“By the Emperor’s decree—”
Everyone knelt, quietly awaiting the proclamation.
Amid the flowery praises, they held their breath to hear what reward Yun Jiao would receive: “…promoted to Changzai, granted the title ‘Qiong.’ So it is decreed.”
Li Pin was stunned, while Sun Changzai clenched her handkerchief tightly.
The Yun clan actually received a title!
Having a title was equivalent to being half a rank higher. In the blink of an eye, Yun Jiao would no longer need to bow to her; instead, Sun Changzai would have to turn around and bow to Yun Jiao. The thought of it made Sun Changzai grind her teeth in frustration.
Moreover, the title “Qiong” was truly excellent.
It symbolized beautiful jade and carried connotations of elegance and refinement, making it one of the finest among titles.
But Yun Jiao didn’t want it.
Titles were extremely important for imperial consorts. Once granted a title, others would no longer address her as Yun Changzai but as Qiong Changzai… She didn’t want to be called “Poor Changzai” every day! It was too unlucky!
Wasn’t the reload ability meant to help her secure a desirable title without spending a single coin?
Reload!
Thus, Xie Zhihang, who was preparing to attend the morning court session, abruptly found himself back outside Xianfu Palace.
The first time, he didn’t understand. The second time, he couldn’t hold back and returned to the western hall of Xianfu Palace: “Yun Shi, if you were given a choice, would you prefer a promotion to Guiren or a title? If you want a title, what kind would you like?”
Could one actually choose between a title or a promotion???
Even though he knew Yun Daying was highly favored by the Emperor, Yinglu was utterly astonished to hear such words.
Yinglu recalled how other consorts cautiously sought favors in front of the Emperor. If they were to learn that the Emperor had this side to him, they would probably faint on the spot from sheer envy.
Yun Jiao lowered her head: “This humble consort dares not presume. I defer entirely to Your Majesty’s decision.”
If the decision wasn’t to her liking, she would just make the Emperor decide again.
Even without mind-reading abilities, Xie Zhihang easily deciphered her thoughts and frowned abruptly: “Enough, don’t play these games in front of me. Tell me what you want.” He wanted to proceed smoothly to the morning court session. As long as her request wasn’t too excessive, he might as well grant it.
He was curious to see how bold she would dare to be.
Was she seizing the opportunity or employing a strategy of retreat to advance?
Xie Zhihang observed her expression closely. As her pink lips parted slightly, a familiar, slight dizziness washed over his mind.
She was actually using repeated reloads to buy herself time to think.
The Emperor’s words had overloaded Yun Jiao’s CPU.
Xie Zhihang: “…”
I’ve never seen anyone so foolish!
Now, it seemed as if three options lay before Yun Jiao, a seasoned player of Palace Intrigue games:
[Option 1: Promotion to Guiren (lose the title)]
[Option 2: Promotion to Changzai (gain the title)]
[Option 3: Your Majesty, this humble consort desires nothing, only Your Majesty’s favor]
After some thought, she decided to try them one by one.
Yun Jiao: “Your Majesty, this humble consort wishes to be promoted to Guiren.”
Xie Zhihang: “Very well.”
Yun Jiao: “Your Majesty, this humble consort does not wish to be Guiren. I only want a title.”
Xie Zhihang, growing slightly impatient: “…Very well.”
She lifted her face, risking great disrespect to glean any hint from the Emperor’s expression.
Yet, his handsome face remained impassive, his emotions inscrutable.
This once again stumped Yun Jiao.
Without any favorability indicator, the Emperor’s depth of cunning made it impossible to discern his thoughts from his expression alone!
After the fifth reload, an utterly exasperated Xie Zhihang finally understood—she truly had no idea what she wanted, possessing no concept of honors, wealth, or rank distinctions. Suppressing his anger, he feigned ignorance and said coldly, “Qiong, Zhao, Duan, Jing, Wen, Zhuang, Shun, Wan, Jin, Liang, Zhen, Xi… these are all excellent characters. Choose any one, and I shall bestow it upon you.”
Every single one was a top-tier honorable title, offered for her to pick freely.
Yinglu, standing nearby, had grown numb from hearing it all.
What made his scalp tingle even more was that Yun Daying actually began selecting without hesitation: “This humble consort finds the character ‘Xi’ quite pleasing.”
