"Lord Li, I must trouble you to summon the assembled ministers for deliberation."
"Now that my brother's great army has set out, while Yong Province and Liang Province have only just been taken, this move is bound to stir up unrest within the New Nation..."
"Some madmen may even see that I am a woman and deem me weak and easy to bully, creating needless trouble."
"That is why certain matters must be made clear, lest people gossip in the future and claim that I executed them without teaching them first..."
Zhao Xiang's tone was cool and clear. As Li Tonghai looked at the Eldest Princess before him, so different from the one in his memories, a chill unexpectedly rose in his heart.
Zhao Xiang was wearing a four-clawed dragon robe, the attire of the crown prince.
Since she was acting as regent, there naturally could not be the slightest negligence in matters of ceremony.
This attire was completely unlike what she usually wore.
Yet on second thought, Li Tonghai found it perfectly reasonable. Zhao Xiang was only a little over twenty, at the very height of her youth, and she had accomplished no small number of practical deeds in ordinary times.
It was only because Zhao Cheng had always made the final decision that her edge and brilliance had been concealed.
Everyone saw only her status as the Eldest Princess, overlooking her own abilities.
Though many thoughts passed through his mind, Li Tonghai did not move slowly. Almost the instant Zhao Xiang finished speaking, he said, "This minister obeys Your Highness's decree!"
Neither his words nor his actions showed the slightest neglect just because Zhao Xiang was merely acting as regent.
After accepting the decree, Li Tonghai did not linger. He immediately took quick little steps and, with a