Marry a virtuous wife

The Imperial Study

"Elder Imperial Brother, you sent for me?" Xiao Yu asked as he entered.

Emperor Jinyuan set down the memorial in his hands and motioned for him to sit.

"Qi'an."

He looked at him and asked, "What do you think of the Southern Zhao hostage prince and his companions dying in the fire?"

Xiao Yu's hand abruptly stilled on the armrest, and he raised his eyes to meet his brother's gaze.

"Elder Imperial Brother, forgive my ignorance," he said frankly. "I have no particular thoughts on the matter."

Surely I can't tell you to your face that they aren't dead and have all escaped back to Southern Zhao?

Emperor Jinyuan: "..."

Still, word of their deaths in the fire has probably already spread. Before long, everyone will know, and the news will reach Southern Zhao.

Then the king of Southern Zhao might seize the chance to stir up trouble and demand an explanation from the Jin Kingdom...

Where would Elder Imperial Brother find a prince to give them then?

So you do realize that.

Emperor Jinyuan's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

A trace of reproach flashed in his eyes as he looked at Xiao Yu.

You knew perfectly well they would escape, yet you didn't give me any warning.

You could have let me prepare a response.

Well, this is just wonderful.

Where am I supposed to find someone to replace him?

It's not a big problem.

The king of Southern Zhao won't be smug for much longer. Once Qi Yunheng returns to Southern Zhao, his days will be numbered.

Emperor Jinyuan's gaze flickered.

Infighting?

In my previous life, when Qi Yunheng was sent back to Southern Zhao, he didn't go straight there.

Instead, he joined Father's forces, then personally led men into Southern Zhao and wiped out its royal line.

It was precisely because Father lent Qi Yunheng troops that someone framed him for colluding with an enemy kingdom...

Father simply admired Qi Yunheng and sympathized with his desperate wish to save his mother.

Besides, Qi Yunheng intended to make Southern Zhao a vassal state of the Jin Kingdom afterward, to repay Father for recognizing his worth.

Unfortunately, by the time he returned, that foolish emperor had already believed the slander and urgently summoned Father back to Capital City!

On the journey back, Cao Lin even seized the chance to forge an imperial decree, ordering Father and all my uncles to slit their own throats and die for the kingdom!

Cao Lin forged an imperial decree?

Emperor Jinyuan's gaze flickered, and an inexplicable pang of guilt struck him.

Though he had not issued the order himself, his lack of trust had still led to the wrongful deaths of the Prince of Zhennan and the others.

But all that happened six years from now.

In this life, Qi Yunheng is returning to Southern Zhao early... will he still seek Father out?

No, once I get back, I must hurry and write to Father at the Southern Border, so I'll know what to expect.

Should I tell Elder Imperial Brother beforehand, so he won't believe the slander again and mistake Father for a traitor?

Seeing his conflicted expression, as though he did not know how to begin, Emperor Jinyuan was about to raise the subject himself.

Just then, Eunuch Dequan hurried in. "Your Majesty!"

"The Censor-in-Chief, the Minister of Rites, and the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau request an audience!"

Emperor Jinyuan's brow immediately twitched.

"Since you have important matters to discuss with your ministers, Elder Imperial Brother, I shall take my leave."

Xiao Yu rose to go.

"Stop!"

"You're not allowed to leave!" Emperor Jinyuan hastily called.

Those old men had already pestered him enough at the morning court session.

Now they would not even give him any peace during his midday rest.

They could only have come at this hour because of Wanwan again.

How infuriating.

I only want to make the woman I love my empress.

They won't even grant me that small wish.

"Elder Imperial Brother, that would be against the rules."

Xiao Yu looked troubled. "The Jin Kingdom's imperial family has always had an ancestral injunction forbidding minors from participating in state affairs..."

"It would be best for me to avoid any appearance of impropriety."

"Sit back down in that chair-"

Emperor Jinyuan's face darkened when Xiao Yu even invoked their ancestral injunction.

Don't think I missed that flash of glee on your face.

"Did I ask you to participate in state affairs? I'm merely telling you to stay here!" And bolster my courage while you're at it...

Xiao Yu: "..." So I'm just a decoration without feelings...

He reluctantly returned to the chair he had just vacated.

Emperor Jinyuan was satisfied.

A defiant beast guarding the hall.

Now I won't fear whatever demons and monsters come through that door.

He waved a hand and told Dequan, "Summon them!"

Dequan immediately called toward the door, "Summon the Censor-in-Chief, the Minister of Rites, and the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau for an audience-"

The Censor-in-Chief and the others entered and bowed to Emperor Jinyuan. "We pay our respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty enjoy good health!"

"Rise, my ministers."

Emperor Jinyuan pretended to know nothing.

"What brings you here in such haste?" he asked.

The men exchanged glances.

The Minister of Rites stepped forward. "We have come regarding the matter of the empress-"

"Has that not already been settled? The Empress Coronation Ceremony is the day after tomorrow."

Emperor Jinyuan looked puzzled. "Have you come to discuss the details with me?"

"Your Majesty, after repeated consideration, we still believe the decision to make Fang empress requires further thought."

After speaking, the Censor-in-Chief exchanged a look with the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

The director stepped forward and continued, "Ever since Your Majesty named Fang empress, calamities have occurred one after another within the palace.

"First Consort Liu was assassinated and the captain of the guards died, then the Southern Zhao hostage prince and his companions perished in a fire. All these events show that Fang brings ill fortune and is unfit to-"

"Bullshit!"

Emperor Jinyuan was so furious he could barely catch his breath.

He stood and retorted, "She is merely a weak woman! How could she possess such extraordinary powers as to cause all those disasters?"

The Censor-in-Chief and the others immediately knelt. "Your Majesty, please reconsider! A man should marry a virtuous wife... judging by Fang's past conduct, she can hardly serve as a virtuous empress!"

"Silence!"

Emperor Jinyuan glared at them and snapped, "Before she married me, she was renowned for her virtue and good character. Are you suggesting that I ruined her?"

"We would not dare..."

"But the empress of the Jin Kingdom is not merely a personal matter. She concerns the entire realm and the welfare of all under heaven. Your Majesty must proceed with caution..."

"We beseech Your Majesty to reconsider and choose another virtuous woman as empress!"

"Ahem!"

"'A man should marry a virtuous wife,'" Xiao Yu spoke up. "How splendidly put, my lords!"

Look how furious Elder Imperial Brother is. Even his eyebrows are standing on end.

If I don't speak up now, Elder Imperial Brother will have them dragged out and beheaded!

Then my Imperial Sister-in-Law will be blamed for bewitching the sovereign and causing the deaths of ministers who offered honest counsel.

That was close!

Emperor Jinyuan: "..." Could you stop making me sound so cruel, foolish, and tyrannical?

All you do is smear my name!

Hearing the unfamiliar voice, the Censor-in-Chief and the others

raised their heads.

Only then did they notice someone else in the Imperial Study, and their old faces flushed crimson with embarrassment.

Xiao Yu ignored their odd expressions.

"My lords," he said to the censors and the others, "in another two or three years, I will be old enough to marry."

"From what you said just now, you all seem well versed in choosing a wife."

"I imagine each of you has a virtuous, exemplary wife at home, with whom you share perfect harmony and profound affection?"

He walked over to them and paused.

Then he abruptly asked, "Why not tell me about it now, my lords, so I can learn from you?"

"That way, I too can marry a virtuous, exemplary wife in the future."

The censors and the others were instantly struck speechless.