Che had heard her words, he would have thought of something like "My wife is right" or "Why didn't I think of that?"
Then, he would readily accept her advice and work with her to come up with a more comprehensive solution.
However, he didn't today.
He listened quietly, his expression unchanged.
Those furrowed brows, instead of relaxing, actually... furrowed even more tightly.
Xiao Che was indeed listening attentively.
However, he had just returned from Zhenbeiguan.
Before his eyes, the soldiers, dressed in thin reed-flower clothes and shivering in the cold wind, still appeared clearly.
The suppressed, desperate cries of his veteran father still echoed in his ears in the darkness.
The taste of that bowl of rice, mixed with sand and difficult to swallow, still lingered in his mouth!
The suffering he witnessed and the anger he felt were branded into his heart like a hot iron.
And now, his queen, the partner he trusts and relies on the most, is talking to him about "the turmoil in the army" and "the law and justice".
A huge, indescribable sense of disappointment and frustration instantly welled up in his heart.
He felt that she didn't understand.
She had never witnessed those horrific scenes, nor had she personally experienced that kind of despair.
She simply sat in the warm and comfortable palace, far removed from suffering, analyzing a matter that was enough to ignite his fury from a superior, rational, and detached perspective.
He forgot that it was this very woman who had proposed the two core solutions: the "Military-Civilian Inspectorate" and the "Logistics Officer-Managed Unit."
He forgot that it was she who fought alongside him at Zhenbeiguan, advocating for the rights of the soldiers.
At this moment, his "imperial decision-making" and his "straight male thinking" were perfectly integrated, forming an extremely fatal and uncommunicative barrier.
"Too extreme?!"
He finally spoke, his voice filled with barely suppressed anger and sarcasm.
He suddenly stood up and looked down at Lin Wanwan.
"Does the Empress think my methods are too extreme?!"
He picked up a file from the imperial desk and slammed it down on the table with a loud bang.
"Look at this! This is the military ration record of Zhenbeiguan! It says that there is fish and meat every day! But what I saw with my own eyes was that the soldiers couldn't even get a bowl of clean white rice! They were eating 'sand rice'!"
His voice grew louder and louder, filled with boundless rage.
"You didn't see with your own eyes how those soldiers who guarded the border for the country ate moldy steamed buns in the freezing cold! You didn't hear with your own ears how the old father of a hero who sacrificed his life for the country was pointed at and called a 'deserter'!"
He took a step forward, closing in on Lin Wanwan, his eyes burning with rage as he stared intently at her.
"Didn't you see it!"
“So,” he said, enunciating each word with an extremely cruel, judgmental tone, “that is, to say the last three words.”
You don't understand!
"..."
Those three words, like three of the sharpest ice knives, pierced Lin Wanwan's heart without warning.
She froze completely.
Time seemed to stand still at that moment.
She stared blankly at the furious, unfamiliar man before her.
He said...
She doesn't understand?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com