Imperial City, Chengxin Hall.
The Young Emperor Xiao Jue, clad in a bright yellow dragon robe, sat in the seat of honor, listening attentively as several elderly ministers discussed developments in the Southern Dynasty:
"After the Pill King took the throne, he adopted a hard line toward our dynasty on the surface. But with the south's unstable political situation, he is actually far more willing to compromise than Zhao Jin. Sending Princess Changning as an envoy to our dynasty was also intended to probe our strength. In this old minister's opinion, if we apply pressure now, we stand a good chance of recovering the Four Towns of Yunbian..."
Xiao Jue was approaching twenty, a few months older than Xie Jinhuan. Among commoners, his children might already have been several years old, yet his title still carried the word "young." Every decision had to be submitted to the Empress Dowager for further approval before it could be implemented, something quite rare in the history of both the northern and southern dynasties.
Throughout history, emperors whose empress dowagers controlled the government had led deeply stifled lives. Not only did they have to follow the rules and behave themselves in their daily lives, but they also had no way to realize their ambitions.
Xiao Jue was much the same. Although he had no desire for pools of wine and forests of meat, the various kinds of education he had received since childhood made him eager to prove that he could rule this empire and become a monarch who restored its fortunes. Unfortunately, Empress Dowager Guo, who was actually his aunt, had never shown any intention of giving him that opportunity.
Had Empress Dowager Guo already been sixty, Xiao Jue would not have minded studying for a few more years. Unfortunately, she looked to