Spineless Men Cursed into Retreat in the Golden Hall, Three Seals Stamped on the Petition to Subdue Wa

Gu Moran placed the bowl of water on the table, a half-smile playing on his lips, and slowly tightened the brocade sash around her waist with his right hand.

The hands of a martial artist, calloused and smooth, rubbed against the fine brocade, sending a shiver down their spines.

"Is it that your legs are weak, or are you having other plans in mind?"

Gu Moran lifted her chin with his fingers, forcing her to meet his gaze.

Meng Jiuning lowered her eyes, her curled eyelashes trembled slightly, and her lips were pressed into a red line, but she stubbornly did not retreat an inch.

"Please, Your Highness, have mercy..."

Gu Moran didn't say anything more.

He lifted his robe and swept the woman in his arms into a wide embrace.

He strode over the screen and headed straight for the wide and sturdy mahogany canopy bed in the inner room.

The sheer curtains swayed gently, and the bed frame creaked softly.

At this very moment, above the roof ridge outside the study.

The light night rain had stopped long ago, and a layer of moisture clung to the roof tiles.

A lean figure was perched on the slanted main beam, a thin charcoal pencil clenched in his mouth, his hands tightly gripping a leather ruler. He hung under the eaves, looking just like a nimble gecko.

Zhen Meili was using charcoal to record the angle of the load-bearing column when she unexpectedly caught the rustling sound of fabric coming from the inner room below.

Her body stiffened abruptly, and the charcoal pencil nearly fell out of her teeth.

He slowly moved his head half an inch closer to the carved window and peered inside through the dark crack in the windowpane.

Before the bed, a moon-white outer garment slowly slid down onto the blue brick floor.

Zhen Meili's eyes widened in surprise. She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and hurriedly rolled up the leather ruler and stuffed it back into her bosom.

She pulled a crumpled parchment book from her bag and, by the dim light of the lantern under the eaves, began to scribble rapidly on it with a charcoal pencil:

At two o'clock in the morning, Dali Meng of Dali entered the inner room to inspect the bed.

"This female skeleton is extremely light, with a very narrow base, making it an extremely fragile, thin-plate structure. In contrast, the Prince Yi is as heavy as a steel winch; under bidirectional stress testing, it is highly susceptible to damage and deformation of local components."

Zhen Meili's lips trembled slightly as she wrote this, and she lowered her head to add another line:

"I strongly suggest that Accountant Su add two more new, eight-pound cotton quilts to the bed tomorrow."

Closing the parchment, Zhen Meili, like a startled squirrel, slid down the corridor pillar on all fours, disappearing into the night mist in her straw sandals.

Three days later.

Taiji Hall, the Hall of Supreme Ultimate.

Before dawn, the entire imperial city was shrouded in a layer of gloomy white frost.

On either side of the nine golden dragon pillars, civil and military officials stood in rows. The hall was completely silent, except for the sweltering heat emanating from the floor heating system mixed with the incense on the officials' robes, making it hard to breathe.

Since the emperor suffered a stroke and became paralyzed, and Crown Prince Gu Moyuan was locked up, the court assemblies in the Hall of Supreme Ultimate have been suspended for more than a month.

At the start of the new year, the morning assembly resumed.

"Smack!"

A crisp sound broke the deathly silence in the hall.

A memorial, tightly wrapped in yellow silk and delivered by an imperial messenger, was placed heavily in the center of the imperial desk made of rosewood.

After Chen Dehai read it aloud.

The Imperial Censor, who was standing at the front, stepped forward first.

He adjusted his crown, flicked his wide robe sleeves, bowed deeply towards the dragon throne, then turned around, his voice sharp and high-pitched:

"Colleagues, look! This is an urgent message from Yi Prefecture, delivered by an 800-li express courier!"

" Prince Yi Gu Moran, intends to mobilize the Jiannan Circuit troops without authorization."

Furthermore, in his memorial, he shamelessly claimed that he would cross borders to capture the Japanese pirates in Anyang and take over the defense of Qi and Lu, using the so-called Japanese pirate problem as a pretext to seize military power!

His chin was held high, his nasolabial folds were taut, and every word he spoke was piercing.

"According to the Great Yan Ancestral Law, any vassal king who, without a clear edict from the emperor, arbitrarily mobilizes troops across prefectures, is committing treason!"