Thus, the morning’s scene repeated itself.
This time, Yun Jiao was promoted to Consort Xi.
Yinglu had initially thought that even his emperor had a day when he’d be utterly bewitched by a beauty. Unexpectedly, the moment the Emperor stepped out of Xianfu Palace, he commanded him: “Investigate her. Thoroughly.”
His voice was cold, just as before.
“Understood.”
Realizing that the Emperor might be playing a grand strategic game, Yinglu bowed his head in acknowledgment, inwardly shuddering.
The first half of the morning court session proceeded smoothly. Xie Zhihang’s good mood ended when dealing with the matter of Prince Kang’s mistake in the Ministry of Rites. Two of his brothers stepped forward to plead on his behalf. Prince Kang didn’t argue back; instead, he knelt with a pale, delicate face, trembling as he kowtowed and admitted his fault: “To have errors in the sacrificial rites ceremony—this subject knows his wrong and deserves ten thousand deaths.”
The ancients placed great importance on sacrificial rites, but Prince Kang’s mistake wasn’t actually severe. Xie Zhihang hadn’t intended to punish him harshly, lest court officials criticize him for being unbrotherly and cruel to his younger brother.
Yet Prince Kang proceeded to kowtow right on the spot.
He kowtowed heavily, the sound echoing through the Golden Luan Hall, immediately reddening his pale forehead. As a noble of the imperial family, he had always been extremely dignified. Such self-abasement and self-harm inevitably stirred sympathy among the court officials.
“This subject knows his fault and wishes to punish himself by kneeling before Qiankun Palace to beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”
After speaking, Prince Kang broke into violent coughs.
No matter how severe his coughing, he never lifted his head, showing utmost reverence—a pitiable figure seemingly terrified to the core by his tyrannical elder brother, reduced to utter humility.
Xie Zhihang: …
What did he even do?
Why did everyone act as if he were about to slay his third brother?
Seated on the dragon throne, Xie Zhihang took in the expressions of the court officials and his brothers.
On one side: The Emperor is so cold, so merciless, so unforgiving.
On the other: Prince Kang is cautious and meticulous; though he made a mistake, he is truly pitiable.
“Since Prince Kang voluntarily requests to kneel, then let him kneel—until the Winter Sacrifice!”
Blinded by fury, Xie Zhihang declared coldly.
Hearing this, Prince Kang’s already pale face turned three shades whiter.
He straightened up, his figure swaying unsteadily, then bowed deeply again: “This subject… thanks Your Majesty for your grace.”
Xie Zhihang regretted his words immediately.
Punishing Prince Kang severely for a minor fault would only serve as proof of the Emperor’s lack of benevolence and brotherly love in others’ eyes.
Yet even so, Xie Zhihang was so angry he felt his heart constrict.
Errors in the sacrificial rites ceremony brought shame upon the Emperor himself.
His third brother had bungled his duty. Xie Zhihang brought it up in court merely as a reminder, yet Prince Kang put on this hypocritical act, voluntarily requesting punishment—undoubtedly using his sickly condition to put the Emperor on the spot. As longtime rivals in their covert struggles, Prince Kang understood him too well, knew exactly how to provoke him—what kind of temperament did His Majesty have? First, he detested careless mistakes; second, he loathed pretentious posturing.
On the dragon throne, Xie Zhihang pressed his thin lips tightly together.
He was both angry at Prince Kang and at himself for losing his composure.
If he could do it over, he definitely wouldn’t give his third brother what he wanted.
Unfortunately, a word once spoken cannot be taken back…
Just as Xie Zhihang had this thought, a slight dizziness washed over his mind. Prince Kang knelt with a thud and kowtowed: “Your subject brother knows he is at fault and is willing to punish himself by kneeling before Qiankun Palace to beg Your Majesty for forgiveness.”
Prince Kang bowed his head very low, concealing the smile in his eyes.
Let the court officials and all under heaven see what an unmerciful tyrant my eldest brother is!
The next moment, however, the Emperor’s gentle voice came from above:
“Nonsense, help Prince Kang up at once.”
Prince Kang was stunned.
The reload feature is part of the plot design—Queque will explain it later, and it’s also the reason why the Emperor himself retained his memories.