Hearing Wisdom Shield's quiet yet forceful words beside his ear, Chen Cheng's heart clenched.
Perhaps, just as Wisdom Shield had said, he was a coward who liked to run away. Wisdom Shield and the others, meanwhile, wanted to cast aside the side of him that appeared cowardly before the outside world. All the problems would be theirs, while he would remain the great and righteous His Imperial Majesty, worshipped by everyone.
Chen Cheng's fists tightened and loosened, loosened and tightened. Then he let out a bitter laugh and said:
"Looking throughout history, I suppose no emperor who relinquished power was ever praised by later generations. The better ones might be given a line about 'understanding the greater cause,' while the vast majority would probably be called weak and incompetent."
Hearing Chen Cheng pass judgment on how he himself would be evaluated after death in such a self-mocking manner, Wisdom Shield immediately rose to his feet and said with some agitation:
"No, this is neither weakness nor incompetence, nor is it some understanding of the greater cause. This is a new era personally created by Your Majesty.
"It is only that we ministers are incompetent. We are still incapable of becoming the helpers Your Majesty needs to create this new era, forcing Your Majesty to say that you merely wish to escape."
Wisdom Shield's mood sank. If they had done well enough, then no one would have thought this was Chen Cheng running away. People would have understood just how great this system of equalized sovereign power was, and everyone would only have praised Chen Cheng.
Instead, whenever Chen Cheng disappeared for a while, they had to stir up an annual conflict between the prime minister and the Supreme Council, even affecting the operation of the Empire's government.
Yet after hearing