Although Prince An is ill, Anyang has its own commandant and garrison camp established by the imperial court, as do Qi and Lu and Lu. Why should a prince who is living in a remote southwest interfere?

This reveals a malicious intent; such a person deserves to be punished!

As soon as he finished speaking, several civil officials from the remaining Eastern Palace faction, who had hoped for the emperor's sudden death and the crown prince's smooth succession, nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's meddling way too much."

"You're still not satisfied with having military power in Jiannan Circuit?"

"Greed knows no bounds."

"This Prince An is utterly useless; it would be better to let the Crown Prince take over..."

Suppressed murmurs rose from inside the hall.

"Bullshit!"

A thunderous roar of anger suddenly erupted in the empty hall.

At the forefront of the civil official ranks, Chancellor Su stepped forward, his white beard trembling violently with rage. His right foot, clad in a thick-soled court boot, slammed heavily onto the gold-brick floor, causing the jade pendant at his waist to rattle loudly.

He pointed at the Imperial Censor's nose, spitting almost all over the man's face:

"They openly spout ancestral rules, but constantly talk of treason!"

If your eyes were blind, I'd have the palace guards carry you out and gouge them out right now!

The Imperial Censor's face turned pale and then red as he was scolded. He took two steps back and said in a trembling voice.

" Chancellor Su! Do not utter such foul language in the imperial court!"

"I'm cursing you, you spineless coward who betrays his own people!"

Open your dog eyes and take a good look!

There is also Prince An's blood-written letter here!

Wa and Silla spies, armed with poison pills that consume human bone marrow, are forcing my prince of Great Yan to cede two seaports!

They want to station barbarian warships on our own strategic coastal defenses!

"The Japanese are as fierce as tigers and wolves. They have already spread poison throughout the city. What they want is to cut off the Haimen of our Great Yan and cut off the retreat of our Han sons!"

If this poison pill were to truly spread throughout the entire territory of Great Yan, the people of Dayan would be in Great Yan danger!

Chancellor Su's chest heaved violently as he turned around, his gaze sweeping over the entire court of civil and military officials like a sharp blade.

"The southeastern gateway is in imminent danger. Prince An, amidst the bloodshed, grits his teeth and refuses to betray his country. Prince Yi, in the southwest, draws his sword, determined to quell the external threat!"

The two princes were willing to die for the Great Yan!

But in your pedantic mouth, it's become mere incompetence, even an act of treason?

According to your logic, you insist on waiting for the Japanese warships to sail into the Daqing River and hold knives to the throats of your entire family.

You'll only be willing to slowly open your Great Yan Laws and recite a few verses of benevolence and morality to them then?!

The hall was completely silent.

Several officials who had been quietly agreeing just moments before now shrank their heads into the collars of their court robes, not daring to even breathe loudly.

" Chancellor Su's words are rather extreme."

A vice minister from the Ministry of Revenue stepped forward with a stiff voice.

"While coastal defense is of utmost importance, years of continuous warfare have emptied the national treasury, and the situation in the Northern Territory is critical."

If we were to wage war against Wa again, such a large-scale conflict would require significant funding for supplies and provisions.

The Japanese are just a few small pirate Xiaochuan; we can easily send coastal garrisons to surround and wipe them out. Why must Prince Yi undertake such a long and arduous expedition...?"

Shut up, you son of a bitch!

Underestimating the enemy before battle is a major taboo!

We're at the brink of destruction! Anyone who dares to use the Great Yan's Haimen as a trap, I'll chop off their head and use it as a table leg!

On the other side of the queue, Grand Commandant Lin Zhenshan, who had been resting with his eyes closed, snorted coldly and strode forward.

He was a burly man, and although he wasn't wearing heavy armor, the overwhelming murderous aura he exuded, as if he had crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, made the temperature in the entire hall drop several degrees.

His gaze fell on the face of the Ministry of Revenue, making the man's legs go weak and cold sweat instantly soak through his undergarments.

He gripped the sword at his waist, his killing intent palpable.

"If Prince Yi is willing to lead troops to quell the Japanese pirates, I will be the first to pave the way for him!"

Anyone who dares to hoard supplies or sabotage our efforts,

The Emperor's Sword in my hand will first drink his blood!

Several anti-war officials still tried to step forward and argue, albeit reluctantly.

Suddenly, a high-pitched, shrill voice of a palace attendant rang out from outside the hall.

"The Empress Dowager has arrived!"