A crowd of ministers watched Ding Yun sit on the dragon throne, speaking falsehoods with open eyes. They were truly indignant but dared not speak.
Your Majesty, oh no, the late Emperor.
He never even had a chance to speak.
How could it be considered that she was defaultly established as the Crown Princess?
"Alright, that's all for today. From now on, you should all go about your business. Don't think about leaving or resigning. If I wanted your lives, I wouldn't need to meet you face-to-face.
Don't forget what happened after I left the imperial palace at the beginning of the year.
The two major events that occurred in the imperial palace!
Court is dismissed!"
Ding Yun knew that they were probably caught off guard or hadn't thought of a response yet, which was why they had no choice but to compromise. Although she wasn't afraid of them causing trouble later, to minimize hassle, she had subtly hinted at her connection to the lightning strike at the Hall of Mental Cultivation and the collapse of the Palace of Serene Cold.
Then, she decisively announced the dismissal of the court.
She turned and left the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
It wasn't until Ding Yun left, and even after she had gone far, that the ministers present finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They then began to discuss what to do.
"What did she mean by what she said just now?"
"The major events in the imperial palace at the beginning of the year? Weren't there only two major events? One was the sudden lightning strike at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, which broke several of His Majesty's ribs, and the collapse of the Palace of Serene Cold, with the empress dowager still missing?
Does she mean to say that these two events are related to her, or that she was responsible for them?"
"It's likely so. Where are there so many coincidences in this world? She left the capital, and right after, the Hall of Mental Cultivation was struck by lightning, and the Palace of Serene Cold collapsed."
"Have you forgotten what just happened?
His Majesty merely spoke a few words to her, and he suddenly aged and died. If she truly possesses such a power that is almost akin to words becoming reality, then it's not impossible for her to have caused the collapse of the Palace of Serene Cold and the lightning strike at the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Her meaning is already very clear: she wants us to obey her obediently and be at her beck and call, otherwise, even if we could escape Zhao, she could easily utter a few words and curse us to death!"
"Heavens, how can such a terrifying and wicked woman exist in this world? How could she do this, how could she?"
"If that's the case, then we can't even resign and retire, she won't let us go. Yet, we are asked to obey a woman and work for her.
How can we face our ancestors in the afterlife?
Face the late Emperor and the others?"
"There are always those who fear death, and there are always those willing to obey her. Even if we are willing to die with honor, it would be in vain, and we might even implicate our families.
Perhaps we should try to compromise for now.
A true man knows when to bend and when to stand tall…"
"Yes, after all, she is still of Zhao royal blood. It can't be considered the fall of the nation, and we don't need to die for it. Moreover, with her as emperor, I imagine no other surrounding countries would dare to invade Zhao for the next few decades.
This might even be a good thing for the common people."
"But she's too lawless, and too shameless. She's even more shameless and brazen than bandits. Not to mention private under-the-table dealings, she doesn't even abide by the laws we've established!
She can kill whoever she wants, destroy whoever she wants.
How are we supposed to live our lives from now on?
Going to court every day with our heads in our hands, filled with trepidation?"
As the discussion deepened, some officials quickly began to eloquently advocate for compromise in terms of righteousness and the good of the country and its people, to make themselves appear less cowardly and to preserve their reputation later on.
But some officials still found it difficult to accept.
The unspoken rules of "punishment does not extend to officials," and "punishment does not extend to nobles" simply did not exist in the eyes of this Princess Anping. How could they break the law wantonly in the future?
If this continues, their lives as officials might be less free than those of ordinary people.
As this point was raised,
Many officials and nobles present immediately hesitated.
Seeing this, the previously speaking Minister Zhu quickly seized the opportunity to continue: "This is not the worst situation.
Everyone, you must know that when the Qi family was defeated, and later exiled, we not only didn't intercede for them but very few people didn't kick them while they were down.
Do you think that once Princess Anping investigates thoroughly,
She will let us off?"
"Her current actions are only because she fears that none of us will obey her and leave the capital, leaving her without anyone to use. No matter how much she claims to be emperor, without officials to convey her decrees, she would just be a puppet.
Once she ascends the throne and solidifies her power,
She will likely purge us first."
"In my opinion, she's most likely just trying to intimidate us. With her ability, that so-called power of words becoming reality, if she could use it as often as she pleased, why would she be bothering with all this trouble now?
As long as none of us obey her and escape.
What use would an empty court be? We can simply support a regional king to be emperor then."
As soon as he said this, some less intelligent officials actually began to ponder. However, those with clear minds were mostly rolling their eyes, too lazy to retort.
Finally, a fifth-rank minor official mumbled softly:
"Even if we support hundreds more regional kings to be emperors, it's useless. As long as Princess Anping wishes it, she can kill the newly enthroned emperor at any time. Even if she's just threatening us and can't kill us from afar with a few words, we would have no choice but to stop being officials.
To avoid entering the court and being used by her.
We might even have to change our names or go abroad.
Considering her age and health, we might die before she does. We can only wait for her to pass away first.
If she lives a long life, and our descendants for one or two generations are not used by her, then where will our position be in the court official system? Our families might even be excluded from the court."
"Indeed, Minister Zhu, you're thinking too naively.
Do you think that if we all leave, this Princess Anping won't be able to find anyone to work for her? Some scholars who have failed the imperial examinations can defect to bandits or even other countries. If Princess Anping extends a little olive branch, most of them will definitely bow their heads and work for her.
Besides, she might not even need to extend an olive branch to those scholars. There are plenty of juren in the capital and across the country who have passed the examinations but lack the qualifications, money, or connections to be appointed as officials. Do you think they wouldn't want to be officials?"
Those officials whose backgrounds were clean and who had not interfered with the case of the Duke of Zhenguo, perhaps because they knew they were unlikely to be held accountable if they obeyed,
Their minds were actually clearer at this moment:
"Everyone, you need to think carefully. It's easy for us to resign and flee now, but once we flee, it will be difficult to return, let alone regain our official positions.
Anyway, I wasn't involved in that incident.
Princess Anping also bears the surname Zhao, and we are all members of the Zhao family. Who we serve is still serving the Zhao family. Everyone, I'll take my leave now!"
Before the official who said this could leave, the officials such as the Left Chancellor and others standing not far from him, who had framed the Duke of Zhenguo, were all struck dead in the head by golden beans. At the same time, a voice echoed:
"Almost forgot, there are still some debts to settle.
All the people I wanted to kill are now dead. You people hurry up and find the evidence. Once found, announce it to the world immediately, don't wait for me to come back and ask.
The rest of you, listen to me carefully. If things are done well, past offenses will be forgiven. If things are not done well, they will be your example. Do not seek your own demise!"