Compromise?

In the feudal imperial era, ministers and nobles had always attached immense importance to the emperor's marriage and heirs. They even regarded it as a matter fundamental to the state, one tied to the Empire's stability.

It would not do for the emperor to marry late; the position of empress could not remain vacant for long.

Nor would it do for the emperor to remain without heirs long after marriage. With no one to inherit the Empire's legacy, the Empire would fall into instability, and the people would be unsettled.

The fundamental reason for this was that the emperor held too much power. The lives and deaths of hundreds of millions rested upon him. Any slight disturbance involving the emperor could send the entire nation into turmoil.

The emperor's private and trivial affairs were the Empire's public and major affairs.

Moreover, emperors as a group did not have long average lifespans, and accidents happened often. For the sake of prudence, marrying early and producing heirs as soon as possible was indeed only natural.

The Minister Faction understood this as well.

Yet at today's Imperial Court Meeting, the ministers had almost unanimously supported the emperor and stood on his side. On one hand, they were ministers, the emperor's "House Servants," and they ought to safeguard the emperor's interests and position.

On the other hand, the Noble Faction's attitude had been far too forceful and arrogant, and they had been excessively disrespectful toward the emperor. The Minister Faction, which already had many conflicts with the Noble Faction, was thoroughly displeased. Naturally, they would oppose them and refuse to let the Noble Faction's forceful demands succeed... even if those demands were fairly reasonable.

In short, the conflict between the two factions had practically reached the point of, "Whatever you support, I oppose; whatever