"He looks down on me."
In the Purple Extreme Hall, the court officials had all withdrawn. The Emperor of Qi, who had already won immense prestige through the war in the Demon Realm, descended the Danbi Terrace alone and walked through the empty hall.
In governing the state, he largely followed the Yuanfeng system, and did not alter the good policies of the Bliss Dynasty that had been branded usurpation—indeed, the Bliss Dynasty had lasted only half a day. Many of its policies had merely been proclaimed; it was the Changle Dynasty that truly carried them out.
Everything in the imperial palace remained as before. The present Son of Heaven valued frugality and substance, with few extravagant adornments. Holding his father-sovereign dear in his heart, he did not alter the rites of Qi.
Yet unlike the Saint Wen Emperor, the present ruler rarely halted his carriage at East Brilliance Pavilion... Memorial affairs before court were dealt with succinctly, and he would review them from the imperial carriage. When he read or contemplated in silence, he was either in Delu Palace, focused on cultivation, or, as today, in the empty Purple Extreme Hall after court had dispersed.
He did not hold "small audiences," and rarely received any individual minister in private. At most, after a court conference ended, he would have a few people remain behind to discuss certain specific matters that had yet to be resolved.
Just as today... State Chancellor Jiang Rumo was also there before the towering pillars.
The Emperor's upright figure was wrapped in ceremonial robes of mysterious majesty. His features, once said to be "the most ordinary among all the princes," had gained a measure of unspoken authority.
His plain voice, too, sounded vast and distant amid the echoes of the great hall.
"If Father Emperor